Li Ying seemed to sense something and turned her head. Sure enough, she saw Cui Xun standing beneath the crabapple tree.

He was wearing a crimson official robe. As the wind rose, crabapple blossoms fell, scattering like colorful snowflakes—the flowers like snow, the man like a painting. Li Ying stared in a slight daze.

Though the scene was enchanting and breathtakingly beautiful, the dense, lush branches of the crabapple tree cast dappled shadows that obscured his features in darkness. The threads of golden light couldn’t reach him at all, as if he had burned his entire self to perfect this brilliant splendor.

Li Ying was slightly stunned. She didn’t stand up to welcome Cui Xun but remained crouching with her arms resting on her knees, looking up at him in the shadows. Cui Xun pressed his lips together and walked step by step out of the darkness. The golden sunlight fell upon him, adding some brightness to his ghost-like pale face.

He walked to Li Ying’s side and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Only then did Li Ying come back to her senses. She hurriedly replied, “Looking at… the spring swallow.”

She asked, “Would you like to watch together?”

Cui Xun nodded, then stooped down and sat cross-legged beside her, watching the spring swallow.

If anyone had come to the Cui residence at that moment, they would have been utterly shocked. The infamously grim and ruthless Cui Xun of the Investigation Department sitting cross-legged on the ground, calmly watching a swallow peck at fresh mud?

Li Ying also sat beside Cui Xun. She reached out her hand, carefully trying to touch the spring swallow, but as expected, her fingers passed through the swallow—she couldn’t touch living things.

Li Ying sighed. She turned her head slightly to look at Cui Xun. His eyes were black as ink dots, fixed steadily on the swallow pecking at the fresh mud, his expression undisturbed. Li Ying asked, “Cui Xun, do you dislike swallows?”

Cui Xun frowned. He found it difficult to answer Li Ying’s question. He didn’t like flowers, especially despising lotus blossoms. As for swallows and other birds, he couldn’t say he disliked them, but he couldn’t say he liked them either. In his life, it seemed he had rarely liked anything. Seeing that he wasn’t answering, Li Ying said, “I like swallows.”

She continued, “I like flowers, I like birds, I like all things full of vitality.”

Full of vitality? Cui Xun lowered his gaze. She liked things full of vitality, but he had nothing to do with those four words. If the investigation hadn’t brought them together, she probably wouldn’t have looked at him at all.

After a moment of inner struggle, he finally asked cautiously, “Do you only like things full of vitality?”

Li Ying was momentarily stunned, then quickly replied, “No, I like green trees and red flowers, I like early orioles and new swallows, but I also like quiet mountains at night and the moon hidden in bamboo groves.”

Cui Xun’s heart gradually calmed. He said, “I see…”

Li Ying nodded. She suddenly poured a bit of crushed rice from her sachet into her palm and said, “I want to feed the spring swallow, but I can’t touch it. Cui Xun, can you help me?”

Cui Xun nodded, “Of course.”

He extended both hands, and Li Ying poured the crushed rice into his palm. But just as he was about to feed the swallow, it seemed frightened and flew away with a flutter of wings.

Cui Xun smiled wryly and said, “It’s afraid of me.”

Li Ying thought for a moment and said, “It’s not afraid of you; rather, it doesn’t know that you mean well. If it knew, it certainly wouldn’t be afraid of you.”

Cui Xun’s interest waned. “Never mind, it doesn’t need to know.”

“How can that be? When you want to do something good, don’t give up halfway,” Li Ying said. “Just sit here, don’t move, and it will fly back later. Then you can feed it again. After several attempts, it will know you mean no harm and naturally accept your help.”

Cui Xun carefully considered her words. Swallows were like this, and weren’t people the same? He had closed the door to his heart early on, only accepting her after she repeatedly expressed her goodwill. If he could accept this, what about a swallow?

So Cui Xun followed Li Ying’s advice. When the spring swallow flew back to peck at the mud, he attempted to feed it again. The spring swallow flew away in fright, but seeing that he didn’t pursue it, cautiously returned. After several attempts, the spring swallow tentatively pecked at the crushed rice in his palm.

After pecking one grain, the spring swallow flapped its wings and flew away. Cui Xun continued to extend his palm. This time, the spring swallow returned more quickly than before. Seeing there was indeed no danger, it boldly hopped onto his palm and gently pecked at the food.

After pecking at a few grains around the edge, the swallow simply jumped into his palm and lowered its head to peck lightly. Cui Xun felt a tingling sensation in his palm. He carefully watched the tiny swallow lightly jumping and pecking in his palm, and suddenly a strange feeling welled up in his heart. Since returning to the Great Zhou, he had been despised by everyone. He never thought that one day, in his blood-stained palm, he would feel the presence of vibrant life.

Li Ying asked, “Isn’t it rather interesting?”

Cui Xun nodded silently, “Yes, it is interesting.”

After the spring swallow finished eating the crushed rice, it rolled around in his palm, its silky feathers leaving a delicate sensation on his skin. Looking at the spring swallow in his palm, with the gentle figure sitting beside him, Cui Xun thought in a daze that perhaps he had grown somewhat attached to this mortal world.

Li Ying suddenly asked, “By the way, do you know that spring swallows have another name?”

“What name?”

“Guanyin swallow,” Li Ying said. “Heaven ordained the dark bird, descended to give birth to Shang. The dark bird is the swallow, so swallows are also called Guanyin swallows.”

After listening, Cui Xun stared at the swallow hopping in his palm, but his dark eyes seemed to be looking at something else. He suddenly smiled faintly, his calm eyes rippling with countless waves. He said softly, “So Guanyin has been by my side all along.”

Swallows pecking at fresh mud, orioles competing for warm trees—a clear spring day, truly a time of peaceful tranquility.

By nightfall, the martial guards reported that they had discovered Jin Ni’s whereabouts at Mount Li outside the city.

The Investigation Department’s martial guards had already mobilized to search the mountain. Cui Xun was about to mount his horse and head to Mount Li when Li Ying called out to him, saying, “Wasn’t it said that Jin Ni understands bird language? Since the martial guards have discovered his whereabouts, his owls might have already informed him. I think he is probably no longer at Mount Li.”

After hearing this, Cui Xun agreed. Li Ying continued, “At the foot of Mount Li is the Tangquan Palace. It’s an imperial villa and requires permission from the palace to search. In my opinion, Jin Ni is likely using his old trick again, hiding in Tangquan Palace.”

Cui Xun pondered, “Waiting for permission from the palace would be too late. I’ll go to Tangquan Palace alone first to investigate.”

“But Jin Ni is a Captain of the Imperial Guard, you…” Li Ying paused. Since suffering severe punishment, Cui Xun was no longer the young general on a silver-saddled white horse. Now plagued by numerous ailments, his limbs lacked strength. If he encountered Jin Ni, there might be an accident.

Cui Xun also understood Li Ying’s concerns. He took down a crossbow hanging on the wall, which Li Ying had modified from his old bow. He said, “I can take this with me.”

“Wait,” Li Ying was still worried. “I’ll come too.”

Mount Li was located south of Chang’an City. Its scenery was magnificent, as beautiful as brocade, hence also known as “Embroidered Ridge.” Tangquan Palace was built against the slopes of Mount Li, with grand and imposing architecture. Cui Xun entered Tangquan Palace using the purple gold fish pouch bestowed by the Empress Dowager. Inside the palace, there were pavilions, towers, corridors, and waterside pavilions—all magnificent. Li Ying looked around; she had visited Tangquan Palace a few times before, but compared to before, it seemed to have been expanded and renovated. She could barely recognize it. Cui Xun said, “This Tangquan Palace was renovated in the thirtieth year of Taichang. By then, the Taichang Reforms had been implemented for ten years, the treasury was abundant, so there was money to renovate the imperial villas.”

The thirtieth year of Taichang was also the year her father passed away. Li Ying felt somewhat melancholy and murmured, “You said before that my father was a competent emperor, and indeed he was.”

He might not have been a benevolent emperor, but he was certainly a competent one.

Li Ying walked beside Cui Xun. The palace maids and eunuchs of Tangquan Palace had all heard of Cui Xun’s reputation. Originally, they had been living quite comfortably in this palace, but suddenly, this demon-like figure appeared at Tangquan Palace, and they didn’t know why he had come. They were all so frightened that they trembled and had already hidden far away. Therefore, Cui Xun hadn’t seen a single palace attendant along the way.

Cui Xun didn’t mind. Li Ying walked to a hexagonal pavilion and suddenly stopped.

This hexagonal pavilion, though well-maintained, looked somewhat old, incongruous with the splendid Tangquan Palace. It seemed that when Tangquan Palace was renovated, this hexagonal pavilion had been left untouched. Following Li Ying’s gaze, Cui Xun saw a plaque hanging above the pavilion that read “Pavilion of Forgetting Worries,” with the inscription written by Emperor Taichang himself. Li Ying murmured in a daze, “Pavilion of Forgetting Worries…”

“What’s wrong?”

Li Ying smiled bitterly, “Well, that was forty years ago now.”

Forty years ago was the tenth year of Taichang. That year, the struggle between Emperor Taichang and Empress Dowager Xue intensified. Emperor Taichang had the position of emperor, while Empress Dowager Xue had the respect due to the legitimate mother. Both the court and the harem were thrilling for Emperor Taichang. To ease his mind from the cruel power struggle, he brought his consorts and children to Tangquan Palace for relaxation.

That day, Emperor Taichang stood in the hexagonal pavilion, gazing at the mountains and waters, but his face still showed signs of anxiety and distress. Six-year-old Li Ying quietly came to Emperor Taichang’s side and called out in a crisp voice, “Father.”

Seeing it was her, Emperor Taichang smiled gently, “It’s Mingyuezhu.”

Li Ying nodded and asked, “Father, everyone else has gone boating on the lake. Why didn’t you go?”

Emperor Taichang smiled and said, “Then why didn’t Mingyuezhu go?”

“I’m keeping Father company,” Li Ying said. “Father has something on his mind, so I wouldn’t enjoy boating. Rather than worrying about Father, I might as well come and keep Father company.”

It was winter then, and Li Ying was wrapped in a white fur coat, making her look even more like a delicately carved jade doll, quite adorable. She was only six years old, precisely the age for being playful, yet she didn’t go boating because she was concerned about her father. Emperor Taichang felt a warmth in his heart and bent down like an ordinary father, holding her in his arms, and asked, “If Father’s mood remains poor, will you continue not to play?”

“I won’t play,” Li Ying shook her head. “If Father’s mood remains poor, Mingyuezhu will keep Father company.”

“But Mingyuezhu will marry someday, and after marriage, you won’t be able to keep Father company.”

“Then I won’t marry,” Li Ying said. “Mingyuezhu will always stay with Father and Mother.”

The innocent words of a child are most comforting to the heart. Emperor Taichang laughed heartily, and his troubled mood gradually dissipated. He said, “Mingyuezhu, Father is doing something very dangerous. If it fails, I will lose my life. Are you afraid?”

Upon hearing about something very dangerous and losing his life, Li Ying’s face, like a rice dumpling, showed signs of panic. But when Emperor Taichang asked if she was afraid, she swallowed and said with composure, “I’m not afraid.”

“Why?”

“Because Mingyuezhu believes Father will succeed,” Li Ying said. “Father is the most powerful hero under heaven.”

Hearing this, Emperor Taichang laughed heartily again. Holding Li Ying and looking at the silver-wrapped, layered mountains outside the pavilion, with his beloved daughter by his side, Emperor Taichang felt much more at ease. Emperor Taichang then said, “Mingyuezhu, this hexagonal pavilion doesn’t have a name yet. Why don’t you give it one?”

Li Ying thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s call it the Pavilion of Forgetting Worries. I hope Father can forget his worries from now on.”

After that, Emperor Taichang personally wrote the three characters “Forgetting Worries Pavilion” and hung them above the pavilion. Even twenty years later, when Tangquan Palace underwent a bold renovation, not a single brick or tile of the “Pavilion of Forgetting Worries” was ever changed.