Gu Tianxiang entered the palace at night to report. “Your Majesty, the two of them have been brought back. They wait outside the hall.”

“Send Liu Jue to the prison. Send Li Qingluo to Yulong Palace!” Zili instructed flatly.

“But — Your Majesty!” Gu Tianxiang, forgetting himself, wanted to say more despite the order.

“Hm?” Zili let out a single cold sound.

“Yes, Your Majesty! I’ll see to it at once!” Gu Tianxiang had no choice — pressing further risked provoking Zili into open anger, which would only make things worse for the two of them.

In the prison, Gu Tianxiang loosened Liu Jue’s bindings and said quietly, “This doesn’t look good. His Majesty has kept the third young lady at Yulong Palace.”

A flash of pain crossed Liu Jue’s face, though he forced a faint smile. “He’s the king, he decides. I only hope he treats A’Luo well.”

Gu Tianxiang sighed heavily. “Worry about yourself for now. I’ll get word to you if there’s news.”

Once Gu Tianxiang left, Liu Jue sat in the stone cell weighing the situation. He was fully confident that whatever Zili’s temper, he wouldn’t kill him. But would he make things difficult for A’Luo in the meantime? Anyone in his position would be furious. Still, at a time like this, Zili would restrain himself — he wouldn’t push things too far right now.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried. Liu Jue could only hope Zili would think of A’Luo, think of his own need for Liu Jue’s usefulness, and not make things hard for her. But just in case… Liu Jue shook his head, telling himself firmly that no “just in case” could stand against the love between him and A’Luo.

She was right there, inside. Even knowing Gu Tianxiang would treat them fairly, that she wouldn’t suffer following Liu Jue, his heart wouldn’t settle. He wanted to know — after her ten-odd days away, was she well? Was she doing all right? Taking her back like this — would she hate him for it? Zili lingered outside the palace gate, pacing. If the three years of longing had pressed down on his heart day after day, then seeing A’Luo again after all this time left him unable to master himself. It felt as though, if he simply reached out, he could pull her into his arms and make her his. That thought burned like magma beneath a volcano, roiling and howling, and once it broke through the crust it would erupt with unstoppable force, devastating everything in its path, spewing the hottest fire, the most searing molten rock, until every last flame of passion had burned itself out.

The evening breeze carried the first warmth of early summer, and it stirred Zili’s heart into disorder too.

She was back. But was her heart? Even if he burned away every last trace of his own passion and turned to cold, grim stone, it still wouldn’t move her heart. Zili sank into a deep sorrow. A thought suddenly surfaced — rather than watch her and Liu Jue in blissful devotion to each other, why not simply destroy her? Keep her buried in his heart, belonging to him alone, belonging to no one else! Zili was startled by the thought, frozen in place.

And yet — this was the best solution. The only way to free himself from this endless torment of jealousy and regret!

Kill the A’Luo who had dazzled him against the white snow atop the mountain, jade-green in the water? Kill the A’Luo who had looked at him with tear-filled, pleading eyes in the estate? Kill the A’Luo who had ridden with him across the grasslands, making him feel he could fly? Kill the A’Luo whose heart beat in time with his, playing flute and xiao together in perfect harmony? Zili’s hands unconsciously tightened on the white jade railing. The thought that had surfaced in his own mind left him terrified of himself.

Zili shook his head. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t he? Deep sorrow surfaced again in his fathomless eyes. Then he had only one other choice left. Zili stood alone at the palace gate, his shadowed figure merging with the darkness of the night.

A nearby attendant ventured carefully, “Your Majesty, the lady is already waiting to attend you tonight.”

“Which lady?” Zili didn’t register the meaning for a moment.

The attendant startled, cold sweat instantly breaking out, and dropped to his knees. “Your servant assumed — assumed it was the one General Gu brought in…”

“Oh?” Zili suddenly felt an urge to laugh. What had they dressed A’Luo up as? To attend him for the night? The corner of his mouth curved into something dark and deliberate. But his eyes turned cold as ice. “What nonsense is this! How dare you! Who gave you leave to treat her this way?!”

The attendant kowtowed frantically. “Mercy, Your Majesty! Your servant was wrong!”

“Take him out and give him thirty strokes of the rod — let that teach him a lesson.” Zili flung his sleeve and strode inside.

A’Luo and Liu Jue had been sent to separate quarters within the palace. She was strung tight with nerves. Waiting was the worst part. She didn’t know what Zili would be like, didn’t know if he would rage, didn’t know whether his eyes would carry pain. She had wronged him. She couldn’t accept his feelings for her. And yet — it wasn’t entirely up to her to refuse. And then there was Liu Jue, sent to the prison — how would Zili treat him?

From the moment she’d entered Yulong Palace, A’Luo’s mind had been crowded with questions. Suddenly she heard footsteps and opened her eyes to see, to her astonishment, a line of maids and attendants approaching, carrying clothes and jewelry, smiling at her.

A’Luo asked instinctively, “What is all this for?”

The maids bowed low. “We’re here to attend to Your Highness’s bath and dress.” Two of them stepped forward.

A’Luo raised a hand to stop them. “That won’t be necessary!”

“Your Highness jests — it’s needed, or how else will you attend the king tonight?” the maid said with a coy laugh, drawing closer.

Attend him tonight? A’Luo flushed and her heart raced with alarm as she backed away. “Who said anything about attending him tonight? Don’t come any closer — I don’t want to have to hit any of you!”

One maid, not reading the warning, approached and reached for her. A’Luo swiftly caught her arm and twisted it back. “Ouch! Your Highness!” the maid cried, tears springing to her eyes from the pain.

A’Luo released her hand, exasperated. “Don’t come near me — I don’t want to hit any of you!”

Frightened, the other maids scattered back in alarm, and the lead attendant called out, “Your Highness, forgive our impertinence!” — and pressed forward together toward A’Luo.

A’Luo steeled herself, readying to fight. One of the attendants swept out a cloud of fragrant smoke. A’Luo, caught off guard, breathed it in. Her body went limp at once, strength draining away. She glared at him and cursed, “Shameless!”

The attendant knelt. “Forgive us, Your Highness — only, we feared Your Highness’s temper might harm the king, and we had no other choice.” He stood and ordered, “Well? Attend to her quickly!”

The maids stepped forward carefully and helped her up. Utterly without strength, she could only let herself be carried off and bathed, scrubbed thoroughly like a vegetable being washed, then dressed in a light, sheer robe. Unable to resist, A’Luo could only grit her teeth in fury. Catching sight of the sheer fabric on her body, she flushed with humiliation and shut her eyes, unable to look — it was hardly different from wearing nothing at all.

Her braid was undone and gathered into a loose bun. Once she was dressed, the maids nearby stood staring. Finally one murmured, “Your Highness truly is beautiful!”

What use was beauty at a time like this! A’Luo bared her teeth at her own reflection in the mirror, unable to enjoy it, only hoping her strength would return soon.

The maids carefully helped her onto the bed and lay her down, then lined up, gazing at her, entranced. A’Luo finally snapped, “What are you all staring at! Look again and I’ll hit you!”

The maid whose arm A’Luo had twisted flinched back a step. The attendant said apologetically, “Forgive us, Your Highness. This is for your own good — if you harm the king, that’s a capital crime!”

“Get out, all of you!” A’Luo said, her chest tight with fury.

“Yes!”

The attendants and maids gently lowered the layered curtains, kowtowed, and withdrew slowly.

A’Luo cursed inwardly — this group of palace staff clearly wasn’t new to this sort of thing. Her body was too weak even to lift her arms, and she could only stare blankly at the canopy above.

She heard the maids and attendants outside calling, “Greetings to His Majesty!” A’Luo’s heart raced with anxiety, tears glinting in her eyes.

Zili glanced at the lowered curtains and said flatly, “Everyone withdraw.”

“Yes!”

He took a step forward, then stopped. Parting the outer curtain, he asked gently, “A’Luo, how have you been these past days?”

A’Luo looked down at herself, then at the sound of his voice cried out urgently, “Don’t come in!”

“Why don’t you want to see me?” Zili finally pulled back one layer of the sheer curtain, taking two steps closer to the bed. “I miss you. Do you know, at Yuhua Hall, I haven’t let anyone move a single thing of yours. Standing outside the hall, I imagine you’re still inside.”

A’Luo said nothing for a long moment, then said quietly, “Your Majesty, Qingluo is unworthy and coarse, unfit for Your Majesty’s favor. Perhaps Your Majesty should seek another…”

“I told you not to call me that!” Zili cut her off. Whenever she addressed him formally, it felt as though she’d drifted farther away. He parted another layer of curtain and could faintly make out a slender figure lying on the bed beyond two more layers of gauze.

A’Luo turned her head and, seeing him, was struck with terror. “Don’t come any closer! I — I don’t want you to see me!” Her voice already trembled with tears.

Zili stopped walking, gazing hungrily at the silhouette beyond the gauze curtain. His hand reached out to touch the curtain and gripped it tightly, using every scrap of will to keep himself from rushing forward. How he longed to hold her again, longed to embrace that soft, beautiful body once more! How he longed for her to be his… but he couldn’t. He mustn’t!

Bitterness and pain washed over him. Was this the price of the throne? To gain the whole world and still not have her! Was this what the old saying meant — that true suffering comes only once someone you love has fallen for another? That jealousy really did gnaw at his heart like insects, not a sharp pain but a dull, ceaseless ache, day and night without end, wearing a person down until they had no strength left. He’d always heard that longing was bitter — only now did he understand just how bitter. Zili clenched his jaw. The silk curtain twisted in his grip tore with a soft ripping sound.

He froze, looked down at the torn silk in his hand, let go, and watched it drift to the floor. His body trembled.

A’Luo, hearing the sound, flinched in fear, closed her eyes, and two tears slid down her cheeks.

Zili swept the curtain aside with one hand and stepped through.

The moment his eyes fell on A’Luo lying there, Zili felt his blood surge through his whole body, his mind going blank. His eyes, his heart, held only that beautiful figure.

A’Luo’s form was faintly visible through the pale rose-colored gauze. The night pearl tribute from An Guo hung from the canopy above, its soft glow falling across her face. Her loosely gathered hair framed a face of extraordinary allure; her breath came quick and uneven, her chest rising and falling. Zili stood frozen before the bed. Without realizing it, he had stopped breathing entirely, afraid that the slightest breath might shatter it all and send it fluttering away.

A’Luo knew he had entered. She squeezed her eyes shut, her lips trembling, her whole body rigid. For a long moment nothing happened, until finally she couldn’t bear it and shouted, “Get out!”

Startled back to himself, Zili turned away, his face flushing deep red. He quickly pulled off his outer robe, threw it back over his shoulder, and draped it wide over A’Luo. His voice was hoarse. “I’m sorry. I — I didn’t know it had come to this!”

“And you dare say more! You actually had those palace servants use such shameless tricks!” A’Luo was furious with humiliation, not caring in the least that she was speaking to a king.

Zili breathed deeply, slowly cooling the heat that had risen in him. Only then did he turn to look at A’Luo, and seeing her sprawled weakly on the bed, he almost wanted to laugh — then, remembering how she and Liu Jue had fled without regard for consequence, his expression hardened. “Are you giving me orders?”

A’Luo startled, turning her face away. “I wouldn’t dare!”

“You certainly don’t seem to lack for daring. You don’t put me in your eyes at all, do you,” Zili said, half wanting to scold her, then sighed helplessly and sat down at the edge of the bed. “Should I let you go?”

“As you wish!”

“As I wish? Yes — I am the king of Ning Guo. Both you and Liu Jue are my subjects. Of course everything is as I wish.” Zili seemed to be speaking to A’Luo, and also to himself. “I can’t bring myself to kill you. Nor him.”

He turned to look at her. “You’d best not forget what I once told you.” He gently wiped away her tears. “It’s a shame — you won’t cry for me, and yet I still ache for you all the same.”

Zili’s usual, unchanging gentle smile returned to his face. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to A’Luo’s forehead, then pulled the bell cord at the head of the bed. Shortly, an attendant came and knelt outside the curtain.

“Bring clothes, and help the young lady change,” Zili ordered.

“Yes!”

A’Luo, unsure what he intended, felt a wave of relief hearing this. She had barely opened her eyes when Zili’s hand covered them. “Don’t look at me! I — I can’t resist the pull of your eyes right now. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

So she closed her eyes and didn’t dare open them again.

In his heart, Zili was crying out, silently — open your eyes and look at me, the way you used to look at me whenever you wanted something from me — but she truly obeyed and didn’t open her eyes again. He sighed, gazing down at her deeply. Zili knew — this would be the last time. The very last time. He could no longer resist, and pulled the trembling, warm body beneath the robe into his arms. “Don’t be afraid. Relax, A’Luo — let me hold you a little longer.” He held her carefully, murmuring gentle reassurances.

A’Luo’s heart ached. He still hadn’t forced anything on her. He was still, in his own way, good to her. Her tension eased, and she murmured, “Elder Brother, you were the first person here who was truly good to me.”

A wave of warmth surged into Zili’s eyes. In his heart he said, don’t trust me, A’Luo, I’ve already changed, truly changed. The one in his arms was his sunlight, his hope, the one point of brightness that reached him even in the deepest, darkest halls of the palace. Her eyes were clear and radiant, the rarest gem in the world! Her smile was brilliant and pure, the most beautiful flower in the world! And yet the man who possessed this treasure was not him — the one who made this flower bloom so vividly was not him either.

An attendant announced quietly from outside, “Your Majesty, your servant will enter now.”

Zili released her and rose. “Rest a while.”

A’Luo wanted to ask about Liu Jue but was afraid of angering him. Watching him leave, she finally asked, “Elder Brother, Liu Jue, he…”

Zili walked toward the curtain without turning back. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Zili walked alone into the prison. He waved off all the guards.

Liu Jue slowly knelt in his cell. Tonight, would A’Luo be all right, now that Zili had come here? “This guilty subject, Liu Jue, greets Your Majesty!”

“Guilty subject? So you know you’ve committed a grave crime? Do you still hold me as your king in any regard?” Zili said coldly.

Liu Jue looked up, his handsome face set with resolve and sincerity. “This subject is guilty. It was I who first sent A’Luo into the palace, only to change my mind and break into the palace to take her away. I know I’ve failed Your Majesty, but I do not regret it!”

Zili stared at him. Yes, he hated him — hated that he’d changed his mind, hated that he’d stolen A’Luo’s heart. And yet Zili had to admit — Liu Jue possessed a courage he himself lacked. He’d dared to take her and run, just as, all those years ago at the crown prince’s night banquet, he’d dared to save her from Zili’s own hand and stop him from breaking her fingers. A man like that deserved her. Zili’s spirit dimmed. He was the king of Ning Guo, carrying too much weight to love someone with his whole heart.

Even with his heart utterly full of her, in the end he could not have her. And this man before him would fly side by side with her forever. Zili’s heart felt pierced through with countless needles, pain seeping out endlessly; without realizing it, he’d bitten through the skin inside his own mouth, a faint taste of blood rising.

Liu Jue knelt with his head bowed, waiting quietly for Zili’s judgment.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?” Zili licked his lips, swallowing the blood in his mouth, and asked flatly.

Liu Jue smiled. “It would be a lie to say I’m not. But this subject believes Your Majesty will not kill me.”

“Oh? You broke into the palace, defied me, and abducted a royal consort — any one of those is a capital crime! Why shouldn’t I kill you?”

“Because Your Majesty loves her too, and will understand this subject’s feelings. Your Majesty is not a cold-hearted man — if you killed me over this, wouldn’t it become a laughingstock to the world?” Liu Jue answered.

“Ha! Who says I don’t want to kill you — even if the whole world laughed at me for it?” Inside Zili, a voice screamed — kill him, kill him! And yet he laughed aloud. Liu Jue was right — he couldn’t kill him. Because he wanted to become a king who surpassed his ancestors, a king who could unite this land! “I won’t kill you — not for any other reason, but for your father’s sake. Even for that alone, I won’t kill you! But — I won’t simply let this go unpunished either!”

“This subject accepts whatever punishment Your Majesty decides!” Liu Jue said calmly.

“Punishment? Hmph — why don’t you ask how I’ll deal with her instead?” The smile vanished from Zili’s face. “A consort fleeing the palace — death by caning would be the light sentence. You know the laws of Ning Guo well. Tell me.”

“Your Majesty!” Liu Jue was shocked. “However you deal with me makes no difference — but she — she was the one I took! It has nothing to do with her!”

“Afraid now, are you? My way of punishing you is very simple — I’ll simply deal with her instead. You’ll just have to bear it.” A cold smile played at the corner of Zili’s mouth.

Liu Jue’s heart clenched with pain. He rose sharply to his feet, his eyes deep with anguish. “Your Majesty, how can you be so cruel? You know full well that touching a single hair on her head is enough to make me… how can you bear it! She — she’s someone you love too!”

“Yes, and you’ll suffer for it — but do you have any idea how much I suffer too? You took her away, her eyes and heart full of nothing but you — do you two have any idea how much that pains me? If you hadn’t sent her into the palace in the first place, would this longing for her ever have been stirred in me? Watching her like this, knowing her heart doesn’t belong to me — every distant glance from her cuts like a blade through my heart, every smile she gives you stabs like a needle through my flesh — what would you have me do? Tell me!” Zili’s fury finally broke loose. He glared fiercely at Liu Jue.

Liu Jue took two steps back, closed his eyes, then opened them again, his gaze now perfectly clear. “Your Majesty, Yunzhi and A’Luo have wronged you. I thought that even if she lived only as your consort, I would let her go to you. But when I saw she’d rather die than stay in that palace, I couldn’t harden my heart. Watching her grow more haggard by the day, watching the despair and grief in her eyes, I — I could only choose to risk death and take her from the palace. I can give you my life — but I cannot give her to you. If you mean to make her suffer, please, for the sake of my father’s and my own loyalty to you, let her die quickly. Yunzhi will not live on alone either way. You may act now.”

Zili burst into laughter. “Death? I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear to touch a single hair on her head, nor could I bear to sever what’s between us.” He stopped laughing, his eyes full of sorrow. “Yunzhi, I won’t harm her, and I won’t kill you, but—” Zili’s expression turned solemn. “The capital crime is forgiven — but some lesser punishment there will be!”

“This subject thanks Your Majesty for sparing my life, thanks Your Majesty for sparing her. This subject accepts whatever is deserved.” Liu Jue felt a weight lift from his chest. He looked steadily at Zili — a man deserving of pity too. Liu Jue felt he was, in truth, fortunate. A’Luo — she was his A’Luo.

Zili’s expression returned to its usual mild composure. He instructed the guards outside, “Bring the chancellor’s third daughter here!”

Liu Jue’s heart tightened. “Your Majesty, I beg you not to let her see!”

“Feeling protective now?” A faint smile played on Zili’s face, though his eyes turned cold. “No — let her see. How else will you remember your lesson!”

Liu Jue had no choice.

Before long, A’Luo was brought into the prison. The moment she entered, she felt the eerie chill of the place and thought of every kind of cruel punishment from the histories, her heart filling with dread. Her eyes fell on Liu Jue in the cell, concern plain on her face, and she started forward instinctively. Then she saw Zili’s face, cold as ice, and faltered, stopping in her tracks — she knew that if she went to him, it would only anger Zili further. She couldn’t understand why Zili had been so gentle with her earlier, only to bring her here now.

Noticing the fear in A’Luo’s eyes, Liu Jue sighed inwardly. His gaze met hers, and a smile rose to his lips. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Fine for now — you won’t be, soon enough,” Zili said coldly.

A’Luo startled, and unable to help herself, grabbed at Zili’s robe. “Please, don’t — I’m begging you, please, don’t hurt him!” Her eyes reddened, tears already spilling out despite herself.

“A’Luo!” Liu Jue’s face darkened, his eyes turning cold. He couldn’t bear to see her like this — he’d rather be killed by Zili than have her beg him. A’Luo froze, utterly lost. Fear, worry, helplessness were written plainly across her face.

Zili looked at those tear-filled eyes, his heart aching. He murmured, “You know — when you look at me like this, I can never refuse you.”

He raised a hand and pushed A’Luo back, ordering, “Hold her back!”

The guards restrained her. She paled with shock. “What are you going to do?”

Zili, suppressing the ache in his heart, said flatly, “Bring the whip. Prince Pingnan — I will administer the punishment myself. Thirty lashes. Can you take it? If not, I’ll give her three lashes instead — one lash of hers equal to ten of yours!”

“No! I owe you — let me repay it! Even if you beat me to death with three lashes, I won’t hold it against you!” A’Luo glared at Zili.

“Silence! Such nonsense from a woman!” Liu Jue’s heart lurched — if Zili struck too hard, a single lash could kill her.

Zili gave a cold snort toward A’Luo. “Speak again, and I’ll make it sixty lashes for him!”

A’Luo fell silent instantly, terrified, tears streaming down in fat drops.

Liu Jue laughed heartily. “This subject’s body is sturdy — no need to frighten her, Your Majesty.”

“Bring Prince Pingnan out!”

Liu Jue stepped out of the cell, silently cursing Zili for insisting on carrying out the punishment in front of A’Luo — wasn’t this obviously meant to make her suffer? He looked toward her with a tender smile. “Close your eyes! Be good, listen to me.”

A’Luo looked at him, then at Zili, and slowly closed her eyes.

Liu Jue smiled with satisfaction, removed his outer robe to bare his smooth back. “This subject thanks Your Majesty in advance — in case I black out and forget to say it later!”

Zili’s mouth twitched, wanting to laugh but holding it back. “That’s Prince Pingnan for you. Hold steady!” As he spoke, his eyes turned toward A’Luo — her lashes trembling, her face damp with tears, a look of anguished sorrow on her beautiful face. His heart clenched with pain. He raised his hand and brought the whip down hard across Liu Jue’s back.

A muffled grunt escaped Liu Jue. A’Luo’s tears fell harder. She hated Zili for his cruelty, forcing her to stand there and listen to every strike, not even daring to call out Liu Jue’s name.

Zili closed his eyes and let the lashes fall like rain. In moments, Liu Jue’s back was a mass of torn flesh and blood. Liu Jue clenched his jaw and made no sound, terrified that A’Luo might hear and grieve.

Zili tossed the whip aside. “Done!”

“This subject — thanks Your Majesty!” Liu Jue gritted out his gratitude through clenched teeth.

“Very good — you can still speak,” Zili said flatly.

“Your Majesty, thank you for your mercy! This subject is deeply grateful!” Liu Jue forced the words out one by one, then spat out a mouthful of blood.

A’Luo’s eyes flew open just in time to see the raw, ravaged wound on Liu Jue’s back. She cried out and, shaking off the guards, rushed toward him.

Damn it! Liu Jue glared at her. “Who told you to open your eyes? Don’t cry!”

A’Luo’s lips trembled as she gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “Does it hurt terribly?”

Liu Jue shot Zili an irritated look, cursing him thoroughly in his mind. Zili had done this on purpose, no doubt about it — deliberately making A’Luo watch him take thirty lashes, to torment her with grief. His face broke into a brilliant smile. “That didn’t hurt at all. His Majesty took pity on this humble subject and went easy — loud sound, little force, just to fool you into thinking it hurt!”

“A’Luo, come here!” Zili watched the two of them — was this what love looked like? A wave of bittersweet ache rose in him again.

A’Luo trembled, turning to look at Zili. “What more do you want?”

“Still want to watch him take lashes?”

A’Luo quickly moved away from Liu Jue and walked over.

Zili smiled. “So deep a bond, is it? Wouldn’t it be cold and heartless of me, as your elder brother, not to see the two of you brought together?” His voice grew grave. “Prince Pingnan, receive the decree!”

Liu Jue sighed. “This subject awaits Your Majesty’s command!”

Zili said evenly, “I hereby adopt A’Luo as my sworn younger sister, and grant her the title Princess Qingluo! In one month’s time, she shall be married to you.”

A’Luo stared at Zili in astonishment and blurted out, “What about all your ancestral rules?”

Zili turned his face away. “As long as she’s a princess of the royal house, the rule applies just the same. I — will see the two of you together!” The words left a bitter taste of blood in his mouth once more.

There was no such precedent for a royal princess — Zili was simply making an exception for A’Luo! Liu Jue’s brow furrowed, and in an instant a thought struck him like lightning. His expression changed entirely, and he stood there stunned. Zili — he hadn’t taken A’Luo into the mausoleum after all… he had chosen instead to bear the punishment of the Dragon Whip! Liu Jue’s mouth fell open in shock. He — he had actually endured the annual agony inflicted on the day of the great snow, for her sake! Liu Jue’s mouth turned bitter, and he gazed at Zili with sorrow. Closing his eyes, he clenched both fists. For Zili to go this far, to make this sacrifice… from now on, Zili was his king in truth. His own life belonged to him now.

Liu Jue reached out, took A’Luo’s hand, and pulled her down to kneel with him. “Your Majesty’s great kindness, Liu Jue engraves upon his very bones. I swear here and now to serve my king with utmost loyalty — long live the king, long live, long live!”

Zili, his back to them, said quietly, “A’Luo will be married from within the palace. Prince Pingnan may return to his estate to recover. In one month, I will officiate the wedding myself. Yunzhi — do you still resent me for the lashes?”

“This subject is willing, and holds no grievance at all!” Liu Jue said with complete sincerity, his gaze toward Zili open and unguarded.

“Go.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty! This subject takes his leave!” Liu Jue rose, turned to A’Luo with a smile. “Wait for me — in one month, I’ll come bring you home!”

A’Luo felt as though she were dreaming, unable to process how everything had suddenly changed. Watching Liu Jue’s radiant expression, she nodded.

Liu Jue looked deeply at Zili one last time and said softly, “Yunzhi is truly grateful, heart and soul.” With that, he strode out of the prison, seeming not to feel the burning pain across his back at all.

Zili let out a long breath and turned around, a faint, complicated smile on his face. “A’Luo — still resent your elder brother?”

A’Luo stared at him, dazed — this man who loved her just as deeply, and who had, in the end, still let her go. “Elder Brother, I…” Her eyes reddened, and she lowered her head.

Zili gently lifted her chin. “Your elder brother can’t bear to see you unhappy. As long as you’re happy, that’s enough for me. My princess.”

Princess? A’Luo almost wanted to laugh, unable to absorb such a sudden change all at once — the bitterness of being confined in the palace these past days, the exhaustion of fleeing with Liu Jue, the terror of being brought back in bonds. Her heart rose and fell in turns; she felt it all — absurd! She looked at Zili, her heart heavy. It was he who couldn’t bear it, and now, finally, he had chosen to let go. That familiar feeling of aching understanding rose in her again, just as it had that night after his wedding, when he’d first confessed to her. This dark, cold prison — Zili’s heart was imprisoned here too. She forced a playful smile. “Don’t regret this, Elder Brother — I do love taking advantage of borrowed authority!”

Zili laughed softly. “Being king really isn’t much fun at all. A’Luo, you’d better make sure to keep your elder brother happy, too!”

Even in the dim prison, A’Luo’s smile seemed to let a little sunlight in. And yet the light couldn’t quite dispel the sorrow lingering there — like his own smile, always faint, always shallow, resting on the corner of his mouth. It belonged to that face, but it was only an expression, not a true, unguarded joy.

“Of course — you’re my elder brother, you’re family now too. I’ll protect you!” A’Luo continued playfully. She didn’t know how else to face Zili’s pain except through this surface cheerfulness. She stuck out her tongue, then sighed. “I hate this place.”

Zili smiled faintly. “Your elder brother will never bring you here again. Forgive your elder brother.”

Back in Yulong Palace, Zili sat alone. He had finally made his decision. He had finally, fully, pushed A’Luo from his embrace. From now on, she would no longer belong to him.

He took out a bottle of wine, looked at it a moment, and slowly drank. The wine was as strong as ever, burning down his throat, kindling flame low in his belly. A’Luo — is this what you wanted? Are you happy now? He sighed. A’Luo, whatever comes afterward, you must forgive your elder brother. There’s too much weight resting on his shoulders. He is the king. The king of Ning Guo.