◎”—Since the moment you and I met, you have never abandoned me.”◎

Yu Qingwu was so nervous he kept eating boiled eggs.

This time, Nanny Qian didn’t scold him. The old woman was quite nervous herself. She paced back and forth in the kitchen: “From the meaning of her last words, she was saying she likes you.”

Yu Qingwu humbly pressed his lips together—how could he dare believe such good fortune would fall upon him?

Nanny Qian almost instantly understood his hesitant manner: “…You truly haven’t thought about it?”

Yu Qingwu feared heaven, earth, and the divine spirits, so in the end he didn’t dare lie: “Well, I think about it every day.”

He lowered his head, and in his nervousness, stuffed another egg in his mouth to chew, rubbing his hands together: “She really meant she likes me?”

Nanny Qian: “Based on my experience, absolutely!”

Yu Qingwu foolishly broke into a smile, but the next moment deflated: “But Nanny Qian, you’ve never married—how would you know about these matters of love?”

Nanny Qian: “…”

She grabbed a large scallion and was about to strike him. Yu Qingwu hurriedly protected his head: “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me—my brain can’t process things anymore.”

The two huddled together to think carefully, analyzing Lan Shanjun’s words character by character.

Nanny Qian: “You see, she said: ‘No matter how many lifetimes pass, I probably won’t encounter someone like you again’—”

Yu Qingwu immediately corrected her: “Not ‘I probably won’t encounter,’ it’s ‘she’—when you say this sentence, you should use ‘she probably won’t encounter.'”

Nanny Qian: “…Young Master Yu, meeting you has truly left me helpless.”

She took a deep breath. “Never mind all that. Just tell me—when a woman says she’ll never again encounter someone like you, doesn’t that mean you’re her one and only?”

Yu Qingwu listened so nervously he could barely breathe, but said: “That is indeed the case. In Shanjun’s heart, I should be one and only.”

Nanny Qian took another deep breath, telling herself to be patient. She continued to analyze: “Since you’re the one and only, unique—that means she likes you too.”

Yu Qingwu was doubtful: “Did she say so?”

Nanny Qian: “How could she not have said so?”

Yu Qingwu: “But she didn’t.”

Nanny Qian: “The meaning of that sentence is that she admires you!”

Yu Qingwu started stuffing eggs again, chewing away: “Really?”

He pressed his lips together. “How could I dare imagine that!”

Nanny Qian: “…”

Well then, they had circled back to the beginning.

Fine, she was very busy. She shooed him outside, heating oil in the wok. When she turned around, she saw Yu Qingwu pitifully clutching the door frame, looking at her.

He said in a low voice: “Nanny Qian, I’ve been without father or mother since childhood. No one taught me these things…”

How could Nanny Qian withstand such an appeal? She gave him advice again: “If nothing else works, just hold your quilt and wait at her door. Say your study window is leaking wind—”

Yu Qingwu: “But isn’t that lying? What if Shanjun goes to help me fix the window?”

Nanny Qian: “…Then just consider it a bad idea from me!”

Yu Qingwu said seriously: “Whether it’s bad or not, my nose isn’t good—I’m just afraid Shanjun’s nose is good and will smell it out.”

Nanny Qian ultimately still lacked a compassionate maternal heart. She endured and endured, and finally could endure no more. Pointing at him with the scallion, she said loudly: “Just do as I say! I beg you! Now go!”

Yu Qingwu touched his nose and sighed: “Alright then.”

The sky had already darkened. He looked up at the sky—the moon was still very round.

Round was also a good omen.

He gathered his courage, hugged his quilt, and walked to her door, but didn’t dare knock.

So with this held breath, he wandered around the courtyard. Who knows how long he wandered—his breath had run out, and just as he was about to be dried by the moon and hung up high like preserved meat, the door creaked open.

Shanjun stood at the doorway looking at him.

Yu Qingwu stood straight, rigid: “Shanjun… I, I…”

Lan Shanjun: “Come in.”

Yu Qingwu’s eyes widened: “Coming!”

Lan Shanjun turned and entered the room. He scurried over, hugging his quilt toward the house.

—It must be the moon deity helping. Since ancient times, the moon deity had represented tender affection. As Yu Qingwu walked, he quickly stopped to bow toward the moon.

Passing by the osmanthus potted plant, he also bowed—the character for osmanthus shared a sound with the word for women’s chambers, so it must have helped him gain entry to Shanjun’s chambers once again.

He truly possessed the qi of heaven and earth—in all matters, divine spirits aided him.

He entered the room and skillfully laid out his quilt on the couch.

He didn’t use the lie about the leaking window—even with his poor nose, he could smell that it was a rotten lie.

So he said nothing more, and racked his brains for other excuses, leaning against the archway: “There’s heavy yin energy in the prison, Shanjun—aren’t you afraid?”

Lan Shanjun hesitated a moment: “Afraid?”

Yu Qingwu said happily: “Shanjun, I’m just worried you’d be scared at night, so I came to keep you company.”

Lan Shanjun couldn’t help but laugh along.

Yu Qingwu asked through the archway: “Shanjun, what are you doing?”

Lan Shanjun was at her writing desk, but actually wasn’t doing anything. Only today, she also wasn’t quite so composed.

She sat in her chair and said hesitantly: “…Reading?”

Yu Qingwu slowly shuffled over: “May I see?”

Lan Shanjun saw his cautious appearance and suddenly felt her heart ease. She smiled: “Yu Qingwu, when you’re so apprehensive like this, I feel like some priceless treasure, extremely precious.”

Yu Qingwu’s heart began thumping. He lowered his head: “That’s exactly what you are.”

Lan Shanjun patted the stool beside her: “Sit.”

Yu Qingwu sat down properly.

His appearance as a meek little spouse made Lan Shanjun laugh again.

She said: “What do you think will happen to the Song family?”

Yu Qingwu’s thumping heart suddenly stopped.

He knew her obsession, so he immediately set aside romantic matters and said seriously: “Wu Qingchuan has lives on his hands—it’s impossible for him to live. But Song Zhiwei might not die. I think before Duke Songguo dies, he should be able to save Song Zhiwei’s life, just as the former Crown Prince drank poisoned wine to save General Duan’s life back then.”

The Emperor was “actually” still one who cherished old feelings.

Yu Qingwu: “But they certainly can’t let the Song family remain. I estimate the Song family males should be sentenced to exile.”

Lan Shanjun was silent for a moment, then said: “I’ll petition the Crown Princess. If Song Zhiwei is sentenced to exile, let him live, then after reaching the place of exile, give him to me.”

She absolutely had to let him experience what it meant to count the hours until dawn, what it meant to be a medicine testing body.

Yu Qingwu nodded: “Good, I’ll handle the aftermath for you.”

Lan Shanjun let out a great breath. She held her breath and said: “Next is Prince Qi.”

The greatest regret this time was not tearing into Prince Qi’s hide.

She had originally wanted to drag Prince Qi down too, but biting off more than one could chew, after hesitating, she had only dragged Duke Songguo and Wu Qingchuan into the water.

It was truly a pity.

Yu Qingwu consoled: “But this time he used Ni Tao as bait to lure us in. Now that he’s been counter-killed, he probably won’t have an easy time either.”

Lan Shanjun was still somewhat worried: “We said we knew Wu Qingchuan’s secrets and thought Wu Qingchuan wouldn’t dare act—when His Majesty thinks it over, will he suspect? After all, Wu Qingchuan did act in the end.”

Yu Qingwu had thought this through carefully: “No. First, we have no ironclad evidence of Wu Qingchuan and Duke Songguo’s relationship. Without your handwriting, it would have been completely useless—His Majesty wouldn’t believe it. Second, he believes that whether Wu Qingchuan was in contact with General Duan or Duke Songguo, they wouldn’t tell the full truth to two youngsters like us. What we knew could only have been gleaned from secret watching and listening. And having that word ‘secret’ proves Wu Qingchuan didn’t know beforehand that we knew so much—for instance, the poem His Majesty composed with Duke Songguo. So he assumes Wu Qingchuan would take desperate risks.”

“The last point is that even if His Majesty doesn’t believe Wu Qingchuan would be so bold, he believes Prince Qi would be. Prince Qi doesn’t care what ultimately happens to Wu Qingchuan and Duke Songguo.”

He continued: “Prince Qi only cares whether the Crown Prince will be rejected after this incident.”

Lan Shanjun sneered: “This is reaping what one sows. Prince Qi has been too arrogant in his daily behavior, too absolute in his actions—His Majesty doesn’t trust him at this time.”

Yu Qingwu: “Once a person believes a conclusion, they’ll think up countless reasons for that conclusion. Especially someone as suspicious as His Majesty. He’ll circle this lie for Prince Qi, Wu Qingchuan, and Duke Songguo in his own mind.”

Lan Shanjun nodded, then crossed out the names of Wu Qingchuan, Duke Songguo, and Song Zhiwei on the paper: “Then we’ll wait and see how His Majesty ultimately deals with Prince Qi… Thus, only two people remain.”

Prince Qi. The Emperor.

She didn’t dare write the Emperor’s name, only drawing a circle there.

But Yu Qingwu knew whom she meant.

He said softly: “I know—without eliminating him, there will never be peace.”

But now wasn’t the time yet. They still needed to plan carefully.

He believed that currently, it wasn’t just the two of them thinking this way.

He took the paper and held it near the candle flame to burn it, leaving only ashes. Then he scattered even the ashes completely clean, saying seriously: “I’m afraid they’ll be like me—rekindling from dead ashes.”

Lan Shanjun couldn’t help but laugh aloud. She remembered she had once said he was the ashes of the thirty-first year of Yuanshao.

She laughed, and Yu Qingwu laughed along. Laughing and laughing, their gazes met.

Lan Shanjun paused but didn’t look away.

She had the appearance of having something to say.

Yu Qingwu’s body, which had already deflated like dried meat, began inflating again.

He knew that whether he and Shanjun would succeed depended on this moment.

Human Yu-jerky pulled out a quail egg to replenish his qi—Nanny Qian had said he couldn’t eat chicken eggs anymore and gave him smaller quail eggs instead.

But though quail eggs were also eggs, they ultimately lacked a certain imposing air. After all, the two characters for “quail” sounded quite unpleasant.

So after failing to speak for a long time, he blamed this on the quail, murmuring: “Shanjun, wait while I go exchange this for a chicken egg.”

Lan Shanjun found this amusing, then sighed: “Don’t be nervous.”

Yu Qingwu, seeing he couldn’t leave, tremblingly peeled the eggshell: “I’m not nervous.”

Lan Shanjun: “Yu Qingwu—”

Yu Qingwu nervously looked up, awaiting her judgment of him.

Actually, Shanjun didn’t need to make a decision so quickly. Their days ahead were still long—she could still slowly get to know him…

Lan Shanjun: “The hundred years of cultivation to cross the river together that you want—we can try it.”

The quail egg in Yu Qingwu’s hand fell to the ground.

Fortunately, he hadn’t told her to speak of it later.

His nose stung: “Shanjun…”

“I thought I would never hear those words.”

If she had experienced nothing, he could deceive her. Even if in the end they couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood, as long as he knew his own feelings were true, that would be enough.

But Shanjun had suffered too much.

He was unwilling to deceive her. Also unwilling for her to expend mental effort deceiving him.

For Shanjun to live—to live with such gentle resilience and clarity—was already not easy.

Romance, love and affection—these were no longer places she needed to pass through on her life’s road.

So he understood too well how much courage it took for her to say these words.

Her path had been straight, but after meeting him, she had turned a corner.

He lowered his head, nodding continuously, nodding again, and said: “When you don’t want me anymore, just tell me, and I’ll go sleep on the couch.”

Lan Shanjun paused, a strange feeling welling up in her heart.

Perhaps it was love.

This feeling was quite good.

But she didn’t know what to say. Yu Qingwu, usually so eloquent, also just sat there inflating himself, unable to utter a single word.

Lan Shanjun thought for a moment, then added: “The Crown Princess told me.”

Yu Qingwu suppressed his excitement, trying not to embarrass himself: “What did she say?”

Lan Shanjun said gently: “The Crown Princess said that when the Empress wanted to sacrifice you… you knew, but weren’t angry. You only thanked her on my behalf.”

Speaking to this point, she couldn’t help but choke up: “You thanked her on my behalf for being willing to preserve my life.”

She took a deep breath. “Yu Qingwu, aren’t you angry?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingwu shook his head and only asked softly: “Shanjun, are you crying for me?”

“Yes.”

Yu Qingwu smiled and consoled: “You see, it doesn’t matter. I’ve never feared being abandoned.”

“Because, Shanjun…”

“—Since the moment you and I met, you have never abandoned me.”

That was enough.