Most of Chang’an’s theaters were concentrated in the Jinchang District’s Daci’en Temple. Mu Wanyao went there with Yang Si to watch plays. In this era, temples served many functions beyond worship and seeking blessings – they provided lodging for scholars, care for the sick, venues for Buddhist masters to preach and entertainment spaces. As one of Chang’an’s most renowned temples, Daci’en had special seating reserved for princesses during performances.

However, today Mu Wanyao and Yang Si didn’t use their noble privileges. Instead, they mixed with the common people, spending the afternoon watching plays like ordinary citizens. The temple would light lanterns in the evening, but it started raining at dusk. People hurried into the temple halls and corridors to escape the rain. Yang Si and Mu Wanyao also followed the crowd to take shelter under the eaves. As soon as they reached cover, Wanyao shivered, and Yang Si immediately took off his outer robe to drape it over her shoulders.

She glanced at him.

The tall, handsome youth who was like an older brother to her rested his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. That carefree attitude belonged uniquely to Third Young Master Yang. Mu Wanyao couldn’t help but smile too, contentedly accepting Yang Si’s robe around her shoulders.

Together they watched the sudden downpour beneath the darkening sky, observing other commoners still darting through the rain searching for shelter.

Mu Wanyao suddenly pressed her lips together in a smile.

Yang Si asked, “What is it?”

Looking at the people seeking shelter from the rain, Mu Wanyao said softly, “I was thinking, if Yan were here, he would go down there to help people with umbrellas or direct them where to take shelter.”

Yang Si paused briefly.

“He likes to meddle that much?” he asked.

Mu Wanyao replied quietly, “Mm.”

She narrowed her eyes, which had grown misty from the rain. Her voice was gentle: “That’s how I met him – he meddled by showing me where to take shelter from the rain.”

If not for that first meeting, when he interfered to show her where to shelter from the rain, they wouldn’t have the relationship they do today.

Yang Si studied her face intently, noting her snow-white profile, dark eyes, and long lashes. She gazed peacefully at the heavy rain, looking so serene and lovely… somewhat like the Mu Wanyao he used to know.

Yang Si said softly, “That’s good.”

This way he could leave Chang’an with peace of mind, entrusting Mu Wanyao to Yan Shang. Someone trusted by a princess covered in thorns must be worthy of his trust, right?

Mu Wanyao didn’t ask what he meant by “that’s good,” but instead asked, “When are you leaving the capital?”

Yang Si smiled. “Tonight.”

Mu Wanyao turned to him in surprise: “So soon? Are you going alone?”

Yang Si clicked his tongue and said carelessly, “What else? I have nothing keeping me in Chang’an, no attachments anymore. Better to leave sooner than later, why keep hanging on?”

Mu Wanyao said quietly, “Third Young Master Yang has always been such a free spirit, unbound by anyone.”

Yang Si was silent for a moment before giving a self-mocking laugh.

He said, “I’m constrained by others too, not as free as you imagine.”

Seeing Mu Wanyao’s skeptical look, Yang Si continued, “I hope for my father and mother’s health and safety, and for those I care about to live well.”

He paused briefly before lowering his voice: “I also hope that by going to Longyou, I can help Elder Brother Lang.”

Mu Wanyao remained silent.

The “Elder Brother Lang” Yang Si spoke of was naturally the Crown Prince, Mu Lang. It’s just that no one else would address him so casually as Yang Si did.

They kept their distance from others, with guards preventing common people from approaching. Yang Si spoke calmly: “Elder Brother Lang has never had military power. Chang’an is controlled so tightly by the Prince of Qin’s forces that he can barely move. He finally managed to infiltrate the Ministry of War a bit through the military exercises, getting the Prince of Qin confined to his residence… and now I’m leaving, forcing him to rearrange his plans in Chang’an.

“I just hope that by starting as a common soldier in Longyou, I can make some difference. If someday I can fight my way to a general’s position in Longyou through my efforts, Elder Brother Lang’s situation in Chang’an will improve somewhat. A Crown Prince who finally gained control of finances but has no military power… it’s more laughable than even a commandery prince.”

Mu Wanyao said, “You’re so good to him.”

Yang Si didn’t say more.

His good relationship with the Crown Prince was well known, requiring no further explanation. Though the Crown Prince needed him in Chang’an, he let him leave. And as he fought on the killing fields of Longyou, he hoped to help the Crown Prince.

Yang Si looked down at her earnestly: “Yao Yao, I hope after I leave, you can get along peacefully with His Highness.”

Mu Wanyao said mockingly: “That depends on him, doesn’t it? He’s my natural choice, I have no other options. But he treats me, his sister, with less sincerity than he treats you, an outsider. Of course, I want to get along and cooperate well with him. But I can’t make any promises.

“Third Brother Yang, you hope for the best for all of us. I also hope we can each get what we need. But there are prerequisites for all this, aren’t there?”

Yang Si looked down at her without speaking, reaching out to ruffle her hair. He lifted his head to watch the rain, which had begun to ease slightly. Mu Wanyao heard Yang Si sigh.

It pained Mu Wanyao’s heart to hear such a free-spirited person sigh.

Mu Wanyao lowered her gaze: “I’m not the Mu Wanyao you remember anymore.”

She could still come watch plays at Daci’en Temple with Yang Si, but the little princess who used to follow closely behind him in her youth was gone forever. She could pretend to still be who she was then, but both she and Yang Si knew that even watching a play together couldn’t take them back to the past.

Yang Si looked down at her and said, “Don’t say that, Yao Yao. Everyone grows up. After everything you’ve been through… wouldn’t it be terrible if you were still the same as before?”

Mu Wanyao lifted her face, her eyes dark as water as she looked at him.

He bent down to meet her gaze and said, “I have many regrets too. I regret not taking you away when you were sent to marry. I regret not following you to Wuman. I regret being the third son of the Yang family, unable to do as I please.

“So many times I had the impulse to go find you, but was always stopped. Sometimes I even regret… why weren’t we betrothed in our earlier years, even earlier?”

He gazed at her steadily: “Sometimes I think, if we had been engaged then, maybe you wouldn’t have had to marry abroad. I wanted to protect you, but I didn’t have the ability. You don’t know how many times I’ve hated myself for this.”

Mu Wanyao pressed her lips together.

Her eyes were watery with rain. Except for when she was with Yan Shang, she had completely given up crying in front of anyone.

So she couldn’t cry now either, she just felt pain in her heart and a sense of grievance.

Mu Wanyao finally lowered her eyes and smiled: “I believe you. But I’m doing well now, aren’t I?”

Yang Si made a sound of agreement.

He straightened up and said nothing more. He kept his arm around her shoulders as they watched the gradually lessening rain together.

As the rain diminished, darkness fell. Lanterns began to light up throughout the temple – along the walls, in the courtyard, and along the corridors.

The world became both dark and bright, and the drizzle couldn’t extinguish the lanterns. The crowds sheltering in the corridors grew lively again, venturing out despite the light rain to view the lanterns and make offerings.

Mu Wanyao heard Yang Si say beside her ear: “Yao Yao, we can’t go back to the past to make up for regrets. But we still have the future.”

This was the most important thing Yang Si, not yet of age and still a youth, ever said to Mu Wanyao. For years and years, day and night, when she woke from dreams at midnight, she would often recall these words—

After that, Yang Si bid farewell to Mu Wanyao, saying he needed to leave the city. Feeling reluctant to part, Mu Wanyao brought her horse and said she would escort him. Yang Si thought to himself that they would have to part eventually no matter how far she accompanied him, so what was the point?

But after one look at Mu Wanyao, he silently allowed her to escort him.

The two rode out from the temple, traveling through the night. The world after the rain was filled with rich dampness, with the scents of earth and flowers hanging in the air. Quiet and still, threading through everything. They chatted while riding, just like in old times—

Yang Si called out loudly from his horse: “Speaking of which, I should thank Second Young Master Yan for taking you, such a difficult woman, off my hands.”

Riding behind his straight, tall figure, Mu Wanyao glared at him through her veil: “Nonsense! He hasn’t taken me anywhere.”

Yang Si turned to look at her, smiling: “What, are you planning to lead him on and then abandon him? That’s too cruel, Yao Yao.”

Mu Wanyao: “My situation is complicated, not simple like yours.”

Yang Si: “You just can’t let go of the benefits. Aren’t you just caught between the Crown Prince and the Li family? The Li family can only count on you now, you don’t need to watch everyone’s faces. Are you planning to never marry? One failed marriage making you avoid it forever?

“If I were you, I’d have agreed to marry Second Young Master Yan already. He’s so easy to bully.”

Mu Wanyao retorted: “Of course you’d be willing! You’ve said before you like that type of woman, you’re always asking me if there’s a female version of Yan Er. You have some nerve!”

Yang Si burst out laughing.

He said casually: “Why not? Brother and sister that we are, don’t we have the same taste in the opposite sex? Speaking of which, does Second Young Master Yan not have a sister?”

Mu Wanyao: “No! Stop dreaming!”

Yang Si expressed his regret, then tried to persuade her again: “A good man won’t wait forever, if you keep waiting, he’ll be gone. In the end, everything comes down to taking that final step. You’re always so hesitant and afraid, don’t let yourself miss out. You need to be more honest… though Yan Suchen has a good temper, you shouldn’t play with his feelings. How could you bear to toy with him?”

Mu Wanyao thought to herself how simple he made it sound.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

She said: “Thinking back now, it would have been better if I hadn’t gone to Lingnan. The Crown Prince was forcing me to marry you anyway, marrying you would have been fine.”

Yang Si: “No! Let’s not torture each other! I liked the former gentle sister Mu Wanyao, not the current fierce Mu Wanyao. I want a heart as pure as crystal that belongs only to me. You don’t have that anymore, don’t come to torment me.”

Being rejected so thoroughly made Mu Wanyao angry. She gripped her reins tighter and spurred forward, whipping Yang Si’s horse. The startled horse reared up and bolted.

But Yang Si wasn’t worried at all. He easily regained control of his mount. As the horse charged forward, his hearty laughter carried back on the wind: “Angry because you’re embarrassed, aren’t you? Hahaha…”

Hearing his laughter, Mu Wanyao couldn’t help but smile.

She spat: “Madman.”

And had no choice but to chase after him.

The guards following far behind their young lord and the princess saw the two laughing and talking, chasing each other, so carefree and at ease. The guards also felt relaxed, not worried about the princess being in danger. After all, Third Young Master Yang was there.

The two dismounted before the city gate, presented their tokens, and led their horses out through the gate.

With their conversation drawing to a close, Yang Si offered one last piece of advice: “Whatever troubles you have, you should tell Second Young Master Yan. Even if you can’t marry him, you need to say so. Keep it bottled up until you both end up hurt – there are too many cases like that. Yao Yao, don’t act like you can’t speak.”

Mu Wanyao retorted: “If I speak up, I’ll scare him away.”

Yang Si turned back: “Maybe you won’t? Why don’t you try? Can’t you have a little more faith in people?”

Mu Wanyao’s eyes flickered: “Ah…”

She saw a group of dark figures standing at the city gate as if waiting for someone. She recognized the person at the front and was about to warn Yang Si, but he was still joking with her. As he turned his head and saw the people outside the city gate, he suddenly drew in a sharp breath.

Yang Si immediately stood up straighter, his tone becoming serious: “Father… why are you here?”

Master Yang, leading household guards, was waiting outside the city gate for his son. Seeing his son with the princess, noting Mu Wanyao’s cold expression and Yang Si’s awkwardness, Master Yang merely gave them a calm look without comment.

Though Mu Wanyao’s face remained cold, she shrank back inside. Yang Si’s father was stern-faced and extremely serious. When Yang Si was young, his father often hung him up for beatings… to the point that even now, Mu Wanyao’s calves trembled a bit at the sight of Master Yang.

It was understandable why Yang Si stood so straight.

He was somewhat afraid of his father.

But Master Yang only said: “Your mother was crying inconsolably and insisted I come to see you off. So I came.”

Yang Si scratched his head and said dryly: “…Oh.”

He awkwardly added: “Thank you both for… caring?”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

She felt he deserved another beating.

Yet after many years apart, perhaps because Yang Si had grown too old to beat, or perhaps because Master Yang had aged and could no longer wield the whip effectively, Master Yang showed no reaction to Yang Si’s impudence.

Master Yang said: “You had the Crown Prince come to speak to us on your behalf, saying he was sending you to the battlefield… but don’t we know you? If you didn’t want to go, would His Highness force you? This must be your idea. Our Yang family has never influenced the frontier army, and no one there can look after you. We only have some connections with noble families – if you run into trouble in Longyou, seek their help.

“I can see you’re planning to stay there for years. Take these materials, they might be useful.”

Master Yang’s face remained impassive as he had a guard hand Yang Si a package.

Master Yang glanced at the bundle: “Inside should be clothed and dried food your mother prepared for you, along with some miracle medicines for injuries. Write home often after you arrive.”

Yang Si quietly listened to his father’s arrangements. When his initial fear of being scolded dissipated, his body relaxed, but seeing all these careful preparations made him fall silent again.

After a while, when Master Yang finished giving instructions and turned to head back to the city without hesitation, Yang Si took a step after him: “Father… will my leaving cause you trouble?”

Master Yang turned back: “What trouble?”

Yang Si: “Well, aren’t I our family’s only legitimate son…”

Master Yang: “You need not worry about that. Your father is planning to have another son while I still have the strength. Even if not, we can always adopt one later. Did you think we were counting on you, the legitimate son, to bring glory to our ancestors? We never counted on you for that.”

At these words, Mu Wanyao burst out laughing.

Yang Si glared at her.

Yang Si was also struck speechless by his father, and said with a dry laugh: “Is that so… then I’m relieved.”

Yang Si never took such matters too seriously anyway. After bidding another casual farewell to Mu Wanyao and Master Yang’s group, he mounted his horse and rode off directly. Dust rose behind him like a thick yellow wind. His horsemanship was excellent, cutting a magnificent figure on horseback, and making everyone at the city gate watch his departing figure.

Mu Wanyao stood beside Master Yang and heard him sigh softly.

She heard him say: “Third Son, we never asked you to bring glory to our ancestors, we only wish for you to live safely.

“Don’t die on the battlefield, making us white-haired parents bury you.”

His voice was very low, carrying a sense of desolation that Mu Wanyao had never heard from Master Yang before. She turned to look at him in surprise, and in the darkness, vaguely felt that Master Yang was different from the stern, frightening person she had imagined.

Master Yang said to her: “I must seem amusing to the princess.”

Mu Wanyao felt somewhat flustered and said softly: “I just never imagined… you had this side to you.”

Master Yang: “Did you think I just wanted to beat Yang Si whenever I saw him? Your Highness, are there any parents in the world who don’t love their children?”

Mu Wanyao didn’t respond.

She stood at the city gate, making way and exchanging courtesies with Master Yang before letting his group return to the city first. Afterward, Mu Wanyao glanced at the road outside the city where Yang Si had disappeared, then at Master Yang’s group receding into the city.

Thinking about how she hadn’t seen Yang Si for a long time, she felt a wave of loss and sadness.

Then she answered Master Yang’s question in her heart: Yes, there are. There are parents in the world who don’t love their children—

Mu Wanyao returned to Daci’en Temple. There was no other reason except that her maids were still waiting for her there, and she needed to return to bring them with her.

However, this time when she returned to Daci’en Temple, the rain had stopped, and the temple was bright with lanterns everywhere, illuminating everything. People were shoulder to shoulder, packed densely, giving Mu Wanyao a headache at the sight.

Mu Wanyao sent her guards to find her maids while she waited in one spot at the temple entrance. She had no interest in viewing the temple lanterns, so she removed the veil from her hair and fanned herself with it. As she casually watched people coming and going from the temple, her gaze suddenly fixed on one point.

She saw Yan Shang.

He wore a belted robe in blue-white, his long hair tied with a white ribbon. The ribbon trailed onto his clothes, tangling with his sleeves. As he walked among the crowd, looking around, his elegant and refined appearance stood out distinctly, drawing the attention of countless young women.

When a bold woman approached to speak with him, he was seen politely stepping back three paces to bow, still conversing with the woman who had initiated the conversation, as if asking about something.

Mu Wanyao watched Yan Shang from across the crowd, thinking to herself that so this was how he behaved outside.

Ah, like a jade bamboo, handsome and graceful.

As Yan Shang searched, Mu Wanyao stood outside the crowd observing him. After he stood somewhat lost for a while, his gaze casually turned toward the temple entrance, and at that moment, Mu Wanyao saw him freeze briefly before his eyes brightened slightly.

He showed a relieved smile and began walking toward her.

Mu Wanyao thought to herself: Ah, this person is so dull. Seeing her watching him from across the crowd, deliberately observing him searching, he’s not even angry? Doesn’t he have any temper at all? He was angry with her earlier.

She felt increasingly guilty.

But just as Yan Shang was walking toward her, in the crowd between them, a child suddenly fell and burst into loud tears. Though concerned adults stopped nearby, for a moment no one stepped forward. Mu Wanyao watched as Yan Shang hesitantly glanced at her with an apologetic expression.

Sure enough, as she had expected, he decisively went over, crouched down to look at the child, and began softly consoling and questioning them.

Finally, Mu Wanyao stopped waiting where she was and walked over, standing beside Yan Shang. The temple was crowded with people coming and going. She saw that as Yan Shang crouched there, many people were squeezing past, threatening to knock him and the child in his arms over. With one glance from Mu Wanyao, guards immediately cleared the way, creating an open space.

Mu Wanyao asked Yan Shang: “What’s wrong?”

She saw Yan Shang still holding the child, speaking to them in low tones.

Yan Shang looked up, frowning slightly as he said softly: “He’s lost his parents and has a fever. I want to take him to the temple’s infirmary to wait for his parents to find him. Your Highness…”

Mu Wanyao nodded: “That’s fine.”

She didn’t mind, and Yan Shang breathed a slight sigh of relief as he stood up with the child in his arms.

Perhaps Yan Shang truly had the power to comfort hearts. As Mu Wanyao and the guards followed him to the infirmary, they watched as the child in his arms went from sniffling and sobbing to eventually stopping their tears, contentedly wrapping their arms around Yan Shang’s neck and resting their tired, tear-stained face on his shoulder.

The child looked at the beautiful young woman following behind from Yan Shang’s shoulder.

Mu Wanyao saw that the child was only four or five years old. Though Yan Shang said they had a fever, Mu Wanyao thought they seemed fine, quite normal.

The child began communicating with Mu Wanyao behind Yan Shang: “Big Sister, are you Brother Yan’s wife? Like my father and mother?”

Mu Wanyao didn’t respond.

Yan Shang said softly: “No, this sister isn’t married yet, you shouldn’t say such things.”

The child’s eyes widened in surprise: “Then why is she following you, brother?”

Yan Shang said quietly: “We’re friends.”

The child nodded, half-understanding, and fell silent against Yan Shang’s shoulder.

But Mu Wanyao found it painful to hear. Because of her lack of response, could Yan Shang only say they were friends?—

Finally, they delivered the child to the infirmary, and Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang came out.

Mu Wanyao said: “I thought you would want to stay there until the child’s parents came before you’d feel at ease leaving.”

Yan Shang said quietly: “Your Highness is still here, how could I abandon you? This is enough. My waiting there wouldn’t necessarily mean finding them. I’ve explained to the infirmary staff, I’ll come back tomorrow to check. If the child has found their parents by then, that would be best.”

Mu Wanyao turned her head to look at him and said: “You’re truly kind to everyone.”

Yan Shang looked at her, startled: “Do you dislike me being this way?”

Mu Wanyao thought for a moment: “It’s fine. It’s a bit troublesome, but not dislikeable.”

Yan Shang showed a slight smile.

As they walked under the lanterns, Yan Shang asked softly: “You and Third Young Master Yang… did you have a good afternoon?”

Mu Wanyao: “Mm.”

Yan Shang hesitated again, asking almost anxiously: “When I came to the temple and couldn’t find you, I asked the abbot, but he said he didn’t know. Did you escort Third Young Master Yang back to his residence?”

Mu Wanyao: “I escorted him out of the city. He left directly.”

Yan Shang: “I see.”

He fell silent, and Mu Wanyao turned to study him. She saw his furrowed brow, showing relief but also regret at his pettiness, conflicted about why he felt this way, and finally… yes, a touch of jealousy.

Yan Shang raised his eyes, meeting her gaze.

The bright flames of countless lanterns reflected in both their eyes.

They both froze for a moment, silently looking into each other’s eyes.

The surging crowds around them seemed to fade away. As they gazed at each other, there was a peaceful stillness, an inevitability, as they looked at each other in fascination, unwilling to part.

They each saw the affection in the other’s eyes.

Yan Shang looked at her for a long while, his throat moving slightly, and then he suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand to draw her closer to himself. Yan Shang: “Yao Yao, for my sake, could you with other young men…”

Mu Wanyao didn’t wait for him to finish: “I can.”

He looked at her in surprise.

Mu Wanyao’s gaze was cool: “I never liked any of them anyway, you needn’t worry. I’m not like my aunt, I don’t love many different people in a mess.”

Yan Shang’s eyes showed tenderness as he said softly: “How can you say that? Of course, you’re different from her, I know that in my heart.”

In the flowing crowd, he was too shy to make any more obvious gestures; holding her wrist without letting go was already bold for him.

As Mu Wanyao looked at him, her mind went from Yan Shang’s earlier kindness to the child, to Yang Si’s words about “speaking up and not wasting his time,” to her suffering in Wuman, and even to seeing Yan Shang’s family while in Lingnan…

She suddenly said: “But there is one way I’m the same as my aunt.

“I can’t bear you children.”

In the chaotic crowd, Yan Shang was carefully holding her hand as they walked, afraid she would be bumped by others. She suddenly said this, mixed in with the noisy voices around them, normally impossible to hear. But Yan Shang was so attuned to her that he heard it immediately.

He turned his head to look at her, his grip on her wrist tightening.

He said: “What did you say?”

Mu Wanyao: “I can’t give you children.”

Yan Shang was silent for a long while, then forced a smile and said: “That’s alright, I don’t ask for that. We’re still young, right now I only want to be able to be with you, to be together properly…”

Mu Wanyao gave a slight smile.

But her eyes were cold.

She said: “Yan Shang, you understand my meaning, don’t pretend you don’t. I’m not saying I’m unwilling to give you a child, but that I can’t, I don’t have the ability. I can’t have children.”

Yan Shang stared at her blankly.

The sudden information left him looking at her in confusion.

He held her wrist, and Mu Wanyao could feel his hand trembling slightly. After a long while, he said: “You’re joking with me, aren’t you?”

Mu Wanyao: “What do you think?”

Yan Shang said nothing.

Mu Wanyao smiled at him and said: “Don’t rush to speak to me, don’t rush to respond. You must be confused now, uncertain, unable to tell my true words from false ones. Go home and think about it carefully, and consider this problem thoroughly.

“I didn’t want to say it originally. But I can’t keep deceiving you, taking advantage of your innocence. Yang Si was right, I can’t keep deceiving you just because you’re easy to bully.

“Think it over carefully, Yan Shang.”—

In the Emperor’s sleeping chambers, having just sent away the Crown Prince, the old Emperor couldn’t sleep, deep in thought about his young daughter’s marriage.

Actually, at this point, it didn’t matter to the old Emperor who Mu Wanyao married.

What did it matter if the Li family wanted to ally with the Wei family? Since Mu Wanyao couldn’t have children, this alliance would only be temporary, never amounting to much. Without blood ties, neither the Li family nor the Wei family would truly sacrifice for the other. Setting aside Mu Wanyao, they could certainly arrange other marriages between their families.

But the Li family still couldn’t let go of Mu Wanyao’s royal bloodline.

The Emperor murmured in the darkness: “Yan Shang…”

It wasn’t impossible.

Coming full circle, it was the same person he’d considered arranging for her before. But unlike when the Emperor had wanted to simply get rid of Mu Wanyao, this time, he couldn’t help but make plans for her benefit.

As long as Mu Wanyao liked him, even if he had to use force, he would secure Yan Shang for her.

If Yan Shang couldn’t betray Mu Wanyao, then he would ensure Yan Shang couldn’t have children either… couldn’t have other children threatening Mu Wanyao’s position.

Moreover, Yan Shang would need to become strong enough to protect Mu Wanyao after he was gone.

The Emperor’s love and hatred both carried a cold ruthlessness that chilled the heart.

As the Emperor pondered these things in secret, he had already begun weaving a web of plans, while his expression remained indifferent, as if he didn’t care about his children’s affairs at all. It was precisely this apparent hands-off attitude that… made everyone bold enough to scheme for themselves.