That day’s weather was truly incredible.

Though the morning sun blazed brightly in the sky, snow fell for hundreds of li around. The snow drifted for an entire day, but by evening it had stopped. A streak of deep red twilight reflected on the distant mountains’ evening snow, and for a moment, the endless snow seemed draped in a thin layer of red gauze, magnificent yet clear and beautiful.

Song Langsheng lifted me up without warning, strolling through the vast white world. Behind us was evening snow and deep twilight, and when he lowered his eyes to speak softly, his elegance was supreme.

I looked at him anxiously, my mind repeatedly echoing what he had just said, feeling as if my entire being was floating. “You… are you in my dream right now?”

Song Langsheng smiled faintly, “It’s not a dream.”

My mind was completely muddled, “Every time you enter my dreams, you say it’s not a dream.”

His smile was gentle and warm, “It’s not a dream.”

The emptiness in my heart seemed suddenly filled by this smile. I shook my head, murmuring, “No, you, how could you smile at me like this? You’re clearly angry with me, and besides, I haven’t told you anything, so how could you know I’m that little sister…”

Song Langsheng’s expression paused, “Why have you never told me? You’ve hidden it from me for so many years – naturally I’m very angry.”

Having walked too long in the snow, I was so frozen my tongue wouldn’t work properly, “I didn’t intentionally hide it from you…” Seeing his smile seemed to carry a hint of melancholy, “You… never smile when you’re angry, so… even if this is a dream, it should be more realistic…”

After listening, Song Langsheng stopped walking again. He carefully set me down, letting my feet rest on top of his shoes, encircling me in his arms with one hand while his other hand gently caressed my neck. “Since this is a dream, can it follow my heart’s desire?”

I stared blankly, not having time to answer his words before he had already lowered his head and gently kissed my lips.

My mind went completely blank, unable to salvage what little consciousness remained, “You…”

Accompanied by a soft laugh, warm lips covered mine again, carrying traces of coolness that spread in circles toward my heart.

Lips turned and pressed against lips, starting as gentle, tender kisses, then gradually deepening. I couldn’t tell if it was tender or unrestrained – a flame spread through my body, almost consuming me, yet I couldn’t bear to push him away.

I could no longer distinguish whether this was dream or reality. Both lips and heart were kissed until they burned, and I felt his tongue tip nimbly swirling against my palate, transmitting tingling warmth between us, separating and reuniting, unstoppable and irreplaceable.

I don’t know how long passed before the lengthy kiss gradually stopped. As our lips parted, he asked in a low voice, “Like this, is it real now?”

My thoughts had melted into mush, “I…”

He gently rubbed my cheek with the tip of his nose, “Or perhaps… does the Princess often have such dreams?”

I felt like my entire being had been ignited by this gentle touch, “…You’re the one who often has such dreams!”

“What I do with the Princess in my dreams goes far beyond just this…”

What did he mean by “what we do”… My face burned up at once, “You, you—”

Song Langsheng saw my embarrassment and was smiling mischievously, about to tease me with something, when he caught sight of the dagger I held in my hand. The smile on his lips froze. I followed his gaze downward, feeling the arm around my waist tighten. When I looked up again, I saw his pale face had taken on a layer of frost. “A’Tang…”

I knew what he wanted to say. Having gone through countless hardships to bring back the antidote, naturally he wanted to see me take it before he could be at ease. But… I shook my head, “I know everything now – where you got this medicine, what will happen after taking it. Xiu Zhu told me all of this. Song Langsheng, I still have so many questions I want to ask you, so many things I want to say to you. I can’t just forget everything from these two years in such confusion. Do you understand?”

Fine snow like down slowly fell on his head – it had started snowing again. I heard him sigh softly, and the next moment, I felt my body lift into the air once more as he gathered me back into his embrace. “It’s getting dark. For now, let’s find somewhere to shelter.”

Song Langsheng carried me like this the whole way. I don’t know how long we walked or how far, but before the snow got heavier, we finally found a cave halfway up the mountain.

The cave was quiet and winding – truly the only place on this mountain to shelter from snow. Song Langsheng set me down to rest, went out for just a moment, and somehow found dry firewood and dead branches. After starting a fire, he held me to sit by the fire pile. Seeing my bare feet exposed outside the fox fur, he reached over to cover them, using the warmth of his palms to help me gradually regain feeling. I stared at him in a daze, as if the cold in my heart was also being warmed by him like this. Suddenly I felt that many of my confusions weren’t so important after all. This moment was so good, with him by my side – why worry about too much?

Song Langsheng saw that I had gradually recovered some warmth before releasing his hands. He lifted a corner of the fox fur and also slipped inside. I remembered how during past winters at the Princess Manor we would do this too – like hiding in my bedcovers, then holding me tight and covering us with quilts, using each other’s body warmth for comfort. But now our former bedroom no longer existed, and I couldn’t help feeling sorrowful. After a while, I heard him say, “Do you want to ask first, or shall I speak first?”

I looked up at him. The firelight flickered and reflected in his eyes. “When… did you know I was… that little sister from years ago?”

He looked at me and said, “Yesterday, when I jumped out of the carriage with you.”

At that time?

“I clearly said nothing in the carriage…” I was confused, “Why would you realize it at that moment? And besides, Cai Mi was still lying beside you then…”

Seeing my amazement, he smiled faintly, “From the moment Cai Mi first appeared at the Princess Manor, I knew she wasn’t that little sister from years ago.” He took my hand, “Do you still remember that day when she suddenly appeared, I asked her why she had come to find this place, and how did she answer?”

I tried hard to recall, “She… seemed to say she couldn’t find her big brother anywhere – that is, you – and was also afraid her disappearance would worry me, so she came to the Princess Manor… right?”

Song Langsheng hummed in agreement, “Then do you remember what that little girl who always liked to sneak out from Yulong Manor to meet me privately always liked to impersonate?”

I glared at him – what did he mean by “liked to meet privately”! “Back then I was worried you’d see through me, so I told you I was Big Brother Emperor’s… serving maid…” When I got to this point, I suddenly understood, “So…”

“So,” Song Langsheng continued my words, “since she was a serving maid from the former Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, when looking for old friends she shouldn’t have come to the Princess Manor. When I learned she was the Princess’s palace maid, I became suspicious and tested her with words, even prepared travel money for her, but she put on an act. When you let her stay, she stayed…” His fingertip traced circles in my palm, “That little sister who knew and loved me had such high spirits – if she saw me change my heart, she would leave without a second word. How could she possibly humble herself to live long-term in the Princess Manor?”

My heart was filled with mixed emotions. No wonder Song Langsheng’s attitude toward “little sister” was so decisive then, making me melancholy about it. Thinking back now, I was truly foolish to the extreme. I slowly asked, “Since you had already seen through her, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Cai Mi’s appearance made me suspect whether there was another mastermind behind that year’s escape, whether there were other schemes. I didn’t want you involved. Given your temperament, if you knew, you definitely wouldn’t let it go and might very likely step into a trap set by others…”

Hearing this, I guiltily avoided his gaze. If he knew that later I indeed acted rashly and was led around by the nose by Feng Li, would he be even more annoyed with me? Remembering yesterday, thinking of his despairing look when he saw “me” buried in mud and sand, I asked sheepishly, “Then… are you still angry with me now? Angry that I faked my death, angry that I watched you call my name in the fire but didn’t answer you…”

Song Langsheng said, “Naturally very angry.”

My heart was already full of guilt, and seeing he offered no comfort, remembering the heartless words he’d said to me that day at the Princess Manor, I couldn’t help saying, “But you already knew that Cai Mi was fake, so why yesterday did you still speak so harshly to me, even saying things like ‘severing all ties’…”

“I originally still didn’t believe her, but then you had to go and say things like ‘you’ve been scheming to approach me, investigate me since seven years ago, and sent thousands of troops to force my parents and Cai Mi to death.’ At that time I was already in chaos, still hadn’t figured out what was going on with He Pingzhao and Cai Mi, yet you came to add fuel to the fire and confuse things…”

I said, “What I said was all in anger…”

He looked at me sideways, “What I said was naturally also in anger.”

I glared at him unhappily, “You also said I had a heart like a snake and scorpion!”

“Who was it that called me a treacherous rebel?”

Me: “…”

Seeing I was about to cry, he reached out to ruffle my hair, “However, seeing you safe and sound, sitting properly before me – what could be more important than this?”

“It’s my fault,” I wiped my tears with the back of my hand, “I knew I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that, shouldn’t have fallen into others’ traps, but when you said those things, my heart truly felt dead as ash, so I…”

Song Langsheng said softly, “You also know the situation then. If I had stayed, I could only be manipulated by others. Without turning against you, how could I coerce you into escaping?”

I asked in a daze, “You did it on purpose?”

“Though I was extremely angry with you, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions before understanding the truth,” Song Langsheng’s brow relaxed slightly, “I originally wanted to take you away, to a place with only the two of us to discuss everything in detail.” He paused slightly, “Actually, having been together day and night with the Princess for so many years, I haven’t never considered the possibility that you were that little girl, only…”

“Two years ago on Ling Mountain, I personally heard what you said to Nie Ran. No matter how I thought about it…”

I quickly interrupted, “At that time, what I said wasn’t meant for him to hear, I was…”

“You were saying it for me to hear.” Song Langsheng smiled with certainty, “That day on the mountain, the person you arranged to meet was me, not him. Isn’t that right?”

I pressed my lips together, struggling to suppress the sob that nearly broke from my throat, “But yesterday in the carriage you clearly still… how did you figure it out later?”

The fire crackled, and Song Langsheng reached out to add a few pieces of firewood, “Right after we jumped from the carriage and tumbled into the grass, you thought something had happened to me. I saw how frightened you looked – you were so afraid of losing me. At that moment, I realized I had been wrong. My Princess Xiangyi cares for me so much – how could she be heartless enough to set an ambush to kill me?”

I stared at him blankly as he looked at me quietly and said, “Whether it was the Crown Prince’s trap or Feng Li’s scheme, even if Cai Mi’s ‘evidence’ was more conclusive, or whatever else anyone might say, as long as I believe in the Princess, as long as I understand your heart, how difficult could it be to see through those conspiracies and plots?”

I had never imagined Song Langsheng would give me such an answer.

He was silent for a moment, then said, “Because I trust you, it means someone else must have done these things. For Cai Mi to give me that letter from years ago at such a calculated moment, I’m afraid you never even saw it back then. In that situation, she still didn’t forget to tell me you had once met with me using her name – if that’s not guilty conscience, what is? Thinking of this, what reason do I have not to know who my real little girl is?”

Despite thousands of hardships, even now he still remembered deep affection.

Outside the cave, heavy snow continued to fall. I closed my eyes, feeling an unprecedented warmth and gentleness. Seeing that I hadn’t spoken for a long time, Song Langsheng tilted his head to look at me: “I’ve said so much, yet you still haven’t answered my question. All these years, why have you never mentioned to me that you were that little girl from back then?”

I leaned against his shoulder and told him the whole story from beginning to end.

The bitter waiting under the maple tree at thirteen years old, the long yearning after the broken promise, the stunning reunion at the wine banquet, and… that year when Father Emperor granted our marriage, he had righteously declared he already had a deceased wife and vowed never to marry again.

All these twists and turns, through the days and months – it was all because I was timid and cowardly that we had so many misunderstandings and wasted so many years in vain.

When Song Langsheng heard me describe Cai Mi’s appearance and how I didn’t dare reveal the truth because of that sudden letter, he was so angry he practically wanted to strangle me.

I hung my head as low as possible: “…Many girls in this world would react this way when encountering such situations… After all, if you saw that letter and I couldn’t explain clearly and resolve the misunderstanding, what would I do…”

Song Langsheng tapped my head with his knuckles, “In the end, didn’t you still not trust me?”

I tugged at his sleeve, “Song Langsheng…”

He turned his head away, “Hmph.”

I shook his arm, “Prince Consort…”

He said sullenly, “Didn’t the Princess not trust me? Why aren’t you asking me now what happened two years ago? Why don’t you ask why I secretly met with remnants of the former dynasty? Why don’t you ask why I colluded with Marquis Xia Yang, why I would ally with Feng Li?”

When he said this, I suddenly thought of another matter, “There’s something you must tell me the truth about honestly, absolutely cannot deceive or hide from me again.” I poured the antidote hidden in the dagger into my palm, “Xiu Zhu said that to get the antidote, you made a deal with Nie Guang. What exactly was this deal?”

He frowned slightly. Seeing he didn’t answer, my heart clenched, “Did you promise him something you didn’t want to promise? Does he want you to be some kind of scapegoat? Don’t tell me he also made you take some poison?”

Song Langsheng pinched my cheek, “The Princess’s imagination really advances a thousand li in a day…”

I looked directly at him, “Don’t deflect with irrelevant talk.”

“Do I look like someone so easily controlled by others?” Song Langsheng’s eyes curved slightly at the corners, “No, please be at ease.”

“Then… how could Nie Guang possibly…”

“I only told him the secret imperial genealogy passed down by the former dynasty’s royal family.” Song Langsheng smiled calmly, “I know that’s the key to opening the secret vault. Although these two years, both Nie Guang and Feng Li have hinted around about it, I always pretended not to know… Now, I’m afraid Nie Guang never imagined that Feng Li was already a step ahead of him, having found the method to open the stone door from you…”

I was stunned, my heart even more suspicious, “You knew about the existence of the former dynasty’s secret place early on? How did you learn of it? Your father back then… clearly didn’t tell you the location of that secret place, which is why he was silenced by Feng Li, why the Wu family suffered complete annihilation… Or are you saying you knew your identity as the former dynasty’s imperial heir all along?”

Song Langsheng hesitated, saying, “Princess… do you really want to know the truth?”

“Yes,” I said.

“A’Tang.” Song Langsheng looked at me deeply for a moment, gazing at me, “The one who told me about the existence of the former dynasty’s secret place was none other than His Majesty.”

My whole body shook.

“The one who told me my father Jun Jinzhi was the former dynasty’s Prince Rui was also the current emperor.”

—————————————————Second Update—————————————————

I stared at him dumbfounded, not knowing what expression to make. Song Langsheng blinked extremely slowly, “Just over two years ago, shortly after I brought the Princess back to the capital from Chen Family Village, when His Majesty had not yet recovered from his serious illness, one day he summoned me alone to the imperial study. He told me that the Crown Prince had informed him that my father was Jun Jinzhi from the treason case. His Majesty asked, ‘Regarding this, what else do you have to say?'”

At that time, Song Langsheng had long anticipated this day would come. He knew even more that Father Emperor could not possibly spare his life. The only person he couldn’t let go of was me. So he said: “This subject has nothing to say, only begs Your Majesty not to take anger out on the Princess. The Princess knows nothing of this subject’s past. If Your Majesty could execute this subject privately, that would be best.”

Father Emperor was silent for a very long time, then slowly asked: “Song Langsheng, do you know who Jun Jinzhi really was?”

Song Langsheng looked up in confusion.

Father Emperor told him that Jun Jinzhi was none other than the famous Prince Rui of the former dynasty. Seeing Song Langsheng’s disbelief, Father Emperor calmly had him open several chests of former dynasty artifacts, among which were many antiques, calligraphy and paintings that had belonged to Prince Rui – these were spoils of war that Father Emperor had seized when conquering the imperial palace.

How could Song Langsheng not recognize his father’s handwriting?

Father Emperor said, when the Crown Prince told him, he wasn’t surprised at all. Do you know why? Because he had long known exactly what kind of person his precious princess had married.

Song Langsheng asked Father Emperor: “These things even this subject didn’t know about – how could Your Majesty know them so clearly?”

Father Emperor had Song Langsheng open the last chest. The chest was filled with scroll paintings.

Song Langsheng unrolled the paintings – every painting depicted the same person, who was his mother.

He looked at Father Emperor in disbelief. There was actually some bitterness in Father Emperor’s eyes, “Your mother’s original name was Wen Chu, from Cai County in Huainan. She was… when I was young, my betrothed wife who never made it through the door.”

Father Emperor told a story.

The story told of a young man and woman who were childhood sweethearts. The girl was the most beautiful in the town, with many men utterly smitten with her, yet she loved only that young man. But fate played cruel tricks – when the girl came of age, the most powerful Prince Rui of the current dynasty passed through Huainan, took a fancy to her, and forcibly took her.

The girl lost her virtue and was filled with such pain she wished to die, no longer having the face to meet the young man. She had originally wanted to seek death, but when she discovered she was carrying Prince Rui’s child, she decided to give birth to the baby.

The young man learned of everything and was unwilling to let his beloved woman bear another man’s child. He secretly put abortion medicine in her food, but unexpectedly, the medicine not only made her lose the child in her womb – the doctor said she would never be able to have children of her own in this lifetime.

That love between them also came to an end because of this.

Later, the young man was conscripted into the army and left Cai County. When he returned to his hometown many years later, he heard people say that shortly after he left that year, Prince Rui had returned again and taken her away from Cai County.

After that, times changed. He conquered this realm and ascended the throne as emperor, never again seeing that girl.

Only during midnight dreams would his heart ache unbearably, entrusting his longing to paintings.

Until one day when he traveled incognito and encountered her again in a small teahouse in the capital.

He was overjoyed and wanted to express his years of yearning, but discovered she was harmoniously married to her husband and even had a son.

A romantic figure like the former Prince Rui was willing to abandon everything for that girl, and now even after the change of dynasties, she still remained faithfully by his side – such devotion could no longer be shaken by outsiders.

After returning to the palace, he sent people to investigate them, not only discovering Jun Jinzhi’s identity but also learning that the boy was not their biological child, merely a weak, abandoned infant they had found on a snowy night years ago.

That abandoned baby, raised as their own flesh and blood, was Song Langsheng.

After listening to Father Emperor’s recollection, Song Langsheng sat quietly beside the portrait, speechless for a long time.

Father Emperor sighed deeply and said, “This is also why when your family fled the capital that year, I did not send people to hunt you down completely. I… after all, owe your mother too much.”

Song Langsheng closed the scroll and asked, “Back then, it truly wasn’t Your Majesty who sent people to assassinate my parents?”

Father Emperor said, “If I wanted to kill, I would have killed directly. Why would I let the tiger return to the mountain only to send assassins later?”

Song Langsheng’s heart felt desolate. He had painstakingly schemed to reach this position to clear his father’s name, but now he not only learned of his father’s identity as the former dynasty’s imperial heir, but also discovered he wasn’t even biological. His long-held beliefs collapsed completely. “Since Your Majesty knew of my background early on, why did you still recruit me to serve in court and bestow the Princess upon me?”

Father Emperor didn’t answer. He looked steadily at Song Langsheng for a while, only saying, “Your conduct has been upright. In your years as an official, what you’ve done for the court and the people, I have seen it all.”

This naturally couldn’t be the real reason.

Father Emperor continued, “Xiangyi, in order to protect you, was willing to hide from me, risking the crime of deceiving the emperor just to marry you. In this world, how could there be parents who could overcome their children’s wishes?”

Even if he doted on the Princess, as an emperor how could he easily marry his daughter to someone connected to the former dynasty?

Moreover, this Princess also bore heavy responsibilities, holding the great power of regency.

Seeing Father Emperor speak this way, Song Langsheng clearly didn’t want to discuss it deeply. “Since Your Majesty doesn’t wish to pursue this subject’s background, why summon this subject to the palace today?”

Father Emperor was slightly startled.

Song Langsheng had suddenly learned of his background, yet not only didn’t react with the expected hatred or anger, but instead remained clear and calm, peacefully inquiring about Father Emperor’s true intentions after accepting the facts. Such depth of character was beyond ordinary people.

Father Emperor slowly stood up, walked past Song Langsheng, and said with hands behind his back, “I originally truly wanted you and Xiangyi to stay together forever. If not for reaching the end of my rope, I wouldn’t want to see Xiangyi sad and distressed.”

“Now, treacherous ministers dominate the court, loyalty and treachery are indistinguishable in the military, externally there’s the ambitious Marquis Xia Yang, former dynasty remnants are watching like tigers, and even my own brothers are waiting for me to fall so they can make their move.” Father Emperor sighed, “The Crown Prince is still young and inexperienced, insufficient to handle this chaos.”

Father Emperor slowly turned back, twilight reflecting on his graying hair. “I… need your strength.”

Song Langsheng said calmly, “This subject is merely a lowly Chief of the Court of Judicial Review, I’m afraid I cannot share Your Majesty’s burdens.”

“Perhaps others cannot, but you can.” Father Emperor said, “You are the only imperial heir in the eyes of former dynasty remnants. As long as you find the secret place Prince Rui left for you, you will surely be able to rally support and catch the greatest threat in one net.”

Song Langsheng’s heart turned cold. Father Emperor’s meaning couldn’t be clearer – if he became the rebel leader, he would naturally learn who the rebels lurking in court were, thus drawing out the snakes from their holes and winning through danger.

Song Langsheng said without hesitation, “Even if this subject isn’t biological, my father has treated me as his own son for many years. I haven’t yet repaid his nurturing grace, let alone exploit it to trap father’s former subordinates in unrighteousness. This subject… must respectfully decline.”

Father Emperor said angrily, “Can you just watch treacherous ministers and rebels stir up bloody storms, let peaceful common people fall into warfare, let Xiangyi fall into danger to protect my realm?”

Song Langsheng said, “If such a day truly comes, all this subject can do is take the Princess far away. As for other matters, this subject is just an ordinary person, powerless to change fate.”

“What fine words about being powerless to change fate! Do you know you—” Father Emperor’s voice stopped, but he was so angry he couldn’t stand straight. Song Langsheng quickly rose to support him, calling for someone to summon the imperial physician. At this time Father Emperor caught his breath and said, “I thought you cared about the common people and would never abandon public duty for private matters, never sacrifice great righteousness for small details. Now it seems I… was wrong.”

Father Emperor’s words not only shocked Song Langsheng at the time, but also left me speechless for a long time after hearing the truth.

I never knew Father Emperor’s ideological awareness was so high, nor that his expectations of Song Langsheng were so great.

I said, “Father Emperor would never give up there. If you couldn’t be used by him, given his methods, he probably couldn’t let you live… So this is why you grew cold toward me afterward?”

Song Langsheng’s gaze flickered slightly, “If you knew everything, you would surely fight to save me. I really didn’t want to implicate you further.”

I remembered that cold, rainy night when Father Emperor had punished him to kneel before the throne for some unknown reason. When I wanted to accompany him, he said coldly and distantly, “Those words were always what the Princess said, not me.”

At that time, with what kind of feelings was he rejecting my affection?

Thinking of this, I couldn’t help hugging Song Langsheng tightly. Seeing me so clingy, he actually smiled slightly, “It’s all in the past. Aren’t I here safe and sound now?”

“Mm…” I said softly, “But later, why did you…”

“Later, Nie Guang somehow learned I was Jun Jinzhi’s son and found me, telling me some passionate rhetoric. Heh… perhaps Your Majesty was right – the so-called restoration of the former dynasty was just a lie Nie Guang wove to achieve his own ambitions,” Song Langsheng said slowly, “But regardless of what’s true or false, I already had no way back.”

No way back.

Even if he persisted to the end, Father Emperor would still kill him and announce to the world that the former dynasty’s imperial bloodline was severed, cutting off Nie Guang’s pretext of restoring the old master.

If the current Prince Consort was executed under this name, even I would be implicated and lose power, possibly unable to preserve my life.

Song Langsheng said, “If this conspiracy cannot be stopped, when will the realm ever have peace?”

My gaze never left him from beginning to end, “Two years ago on Ling Mountain, you pretended to poison me as proof of loyalty to gain Nie Guang’s trust?”

“Yes.”

I felt vaguely uneasy, “But now you went to seek the antidote to save my life. If Nie Guang knows you still care about my life and death, how could he trust you again? If things fail…”

If things failed, you could only be eliminated together as treacherous rebels.

Song Langsheng smiled, “Don’t trust me again? These two years of careful planning were precisely for this battle. I have confidence in certain victory.”

I looked at him steadily. His smile remained the same, his eyes calm and gentle, as if he truly had everything under control.

I closed my eyes, “But I still don’t understand why Father Emperor didn’t tell the Crown Prince the entire plan but let you fight alone…”

“He naturally has his considerations.”

I was anxious, “But, but he’s been unconscious the whole time. If the Crown Prince continues to misunderstand, if…”

A gentle kiss blocked my words at my lips.

I slowly opened my eyes. In the pupils so close to me, infinite tenderness mixed with traces of weariness melted away. He smiled softly, “Even if there really are ‘ifs,’ with you by my side, what do I have to fear?”

To me, he was just such a person.

Someone I couldn’t harden my heart against when he spoke gently to me, someone I couldn’t look away from when he smiled at me.

In an instant, all the confusion in my heart transformed into peace of mind. Something sweet overflowed from my chest – with him here, what was there to fear?

I shook the pill pinched between my fingertips, “You just don’t want to say more to me – you won’t be at ease unless I take the antidote.”

Song Langsheng held his forehead and shook his head repeatedly, “After you take the antidote, you’ll still forget everything I just said, and I’ll have to explain it all over again. It’s truly extremely troublesome.”

I glared at him reproachfully, but my heart was filled with joy and sorrow intertwined like thousands of threads, “Will you really tell me everything that happened these two years, word for word?”

Song Langsheng sighed helplessly, clearly feeling that explaining two years of rights and wrongs with just his mouth was a hopeless task, “I’ll try my best.” He paused, “Oh, but I won’t mention anything about Xu Fang.”

My heart jumped, “Why?”

Song Langsheng revealed a smile with a hint of mischief, “I was quite bothered that you once admired someone other than me. This is just perfect – you’ll forget him completely. From now on, whether past or future, you can only have me in your eyes and heart.”

I said dissatisfied, “Hey, how can you do that…”

Song Langsheng smiled slowly, “Because I am the same.”

I stared at him blankly.

“Back then, I promised that little girl I would marry her properly as my little wife, but I failed to keep that promise. Later, I fell in love with that imperious Princess Xiangyi, feeling ashamed not only for my fickleness but also for not being able to love her wholeheartedly.”

Something seemed to overflow from my heart. I looked steadily at the gentle light in his eyes, hearing him say, “A’Tang, that you are that little girl – how wonderful.”

“Little girl. That you are Her Highness the Princess – how wonderful.”

I raised my head to gently kiss his brow, “Me too. Big brother. And also, Prince Consort.”

To be able to walk hand in hand to this day, not betraying our promise.

How wonderful.

I took the antidote with relief. Seeing Song Langsheng finally breathe a sigh of relief, I couldn’t help asking, “How long after taking this antidote will I lose my memory?”

Song Langsheng lowered his eyes and said, “Within an hour you’ll become drowsy. After sleeping, when you wake from the dream, everything will return to normal.”

I smiled, “Then when I wake up, won’t I have returned to being eighteen overnight?”

Song Langsheng made a sound of acknowledgment, “Mentally yes, physically no.”

I knocked his head once, “No good. If I forget everything completely, who knows how you’ll fool me? If I’m played around by you and suffer losses, what then?”

He laughed heartily, “Then what do you want to do?”

After speaking, I got up and looked around, finally ignoring his protests and forcibly removing his outer garment, using charcoal to write on the fabric: “The Prince Consort is the person in the whole world who loves the Princess most most most.”

Song Langsheng leaned over to glance at it, “You wrote it backwards.”

I ignored him and continued scribbling: “From now on, this Princess will never distrust the Prince Consort again. This feeling is unwavering unto death.”

After writing, I drew a special little flower – my own creation, a unique Tang flower that belonged only to me.

I smiled as I helped him put on his clothes, saying, “With this, you don’t need to worry about me waking up and still misunderstanding you.”

Song Langsheng’s smile remained, ruffling my hair, “Good, whatever you say.”

That was the happiest night I’d had in many years.

Outside the cave snow flew through the sky, inside the cave the fire burned bright.

I nestled in his embrace until heavy drowsiness came over me. Even with my eyes closed, I could still feel him beside me, gently stroking my back.

I suddenly felt so reluctant to part, wanting to keep his smile and his eyes imprinted in my heart – perhaps that way, I could remember this deep, unrepentant love.

So even as my mind gradually sank into a whirlpool, with such feelings, I was actually able to open my eyes with consciousness once more.

Then I saw him, a few steps away from me, slowly removing that outer garment covered with writing and throwing it into the fire.

The firelight illuminated his face, which bore an expression of sorrowful determination.

When he turned his head, he met my gaze exactly, and his whole body shook, “A, A’Tang…”

I looked at him in disbelief, my heart instantly feeling as if it were being cut by many fine knives, “Why…”

Song Langsheng quickly came to my side, using all his strength to tremblingly embrace me, “A’Tang… I’m sorry…”

Why?

Why couldn’t I see that he had been trying so hard to hide something behind his smile?

Why?

Why didn’t I carefully consider the many unreasonable aspects in his conversation with Father Emperor?

Why?

Why was it only at this moment, when I had no strength left to open my eyes and was about to forget everything, that I understood it all?

—(End of Chapter)