I am invincible, that's why I lie down. You're using your entire clan to rebel?

Night was falling.

The wind in the Northern Mang Palace was even more biting than during the day.

Outside the high walls, snowflakes were whipped up by the gale, swirling in the air, hovering around the eaves of the palace, and then falling back down, making a soft, rustling sound.

The bronze bells on the palace walls were blown by the wind, occasionally emitting a low, hoarse ring, like the ancient palace sighing in the dark night.

The distant mountain ridgeline had been completely swallowed by darkness, its boundary with the night sky blurred into a bottomless inky black. Only the occasional glimpse of moonlight through the clouds outlined a faint silver line on the snow-capped peaks.

Inside the side hall, the charcoal fire was burning brightly.

Several bronze charcoal stoves were placed in the four corners of the hall. The charcoal in the stoves was burning red-hot, and the warm yellow flames reflected on the vermilion pillars in the hall, making the carved and gilded patterns flicker.

The warmth spread outwards layer by layer along the ground, adding a touch of warmth to the originally cold palace.

Qin Mu remained seated at the table, the tea in front of him having been replaced twice, with faint white steam rising from the spouts, though he hadn't drunk any tea for a while.

The map had been put away and stacked on one side of the table along with the scattered folded pages, its corner held down by a celadon paperweight.

Because at this point, he no longer intended to discuss politics.

Jiang Zhaoyue sat next to him, holding an ancient book she had just found in the royal library. It was an old book that recorded the customs of the Northern Mang dynasty. The pages were yellowed and the edges were badly worn.

She turned two pages, but her gaze never truly landed on the words. Her eyes floated vaguely on the paper, as if she were looking through the words at something further away.

She looked up at Qin Mu and saw that he was still leaning back in his chair without moving, so she spoke softly.

"Young master."

"Um?"

"It's getting late."

Qin Mu turned his head slightly, his gaze passing through the palace gate and looking out the window.

A thin veil covered the window frame, making the night outside even more hazy.

He then realized that it was completely dark outside. The faint blue light that had been there just moments before had now sunk into darkness, leaving only the flickering light of a few paper lanterns under the eaves, swaying in the wind.

"Indeed," he said, stretching and making a very faint clicking sound in his shoulder and back joints. "Time to sleep."

Jiang Zhaoyue nodded gently, and was about to close the ancient book in her hand and put it back on the desk when a soft laugh suddenly came from the side.

"Young Master, are you finally willing to sleep?" Chen Ruoyao leaned against the soft couch, a thin blanket draped over her body, her posture relaxed like a lazy cat.

She had been listening quietly to their conversation, toying with a slender silver hairpin in her hand, her fingertips tracing the patterns on the hairpin back and forth, as if she were lost in thought, or perhaps just casually passing the time.

Seeing that Qin Mu had finally finished his official duties, he sat up a little straighter on the soft couch, a smile appearing in his eyes. "Who was it that kept saying there were still things to take care of?"

Qin Mu looked at her: "I, the Emperor."

Chen Ruoyao's lips curved into a smile: "Is it all taken care of now?"

"almost."

"What does 'roughly' mean?"

"There's just a little bit left." Qin Mu said, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the tightly folded book on the table, and his fingers slightly raised, as if he wanted to reach for something.

The next moment, Jiang Zhaoyue reached out and snatched the secret report away.

Qin Mu was taken aback, his finger hovering in mid-air, and turned to look at her: "Zhao Yue."

Jiang Zhaoyue remained calm as she put the secret report into the box beside her: "Go to sleep."

Qin Mu looked at her, then glanced at the box containing the secret fold, opened his mouth as if to argue something, but in the end, the words circled around his lips before he swallowed them back.

He couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head: "You're becoming more and more like an empress."

Jiang Zhaoyue didn't look up, her tone indifferent: "I just feel that if you keep working like this every day, you'll ruin your health sooner or later."

"I'm not that fragile!"

"That won't do either." Jiang Zhaoyue closed the box lid with a soft but firm "click." "You're not allowed to watch it tonight."

Chen Ruoyao, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but laugh. Her laughter was as clear and crisp as a bell: "Sister Jiang is getting stricter and stricter these days."

Jiang Zhaoyue turned to look at her: "Ruoyao, you should go to sleep early too."

"Me?" Chen Ruoyao blinked, the silver hairpin twirling between her fingers again. "I didn't say I wanted to sleep."

Qin Mu immediately became interested and turned to look at her: "So what are you planning to do?"

Chen Ruoyao looked at him with a smile, the candlelight reflecting off her eyes like tiny fragments of light: "Of course, I'm here to watch the show."

"Who are you looking at?"

"Look at you two," she said, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Qin Mu and Jiang Zhaoyue, with a sly, mischievous air about her.

Qin Mu sighed helplessly, his shoulders relaxing slightly: "You have this temper of yours."

Chen Ruoyao sat up from the soft couch, her long hair falling over her shoulders, a few strands landing on her neck, their edges warmed by the candlelight: "But speaking of which, it's really cold here in Beimang."

She rubbed her hands together, her fingertips brushing against each other a few times, then breathed out a puff of white breath. "Even though there's charcoal burning in the room, I still feel cold."

Qin Mu glanced at the corner of the hall: "Then add two more braziers."

"No." Chen Ruoyao shook her head, her tone carrying a hint of willful refusal. "It's too hot."

"So what do you want?"

Chen Ruoyao thought for a moment, her eyes gleaming for a instant in the candlelight, then she suddenly smiled: "It would be better if you got a little closer."

After she finished speaking, without waiting for Qin Mu's response, she moved closer to him, the blanket leaving a shallow crease on the carpet, and sat down beside him.

She sat very naturally, as if she was meant to be in that position, the fabric of her clothes almost level with his shoulder, and warmth silently passed through the edge of the fabric.

Jiang Zhaoyue raised an eyebrow slightly as she watched this scene: "Ruoyao."

"Um?"

"Didn't you just say you were cold?"

"Yes." Chen Ruoyao turned her head to look at her, with an innocent expression on her face.

"And now?"

Chen Ruoyao smiled and brushed her long hair aside: "Much better."

Qin Mu looked at her, then glanced at Jiang Zhaoyue, and was immediately at a loss for words: "You two..."

"What's wrong?" Chen Ruoyao asked deliberately, her voice playful and knowing.

"It's nothing." Qin Mu shook his head, but a helpless smile appeared in the corner of his eyes. "I just feel that the winters in Northern Mang are indeed quite cold."

Jiang Zhaoyue gave a soft hum and said nothing more.

But there was no real anger in that hum; instead, it carried a kind of indulgence that she herself might not have fully realized.

The atmosphere became more relaxed as a result, like a string that had been stretched for too long finally being gently plucked, producing a relaxed and warm echo.

Yunluan stood by the door the whole time.

She stood with her shoulders straight, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her gaze fixed on the direction of the palace gate as usual, like a sword standing quietly in its sheath.

She was originally in charge of guarding, and she never slacked off in her duty.

After hearing their conversation, the usual coldness on her face softened slightly, and the curve of her eyebrows loosened a little, though she herself might not have noticed it.

Qin Mu turned his head to look at her: "Yun Luan."

"Your Majesty." She nodded slightly, turning her gaze from the direction of the palace gate to Qin Mu.

"Don't just stand there either."

Yunluan shook her head: "I'm used to it."

"You don't need to keep watch tonight."

"But……"

"There are other people," Qin Mu said. "This is the Northern Mang Royal Palace. Ordinary guards can't stop those enemies who dare to break in."

Yunluan remained silent, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment, as if to confirm whether his words truly needed no further discussion.

A moment later, she came in, her footsteps so light they barely made a sound on the carpet.

She sat down a little distance from Qin Mu, her posture still upright, her hands resting on her knees, as if she could get up and draw her sword at any moment.

Chen Ruoyao glanced at her and smiled, "Sister Yunluan, why are you sitting so far away?"

Yunluan replied calmly, "That's a convenient place."

"What's so convenient about it?"

"To protect His Majesty," she said naturally, as if the answer itself was the sole reason for her existence.

Chen Ruoyao blinked, then couldn't help but laugh: "All you ever do is protect His Majesty."

Yunluan did not answer, but silently picked up the teacup in front of her.

The tea had gone cold, but she didn't care. She lowered her head and took a sip, her movements still steady.

Looking at the group, Qin Mu suddenly realized that this kind of night was actually quite nice.

There were no power struggles in the imperial court, no suffocating military reports and secret letters, and no tense atmosphere of scheming against or guarding against anyone.

Only a few people sat together, saying unimportant things, chatting about trivial matters, and laughing at jokes that weren't really that funny.

It actually makes people feel exceptionally relaxed, as if they've unloaded something unseen.

Jiang Zhaoyue stood up and gently straightened the folds of her robe: "Young Master."

"Um?"

"It's time to rest."

Qin Mu nodded and stood up as well: "Let's go."

The group prepared to return to their respective rooms.

Just then, a gust of wind suddenly came from outside.

woo-

The window paper vibrated gently in the wind, the paper stuck to the wooden frame bulging and falling back, making a series of fine trembling sounds.

Qin Mu glanced back out the window.

The nights in the Northern Wilderness were indeed terribly cold.

He suddenly thought of someone far away in the north, someone who might be sitting alone in the empty Zhenyue Hall, facing the cold ashes on the ground.

The smile on his lips gradually faded, and his gaze, peering through the gap in the window paper, fell upon the courtyard swallowed by the night. His voice lowered slightly: "I wonder... what Xu Longxiang is doing now."

He spoke softly, as if it were a casual question, but his gaze lingered for a moment longer in the darkness of the night.

……

north.

Zhenyue Hall.

It was also late at night.

The charcoal fire here is almost out, with only a few dark red pieces of charcoal left in the furnace, their edges covered with a thin layer of grayish-white, as if they could cool completely at any moment.

The chill seeped up from the cracks in the floor tiles, slowly creeping up the chair legs and table legs, permeating the entire hall inch by inch.

Xu Longxiang was still sitting there.

I didn't sleep.

The wine jug on the table was half empty, with a drop of liquid still hanging from the spout. It lingered for a long time before finally slowly sliding down and spreading a small, dark, damp stain on the table.

He didn't ask for more wine, nor did he get up to get new wine; he simply sat alone in that large chair, gazing out the window.

The north wind blew through the courtyard, and the withered branches rustled softly in the wind, as if something was whispering in the shadows.

A thin layer of cold air seeped in through the cracks in the window, condensing along the windowsill into a thin layer of frost that gleamed coldly white in the dim candlelight.

He reached for the glass, but it was empty.

My fingertips only touched the slight coolness remaining on the glass and the dried wine stains at the bottom.

Xu Longxiang glanced down and suddenly smiled.

That smile was indescribably bitter, like a fruit that had been held in the mouth for a long time, and after being chewed up, all that was left was a bitter aftertaste, making it difficult to even swallow.

"Even the wine is gone."

He said something in a low voice.

The sound spread through the empty hall, absorbed one by one by the silent furnishings in the darkness.

In the vast Zhenyue Hall, not a single person responded.

At this time in the past, Fan Li would have been by his side.

The two discussed military affairs, the general trend of the world, and how to deal with that person—the young emperor sitting on the dragon throne in the south, whose true nature was becoming increasingly unclear.

Sometimes they would argue, sometimes they would fall silent, and when their opinions differed, they would each hold their teacups and look out the window without saying a word.

But behind those arguments, there's always a figure sitting there, at least not alone.

But today, Fan Li has already left, heading to Northern Mang to handle the matter he personally arranged.

He was the only one left in the entire hall.

Xu Longxiang slowly leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The image of that figure reappeared in my mind: a woman in white, wearing a long skirt, standing in the snow looking back at him.

He couldn't remember how many times he had recalled that scene in the dead of night, each time like an old string being plucked repeatedly, emitting the same hoarse hum.

Luna.

The person he once cherished most is now the person he least wants to think about.

He once thought that as long as he worked hard enough, as long as he controlled the North, accumulated strength, and waited for the right opportunity, he could one day give her a stable future.

But he personally sent her away.

It was sent to someone else.

Xu Longxiang lowered his head, his fingers trembling slightly.

The trembling started from the fingertips, spreading along the knuckles to the palm, subtle and irrepressible.

His gaze fell on the empty wine glass, as if trying to see something broken through it.

He did it himself.

Therefore, he has no right to blame anyone.

But he still feels pain when the night is quiet.

The pain wasn't physical, but rather a void in my heart that no amount of drinking could fill.

"Moon Goddess..."

He whispered the name again, his voice so soft it almost blended into the wind.

He suddenly remembered many years ago.

The moon goddess had not yet left. She stood in the snow, dressed in white, looking back at herself.

At that time, her eyes shone with light, and she once believed that the woman would always stand by her side.

But now everything has changed.

Xu Longxiang slowly closed his eyes, his voice so low it was as if he were saying to himself, "Did I lose?"

No one answered.

Only the north wind howled past the eaves, like an invisible hand, sweeping away the scattered words one by one.

……

The Northern Mang King's Palace.

the other side.

Qin Mu had already entered the inner hall.

The hall was covered with thick carpets, so that it made almost no sound when you stepped on them.

The pipes for the heater were buried underground, and the heat rose slowly along the cracks in the bricks, enveloping the entire room in a gentle warmth. Even though it was freezing cold outside, it was still warm and cozy inside.

Jiang Zhaoyue walked to the bedside and reached out to tidy up the bedding.

She folded the quilt very gently, pressing the edges of the quilt with her fingertips and smoothing out the quilt cover. Every wrinkle was carefully smoothed out, as if she were doing something she had done many times and was already very good at.

Qin Mu stood behind her, quietly watching her busy figure for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Zhaoyue."

"Hmm?" She didn't turn around, still tidying the handkerchief on the pillow.

"When did you start getting involved in these things?"