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

Jiang Zhaoyue paused slightly, then turned her head to look at him: "Young Master, don't you like it?"

"I like it." Qin Mu answered decisively, as if this answer required no consideration.

Jiang Zhaoyue's cheeks flushed slightly, as if she had been exposed to the heat of the charcoal fire, or something else entirely.

But she quickly regained her composure, lowered her eyes, and said in a steady voice, "If you like it, that's good."

Chen Ruoyao walked over from behind, peeked at the two of them, then looked at the already made-up bed, and suddenly asked, "Where am I going to sleep?"

Qin Mu looked at her, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Aren't there other rooms nearby?"

"I don't want to sleep alone." There was a hint of willfulness in her voice, which she herself might not have been serious about.

Why?

"I'm afraid of the cold," Chen Ruoyao said matter-of-factly.

Qin Mu turned his head to look out the window: "Weren't you no longer cold just now?"

Chen Ruoyao was taken aback by his words, then rolled her eyes at him: "Young master, you have no sense of romance at all."

After saying that, she turned and left, her skirt tracing a light arc on the carpet.

She took two steps, then stopped, turned back to look at him, and asked, "But... if it's really cold tonight, can I come over?"

Qin Mu smiled: "Whatever you say."

Chen Ruoyao nodded in satisfaction: "Then it's settled."

After saying that, she left briskly, a smile still lingering on her lips as she turned away.

Jiang Zhaoyue watched her retreating figure and couldn't help but shake her head: "She's getting more and more mischievous."

Qin Mu laughed and said, "Isn't this better? At least it's better than having a long face all the time."

Jiang Zhaoyue nodded gently: "That's true."

She reached out and blew out a lamp.

The lamp flame contracted in the air for a moment, then with a soft "poof," the room went dark, leaving only a small bedside lamp still lit, its warm yellow light spilling onto the blankets and falling on the edges of the two people's silhouettes.

Qin Mu lay down and turned his head to look at her.

Jiang Zhaoyue didn't lie down immediately. She sat by the bed for a while, as if waiting for him to fall asleep first, or as if she was thinking about something.

"Young Master," she said softly.

"Um?"

"The situation in the North..."

"Don't think about it," Qin Mu interrupted her, his tone very soft. "Let's not talk about these things tonight."

Jiang Zhaoyue was silent for a moment, then said "okay".

She slowly lay down, her shoulder less than a hand's width away from his.

The room fell silent again, the charcoal fire crackling faintly in the stove, and the sound of the wind outside was mostly blocked by the thick walls, leaving only a distant, water-soaked sob.

Qin Mu closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually became steady.

The composure that lingered between his brows during the day slowly unfolded as he drifted off to sleep, like a painting that had been rolled up for too long finally being unrolled, its surface gradually smoothing out.

Jiang Zhaoyue did not fall asleep immediately.

She turned her head and looked at his profile for a long time.

The firelight cast a warm glow on the edges of his face, making his usually composed face appear unusually relaxed in his sleep.

What she was thinking was perhaps something even she herself couldn't say.

After a long while, she gently closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep amidst the sounds of the charcoal fire and the wind.

……

At the same time.

north.

Zhenyue Hall.

Xu Longxiang, however, still did not sleep.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting there, so long that his legs began to go numb, so long that the last spark in the furnace had been completely extinguished.

A thin layer of ice film had formed on the cold tea on the table, and fine water droplets clung to the rim of the cup.

Time was like a thread that was being stretched tighter and tighter, making his throat feel constricted.

Until footsteps could be heard outside.

Fan Li is back.

"Your Highness."

Xu Longxiang raised his head, his gaze landing on his face: "Where's the news?"

Fan Li shook his head: "Not yet."

His voice was hoarse from the journey, and the edges of his robes were stained with dark, damp marks left by melting frost and snow.

The light in Xu Longxiang's eyes dimmed noticeably for a moment, like a lamp flame blown askew by the wind, flickering before barely brightening again: "So long..."

"Your Highness, there's no need to rush." ​​Fan Li walked to the table, refilled the pot with hot tea, and thin white steam rose from the spout. "We should have results by tomorrow at the earliest."

Xu Longxiang did not answer.

He simply looked out the window, his gaze fixed on the courtyard swallowed by the night, as if looking at something very far away: "I'm just... a little uneasy."

Fan Li paused slightly as he poured the tea.

He certainly understood Xu Longxiang's unease, which was not because of the Northern Barbarians, nor because of Qin Mu.

It was because of the woman they had sent away.

Luna.

Fan Li didn't spell it out, but gently placed the teacup beside him, his voice steady: "Your Highness, now that things have come to this point, there's no turning back."

Xu Longxiang remained silent.

His hand rested on the rim of the cup, his fingertips touching the porcelain surface, but he didn't pick up the tea.

After a long silence, he finally whispered, "I know."

The hot tea entered his mouth, but it still couldn't warm his heart.

He looked out at the pitch-black night, his voice so soft it was as if he were saying to himself, "I just hope... this time, she didn't make the wrong choice."

Fan Li stood to the side without answering.

He knew that what Xu Longxiang really wanted to say was not that sentence.

What he wanted to say was—he hoped that the moon goddess would not forget him.

I hope she still remembers those days.

I hope that one day I can see her again.

But Xu Longxiang never said these words aloud.

Because he is the Crown Prince of the North, he carries 300,000 iron cavalry on his shoulders, the Xu family, and countless lives.

He cannot let a woman sway his decision.

At the very least, we can't let others see it.

So he simply picked up his teacup and sipped the tea, which was gradually getting cold.

The tea is finished.

A very thin layer of tea stains remained at the bottom of the cup, which shimmered with a dry, dark hue under the candlelight.

He put down the cup, but his fingers didn't retract; they remained on the rim, as if he didn't know where to put them.

The wind outside the window picked up a bit more, causing the lantern under the eaves to hit the pillar with a low, muffled thud.

He sat in the darkness, neither getting up to add fuel to the fire nor asking anyone to light a lamp.

He just sat there, like someone waiting for dawn, and that dawn seemed to be coming slower than ever before.

In the distant Northern Mang royal palace, Qin Mu had already fallen asleep.

Outside the window, snow was falling heavily.

Two men separated by a thousand miles, one with someone by his side, the other alone guarding the empty Zhenyue Hall.

One is gradually gaining control of the world, while the other is desperately searching for a last glimmer of hope on his own chessboard.

The snow continued to fall, covering the royal palace of the Northern Barbarians and the wilderness of the northern border.

No one knows how long this snow will last.

The next day, it was still not fully light.

The sky over the North remained a hazy gray.

Thick clouds pressed down on the sky, as if another heavy snowfall could fall at any moment.

Outside the Zhenyue Prince's Mansion, the snow had already covered the steps.

A cold wind, carrying fine snowflakes, swept through the corridor, causing the copper bells hanging from the eaves to sway gently.

ding... ding...

The sound was crisp, yet carried an indescribable chill.

Inside Zhenyue Hall, the charcoal fire has been reignited.

Several maids came in early and replaced the charcoal brazier, which had gone completely cold the night before. They also cleaned up the wine pot, teacups, and scattered military reports on the table.

However, Xu Longxiang, who was sitting in the main seat, had already woken up.

He didn't sleep well all night.

To be precise, he only dozed off for a while in the middle of the night while leaning back in his chair.

Even so, the first thing he thought of when he opened his eyes was not the military affairs of the Northern Frontier, nor the 300,000 iron cavalry, nor Qin Mu.

It is one person.

Luna.

That name had appeared in his mind countless times last night, so much so that he was somewhat dazed when he first woke up.

It felt like going back to many years ago.

The North wasn't as cold back then as it is now.

The girl stood in the snow, dressed in white, her long hair blowing in the wind.

She turned around and looked at herself quietly.

Those eyes were cool and aloof, yet they held a tenderness that only appeared when she was facing him.

Xu Longxiang stared blankly for a while.

He only snapped back to reality when a gust of cold wind sneaked in through the window crack.

The tenderness in her eyes vanished quickly, replaced by a complex expression.

He lowered his head and slowly clenched his fist.

I can't think about it anymore.

It has already been sent out.

What's the point of thinking about it now?

The Moon Goddess is now Zhao San's woman; this was arranged by him personally, and it was a choice he made himself.

Now that we've come this far, there's no turning back.

Xu Longxiang took a deep breath, casually put on an outer robe, and without even waiting for a maid to come in to serve him, he pushed open the door and walked out.

"Where is Fan Li?"

The guards outside the door quickly clasped their hands in greeting.

"Your Highness, Mr. Fan has already gone to the West Courtyard."

"Call him over."

"Yes."

The guards did not hesitate and quickly turned and left.

Xu Longxiang had already walked to the corridor.

He looked up at the sky, where a faint glimmer of dawn was just beginning to appear. The morning light had not yet truly illuminated the earth, and the entire northern border was still shrouded in a vast expanse of white.

Xu Longxiang looked at the sky and, for some reason, felt a strong sense of unease.

What Fan Li said last night came back to mind once again.

Qin Mu.

Northern Mang.

Xu Fenghua.

Jiang Qingxue.

And... the moon goddess.

As faces came and went, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from behind.

"Your Highness."

Fan Li walked over quickly.

He still carried the chill of the early morning, with a few unmelted snowflakes on his shoulders, clearly having just received the news and rushed over immediately.

Xu Longxiang turned around and, without any preamble, asked directly, "How's the situation?"

Fan Li was taken aback.

Xu Longxiang stared at him: "Any news?"

"have."

Fan Li nodded.

With just that one word, Xu Longxiang's nerves, which had been taut all night, immediately relaxed a little.

He strode to the desk: "What news?"

Fan Li did not answer immediately, but instead took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his sleeve.

The note was very thin; you could even tell it was cut from a letter at the last minute.

There was no signature or any other markings on it.

Fan Li handed it over: "This was just returned."

Xu Longxiang took it.

His movements were even faster than usual, his fingers unraveling the folded papers.

The next moment, his gaze fell on the handwriting above.

Xu Longxiang recognized it at a glance.

This is his sister's handwriting.

Xu Fenghua.

He knew those strokes of the pen all too well.

When his father taught him to write when he was a child, he found it tedious and didn't want to write.

Every time, Xu Fenghua would sit beside him, correcting his pen-holding posture again and again.

So even if it's just a few lines of text, he would never mistake it.

Xu Longxiang quickly looked down.

The note contained very simple information, without any complicated codes or dangerous messages.

There is only one most important sentence: Qin Mu is perfectly fine.

There have been no unusual actions these days; he spends most of his time in the harem.

Aside from handling state affairs, he spent his time with the concubines in the harem.

They did not go to the northern border, nor did they send a large army, nor did they take any obvious action against the Northern Barbarians.

After reading it, Xu Longxiang visibly relaxed.

The breath that had been pressing on his chest was finally exhaled.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I told you, I told you there wouldn't be any problems."

Fan Li remained silent.

Xu Longxiang had already reread the note, and after confirming he hadn't misread it, his smile became noticeably more relaxed: "See? This is the message my sister personally sent back. Qin Mu isn't as terrifying as we imagined. All that talk about plotting against Northern Mang, all that scheming in secret, in the end..."

He placed the note on the table, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "He's nothing but a pleasure-loving, incompetent ruler. He has enough women in his harem; why would he bother with the Northern Barbarians?"

At this point, Xu Longxiang even seemed to have regained his confidence.

It was as if all the gloom that had been weighing on my heart last night had vanished after seeing this note.

He looked up at Fan Li: "How about it? I told you long ago, Qin Mu is no threat at all. Those previous incidents were just luck on his part, plus some people around him plotting for him. When it comes to actually doing things himself..."

Xu Longxiang shook his head. "He might not have that patience."

Fan Li, however, did not laugh.

His gaze remained fixed on the note on the table, his brow furrowing even deeper.

Xu Longxiang noticed his expression: "What's wrong?"

Fan Li paused for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, I always feel..."

He looked at the note. "Things aren't that simple."

Xu Longxiang's smile gradually faded: "What do you mean?"

Fan Li pointed to the note: "This is a message from Miss. I trust Miss, so I won't doubt its contents. But..."

He paused for a moment, "Just because Qin Mu is in the harem every day doesn't mean he doesn't do other things."

Xu Longxiang frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

Fan Li said in a deep voice, "Your Highness should know that truly terrifying strategists don't need to appear on the chessboard in person. Moreover... Qin Mu is no longer an ordinary emperor. He has the Great Qin Dynasty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Secret Guard, and so many officials under his command. Even if he were in the inner palace, he could still make the entire Northern Mang change according to his will."

Xu Longxiang's face gradually darkened as he listened: "You suspect my sister is lying to me?"