The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

"Shen Cangming." She called him by his full name, a rare occurrence that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Remember this—being stained by mud is not the lotus's fault."

She took a step forward, her red dress brushing against the dew-stained blue tiles: "It's the mud that deserves to die."

He wanted to say something, something like, "Your Highness, you shouldn't be trapped by the past," but the words stuck in his throat and he fell silent.

There are some things he cannot say.

There are some feelings he is not worthy to speak of.

"I have glimpsed your destiny." Chu Qingyue gazed at the gradually lighting up lights of countless homes in the distance, her voice growing faint.

"In the future... you will meet a good girl."

He suddenly looked up.

"She won't find you dirty, she won't be afraid of your bloody past." Her voice grew softer and softer, as if she were telling a fragile and precious dream.

"She will only feel sorry for you and hate herself... for not appearing sooner to protect your innocence."

Shen Yue stared at her blankly, his gaze so naked it was almost presumptuous.

Chu Qingyue suddenly smiled—a smile containing three parts helplessness, seven parts pity, and a trace of sorrow that even she herself was unwilling to admit.

"Don't look at me like that."

She turned around abruptly, her crimson wide sleeves billowing in the morning breeze in a resolute arc, like a battle flag that had been burned to ashes.

"That girl can't be me. And don't waste your time on me—"

Before she finished speaking, she had already looked towards the towering Star-Picking Tower deep within the palace.

There was a figure in purple robes and silver hair, a cold stare after seven years of waiting, and an obsession she couldn't let go of, even if it meant tearing her heart out.

"In my entire life," she sighed softly, a sigh sharper than a blade, "I've only ever known that cold-blooded man in purple robes and silver hair."

"Hit a wall..."

There's no going back.

Shen Yue's ear tips suddenly turned bright red, then quickly faded to a deathly pale.

He suddenly knelt on one knee, his black robes casting a dark shadow on the bluestone: "Understood, subordinate."

"Mm." Chu Qingyue instantly suppressed all her emotions, transforming back into the decisive and ruthless Princess Protector of the Nation.

"Mianmian is arriving in the capital today. Go and greet her. After the morning court session, we will have dinner together."

She paused, her voice hardening with a chilling edge: "Third Prince, Sixth Prince, Prime Minister's residence—are things all settled?"

"Everything is as Your Highness predicted." Shen Yue lowered his head, his voice now flat and respectful.

"The Third Prince's residence and the Prime Minister's residence have each contributed one million taels of gold. This morning's court session may not be peaceful."

Chu Qingyue smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes:

"Hmph, what's so unsettling about?"

"I don't really care about my reputation."

"At the morning court session, if we can't win an argument, we'll resort to verbal abuse; if we can't win the verbal battle, we'll fight; if we can't win the fight—"

She paused, a bewitching madness flashing in her eyes, like the blooming of the other shore flower, breathtakingly beautiful, yet utterly poisonous:

"Then they led their cavalry to surround the capital, and made him the retired emperor, so he could live a peaceful life."

Cangming remained silent for a moment, then his eyes flickered slightly beneath the mask: "What about the Imperial Advisor...?"

Chu Qingyue suddenly looked up at the increasingly bright dawn on the horizon, as if the light held some answer. For a long, long time, so long that Shen Yue thought she wouldn't answer, she finally spoke, her voice as soft as a whisper:

"Imperial Preceptor... Si Chen..."

She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling in the morning light like a dying butterfly:

"If you are confident... then kill them."

Shen Yue was startled.

"Those who abandon me may stay," she opened her eyes, her pupils bloodshot.

"But he has disturbed my mind... I must not let him live."

"Yes—!!!" Shen Yue clasped his hands in a fist salute, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Chu Qingyue suddenly called out to him.

The morning breeze ruffled the stray hairs at her temples, and a fleeting struggle flashed across her stunningly beautiful face—extremely brief, almost imperceptible, yet so real it was breathtaking.

"Regarding Si Chen," her voice trembled slightly, "you should...not act rashly. You can't defeat his spiritual power."

She took a deep breath, but it was broken and disjointed.

"His spiritual power is useless against me, and only I can harm him. Therefore... I will kill him with my own hands."

Shen Yue turned around and gazed at her slender back: "Your Highness... can you be so heartless?"

A long silence.

"Can't bring yourself to be ruthless?" Chu Qingyue suddenly laughed, a laugh filled with endless sorrow and madness.

"What's there that you can't be ruthless about?"

"I will capture him, lock his collarbone, destroy his spiritual meridians, and then—"

Her voice grew softer and softer, yet every word was like a knife:

"Chop it up with one stroke, mince it, and bury it under the crabapple tree in the princess's residence... When it blooms next year, it will surely be as red as blood."

Before she could finish speaking, a tear slid down her cheek without warning.

Crystal clear, it grazed her pale cheek, hovered for a moment at her chin, and finally fell, shattering on the green tiles without a sound.

The vast ocean silently handed over a plain handkerchief.

Chu Qingyue didn't answer, she just waved her hand, her voice already cold again:

"Go downstairs. After picking up Mianmian, spend the morning playing with her and also find out about grain prices."

"Yes."

He never asked why. Her life was his blade.

As he stood up, Shen Yue took one last look at her back—her crimson dress burned like fire in the gradually brightening dawn, as if she would not stop until she was completely consumed by the flames.

That figure was as upright as a pine tree, yet as fragile as glass that would shatter at any moment.

He turned around and never looked back.

Some light is like the moon, destined to be admired only from afar; even touching it would be a desecration.

Some fires are calamities, destined to be witnessed only from the sidelines, for even approaching them will result in ashes.

He was a shadow already stained with filth and blood; even touching the embers of light and fire was an act of usurpation.

Chu Qingyue stood alone on the eaves for a long time.

Only after Shen Yue's figure completely disappeared into the morning mist did she slowly raise her hand and touch her chest—there, the pain was intense, more painful than the injuries she had suffered in the seven years of Bei Ming, more painful than being stabbed by swords, more painful than being corroded by cold poison.

A mouthful of metallic sweetness surged into her throat, but she forcefully suppressed it with her internal energy.

She chuckled softly, the sound breaking in the morning breeze:

"Heart, are you my organ or his organ?"

"When I miss him—you feel pain."

"When I love him—you feel pain."

"When I hate him—you feel pain."

"Now, I will kill him—"

She paused, then pressed her fingers firmly against her chest, her fingertips turning white.

"You're still in pain."

Chu Qingyue gazed in the direction of the Star-Picking Tower and suddenly chuckled softly.

The laughter grew louder and more manic until tears filled his eyes.

This time, however, before the tears could fall, they were evaporated by the internal force, turning into a wisp of white smoke and dissipating in the morning breeze.

"Si Chen..."

She murmured to herself, her voice as gentle as the most intimate whisper between lovers, yet a frenzied, bloodthirsty rage surged in her eyes:

"Since you have never been in love with me in this life... I will personally... guide you... to the next reincarnation."

A seductive smile curved her lips, her eyes reflecting the brightening light of the day, like the flames of purgatory.

"After you are born, I will raise you myself, teach you to read and write, teach you martial arts and spiritual power, teach you... how to love me, how..."

A sudden morning breeze swept away her unfinished words.

She gazed at the Star-Picking Tower, each word etched deeply into her heart:

"If you still... are not pleased with me..."

She took a deep breath, the morning breeze filling her red sleeves, her figure in the dazzling light resembling a phoenix about to ascend to heaven.

"Then let's keep killing... over and over again, life after life..."

"Until you only have eyes for me, until you willingly say you love me..."

She smiled, and tears fell again, only to evaporate into mist before touching the roof tiles.

"Si Chen, you can't escape."

"Though I pass through the nine heavens and ten earths, and reincarnate through countless lifetimes, you will always be mine."

"He is mine in life, and he is mine in death."

"His soul was scattered..."

"And scatter them in my palm."