After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

Two days later, Xie Qinglan's illness gradually improved.

He started to get out of bed and walk around, and occasionally he would go to the yard to sit and look at the old plum tree.

The door to Tingxuexuan was unlocked, and most of the guards outside the courtyard had been withdrawn, leaving only two guarding the entrance to the alley.

He could go out, but he never did. He knew that although Xiao Jingyuan had removed the locks, he must have still sent shadow guards to watch over him secretly.

It wasn't because of distrust, but because that person was afraid something would happen to him.

Xiao Jingyuan still did not come.

But every day he could sense the person's presence from various clues—a dish of candied plums that never changed next to the medicine bowl, a sachet containing calming herbs that appeared under his pillow at some point, and the books on the table that had been moved, with the copy of "The Customs and Traditions of Northern Shuo" that he had casually flipped through a few pages of now placed in the most convenient position.

There was also a casual remark made by a palace maid when she brought him food: "His Majesty has been resting in Chang Le Palace recently, and Consort Ning's cold has improved considerably."

Xie Qinglan paused for a moment while holding the teacup, then resumed her normal posture.

He remembered the scene of Pei Yuning being carried away by Xiao Jingyuan that day very clearly. The way he bent down to pick her up was so smooth and natural, as if he had done it countless times before.

But weren't these palace servants a bit too gossipy? It was as if they were saying it on purpose for him to hear.

The young eunuch delivering the meal was still chattering away, saying that Consort Ning's maid, Lan Zan, had gone to the Imperial Hospital again last night to fetch some calming soup, and that His Majesty had bestowed upon Chang Le Palace an extremely precious peony—

Xie Qinglan interrupted him: "I know, you can go now."

The young eunuch withdrew in response, and the hall fell silent once more.

Xie Qinglan picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea was from the snow-capped mountains of Beishuo, produced in the extremely cold and harsh north. The tea was strong and slightly bitter at first, but the aftertaste was extremely long-lasting, as if the coldness and intensity of an entire snow mountain were contained in a single leaf.

In his past life, he couldn't get used to the tea from the North, always feeling that it lacked the elegance of the Snow Peak Green Tea from Mount Heng. Later, he didn't know when, but the tea delivered to Lanyue Pavilion was changed to that from Mount Heng—that person must have noticed the fleeting frown between his brows every time he picked up the teacup, and quietly changed it.

In this life, he lived in Tingxuexuan. The tea delivered to him included tea from Nanyue and tea from Beishuo. Perhaps that person dared not make decisions on his own again, for fear of even delivering the wrong tea and displeasing him.

Today, he rarely wanted to taste the flavors of Beishuo again.

The tea was refreshingly clear, but he couldn't taste any flavor in it.

He put down his teacup, got up, and walked to the window. The leaves of the old plum tree in the courtyard were a vibrant green, swaying gently in the afternoon sun.

He suddenly remembered the crabapple tree outside the Lanyue Pavilion in his previous life. Every spring when it bloomed, the tree was covered in pink and white flowers, like a snowfall that would never melt.

He never told Xiao Jingyuan that he liked Haitang.

But he remembered waking up one morning to find a crabapple blossom, still glistening with dew, beside his pillow. He stared blankly for a long time, then placed it expressionlessly on the table. When the person arrived, they saw the neglected flower on the table, said nothing, but their smile faded for a moment.

But later he put that crabapple branch in a drawer, at the very bottom, under the letters he had brought from Nanyue. He didn't throw it away until the petals dried up and the color faded.

"Gao An," he called out.

Gao An poked his head in from outside the door: "What are your orders, Lord Xie?"

"I want to plant a crabapple tree in the courtyard," Xie Qinglan said calmly. "You should tell His Majesty."

Gao An acknowledged and withdrew, then turned and went to the Imperial Study.

Xiao Jingyuan was reviewing memorials when he heard Gao An's report, and his vermilion pen paused for a moment.

He raised his head, and for a moment his eyes lit up, like a person submerged in deep water suddenly seeing a ray of sunlight filtering through the surface.

"He wants to plant crabapple trees?"

"Yes. Lord Xie said he wants to plant one in the courtyard of Tingxuexuan."

Xiao Jingyuan put down his vermilion brush, stood up, and paced around the hall.

He recalled the withered branch from his past life, the crabapple blossoms that person had hidden in the drawer for so long, and Pei Yuning's words that Xie Qinglan's Prime Minister's mansion had a whole crabapple grove in the backyard.

"By imperial decree, move one of the finest crabapple trees from the Imperial Garden." He paused. "No, move three. No, move five. Also, clear out the courtyard next to Tingxue Pavilion and turn it into a crabapple garden."

Gao An's lips twitched: "Your Majesty, the courtyard of Tingxue Pavilion isn't very big; I'm afraid it can't accommodate so many plants..."

"Then move three trees." Xiao Jingyuan paced a couple more steps. "Then send someone to Nanyue to buy a few crabapple trees of the Nanyue variety. No—send someone to the Prime Minister's residence where Xie Qinglan used to live, to see what variety he had in his backyard, and bring it back exactly as it was."

Gao An opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Your Majesty, Lord Xie only said he wanted to plant one," but looking at Xiao Jingyuan's eyes, which finally had a bit of spirit, he swallowed his words and only replied, "Yes."

"And another thing," Xiao Jingyuan called after him, "don't say it was my idea. Just say... just say that the Imperial Garden is currently under renovation, and the extra flowers and trees are being distributed to the various palaces and courtyards."

Gao An accepted the order and left.

The next morning, three crabapple trees appeared in the courtyard of Tingxuexuan. The trees were newly transplanted, with soil from the Imperial Garden still clinging to their roots. Their branches and leaves had been carefully pruned, and several delicate pink buds had already sprouted from their tips.

Xie Qinglan stood under the eaves, staring at the three crabapple trees for a long while.

He said "plant a crabapple tree," not "bring three ready-made trees."

How come this person can't even grow a flower?

Why can't you just send saplings? Why do you insist on transplanting a whole mature tree?

Xie Qinglan sighed softly to herself, walked to the crabapple tree, and reached out to touch the rough trunk. The bark was warm, slightly glowing in the morning light. The tiny flower buds curled up on the branches, as if holding a secret that spring had kept hidden.

The corners of his lips curved into a smile that he himself didn't even realize.

What an idiot.

In the following days, Xie Qinglan would sit under the crabapple tree for a while each day. Sometimes she would read, sometimes she would drink tea, and sometimes she would do nothing but sit and watch the buds swell day by day and the green on the branches grow thicker day by day.

He thought that Xiao Jingyuan would probably come when the flowers bloomed. He couldn't possibly not even come to see the crabapple tree he had personally transplanted bloom.

But Xiao Jingyuan didn't come on the day the flowers bloomed.

It was Pei Yuning who arrived.

Pei Yuning's forehead wound had healed, leaving only a faint pink mark, which she cleverly concealed with her forehead ornament.

She wore a light pink spring dress today, with a newly opened peony in her hair, which made her look exceptionally radiant.

When she arrived, Xie Qinglan was sitting under the crabapple tree drinking tea.

"Brother Qinglan." Pei Yuning stood at the courtyard gate, not coming in, her face showing just the right amount of apology and timidity. "About last time... it was Ning'er's fault. You've already hit him, shouldn't your anger have subsided by now?"

Xie Qinglan paused slightly in her teacup. She spoke as if she had only done something insignificant last time, rather than plotting to trigger the Entangling Silk Poison within him to kill him.

He put down his teacup, raised his head, and looked at Pei Yuning with a calm gaze. There was no hatred or anger in his eyes, only a faint, almost indifferent scrutiny.

"Your Highness is too kind." His voice was very soft, so soft that it sounded like a casual, polite remark.

He didn't call her "Ning'er" or "Yu Ning." He called her "Princess." A single title separated them by a vast distance.

Pei Yuning's expression stiffened slightly, but she quickly regained her gentle smile.

She knew very well how clever Xie Qinglan was—the Entangling Silk Poison was a secret medicine of Nanyue, obtainable only by members of the royal family. Xie Qinglan only needed to do a little research to pinpoint her. From the moment he slapped her, she knew she had been exposed; denial was useless, and she could only admit her mistake.

She knew Xie Qinglan too well. Since he had only slapped her that day and hadn't broken her neck on the spot, it meant he was mindful of their past relationship and wouldn't hold a grudge. Xie Qinglan's biggest weakness was that he valued relationships too much.

She stepped into the courtyard and sat down on another stone bench under the crabapple tree. Her gaze swept over the newly transplanted crabapple trees, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes, but the corners of her lips curved into an even sweeter smile.

"These crabapple blossoms are so beautiful," she said. "Brother Qinglan, do you remember? When we were little, there was a large crabapple grove in the backyard of the Prime Minister's mansion. Every spring you would take me to see it. One year, I was playing and climbed up a tree to pick flowers. I accidentally fell down, and you caught me, but you cut your own hand."

Xie Qinglan remembers.

Pei Yuning was only seven years old that year, thin and small, with two pigtails, and missing a front tooth when she smiled. He did catch her when she fell, but his hand was cut by a tree branch, leaving a three-inch-long gash that bled profusely.

The little girl was so scared that she burst into tears. He patted her head and said, "Don't be afraid, your brother is here."

Later, when the crabapple blossoms bloomed, he would carry her to the tree to pick flowers. She would then pin the prettiest one to his lapel and say, "Brother Qinglan is even more handsome than the flowers."

At that time, she truly treated him like a brother. And he truly treated her like a sister.