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

Xie Qinglan turned around and went back into the hall, closing the door behind her.

He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

Around midnight, he heard a noise on the roof.

Xie Qinglan's eyes suddenly opened in the darkness.

The sound was extremely faint, like a cat stepping on a tile. But Xie Qinglan's hearing was too sharp; he could tell—it wasn't a cat, it was a person. A person with extremely high martial arts skills, whose lightness skill was so good that they landed on the tile almost without making a sound.

he came.

Xie Qinglan lay motionless on the bed, but her heart was pounding in her chest like a drum.

The noise from the roof lasted for a moment, then fell silent.

The man did not come down.

Xie Qinglan waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and then for another half an hour. No further sound came from the rooftop.

He put on his coat, got up, walked barefoot to the window, and pushed it open a crack. The cold moon hung in the sky, and the rooftop was empty except for a few patches of snow that shone brightly in the moonlight.

He stood there for a long time, so long that the night wind made his fingertips cold.

Then he lowered his eyes, preparing to close the window—but suddenly noticed something extra on the windowsill.

That was a crabapple blossom.

Fine snowflakes clung to the petals, and the buds, not yet fully open, trembled slightly in the night breeze at their pinkish-white edges.

The flower stems were broken off with jagged edges, not trimmed with scissors, but broken off by hand.

The branches still retained a trace of body heat, warm and scalding in the chilly spring night.

Xie Qinglan was stunned.

He picked up the crabapple branch and examined it repeatedly.

The base of the flower branch was wrapped with a small piece of bright yellow silk cloth—torn from the lining of the dragon robe.

The silk cloth was roughly wrapped around the ends of the branches, as if to prevent the thorns on the branches from pricking the person receiving the flowers.

Xiao Jingyuan didn't climb in through the window. He just squatted on the roof, listening to his breathing through the tiles in the middle of the night, and then left the flower on his windowsill before leaving.

Xie Qinglan held the crabapple branch, stood by the window, and suddenly smiled. It wasn't a fleeting, faint smile, but a genuine smile that welled up from the bottom of her heart.

Xie Qinglan looked down at the flower branch in his hand and gently touched the half-open bud. The petals were tender, glistening with snow water, and trembled slightly at his fingertips.

"It looks so ugly when it's folded like this." He said softly to the empty courtyard, but the corners of his mouth remained turned up.

He turned and went back into the house, where he found the white porcelain vase that had been placed on the display shelf a few days ago—it was a gift from Tingxuexuan when they were adding decorative items, and he kept it because he thought it was pretty.

He filled the porcelain bottle with water, carefully inserted the crabapple branch into it, and placed it on the small table by the bedside.

Then he lay back on the bed, turned to his side, and looked at the crabapple tree.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on the porcelain vase and casting the shadows of flower petals onto the pillow, faint and delicate, like an unfinished ink painting.

He stared at it for a long time, then closed his eyes.

Outside the window, the cold moon was setting in the west.

The lights in Tingxuexuan were off. But the lights in the Imperial Study in the distance were still on, and the person under the light had not slept all night. Xiao Jingyuan held the roll of yellowed paper in his hand and read it over and over again.

He didn't know if the flower would be thrown into the trash can before dawn, but he put it in anyway.

At least for the moment it was placed there, that person was still sleeping peacefully inside the window. Their breathing was shallow, muffled by a layer of roof tiles, and by the chill of an entire spring.

That's enough.

The next morning, the court session began.

Xiao Jingyuan sat on the dragon throne, listening to the reports from the officials below, but his gaze seemed to drift off somewhere else.

The Minister of Rites is currently petitioning for the establishment of an empress, stating that the Emperor has been on the throne for several years and the harem is without a mistress; therefore, it is advisable to select an empress as soon as possible to consolidate the foundation of the nation.

Xiao Jingyuan gave a perfunctory reply. Establishing an empress—he had considered it in his previous life.

He wanted to make Xie Qinglan his empress, and he even drafted an imperial edict, which was kept in the bottom drawer of his desk and never taken out.

Because he knew that the man was unwilling.

"Your Majesty," the Minister of Rites called again, "what is Your Majesty's opinion?"

Xiao Jingyuan snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the densely packed officials below, and said in a calm yet authoritative voice, "The matter of establishing an empress will be discussed later."

After the court session ended, Xiao Jingyuan did not return to the Imperial Study, nor did he go to the training ground to practice his sword. He walked alone to the Imperial Garden. The Imperial Garden was lush with flowers and trees, and the breath of spring had already filled the air. He walked through the apricot grove, around the Bibo Pond, and stopped in front of a crabapple tree.

This crabapple tree was transplanted in the same batch as the three in Tingxuexuan. The ones in Tingxuexuan have already bloomed, but this one only has buds. The delicate pink buds have wilted quite a bit after being hit by the frost this morning.

He reached out, wanting to break off another branch—but pulled his hand back halfway. He had only mustered a great deal of courage to place that branch on the windowsill last night; he didn't have the guts to break it off today.

Let the crabapple blossoms bloom in their own time. It's better for them to be on the branches than to be picked and ruined.

At lunchtime, Gao An arrived at Tingxue Pavilion with two eunuchs carrying a food box. The food box was opened, revealing four dishes and a soup, each one exquisite. However, next to one of the dishes, roasted venison, was a small, inconspicuous condiment—dark brown in color, with a pungent aroma and a sweet aftertaste.

Xie Qinglan paused for a moment while picking up food with her chopsticks.

"What is this?"

Gao An leaned closer for a look and said with a smile, "Replying to Lord Xie, this is a specialty of the Western Regions called 'Sai Shang Xin,' a dipping sauce made with local wild chili peppers and sea buckthorn berries. The herdsmen of the Western Regions love to dip their roasted meat in this, saying it's the best way to ward off the cold and warm the body. His Majesty specially instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare it a few days ago, saying that since you've just recovered from your illness, eating something spicy can help dispel the cold."

Xie Qinglan's chopsticks paused in mid-air for a fleeting moment, then she casually picked up a piece of roasted meat, dipped it lightly in the sauce, and put it in her mouth. The spicy aroma exploded on her tongue, indeed dispelling the cold and warming her body.

That person even personally instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare a single dipping sauce, yet dared not come to have a meal with him.

He put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, rinsed his mouth, and said, "It tastes good. Please thank His Majesty for me."

Gao An readily agreed, then cautiously asked, "Is there anything else you would like to eat, Lord Xie? I will report back to the Imperial Kitchen as well."

Xie Qinglan glanced at him, then put down her teacup: "I don't have anything I want to eat."

"I'm just feeling a bit bored being alone," Xie Qinglan said, her voice softening as she lowered her eyes. "Go and inform His Majesty."

Gao An reported Xie Qinglan's words to Xiao Jingyuan in detail.

The Imperial Study was quiet for a moment.

"I feel so bored." He repeated those three words over and over again.

In his previous life, Xie Qinglan was locked in Lanyue Pavilion for three whole years, and never uttered a single word of "boredom".

That person would only read books, wipe his sword, and drink tea with a cold face. Occasionally, he would stand by the window and stare blankly at the crabapple trees outside, saying nothing and asking for nothing.

Now Xie Qinglan says to him, "I feel so bored."

Xiao Jingyuan placed the vermilion brush on the brush mountain and stood up.

Gao An thought His Majesty was finally going to take that step, and he was so excited that he almost cried on the spot.

"Gao An."

"Your servant is here."

"Issue my secret decree to summon Shen Hanzhou back to the capital."

Gao An was stunned for a moment: "Your Majesty? General Shen is far away in the northern border—"

"Go, summon him back to me with an urgent message." Xiao Jingyuan paced back and forth in the hall, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Gao An opened his mouth, then closed it again.