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

The water clock struck past midnight, but the candlelight in the imperial study was still burning.

Xiao Jingyuan sat behind his desk, his knuckles pressed against his forehead, lost in thought. Half of the border military report was spread out in front of him, ink condensed on the tip of his brush, and he hadn't written a single stroke for half an hour.

My mind is filled with Xie Qinglan.

My heart was pounding with anxiety, and I couldn't sit still. I longed to immediately scale the palace walls, kick open the door of the inn, and pull him into my arms for a kiss, no matter what.

But he can't.

In the past life, it was this kind of unrestrained and forceful retention that drove people to the brink of despair.

That man was originally a pillar of the Southern Mountain, a man of great talent and wisdom, yet he was imprisoned in the deep palace of the Northern Shuo for three years by him through a combination of coaxing and coercion. Xie Qinglan was always proud and never begged him, nor did he fiercely resist him. At most, when pushed to the limit, he would coldly curse him as a "bastard" and kick him off the bed—that little bit of force was nothing more than a cat's claw tickling him.

He didn't care at all, sticking to her every day, using both soft and hard tactics to pester her. Later, Xie Qinglan's expression actually relaxed a bit. Sometimes when he was reviewing memorials late into the night, that person would stand beside him and add in a low voice, "Cold-resistant green wheat can be tried in the frozen soil of the northern border."

He was foolish enough to think that he had finally melted this block of ice that had stood for millennia.

Until that day.

The sky was bright and clear. Before dawn, he changed into his everyday clothes and left the palace. He queued for half an hour at a well-known shop in the south of the city, warmed the first batch of osmanthus cakes inside his court robe, and then headed excitedly to Lanyue Pavilion.

After three years of getting along, he had long since figured out Xie Qinglan's temperament—stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside, with a particular fondness for sweets. Last time, this person only picked up a piece to taste and said, "It's still palatable," which was already a rare soft word from him.

That day, he deliberately removed the hidden sentries around Lan Yue Pavilion, intending to make amends with pastries and ask for his forgiveness for his recklessness a few days ago.

But as soon as he reached the courtyard gate, he sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet, so quiet it made him uneasy.

When he pushed the door open, Xie Qinglan was lying on the table, the bloodstains under her mouth and nose had long since congealed into a dark brown color, and her body was already cold.

On the table lay a plain sheet of paper, with Xie Qinglan's handwriting on it, which read, "Unable to bear the humiliation, only death remains."

In that instant, the sky collapsed and the earth caved in.

He held the cooling body, unable to utter a single cry, only muffled howls rolling from his chest, like a lone wolf whose lungs had been pierced, one after another.

For three days and nights, he had not eaten or drunk anything. The palace staff and eunuchs knelt outside the hall, none of them daring to take a step. Finally, Ling Feng risked having his arm twisted off, taking advantage of the moment when he was exhausted and fainted, to forcibly pry him off his arms.

Xie Qinglan is dead. His heart, too, is buried in the dust of Lan Yue Pavilion.

He searched frantically, feeling that the person couldn't be so heartless, but all he found were signs of suicide.

The poison was placed in his favorite Snow Peak Jade Tea, a tribute he had personally obtained. With Xie Qinglan's skills, no one in the palace could force him to drink the poison. The Imperial Medical Academy searched through the pharmacopoeia but could not find the origin of the strange poison. All the palace staff in Lanyue Pavilion were questioned, and they all said they had not seen any outsiders enter.

He hated himself for withdrawing all his guards that day in order to please him. If they had been there, perhaps they could have saved him... No, if he had never forced him, that man would never have come to this.

Regret was like a poisonous vine, rotting his internal organs. But no amount of regret could bring back that precious life.

Later, he guarded the cold dragon throne and the empty palace for three years. In the late autumn of the third year after Xie Qinglan left, he also collapsed before the imperial desk. Whether it was from overwork, exhaustion, or the unbearable pain of unrequited love that finally broke his body, he himself couldn't say.

In his final moments before his consciousness faded, he thought, if there is an afterlife, he will never force him again.

When he opened his eyes again, he was sitting on the Golden Palace, below the steps. The man was dressed in crimson and was looking up at him. His features were clear and sharp, and his eyes were like frost. He was alive and well.

He was actually reborn.

In this life, he wants Xie Qinglan to live well.

Even if... they're far away from me, that's fine too.

"Sir Xie! You cannot trespass!"

The hurried footsteps outside the hall, mixed with the flustered voice of the young eunuch, abruptly cut off his thoughts.

Xiao Jingyuan suddenly looked up.

The palace doors were pushed open from the outside, and a chilly night wind rushed in, causing all the candlelight in the hall to flicker. In the swaying candlelight, a pale figure stepped in, slender and tall, with frost-like eyebrows and eyes.

It's Xie Qinglan.

Xiao Jingyuan's breath caught in his throat. In his past life, this man never sought him out; he was always the one who climbed through windows, kicked down doors, and crouched on rooftops, using every means possible, yet he couldn't even get a second glance from him. But now, he stood in the Imperial Study, right in front of him, his robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze, looking at him with an extremely annoyed expression.

He instinctively gripped the vermilion pen in his hand, his throat tightened, and the word "Qinglan" almost burst out, but he swallowed it back down.

After a moment, he put down his pen, feigning indifference: "What brings the Prime Minister here so late at night?"

Xie Qinglan did not answer immediately. Her gaze swept across his face; his eyes were bloodshot, his under-eye area was dark, and his lips were pale with a bluish tinge.

Why pretend nothing happened when you haven't slept all night?

Her gaze involuntarily fell on his lips, then abruptly shifted away. Just now in her dream, those lips were pressed against her collarbone and then downwards…

He pinched his palm to dispel the chaotic thoughts, took out a folded document from his sleeve, and placed it on the imperial desk: "The regulations state that we must depart for the country within three days. I would like to confirm whether it is absolutely necessary to leave after three days."

Xiao Jingyuan said in a muffled voice, "The Prime Minister may leave if he wishes."

Realizing his words were inappropriate, he added, his tone even firmer: "Everything will be done according to the rules."

Xie Qinglan stared straight at him, trying to find even a trace of insincerity on his face, but the man kept his eyes down and refused to look at him.

The regulations were drafted by the Ministry of Rites, but they were only delivered to him on the last day—whose handiwork it was was obvious.

Xie Qinglan suddenly decided to stop beating around the bush. He took off the jade pendant from his waist and held it out in his palm: "What is Your Majesty's intention in bestowing this jade pendant upon me?"

Xiao Jingyuan looked away and landed on the inkstone on the table: "I picked this one at random, and it looks suitable for you, so I bestowed it upon you as well."

"Appropriate?" Xie Qinglan stepped forward, her voice turning colder. "Is it appropriate to bestow upon me the relics left by His Majesty's mother to her future daughter-in-law?"

Xiao Jingyuan's vermilion brush slammed against the edge of the inkstone with a "snap".

"The legacy left by his mother to her future daughter-in-law"—he had only said this in his previous life.

It turns out he was reborn too.

He looked up abruptly, meeting Xie Qinglan's gaze. The man was staring at him coldly, his eyes filled with an icy chill, concealing an emotion Xie Qinglan couldn't decipher.

Xie Qinglan, carrying all the memories of her past life… he dared not touch her even more. Was she angry that he had once again treated her with disrespect, angry that he was about to impose his unbearable thoughts on her again?

Xiao Jingyuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he abruptly turned his gaze away.

"What do the words engraved on the jade pendant mean?" Xie Qinglan pressed.

"I carved it when I had nothing else to do."

"What's engraved?"

Xiao Jingyuan shut his mouth. He couldn't very well say that he had been missing him so much that day that he couldn't help but carve his name again.

Xie Qinglan looked at his silent expression, and her heart sank lower and lower.

He'd already taken the initiative, yet this person wouldn't reveal even a hint of his feelings. In his past life, he constantly professed his "love for Qinglan," leaving her nowhere to hide; now, however, he avoids her at every turn, retreating step by step.

Why is that?

"Tonight is the second night," Xie Qinglan suddenly said.

Xiao Jingyuan was taken aback.

"The regulations state that we shall depart within three days. After tonight, I have one more day. After one day, I will set off to return to Mount Heng."

Xie Qinglan lowered his voice and said, "If Your Majesty has something to say to me, there is still time tonight."

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the candlelight crackling.

Xiao Jingyuan looked at him, his Adam's apple bobbing, a thousand words stuck in his throat.

I wanted to say that you cannot go back, because the one in Nanyue cannot tolerate you; I wanted to say that I was afraid you would die again, because in my previous life, when Pei Nanchi purged your old subordinates, there were never any assassins outside Lanyue Pavilion.

But what good would it do to say it? Xie Qinglan was determined to leave anyway. Would he stay if I told him?

He won't believe it; he'll only feel that he's using lies to force someone to stay.

"...I have nothing to say."

The light in Xie Qinglan's eyes dimmed little by little. His patience had run out, and he gave him one last chance.

He gently placed the jade pendant on the imperial desk, the jade surface touching the desk surface with a soft sound.

"I hereby return the jade pendant bestowed upon me by Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingyuan was stunned.

In his past life, Xie Qinglan coldly said "no," but ultimately accepted it. In this life, he has truly returned the favor.

It's true... I don't want even a fraction of it.

His heart ached. He picked up the jade pendant and gripped it tightly. The jade edge dug into the four old scars in his palm, causing his brow bone to twitch with pain.

"Why?" His voice was hoarse.

Xie Qinglan looked at him and said earnestly, "This jade pendant is of extraordinary significance; Your Majesty should give it to your beloved."

You are one of them.

The words rolled on his tongue countless times, but he ultimately swallowed them back. Since this person despised him, why bother saying them again and provoke him, repeating the mistakes of his past life?

Xie Qinglan's heart pounded like a drum. The words he had just uttered were the most he could muster, meant to force him to relent, but all he received was a deathly silence.

After a long silence, Xiao Jingyuan finally said, "I have withdrawn my decision. Prime Minister, please return."

It felt like falling into an ice cave.

Xie Qinglan lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions within them. After a moment of silence, she bowed and turned to walk out of the hall.

"etc."

Xiao Jingyuan's voice came from behind her. Xie Qinglan stopped but did not turn around.

He heard a rustling sound of fabric behind him, followed by approaching footsteps. A hand reached out from his side, its heat radiating, and without a word, slipped the jade pendant into his sleeve.

Xie Qinglan lowered his head, a glimpse of jade peeking out from his sleeve. He looked up, meeting Xiao Jingyuan's eyes directly, his gaze asking, "What do you mean?"

"Wear it." Xiao Jingyuan's tone was firm. "Don't give it back."

Xie Qinglan clenched the jade pendant in her sleeve; the jade had already been warmed by the touch.

They clearly wanted to give it to him, but refused to say a single kind word.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He simply lowered his eyes, turned around, pushed open the palace door, and stepped into the deep night.

Inside the hall, Xiao Jingyuan stood there, staring at Xie Qinglan's departing figure, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

The man eventually accepted it.

But just like in my previous life, it was something he forced upon me.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. He couldn't be hasty, he couldn't be greedy, and he couldn't push anyone further to their doom.

Outside the palace walls, the windows of the post station were still lit.

The person under the lamp took off the jade pendant and placed it beside their pillow. Their fingertips gently caressed the character "澜" on the jade, their fingertips repeatedly tracing the engraved lines.

He actually barged into the Imperial Study. In his previous life, this person would have pounced on him and pestered him relentlessly, but now he just dodges and weaves around.

Xie Qinglan paused, then blew out the candle.

He has always been proud and is incapable of pursuing someone.

Separated by an entire palace, by that unbroken layer of paper, the love, hatred, and grudges of two lifetimes remained silent in this moment of stillness.

Waiting for a coward to speak, waiting for a proud man to turn back.