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

The morning light at Tingxuexuan is always softer than elsewhere. Breakfast is laid out on the stone table under the crabapple tree. The wind swirls delicate petals onto the rim of the celadon bowl, carrying a hint of the sweet fragrance of lotus seed porridge.

Xie Qinglan picked up a spoonful of porridge, lowered her eyes to blow away the steam rising from the surface, and was about to put it in her mouth when she felt a gaze fixed on her face, burning hot.

"Your Majesty, why are you just watching me without eating?"

He looked up and met Xiao Jingyuan's smiling eyes. The bowl of porridge in front of the other man remained untouched, a silver spoon resting on the rim. He propped his elbow on his hand, tilted his head, and looked at him with eyes that seemed inseparable.

"Qinglan is beautiful, a feast for the eyes," Xiao Jingyuan said frankly, unable to suppress a smile. "Watching you eat is better than any delicacy."

Xie Qinglan's ears turned red, and with a flick of her wrist, she shoved the spoonful of hot porridge directly into his mouth with a hint of annoyance, saying in a slightly reproachful tone, "Don't talk while eating."

Xiao Jingyuan obediently swallowed, the sweet lotus seed mingling with the cool fragrance from the other person's fingertips, spreading across his tongue. He chewed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, his gaze still fixed on Xie Qinglan's face. Just as he was about to speak, very light footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

"Eunuch Gao, is His Majesty inside?"

"Yes, I'm having dinner with Lord Xie." Gao An's voice was extremely low. "What can't wait? Don't you have any sense?"

Xiao Jingyuan's smile faded, and he said in a deep voice, "Come in."

The shadow guard pushed open the door, bowed, and quickly walked to his side, leaning down to whisper.

Xie Qinglan lowered her eyes, slowly stirring the porridge with a silver spoon, her fingertips pausing slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xiao Jingyuan's face first brighten, then become somewhat uneasy, his gaze frequently drifting towards her.

The shadow guards withdrew, leaving only the soft sound of a porcelain spoon striking the rim of a bowl in the hall.

"What's wrong?" Xie Qinglan put down the silver spoon.

Xiao Jingyuan clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice carried a barely perceptible tension: "Qinglan, you won't leave me, will you?"

"Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?"

"Just tell me if you can or can't you." He leaned forward, his eyes stubborn.

Seeing his anxious and uncertain expression, Xie Qinglan's heart softened, and she raised an eyebrow slightly: "Of course not. Does Your Majesty not already have enough of me and want to send me away?"

"How could that be!" Xiao Jingyuan exclaimed anxiously, abruptly covering his mouth with his hand. His palm was warm, carrying the unique scent of ambergris. "Don't wrong me! I'll never tire of it, not in this life, not in the next, not in the life after that!"

A warm palm covered her lips, the touch distinct. Xie Qinglan's eyelashes trembled, she turned her head away from his hand, and the blush at the base of her ears deepened.

Looking at his reddened ear tips, Xiao Jingyuan felt much less nervous. He couldn't help but smile and reached out to take his hand, which was resting on the table. He gently stroked the back of his hand with his fingertips. "After dinner, come with me to the Imperial Study. I'll introduce you to some people."

"Okay." Xie Qinglan didn't ask any further questions and simply replied.

His fingertips were held firmly in Xiao Jingyuan's palm, warm and strong. He didn't need to ask to know who those people were. They were his old subordinates left in Nanyue, the trusted advisors he had personally promoted. In the end, Xiao Jingyuan had saved those people from Pei Nanchi's blade for him.

The door to the Imperial Study was pushed open, and sunlight poured in, falling on a dozen or so tall figures on the floor.

They wore faded, coarse cloth clothes, and all of them bore wounds. Some had deep scars across their faces, while others had blood-soaked strips of cloth wrapped around their wrists. Han Zheng stood at the front, his left arm severed at the shoulder, the empty sleeve hanging limply at his side. The dozen or so men stood ramrod straight, their backs like spears, their eyes still shining with an astonishing light, showing no sign of dejection.

Everyone froze when they saw Xie Qinglan standing next to Xiao Jingyuan.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Thank you, Prime Minister!"

It's unclear who choked out the first cry, but the longing and grief that had been building up for months burst forth instantly.

"Prime Minister! I'm so glad you're alright!"

"We thought...we'd never see you again!"

"Prime Minister, have you suffered any injustice in Beishuo?"

They rushed forward, but stopped abruptly a few steps away, watching him cautiously. Rumor had it that Xie Qinglan had been held hostage by the Emperor of Beishuo, imprisoned in the deep palace, and subjected to endless humiliation. Yet the man before them was neatly dressed, with a gentle complexion; though somewhat thin, he showed no trace of the wretchedness of a prisoner.

Xie Qinglan looked at these familiar faces, her eyes welling up with tears.

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Han Zheng stood at the front, his left arm bare, the sleeve of his shirt fluttering gently in the wind. He looked at Xie Qinglan for a moment, then suddenly turned around, knelt on one knee in front of Xiao Jingyuan, clenched his right fist against his heart, and gave the most solemn military salute in the Southern Yue Army.

"I will repay Your Majesty's life-saving grace!"

His former subordinates knelt down in unison behind him, their voices resounding so loudly they made the windowpanes tremble slightly: "We will never forget Your Majesty's life-saving grace!"

Xiao Jingyuan stepped forward to help Han Zheng up and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities. You are Qinglan's people, therefore you are mine. Naturally, I will protect you."

Xie Qinglan's gaze fell on Han Zheng's empty sleeve, her fingers tightened, and her voice deepened: "What happened to your left arm?"

Han Zheng lowered his head, his voice filled with suppressed resentment and unwillingness: "Prime Minister... I am incompetent and failed to defend Qianzhong. Pei Nanchi sent people to take over the military affairs of Qianzhong, but I refused to hand over military power, so he arrested me and sent me back to the capital on charges of treason. This left arm... was broken by his men in the imperial prison."

He paused, raised his head, looked at Xie Qinglan, his eyes filled with guilt: "This subordinate has failed the Prime Minister's guidance."

"It's not your fault." Xie Qinglan gently patted his shoulder, her voice tinged with self-reproach. "It was Benlian who dragged you all down."

These men were his brothers who had risked their lives alongside him. He had only been gone from Nanyue for three months, and they had already met such a fate. If it weren't for Xiao Jingyuan secretly sending people to rescue them, they would probably already be dead under Pei Nanchi's blade.

"Thank you, Prime Minister!" Li Yun stepped forward, his face still bearing lingering bruises, his hair mostly white, making him look much older. "Pei Nanchi is truly not a wise ruler! In less than three months since you left, he has abolished all your new policies! The 'equal-field system' you painstakingly promoted has been abolished, and those powerful families have once again seized the land, forcing the people to sell their children; the 'ever-normal granaries' you established have been closed, supposedly 'depleting the national treasury,' and this spring, due to the famine, grain prices have increased tenfold, causing countless people to starve to death; the schools you established in Qiannan have also been closed—those poor students no longer even have the opportunity to study!"

"When you implemented your new policies, you offended too many powerful families. Pei Nanchi used them to ruin all your ten years of hard work," Zhou Huan said, his voice filled with barely suppressed resentment. "The people of Nanyue are suffering terribly; taxes have more than doubled since you left. A month ago, the spring floods breached the Xiangjiang River dikes, and the imperial court couldn't provide any relief funds. Local officials embezzled funds at every level, and the dead starved to death piled up at the city gates, with no one to collect their bodies!"

"Thank you, Prime Minister, please come back!" Han Zheng kowtowed heavily, his forehead striking the gold brick with a dull thud. "If you raise your voice, the people and soldiers of Nanyue will follow you! We'll march back to Nanyue, depose that tyrannical emperor, and you will become emperor!"

"Return to Nanyue! Depose the tyrannical emperor!"

The remaining former subordinates also knelt down, shouting in unison, their voices deafening, filled with long-suppressed anger and anticipation.

Xie Qinglan looked at the people kneeling on the ground and remained silent for a long time. Sunlight fell on his profile, clearly outlining his handsome features, but the emotions in his eyes were unreadable. Only his hands, hanging at his sides, clenched tighter and tighter.

"Get up, all of you." He stepped forward and helped them up one by one. His voice remained calm, but carried an undeniable certainty. "You should settle down in Beishuo and recover from your injuries. I promise you, I will seek justice for you and for the people of Nanyue."

Standing to the side, Xiao Jingyuan watched Xie Qinglan's lonely figure, feeling a sharp pain in his heart, as if something had clenched within him. He instinctively stepped forward, reached out and put his arm around Xie Qinglan's waist, wanting to pull him into his embrace and offer him some comfort.

"hiss--"

A series of synchronized gasps of cold air rang out.

Xie Qinglan's former subordinates stared wide-eyed at the scene before them, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Their Xie Xiang, who had been widowed for many years, who even palace maids would avoid serving him tea, and who was as aloof as a block of ice atop a snow-capped mountain! was actually being embraced by the tyrant of Bei Shuo!

And... judging from their prime minister's reaction, he didn't push him away?!

Xie Qinglan was also stunned. After realizing what had happened, her cheeks flushed red, and she took a step back, glaring at Xiao Jingyuan with eyes full of shame and anger.

Xiao Jingyuan was glared at by him, but he wasn't annoyed. He just awkwardly withdrew his hand, put on a stern face, and said in a deep voice with the majesty of an emperor, "Gao An."

"Your servant is here." Gao An hurriedly walked in from the doorway, bowing and replying while suppressing a smile.

"Go and prepare a few clean rooms, hot water, and changes of clothes. Also, summon the imperial physician to examine General Han and the other officials' injuries," Xiao Jingyuan said in a deep voice. "You have all had a long journey; please go and rest first. We can discuss anything else another day."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Everyone bowed respectfully, their eyes darting back and forth between Xie Qinglan and Xiao Jingyuan, their hearts filled with turbulent emotions.