After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

"But he is, after all, a citizen of Zhao. How can he move around freely in the palace? Could it be...?"

Suddenly remembering something, Chu Li slammed his hand on the table: "Could it be that he's trying to steal some secret? Like... the location of the snow lotus?"

He hadn't forgotten Mo Yan's covetousness of the snow lotus, and the more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became: "Mo Yan definitely has ill intentions. Brother, we must not let him find out where the snow lotus is."

"That's what Father and Father left for my brother; no one can take it from him."

"I know."

Gently comforting Chu Li, Chu Junci looked at him and said, "A Li, I have my own plans regarding Mo Yan. You and A Jin should go and attend to other matters."

"elder brother……"

Chu Li wanted to say more, but Yuan Jin stopped him: "A Li, His Majesty must have his reasons for doing this."

"…All right."

After discussing the matter, the three chatted about everyday things. A short while later, Chu Li pulled Yuan Jin away, saying, "Brother, we're leaving now."

"Brother, take good care of yourself and... oh."

"Go."

Chu Junci raised his lips and watched the two figures disappear in front of him. A moment later, Mo Yan appeared in front of him.

"It turns out that it wasn't Aci who banished me to the cold palace. I knew Aci wouldn't be so heartless."

"A-Ci also told Yuan-Jin to take good care of me. A-Ci, I'm so happy."

"..."

Mo Yan seemed to be imagining something again, and Chu Junci said helplessly, "I'm just considering it from the perspective of diplomatic relations between the two countries."

"Can……"

"Alright, Mo Yan."

Chu Junci interrupted him: "You should leave."

"Aci..."

Mo Yan stepped forward: "Aci still won't forgive me?"

"no."

Chu Junci's gaze swept across Mo Yan's face, and he said in a low voice, "But I need to think carefully about the relationship between you and me."

"Mo Yan, can you give me some time?"

"..."

Mo Yan was completely stunned. Aci's softened words slid through his mind, and he could hear his own heart pounding wildly.

Aci didn't refuse directly; she said she would think about it.

Aci will be able to accept him right away!

The thought excited Mo Yan so much that he couldn't help but push his luck: "Does Aci remember? Tomorrow is my birthday, and Aci promised to give me a gift."

March 20th, Mo Yansheng's birthday.

Chu Junci did not forget.

He nodded slightly: "I haven't forgotten."

I will prepare a gift for you tomorrow.

"Really?" Mo Yan asked excitedly.

"real."

Chu Junci affirmed, and said softly, "Go back, I will arrange a new palace for you."

He had given him the order to leave, but Mo Yan didn't want to go. However, A Ci's attitude had softened considerably today, so he hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Then I'll head back now. Aci can summon me anytime, anytime."

"Um."

After Mo Yan left, Chu Junci let out a breath and remained lost in thought for a long time.

As darkness slowly fell, the day quietly passed.

At 3:45 PM, Mo Yan lay in bed, unable to fall asleep as he thought about A Ci's "I'll think about it" during the day and the birthday gift for tomorrow.

He tossed and turned in bed, unable to stop smiling.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he came to a place—

This was an unfamiliar courtyard. In front of him was a screen, and behind the screen seemed to be a person sitting.

The figure looked familiar; it resembled Aci.

"Aci..."

Mo Yan murmured, walked around the screen to stand in front of him, only to find that Chu Junci could not see him.

More importantly, Aci was filled with a deathly chill, as if... she was about to lose all hope of living.

The thought startled Mo Yan, and he quickly squatted down: "Aci, what's wrong? What happened?"

"..."

The question was destined to remain unanswered, and Mo Yan grew increasingly anxious, yet powerless to do anything about it.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps sounded at the door. Mo Yan turned around and looked, his pupils trembling slightly.

The man, carrying a bowl of medicine, walked straight to Chu Junci and said, "Your Majesty, the medicine is ready."

"..."

The form of address made Chu Junci curl his lips into a self-deprecating smile: "Your Majesty? Am I still Your Majesty now?"

"His Majesty……"

Xue Wu sighed softly, "Your Majesty, take good care of your health. There are endless possibilities in the future. You must not be too saddened."

"..." Chu Junci remained silent.

A moment later, he picked up the medicine and drank it down without hesitation.

After swallowing the medicine, Chu Junci soon experienced severe abdominal pain, and beads of sweat appeared on his face, while blood stained his robes.

He gritted his teeth, "Chu Ling will remember what happened today, and if given the chance, she will repay the divine physician."

"Your Majesty is too kind."

Xue Wu shook her head, recalling the rumors circulating on the street today, and couldn't help but say, "He's looking for you."

"..."

"That day he found a body at the foot of the mountain. Everyone else said it was you, but he was the only one who didn't believe it."

"But in the past few days, he seems to have believed it and has started searching everywhere for a method to search for souls."

"Taoist priests come in batches, and now the people have a lot of complaints about them."

After silently listening to Xue Wu's words, Chu Junci wiped the sweat from his forehead. He didn't say anything, but simply stood up and said, "I'm leaving."

Xue Wu was taken aback: "Your Majesty, please stay and recuperate for a few days, after all, you've just..."

"No need."

Looking into the distance, he said softly, "I still have things to do."

His mind was made up, and Xue Wu could not stop him. She sighed repeatedly, "In that case, Your Majesty, please go."

Thank you.

After taking one last look at Xue Wu, Chu Junci strode away. Stepping out of the courtyard, he endured the pain, mounted his horse, and shouted, "Giddy up!"

The horse galloped away and soon disappeared from Xue Wu's sight.

With only a tiny dot remaining, Xue Wu sighed again, "What a tragic love story..."

"If only... Junior Brother could remember back then."

One wrong step leads to another; different choices at each juncture result in vastly different outcomes.

"Why."

He turned and went back into the house, passing right by Mo Yan, who was completely stunned and pale-faced.

He stared blankly at the pool of blood in the courtyard, and then, remembering Aci's lifeless face, he couldn't help but stagger back a step.

Could it be... could it be that he did something to wrong Aci?

The only thing that could make Aci lose the will to live is—

Something has happened in Yong Kingdom.

Could it be that he attacked the Yong Kingdom?

How could he possibly attack Yong?!

Yongguo is Aci's home...

Mo Yan clenched his fists tightly. After regaining his senses, he hurriedly chased after him, but in a flash, he found himself in another place.

This is... the Diligent Governance Hall of the Yong Kingdom.

The hall reeked of blood, and traces of blood were visible everywhere. At the top, Mo Yan saw a man wiping his sword, his face full of smug contempt.

"Yong Kingdom is nothing special."

He heard the man say that.

Mo Yan's face turned even paler. He stared intently at the man's face, and in that instant, he seemed to understand something.