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

"Father, have the imperial physician use the flower petals as medicine for Mo Yan to take."

"...Okay." Chu Yun agreed.

"If the opportunity arises, Father will surely find a new snow lotus for A-Ling."

"Um."

Seeing the imperial physician incorporate the snow lotus into the medicine and then feed it to Mo Yan, Chu Junci breathed a sigh of relief, but still stayed by his side, never leaving his side.

After an unknown amount of time, Mo Yan woke up.

"Ah Ling".

He looked at Chu Ling: "Did you save me?"

The last thing he remembered was the excruciating pain he felt after retrieving the kite; he thought he was dead.

When he woke up again, he felt lighter than ever before; the poison had been neutralized.

"It was Ah Ling who saved you."

A familiar voice came from the other side, and Mo Yan then noticed that Chu Yun and Gu Chuan were sitting not far away.

"Your Majesty, Regent..."

Chu Yun responded softly with an "Mm," and then said, "If it weren't for A-Ling, you would already be a corpse."

"I know."

Looking at Chu Ling again, Mo Yan said earnestly, "I will remember that it was A-Ling who saved my life, and I will never forget it in this lifetime."

"I hope so."

Gu Chuan then spoke up: "Do you know you've been poisoned?"

"Know."

"Then why did your father send you to Yong?"

Mo Yan remained silent for a long while before saying, "I don't know either."

Upon hearing this, the people in the room fell silent.

Finally, Chu Junci spoke: "After Father Emperor's birthday banquet, you and the envoy should immediately return to Zhao Kingdom. I will send people to escort you to the border."

Will I ever see you again?

"What?"

Will we ever see each other again?

"cannot."

"May I write to you?"

"…Can't."

"Okay." Mo Yan lowered his head in disappointment.

Remembering something, he looked up again: "On the day I return to Zhao, will you come to see me off?"

"cannot."

"That……"

"Shut up."

"oh."

Three days passed in a flash. On the day Mo Yan left, he waited for a long time outside the city, but he did not see the person he wanted to see.

"Your Highness, we should go now," one of the envoys urged.

"Um."

After taking one last look at the city gate, Mo Yan climbed into the carriage, which swayed and headed towards the Zhao Kingdom.

Shortly after they left, a man appeared at the city gate, watching the departing carriage with a string of candied hawthorns in his hand.

-

Memories flooded back, and Chu Junci lowered his eyelashes slightly.

The memory of being five years old was too distant, and he had only just remembered it. Back then, Mo Yan's poison had clearly been cured, but when they met again as adults, Mo Yan looked like he was deeply poisoned.

It seems that after he returned to Zhao...

After all, he only ingested a single flower petal, so he doesn't possess the prerequisite of being immune to all poisons.

This reminded Chu Junci of those two completely different dreams. If Mo Yan hadn't lost that memory, perhaps everything would really have been different.

But Chu Junci is not only himself, but also the monarch of Yong. Just as he knows that Mo Yan likes him, Mo Yan is not only Mo Yan, but also the monarch of Zhao.

He couldn't gamble the entire kingdom of Yong on this ephemeral love.

Absolutely not.

With his mind in turmoil, he summoned the divine physician again: "Divine physician, prepare a dose of medicine for me."

"Has Your Majesty made up your mind?"

"Um."

"Let's go back to the beginning."

"This humble citizen is aware."

Stroking his beard, the divine physician hesitated, "His Majesty previously damaged his heart meridian. Although he actively tried to remedy the situation afterward, there is still a deficiency."

"Furthermore, His Majesty has been overworked and under immense stress lately, so it is truly not advisable for him to be in this situation..."

"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty should rest and recuperate. When the time is right, I will help Your Majesty achieve your wish."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Dr. Physician."

"Your Majesty is too kind."

As Xue Wu spoke, he stood up and wrote down a prescription: "Prepare the medicine according to this prescription. Your Majesty should take it once a day. I will take Your Majesty's pulse again in seven days."

"Um."

While the two were talking, in the Zichen Hall of the Zhao Kingdom's royal palace, thousands of miles away...

Mo Yan stood in the courtyard, his right hand gripping the rope of the swing.

His injuries had healed somewhat, but he had still lost too much blood, leaving him pale.

His left hand clutched the brocade pouch, which contained strands of his and Aci's hair. Now the hair was still there, but Aci was gone.

"His Majesty……"

Wu Jue approached from behind him, speaking cautiously: "The Left Prime Minister requests an audience."

"not see."

He parted his lips slightly, his expression weary, with dark circles under his eyes.

Since the fragrance on Aci's undergarments faded, he hasn't had a good night's sleep.

Gently pulling the swing, Mo Yan asked, "Wu Jue, what do you think the Empress is doing right now?"

"..."

Blinking rapidly, Wu Jue cautiously said, "Perhaps... he's resting."

He had heard from his master that the empress was a heavy sleeper and would sleep for most of the day.

"rest."

Mo Yan murmured, "Yes, now that she's away from me, Aci can finally get some rest."

"No one will force him to do anything he doesn't like anymore. He can do whatever he wants, and no one can restrain him anymore."

"..." Wu Jue dared not speak, and lowered his head even further.

"Wu Jue"

"…exist."

"You also think I did something wrong?"

Wu Jue pondered for a few seconds before carefully speaking, "His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, there is no mistake."

"Then why doesn't Aci want me anymore?"

"..."

"Even if he's the emperor, so what? Aci doesn't like me..."

Dejected, Mo Yan lowered his head, withdrew his right hand, and walked back to his bedchamber step by step.

The lotus fragrance in the hall had completely faded, and no matter how he tried to persuade him to stay, he could not. He lay down in his undergarments and then crawled into the cabinet after a while.

His left hand still clutched the brocade pouch, and he buried his head in Chu Junci's fox fur coat, but no matter what he did, he could no longer smell the fragrance on A-Ci's body.

A few breaths later, his sanity collapsed again.

"Someone come here!"

"His Majesty."

A bodyguard jumped into the room through the window: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Mo Yan remained silent, clutching the brocade pouch tightly. The words "go to Yong Kingdom to investigate the Empress's whereabouts" were stuck in his throat, preventing him from uttering them.

After a long silence, he closed his eyes and said, "...Step back."

"Yes."

After the guards left, Mo Yan opened the brocade pouch and took out two strands of hair. That day, A Ci said she liked his scent, but now that he thought about it, she just didn't want him to get close to the wardrobe.

Wardrobe……

He suddenly remembered the wild man who had taken Aci out of the city. Could it be...?

His gaze slid down to the wardrobe, where he stared intently. He roared, "Guards! Burn this wardrobe down!"

Chu Junci's clothes were placed in another location. Mo Yan looked at the firelight not far away, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion.

A quarter of an hour later, a spy was kneeling in front of him.

Mo Yan remained calm, his eyes slightly closed: "Immediately send a message to Yong Kingdom, instructing the remaining spies to investigate the Queen's whereabouts."

"The Empress Dowager's surname is Xie and her given name is Yunzhou in Yong Kingdom. I need to know everything about her return to Yong Kingdom."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The spy left, and Mo Yan sat there, thinking to himself: He was just checking on A Ci's whereabouts, and he promised not to do anything.