That Imperial Concubine is both wicked and cunning! Your Majesty, wake up!

After Song Shuangning left, Zheng Yueyao helped the excited old lady sit down in a chair.

The old lady held Zheng Yueyao's hand tightly, her voice trembling slightly with excitement, "Yao'er, it's Nannan, it must be Nannan."

Nannan has a mole on her palm, and so does Consort Yuan.

This is by no means a coincidence.

"Yao'er, once you get back, write a letter to your elder brother immediately and ask him to request permission to return to the capital."

Zheng Yueyao replied, "Okay."

When Bo Yu returns, we must investigate together why Zheng's own flesh and blood was lost and became Song's daughter.

The midwives, nurses, servants from that time... everyone involved in this matter must be re-examined, and no one can be let go.

Once the truth comes to light, we will discuss how to allow Consort Yuan to be recognized as a member of the Zheng family and restore her status as a descendant of the Zheng family.

This matter concerns the continuation of the Zheng family bloodline, so we must be extremely careful and not make a single mistake.

-

She lingered in the side hall for a while, and there were hardly any people on the road. Only the palace lanterns under the corridors on both sides swayed in the cold wind, casting her shadow long and short.

Song Shuangning wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and slowly walked back.

Just then, a light, cool sensation landed on her cheek.

She tilted her head slightly, and in the inky sky, snowflakes had begun to fall.

At first, there were only a few scattered spots, but soon they became dense, like thousands of butterflies fluttering about.

As I turned the corner, I saw a bright yellow imperial carriage parked quietly there.

Before she could think it through, Li Fuquan, who was standing beside the imperial carriage, quickly came forward to greet her.

"Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence."

Song Shuangning nodded slightly, lifted her skirt, and stepped onto the imperial carriage.

The imperial carriage was warm and cozy, a world apart from the wind and snow outside.

Xiao Yan was resting with his eyes closed when he heard the noise and slowly opened them.

Seeing the snow in her hair and on her shoulders, he frowned slightly and made a very soft "tsk".

Before she could even bow, he reached out and pulled her close, brushing the snow from her hair and shoulders—a gesture that was far from gentle.

"Don't you know you're physically weak? How dare you linger in the snow?"

Song Shuangning said, "I didn't dawdle. It was just that Old Madam Zheng suddenly wanted to see me, which caused the delay."

Xiao Yan paused, "Madam Zheng?"

"Hmm." Song Shuangning asked with some doubt, "The old lady said she felt a connection with me, so we chatted for a bit."

Xiao Yan hummed in response, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

Song Shuangning sat down next to Xiao Yan, tilted her head, and gently poked his arm, giving him a look that said, "I'm about to start acting up."

Xiao Yan looked up.

She teased softly, "Two new beauties have joined the palace today. If the Emperor doesn't visit them, they'll be disappointed."

"I haven't settled accounts with you yet."

"What have I done wrong?"

Xiao Yan pinched her cheek. "You're quite bold at the palace banquet, daring to look around aimlessly."

Song Shuangning blushed slightly, gave an awkward smile, and looked away.

"I didn't look around inappropriately..."

She immediately raised her head and retorted in a low voice, her voice full of self-righteousness.

"I'm just watching Your Majesty, to see if he's forgotten about me, the 'old one,' now that he has two new concubines."

"How dare I?" Xiao Yan said calmly.

"You're so delicate, how could I possibly forget you? Don't make my Diligent Governance Hall flood with tears."

Song Shuangning muttered softly, "This concubine would never do that."

As drowsiness gradually crept in, Song Shuangning gently pressed her cheek against his arm.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late, I'll be taking my leave now."

She paused, then said, "Your Majesty should rest early as well. If the new concubines find out that I stayed today, who knows what they'll say about me when they pay their respects tomorrow."

She subconsciously assumed that Xiao Yan would stay overnight in the Central Palace or Zichen Palace tonight.

After all, with two new concubines entering the palace, it would be difficult to ensure their proper lodging.

Therefore, she just wanted to go home as soon as possible; such a cold day was perfect for sleeping.

Xiao Yan stared at her face, feeling that she was extremely heartless, and felt both angry and helpless.

He pulled her hand down from the imperial carriage, took the umbrella from Li Fuquan, held it over their heads, and then ordered the palace servants in a deep voice, "You all go back to Zichen Palace first."

Song Shuangning was completely dumbfounded. The imperial carriage was returning to the Zichen Palace, but what about them? Were they supposed to walk back?

She looked at Xiao Yan blankly, but Xiao Yan held her hand tightly and whispered, "Let's go somewhere else."

After saying that, he turned around and waved to the group of palace servants and guards behind him.

"You don't need to come with us, go back now."

Li Fuquan was shocked and immediately knelt down. "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed! At least... at least let this servant follow you..." His tone was extremely aggrieved.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly, clearly somewhat impatient.

In the end, Li Fuquan could only watch helplessly as the Emperor led Consort Yuan away.

The rest of the group, surrounding the empty imperial carriage, returned to the Zichen Palace in a grand procession.

Only then did Song Shuangning realize the truth.

Xiao Yan was using an empty imperial carriage to perfectly cover his whereabouts tonight, creating the illusion that he was staying overnight at the Zichen Palace.

Snowflakes fluttered down.

She tilted her head back and spoke softly, "Your Majesty, have you ever heard a saying?"

Xiao Yan hummed in response and turned his head.

If we get soaked in the snow today, we can consider ourselves to have grown old together in this life.

Xiao Yan gently rubbed her head, but the next sentence naturally came to mind:

If white hair could be replaced by snow, then what need would there be for those who suffer so much in this world?

She turned around, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. "From childhood to adulthood, my aunt has never allowed me to get wet in the snow, saying it would make me sick. But I... really want to enjoy a good snowfall."

Xiao Yan frowned slightly, his face stern: "Nonsense, you're weak, don't think about these things."

Song Shuangning refused, tugging at his sleeve and shaking it gently: "Your Majesty, just for a little while, please? I beg you."

Looking into her watery eyes, Xiao Yan finally sighed helplessly, tilting the oil-paper umbrella in his hand slightly to reveal a small patch of sky.

Snowflakes fell silently, landing on their hair and shoulders, as if draping them in a thin layer of silver gauze.

"Your Majesty, your hair has turned white."

Xiao Yan looked down and saw that the ends of her hair had also turned a layer of snow white.

His heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something, and a strange, tender feeling instantly spread through him.

He whispered, "You too."

In that moment of distraction, a cold snowball landed on his shoulder with a "thud".

Song Shuangning smiled, her eyes crinkling, and looked at him triumphantly: "What are you daydreaming about, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yan looked at her helplessly, shook his head, and reached out to put her small, red hands into his warm palms.

Be careful not to catch a cold.

As an emperor, he was used to weighing everything with reason and never believed in romantic love.

But looking at the smiling face adorned with snowflakes, an absurd yet incredibly strong thought suddenly entered his mind.

He suddenly wanted to hold her hand like this and walk with her until the end of time.

He wanted to see if she would still smile and chat with him like this when they were both old and gray, no longer the same as they were today.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dog, you're in trouble, you've fallen in love.