These fairies want me to deal with them every day.

Therefore, he wouldn't do such a thing; how could he possibly take back what he's said?

When the emaciated Prince Ye, clutching a handkerchief, appeared at the door, Ye Bingluan knew the taste of regret.

I also understand now that regret and remorse are... it's when you immediately realize you may have done something you didn't want to do, but there's no chance to turn back.

"His Majesty……"

Ye Yunhen, the Prince of Ye, requested an audience in a weak voice.

Ye Bingluan sighed.

"Prince of Ye, please come in."

Ye Yunhen entered the imperial study and bowed respectfully.

He glanced at the young empress's deep expression and said softly.

"Your Majesty...have you finished your talk with the Imperial Advisor?"

Ye Bingluan nodded.

"Okay, that's all."

Ye Yunhen thought for a moment, coughed, and asked softly while holding a handkerchief.

"Then... Your Majesty, is this matter related to the Imperial Advisor?"

Ye Bingluan was about to speak, but she stopped abruptly. She looked at Ye Yunhen in front of her, then suddenly stopped, and shook her head with a dim look in her eyes.

“This matter has nothing to do with him. I know him. With his character, he wouldn’t be so petty, nor would he do it secretly.”

Ye Yunhen nodded, but then hesitated and said something, as if he had thought of something.

"Your Majesty... this matter... has shaken the entire court, and everyone is on edge. If a reasonable explanation cannot be given to appease the officials as soon as possible..."

"Say what you want to say. You are my elder brother, there is nothing you cannot say."

Ye Bingluan looked at Ye Yunhen with a somewhat tired expression.

Ye Yunhen nodded, then sighed and said in a low voice.

“If Your Majesty has already made a decision, then I should speak further. However, I still want to say that... whether some things are right or wrong may not be important. Just like a case, there is a chance to overturn it. Besides, for the Grand Preceptor... there may not be any loss. But those ministers are different... They are just ordinary people after all. They need wealth and honor, and they are also afraid of death. So the truth may... not be so important.”

Ye Bingluan frowned as she looked at Ye Yunhen.

"Do you mean you want me to pin the blame entirely on the Grand Preceptor Wei?"

They seemed to understand the purpose behind Ye Yunhen's words.

Ye Yunhen seemed to have sensed the hostility in Ye Bingluan's tone.

He immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing hastily, "Your Majesty! I deserve to die... I shouldn't have presumptuously speculated on Your Majesty's intentions! But... but what I said was truly for Your Majesty's sake. Your Majesty... if a warrior who can take on a hundred men single-handedly appears in the army, I will certainly raise my hands in celebration, because he can expand the territory of the Great Shang and establish great military achievements. But if this person... is someone with a noble status, who kills without leaving a trace, and who has no respect for Your Majesty... I can only worry for Your Majesty. Human desires are endless. No matter what, what he did to Dugu Xun is real. Even if he didn't do what Dugu Ming did, does he really have the loyalty and reverence a subject has for His Majesty? Your Majesty should see this very clearly!"

Ye Bingluan remained silent, looking at the thin man kneeling on the ground with his head bowed.

He was talking when he suddenly started coughing violently.

His blood was splattered all over the floor, and even the pure white handkerchief was stained red, as if it had been dotted with plum blossoms.

She shook her head.

He sighed.

"Alright, Prince Ye, please get up. Your health is not good, so it's not suitable for you to talk too much, and you don't need to be so emotional."

Ye Yunhen struggled to his feet, his body seemingly on the verge of collapse.

He was panting heavily, and it took him a long time to manage to calm his cough.

"Yes... Your Majesty, I have been presumptuous. Please forgive me."

Ye Bingluan waved her hand.

"Your Highness Ye is unwell, so please go back and rest. As for this matter... I will think about it carefully and give everyone an explanation. I just hope you can understand my difficulties."

Ye Yunhen nodded at Ye Bingluan.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health..."

After saying that, he prepared to take his leave.

At this moment, Ye Bingluan suddenly called out to Ye Yunhen.

"Royal brother."

It wasn't referring to the Prince of Ye, but rather to the Emperor's elder brother.

Ye Yunhen was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at the young empress respectfully.

"His Majesty?"

Then Ye Bingluan smiled, but her smile seemed extremely tired, revealing a sense of helplessness.

"I'm wondering, if it had been my elder brother who ascended the throne instead of me, would things be better now?"

These seemingly casual words caused Ye Yunhen to quickly lower his head and remain silent for a moment.

He slowly raised his head, smiled at Ye Bingluan, and said softly.

"Your Majesty, as you have seen, I am afraid I will not live for more than two or three years... Moreover, Your Majesty is an exceptional person, and no matter what I do, I will not be better than Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health. When I pass away, I ask Your Majesty to take good care of the servants in the mansion and my wives and concubines."

Ye Bingluan sighed.

"Take care of yourself too. If you leave, I... will really be very lonely."

"Yes... Your subject obeys."

Ye Yunhen slowly walked out of the imperial study. The empress in the room took a long time to stand up. She looked at the blank imperial edict on the table, pondered for a long time, and finally picked up the pen and ink...

The carriage swayed.

The man's weak, pale face was turned towards the street outside the window, where people came and went, laughing and talking, or even minor disputes, all vividly displayed in his mind.

Compared to his weak complexion, his eyes revealed a sense of tension.

An unprecedented tension persisted until the carriage returned to the Prince of Ye's residence.

With the help of his servants, he got off the carriage and slowly strolled until he arrived at his room, where he closed the door.

The room was dimly lit and damp, which was a very bad environment for someone with tuberculosis, as there seemed to be no ventilation.

But Ye Yunhen didn't do those things; he just straightened his back little by little.

He stared coldly at the brazier, clutched his handkerchief, sat down beside it, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

He didn't say a word, but made a single expression.

It was as if he were just a puppet, doing nothing, not wanting to eat or drink anything, and not seeing anyone.

It wasn't until much later that...

a long time.

Even this morning, after a whole day of staying indoors and not seeing anyone.

Finally... footsteps appeared outside the door.

"Your Highness."

A familiar voice was calling to me from outside.

This time, Ye Yunhen inside did not let the other party pass in a note. He said in a deep voice after not sleeping all night.

"Just say it."

"Yes... Your Highness, news has just arrived from the court..."

"What news?"

Suddenly, Ye Yunhen sat up straight, clutching the handkerchief he had held all night, the handkerchief still damp with his own blood.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the brazier in front of him, which was still burning and the flames were flickering weakly.

Until I heard what the people outside said.

"Wei Tu... has been dismissed from his post, and the position of Imperial Preceptor is temporarily vacant."

After the person outside finished speaking, the air seemed to freeze, time seemed to stretch on endlessly, and the atmosphere felt as cold as ice, even more frigid than the weather.

A long time passed in the room.

Finally... Ye Yunhen, who had been sitting still, slowly stood up.

The paleness on his face seemed to gradually fade, and as he stood up straight, although his figure was still so thin, the sickly frailty that emanated from his bones seemed to have vanished without a trace.

He threw the handkerchief in his hand into the fire, watching it slowly burn to ashes.

He finally smiled slowly, and a spark of light finally flickered in his seemingly weak eyes.

Ye Yunhen turned around and opened the door directly.

Sunlight streamed in and covered his body.

He seemed to realize something only then.

"It's snowing."

The man kneeling on the ground outside nodded, his shoulders already covered with a layer of snow.

Large snowflakes fell slowly from the sky, floating in Ye Yunhen's outstretched palm, melting little by little with the warmth of his hand.

He smiled and lowered his hand, looking at the man on the ground.

"Has any news come from Wei Tu yet?"

The man on the ground nodded. "The news has come. Wei Tu is taking his wife out of the city, and they've already reached the outskirts. Should we let them return to Immortal Continent...?"

Ye Yunhen shook his head with a sinister look in his eyes.

"No, send men, have those two kill him immediately, right now!"

"Ah? Your Highness... Isn't this too risky? What if he really is just planning to return to Immortal Continent...?"

Ye Yunhen sneered.

"It seems he's gone back to Xianzhou. It's best if he's disillusioned with the Great Shang Dynasty. But what if that's not the case? What if he's just putting on an act with that woman? What if he's waiting for me to slip up? No, we can't be careless when it comes to things like this that could cost us our lives. Don't you understand?"

The man nodded.