Elsewhere, as soon as Quan Heng entered Mingyue Pavilion, she saw a familiar figure standing in the courtyard.
Ah Zheng was there, though she had no idea how long he’d been waiting. When he saw her return, he smiled and walked up to her.
Quan Heng was actually a little upset at the sight of him.
Back on the street, she didn’t know why he had suddenly left without saying a word.
She had never seen him act like that these past few months.
When he approached, Quan Heng turned her head away and ignored him, instead sitting at a small table to the side.
Seeing this, Ah Zheng’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Panic rose in him. He was afraid she wouldn’t talk to him again, so he quickly came over and sat down beside her.
Ziyun, seeing they had something to talk about, dismissed all the maids and servants from the courtyard and went inside herself, not wanting to disturb them.
Ah Heng still refused to speak to him, her body turned slightly away so she wouldn’t face him directly. Anxious, Ah Zheng pulled her into his arms.
“Ah Heng, what’s wrong? Why won’t you talk to me?”
Still sulking, she pushed him away and said, a little frustrated, “What’s wrong with me? Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that?”
Ah Zheng showed a rare trace of confusion in his eyes and tentatively asked, “Is it because I offended you in the grove earlier, and that’s why you’re upset?”
The moment he blatantly brought up that kiss, Quan Heng flushed with embarrassment. “You—!”
She turned her head and huffed, “It’s not about that. Think again.”
Nervously wringing his hands, Ah Zheng guessed it must be about him leaving that evening. But since he had something to hide, he dared not bring it up himself, so he just lowered his head and waited for her to judge him.
Quan Heng looked back at him and sighed.
Earlier that night, he had chased the pickpocket so confidently, but now he looked all pitiful and downcast—she couldn’t stay mad at him.
“Where did you run off to tonight? Why didn’t you say a word before disappearing?”
At this, Ah Zheng took something from his chest—a fried dough cake—and handed it to her.
When she took it, she noticed it was still warm, and her expression shifted.
He had kept it close to his body, warmed by his own heat. Even though it was spring, the night air was still chilly.
These kinds of cakes go cold if you don’t eat them within 15 minutes of buying. Yet he had kept it warm—he had really put thought into it.
Then she heard him speak.
“I saw a hawker selling fried cakes not far from the lantern stall. He was carrying them in a basket, and I was afraid he’d leave soon. I got anxious and ran over to buy one without letting you know.”
Looking at the cake in her hand, he added softly, “Try it. See if it tastes like the ones from the town. Back in Baixue Manor, when we barely had anything to eat, you went and dug up Dendrobium to sell and bought a fried cake with the money—it was the first one, and you gave it to me. I’ve never forgotten that taste.”
Staring at the cake in her hand, Quan Heng couldn’t bring herself to blame him anymore.
She unwrapped the oiled paper and took a bite. Though the taste wasn’t quite the same as before, it was still delicious.
“It’s good. I like it.”
Her time at Baixue Manor had been the darkest period of her life.
During those hard days, it was Ah Zheng who stayed by her side.
Even if he had a few small secrets now, she didn’t want to press him.
After all, who doesn’t have secrets?
Just like her—she’d had a strange dream, one she had no way to tell anyone about.
With that thought, much of her anger faded.
She tore the cake in half and handed a piece to Ah Zheng. “Here, you have some too. I forgive you. But next time, whatever you plan to do, you must let me know first.”
Ah Zheng took the piece and nodded. “Alright. This won’t happen again.”
Seeing the crumbs stuck to the corners of his mouth, Quan Heng couldn’t help but smile. She reached out to wipe them away.
As she leaned close, he caught the scent of her, and his hands clenched with tension.
Every time she got too close, he found it hard to control himself.
Fortunately, she only leaned in for a second before returning to her seat.
“Silly, eating like a child—getting crumbs everywhere.”
Watching him sit there dazed, Quan Heng suddenly found him quite adorable.
“Alright, finish eating and go to bed. It’s getting late.”
At her words, Ah Zheng finally came back to his senses and gave a sheepish smile.
After they finished eating, he returned to his own quarters.
After washing up, he lay on the bed, unable to fall asleep.
One moment, he recalled the kiss from earlier that day.
The next, he thought about the scent on Ah Heng’s body when she leaned in.
He felt a certain part of him grow hotter and hotter… almost beyond control.
Finally, he sat up.
He went to take a cold shower.
After tossing and turning for a long while, he returned to bed. This time, he was finally tired—he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
But that night, he had a nightmare.
In the dream, he seemed to be only a few years old, sitting alone in a vast, empty palace. Although there were people around, they all kept their distance, not daring to come near.
Ah Zheng tried hard to make out their clothing and then recognized that they were probably palace maids and eunuchs.
Just then, a woman finally entered from outside the palace.
She was adorned in lavish jewelry and splendid robes, and her face was stunningly beautiful, but there was not the slightest warmth in her eyes as she looked at him.
The woman grabbed a piece of paper from the table in front of him and slammed it hard onto his head.
“Useless thing! Is this the level of writing you usually produce? If your Royal father sees this, he’ll surely scold you!”
At that moment, Ah Zheng felt his soul float out from the young boy’s body. He stood to the side, watching everything from a bystander’s point of view.
After getting hit on the head, the little boy immediately pouted and began to cry. He reached out, wanting the woman to hold him.
“Royal Mother, your son knows he was wrong. I will work harder from now on. Please, can you hug me?”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the woman looked at him with disgust and even took two steps back. “My son should be the most powerful man in the world. He would never show such an expression. What a coward!”
Then, as if recalling something, she furrowed her brow and scolded him again, “When I gave birth to you and your brother, you were twins. Royal twins are considered inauspicious, so I kept you by my side and sent your brother out of the palace. Now his life or death is unknown—who knows what kind of life he’s living out there? And yet you enjoy luxury in this palace. What gives you the right?!”
Although the boy was only a few years old, he was precocious and could understand what his mother was saying. Knowing she was angry and upset, he knelt on the floor and crawled over to her, hugging her leg and crying loudly, “Royal Mother, please don’t be angry. Don’t be angry, okay?”
Seeing this made the woman even angrier. She not only stepped back again, pulling her leg away from his grasp, but also pointed at the nearby eunuchs and gave a harsh order.
“The crown prince is disobedient and lazy in his studies. I must punish him properly. Take him to the dark room at the end of the palace and leave him there to reflect!”
At her words, the eunuchs stepped forward, holding the little boy by the arms and dragging him away.
The little boy cried and screamed at the top of his lungs, turning his head frantically to beg his mother to take back her order. “Royal Mother, I won’t be lazy again, really! Please, don’t punish me!”
But the woman turned her face away, not sparing him even a glance.
“Zheng’er, go. Reflect well. Your brother suffers out there in hardship—you shouldn’t have it too easy in the palace either. Otherwise, how could you face him?”
Ah Zheng watched helplessly as the little boy was thrown into the dark room. No matter how he cried and shouted, no one came to save him.
For three whole days, not even a single meal was brought.
He was starving, exhausted, and had cried until no tears were left, yet still no one came to let him out.
Watching all of this, Ah Zheng suddenly felt a splitting headache, as if his heart were being clenched tightly. The pain was suffocating.
Soon, the dream scene shifted again.
This time, it was another palace, and the little boy had grown up. He looked about ten-something years old, much taller, already a young adolescent.
Standing in front of him was a middle-aged man.
Between the two stood a bloodied eunuch.
That eunuch had clearly been tortured, lying weakly on the ground, barely breathing.
The middle-aged man patted the boy’s shoulder and praised him, “Well done! Even if he’s your personal eunuch who’s grown up with you—so what? If he dares to displease you, then he deserves to die!”
After saying that, the man’s face darkened, eyes filled with malice. “Remember, I am the emperor, and you are the crown prince. Everyone’s lives in this world belong to us.”
The boy was clearly no longer the same as the one before. If the little boy had still cried and shown human emotion, then this young man was now a demon.
There was no trace of feeling on him. Even as he looked at the eunuch on the ground, his eyes were cold and indifferent.
The middle-aged man looked proud, as if this was his finest creation.
“Tomorrow, go kill your two study companions. They’ve been with you for ten years—long enough. If their families protest, don’t worry. I’ll clean up the mess for you.”
Hearing this, the youth showed no reaction, only replied with a calm “Yes.”
The next day, when the two study companions entered the palace, he took a sword with him. Just as the two knelt to pay respects—
The young man raised his sword.
Seeing this, Ah Zheng’s eyes widened. He rushed toward the pair, trying to block the sword with his own body.
“No! Stop! Please stop!!”
But in the dream, the young man couldn’t hear him. The sword swung down without hesitation.
Yet the bloody scene did not follow.
Because this was a dream, and the scene shifted again.
This time, it was a family banquet.
The boy had grown into a young man. His brothers and sisters were also present. Because his parents had ordered that he must wear a mask in public, he obeyed.
At the banquet, everyone was lively. The young man sat in a seat just below the emperor, watching the crowd coldly without the slightest emotion.
Then, Ah Zheng suddenly saw someone at the feast who looked very familiar.
He leaned in closer and saw—it was the same girl who had gone shopping with at night alongside Ah Heng.
He heard the people around him call her—
Princess Zhaohua.
For a moment, Ah Zheng was utterly shocked.
And then, the young man seemed to notice his presence too, and began walking toward him.
He then removed his mask.
Beneath the mask was a face exactly like Ah Zheng’s!
Even the red mole beneath his right eye was exactly the same.
At that moment, the young man stared coldly into his eyes and said—
“Wen Zheng, you’ve been gone for too long. Why haven’t you come back?”
The next moment, everyone at the banquet turned to look at him, murmuring:
“Why haven’t you come back?”
“Why haven’t you come back!!”
In that instant, Ah Zheng jolted awake. One look in the bronze mirror showed he was drenched in cold sweat.
