I felt desperate when the geese returned.

Mei Bao got married, and A Yue spent every day with that guy surnamed Fu at Dali Temple. The once best trio of troublemakers in the capital just broke up like that, and it seems that after all the twists and turns, he was left all alone.

Wait, what happened to the friendship and bonds we were promised?!

He drew his sword and looked around, feeling lost and confused.

To make matters worse, his father and mother began to urge him to take a wife as soon as possible. After all, if he was still without a wife or concubine at his age, people would indeed suspect that he was a eunuch.

In fact, as the Crown Prince, he could easily marry two noble ladies from high-ranking families and display them like decorative vases.

Others seek power and influence, while he seeks peace and quiet; each gets what they want.

But just imagining it makes him feel like he's about to break down.

He stubbornly believed that marriage could only be done with someone he loved, and even though the person he loved was already married, he couldn't just give up and fall into depravity because of that.

Fortunately, on his relentless journey of refusing marriage, he had a quirky uncle, Uncle Wang, who could offer him some terrible advice—

Will this work?

"Oh, that's exactly what your uncle did back in the day!"

Yan Yuyao, feeling questioned, glared at him irritably.

So, the day after the Empress sent portraits of the noble ladies from various households, Yan Hui packed his bags, saying that at twenty-one was the age to venture out, and he was going to the Western Regions to purchase a batch of high-quality manure...

Of course, the reason why his uncle was able to succeed was because his uncle was a lovable child who was spoiled to an extreme by the late emperor.

When Yan returned, she only received two big rebates of love from her father, the emperor.

Once the swelling on his face subsided, Yan Huishi, still harboring wicked intentions, began to plot again on the matter of becoming a Buddhist monk in the capital. If his father and mother did not agree, he would simply go on a hunger strike.

This time, the Empress Dowager could only look at him helplessly and sigh softly.

“We are not forcing you to make a choice, but your close friends and family are all in pairs, and your mother is afraid that you will become more and more lonely in the end and regret some of the decisions you are making now.”

Ruan Tian's concerns were not unfounded. For example, what if he regretted letting go of Xiao Zhi after returning to the throne in a few years, when he had even more power and no one could restrain or control him?

Does he want to become a tyrant who steals wives from his subjects?

I didn't think about these things when the geese returned.

He even stole his wife! Mei Bao could squeeze his pee out with one hand, and punch him so hard he'd be transformed into a ghost with three hundred rooms and one hundred halls in a royal mausoleum. Is he tired of living and looking for death?

Of course, the main reason is that he could never bear to see her unhappy.

As for loneliness, the geese had already prepared themselves mentally when they returned home; after all, it's lonely at the top...

But he prepared himself mentally too early.

Many years later, when Yan Hui returned, he had already ascended the throne. The former Crown Prince's tutor had become the Grand Tutor, ranking among the Three Dukes and serving as the Grand Secretary. Even though the two had been rivals in love, Grand Secretary Shen still diligently helped this student who had once embarrassed him countless times to manage the country.

Then one day, after the two finished reviewing the memorials together, it started snowing outside. Shen Suqing took a cloak from the side, tied it on, and went outside.

“Azhi has come to fetch me, so I shall take my leave now.”

Enraged, the young king threw all the memorials on the ground, nearly fainting, and his composure crumbled on the spot.

"Hey buddy, who asked you?"

Shen Suqing's eyes held a smile. "Yesterday, Azhi said he wanted to invite Your Majesty and everyone to have hot pot at the General's Mansion today. Since Your Majesty is in a bad mood, then I have no choice but to decline on Your Majesty's behalf."

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Yan Huishi was nowhere to be seen in the imperial study. Instead, several exclamations of "How delightful!" echoed from the snow.

In reality, the saying "the most ruthless is the imperial family" or "the higher you climb, the colder it gets" never happened. Even after becoming the ruler of a country, the young king still lived a warm and happy life with his old relatives and friends, and never became estranged from them.

A time of peace and prosperity.

He was never alone.