He had actually forgotten what Qingyin looked like. During the ceremony when he proclaimed himself emperor, he only remembered that this person had put on very heavy and dignified makeup, which completely concealed his original appearance.

At that time, he thought that this person might have accepted his fate.

I never thought that I would see you again.

It actually made him feel a little bit interested.

Qingyin was aware that a vague gaze was staring at her from the side, but she pretended not to know and ate the food in the bowl silently.

Silence returned to the table.

Qingyin naturally noticed it, but she had already said the polite words, so she would not say anything else.

A wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival banquet ended silently.

Before leaving, Qingyin raised her eyelids slightly and looked at someone. This person was self-aware and informed her in advance that there was no need to be extravagant.

Nangong Yuan paused, looked up, and happened to see Qingyin turning around. The fragrance brought by the airflow became stronger.

A hint of sadness slowly appeared in his eyes.

He really disliked this uncontrollable feeling. It seemed that tonight...

On the Mid-Autumn moonlit night, the scorching heat is still a little unbearable.

Qingyin left the banquet and went to a lake to enjoy the breeze and get rid of the smell of alcohol.

"Queen Dowager, Prince Su is here." Qiu Zhu suddenly spoke up to remind her.

Qingyin turned around and looked, her eyes becoming clearer.

She hadn't seen Nangong Yi in the palace just now, and she thought that he wasn't coming to the palace to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet today.

So much so that she let her guard down.

If she had known he was coming, she would not have stayed here to rest.

Nangong Yi looked at Qingyin with an undisguised and even venomous look in his eyes and finally lost control. He had already drunk some wine and was drunk, so he wanted to pull Qingyin without caring about anything else.

Fortunately, Qiu Zhu was quicker and stepped in front of him. "Su, Your Majesty, you are drunk."

Qingyin pulled Qiuzhu over and said as she retreated, "Prince Su, this is the imperial palace, and I am the empress dowager. Even if you are drunk, you shouldn't cause trouble."

After saying that, without giving Nangong a chance to speak, he pulled Qiuzhu and turned away.

Nangong Yi was about to chase after him, but he caught a glimpse of an inky robe out of the corner of his eye. His whole body froze, and he slowly retracted his raised foot.

He really shouldn't cause her any more trouble.

Thinking of this, he smiled self-deprecatingly and slowly left in the opposite direction.

Qingyin hurried back to the palace and immediately ordered the palace servants to prepare hot water for bathing.

Although there were a lot of ice cubes at the banquet to reduce the temperature, her clothes were too thick. In addition, they had just run all the way to avoid Nangong Yi, so naturally their bodies were stained with sweat.

After washing, Qingyin dismissed the palace maids and sat at the table wearing a light dress.

She practiced calligraphy a few days ago.

She didn't want to practice today and wanted to paint a picture.

After a while, a crabapple blossom slowly emerged on the paper. When she finished the last stroke, she heard a light knock at the window. She smiled at the person who came and said, "You're here."

"Yes, I'm here." Nangong Yan couldn't explain why he was so impatient to come over.

But when he saw the smile that showed that she was looking forward to his coming from the bottom of her heart, he seemed to suddenly have the answer.

He remembered that when he first regained consciousness, his mother held him in her arms and told him that this was not allowed.

If others knew, neither he nor A Yuan would survive.

So, he just hid himself obediently.

Only occasionally, when he had a little time, he would take advantage of A Yuan and his mother's ignorance and wander around alone in the night.

Then go back obediently before dawn.

Sometimes he felt like a thief, stealing everything that did not belong to him.

But he couldn't help but feel secretly happy every time he woke up.

But because his mother had asked for a talisman, his chances of waking up became smaller and smaller.

Until A Niang passed away, A Yuan's violent temper became worse and worse, and the amulet gradually failed to suppress him.

He showed up more and more often, but he was still unhappy.

Because he knew that no one welcomed him, and no one expected him.

But it seems not to be the case now.

Some people are looking forward to him.

Qingyin may have noticed his happiness, so she picked up the painting on the table and slowly walked in front of him. "Look, is this crabapple painting beautiful?"

The woman must have just taken a shower, and the moisture had not yet completely dissipated. When you get closer, you can smell the faint fragrance of crabapple from her body.

Somehow, Nangong Yan felt that the crabapple tree in the painting seemed to have suddenly come to life and was swaying in the wind.

But when he looked again, the flowers in the painting did not move.

After waiting for a long time without an answer, Qingyin hummed and wanted to take the painting back. "I know my painting is not good, but can't you at least give me a perfunctory compliment?"

The soft and angry voice was like a hook, making his heart shrink.

He lowered his eyes and said seriously: "The painting is very beautiful. I was just thinking about how to praise..." you.

Nangong Yan could only slowly say the last word in his heart.

The smile on Qingyin's lips deepened, "If it's beautiful, would you like to give it to me?"

"want."

As soon as Qingyin finished speaking, Nangong Yan couldn't wait to respond.

As if afraid that it was too late, she took the painting back.

Qingyin burst out laughing, "This was originally a Mid-Autumn Festival gift for you. We are friends now, right?"

Nangong Yan carefully folded the painting and put it into his sleeve. "I thought we were friends for a long time."

After saying that, the two of them smiled at each other.

That night, Nangong Yan also gave Qingyin a painting as a return gift, with only a round moon on it.

But the irregular ink streak below seemed to be accidentally stained, but when you look closely, you can vaguely make out that there are two people sitting side by side as if admiring the moon.

Qingyin knew that the painting was of the two of them, so she kept it carefully.

When Nangong Yan saw her like this, his heart felt as if it was soaked in warm water, warm and swelling.

When she was a child, she once stayed up for several nights to make a woven straw hat for her mother. However, when her mother saw it, she was not only unhappy, but also scolded him for coming out again.

Looking at the straw hat that was casually thrown on the ground by his mother, with one corner stepped on and collapsed, he just felt very sad, very sad.

But he couldn't show it, because he knew his mother didn't like seeing this expression on his face.

Now, he just casually drew a picture, but it was treated with such care. He couldn't help but tell Qingyin his name, "My name is Xue Yan, you can call me A Yan."

Xue is A Niang's surname.

He couldn't say his last name was Nangong.

Nangong is the national surname, and if he used it, she would be suspicious.

"Ayan." Qingyin said softly, and then suddenly laughed, "It sounds very nice."

This was the name he gave himself after learning to read. He had told his mother about it before, but she slapped him like crazy, "How dare you give yourself this name? Get out of here, get out of here! This body can only belong to Yuan. You're not allowed to come out again."