After they both spoke in unison, they were both stunned, looked up at each other, and both had an embarrassed look on their faces.

That heartfelt attempt to take the blame was just a ploy to get the other person to take the blame for him.

result……

The two quickly looked away and continued to gaze at the babbling brook.

“After much thought, things aren’t entirely hopeless; there’s still room for us to salvage the situation,” Mo Bilian said first.

Ling Yongnian hummed in agreement, "That's what I think too, but I'm afraid you'll think I'm heartless, Lian'er."

Mo Bilian smiled and shook her head, "As long as you are well, no matter what you do or what you are like, in my heart you will always be the best."

"Then Lian'er, are you willing to get through this difficult time with me?" Ling Yongnian stared at her sincerely, waiting for her answer.

Mo Bilian paused for a moment, then nodded, "Lian'er is willing to stand with Senior Brother through thick and thin."

The two sat and discussed for a while, but the sweetness of their previous close embrace was gone.

They all just wanted the other person to take the blame for them.

They were both self-righteous, believing that the other was nothing more than a pawn in their game.

...

In the small bamboo garden, Ling Jingyu was preparing herbs, with Mo Yunzhao helping him.

The sun was blazing, and it was somewhat stuffy.

"Ah Zhao." Ling Jingyu held a nine-section flower in his hand and called out to Mo Yunzhao.

Mo Yunzhao looked up at him. The nine-sectioned flower in his hand had petals clustered together in small sections, making it quite beautiful.

"If I stand by and watch people die, do you think I disregard the lives of ordinary people and have no concern for the world?"

Ling Jingyu asked somewhat cautiously.

Hearing his words, Mo Yunzhao stared at him intently for a long while.

When she saw him smile at her, she lowered her head and placed the nine-jointed flower aside, as if she had never asked him the question.

She looked at the red nine-jointed flower placed among the green herbs, feeling somewhat dazed.

"I stood by and watched someone die? I disregarded life? I have no concern for the world?"

Each piercing question was accompanied by a self-deprecating laugh.

"Ha, Mo Yunzhao, do you know that for a bloodthirsty demon, killing people without even seeing them is already the greatest mercy?"

"Ah Zhao, I kill like a demon, but have I ever harmed you in the slightest?"

Mo Yunzhao's head throbbed again; the voice, seemingly close yet distant, had vanished.

"Ling Jingyu".

Ling Jingyu, who was fiddling with the herbs, looked up at her.

She usually called him Your Highness and rarely called him by his name directly.

Mo Yunzhao raised his eyes, smiled faintly, and said softly, "If the world cannot accept me, why should my heart hold the world in my heart?"

Ling Jingyu paused for a moment, then raised his peach blossom eyes and smiled brightly and happily, "Mm."

“It seems that someone asked me the same question before.” Mo Yunzhao said, then shook his head in denial, “No, it was I who scolded him for being indifferent to death, for disregarding life, and for lacking compassion for the world.”

Ling Jingyu glanced at her sideways, then lowered his head again to continue working with the herbs.

Mo Yunzhao simply looked up at him and started fiddling with it as well.

Fu Liu rushed in excitedly, chattering away until Ling Yongnian and Mo Bilian were chased away in a panic.

Her voice was clear and crisp, and she spoke in a funny way, like telling a joke.

Mo Yunzhao laughed repeatedly, but after laughing, he worried, "I'm afraid it won't end like this."

Ling Jingyu nodded, "What they do now will only be detrimental to them."

Soon, Nie You came in. "Your Highness, the villagers are kneeling outside begging you to save people. Many who were not infected have been infected because the plague has not been cured. The number is even greater than before."