As Xie Zhaoran stepped out of the palace gate, the copper bells on the eaves were tinkling in the night breeze.

Gu Zhixing rushed to her almost instantly, grabbed her shoulders and looked her up and down: "Are you injured?"

"It's nothing." Xie Zhaoran gently brushed his hand away. In the moonlight, her face was so pale it was almost transparent. "Come with me for a walk outside the city."

Gu Zhixing naturally agreed.

Two fine horses emerged from the city gate under the moonlight, the wild grass in the suburbs glistening with dew, making a soft rustling sound under their hooves.

Gu Zhixing looked at the profile of the person beside him, and his tense nerves finally relaxed: "The Crown Prince has been executed?"

"Hmm." Xie Zhaoran gazed at the undulating mountains in the distance. "Execution tomorrow."

Gu Zhixing suddenly smiled, pointing his riding whip southeast: "After this matter is settled, shall we go to Jiangnan? I heard the perch in Suzhou are at their fattest..."

As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered.

He realized something was wrong with Xie Zhaoran, so he called out, "Zhaoran?"

The night wind lifted Xie Zhaoran's clothes, she reined in the horses, and the moonlight gilded her silhouette with a silver edge.

"What happened?" Gu Zhixing pressed.

Xie Zhaoran looked up at Gu Zhixing and said, "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going? I'll go with you..."

"You can't stay with me." She interrupted him, her voice colder than the night dew. "And...we don't need to see each other again."

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhixing suddenly grabbed her horse's reins and asked incredulously, "What do you mean by 'no need to see each other again'?"

His face was full of shock. "That day at the Qingzhou Inn, you said..."

“I’ve said a lot of things.” Xie Zhaoran looked up at him, his eyes reflecting the cold moonlight. “Some of them are true, some are false. Sometimes even I don’t know which of my words are true and which are false.”

Gu Zhixing suddenly didn't know what to say.

“I used your power to investigate the case and your identity to enter the palace. Now that the Crown Prince has been executed, you have no value left.”

That's a harsh statement, but it's better than leaving him with a sliver of hope.

After all, even she herself wasn't sure if she would come back alive, nor was she sure that the emperor wouldn't pursue the charge of her attempt to force the emperor to abdicate today.

The horse trotted its hooves restlessly.

Gu Zhixing's hand loosened little by little, his knuckles turning white: "You...really?"

“Your Highness,” Xie Zhaoran suddenly chuckled, “we were only using each other to begin with, and now we’re even.”

She turned her horse around, her black cloak fluttering in the wind.

Gu Zhixing stood frozen in place, feeling as if a burning ember was lodged in his throat, causing him excruciating pain but preventing him from speaking.

"Take care of yourself."

As the two words drifted away in the wind, Xie Zhaoran's horse had already galloped several feet away.

Gu Zhixing stared at that resolute figure's back and suddenly slammed his fist into the tree trunk—he couldn't tell whether he was more angry or heartbroken.

"Your Highness." Two guards emerged from the shadows and bowed respectfully. "The Princess requests that you enter the palace immediately."

He glanced one last time at the figure disappearing into the moonlight, and when he turned away, his eyes were filled with darkness.

The night wind scatters the dewdrops on the grass, just as it scatters the promises that were never spoken.

——

On the other side, Xie Zhaoran boarded the light boat that had been prepared in advance. The night fog shrouded the river, and the boatman silently pushed off with his long pole.

She stood at the bow of the boat, the night wind lifting her robes, which fluttered in the wind.

Just then, a white figure appeared on the shore, stepping on the moonlight. With his robes fluttering, he seemed like a banished immortal descending to earth.

"Shangguan?" Xie Zhaoran narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Logically speaking, Shangguan Qingchen should still be in Qingzhou!

Shangguan Qingchen lightly landed on the stern of the boat with a light touch of his toes. He unfolded his folding fan, obscuring half of his face: "The Xie family's downfall back then was due to their lack of support in the court." His voice was cold, yet every word was like a knife. "Now that you are heading north alone, if there is no one in the court to help you, wouldn't you be repeating the same mistake?"

Xie Zhaoran was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "You want to enter officialdom?"

"To win the top prize and then remain in seclusion is a waste of talent." Shangguan Qingchen tapped his palm lightly with his fan. "Now that the court is in turmoil, it is precisely the time when it needs capable people. If I were to enter the court, who would dare say that I am not worthy of the position of prime minister?"

Xie Zhaoran stared at him for a long while, then whispered, "Thank you."

Shangguan Qingchen scoffed: "Thank me?"

“No need to write it,” he said as he approached slowly, his eyes deep in the moonlight. “Xie Zhaoran, you know me. I never do anything that doesn’t pay off.”

He lightly tapped her shoulder with his folding fan. "I've staked too much on you. If you die, wouldn't I lose everything?"

Xie Zhaoran raised an eyebrow: "So, you want to continue doing business with me?"

“So—” Shangguan Qingchen took a step back, his folding fan snapping open to conceal the faint smile on his lips, “You just focus on fighting the war, I’ll handle things in the court for you.”

Xie Zhaoran gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and turned to look north—the beacon fires in Youzhou could not be delayed any longer.

Just then, a dark figure swept across the river. Xinghui knelt on one knee and said urgently, "Master, the Crown Prince has rebelled. When the Emperor learned of this, he was so enraged that he died."

Xie Zhaoran and Shangguan Qingchen turned their heads at the same time, their eyes meeting, both filled with cold killing intent.

"Heh." Xie Zhaoran sneered, "A cornered dog will jump over the wall."

Shangguan Qingchen snapped his folding fan shut, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Perfect, saves you the trouble of going through all that trouble."

A sudden gust of wind swept through the night, and the small boat slowly approached the shore.

The hull scraped against the shallows, making a dull screech.

A light rain began to fall, starting as just a few scattered drops, but soon it formed a fine curtain of rain, pattering against the boat awning with a soft rustling sound.

Xie Zhaoran stood at the bow of the boat, her eyelashes dampened by the rain, gleaming faintly in the firelight.

"Master, the rain is getting heavier." Xinghui opened her oil-paper umbrella, but Xie Zhaoran raised his hand to stop her.

"No need." She looked up at the dark sky, letting the cold rain slide down her cheeks. "It'll help me clear my head."

Among the reeds on the riverbank, a few lanterns swayed in the rain, vaguely illuminating the dark figures that had been waiting for a long time—the warhorses that had been prepared long ago.

Shangguan Qingchen stood at the stern of the boat, raindrops dripping from the edge of his folding fan and splashing tiny water droplets on the deck.

“Remember,” his voice pierced the rain, “come back alive to pay your debt.”

Xie Zhaoran chuckled and leaped onto the shore.

Mud splashed up, wetting the tops of her boots.

She waved without turning her head.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, disappearing into the depths of the rainy night.

Shangguan Qingchen stared at that figure until it was no longer visible before slowly closing her folding fan.