At this time, in the palace garden.

Jiang Muyu asked someone to move a lounge chair next to the flower bed where the Epiphyllum was planted, and put some tea and snacks on it.

The two maids beside her each held two hexagonal palace lanterns for lighting. The sky was dotted with stars and the breeze brought a little coolness. She half-lying down comfortably, looking up at the dark blue sky, and turning her head from time to time to glance at the buds that were about to bloom.

She hummed a little tune leisurely: "The boundless horizon is my love - flowers are blooming at the foot of the green hills..."

After listening to her humming for a long time, Yun Yan couldn't help but ask, "Madam, what song are you humming? How come I have never heard it before?"

"This song is called 'The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'. It's a song I composed myself. Isn't it nice?"

"Uh..." Yun Yan shook her head.

It sounds nice, but there's an earthy smell that's hard to describe.

At this time, Xu Lang pushed Liang Qingchen over.

Yun Xuan was the first to see them and bowed, "Prince, why are you here?"

Liang Qingchen had imagined many scenes in his mind before coming here, but he never expected the scene before him - the woman was half lying on a recliner, holding a teacup in one hand and a cake in the other, looking so comfortable.

“Huh?” He was becoming more and more confused.

Jiang Muyu heard the noise, looked over, and asked, "Why are you here?"

Liang Qingchen pursed his lips, appearing calm and composed: "I can't sleep, so I came out to get some fresh air."

Xu Lang pushed Liang Qingchen to Jiang Muyu's side.

"Oh." Jiang Muyu did not doubt him and said, "Would you like some snacks? This is the buckwheat pastry that Master Liu made. It tastes very good."

In fact, she wrote the recipe to Master Liu.

Liang Qingchen picked up a piece of buckwheat pastry. Why did this snack look like a hollow rice dumpling? He took a bite. It was crispy and not sweet, but not greasy either.

Master Liu's cooking skills have improved recently.

"What are you doing here?" Liang Qingchen asked the question in his mind.

Jiang Muyu pointed to the cluster of flowers next to him and said, "Waiting for it to bloom."

Liang Qingchen looked over and saw a few flower buds hidden in a cluster of green branches and leaves. The petals were white and obovate-lanceolate to obovate. He didn't know much about flowers and plants, but he thought they were pretty.

"What kind of flower is this?"

"Epiphyllum blooms only at night, and its flowering period is less than two hours."

"So you're just waiting here for it to bloom?"

"Yes, this is something you can only encounter by chance."

Well... he had overthought it before.

Liang Qingchen glanced at the sky and said, "I'll wait with you."

Jiang Muyu shook his head and said, "No need, you are weak, I will draw it for you tomorrow."

“Can you also paint?”

"Who are you looking down on?" Jiang Muyu raised his chin, "There's nothing I can't do, except what you can't think of."

Liang Qingchen looked at her and smiled, with soft light covering his eyes.

Such a woman, who is energetic, opinionated, and capable, can be a good helper. However, she seems to be not as easy to manipulate as the original person...

"I won't be able to sleep well if I go back, so why not stay here with you for a while?"

Jiang Muyu couldn't persuade him, so he didn't refuse anymore and told Yun Xuan to get a thin blanket to cover him. "It's very dewy at night, don't catch a cold, it won't be good if you get a fever."

Liang Qingchen said helplessly: "I'm not as fragile as you think."

Jiang Muyu didn't respond, but took a sip of tea slowly.

Maybe she knew too well the ending of Liang Qingchen in the original book. Every time she saw him, he seemed to be counting down his life points. She inexplicably felt that he was weak and might fart at any time.

Yun Xuan brought a teacup and poured him a cup of tea.

Liang Qingchen picked it up and took a sip, then put it down. "Do you like Yunding Minglan?"

"Well, I think it tastes good, not bitter, and looks good."

The two of them had nothing to do while waiting, so they started chatting.

Jiang Muyu asked: "Liang Qingchen, what kind of women do you like?"

Liang Qingchen answered casually: "You are like this."

"Don't talk nonsense. I have a clear mind."

He smiled and said, "To be honest, I don't have any idea about love. When the late emperor offered me marriage, I refused it. I have my own mission in life that I must complete. If I stay with someone, I'm afraid they will let me down."

"So what do you think of the original me... the me before?"

"I didn't know Zhao Zhao had someone in mind, otherwise the marriage certificate would have been invalidated long ago. For me, getting married and having children is just a process in life."

Or perhaps, his marriage could be said to be a helpless act after weighing the pros and cons.

Jiang Muyu was silent for a moment before he said, "So, you are so nice to me just to make up for it?"

"yes."

I didn't expect him to admit it so quickly. Jiang Muyu didn't know what to say for a moment.

Then, the two of them were speechless.

About half an hour later, the flower bud gradually showed signs of blooming.

Yunyan said, "My Lady, it's open, it's open again."

"I saw it." Jiang Muyu finally smiled again and sat up straight.

The night-blooming cereus blooms very slowly. A few people gathered together, waiting and waiting, but by the time they were all sleepy, the flower had only bloomed less than half.

Jiang Muyu yawned and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "I really want to install an accelerator for it."

"Are you sleepy?" Liang Qingchen raised his eyebrows, still looking relaxed and contented.

"Aren't you sleepy?"

"I slept too much these past two days."

"Okay, I can't take it anymore."

Liang Qingchen said: "You can close your eyes for a while, and I will wake you up when it is fully open."

She thought about it, decided it was feasible, and lay back in the chair.

"Don't forget to call me."

"Um."

After getting a positive answer, she lay down and went to sleep peacefully.

After sleeping for about half an hour, Jiang Muyu was woken up by someone, "Zhao Zhao, it's time to wake up."

This person's voice was really nice, as clean as mountain spring water, yet mixed with a bit of deep magnetism, a bit like the voice of a voice actor she once liked very much.

She opened her eyes in confusion, not knowing where she was for a moment.

"Did you fall asleep?" There was a hint of smile in his tone.

Jiang Muyu finally realized what was happening. Wasn't she waiting in the garden to see the night-blooming cereus bloom?

“Are the flowers blooming?”

"Look."

Jiang Muyu followed his gaze and for a moment, her pupils trembled. Among the kelp-like green leaves, the tender flower buds were trembling slightly. The tube-skirt-like receptacle could not hold back the plump white jade-like buds. They were pure and tender, worthy of the reputation of "Beauty Under the Moon".

"It's so beautiful!" she exclaimed sincerely.

Liang Qingchen watched it bloom the entire time and no longer felt so shocked. He was just amazed at its exquisiteness.

"What a pity, Tangtang didn't see it."

Liang Qingchen said, "Tangtang is young, so she should go to bed early. You can draw it for her tomorrow. There will be more opportunities in the future."

"Um."

A few people gathered around to watch for a while, only to see the flower gradually lose its luster and no longer as eye-catching as it was at the beginning.

Jiang Muyu said: "It looks like it's starting to wither."

Liang Qingchen said: "It's time to go back and rest."

Yun Xuan sighed: "What a pity, beautiful things always only exist for a brief moment."

"Who said that?" Jiang Muyu curled his lips, stood up, walked over and picked all those Epiphyllums.

Yun Xuan was puzzled and asked, "What is your Majesty doing?"

"Of course, I want to use it to its full potential." Jiang Muyu held the Epiphyllum in his hand, put it to his nose and sniffed it, saying, "Epiphyllum is not only beautiful, but also has extremely high medicinal value. This is the real purpose of my guarding for several hours."

"So that's how it is." Yun Yan understood.

Liang Qingchen saw her standing on the edge of the stone flowerbed and raised his hand to protect her, "Be careful, don't fall down."

"I know." Jiang Muyu jumped down calmly, "Let's go, it's time to go back."

The group packed up and returned to Qingyu Courtyard.

Jiang Muyu was not in a hurry to go to bed. She took the Epiphyllum to the study, processed it, and returned to her room after working for an hour.

At this time Liang Qingchen had already fallen asleep.

Jiang Muyu held a candlestick in her hand and moved closer to him. The candlelight flickered, casting shadows on his delicate face. She squatted beside him, tracing his features with her fingers.

This man is good in every way except that he doesn't love her.

"Liang Qingchen, for the sake of our acquaintance, I will try to save you."

She spoke quietly, mumbling to herself.

Then she put down the candlestick and crawled quietly to the inside of the bed.

On a summer night, there are the long chirping of cicadas outside the house and the sound of gentle breathing beside me.

Liang Qingchen suddenly opened his eyes, turned his head to look at the peaceful sleeping face of the person beside him, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

What did she mean by that sentence just now?