Love always seems heartless

Changning Palace was the most unlikely sleeping palace that Ji Mingxiu had ever seen in Tiandu.

The palace gate that had been sealed for two years was opened again, and Luo Xue waited silently for him to set foot.

Ji Mingxiu stepped on the old snow and left his mark in this palace for the second time.

The first time was the year he was born.

As the largest palace in the entire Tiandu, it has everything, including a martial arts field, a hot spring pool, a back garden, and even a small horse racing track.

Ji Mingxiu raised his head, his longing gaze fixed ahead.

So, this is what my mother is like.

In the main hall of Changning Palace, a scroll more than eight feet long hangs in the center. It depicts a strange yet familiar young woman in a fancy dress riding on a horse with the horse's head raised high. She holds the reins tightly, her eyebrows and eyes are excited, and she looks heroic.

This is his mother.

Here are the red armor that my mother wore, the wine pots and cups that she used, and the long sword and rouge that she left behind.

The air here was filled with the scent of his mother, and he felt as if he had returned to the arms of the mother he had never been to.

The sound of wind was layered, and Ji Mingxiu walked through every corner of Changning Palace with a small lamp. Those tiny traces and wrinkles were portrayed and reproduced by his imagination of blood connection, becoming the most real illusion.

He casually brushed away the fallen snow on the stairs and put the dim light aside. Ji Mingxiu sat quietly in front of the martial arts arena, looking at the rows of swords, spears, and halberds placed beside him.

The surroundings were extremely quiet, but his heart was in a state of turmoil, desperately seeking someone to listen.

He casually pointed to the seat next to him, motioning Qiu Ling, who had been following him, to sit down.

Qiu Ling did not dare to sit directly next to His Majesty, but instead half-knelt on the next step.

He entered the palace late and had never seen the peerless Empress Zhaolie. Moreover, the late emperor had almost never allowed anyone to mention Empress Zhaolie in recent years, so he only heard that the late emperor was highly favored, and when he asked about her in detail, she would always keep it a secret.

"Qiu Ling, do you think my father is affectionate or ruthless?"

Qiu Ling's expression wavered and he lowered his head.

"I dare not speak nonsense."

Ji Mingxiu did not force him. It was more of an unwillingness than a doubt.

My father was certainly affectionate. Although he would not allow anyone to enter Changning Palace, he would come here often and would sit there for hours. Even when he was seriously ill, he would come to Changning Palace to take a look, as if this was his paradise. All his worries and pains would disappear as long as he was here.

The emperor's love was only given to his mother, and even he and his elder brother could not get much.

But how could my father be so selfish and domineering?

One of them completely hid the Queen Mother, along with their memories.

All that was left for him was an empty shell that could never be filled.

"This Changning Palace was built for my mother the year my father ascended the throne. He ignored the objections of the ministers and started construction on the dragon vein. He connected four palaces and built it for my mother. It is bigger than his own bedroom. And when my mother was reborn, she was the only one in the harem. My father's concubines were brought into the palace later."

These were all told to him by his elder brother. In this palace, he was the only one who would tell him about his mother when he was crying as a child. Perhaps because he was afraid that he would know too much and it would be detrimental to his health, when he was older, his elder brother stopped telling him about it. But he still remembered it, and he remembered it for many years.

"However, my father ascended the throne by stepping on blood, and those ministers did not dare to stop him. They were all as obedient as sheep." Ji Mingxiu seemed to sigh with a smile, but the smile in his eyes gradually faded.

"But such generous favors and deep affection cannot affect his calculations."

As soon as my mother passed away, my father transferred my grandfather away from Tiandu and enfeoffed him in Chu until his death.

Moreover, Ji Mingxiu remembered the portrait. He had not known what his mother looked like before, but now he found out what she looked like.

"The eyes of Concubine Ji are 70% similar to those of the Queen Mother."

Qiu Ling finally found an opportunity. He moved closer, hoping to soothe the loneliness surrounding His Majesty, and denied it softly.

"The late emperor's heart was not with any of the concubines in the harem."

This is something even Qiu Ling can see clearly.

Perhaps this is part of the reason why Concubine Ji is favored, but it is by no means decisive.

"I will not endanger the country for my relatives. After all, my father is the emperor."

Especially my father, who passed away, was more like an emperor.

"But what is real?"

Ji Mingxiu lowered his head slightly and looked directly into Qiu Ling's eyes. The confusion and sadness in her eyes deeply hurt him. Almost without thinking, he boldly moved closer and eagerly expressed his sincerity.

"I will be loyal to Your Majesty, and I will never change my attitude, even in life or death."

"Really?"

Ji Mingxiu's lips curled up slightly, the lights beside him flickered in the wind, and mottled light and shadows fell in his eyes, but there was no trace of a smile.

He held Qiu Ling's frozen hand and pulled her in front of him. Time and breathing seemed to have stopped, and they seemed to be intertwined. Ji Mingxiu stared into his slightly panicked eyes, speaking calmly and slowly.

"Then why did you lie to me?"

On the back of Qiu Ling's bony hand, where Ji Mingxiu's fingertips landed, there was a clear scratch, left by Toffee Ji's white cat.

It is a long, thin line.

Not crescent shaped.

*

It was like a thunderbolt, making Qiu Ling dare not think about it.

His knees slammed hard on the snow-covered stone slabs, and his hands hidden in his sleeves clenched into fists.

He did not even dare to look up at his Majesty, the God he prayed to.

"I deserve death, Your Majesty, and I beg you to punish me."

His extremely submissive posture allowed the tip of his nose to touch a little wet snow, and the chill spread to his heart in an instant, just like frost and snow. He heard a chaotic sound of breaking, as if celadon had fallen from a height and then shattered in front of him.

Ji Mingxiu stood up, swept the hem of his clothes lightly in front of Qiu Ling, and looked down at him, his tone still flat, without any emotion in it.

"Then tell me, what crime have you committed?"

What should he say?

Qiu Ling closed his eyes deeply and swallowed the bitterness in his heart.

Obviously, it was such a thin and poor love, without a single bit of soil to nourish it, but the bright red hibiscus flowers embroidered on his cuffs were so hot that he could not ignore the pain and purity of the years.

How could those tender moments grow into what they are now, an unbearable, dirty, shameful evil that cannot stand the light of day.

Even though we know that something does not belong to us and we cannot obtain it, we still cannot help but be greedy and jealous of it.

This is the outcome of deep delusion.

Just like looking at the lowest quality merchandise, the carefully hidden sweets were cruelly cut open, announcing their decaying end in this manner.

"The slave is guilty."

He didn't dare look into Ji Mingxiu's eyes, for fear of seeing a hint of disgust or mockery in them. He just wanted to die together with him with this in mind.

Life and death remain unchanged.

"That's it."

From the moment Ji Mingxiu asked this question, he already had his own answer in his mind. He bent down and helped Qiu Ling up.

"The ground is covered with snow. Stop kneeling."

The sleeve slipped from his fingertips, and he vaguely caught a glimpse of the delicate hibiscus, mixed in the dull dark green, like a blooming in the ashes.

"I will not punish you for this, but I am sorry that you have been troubled and worried over the years."

The long wind blows through the valley, then stops briefly like dew.

"How about I find a place for you to go?"

*

The wind was dead, and the courtyard was filled with bright starlight. Ji Mingxiu stood alone in front of the long stairs for a long time.

Why is the moon so desolate?

It was not until he put on the heavy cloak that his cold hands were wrapped in warmth.

"A strong wind knows a strong grass, and a turbulent wind knows a loyal minister."

Ji Mingxiu stared at Cheng Tianfeng, who was standing in front of him with his head down, not saying a word but stubbornly warming his hands, and slowly reached back to hold his hands.

"I will appoint you as the commander of the Yulin Army, in charge of the sixteen guards of the imperial city."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."