"Is mother...waiting for someone?"
A smile appeared on the woman's face, and finally there was a vague trace of the past.
"I'm waiting for Wei'er, waiting to see Wei'er for the last time."
He felt a strange feeling rising in his heart, like soreness and uneasiness.
But his expression was still measured and his voice was still neither hurried nor slow.
"Don't worry, mother. After today, I will find a way to make father change. We will never be separated again."
The woman's face was covered with a layer of sadness like smoke and fog, and it seemed as if she was born with such eyebrows and eyes.
"No one can stay with another person forever. You always have to learn to live alone."
"My mother doesn't need to be with me all the time, she just needs to be where I can see her often."
"Wei'er, are you afraid of being alone?"
Afraid of loneliness? He was always accompanied by loneliness in that ancient tower day and night.
It was because he understood loneliness that he was able to walk out of the tower.
"I'm not afraid, kid."
"That couldn't be better. Mother fears loneliness the most, but it's a pity you were born alone." After saying this, the woman's eyes suddenly lit up. She turned and looked at the huge red sunset in the distance. "The sunset is beautiful. It's time for me to leave."
He was stunned for a moment, and before he could ask her where she was going, the figure turned around and lightly climbed over the railing that had been worn to a shine from leaning on it for so long, and disappeared in the halo of the setting sun.
He stood there in a daze, opened his mouth to scream, then immediately fell silent and adjusted his expression.
But his feet were still trembling, and he walked very slowly for just a dozen steps.
Finally, he stood by the railing.
Just before he stuck his head out to look, he suddenly stopped.
Did he hear the sound of someone falling into the water just now? Or...
He saw a red light flashing on the calm water, and then the rockery on the shore...
clang.
The sound of something heavy falling to the ground.
Before Su opened his eyes, what he saw was Bai Zhaoyu's wrinkled face.
The old prime minister was stroking his beard with one hand and trying to pick the wick of a lamp that was already dimming with the other. However, due to his dim eyesight, he failed to pick the wick and instead knocked over the candlestick.
The bronze candlestick with slender vines and twining flowers rolled on the ground for a short distance before stopping. The hot wax flowed out and condensed into a red color on the ground.
"I did not mean to disturb you, Your Majesty. Please forgive me."
But in just a short moment, he had returned to normal, his eyes were clear and there was no flaw at all.
"I was negligent. What crime have you committed?"
Bai Zhaoyu took a few steps forward, picked up the fallen candlestick, took the flint beside him and relit the candle wick.
"Your Majesty, do you still want to hear about the border troop deployment?"
"Trouble you, Prime Minister."
Bai Zhaoyu unfolded the excerpt he had read halfway before, and reported to the court one by one the memorials that had not been submitted today. He would pause for some matters that required the other party's decision.
The prime minister said something and the emperor responded.
The affairs of state were complicated and lengthy, and he answered them quickly as usual, but his heart was beating strangely.
He just had a nightmare.
This was an incredible thing for him.
He had rarely had dreams since more than a decade ago. Whether they were joyful dreams or terrifying dreams, they rarely disturbed him late at night.
However, just now, at dusk, during a short nap, he had a dream. And with so many past experiences, why did he dream of that scene?
Bai Zhaoyu's fingers moved slowly across the excerpt, finally landing on the last line.
"The Qing Huaihou case..."
Before the old prime minister could finish his words, a black shadow flashed at the entrance of the stone chamber. When he saw Bai Zhaoyu, he paused and spoke only after receiving a signal from that person.
"Your Majesty, the secret guards have reported that Miss Xiao slipped out of the back door of Wangchen Tower and headed towards the Marquis' Mansion. I've come to ask Your Majesty if you would like to stop her..."
Before the secret guard finished speaking, the person sitting on the stone chair suddenly stood up and almost rushed out of the door, ignoring Bai Zhaoyu's astonished look.
"The last item will be discussed tomorrow."
But in the blink of an eye, the young emperor had gone far away, leaving only a lonely echo in the stone chamber.
Bai Zhaoyu sighed deeply and slowly put away the excerpt in his hand.
He thought he would never see that person running again in his life.
From the young Son of Heaven to the young emperor who is not even thirty years old now, he often mistakenly believes that the person sitting on the stone chair in front of him is an octogenarian who is half buried in the ground like him.
Before leaving, Bai Zhaoyu took a look at the beautifully arranged snack plates on the stone table, reached out and put all the pecans and candied sweets into his robe, which was only worn by officials of the rank of Wanshi. He then looked a little more balanced and staggered out of the building.
******************
Despite occupying one of the best locations in Que City, it was still quiet outside the walls of Qinghuai Hou Mansion.
If the two eternal lanterns in front of the door had not been lit, Xiao Nanhui would not have been able to tell how this place was different from before.
As the saying goes, alcohol makes cowards brave. Without a dozen or so jars of wine, she really wouldn't have the courage to stand here. Now her lungs were burning with heat, and her heartbeat was also accelerating. The sweat on her palms had just dried and it was breaking out again.
When she came out of Jingbo Tower, the first place she thought of going was the Marquis' Mansion.
She knew she couldn't avoid going back forever. But she also worried that in just a few days, the place would no longer be what she remembered. If that were the case, would the memories she would later recall with such fondness also be clouded by it?
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