The last rays of the setting sun sank completely into the western mountains.
Night slowly fell.
A cool breeze swept across the mountaintop. Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan remained seated quietly, embracing each other, as if trying to make this moment of tranquility last forever.
Lin Wanwan leaned on Xiao Che's shoulder, and the words she uttered with a smile, "At that time, all I wanted was to survive in the hands of His Majesty who is so bitter," seemed to still echo in the air.
This is a "meme" that only the two of them understand, filled with sweet memories.
Xiao Che's chest trembled slightly with his low laughter.
As time has passed, he is no longer the brooding and suspicious young emperor he once was. His hair has turned a full head of silver, gleaming softly in the moonlight. But his deep eyes remain bright, filled with the wisdom to see through the world and an unyielding tenderness shown only to those close to him.
He lowered his head, looking at the woman in his arms who had been with him all his life, a sly glint in his eyes.
His already highly refined "artificial voice package" system slowly activated once more, and with a deliberate imitation of his former authority, he gave a soft hum:
"Oh? Is that really true?"
His voice sounded exceptionally clear on the silent mountaintop.
"Then I shall ask, does the Empress still have any candied fruit hidden in her sleeve?"
"Candied fruit"?
The two simple words, like a magical spell, instantly struck the softest spot in Lin Wanwan's heart.
Her thoughts, as if pulled by an invisible hand, traversed decades of time, instantly returning to that breathtaking night of the wedding that changed her life.
...
A torrent of memories surges forth.
It was a night filled with oppression and fear.
Inside Kunning Palace, the red candles flickered, yet they could not illuminate even a sliver of warmth in her heart. Dressed in that heavy, bright red wedding gown, she sat like a puppet on the cold edge of the bed, awaiting her unknown fate.
The air was thick with the smell of medicine and the stench of death.
She remembered that when the legendary, tyrannical, and sickly emperor, Xiao Che, slowly walked into the palace with the help of eunuchs, the air in the entire palace seemed to freeze.
His face was so pale it was almost transparent, and his dark eyes were unfathomable, like icy pools, filled with malice and indifference. He exuded a powerful aura that warned others to stay away, making the palace servants around him afraid to even breathe.
Lin Wanwan was so frightened that her heart almost jumped out of her throat. She thought that she, the unlucky empress brought to bring good fortune, probably wouldn't survive the night.
However, just when she thought she was about to be hit by a plot twist, she saw it.
She saw a scene that she would never forget for the rest of her life, a scene full of unexpected cuteness and shock.
Above the young emperor's sinister and cold head floated a... gigantic, pixelated, trembling animated emoticon:
[Shivering.gif]
At that moment, Lin Wanwan's worldview was completely overturned.
So... this emperor, who seems capable of killing with his eyes, is actually... a pitiful socially awkward person deep down?!
This stark contrast instantly replaced her fear with a sense of absurdity that was both laughable and absurd.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing when she recalled the scene.
Xiao Che watched her lean on his shoulder, laughing so hard she was shaking, and his eyes also filled with amusement. He knew she had remembered something.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked, feigning ignorance.
"I'm laughing at you." Lin Wanwan looked up, her eyes sparkling with mischievous amusement. "I'm laughing at you back then, when you were clearly terrified, but you still pretended to be someone who could eat people. Xiao Che, do you know how funny your tsundere act was back then?"
"I was just... being cautious!" Xiao Che stubbornly argued.
His "artificial voice pack" switched to "recollection mode," and with a hint of a smile that even he himself didn't realize, he confessed:
"I was thinking to myself, where did this woman come from? She's so bold to stare straight at me like that."
He paused, a hint of mockery in his voice, "Later, you even dared to slip me candied fruit. My first thought was, was this woman sent by that old witch, the Empress Dowager (Volume 1), to test me? Or... was she really that stupid?"
"Old witch?" Lin Wanwan was amused by his description. "How can you talk about your mother like that?"
"Hmph," Xiao Che said disdainfully, "She doesn't even deserve it?"
Lin Wanwan smiled and shook her head, no longer arguing with him about it. Following his lead, she asked curiously, "So what was your final conclusion?"
Xiao Che was silent for a moment, then, in an extremely serious tone, gave his answer from back then:
"I think you are truly stupid."
Lin Wanwan: "..."
She reached out and punched his arm in an annoyed tone: "How can you talk to your empress like that?"
Xiao Che burst into laughter, the sound echoing across the silent mountaintop, filled with unprecedented joy. He took her "culprit's" hand in his, placed it to his lips, and gently kissed it, his eyes brimming with tenderness.
“But I later realized,” his voice became deep and magnetic, “that it was your 'stupidity' that saved me.”
Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat.
Xiao Che looked at her and continued, "At that time, I was imprisoned, with the Empress Dowager hindering me from within and powerful ministers vying for my attention from without. I had no one I could trust. Everyone who approached me had ulterior motives. Only you, like a fool, offered me a cloyingly sweet treat."
"That candied fruit was the only sweetness during those dark days of mine."
Hearing his "confession" that was decades overdue, Lin Wanwan's eyes welled up with tears.
She leaned back on his shoulder and whispered, "It turns out that being 'stupid'... is the only way to live longer."
“Yes,” Xiao Che agreed with a smile, his voice full of affection.
The two fell silent again, but this time, the atmosphere was even warmer and sweeter than before.
They sat together like an ordinary old married couple, reminiscing about their silly and naive past and teasing each other about their embarrassing moments back then.
The fear and test of life and death decades ago have turned into a "light breeze and calm clouds" that can be laughed off decades later.
After a long while, Xiao Che spoke again. He held Lin Wanwan's hand tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
He looked into her eyes and said with utmost seriousness:
"Wanwan, you're not stupid."
Lin Wanwan looked up at him, puzzled.
A knowing glint flashed in Xiao Che's eyes as he spoke, enunciating each word clearly:
"You just... always manage to 'just happen' to hit the mark with me."
He paused, as if to prove his point, and then gave a classic example:
"For example, back then, when I was behind the artificial hill, watching that reckless Consort Shu provoke you, do you still remember what I was thinking at that time?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Wanwan immediately recalled that classic meme. Suppressing a laugh, she playfully replied, "I remember. Back then, a giant 'Challenge her! Don't back down!' was floating above His Majesty's head."
“That’s right.” A nostalgic smile curved Xiao Che’s lips. “If it weren’t for that, how could I… for the first time, look at a woman with different eyes?”
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