The moon was bright and the stars sparse, the night enveloped in a gentle warmth.
Qing Zhu supported Nan Shu as they stood outside Xuanzheng Hall, unable to suppress a nervous gulp.
Qing Zhu had been assigned to serve at Yu Tang Hall three years ago. When she first entered the palace, the previous emperor was still on the throne. Later, when Prince Yong staged a rebellion, she had lived through those turbulent times.
What remained most vivid in her memory was the day of His Majesty’s ascension to the throne in the first year of Zhaoping.
That day, the Imperial City was bustling with unprecedented excitement. The supervising matron, aware that such a grand occasion was rare, did not restrict the palace maids from joining the festivities.
Qing Zhu and a few young companions watched the coronation ceremony from a distance.
But they were too far away to see clearly—only a vague, orderly mass of dark figures conducting sacrifices to heaven and ancestors. Suddenly, chaos erupted among the crowd. Qing Zhu later learned that His Majesty had abruptly left the ceremony, abandoning his ministers.
He did not return until three days later.
He brought back a child with him. On the same day, the Imperial Edicts posthumously honoring the empress and appointing Princess Jiayi were issued.
After that, His Majesty never entered the rear palace again. Even when new consorts were later admitted to the palace, and even though the Empress Dowager frequently schemed to bring many beautiful women from the capital into the palace, no one ever heard of His Majesty favoring anyone.
Why was he acting so unusually toward Miss Nan today?
Qing Zhu stole a glance at Nan Shu and suddenly thought, Well, he is a man—faced with such a beauty, it’s only natural to be interested.
Yet, the image of His Majesty as a man of deep affection in her heart somewhat crumbled.
With a creak, the door of the Imperial Study was gently pushed open.
Tang Shunfu dared not look directly at Nan Shu and only said, “Miss, please enter.”
Nan Shu bit her lip and slowly walked in.
The hall door closed behind her.
“Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty.”
Yan Pingxiao leaned against the Yu Zuo, his gaze lowered as he scrutinized the woman below.
In just one hour, every detail of her life had been thoroughly investigated.
Nan Shu, a native of Qingzhou Prefecture in Jiangnan, born on the seventh day of the twelfth month in the twenty-first year of Yong’an, now sixteen years old. Her father was the prefect of Qingzhou, who passed away five years ago. Since then, she and her mother had been living at Rong Manor.
Every aspect of her life could be verified.
But could there really be someone in this world who looked so similar?
Yan Pingxiao did not believe it.
The man’s inscrutable gaze rested on her. He rotated the thumb ring on his hand, his voice deep and detached:
“Take off your clothes.”
Nan Shu looked up in alarm, trembling faintly all over from the shock of his words.
“Your Majesty…” Her eyes involuntarily reddened, their moisture welling up. Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, betraying the fear in her heart.
After five years apart, he had not only become a tyrant but a lecher as well!
“I said, take it all off.”
Yan Pingxiao watched her calmly, his tone devoid of any emotion.
Nan Shu did not know what he intended, but being ordered to undress by a man she had only met once—even if he was the emperor—should make her feel ashamed and humiliated.
Nan Shu lowered her head, her hands trembling as she untied the sash at her waist.
Tears fell like rolling pearls onto the floor. The only sounds in the hall were the rustling of fabric and the woman’s suppressed, soft sobs.
Spring garments were not heavy. After Nan Shu removed her outer robe, only a plain white undergarment remained. Any further, and only her inner bodice would be left.
She bit her lip and stopped, not daring to look up at the person above.
Steady footsteps echoed in the hall. Yan Pingxiao rose from the Yu Zuo and slowly approached Nan Shu.
The woman trembled all over, a few strands of hair drifting beside her cheeks. Her slender fingers clutched tightly at the collar of her garment over her chest.
He removed her hand and pulled off the woman’s thin undergarment.
Vast expanses of pale, luminous skin flooded his vision.
He was intimately familiar with every inch of Shen Lan Shu’s body.
Yet the person before him only shared a superficial resemblance.
Yan Pingxiao watched impassively, unable to determine whether he felt disappointment or relief in his heart.
He calmly averted his gaze and threw the clothes back to her:
“Put them on.”
Nan Shu clutched the garments tightly, her hands trembling so violently she nearly fastened the ties incorrectly several times. After dressing in disarray, she wiped her tears forcefully.
“Tang Shunfu.”
Tang Shunfu entered and saw the girl’s slender back. Before he could speak, the man commanded: “Escort her back.”
“Yes.”
Nan Shu was sent from Xuanzheng Hall back to Yu Tang Hall. Throughout the journey, she couldn’t suppress her sobs, leaving Tang Shunfu utterly perplexed about what His Majesty had actually done.
“Miss Nan.” Tang Shunfu still felt somewhat awkward speaking with her. With that face, he kept recalling Shen Lan Shu from their time in the northwest, making him uncertain how to interact with her.
“Eunuch…” Nan Shu lowered her head to avoid his complicated gaze.
Tang Shunfu cleared his throat: “This servant will accompany Miss Nan only this far. Please go inside.”
Yu Tang Hall had already fallen into complete silence, the banquet having concluded.
She heard from the palace maids that Consort Rong had drunk somewhat heavily and retired, likely still unaware of what had just transpired.
Returning to her chamber, Nan Shu collapsed weakly onto the bed, her heart still trembling.
What should she do now?
Pear blossoms drifted beyond the lattice window.
Before the crabapples encountered rain, the pear blossoms anticipated snow – their petals swirling in the evening wind resembled falling snowflakes.
Nan Shu remembered the New Year’s Eve during her second year in Jingcheng.
At the separate courtyard in the suburbs, she saw the man she hadn’t encountered for two months.
Yan Pingxiao entered the warm room bearing traces of wind and snow. Lan Shu had been doing needlework at that moment; upon seeing him, her hand trembled, and a small bead of blood welled on her fingertip.
“Your Highness…” She stared at him blankly, scarcely believing that the person who had disappeared for two months now stood before her.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Pingxiao removed his heron cloak, warmed his hands by the heater, then came over and embraced her. “It’s so late, why aren’t you resting?”
Noticing the sewing supplies on the table, he frowned: “It’s too dark for needlework at night. Don’t strain your eyes.”
“Mmm…” Lan Shu sniffled, her fingers curling at her sides before she finally couldn’t resist clutching the hem of his garment.
“Fortunately I made it in time.” The man bent down to meet her gaze. “There’s still one hour left of New Year’s Eve – I managed to celebrate the new year with you after all.”
Lan Shu’s tears fell despite herself. Yan Pingxiao wiped them away: “Why are you crying again? Aren’t you happy I’ve returned?”
“No…” Lan Shu was only crying for herself.
Weeping at her own helplessness – even after hearing his heart-piercing words, seeing him behave so tenderly still kindled a flicker of hope within her.
With her parents gone and having come alone to the northwest, throughout all these years Yan Pingxiao had been her only constant.
She couldn’t sever this connection.
“Your Highness…” While she was lost in thought, the man suddenly swept her into his arms and carried her toward the bed.
“You’ve lost weight again.” He placed the woman on the soft bedding, his palm covering her protruding belly. “The delivery is near. Once this little one comes out, I’ll have a good talk with her for making her mother eat poorly and sleep restlessly all day.”
She had grown far too thin. Even after seven months of pregnancy, she remained light, making her belly appear frighteningly large.
Lan Shu’s fingers clutching his lapel gradually tightened as she nestled her cheek against his chest in a gesture of dependence.
“Will Your Highness come when this humble one goes into labor?”
Yan Pingxiao lowered his head to kiss her: “Yes, I’ll stay with you.”
Lan Shu was delighted.
Though prone to drowsiness during pregnancy, she fought against sleep, reluctant to miss this rare time with him.
Yan Pingxiao whispered soothingly: “Sleep now. I’ll stay with you these two days. You’ll still see me when you open your eyes tomorrow.”
Reassured by his words, Lan Shu could hold on no longer and sank into deep slumber.
But in the dead of night, knocking came from outside the lattice window.
The man rose and threw on his outer robe. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he caressed her cheek until the knocking outside grew more urgent. Only then did he call for the person to enter.
In her half-awake state, Lan Shu caught fragments of the conversation outside—words like “the palace,” “Miss Xie,” “they’ve found her”…
The voices grew softer, fading into the distance.
Pushing through her sore and weary limbs, she propped herself up and cracked open the lattice window. Howling winter wind immediately rushed in.
On the snow-covered ground, uneven footprints documented the man’s hurried departure, soon blanketed by falling snowflakes as if nothing had ever occurred. Only desolation and solitude remained in the courtyard.
That was the last time Lan Shu ever saw him.
……
“Young mistress?”
Qing Zhu’s voice roused her. Nan Shu opened her eyes in confusion, realizing she had fallen asleep leaning against the windowsill.
“If you’re tired, young mistress, you should rest in bed. The night wind is strong—let this servant close the window.”
As Qing Zhu pulled shut the lattice window, her peripheral glance caught the tear tracks on the woman’s face. “What’s wrong?” she asked urgently.
“It’s nothing…” Nan Shu turned away, suppressing the emotions in her heart.
That sorrow belonged to the former Shen Lan Shu, not to her.
Remembering the two years spent in the Separate Courtyard outside the capital, Nan Shu hugged her knees tightly, tears falling silently.
She never wanted to spend her whole life waiting again.