Host! I told you to do a task! I didn't tell you to bbb.

"You...have arrived..."

Liu Yunshu slowly stood up, holding the child, her voice as soft as mountain mist, "Come in."

The wooden door creaked open, and Liu Yunshu, holding Niannian, turned and walked into the house.

Xiao Hanxing and Xiao Luochen stood side by side outside the door, watching her slender yet straight back.

And the occasional soft whimper of the baby in her arms made her momentarily unable to move.

It was as if even the slightest sound would shatter the silence of the mountain.

Xiao Luochen was the first to react, gently touching Xiao Hanxing's arm before the two of them followed each other into the house.

The wooden house is small, but it shows care in every detail.

Several plates of dried wild berries and hawthorns were placed on the wooden table by the window, and firewood was neatly stacked in the corner.

A faint scent of grass and trees wafts in the air, mixed with a warm, comforting milky aroma, which inexplicably calms the mind.

Liu Yunshu gently placed Niannian into the cradle covered with soft bedding.

The little one just fluttered his eyelashes, smacked his lips, and continued to sleep soundly.

She turned around and saw the two of them still standing awkwardly by the door. She said softly, "Sit down. There's not much to offer in the mountains, just some coarse tea."

Xiao Luochen's gaze was already fixed on the little face in the cradle, and he unconsciously moved closer.

The little baby has long, thick eyelashes, like two small fans, a straight nose, and light pink lips.

In her sleep, she dreamt of something and even smacked her lips slightly.

"Her name is Niannian," Liu Yunshu said, carrying two bowls of tea and handing one of them to him. "Liu Nian."

"Nian Nian..."

Xiao Luochen repeated it softly, his throat tightening, his chest feeling as if it were swollen with some emotion.

There was a bittersweet feeling of hearing her daughter's name for the first time, a sense of guilt for missing the year she was born, and a barely suppressed, unfamiliar joy.

He took the teacup, his fingertips touching the warm earthenware before he could finally calm himself down. "The name is very nice."

Xiao Hanxing sat down on the wooden bench against the wall, but his gaze never left Liu Yunshu.

She was thinner than last year, but there was a soft weariness in her eyes, as if the years had smoothed out her rough edges, revealing a gentle luster.

Yet that subtle distance remained, like a thin veil, separating him and her.

He held the teacup, unable to drink a single drop, his throat dry and sore: "Yunshu... I miss you so much, I think about you every single day."

Liu Yunshu's fingers trembled slightly as she held the teacup. Suddenly, she turned her back to them, her voice somewhat stiff:

"What's the point of saying all this now?"

Xiao Hanxing stood up, his gaze lingering on her retreating figure.

From her jet-black hair to her slender waist, every inch was familiar, yet every inch was also strange.

The longing that had been building up over the past year overwhelmed his reason like a flash flood, and he stepped forward.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist from behind, his voice hoarse and almost broken:

"I know saying 'I'm sorry' is too light... But for the past year, I haven't stopped regretting it for a single moment. I regret not protecting you, and I regret not being there for you when you needed me most."

Liu Yunshu froze, as if she had been nailed to the spot.

The warmth and strength of the hands around her waist were the sense of security she once relied on most.

The teacup was so hot that it made her fingertips go numb, and her hand trembled slightly.

"Let go." Her voice was hoarse, trembling slightly. "Xiao Hanxing, we... can't go back."

"We can go back!"

He pulled her closer, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and inhaled deeply the faint scent of cold plum blossoms emanating from her.

The scent was clearer and more refreshing than I remembered, yet it also felt more distant.

"As long as you're still willing, we can start over. I don't care whose child it is, I just want you, just you and Niannian... I'll accept anything."

A warm, wet touch came from his neck; it was his tears.

Liu Yunshu felt as if her heart was being pricked by countless fine needles, and she trembled with pain.

"That's not fair to you!"

She turned around abruptly, tears streaming down her face, falling one by one onto the back of his hand.

"You clearly deserve someone better, you deserve a pure and untainted relationship..."

"Instead of having to pay for my mistakes and tolerate a child of unknown origin, as we are doing now!"

She raised her hand to push him away, but her fingertips touched the traces of time and hardship at his temples.

That was the year he traveled over mountains and valleys to find the traces she left behind.

He had lost a lot of weight, his cheekbones were slightly prominent, and his eyes were bloodshot. His once spirited brows were now filled with an overwhelming weariness.

"There is no unfairness."

Xiao Hanxing held her hand tightly in his palm, as if he were holding the whole world that he had lost and then regained.

"For me, the only unfair thing is losing you. As long as I can stay by your side, watch you get better and better, and watch Niannian grow up... this little bit of 'grievance' is nothing at all."

His gaze was so intense, so real, that Liu Yunshu almost melted in its heat.

"How could you be so foolish... How could I possibly deserve such sincerity from you?"

Her sobs were intermittent, and her vision was blurred.

"I am no longer the innocent Liu Yunshu I once was. I had a past with Luo Chen, and the child in my womb is even more... I am not worth you doing this."

Xiao Hanxing shook his head vigorously, gently wiping away her tears with his fingers, his movements as tender as if he were handling a fragile dream.

"In my heart, you have always been Liu Yunshu, who held a sword and protected me, with light in your eyes."

"What does innocence matter? What does a title matter? What I love is you as a person, the stubbornness and gentleness in your bones, not those illusory things."

He stroked her face, his gaze burning into her eyes.

"Yun Shu, give me a chance to make up for this year's absence, let me be with you and Niannian... okay?"

Looking at his red eyes and undisguised affection, Liu Yunshu's last defenses crumbled, and she burst into tears.

Xiao Luochen, who had been standing quietly by the cradle, took in everything, feeling as if he had a mouthful of bitter tea in his throat.

He knew better than anyone that Liu Yunshu only ever had Xiao Hanxing in her heart.

But he couldn't let go either—the year's journey and torment had already made this woman and this child an inseparable obsession in his life.

"Brother is right, Yunshu, you deserve to be cherished."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Liu Yunshu's tear-streaked face, a deep struggle surging in his eyes.

"But... I can't let go either. This year, I've traveled thousands of miles just to find you."

"Countless nights, I stayed awake until dawn, thinking only of you. Niannian is innocent; she deserves to be protected... and I want to be one of those who protect her."

Liu Yunshu's crying stopped abruptly, and she stared blankly at him.

Xiao Hanxing also loosened his grip, turned to look at his younger brother, his eyes filled with a mixture of wariness and complex understanding.

"What do you want to do?"

Xiao Hanxing lowered his voice, which was slightly tense.

He could understand his brother's feelings, but he couldn't back down.

His obsession with Yun Shu and his responsibility to Niannian made it impossible for him to let go easily.

Xiao Luochen took a deep breath, as if he had finally made up his mind.

His gaze swept over the two of them, finally settling on Liu Yunshu's face:

"I can choose not to be the legal wife."

"Xiao Luochen!" A vein throbbed on Xiao Hanxing's forehead, and he almost doubted that he had misheard.

"I said, I can give up the position of the principal wife."

Xiao Luochen glanced at his elder brother, then looked at Liu Yunshu seriously, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather.

"A second wife, a mistress, a lover... anything is fine, as long as I can be by your side, I'll accept it."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Liu Yunshu was so shocked that she took half a step back, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She never imagined that Xiao Luochen, who had once held the highest position and was extremely proud, would say such self-deprecating words.

Second wife? Mistress? Lover? Is this really that widely accepted?

Xiao Hanxing stood frozen in place, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fist.

He never expected that his usually proud and self-possessed younger brother would be so accommodating for Yun Shu.

"Xiao Luochen, do you know what you're saying?"

Xiao Hanxing's voice turned deep, filled with suppressed anger and confusion.

"You are the emperor, the supreme ruler, how can you belittle yourself like this? And what about Yun Shu—"

"I know."

Xiao Luochen interrupted him, his gaze still fixed on Liu Yunshu, his eyes filled with a resolute determination to gamble everything.

"I am an emperor, but I am also a man who wants to protect his beloved and his child. Status and honor are nothing compared to her and Niannian."

He walked step by step toward Liu Yunshu, the hem of his black robes brushing the ground, his footsteps exceptionally clear in the silence:

"Yun Shu, this isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. Over the past year, I've repeatedly thought about what I should do after finding you... I really can't bear to lose you all again."

His voice lowered and became hoarse, faintly revealing a hint of humility:

"As long as I can stay by your side and watch Niannian grow up, I'll be content."

"I won't bother you and your brother, nor will I fight for any title... I only ask for the right to stay by your side."

Liu Yunshu stared at him blankly, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

She thought Xiao Luochen would use his imperial power to coerce her, or use the entanglement of that night to blackmail her.

But I never imagined that he would lower himself to the dust.

"Your Majesty, you need not do this."

Liu Yunshu's voice trembled as she avoided his burning gaze, "You are the Emperor, you should have your own harem of beauties..."

"There are no concubines in the harem!" Xiao Luochen suddenly interrupted her, his gaze fixed intently on her. "From beginning to end, there has only been you."

Xiao Luochen's voice wasn't loud, but it exploded like thunder in the small wooden house, making Liu Yunshu's eardrums buzz.

She looked up abruptly, meeting his unfathomable eyes.

There was no imperial pride, no supreme majesty, only a desperate gamble and an almost obsessive deep affection.

This side of Xiao Luochen left her bewildered and terrified.

"His Majesty……"

She opened her mouth, but didn't know how to respond.

The words of refusal stuck in my throat, and looking at the sincerity in his eyes, I couldn't bring myself to say them.

Xiao Hanxing stood to the side, his expression extremely complicated.

He was both annoyed by his brother's "taking an inch and wanting a mile" attitude and heartbroken by his brother's humble and affectionate devotion.

As a fellow man, he understood the torment of wanting something but not being able to have it.