That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

"..."

Xie Yunqi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head.

That's exactly the point.

Wen Fuxiao turned to the side and looked at the bright moon that was obscured by clouds in the dim sky.

"The emperor originally intended to execute both of them. I knelt from sunset until late at night, and the emperor finally summoned me. His first question to me was, 'My dear minister, do you also wish to die with them?'"

"I prostrated myself on the ground, trembling with fear, and explained every reason I could think of. I said that a king's promise is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold, and Your Majesty should not let momentary anger cloud your judgment."

"I said that Han Baisong is a legend among the people. People say he is the reincarnation of the God of Literature. If we kill him, the people will be uneasy. The greatest punishment for such a person is to punish him by making him never return to the capital and let him waste his life in the countryside, with his ambitions nowhere to be realized."

"I said that the princess's kingdom has been destroyed, and even if she is set free, she will have nowhere to go. She will probably go around in circles and eventually return to submit to His Majesty... Of course, this is just me talking nonsense. I know the princess will definitely not come back."

Wen Fuxiao shrugged as she finished speaking:

"Although the emperor is mighty, his only flaw is that he doesn't understand women's hearts. All that I said before did not shake his determination to kill, but this last point made him hesitate."

"Oh."

Fang Zhiyi chuckled softly and lowered her eyes.

"The emperor is the one who builds the cage; how could he understand a caged bird?"

"Yes."

Jiang Jingming withdrew his gaze from the moon and nodded.

He even thought the princess would return to the cage and seek his protection because she had nowhere else to go. I don't know whether to call that naive or pathetic.

How could a princess who would not hesitate to jump off the city wall and die for her country when the city fell be willing to be a caged bird?

If there is no hometown to return to, then at worst I'll just suffer a bloody death far from home.

That can be considered true freedom.

"After that night, the emperor changed his orders. First, he banished Han Baisong from the capital and forbade him from ever appearing again. Then he promised to release the princess a year later."

As Wen Fuxiao spoke, his brows furrowed, for there was a question about this matter that he had been pondering for many years.

"But I still don't understand why the emperor imposed a one-year deadline."

"They just didn't want the princess to leave!"

Xie Yunqi pursed his lips, and after a long while, he thought of an even bigger possibility, and clapped his hands hard:

"No, no! He's afraid that if they're both let go at the same time, they'll have a chance to be together!"

"possible."

Jiang Jingming nodded, feeling that the young lady's line of thinking was correct for once.

For a year, the two had no contact with each other, not knowing where the other was or even whether the other was still alive.

According to Master Wen, the two of them may never have had a private relationship; all their affection was hidden in the occasional glances they exchanged during the music and palace banquets.

The princess probably never imagined that Master Han would risk his life to plead for her freedom.

A year later, when the princess emerged from the palace, she was probably too weak to discern whether the news of his death was true or false.

So she died just as she regained her freedom.

"So that's it? This is how it ends?"

Xie Yunqi rubbed his eyes, feeling a dull ache in his heart as he listened to the story.

"The ending is that Han Baisong wandered around and disappeared without a trace. The last news was that he had joined the Demonic Cult. The princess died by hitting her zither, and the emperor, unable to resolve his inner demons, became increasingly violent. Finally, he suddenly fell ill and died in the middle of the night."

Wen Fuxiao finished recounting the epilogue in the most straightforward tone, yet every word carried a heavy weight.

"Is life really this bitter? In the end, everyone ends up like this. If I had known it would be like this, why did I even meet him in the first place?"

Xie Yunqi lowered his head and saw his slightly reddened eyes reflected in the wine glass.

"Little girl, that's life. You can't choose. When you meet some people, you know they are your destiny, but you can't avoid them no matter what you do."

Wen Fuxiao spoke slowly, tilting his head back to drink.

Lu Zhao scratched his head, his eyes red and unwilling to give up.

"Mr. Wen, don't you think there's a better solution to this? If Mr. Han had asked someone to inform the princess of his whereabouts before leaving the capital, if the princess hadn't been so despondent then, if..."

"Young Master Lu, there are no 'what ifs' in this matter."

Wen Fuxiao gave a wry smile and shook her head.

The wine jug in front of Lu Zhao was empty. He had completely forgotten the shadow that Wen Xin Zui had cast on him after hearing this story. He just wanted to keep drinking and let the burning wine slide down his throat to dilute the sadness in his heart.

Jiang Jingming casually poured him another cup and said in a low voice:

"Even if the two of them were to elope, the emperor would not let them go. In fact, this matter was a dead end from the very beginning."

"..."

Lu Zhao gripped his wine glass tightly, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply.

He had always thought Shouhanke was a talented hermit, but he didn't know that he had left such a significant mark on history, nor did he know that he had such a poignant and tragic love story.

"How could someone like Mr. Han join the Moon Crossing Cult?"

Lu Zhao muttered to himself, feeling for a moment that he could no longer distinguish right from wrong.

"Perhaps it's because he had nowhere else to go."

Jiang Jingming lowered his head, took a sip of wine, and said casually.

"Nowhere to go?"

"The Emperor's order was made very clearly just now: not only is he to be banished from the capital, but he is also forbidden from showing his face in public again. He has been wandering around for a long time and is a criminal. I'm afraid only a place like the Demonic Sect would be willing to take him in."

Jiang Jingming thought that perhaps most of the people in the Duyue Sect were like that.

The world is a dangerous place, and all they wanted was a place where they could get a good night's sleep. So they gathered together from all corners of the country and took up their swords to protect those around them.

"If that's the case, are the people of the Duyue Sect really as wicked and evil as rumored? I don't think Mr. Han would associate with such people. So what is our reason for calling it a demonic sect and being irreconcilably opposed to it?"

A deep sense of confusion appeared on Lu Zhao's face.

In fact, this question had been lingering in his mind ever since he left the capital, but now he could no longer avoid it.

He had the privilege of seeing Han Baisong's poems and paintings when he was a child. He knew that only a person of noble character could write such unrestrained and elegant words and paint such magnificent landscapes.

Now, after hearing more stories about him, he is even more convinced of this.

"Stupid."

Xie Yunqi uttered two words calmly.

Such indifference was rarely seen in the young lady's eyes, and Jiang Jingming was slightly taken aback when he looked at her.

"There is no true distinction between good and evil in the world; it only depends on whose side we stand on. Since you are a member of the Divine Capital Guard, born to defend order, then all forces outside of order are your enemies. Is that hard to understand?"

"..."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone present was somewhat surprised.

It's hard to imagine that these words came from the young lady's mouth.

However, she quickly reverted to her usual domineering and unreasonable demeanor, raising her glass and shouting loudly:

"Why think so much? Do you want to exhaust yourself? Let's drink!"

"Let's drink, let's drink."

Jiang Jingming smiled and was the first to raise his glass to clink glasses with her.

Then he took Ah Qing's hand and made her raise her glass as well.

Aqing let him do as he pleased, her expression remaining blank, only her slightly feverish body temperature indicating that she was already intoxicated.

"Good wine, good wine."

Fang Zhiyi leaned slightly closer, her soft hair brushing against Jiang Jingming's fingers.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhao took a deep breath, wiped away the tears in his eyes, and shouted loudly as well:

"I don't want to think about it anymore, let's drink!"

"That's right! Why think so much at such a young age? As the old saying goes, a good drink can wash away a thousand sorrows!"

Wen Fuxiao chuckled, picked up the wine pot, and clinked glasses with the group of young people.

The jade wine cups and wine pots collided, producing a crisp sound.

Night had fallen, and the noise from the long street below the pavilions gradually subsided.

At the end of the street, someone was playing a clear, melodious flute. The joyful and cheerful tune was like sparrows chirping on branches after a spring rain.

Jiang Jingming was listening intently when suddenly his finger was gently tugged.

He turned his head and looked at Aqing beside him.

Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, but there was a hint of a smile in Aqing's eyes that she couldn't hide.

Her smile made her look as gentle as soft moonlight, which made Jiang Jingming a little stunned. Aqing then gestured for him to look outside.

Jiang Jingming looked outside in response and saw that lights were rising slowly in the night!

The effects of alcohol clearly dulled the mind. Before Jiang Jingming could fully process what was happening, Xie Yunqi on the other side also squinted and mumbled:

"Jingming, Jingming, look! The sky is on fire..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhiyi looked away from her wine cup and then smiled gently.

"They are floating lanterns."

"Floating lantern... floating lantern!"

Xie Yunqi opened his eyes, did a somersault to his feet, and hurriedly ran outside.

Jiang Jingming reacted quickly and grabbed her by the back of her collar; otherwise, given her posture, she would have fallen headfirst down the stairs.

Attracted by the lights, the group crowded around the railing, while the twinkling lanterns had already taken flight, and the long street was filled with children's cheers and expectant gazes.

The orange-red lights added a touch of warmth to the sky, fluttering above the blue bricks and white tiles of Fengling City.

Wen Fuxiao stood behind the five people, stroking his beard and smiling.

"You may not know this, but it's also a tradition of the Rain Festival. We write down our wishes for the year on paper and then release them into the air with floating lanterns. These lanterns travel thousands of miles overnight, praying for favorable weather, peace, and joy this year."

"So beautiful!!!"

Xie Yunqi looked up at the night sky and exclaimed loudly.

Her voice was carried away by the night wind, but people on the long street noticed them and waved excitedly.

Jiang Jingming leaned against the railing, smiling as he wondered if these fugitives were being a bit too arrogant.

Aqing stood beside him, quietly watching the lights rise.

Jiang Jingming looked into her eyes and thought to himself that Aqing's eyes were so clear and bright that even the finest glass in the world could not replicate such purity.

At this moment, those eyes reflected the countless lights in the sky, twinkling like stars, a fleeting, dazzling display.

Jiang Jingming then realized why A Qing had been laughing.

She has always enjoyed watching such lively events; when she was little, she was happy for days just by receiving a lantern.

Thinking about it this way, he felt that the aloof girl beside him had turned back into the little girl who always hid behind him when he was a child, as wary as a stray kitten.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingming couldn't help but reach out and rub her forehead.

Aqing snapped out of her daze and turned to look at him.

"fine."

Jiang Jingming smiled nonchalantly.

"Does Aqing want to light one too?"

"Do not want to."

Aqing blinked and refused readily.

"You really don't want to?"

"Ah."