The sky is a deep blue, and the birds are singing happily in the still thin morning light, adding a touch of freshness and warmth to the spring morning.

  Jingxuan finished washing and walked out of his tent. Last night, the emperor suddenly ordered him to return to Beijing to deal with an urgent matter. He wanted to set off early, so he got up earlier than usual.

  Behind the dying embers, he saw her...

  She leaned against the high pile of woolen blankets, her body curled up tightly, giving off an inexplicable feeling of weakness and helplessness. Her head rested against the blanket, a row of tears hanging from the edge of her delicate, thin face, making one's heart soften involuntarily. He even clenched his fists, deliberately suppressing his inexplicable sympathy and guilt.

  He looked at her and felt strange.

  When she smiled at him, when she looked at him calmly, when she generously rewarded the imperial physician, when she carefully ate the spoiled food, he was not too surprised. Only now... He suddenly realized that no matter how annoying she was, she was just a little girl of sixteen or seventeen. He had never thought that she would be fragile, and he had intentionally said so many hurtful words to her, done so many hurtful things to her, but she had ignored them all, entwining herself around him, entwining herself around him until he was furious.

  She always bullies others and hurts them, how can she be fragile?

  He remembered the wound on her arm, and recalled her mournful cry in the middle of the night. He furrowed his brow, then immediately became indifferent, what did all this have to do with him? Was it he who wanted her to trample the old lady to death? Was it he who wanted her to go around causing trouble and provoking hatred from others?

  Yes, in order to get rid of the old ancestor's arranged marriage, he fell into the well and kicked her. He owed it to her, and he paid it back long ago!

  "Come on, prepare the horse!" He ordered indifferently, and a nimble guard had already led the horse over for him.

  Meili was already sleeping lightly and was startled awake by the sound of voices, her dazed eyes gradually focusing to see Jingxuan taking over the reins not far away.

  Yonghe, who was lying on the felt mat, slowly woke up and rubbed his face, then jumped up and said, "Jingxuan brother, are we going back to Beijing?"

  "Hmm." Jingxuan flipped onto his horse, elegant and agile. "You take good care of the old ancestor, as for the Emperor's side, there is Zi Yu, don't understand, ask him more questions if you're not familiar." He looked at his own horse, smoothing its mane.

  "Yes." Yong He nodded.

  Meili slowly stood up, she... what to do? In the future when seeing him again, it would be even more embarrassing for both of them if she continued to evade and dodge.

  "You...," she said for the first time with this appellation to him, and paused for a moment, "Be careful on the road." She bowed to him politely.

  Jingxuan tightened his grip on the reins and responded with a cold "hmm".

  Like a stranger, distant and estranged, wasn't that what he wanted? Fine. He spurred the horse's belly, the horse let out a loud whinny, lifted its hooves and galloped away quickly.

  Even if it was just for an instant, his heart still ached.

  The former Mei Li wouldn't have spoken to him like that, so humbly and politely. She was like a ferocious beast being pushed into a dark cage, and when she came out, she had turned into a gentle rabbit. What kind of pain had forced this transformation?

  He whipped up his horse and sped away, but the wind in his ears couldn't blow away her shrill cries for help that night: Save me! --- Save me!

  The emperor led the men to hunt as usual, while the women were all excited and played in the forest. Meili went early to serve Xiaozhuang's hairdressing, Xiaozhuang pitied her for not having a good sleep the previous night and specially ordered someone to attend to her so she could rest. Meili also wanted to take this opportunity to avoid the crowd and didn't decline much.

  The one who was sent to attend her was a young palace maid, and Akira had her stand guard by the bedside, and if she screamed in her sleep, she would immediately wake her up.

  When she woke up, it was already past lunchtime. The men were also tired after a morning of horseback riding and archery, and the women were exhausted from playing, all returning to their rooms for an afternoon nap. The little palace maid had been guarding her for so long that she was also sleepy, and Mei Li apologetically let her go rest in the lower quarters.

  She deftly styled her own simple bun, as there was no one to serve her in the Anning Palace, and she had long been accustomed to taking care of trivial matters on her own.

  The camp was empty except for the patrolling guards. Although the sun had become somewhat intense, it felt warm and comforting on her skin, making her feel soft and relaxed all over. Meryl strolled towards the small river, enjoying the freedom of being unbothered, and couldn't help but smile.

  She sat by the river, watching the flowing water, and couldn't help but pick up some small stones, throwing them into the water one by one, stirring up small ripples. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. Two years of lonely and dull life had taught her to entertain herself in this somewhat boring way, otherwise... she would really go crazy.

  After throwing a stone, she turned around to prepare for another pick when she saw a pair of beautiful boots. She was startled and looked up straight at the owner of the boots. The sunlight was shining on that person's handsome figure, and she squinted her eyes before seeing his face clearly.

  She was stunned, how could it be him? Didn't he go back to Beijing?

  She hastily stood up, with no one around, she wanted to press the courtesy again but it was really awkward, and for a moment she stiffened on the spot.

  He silently looked at her, she had obviously grown taller, but because of her overly slender figure and sharp face, she seemed even more petite than before. Her long eyelashes no longer stared at people with arrogance, always half-drooping, densely covering her bright and calm big eyes. Those eyes were originally very beautiful, the light inside was clearly dimmer than before, yet somehow had an inexplicable aura, as if humble and strong-willed.

  "This, for you." As he handed her the wrapped paper in his hand, he felt a wave of annoyance. He pitied her for having suffered a lot over the past two years. In the past, she would always ask him to buy various snacks for her, and he would reluctantly agree every time. Now that he thought about it, he had been a bit too harsh, so he decided to make it up to her this one time!

  "What is it?" She didn't reach out to take it.

  "Zongzi sugar!" He hummed coldly and said with great displeasure.

  Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, trembled slightly as a long-forgotten memory was stirred... She knew he was waiting outside the South Study for the emperor to finish receiving his officials, and she quietly slipped into the room. He was sitting at the edge of the kang desk, reading a children's book. She jumped over and lay on his back, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck, and affectionately coquettishly with him.

  He scolded her and told her to let go, saying that it was unseemly for eunuchs and palace maids to see them.

  She instead proudly demanded that he buy her zongzi sugar before letting go. She remembered leaning into his ear, loudly telling him: "I love eating zongzi sugar the most!" She hoped that such a loud voice could penetrate his heart, make him remember what she loved to eat, and subconsciously think of it when seeing this thing on the street.

  She smiled bitterly.

  When she first entered the Anning Hall, Zhiqing sister secretly came to see her and brought a big bag of zongzi sugar. She was overjoyed and asked if it was Jingxuan who had asked her to bring it, because she had only told him. Zhiqing sister hesitated and she thought it was implied.

  She carefully kept the candies and didn't want to eat them; she wanted to save them for when she missed him a lot.

  Later, she heard several palace maids and eunuchs in the corridor outside the courtyard snickering at her for being foolishly romantic, shameless, and only then did she realize that the old ancestor wanted to take advantage of her having caused this big trouble to marry her off to him, saying that as long as she became a wife and mother, she would naturally become steady and mature, and no longer cause any more trouble. Jingxuan, in order to get rid of her, actually asked the emperor to severely punish her, and it was only then that she had her three-year period of confinement.

  She couldn't believe... he was annoyed with her to such an extent!

  No wonder she longed day and night, longing for him to come see her just once.

  When Zhiqing jie came to see her again, she actually already knew the answer, but still asked if the candy was given by Jingxuan.

  Zi Qing's sister cried, telling her not to be infatuated anymore, and not to torture herself again.

  At night, she still didn't dare to believe and didn't want to believe this truth. She took out a piece of candy and put it in her mouth, how bitter! The candy was even more bitter than licorice root! From the bitterness in her mouth to her heart.

  She didn't believe it and ate another one the next day... still so bitter!

  She finally believed in reality when she buried all the sugar under the corner of the wall. From then on, she never ate sugar again, because she didn't want to recall that bitterness!

  "Thank you." She looked at the package of sugar he had bought two years ago, "I don't like eating glutinous rice sugar anymore."

  Jingxuan frowned in annoyance and without hesitation threw the package into the river, what a waste! He was indeed a waste!

  "Jingxuan gege." She suddenly called out to him as he turned to leave. He was taken aback, did she just call him Jingxuan gege? It seemed that no matter what she called him, familiar or distant, it all felt awkward to him.

  He coldly turned around to look at her, if she thought that this bag of sugar was him changing his mind, he would resolutely tell the truth: He had never had a single good feeling towards her! Past, present, future!

  She looked at him with a faint smile, that kind of smile! The kind that made his heart inexplicably ache.

  "Jingxuan brother, you... don't have to feel guilty." She said, as if she was comforting him. "Everything I've been through is my own fault. Instead, I'm grateful for these two years of cold palace life, so I can still live a bit more at ease, and feel like I've made some amends to the old lady."

  He was silent.

  "Jingxuan brother, I never had a chance to thank you. The family property left by my parents..."

  He turned around and left, not wanting to listen, he didn't want to hear a single word she said!

  As she watched him walk away, she suddenly felt a deep sorrow, for she had always seen his back.

  This was the last time she called him "Jingxuan Gege".

  Everything that needed to be said has been said. She and he should both let go... From now on, she and he are just strangers, with no past and no future.

  When she saw him again, she would call him Wang Ye or You.