A wisp of lazy, fragrant white smoke rose from the brazier, and Meili listened with a smile as her elderly ancestor and other consorts chatted idly about family matters. The warm inner chamber on this early spring afternoon made one's mood also leisurely and quiet.

  The imperial concubines chatted for a while and then took their leave one after another, but Meili didn't move. The old ancestor thought her silence today was because of Yunke's matter, so when the outsiders were gone, she comforted her in a soft voice.

  Meili suddenly got up and knelt down, startling Xiaozhuang, "Ancestor, from now on... please take good care of my child."

  Xiang Zhuang nodded repeatedly and asked Yu An to pull her up, "Mei Li, don't be so sad, Yun Ke's life is still long, there will always be opportunities for him."

  Mei Li smiled slightly, yes, she was his chance.

  Thank you for the ancestors' care and kindness over the years. As mentioned earlier, Yun Ke's departure doesn't seem too abrupt, but Xiao Zhuang feels a pang of sadness because she understands that comfort is only comfort, and with Yun Ke's long life, will he really have the chance to?

  She bid farewell and came out, the sky had already darkened. Having grown up in Cining Palace, she was familiar with its secrets. She bypassed the main hall and found a few inconspicuous side houses at the corner of the courtyard, which looked like warehouses but were guarded by a young palace maid.

  She smiled mischievously, feeling a bit like her youthful self again. After adjusting her expression, she walked over to tell the new girl, who was still looking a bit dazed, that Aunt Yu An was looking for her and asked her to pass on a message.

  The little palace maid was easily deceived and quickly ran towards the front hall.

  Meili covered her mouth and smiled, pushing the door into the room closest to the courtyard wall. The Cining Palace, full of compassion and benevolence, still had a warehouse dedicated to storing poisonous medicines, perhaps this was the most fundamental face of power.

  When she was a child, she had curiously come to investigate, and was both respectful and fearful of these poisons. So many years had passed, some of the medicines on the shelves were gone, and some that she had never seen before had been added. She took out with ease the delicate small bottle from the innermost cabinet, this poison was said to make one die without too much pain, and the corpse would not be too terrifying, it was a very precious poison.

  She's been living in too much pain and suffering, death... would be a relief.

  Dinner was eaten with Yun Ke, who had her favorite crispy fried carp. She patiently picked out the bones for him, and Yun Ke chattered on about the games she played with Tai Shou today.

  Meili smiled and listened intently, Yunke had grown up, made friends, and was delighted and happy.

  "Yuan Ke, your mother made a new set of clothes two days ago, try them on and see if they fit well?"

  Yu Ke nodded repeatedly, "Mother is the most beautiful in the world, and she looks good in anything."

  Meili couldn't help but laugh out loud and poked his little nose, "When you have a girlfriend you love in the future, you won't think that your mother is the most beautiful anymore."

  Yuankai sat with her hands propping up her cheeks at the edge of the octagonal table, watching her dress up. She put on a newly made sapphire blue jacket with a hundred butterflies and flowers embroidered on it, combed her eyebrows and wore her favorite headdress.

  "Mother, you're really too beautiful!" Yun Ke exclaimed with wide eyes, and the tone of a little adult made everyone in the room laugh.

  Meili beckoned him over with a wave of her hand, "Come here." He snuggled into her arms.

  "Yongkai, you're a big kid now... from now on, no matter what happens, don't be afraid, don't be sad. My Yongkai is an outstanding person who can overcome any difficulty."

  Yun Ke listened with a half-understanding expression, but just smiled and nodded.

  "Child, remember Mother's words, never dwell on what you've lost, cherish what you have now, got it?"

  Yu Ke furrowed his brow, apparently silently reciting the words that E Niang had told him. Although he didn't understand the meaning, since E Niang wanted him to remember, he remembered.

  "Go." She beckoned to Yuemei and Yue Mo, "Take good care of Yunkai, just like you would your own child."

  Yuè Mò Yuè Méi also found her sentence a bit strange, but seeing that she was in a good mood, didn't think much of it and pulled Yǔn Kuì out.

  She was left alone in the room, she turned back to look at herself in the mirror, and just as she was about to leave, she still felt that the woman she saw was a stranger.

  The lamp is bright and the orange-yellow light is very warm.

  She stood up and looked around the room, suddenly feeling strange.

  Her gaze lingered on the pen and ink on her desk, she smiled slightly, even if it was a permanent farewell, it seemed that she still didn't know what to say to him. Take good care of Yunkai? She had already said that to him countless times. She died for Yunkai, but he couldn't even fulfill her last wish properly, then...she would have loved him in vain.

  She lay flat on the bed, it is said that when a person leaves, they hope their loved ones are by their side, but she was an exception.

  She didn't want Yunkai to see her death, nor did she want Jingxuan to see it.

  Although she left them with such a regretful ending.

  She treasured it, what she said to Yun Ke was also what she wanted to say to Jing Xuan.

  She sincerely hoped that he could live a good life after she left, and cherish what he had now. Su Ye was a good wife and a good woman, as long as she didn't harm Yun Qian, she hoped that Jing Xuan would spend the rest of his life with her. It wasn't a hypocritical wish, she, Xu Mu Lu Mei Li, had always wanted to give Qing Qin Wang a happy life, but... hadn't succeeded.

  Rushing back to the capital overnight, it was initially because of an urgent summons from the Emperor, but only halfway through did he learn of Mei Li's death.

  He sneered, he didn't believe it!

  Didn't he tell her to wait a bit? Didn't he promise to fulfill her wish? She... agreed!

  Because he sent a fast horse to order that she not be buried, when they rushed back to the palace and entered her and his room, everything was still just as it had been when she left.

  In order to preserve the corpse, no charcoal brazier was lit in the house. The doors of the room were wide open and the cold wind kept blowing in, causing all the curtains to swing wildly, but there was no vitality at all.

  She lay smiling on the bed where she had entwined with him in so much amorous passion, without a hint of sorrow at parting.

  He walked over, wanting to take her hand in his, only to find it icy and stiff. He could feel the chill emanating from her, but she could no longer feel his warmth.

  He looked at her, even in death, she didn't leave him a single word!

  Because she was posthumously honored as a queen consort, Meirin's funeral rites were grand and complex, only formally ending at the end of spring.

  Yongya, who was made the new heir, didn't cry. Neither he nor his father had spoken a word to each other since Meili's death.

  Meili was buried on the left side of Jingxuan's mausoleum, which had been under construction since he came of age. After Meili was laid to rest, the tomb was not sealed, and Jingxuan gazed at the hill covered with tender green plants in spring... One day, he would also come.

  Su Ying's face was always pale, the emperor did not go back on his word to her mother, she indeed still "exclusively" enjoyed the honor of being a princess. Only, after that woman left, she lost everything except for the so-called honor, including that man.

  "Suyeon..." He gazed at the mountain ridge with a faint smile, calmly calling out her name. "When I was alive, I gave you all the glory of being King Cheong's queen; now that I'm dead, let Muri have me to herself just this once, okay?"

  She widened her eyes and retreated two steps in a fluster.

  He pointed to a distant hill under her terrified gaze, "There, I will build a tomb for you alone."

  Dandelions in the Anning Hall are blooming again in the desolate courtyard, but the catkins have been blown away to fill the narrow sky.

  "Dig!" Jingxuan stood coldly at the gate of the hall, "Even if you have to dig three feet underground, I want it dug out for me!"

  In this life, he didn't fulfill any of her wishes. He was afraid that the next time they met, she would still be angry with him. She had said that all her unfulfilled wishes were buried underground, so how could he also complete one?

  "Your Highness, it's here!"

  "Your Highness, there is also one here!"

  He walked quickly over to take a look, and in the shallow pit dug under the tree were three stones with some childish handwriting that read: "Jingxuan", "Come see", "Meili".

  He gritted his teeth, his lips trembling. This... he still couldn't finish. If only time could flow backwards, he would have come to see her a thousand times, ten thousand times.

  There were still three stones in the shallow pit under the eaves. He took a deep breath before daring to look, hoping against hope that he could make it happen.

  Jingxuan Jiezou Meili

  He clutched the stone tightly in his hand, looking up at the sky with silent sorrow. What to do, Meryl? What to do? It was another wish he couldn't fulfill! Because he didn't realize these wishes, she left him alone!

  In 1691, the Qing dynasty began its second war against Dzungar.

  "Your Highness, don't pursue the defeated enemy!" Vice General He Qi Dala blocked Jing Xuan's horse.

  The sky was overcast, with strong winds blowing sparse snowflakes, cold enough to make people's bodies numb. The defeated Zunghar remnants retreated in disarray into the continuous snow-capped mountains ahead.

  "Pursue!" Jingxuan's originally handsome face was stained with blood splatters from the battle, and his skin tone was a pale blue due to the cold. His pair of cold and quiet eyes appeared even more dark and gloomy. "We must wipe them out completely!"

  The horse's hooves slipped directly on the steep snowy slope, and people had to dismount and walk. Jingxuan led only a hundred or so soldiers, but their morale was still high. On foot, they forced the enemy into a desperate situation, and Jingxuan ordered them to fire arrows.

  The enemy commander saw no chance of winning, so he simply called on the defeated army to use corpses as shields and launch a close-quarters counterattack. Jingxuan pushed away his guards and fought at the forefront.

  The enemy leader was originally desperate to kill with his life, seeing Jingxuan trapped in the front row, he rushed forward and stared at him until death.

  At the moment when Jingxuan's sword chopped off his head, his curved knife also cut open Jingxuan's armor, piercing deep into his lungs.

  "Your Highness!" The guard cried out as he caught Jing Xuan's falling body.

  Snowflakes fell on his pale face and didn't melt, he looked up at the thick black clouds, he firmly believed that after the dark clouds there must be the paradise he had been longing for.

  "Quickly." Blood was flowing fast, he spoke with some panting, "Take out the brocade bag from my bosom."

  The king's wound is in his chest, and if he takes the medicine bag, it will surely cause him unbearable pain and accelerate his death.

  "Hurry!" Jingxuan urged.

  He trembled with both hands and took out a small bag that still had his body temperature from his broken armor, he hummed, but smiled, "Open it!"

  On the snowy ground, three stones were laid out, with the words on them no longer clear. Jingxuan's hands, covered in fresh blood, touched each stone one by one, brought them to his eyes for a closer look, and then rearranged them in order with great solemnity.

  He Qida cried as he looked at the three stones: "Meili", "Jiezou" and "Jingxuan".

  "Bring me some snow and wipe my face with it."

  Jingxuan's breathing had weakened, but he was still smiling. He seemed to have no regrets about giving up his wealth and fame. Hewei Da hurriedly used his hands to wipe away the snow, frantically wiping away the terrifying blood stains on his face.

  He chuckled softly and muttered to himself: "I must wipe it clean, otherwise, if I scare her, she will be even less likely to forgive me..."

  He didn't know if it was because he closed his eyes or death was approaching, but he fell into pure darkness. He felt a little anxious. He wasn't afraid of death, but he feared she wouldn't come to pick him up. "Mei Li! Mei Li!" he shouted loudly.

  Suddenly it was very bright around him, and he had to squint his eyes. In the light halo, she smiled like a clear moon and spring water, stretching out her hand: "Jingxuan brother..."

  "Meili!" He hastily reached out and grabbed her hand, this time he didn't want to let go again.

  (The End)