He gazed at her face, flushed with a thin layer of anger, and lifted his hand again. This time, Di Ronghua didn’t pull away, allowing him to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “When I went to Xiliang, your imperial brother gave me a pill.”
“What pill?”
“One that can heal burns from a Flame Beast.”
Di Ronghua’s expression shifted slightly.
The man smiled. “Su Miao is in Xiliang, and she knows so much about you and me. Seeing how much you’ve suffered, how could she just hand Jiangjiang over to me so easily? So I didn’t just tell them we’re together—I also told them about the Moonvine Flowers. They knew getting injured by a Flame Beast could be fatal, but your brother gave me the medicine to treat it. Ronghua, you don’t need to worry.”
Di Ronghua frowned. “Then why do you still look like this?”
“Maybe the medicine hasn’t taken effect yet.” He paused. “If you don’t believe me, you can go back to Xiliang and ask yourself.”
“…”
She fell silent for a moment, not yet responding when his thin lips brushed the corner of her eye. His low voice murmured, “You’ve been too good to me these past few days, so I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. It’s my fault.”
Di Ronghua stood there, dazed, as if a weight had lifted—yet a faint, uncomfortable sourness rippled through her chest.
She closed her eyes. “Even if you’d told me, I’d still help you with the medicine.”
Xiao Hanjin watched her softened expression, a fleeting complexity flashing through his dark eyes, gone in an instant.
Before he could speak, a knock sounded at the door.
Fan Jiang’s voice came from outside. “Your Majesty, Xiliang… the Empress is here.”
Both their expressions changed.
Xiao Hanjin saw the surprise in her eyes quickly give way to a bright spark of joy. “Is it Miao Miao?” she asked eagerly.
Fan Jiang replied, “Yes.”
Di Ronghua turned immediately, glancing back at Xiao Hanjin before leaving. “Are you… resting first, or coming with me?”
His gaze deepened. “Resting.”
Di Ronghua nodded. “Alright, then you two can catch up later.”
As she pushed the door open to leave, Fan Jiang stepped inside, casting a complicated look at the man. “Master… aren’t you going to see her?”
Xiao Hanjin said faintly, “There’s nothing to see.”
“But…”
Fan Jiang hesitated, then couldn’t hold back. “The princess stayed here because of the little princess, and the little princess stayed because she’s not fully comfortable with her yet. But now… with the Xiliang Empress here, doesn’t that mean the princess can rightfully take the little princess back?”
The man tugged at his lip. “She should go.”
With Su Miao here, it was time for her to leave.
These days together had been a stolen happiness for him.
The longer it lasted, the harder it became to let go, and the deeper he sank.
He feared he might force her again.
—
It had only been a little over a month since Di Ronghua last saw Su Miao, but meeting now, they still had endless things to say.
Su Miao held Jiangjiang, laughing as she teased the “daughter” she hadn’t seen in months.
Di Ronghua propped her chin on her hand, sipping tea and joking, “Miao Miao, you ditched my imperial brother and came all the way to Beixi—what for?”
Su Miao glanced back at her. “To see my goddaughter, of course—not you.”
Di Ronghua pouted. “Oh.”
Su Miao gave a half-smile. “Looks like you’re doing pretty well here.”
