Zheng Yuheng read from beginning to end, stood in silence for a moment, and then put away the scroll of ink, rolled it up carefully, and did not put it back, but put it in his sleeve.
　　He did not ask immediately. Dong Lingjiu had only been compiling the story book with Zheng Yuheng these days, discussing the romantic and lingering things in it, and did not mention the will at all.
　　Even if she did not mention it, she soon found out that the drafted will was stolen. Only one person in the room saw it and might take it away. She knew it well, but did not point it out. She pretended that nothing had happened and continued to live a quiet life in the small building of the temporary palace.
　　Two days later, the emperor sent someone to urge Zheng Yuheng to return to the palace and gave him a definite deadline. Meng Cheng not only gave him an imperial decree, but also wrote a special letter to invite Dong Lingjiu back to the palace. However, the words in the letter to the Empress Dowager were much more respectful and tactful.
　　Zheng Yuheng was released by him, and he could not be easily called back. During the day, he accompanied Dong Lingjiu to the Liu'an River of the temporary palace to fish and tend to the flowers and plants in the small building. During this period, he also met two people. One was the late emperor's De Concubine, who was kind and amiable, and the other was Xu Fei, who he had treated before, and was also the daughter of the retired Xu Shangshu.
　　When Xu Fei saw him, she thanked him in front of the Empress Dowager, and mentioned that she had written a letter to her father and must repay this favor, etc. Zheng Yuheng suddenly remembered that when he was impeached by Xing Wenchang last time, Xu Shangshu unexpectedly stood up to speak for him.
　　Everything in the world has cause and effect.
　　He figured it out, returned the courtesy politely, and thanked him politely.
　　Time passed quickly, and soon it was the time set by Meng Cheng. Zheng Yuheng didn't want to go back, but at the same time, she had a lot of thoughts on her mind that were difficult to resolve.
　　That night, Dong Lingjiu was outside pruning peach branches, when she suddenly heard a light and familiar sound of footsteps. She didn't look back, but naturally took off the
　　small flowers, and there was an extra breath beside her. Zheng Yuheng's hands came around from behind, wrapped around her waist, and his chin rested on her shoulders. He smelled of soapberries that had just been bathed, accompanied by a slight dampness. He lowered his head and didn't move. He hugged for a long time before saying, "This tree is really blessed."
　　"What blessing?"
　　"Prune me too," he said, "touch it more with your hands."
　　Dong Lingjiu glanced to the side a few times, and when she saw that Zhao Qing was not there, she knew that the little bastard had sent her away. She said, "You are becoming more and more adaptable. In the morning breeze and bright moon, between heaven and earth, you dare to say such frivolous words. You are so young, but you are really wild."
　　Zheng Yuheng said, "...I am not..." He sighed again, his voice gradually weakened, "How can I be so lascivious."
　　Dong Lingjiu just smiled and said nothing.
　　Zheng Yuheng felt even more embarrassed when he heard her laugh, but he did not loosen his arms around her. He walked around and stood between Dong Lingjiu and the peach tree, looking at her and said, "Come with me to a place."
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "Where?"
　　Zheng Yuheng did not answer, but just took her hand and walked away, looking as if he had hesitated for a long time about what happened today. Dong Lingjiu followed him into the yard and followed him into a small ear room.
　　This room was usually idle and was just casually cleaned. Dong Lingjiu had never set foot in this place before. Today, he lifted the dark blue door curtain on the copper hook and entered. He saw that the room was tidy and there was a statue of Nuwa in the front.
　　Zheng Yuheng knelt on the mat in front of the statue, closed his eyes and said sincerely: "Emperor Nuwa prayed to the temple to be a matchmaker, and then arranged a marriage. Now I don't have the luck of marriage, but I already regard her as my wife. Although we have never lived together, I hope to die together."
　　Dong Lingjiu paused, looked at his figure, and said: "You..."
　　"Emperor Nuwa," he still said, "I treat her wholeheartedly, but she doesn't treat me wholeheartedly. She always thinks of leaving me alone behind, making me lonely and miserable. She doesn't know in her heart, please ask Nuwa and Hou Tu to convey something for me. If the spirit is gone, what's the point of forcing the body to stay in the world? She did this to force me to stay in the world, but she ignored my feelings."
　　Dong Lingjiu knew that he was just using this statue to express his thoughts one by one. She knew that Zheng Yuheng had taken away the will, and she had been quietly waiting for him to explode.
　　She sighed in her heart, and simply lifted her robe, kneeling on a cushion next to him, clasping her hands together, closing her eyes and saying, "Most of the common people in the world are under the age of thirty, and there are countless people who died young among the nobles. How many kings have been over fifty on the throne? At this point in life, I have already let go of the matter of life and death, all because I miss him so much, not because I am leaving him behind."
　　Zheng Yuheng clasped his fingers together, then put them down, lowered his eyes and said, "I know you have always been a person who makes plans early. At the age of thirty, you have to see beyond the age of fifty. If there is any omission, you have to make up for it, and I am naturally one of them. Even a pair of cranes know that love is not lustful. Am I not as good as the white cranes? They can still accompany each other through life and death, but I can't?"
　　Dong Lingjiu said, "It's strange. Everyone in the world is afraid of death, but you are different."
　　"You clearly know me," he said, "what other purpose can this will have except to keep me alive and let me live in pain? This doesn't make me angry. What makes me angry is that you are clearly showing signs of improvement, but you are still thinking about things a hundred years later. When I think about these things, I can't help but feel sad. Once I am sad, it will inevitably be harmful to my health. How can I let it go?"
　　Dong Lingjiu turned his head and looked at him.
　　However, Zheng Yuheng looked straight ahead without meeting her gaze. He took a deep breath and said to the statue of Nuwa, "Empress Nuwa, I didn't come here just to be angry with her. It's just that there is something that has been lingering in my heart for many days, like a thorn in my throat... She is not someone who doesn't understand me, but she repeatedly makes decisions that go against my heart and follow the secular view. Isn't this the legacy of Emperor Mingde's early death? The good things in the world are not solid, the colorful clouds are easily dispersed, and the glass is fragile. She never believed that I could accompany her until death. Instead, she felt that there is no such thing as suicide for love in the world, and all good things must come to an end."
　　Dong Lingjiu still stared at him silently, but he unconsciously fiddled with the coral bracelet in his hand.
　　"Emperor Mingde is a wise ruler, but to be honest, he put his love for his wife and his family behind his mind and put political power first. As for fate, the saint died early and entrusted the country to you alone. In addition, the world has been turbulent and you have gone through all kinds of things. He has planted uneasy karma in your heart, making it impossible for you to completely trust the love between men and women. That's why you often think that what I think is not worth it."
　　Zheng Yuheng's voice became lower and lower when he said this, and then he finally turned his head and said, "You always think that my infatuation is not good, and too much is as bad as too little. You love me, I understand, but you are so "It really makes me sad, upset and confused. Unless you never mention this matter again, this will be my lifelong evidence, proof that you abandoned me."
　　Dong Lingjiu saw that although he turned around, he was just talking with a gloomy look in his eyes, so she reached out and held his cheek. Seeing that Zheng Yuheng's eyes were slightly red, and there was some sadness in his confession, she had already softened her heart and thought that what he said was not unreasonable. Since her youth, until today, she has seen too many "colorful clouds are easily dispersed and glass is fragile" things, which made Dong Lingjiu feel that her infatuation with Zheng Yuheng was too much and hurt his own life.
　　She was used to calculating the fate of others, so she chose a method that could make him give up the desire to commit suicide for love, but as Zheng Yuheng said, what use is such a fate except to keep him alive? Can a person like him, left alone in the world, still have an easy life?
　　Dong Lingjiu whispered: "... Look at me."
　　Zheng Yuheng then raised his eyes.
　　The two gazes met, just like a gurgling stream hitting a reef, splashing white and cold water, stirring up the heart. Dong Lingjiu was still able to keep her composure, but Zheng Yuheng's eyes trembled slightly, and he suddenly raised his hands to hug her, without saying a word, but just breathing gently and adjusting his breathing.
　　He pressed his lips against Dong Lingjiu's skin and said after a long while: "Empress Wa, may you live a long life. I will stay with you for a long time."
　　Dong Lingjiu whispered: "How old are you? What you say sounds like nonsense."
　　"What's the matter?" Zheng Yuheng said, "There are not many of my stupid words in this world. It would be better if you could listen to them. Why should we plan for the worst outcome for everything in this world?"
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "Then we won't be disappointed."
　　Zheng Yuheng said: "Fear of disappointment is a kind of cowardice."
　　Dong Lingjiu raised his eyebrows: "What are you talking about me?"
　　Zheng Yuheng immediately changed his words. He held Dong Lingjiu's hand to wipe his non-existent tears and whispered: "I didn't. Tan Niang, don't frame me. Tan Niang is the bravest person in the world."
　　Dong Lingjiu smiled, hugged him back, closed his eyes and whispered: "No... I'm also afraid of losing you."
　　After that, without waiting for Zheng Yuheng's stunned thoughts to react, he added another sentence.
　　"Empress Wa, what Mr. Zheng said today is witnessed by the Mother of Hou Tu. If he changes his mind and becomes unfaithful, I will not only not let him go, but also make him die with me. In heaven and on earth, in reincarnation, I will not allow him to regret even a word."
　　Zheng Yuheng was not afraid at all. Her eyes became brighter and her Adam's apple moved slightly. She whispered in her ear: "Then let's let Empress Wa witness the marriage and just have the bridal chamber."
　　Dong Lingjiu: "...Aren't you changing too fast?"
　　Zheng Yuheng said with sparkling eyes: "Anyway, I'm not afraid of death. I want to enjoy myself in time. I should go back to the palace tomorrow. We have to hurry up and get married."
　　Dong Lingjiu: "..."
　　For a moment, she really wanted to shake the pink bubble water in Zheng Yuheng's head and say that we should regret the marriage.
　　...
　　Zheng Yuheng lived up to her expectations. Dong Lingjiu finally returned to the palace after living in the palace for so long.
　　With the Empress Dowager's visit, he didn't need to rush back at full speed, but took advantage of Dong Lingjiu's carriage, accompanied her to eat and take medicine every day, sorted out and summarized the manuscript stories, and sometimes discussed the plots and characters with her, talking about the right and wrong of a certain character.
　　After returning to the palace, Meng Cheng first paid a visit to his mother, and mentioned the major and minor government affairs in recent days. Then he brought Zheng Yuheng, who was released like a wild horse, to his front, and asked him in an unpredictable manner whether his previous crying words were performed to deceive him.
　　Although Meng Cheng is not stupid, his reaction arc is too long. Zheng Yuheng had forgotten about it, and he made up and acted on the spot, and finally fooled him after a lot of effort. Others are afraid that the emperor will change his face, but he is not afraid. He quickly eliminated Meng Cheng's doubts and continued to be his loyal and trusted minister.
　　Everything seems to have not changed.
　　But it seems to have changed again.
　　Time flies. A few months later, Meng Cheng held the imperial pen and pondered for a long time before he suddenly asked Xu Xiang, who was writing in front of the emperor: "Do you feel that... Lord Zheng and the Empress Dowager are a little strange recently?"
　　Xu Xiang was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know what Your Majesty is talking about?"
　　"What could the emperor be talking about?" Meng Zhaiyue sat on a chair under Meng Cheng's left hand, threw the beads in her hand into the air, and caught it again. She was wearing the official uniform of the Dali Temple without a crown, and was lively and charming in her elegance. "It's just that Lord Zheng has been taking leave frequently these days, and it happened that when he took leave, the Cining Palace also closed its doors early to welcome visitors... Is that the case? Ziqian, I want tea too."
　　Xu Xiang glanced at Meng Cheng, and seeing that he was still in deep thought, he put down his hand grinding ink, and instead took a cup of Enshi Yulu, which the princess loved to drink, and presented it to Meng Zhaiyue.
　　Meng Zhaiyue came to discuss the official business of the Dali Temple with her brother. Xu Xiang happened to be on duty, so she couldn't be too presumptuous. She just couldn't help but look at him a few more times. Xu Xiang then stepped back a little and coughed lightly.
　　Meng Zhaiyue retracted her gaze, took a sip of tea, and continued: "Brother, don't think about it. Since the last time I came back, my mother has been very tired of the palace, so Lord Zheng always takes time to take my mother out to play. Do you remember the courtyard outside the capital? The last time I passed by, I saw banana trees planted at the gate of the courtyard. I think if my mother was not there, Lord Zheng would not live there, let alone tidy up the courtyard?"
　　After hearing this, Meng Cheng first lowered his head and wrote a few more words, and then couldn't help but said to his little sister: "Tell me, do you think he is lawless? If it weren't for my consideration of his merits in the court, how many heads would he have to chop off? You say he..."
　　Meng Zhaiyue was not angry, nor did she echo the condemnation of Zheng Yuheng, but While thinking, he mentioned another thing: "Speaking of this, his courtyard is so well built, how about... we also go on a private visit to the capital to understand the people's sentiments, and have a meal with him? Lord Zheng is only happy by himself, and he doesn't know that happiness alone is better than happiness with others."
　　Meng Cheng said unhappily: "You go by yourself, anyway, I won't go."
　　Meng Zhaiyue stretched out his tone and said "Oh", and asked again: "Really?"
　　Meng Cheng buried his head in reviewing memorials and kept silent. After a long while, he suddenly put down his pen and said: "I want to see where it would be better than the palace!"
　　Meng Zhaiyue supported his chin, nodded as expected, turned his head to look at Xu Xiang, poked the back of his hand, and whispered: "Will you accompany me?"
　　"...I dare not."
　　"Don't worry," she whispered, "I'll let my brother take you there."
　　The author has something to say:
　　Little Emperor: This home! I don't think it needs me anymore!