The willow leaves are slowly

"Princess, I am of humble status and unworthy of your love." The pain was like a raging fire, burning every corner of Asumi's heart.

"That year, I knelt in Yong'an Palace and begged my mother for a day and a night. She said that if I knelt again, she would tell my father the truth and let him kill me! It began to spread that Princess Anhe loved Ye Hansheng and would not marry anyone else!"

"You know, that's not true!" An He burst into tears, "Brother Acheng, why don't you accept me? I said, I don't care about status, I don't care about anything!"

"I care! I am the most noble princess of Dongling, how can I let my reputation be tarnished by you!" A Cheng lowered his head, not daring to look at An He. He was afraid that if he saw An He's tears, he would no longer be able to control his emotions.

"Brother Ah Cheng, if I were a girl from an ordinary family, what would you do?"

silence……

"In this life, a princess can only be a princess...", A Cheng lowered his head and said, "Princess, put on your cloak."

He lowered his head and walked forward with the cloak in his arms, ready to put it on Anhe. Anhe's body was trembling slightly. She turned around, looked up at Ashen, held his hand, tears in her eyes, and said nothing.

The vermilion cloak fell to the ground, and Asumi's hands were tightly held by Anhe, as if if he let go, Asumi would disappear.

An He's hands were so strong that the joints were white and extremely cold. Ashen tried hard to control his emotions. It seemed as if there were two forces pulling at him in his heart, one part telling him to face his feelings bravely, the other part saying, no, you don't deserve it!

A drop of hot tears fell on Acheng's hand. At this moment, all his defenses collapsed...

He turned his head and looked at An He steadily. This woman who had taken root in his heart since childhood, now had tears on her face. A Cheng couldn't bear it, so he pulled her in and hugged her tightly!

At this moment, Anhe couldn't believe what she saw, but then she hugged Asumi tightly.

"Brother Acheng...", Anhe called softly.

"Princess, I...will never let you down in this life!"

…………

Asumi took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her tears.

"Princess, don't cry. Your eyes will get swollen if you keep crying." He said softly.

"Brother Acheng, we..."

"Princess, I will work harder to achieve a reputation worthy of you. Wait for me. I hope you can take care of yourself and not be sad and worried about me."

An He looked at him with a smile. He gently tidied up An He's messy hair. "From now on, I will come to see you every time I enter the palace. You can continue to use the white dove I gave you to bring messages to me."

"Yeah!" Anhe looked at Acheng and nodded happily.

Ah Cheng picked up the cape on the ground, shook it, and put it on her, "Wear something thicker next time you go out, not so thin!"

Anhe and Asumi stared at each other. Anhe's gaze was like a clear spring, flowing in Asumi's eyes, and he seemed to be able to see his own reflection, feeling her warmth and tenderness.

The look in Acheng's eyes when he looked at Anhe was filled with an indescribable affection, making Anhe feel that she was the center of his world.

They all smiled slightly and looked at each other without saying anything, as if they had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"Princess, it's time for me to go back. So should I." A Cheng said softly.

Anhe was very reluctant to leave.

"Princess, be obedient and go back to have a good rest. Next time you come to the palace, I will roast sweet potatoes for you." A Cheng said with a smile.

"Okay, it's a deal, Brother Cheng, don't break your promise."

"I never break my promise to the princess!"

Acheng brought Anhe back to the corridor. At this time, a group of people carrying a sedan chair came over, led by a maid.

"Yes." The princess smiled and got on the sedan chair.

Anhe’s long-cherished wish finally came true.

On a cold winter day when she was young, she changed into the clothes of a palace maid and secretly ran to a secluded place in the imperial garden, where she had a cat. Because her concubine Rong Fei did not allow her to keep a cat, she could only do it secretly.

The kitten was shivering on a tall tree. An He climbed up the tree to save her, but she slipped and fell into the water. Few people came to this corner, only occasionally a palace maid would pass by. She struggled desperately, and when she was choking and dying, a man jumped into the water and saved her.

She opened her eyes in a daze and saw a little boy who was a little older than her. The little boy helped her up and asked, "Which palace are you from? What are you doing here?"

"Where is my Miaomiao?" An He looked around frantically.

"Are you talking about it?" the little boy said, pointing to the sleeping cat in the corner behind him.

An He wanted to go over to check, but she still felt uncomfortable after choking on the water.

"Is its name Miaomiao? Miaomiao is fine. When you fell into the water, it meowed beside the pond. I heard it, so I saved you. What's your name? Which palace are you from? Roast by the fire and I'll send you back once your clothes are dry." The little boy was roasting a sweet potato.

"Ben...you can just call me Yuan'er, I'm from Fengxi Palace."

An He almost blurted out "This Palace".

"Yuan'er, Fengxi Palace? Are you Princess Anhe's maid?"

"Well, you...you know Princess Anhe?" Anhe tilted her head slightly and asked tentatively.

"I don't know him, I've only heard of him. I just came to the palace. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm from Qinghui Garden."

"I heard that Father... I heard that His Majesty has taken in General Ye's only son and arranged him in Qinghui Garden. Are you General Ye's son?"

"No, General Ye's son is called Ye Hansheng. I am his servant. When I was five years old, the young master bought me back from Ya City. I had no name or surname, so I took the young master's surname. The young master gave me the name."

"I see. Why are you around here?"

"I came here to secretly roast sweet potatoes for the young master. The steward of Qinghui Garden forbids open flames. The young master and I both want to eat roasted sweet potatoes, so I found this secret base."

The aroma of sweet potatoes wafted around and An He's stomach growled.

Ah Cheng picked up a piece of baked sweet potato with a smile and said, "Here, try it, I baked it really well!"

An He hesitated for a moment, then took the sweet potato and started eating.

Looking at An He eating sweet potatoes with big mouthfuls, A Cheng said proudly: "How is it? Delicious, right?!"

"Yeah!" An He couldn't help but nodded repeatedly.

From then on, An He and A Cheng often met in this secret base. A Cheng baked sweet potatoes for her, brought her food, took care of Miao Miao, and the two played games together.

Whenever she was sad, A Cheng would always stay by her side to comfort her and make her happy.

An He looked forward to meeting Ah Cheng almost every day, until the New Year's Eve banquet six months later...

"Today is a family dinner, everyone please don't be shy. I'll introduce someone to you." Li Qi looked at Huang Zhongquan, and Eunuch Huang immediately understood and brought someone out from the inner room with a smile.

"Come, A Sheng, meet everyone." Li Qi said with a smile.

Ye Hansheng stood in the center of the hall, saluted everyone and briefly introduced himself. A Cheng stood behind Ye Hansheng's seat with his head down.

Ye Hansheng sat down, and A Cheng felt a pair of eyes following him all the time. He raised his head slightly and saw Yuan'er, who was sitting in the main seat and smiling at him.

Yuan'er met Acheng's gaze, smiled happily, and waved secretly.

"An He, come here, come to your father!" Li Qi said happily.

An He jumped to Li Qi's side, picked up the wine pot and poured a glass of wine for Li Qi, "I wish my Dongling a prosperous era, and I wish my father a long life! Long live my father!"

"Hahaha! Great! My Anhe is so considerate!" Li Qi drank it all in one gulp. "Do you have any New Year's wishes? Tell your father."

"Father...I...I want to raise a kitten." An He secretly glanced at Concubine Rong.

Rong Fei said: "The cat might scratch An He, and..."

Before Rong Fei finished speaking, Li Qi said, "Yes! My daughter wants to keep a cat. Does she have to depend on others' opinions?"

Li Qi glanced at Concubine Rong, and Concubine Rong swallowed back what she wanted to say.

An He hugged Li Qi's neck and said happily: "Father is the best!"

"Hahaha!" Li Qi was equally happy.

An He looked at A Cheng, who suddenly lowered his head and focused on Ye Hansheng, helping him do what he could.

After the banquet, Acheng came to the secret base to pack up his things and look after Miaomiao.

An He came over skipping and jumping, smiling sweetly, "Brother A Cheng!"

Ah Cheng put down the things in his hand, bowed his head and knelt down to salute: "Greetings, Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

An He was stunned, and hurried forward to help him up, saying, "Brother Acheng, get up quickly, don't kneel to me."

"You are a princess and I am a servant, so I have to kneel!" Ah Cheng was stubborn and refused to get up.

"Brother Acheng, I didn't mean to lie to you, please get up quickly." Anhe pouted and looked aggrieved.

Asumi stood up silently without saying a word.

An He pulled his sleeve and said, "I was just afraid that you would do this. If I told you that I'm a princess, you wouldn't want to play with me. Brother Cheng, I didn't mean to lie to you."

"My mother keeps a close eye on me. I rarely leave the palace and I don't have any friends. I have to be secretive when raising a cat. You are my only friend."

The mist on Ah Cheng's face finally cleared up, "You can take Miao Miao back now."

An He took Miao Miao, poked his head out, tilted his head to look at A Cheng and asked, "Brother A Cheng, have you forgiven me?"

Ah Cheng looked at her round face and couldn't help laughing: "How dare I blame the princess!"

............

"Princess, Princess." the maid called.

"Ok?"

"We're here, it's time for the princess to get out of the sedan!" the maid said softly.

"I haven't seen the princess so happy for a long time. Is it because of the good weather?" said the maid.

"Yes, today's sky is bluer than usual."

An He looked up at the sky, and the corners of his lips couldn't help but rise...

"Meow~", Miaomiao walked over gracefully and rubbed against Anhe's feet.

An He gently picked it up and said happily: "Miao Miao, do you miss me too?"

"Meow~"