My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

That night, in Tianlao.

Perhaps there is only Cui Hongqi in this world. Even in a dirty prison, even if his milky white brocade robe is stained with dust, he can still exude a noble temperament as gentle as jade and as good as an exiled immortal from the inside out.

He stood tall with his hands behind his back facing the wall. When he heard the sound of iron chains behind him, he did not turn around, but just asked calmly, "Is it my turn?"

There was no response for a long time, only the sound of heavy breathing behind him.

Cui Hongqi slowly turned his head, and his pupils suddenly shrank: "You, are really still alive."

The jailer walked away knowingly, and there was no one around. Meng Nan knew that he didn't have much time, and Cui Hongjing only allowed him half an hour. He knew that this was because he was Mei Xueer's younger brother.

"Do you know why I didn't send anyone to capture you? Because I knew you would come by yourself. It's not that I trust you, but I trust your sister." This was the first sentence Cui Hongjing said when he saw him at noon.

Meng Nan came in carrying a small tea table.

"Your Highness, I know you never drink alcohol, only tea, so I brought tea." There was no table in the prison, so he had to put the tea on the wooden board where he slept.

Cui Hongqi glanced at it and did not move. "You don't understand tea. Drinking tea in this environment is a blasphemy to tea. Tea is no longer tea."

Meng Nan didn't know why, but when he saw Cui Hongqi, his temperament changed unconsciously. His pupils turned into the same dead grey color as before, and the breath of death permeated his whole body. He was like a messenger from hell who came out to take someone's life.

But he still clearly remembered that the seemingly gentle man in front of him was no longer his master, but the murderer who killed him.

"This is the most popular black tea sold in the capital these days. It's a recipe my sister came up with herself. Your Highness may wish to try it." He said calmly, without any emotion in his voice.

"Your sister?" Cui Hongqi was finally moved and actually smiled. "Who are you talking about?"

"Mei Xueer!"

As soon as the three words "Meng Nan" came out of his mouth, it was like a heavy hammer hitting Cui Hongqi's heart.

His face suddenly turned pale and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe it off.

There are black red plum blossoms embroidered on the white silk handkerchief.

It turned out that he was actually her younger brother.

Cui Hongqi's eyes were a little dazed, and he thought of the small lake green figure in the plum forest again.

He clearly remembered the scene when he saw her in the plum forest in the palace on the New Year's Eve banquet.

That day, the white snow was dotted with red flowers, just like cinnabar from the tip of a pen dripping onto the snow-white rice paper and then slowly spreading.

The vigorous and ancient red plum trees and their thin and withered branches add a bit of harshness and stubbornness to this cold winter.

Snowflakes slowly fall from the sky, one after another, gently overlapping the red colors, revealing a hint of proud elegance and beauty.

The woman in the lake green dress was greedily immersing herself in the faint fragrance alone, as if there was only this plum forest and her in the world, and as if she had merged into one with the ice and snow in the world.

She was very beautiful, and the expression between her eyebrows and eyes was very similar to his mother.

This was not the first time he had met her, but the first time he saw her, he was reminded of his mother who had fallen under the merlin.

At that moment, he even had an illusion that the woman in front of him was his mother.

When he saw her under the plum forest, he remembered the image of his mother lying in the plum forest.

There was blood flowing from the corner of his mother's mouth. He dragged his injured leg and tried to grab his mother's hand, but he couldn't.

He wanted his mother not to sleep in the snow as she would catch a cold, but his mother still fell asleep in front of him and never woke up again.

From then on, whenever he saw Mei Xueer or thought of Mei Xueer, he would go crazy and treat her as his own mother.

He would not allow anyone to hurt her, including himself, and he would do everything he could to protect her.

After he becomes emperor, he will go against all odds and enthrone Mei Xueer as empress dowager.

In this way, after leaving court every day, he could squat on the ground like he did when he was a child, rest his head on his mother's lap, let his mother's soft hands stroke his head, and hum songs to him.

He had no intention of desecrating Mei Xueer. He just wanted to protect her and treat her as his own mother.

Even though he was behind bars, he still imagined that scene every day.

Mei Xueer and Defei, two completely different people, have long been merged into one in his heart.

Cui Hongqi's eyes once again fell on the cup of tea that was so red that it seemed to be dripping with blood. Yes, only his mother could brew such wonderful black tea.

He unconsciously picked up a glass and drank it all.

The tea was still the same tea he had drunk before, but the taste was different.

A bit bitter.

After drinking, he tilted his head and looked at Meng Nan, "You don't look like her."

"That's because my face was scratched when I was born. In fact, we are twin brother and sister." For the first time in her life, Meng Nan looked directly into Cui Hongqi's eyes, "Your Highness, I came here today to seek an answer."

"You ask."

"Why did you take me in in the first place?"

Cui Hongqi smiled, "I was still young at that time, and it was my mother's idea to take you in. You were in the hands of human traffickers at the time, and the guards said that although you were young, you were a martial arts prodigy just by your figure. So my mother wanted to train you from a young age so that you could protect me in the future."

Meng Nan was silent for a long time: "Your Majesty and I grew up together. Can Your Majesty tell me, have you ever had any master-servant affection for me over the years?"

Cui Hongqi avoided his gaze and remained silent.

Meng Nan continued to ask: "When the prince inserted the dagger into my chest, did he have any mercy or hesitation?"

Cui Hongqi turned around and looked at the insect struggling desperately in the spider web on the roof. He uttered two words coldly: "Never!"

A trace of pain and self-mockery flashed across Meng Nan's deathly gray eyes.

Then he smiled and said, "Okay, thank you for telling me this, Your Majesty."

After saying this, he let out a long breath, as if he wanted to let out all the unbearable past.

Then he walked out of the cell without looking back.

Not until the sound of his footsteps completely disappeared in the aisle did Cui Hongqi slowly turn around and look towards the end of the aisle.

He had no expression on his face, just standing there, like a god from heaven, standing in prison, watching...