The baby-making system is unreliable

Summer in Huludao always carries a pure, untainted sweetness. It's that time of year again when lotus flowers bloom, their pink and white petals standing gracefully among the emerald green lotus leaves.

Morning dew rolls on the petals, refracting a crystalline light. A gentle breeze blows, carrying a refreshing fragrance and rippling the surface of the spring pond.

In the fifth year since Yun Xinrou passed away, Du Xicong and Xu Shuyao finally set foot on the island of their memories once again.

After leaving that magnificent cage, the couple, like weary birds returning to their nests, wandered the world.

Du Xicong used his superb medical skills to heal the sick and save lives, while Xu Shuyao always accompanied him, traveling together among the mountains and rivers.

They have visited impoverished mountain villages and bustling towns, treated high-ranking officials and nobles, and helped beggars on the roadside.

The dust of their journey had washed away the courtly air between their brows, but instead gave them a unique peace and gentleness that came with experience in the world.

At this moment, the couple stood on the stone bridge, watching the lotus flowers blooming in the pond. The water flowing beneath the bridge still murmured, as if telling the story of the passage of time.

Xu Shuyao gently took her husband's arm, looked into the distance, and thought of Yun Xinrou, who had passed away.

“Xicong,” she said softly, a hint of sadness in her voice, “where do you think Xinrou is now?”

Du Xi did not answer immediately. He simply raised his hand to tidy his wife's wind-blown hair, his eyes gentle and deep. He looked at the lotus flowers in the pond, those in full bloom and those still in bud, all of which seemed to resemble Yun Xinrou's smile from years ago.

“She has always been here,” he said slowly, his voice low and resolute. “In this wind, in these flowers, in our hearts. She has simply changed her way of being with us to see the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas of this world, to witness the joys and sorrows of life.”

Xu Shuyao leaned on her husband's shoulder, saying nothing more. The wind ruffled her clothes and stirred the lotus flowers in the pond. She knew that some partings were for better reunions, and that some people, even if separated by vast distances, were never truly gone.

Xu Shuyao's gaze shifted from the blooming lotus flowers to the distance, as if she could see through the palace walls and reach that figure left alone in the deep palace.

She sighed softly, her voice full of heartache: "Poor little brother, Yi Mo... he can only hide all his longing in his heart. He carries the whole world on his shoulders, and he doesn't even have the freedom to cry his heart out."

Du Xicong held his wife's hand tightly, his eyes filled with understanding and tenderness as he looked at her.

“Yes,” Du Xicong’s voice was low and calm, like a soothing medicine, “He is the emperor, and this vast land and countless people need him to protect them. This loneliness is his innate destiny.”

He paused, gazing at the two lotus blossoms growing side by side in the pond, his tone softening slightly: "However, he is not entirely alone. At least, he has Xiaoyou and Xiaoran with him. Watching the two children grow up day by day might soothe the emptiness in his heart."

Xu Shuyao nodded, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She knew that her younger brother, Xu Yimo, had chosen the mimosa tree as a symbol of his hope and longing because the mimosa symbolized "reconciliation" and represented family harmony and reunion.

Perhaps he was guarding that tree as a way of holding onto his hopes for family reunion and peace in the world.

“I hope he can live to see that day soon,” Xu Shuyao said softly, “when he can finally lay down all his burdens and, like us, freely see all the mountains and rivers and enjoy all the flowers in bloom.”

A gentle breeze blew by, and the lotus flowers swayed softly, as if responding to her heart's desire.

Meanwhile, in the palace thousands of miles away, beneath the mimosa tree, a solitary figure gazes up at the profusion of blossoms, his eyes reflecting starlight and endless longing for loved ones far away.

Beneath the mimosa tree in the Imperial Garden, Xu Yimo looked up at the tree full of blossoms. A gentle breeze blew by, and delicate pink leaves fluttered down, a few of them sticking to his dark dragon robe, but he seemed oblivious.

Longing? How could he not miss that person?! Perhaps things aren't so simple!

Wearing this dragon robe, he was no longer the capricious and spoiled Xu Yimo. He was now the ruler of a nation, an emperor revered by all.

In the stillness of the night, he had thought countless times about casting off this heavy crown, escaping from here, and flying far away.

But when he saw Xiaoyou and Xiaoran chasing and playing in the Imperial Garden, and heard the old ministers sighing with worry about the affairs of the country, he suppressed his impulse.

A gentle breeze blew by, and beneath the mimosa tree, Xu Yimo reached out and caught a falling leaf, stroking it softly. His eyes reflected starlight, and also his endless longing for someone far away.

He slowly extended his right hand and gently stroked the rough bark, his movements so careful and tender as if he were looking at the person he loved.

The red silk on the mimosa tree was never added again, and the red string on my wrist gradually became old.

The night-blooming jasmine is in full bloom before the courtyard; for whom was this delicate silk fan cut? A sudden flutter startles two butterflies, which fly into a dream of Mount Wu.

Will we ever meet again, my love in my dreams? I wish this intoxicating love would never end; when will you return, my beloved?