The girl traveled through another world and forced the prince to take the imperial examination

The afternoon sun, like melting amber, warmly bathed the windowpanes, while the faint fragrance of flowers drifted in from outside.

By the window, Yun Qing leaned against the soft couch, and Mu Qingcheng leaned against him. The two of them squeezed together on the soft couch, just like the trees and vines outside the window that were intertwined and inseparable.

His Highness the Crown Prince held a travelogue in one hand, his clear voice slowly reciting the landscapes and scenery of the foreign land. In his other hand, he held a plain dough fan, gently waving it occasionally. The breeze from the fan ruffled the stray hairs on Mu Qingcheng's forehead and brushed against her rosy cheeks.

As Yun Qing read an interesting anecdote, she looked down and saw the person in her arms yawn!

"Are you sleepy? Do you want to take a nap?"

"No, I want to hear more!"

Yun Qing reluctantly continued to act as a reading tool. As she listened, Mu Qingcheng closed her eyes, her breathing became even and long, and she quietly fell asleep without anyone noticing.

She unconsciously rubbed against his chest, finding a more comfortable position, with drool still on her lips, looking just like a lazy cat. Yun Qing's heart instantly melted.

He stopped reciting and gazed silently at her sleeping face. Her long eyelashes drooped like butterfly wings, casting soft shadows beneath her eyes. Her usually lively and mischievous eyes were now quietly hidden, leaving only a pure and unguarded look. Sunlight streamed across her nose and lips, casting a soft glow on her delicate skin.

Looking at her sleeping face, Yun Qing felt her heart overflowing with emotion.

He gently put down the book, but didn't stop fanning her, afraid of disturbing her sweet dream. As if guided by a ghost, he lowered his head, his lips, as soft as feathers, gently touching her forehead and cheeks, and finally, lightly pressing his lips to hers.

He held her like that, listening to their intertwined breaths, the faint fragrance of her hair lingering around his nose, and felt a lazy drowsiness, his consciousness gradually sinking into a peaceful and tranquil darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, a barely audible voice called from outside the door: "Master, I have urgent business to discuss with you!"

Yun Qing suddenly woke up, instinctively looking towards the person in her arms. Mu Qingcheng only frowned slightly, not yet awake. He carefully settled her on the soft couch, pulled a thin blanket over her, and then tiptoed towards the door.

He opened the door, and the bright afternoon light made him squint. Mo Yu stood with his head down on the steps, not daring to look directly at him.

"What is it?" Yun Qing lowered her voice, rubbed her temples, and the remaining sleepiness was replaced by a trace of alertness.

"Master, Mo Dong is back, he's in the outer courtyard."

"Mo Dong?" Yun Qing was taken aback. This name was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, instantly rousing her from her daze. The last vestiges of languor vanished in an instant, and a sharp, razor-sharp light flashed in her eyes.

In the study in the front yard, a man stood with his back to the door. He was about thirty years old, with a face covered in stubble etched by time, and an expression of dejection and numbness born of long suffering. His once tall frame was now hunched over, with one empty sleeve hanging at his side, and his face bearing shocking scars.

Yun Qing paused at the doorway. The moment his gaze fell upon that figure's back, his heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand. He recalled the battle in the palace when he was a child. He had been clinging to this person's back then. His back was straight and thin, yet he had carved a bloody path for him.

“Master…” Mo Dong heard footsteps, turned around and saw Yun Qing. He trembled and was about to kneel down.

Yun Qing strode forward and, before his knees could bend, pulled him into a tight embrace. The embrace was heavy and forceful, carrying the trembling of something lost and then regained, as well as an indescribable sorrow. "Mo Dong..." Yun Qing's voice was a little hoarse.

"Master...!" Mo Dong's last remaining arm clung tightly to the wall, a suppressed sob escaping his throat, tears streaming down his face. "I...I'm useless, I almost ruined you...I..."

"It's good that you're back." Yun Qing patted his bony back heavily, and when she let go of him, her own eyes were already red. "Don't say anything, just sit down."

He personally moved a chair to Mo Dong's side and forced him to sit down. He then sat opposite him, his gaze fixed heavily on the other man's empty sleeves and haggard face.

"Master, it's all my fault! It's all my fault!" Mo Dong's emotions broke down, tears mingling with his pain. "Back then, I was the one who picked up that heartless bastard Mo Bei! I was the one who brought a wolf into the house! He betrayed you, poisoned you, and caused so many brothers to die tragically... I deserve to die a thousand deaths to atone for it!"

“Mo Dong,” Yun Qing’s voice was deep and clear, carrying an undeniable power, “the one who harmed me is the mastermind behind it all; the one who killed my brothers is the enemy’s sword. This debt cannot be attributed to you.”

“But…but…” Mo Dong covered his face with one hand, his shoulders heaving violently. “After Cangyun Mountain, you disappeared, and only one in ten of our brothers survived…I lost an arm, Mo Nan almost died, only Mo Bei…only he was unharmed! How could I not be suspicious? I secretly investigated him and found that he frequented Hui Ji…That night I sneaked in and indeed found it was a den of thieves! But I…I’m so useless. They found me and locked me in the dungeon, and I’ve been locked up for so long…I can’t do anything, I…”

“Your life is the most important thing.” Yun Qing interrupted his endless self-blame, her eyes swirling with complex emotions—pain, hatred, and deep weariness. He was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “Mo Bei… I killed him with my own hands. Before he died, he only said one sentence to me.”

Mo Dong suddenly looked up, his eyes blurred with tears as he gazed at Yun Qing.

“He said, ‘Mo Dong likes Hui Ji Zhai’s dim sum.’” Yun Qing said slowly and deliberately, her voice as soft as a sigh. “Just that one sentence. I guessed then that you might be there.”

Mo Dong was struck dumb, frozen in place, the color draining from his face. Resentment, confusion, pain, and a trace of deliberately forgotten brotherhood from the distant past intertwined wildly in his eyes. "He...he didn't kill me...he kept me locked up, but he never let anyone torture me..." he murmured, as if questioning himself, or seeking an incomprehensible answer.

“Perhaps!” Yun Qing looked at the swaying tree shadows outside the window, her voice ethereal, “In his desperate situation, this is the only way he can choose to protect you.”

These words were like the final key, unlocking the prison of anger and self-blame that Mo Dong had kept locked in his heart. He could no longer hold back, covering his face with his only remaining hand, and like a child who had lost everything, he burst into a broken sob, suppressed to the extreme.

In those cries, there was mourning for the dead brothers, hatred for one's own powerlessness, and endless desolation at the cruel twists of fate.

Yun Qing didn't stop him; she simply sat quietly, her gaze calm and compassionate. He knew that some tears had to be shed, some wounds had to be wailed out, before true healing could begin.

Inside the study, only the man's suppressed sobs and the still bright sunlight outside the window, which seemed to be a lifetime away, remained.