After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

The embers in the brazier flickered like stars, barely extinguished. A tiny spark, buried deep within, was unwilling to let its glorious life end so quietly, and in its anger, it burst open with a loud pop.

The faint sound would normally go unnoticed, but in the extremely quiet environment, Xiang Anzhun caught it and shuddered violently at the sound, saying, "He's pretending to be weak to catch a tiger."

Fu Qingbai said calmly, "The emperor's heart is unfathomable; it has always been so."

The sparks that exploded in the brazier turned into three or four smaller sparks, which blinked a few times reluctantly before going out completely.

Xiang An: "Do the court officials know about this?"

Fu Qingbai: "You should have known yesterday."

Xiang An: "Why didn't you say so from the beginning?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she quickly covered her mouth. Just as he said, the emperor's heart was unpredictable. If she had been in Fu Qingbai's situation at the time, she would most likely have made a similar decision to him.

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. The emperor was assassinated and died without leaving a single word. Sooner or later, one of the many princes had to be chosen to ascend the throne. In this difficult situation, the eldest prince, Xiang Xin, appeared with a bunch of tokens that proved his super strength and the ability to massacre the streets of the capital. No matter how the pros and cons were weighed, he was the first choice.

In a situation where a choice was unavoidable, Fu Qingbai also made a backup plan, secretly arranging for secret guards to assassinate the tyrannical emperor at any time. He did not hand over the military tally, but openly held half of the military power in his hands, reminding Xiang Xin to restrain his temper.

With both a clear and a hidden escape route, turning back was extremely risky, but Fu Qingbai still did it. He simply never imagined that the military tally had somehow ended up in the hands of the Fu family; otherwise, how could things have turned out like yesterday…

Fu Qingbai did not possess the ability to foresee the future, and could not have predicted that Xiang Xin, who seemed to only know violent means and never liked to use his brain, would become so crazy after ascending the throne. At that time, all he could do was make the best choice based on all the factors at the time.

Outside, snowflakes danced incessantly, and inside, it was so quiet that you could hear the soft rustling of snowflakes falling to the ground even through a door.

Xiang An was lost in thought when she suddenly heard a rumbling stomach. Startled, she looked in the direction of the sound and saw a hungry man quickly burying his head under the covers, with only the tips of his ears showing, which were slightly red.

Xiang An: "Are you hungry?"

What a pointless question. We got up early this morning and chatted for so long, how could we not be hungry?

"..."

Fu Qing buried his face in the blanket and didn't say a word.

Seeing his attitude, Xiang An couldn't help but purse her lips and said disdainfully, "Even if you're hungry, you can't eat the blankets. You've lost your hands and there's no one to take care of you. Instead of hurrying up and finding something to eat, do you want to starve to death?"

"..." Fu Qingbai looked up, his calm eyes revealing a hint of disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not hungry." Xiang An shrugged.

Fu Qingbai pursed her lips, struggled to stand up, sat upright in the chair, and then... nothing more happened.

Xiang An: "Are your legs too weak from hunger? Can't walk anymore? Or do you just not have the strength to call out?"

“No.” Fu Qingbai sat back. “If His Majesty does not want me to die, he will definitely send someone to deliver me.”

Xiang An glared at him, held back for a few moments, but finally couldn't hold back: "You mean you're going to just let things take their course and leave it to fate?"

Fu Qingbai: "No."

Xiang An: "Then why are you sitting here without moving?"

"His Majesty will come." Fu Qingbai did not look at An, his eyes slightly lowered, and his words inexplicably conveyed a sense of certainty.

Xiang An looked at him strangely. To be fair, given his inexplicably confident attitude without any evidence, if anyone else had said this to her now, Xiang An would have rolled her eyes at him and called him a "pretentious"!

Uh, no, it seems she had called him "pretentious" before.

Oh well, it's not her who's going hungry anyway.

Xiang An found a corner and sat cross-legged there.

"Is this how you spend your days?" Fu Qingbai suddenly asked.

Xiang An looked at him, not understanding what was going on.

"Such confinement is truly inhuman!" Fu Qingbai stood up and slowly walked to her. "What can I do for you?"

Fu Qingbai knelt on one knee, at the same eye level as Xiang An, who was sitting cross-legged. The winter sun outside the window shone softly through the windowpane, casting a gentle, slanting light into the room. It illuminated Fu Qingbai in his blue brocade robes, as if Bao Yu had found the perfect angle to highlight his mysterious and precious nature. For a moment, he was astonished by his divine beauty.

After staring into his eyes for a long time, Xiang An's stagnant thoughts finally began to turn slowly like rusty gears, and he said dryly, "Didn't you expect me not to leave you?"

"Have it?"

"There's none?"

Fu Qingbai shook his head.

Xiang An blinked, recalling his earlier words—

"Temporary or permanent?"

"You became... and have been by my side ever since?"

"……no the same."

Yesterday's memories drifted in like snowflakes, then seemed to scatter and dance in the wind.

He never explicitly said he hoped she couldn't live without him, but his expression clearly conveyed an indescribable emotion when he did.

As he pondered, Xiang An suddenly realized: "You despise me?"

"No," Fu Qingbai said. "I am naturally happy that the princess stays by my side every step of the way, but confinement is not included in this."

"You...you're quite the smooth talker." Xiang An raised an eyebrow. "Xiang Xin had a cesarean section to give birth to my child, and you're worrying about this. Aren't you curious if I can make you live to be a hundred, or if I have any magic powers or something?"

After holding back my question for so long, I finally asked it.

"I do not need."

"Truly bizarre."

“Different choices lead to different thoughts.” Fu Qingbai slowly walked to the Bagua diagram, stomped on the floor for a while, and a floor tile in the far corner of the room slowly opened, revealing a dark hole and a bottomless staircase.

Xiang An's expression cracked for a moment: "Is the palace your home or mine?"

Last time it was the small red gate behind the emperor's bedroom, this time it's a secret passage. She, who often enters the palace, didn't know about it. Even a rat isn't as good at burrowing as he is.

"..."

"Why are you so familiar with the palace's secret passages?"

“I dug it,” Fu Qingbai replied as he descended the steps. “Follow me, watch your step, don’t fall.”

Upon hearing this, Xiang An quickly took a few steps to catch up, and asked in surprise, "Why are you digging?"

They dared to dig a secret passage under the emperor's dragon feet.

"You have too many questions."

Fu Qingbai didn't want to answer the questions, so Xiang An didn't press the matter further.

In fact, she couldn't ask any more questions at this moment. The two walked one after the other in the dark passage. The narrow passage was filled with mud on all sides, with only two exits.

In addition, the passage was not lit, and in the pitch-black space, the passage seemed to stretch on and on. The damp and stuffy air underground was already making people feel uncomfortable, and after a while, it made them feel irritable for no reason.