In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

Even after Li Chengze had boarded the carriage to return home, this sentence continued to echo in his mind:

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

He sorted through everything that had happened that day, and recalled the days he had lived in the previous twenty years. He closed his eyes in the carriage, hiding the extremely terrifying thoughts in his heart.

After a long while, he lifted the curtain and addressed Xie Bi'an, who was riding a horse outside:

"I sent you back in a hurry before I finished the task I assigned you. How is it going over there? Has anyone sent a message?"

Xie Bi'an didn't know why His Highness had suddenly brought this up, but he still spoke the truth:

"Your Highness, everything is proceeding smoothly after the silver was deposited."

"Train more people, but remember, focus on quality, not quantity."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Chengze lowered the curtain again, closed his eyes, and pondered what he should prepare for Tao Jingyang's mission.

The more you think about it, the more agitated you become.

Prince's Mansion.

Tao Jingyang returned to the mansion before him, and Li Chengze saw her tidying up as soon as he entered the door.

He casually found a place to sit, head bowed, and said, "You already know that His Majesty wants you to go to Northern Qi?"

Tao Jingyang went through the clothes in the wardrobe one by one, picking and choosing, while also replying to Li Chengze's words:

"This morning I went to the Censorate to express my gratitude, and Chen Pingping told me about this matter."

The former fell silent after asking the question, while the latter continued folding clothes without stopping, only saying:

"It's colder in Northern Qi than here, should I bring some warm clothes?"

"Even if it's cold there, it's still summer. Judging by the travel time, the mission will be back in the fall."

"That makes sense." Tao Jingyang tossed the folded clothes into the box.

The neatly folded clothes were somewhat scattered in the box, so Li Chengze went over and straightened each piece of clothing one by one.

Tao Jingyang saw his movements but didn't pay much attention, saying only, "It's just a few clothes, no need to be so careful." After saying that, he tried to pull Li Chengze's hand away and close the box.

However, the other person's other hand held the lid of the box, preventing Tao Jingyang from closing it.

"What's wrong?" she asked, puzzled.

"Jingyang, I couldn't protect you from going, so don't you blame me?"

Although there was disappointment in his eyes, there was no dejection. But if he could, Li Chengze would have preferred that Tao Jingyang vent his anger on him.

Tao Jingyang patted his chest with his palm, then turned around and sat on the edge of the box: "Why would I blame you? That's how emperors always are."

If you insist on going against him, I'm afraid he'll punish us all.

Then he patted Li Chengze on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, as long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. Just wait for me to come back in Kyoto."

Li Chengze remained silent, then grasped the hand that was patting her shoulder: "After court, His Majesty summoned me privately. He said that if you could return, he would allow you to marry me."

Tao Jingyang understood Emperor Qing's intention in an instant. He didn't expose it, but instead said sarcastically, "Isn't this a good thing? Why are you looking so sad?"

He shook his head, holding Tao Jingyang's hand and letting it hang down on his lap: "His Majesty wants to use me to tie you down... Jingyang, what I want to say is that all you need to do is 'come back safely'."

You need not do anything else the Emperor has ordered. Do not make me a tool for the Emperor to "shackle" you.

Here we go again. No matter what, Li Chengze is still that pessimistic little cat.

She turned Li Chengze's face with one hand, looked him into the eyes, and said, word by word, "Li, Cheng, Ze, you are not a burden to me!"

Li Chengze blinked and stubbornly said, "Of course I know, I'm just afraid you might make a mistake in the heat of the moment."

"You've really misunderstood me." Tao Jingyang pushed aside Li Chengze, who was sitting on the box with her.

With a "clank," the lid slammed shut. "Oh, I'm finally done cleaning up. I need to rest now."

Li Chengze nodded and said, "Well, then Xie Bi'an should have finished cleaning up by now."

Just as Tao Jingyang was about to lie down, he sat up a second later after hearing this: "Xie Bi'an? What is he packing?"

“Of course I’ll go to Northern Qi with you. Fan Xian has the Fan family’s ‘Tiger Guards’ with His Majesty’s permission, so I can’t be left behind.”

Besides Xie Bi'an, ten other people will be going with you.

Tao Jingyang pouted: "Are you trying to protect me, or do you not want to be outdone by Fan Xian?"

“I’ll feel more at ease if you’re out and about with more people around you. Those people only recognize Fan Xian, and I’m worried that if we encounter danger, they might take advantage of you because you’re a ‘weak woman’ all alone.”

Li Chengze was right; no one is more reliable than one's own people.

"Alright, alright, I'll take all ten. However, Xie Bi'an should stay in Kyoto."

“No, he has to go. Don’t worry about Kyoto, no one here can cause any trouble, and I will be fine too.”

He spoke with absolute certainty, leaving Tao Jingyang no room for argument on this matter.

Tao Jingyang leaned back down, turned around, and faced away from him: "You're too arbitrary. You didn't even ask Xie Bi'an how he felt."

Li Chengze moved closer and lay down next to her: "He listens to everything I say."

"cut."

"Just like You Ran treated you. Take her with you this time too; her loyalty to you is genuine."

"Should I take Tao Xiaowu with me too?" Tao Jingyang turned around. "I might as well take you with me as well."

“It won’t do; it has to stay and keep me entertained.” Li Chengze let out a muffled laugh, then added, “Neither will I; I have to stay and keep His Majesty entertained.”

Tao Jingyang raised his hand and delivered two punches with a "bang bang," leaving Li Chengze alone clutching his arm with a pitiful look in his eyes, but his smile only widened.

“Jingyang, he wants you to go to Northern Qi, is it to find the god…” Before he could finish his sentence, Tao Jingyang covered his mouth, “Don’t say that word, someone will hear us.”

Li Chengze paused for a moment, then said, "I understand."

He understood that Tao Jingyang's behavior indicated that this place truly existed.

What he understood even more was her background.

Everything seemed to make sense, but he stopped talking and didn't ask any more questions, giving him his complete trust.

“Chengze is bright but not dazzling, like still waters running deep.” Tao Jingyang spoke up to himself: “Take it slow, it’s not the right time yet.”

She propped herself up, looking at the dappled lights inside the room, then turned to look out the window.

She stretched, glanced down at the "handsome" young man nestled beside her, and sighed:

"My mood is right now, the weather is right now, I'm a carefree little god~"

The person next to me lazily replied, "Nothing to do? Are you bored again, trying to get on my nerves?"

"You've got a really sharp angle for this shot..."

Li Chengze ignored that remark and instead pulled her to her feet: "Come on, let's go boating."

"You just leave like that?" Tao Jingyang, having gotten a good deal, said jokingly behind him with a smile.

"Of course." Li Chengze turned around, his eyes filled with the starry sky.

------------

Night had fallen, and the chirping of insects filled the air. A small boat, laden with fresh flowers, drifted alone on the still lake.

The few jars of wine they brought were almost empty, with only half a pot left. Tao Jingyang, slightly drunk, leaned against the side of the boat and gently stirred the calm lake surface with his hand.

"Jingyang, if you came in summer, you would see a vast expanse of lotus flowers. But the Emperor wants you to leave now... What a pity..."

Li Chengze lay back at the edge of her skirt, his face flushed pink with intoxication, and he was half-closing his eyes as he counted the stars.

Tao Jingyang wasn't much better off. He was paddling along the side of the boat when he almost fell asleep without realizing it.

"Chengze, don't worry about it. He's like a grasshopper in autumn, he won't be able to jump around for much longer. Just let him be."

Tao Jingyang stopped playing in the water, propped himself up and returned to the boat, where he lay down and counted the stars with him.

As soon as I lay down, the fragrance of flowers from the entire boat filled my nostrils.

"A grasshopper in autumn? Who is that?" Li Chengze turned his head and saw that Tao Jingyang had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

He shook his head and chuckled, plucked a flower and tucked it behind her ear, then, unable to resist his drowsiness, he closed his eyes as well.

The moon shines through the silver wall, making it impossible to distinguish the flowers or their fragrance.