After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

"...Really, no."

Pushing away Mo Yan's arm, Chu Junci closed his eyes wearily.

"?"

The strangeness about Aci was too obvious, yet he was unwilling to tell the truth. Mo Yan had no choice but to remain silent.

The three people in the hall remained silent, the air seemed to freeze, making everyone afraid to even breathe.

A moment later, Mo Yan glanced at the imperial physician and said, "Leave."

"Yes, yes, yes."

The imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly got up to leave, his movements so swift that it seemed as if a raging flood or ferocious beast was following him.

After the third person left, the atmosphere in the hall became even more serious. Mo Yan frowned and stared straight at her, "Aci."

"Did you have a nightmare just now?"

"…Um."

"Dreams are all fake."

He tentatively stepped forward, wanting to embrace him, but was rejected: "Mo Yan, I want to be alone."

"..."

Mo Yan remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay."

He got up and went outside into the courtyard. He saw a few petals on the swing and reached out to brush them away.

"Summon Wu Xu and General Fu here," he instructed the eunuch, pressing his temples.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

A short while later, the two appeared.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Mo Yan raised his hand and said without further ado, "You two return to the palace immediately and dispatch three thousand cavalry to surround the foot of the mountain. Without my order, no one is to be allowed to leave."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xu looked up: "Why, Your Majesty...?"

"Just do as instructed."

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

Wu Xu did not ask any further questions. The two men returned to the palace that night with the orders, and dispatched cavalry to completely surround the foot of the mountain.

Everything was done in secret. In response to Mo Yan's dispatch of cavalry to surround the foot of the mountain, Yong Kingdom spies, led by Xie Yunzhou, were also hiding there.

Faced with the sudden appearance of so many soldiers, they quickly retreated to the mountainside and found a relatively hidden and safe location.

"General, why are there so many soldiers? Could it be that Mo Yan has discovered something?" Liu Ran followed behind Xie Yunzhou, his brows furrowed.

Xie Yunzhou remained calm: "Don't panic, observe the situation."

"Yes."

They hid in the shadows, watching as multiple checkpoints were set up at the foot of the mountain, each guarded by several people, making it difficult to leave.

What could possibly make Mo Yan so wary...

The thought flashed through Xie Yunzhou's mind. He looked towards the direction of the imperial palace and said, "Your Majesty, this time I will risk my life to save you."

The failure at the city gate last time became his nightmare. He thought countless times that if he could have left faster, would he and His Majesty have been able to leave?

But there are no "what ifs" in this world.

What he needs to do is seize this opportunity.

Under the moonlight, two groups of people occupied opposite ends of the palace. Inside the palace, Mo Yan also returned to Ning'an Hall.

Stepping into the hall, he saw his Aci standing by the window, staring blankly out the window.

The moonlight shone on him, and that feeling of impending loss returned, causing Mo Yan to quicken his pace.

"Aci".

He grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of him. The two looked at each other, neither of them saying a word.

After a long silence, Mo Yan finally spoke: "Aci, are you still unhappy?"

"no."

Chu Junci returned to her usual demeanor, raising her hand to brush the petals off Mo Yan's shoulder: "Is it cold outside?"

"It's not cold."

Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief, held Chu Junci's hand and kissed it: "I thought you were angry with me."

Mo Yan spent the whole afternoon reflecting on what he had done to upset A Ci.

But clearly, when they were in the carriage, Aci wasn't like this towards him. Although she was annoyed, she wasn't really angry.

"Aci, if I've done anything to upset you, please tell me, okay?"

"I will definitely change, please don't ignore me."

Mo Yan couldn't stand Aci ignoring him, just as he couldn't stand Aci leaving him.

For the first time, the high and mighty emperor was so humble. He rubbed his palm against Chu Junci's: "Aci, you can hit me, you can scold me, just don't ignore me."

"Is that okay?"

Aci's indifference makes him feel abandoned, and no matter what he does, he can no longer win back his lover.

"…good."

Opposite him, Chu Junci curled his fingertips.

"I had a nightmare this afternoon, I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Really?"

"Um."

"But Aci keeps having nightmares. After returning to the palace, I found a Taoist priest and asked him what was going on."

"..."

Chu Junci paused for a moment, then said, "No need."

"Can……"

"Really, you don't need to."

"All right."

Mo Yan was somewhat disappointed. He took Chu Junci's hand again. "Aci, can you tell me what nightmare you had?"

Chu Junci glanced at him: "I dreamt about..."

Mo Yan held his breath and listened quietly, and then he heard his Aci say, "I dreamed that you married a new empress."

"..."

Mo Yan was taken aback, and quickly explained, "How could that be?"

"Aci, you mustn't believe the contents of your dream. How could I possibly marry another empress?"

"Having you in this life is enough; I only want to serve you."

Chu Junci remained silent. He continued to explain, even making a solemn oath: "I, Mo Yan, swear that in this life, Aci will be my only one. If I break this oath, may I die a horrible death."

"Died by a hail of blades, his body left unclaimed, he descended to the eighteenth level after death..."

"alright."

Chu Junci interrupted him: "I believe you."

"real?"

"Um."

"Then..."

Mo Yan paused, as if he had thought of something.

Aci said he had a nightmare, but the nightmare was about him marrying a new queen. Doesn't that mean—

Aci did not want him to marry a new queen; Aci wanted to be his queen.

In other words, Aci likes him, loves him, and wants to be his wife.

This thought made Mo Yan's heart pound wildly, and he suddenly pulled Chu Junci into his arms: "Aci, Aci."

"I also like Aci, I love Aci, and I want to be with Aci forever."

"..."

Chu Junci remained silent, not understanding what Chu Junci was imagining, and simply let him be.

Leaning against Mo Yan's chest, his expression was slightly cold.

The nightmare was, of course, a lie he told Mo Yan. He did have a nightmare, but it didn't mean that Mo Yan had married a new empress.

His memory hadn't fully returned, but based on his action of swallowing the snow lotus in his dream, he could deduce that—

He didn't want Mo Yan to cure the poison.

His original purpose in going to Falling Snow Cliff was to kill Mo Yan, but due to a series of unforeseen events, he lost his memory and was taken back to Zhao Kingdom by Mo Yan.

The voice that belonged to him also said: Mo Yan cannot be cured of the poison, otherwise he will attack Yong Kingdom and cause widespread suffering.

Could it be... that the nightmares of the past were not just dreams?

The Zhao Kingdom's iron cavalry trampled through the capital of the Yong Kingdom, and one by one, figures fell before him. Even he, the ruler of the Great Yong Kingdom, became Mo Yan's prisoner...

Is it all just a nightmare?

Chu Junci was unaware of this.

The remaining confusion lies hidden in the memory that has not yet been recovered, but the only thing that remains unchanged is that he will leave Moyan, return to Dayong, and be prepared for Zhao Kingdom to attack at any time.

Or perhaps... he will strike first.

Chu Junci's gaze shifted to Mo Yan, his thin lips pressed tightly together, a struggle flashing in his eyes.

He thought a lot, and Mo Yan, who was holding him, also said a lot. Mo Yan was overjoyed, his mind filled with thoughts of A Ci liking him, completely unaware that the person in his arms harbored murderous intent towards him.