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As the twelfth month passed, the people in the old residence were already discussing what kind of Laba Porridge they would prepare for Little New Year.

Wang Dehai discreetly asked Xiao Yan, "Your Majesty, what flavor of Laba Porridge would you prefer this year?"

This question was one Wang Dehai asked annually.

And Xiao Yan's response remained unchanged for ten years:

"Save a bowl from the Laba Porridge delivered by the Kunning Palace for me, and distribute the rest."

Wang Dehai initially assumed that Emperor Jia Yu's preference this year would be similar to previous years, eating whatever the Empress Dowager enjoyed.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his suggestion, Xiao Yan gave a faint smile and said, "Just make it the same as what the common folk in the northern borders have. Hmm, add a handful of toasted pine nuts."

Having served Emperor Jia Yu for so many years, Wang Dehai had never heard of his fondness for pine nuts. However, since the emperor now requested Laba Porridge with pine nuts, Wang Dehai would go to great lengths to obtain such a bowl for His Majesty.

But Xiao Yan didn't live to see Little New Year.

On the sixteenth day of December, he woke up in exceptional spirits. He even mentioned to Qi Zhen, "You told me that your first time riding a horse was on the snowy plains in the north. Now that you've been in the north for so long, I haven't seen you ride."

Gazing at Qi Zhen with a gentle smile in his eyes, Xiao Yan said, "Qi Zhen, I want to see you ride a horse."

It was like that autumn hunt years ago when she accidentally wandered into his encampment and called him "Seventh Prince."

Back then, Miss Qi, with her fiery red attire, was radiant and unparalleled, so proud.

Unfortunately, after becoming the Seventh Prince's consort and Empress Qi, that pride was never seen again in her.

Xiao Yan thought that on that day when she rode away, he should have looked at her one more time.

Xiao Yan's words caused Qi Zhen's heart to plummet.

After sharing the same bed for over two decades, how could she not understand why Xiao Yan wanted her to ride?

He simply didn't wish for her to witness his death.

Looking at Xiao Yan, into his usual calm and composed expression, Qi Zhen replied after a long while, smiling, "Alright, I'll take a few laps. You'll wait for me, won't you?"

Xiao Yan agreed.

Qi Zhen donned her riding attire, while Xiao Yan sat beneath the veranda, watching her mount her horse just as she had years ago, galloping away without even turning back.

This time, unlike before, he kept his eyes wide open, gazing intently at her departing figure.

Only when his eyelids grew heavy did he slowly close them.

In the last moment before plunging into darkness, he heard himself instruct Wang Dehai, "I have no regrets in this life. Tell her not to be sorrowful and to take good care of that child when she returns to the palace."

At the moment of death, the brain felt exceptionally heavy, and the body was unusually warm. Following the dizziness and heat, there was boundless darkness and silence.

Xiao Yan's consciousness drifted in this darkness and stillness for a long while.

So long that he nearly forgot about light and sound when a rumble of thunder echoed, intertwined with a maiden's anxious cry.

"Xiao Yan! Xiao Yan!"

There was only one person who would call him "Xiao Yan" in such a tone - Qi Zhen, when she was still the Princess An.

Almost instantaneously, as the voice faded, the numbness that had settled in the depths of the endless darkness began to dissipate, and his senses returned.

Xiao Yan felt a chill and pain piercing through him.

He opened his eyes, barely making out the captivating face in front of him through the faint light.

Xiao Yan had assumed that in the depths of that endless darkness, he had forgotten much.

But upon seeing the maiden looking at him with concern, those dusty memories suddenly came alive as if they happened just yesterday.

It was the summer of Jian De's thirty-fourth year, their second year in Taiyuan Prefecture together.

That day, thunder and rain obscured the sky, while fierce winds uprooted trees.

Mudslides cascaded down the mountain, yet amidst the surging flood, they held onto each other without letting go. In a life-or-death moment, they managed to seek refuge in this cave.

Xiao Yan lifted his hand to wipe away the raindrops from Qi Zhen's face, softly whispering, "Qi Zhen."

That gentle "Qi Zhen" left Qi Zhen in a daze for a while.

Since their marriage, he had never called her by her maiden name; always addressing her with a detached tone as "Your Highness, the Queen."

Gazing into the man's deep, profound eyes, Qi Zhen pursed her lips slightly and asked, "You just fainted? Are you injured anywhere?"

Xiao Yan recalled vividly that in his previous life, he did not faint when they hid in this cave.

Perhaps it was because of his consciousness resurfacing that he had briefly lost consciousness.

In a gentle voice, Xiao Yan replied, "I'm fine."

Seeing that his face was pale but without any signs of pain in his brows and eyes, Qi Zhen finally relaxed. Just now, after he had brought her into the cave, he had immediately fainted without even saying a word, leaving her frightened to the point that her limbs turned cold.

The rain poured down heavily, and the curtain of rain outside the cave blocked all the dim light.

Soaked through and through, Qi Zhen's summer clothes, which were already thin, clung to her skin like a layer of parchment, revealing her exquisite curves.

In the year since their marriage, although they had shared a bed, they had unspokenly agreed to sleep at opposite ends of the bed with a thick blanket between them, unused by either of them.

The only intimate act he had done to her was last month, when he licked the blood off her wound after she was bitten by leeches.

And then, just now, when they were caught in the rapid current, he had tightly embraced her. Even now, Qi Zhen could still feel the lingering sensation of his arm clasped around her waist.

It was a reassuring sensation, filled with strength that calmed her. Back then, he had whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid."

In truth, Qi Zhen hadn't been afraid, neither when she was swept away by the rapid currents nor when the mud dragon cascaded down the mountain.

It was his sudden fainting that had genuinely terrified her.

She feared for his life, his injuries, and the possibility of never seeing him again.

Never had her feelings been more evident than in this moment.

She now knew, with clarity, that she, Qi Zhen, had fallen for Xiao Yan.

Recalling the message the Crown Prince had entrusted to her brother before her wedding, Qi Zhen couldn't help but bite her lip and shiver slightly.

She lifted her gaze to meet Xiao Yan's eyes.

Xiao Yan was looking right back at her.