He offered a rare smile. "I understand."
"Thank you." Liu Zimu smiled gently as he spoke to him.
"Thank me?"
"Yes. Thank you for saving my mother and little sister. You're not a bad person, and I hope you can live as you wish, instead of being shrouded in gloom and suffering whenever you remember the past."
Several times, Zi Mu had passed his room late at night and, by the moonlight spilling through the window, seen him curled up in a corner of his bed, his brows knitted tightly even in sleep.
Whenever a nightmare startled him awake, Gu Ming immediately pushed the door open and came in to light a candle for him.
He seemed terrified of nighttime, terrified of nights without a single glimmer of light. Even starlight and moonlight could not dispel the slightest trace of fear in his heart.
Presumably, this had something to do with his past experiences, so at this moment, Zi Mu sincerely hoped things would get a little easier for him.
His mother was right. He really ought to let go of some things.
"All right." Shen Chuanlian's brow relaxed as he quietly agreed.
The afternoon sunshine was no longer fierce. It shone through the window lattice onto his young face, making his skin look luminous and translucent.
He slowly raised his eyes toward the window, as though he could see a future filled with light.
It was time for him to look ahead.
Imperial Physician Huang and Yuanbao tended to the unconscious Xia Wanwan all night.
After wiping her clean, Liu Wan changed her into fresh sleepwear and tucked her little hands and feet beneath the quilt.
Looking at the little Qilin horns on her daughter's head, which glowed at night, she asked worriedly, "Yuanbao, these little horns won't