May Your Majesty keep a clear mind, curb your desires, restrain yourself, and cherish your people

The mother and daughter chatted and laughed all night, seemingly no different from usual.

Until he saw Duan Xuanyu walking over.

Su Mian leaned close to her mother's ear, whispered something to her, and then left.

After she walked away, Su Qingyan smiled and waved to Duan Xuanyu: " Xiao Duan, come here, let's talk."

Duan Xuanyu walked over and sat down opposite Su Qingyan.

Su Qingyan asked with a smile, "If Mianmian doesn't want you anymore, will you be so heartbroken that you want to die?"

Duan Xuanyu felt somewhat confused and, speaking from his true feelings, said, "I don't know how."

Su Qingyan's smile faded slightly, "Then I don't think you love Mianmian that much either."

Duan Xuanyu politely countered, "When your ex-husband passed away, why didn't you die? Was it because you didn't love him much?"

Su Qingyan: "..."

This kid's got a really fast mind.

After a few awkward seconds, Su Qingyan suddenly smiled and patted Duan Xuanyu on the shoulder.

"Haha, I love your personality! You little rascal, I just tested you. If you had said you'd die if Mianmian didn't want you, I would have thought you were extreme!"

Oh, so it was a test.

Duan Xuanyu breathed a sigh of relief, "I won't die, because death is the act of a coward. Even if I die, I won't get the one I love. It's better to live; maybe I can even wait for a second marriage."

Su Qingyan didn't dare to say anything...

Oh, poor thing, you won't even get to marry again.

Duan Xuanyu paused, then said, "Moreover, I have a responsibility to my people."

Su Qingyan couldn't help but laugh, "You call yourself a subject? You've been playing emperors for so long, do you really think you're one?"

Duan Xuanyu didn't offer any further explanation.

Su Qingyan didn't say anything more and told him to go play by himself.

She went upstairs to find Su Mian and told her what had just happened.

"Mom has already tested him for you. He won't do anything rash; he's a very rational person."

Su Mian breathed a sigh of relief.

When she ran away directly to Northern Liang before, she never thought about whether he could accept it.

Because at that time... she felt she owed him nothing; she helped him gain power, and he helped her return home.

She felt that even if she left, it wouldn't matter. An emperor wouldn't let matters of the heart affect him; he would soon find women from other powerful families to marry into in order to consolidate his imperial power.

A modern woman who time-travels to another world would have to be a fool to waste her entire life in the imperial palace.

But when she arrived in the modern era, which shared the same timeline as Northern Liang, she learned from history that he really hadn't remarried and had died young not long after.

Moreover, they've been living together under modern identities for so long, she's not unaware that he loves her, nor does she know when she started caring more and more about him.

So she's more worried about him than last time...

I worry that one version of his untimely death is caused by her departure.

He was a very responsible emperor who cared deeply for his people. He should have achieved great things and shouldn't have died such a tragic death.

Now I hear he's rational... I hope he really is rational.

This time, she didn't want to leave without saying a word.

She packed away all the jewelry that Duan Xuanyu had brought her.

She loves these things the most, so she's not taking anything else with her this time, just some gold and silver jewelry!

After packing, Su Mian slung her small bag over her shoulder.

He called Duan Xuanyu to the garden outside and sat with him on the swing.

She lowered her head and confessed to him, "I'm leaving."

Duan Xuanyu asked, "Shall we go back to our room to sleep?"

Su Mian shook her head. "No, I want to go home, back to my real home. I remember telling you, my real home isn't here... I originally wanted to leave directly like I did in Northern Liang last time, but I think it's better to make things clear to you."

Duan Xuanyu suddenly stopped talking, and hurriedly grabbed her wrist.

Su Mian waited quietly for his response.

At this point Duan Xuanyu was frantically searching for a solution with his system.

"Can I ever go back to her world?"

--[It's impossible. The reason I could bring you here from your time is essentially because we're in the same spacetime, just on a different timeline. But she wants to return to a parallel universe, and my power can't break through that spacetime barrier.]

"Think of a way!"

--[... Do not make things difficult for the old system!]

Su Mian waited for a long time but received no response from him.

He gripped her so tightly that it hurt her a little.

She pursed her lips and said, "No matter how hard you try, it's useless. You have a responsibility to your people, and I have a responsibility to my birth parents."

Duan Xuanyu snapped out of his reverie and asked Su Mian softly, "Anything else?"

"I also have a responsibility towards the cats and dogs I keep."

"Anything else?"

"Your current knowledge and vision are unmatched by an ordinary emperor. If you were to return to your time, you could achieve great things and enable your people to live better lives. What I seek, however, is to be with my family."

"Anything else?"

"..." Su Mian retorted, "Aren't so many reasons enough?"

Duan Xuanyu, then his hand slid down, from holding her wrist to intertwining their fingers.

He spoke, his voice deep. "When we first came here, I asked you why you left without saying goodbye. You confessed to me that you were a mission taker, that you didn't love me, and that you just wanted to seduce me."

Su Mian wasn't as heartless towards him anymore, so she felt a little guilty thinking about those words: "Didn't you say you couldn't understand?"

"Now I understand." Duan Xuanyu looked down at her, "But this time, when I asked you why you left me... you gave countless valid reasons..."

"You just didn't say you didn't love me."

He raised his hand, cupped her face, and forced her to look him in the eye.

He persistently pressed, "You love me, don't you?"

His eyes were dark and unfathomable, concealing a burning flame.

After a long while, Su Mian softly hummed in agreement.

He's a really good person, and loving him isn't something to be ashamed of.

So she has to admit it.

Duan Xuanyu's eyes reddened, and he slowly loosened his grip on her hand. "Perhaps I followed you here because I wanted this answer. Thank you for admitting you love me."

"Thank you for your understanding." Su Mian forced a smile. "I humbly wish Your Majesty to be pure of heart and desires, and to cherish the people."

Duan Xuanyu's heart clenched, his voice slightly choked. "You're so cultured."

Su Mian: "I didn't write it; it was written by Zhuge Liang to Liu Shan."

Duan Xuanyu was speechless to the point of wanting to laugh, "... You can lie to me, I don't know anyway."

Su Mian slowly leaned forward and gently kissed the corner of his lips. "I don't want to lie to you anymore."

After saying that, she disappeared from his sight.

The warmth of her breath still lingered on Duan Xuanyu's lips.

Please grant my wish... please grant my wish...

Oh.

Duan Xuanyu's gaze darkened, his fingers unconsciously clenching, his white knuckles digging into his palm.

No, I must find a way to see her, and continue to follow her at all costs.

He can't live without her...

--[Here we go again, it's always the same. I'm so fed up with you.]