“You… wait a moment.”

With this line, Jiang Yanyi suddenly turned and ran out of the courtyard.

Every time she came to Feng Shuo’s place, Xing Yao would consciously go outside to stay with the guards at the gate.

If Feng Shuo didn’t summon him, he generally wouldn’t enter the house.

Seeing Jiang Yanyi hurriedly run out of the courtyard, Xing Yao was surprised but still cupped his hands in salute and asked, “Miss Jiang, are you leaving?”

Jiang Yanyi shook her head, “No. I want to ask you, has he eaten his longevity noodles today?”

This “he” could only refer to Feng Shuo.

Xing Yao showed a hint of confusion in his eyes, “Longevity noodles?”

Xing Yao’s attitude puzzled Jiang Yanyi; he was Feng Shuo’s close guard, yet he didn’t know today was Feng Shuo’s birthday?

But before Jiang Yanyi could ask further, Feng Shuo suddenly appeared at the courtyard gate and said directly to her, “I’ll walk you home.”

Feng Shuo clearly didn’t want her to ask too many questions, so even if Jiang Yanyi had more doubts, she could only suppress them for now.

She originally wanted Feng Shuo to go back and rest, but thinking that he took the initiative to offer to escort her, perhaps he had something to say to her along the way, she didn’t refuse.

The twilight enveloped the world, and the lantern in Feng Shuo’s hand cast a small halo of light.

He walked ahead, the night breeze gently swaying the lantern, and the shadow cast on the ground danced lightly.

Jiang Yanyi took half a step to follow him.

They walked in silence.

Just beyond a flower-laden gate was the entrance to the Feng residence.

Feng Shuo still didn’t speak, and Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but ask him, “Your birthday… how come it seems no one in the residence knows?”

As a prince, it was strange that no one from the West State government came to offer gifts on his birthday.

The more she thought about it, the stranger it felt.

Feng Shuo stopped and slightly turned his head to look at her.

His phoenix eyes, lifted at the corners, were mesmerizing under the lantern’s glow, but the self-mockery reflected in his gaze was equally striking.

He smiled, a smile that carried a hint of chill, like fragmented ice glistening under the sun on a winter lake.

“They don’t remember my birthday; they remember the Crown Prince’s birthday.”

The Crown Prince’s birthday?

Jiang Yanyi didn’t understand his words.

At the flower-laden gate, a cold plum tree had already bloomed with many flower buds, its icy beauty overshadowed by his slight frown.

“The year the Crown Prince was assassinated during the Southern Tour, my mother gave birth to me. The late emperor couldn’t accept the fact that the Crown Prince had died and temporarily regarded me as the young Crown Prince. Thus, every birthday I’ve had since then has been celebrated on the same day as the Crown Prince’s birthday.”

He spoke lightly, but the chaotic and shadowy memories seemed to flicker through his mind like a shadow puppet show.

After the death of the late empress, the late emperor became violent and unpredictable.

Every year during the palace selection, people used the late empress’s portrait to choose candidates.

The women who entered the palace all bore some resemblance to the late empress.

The source of his mother’s suffering throughout her life perhaps stemmed from having a face that looked exactly like the late empress.

He, as a child, also resembled the young Crown Prince.

After the Crown Prince’s death, there was a time when the late emperor deceived himself, having his mother impersonate the late empress, treating him as the young Crown Prince, all to cling to the memory of his wife and children still living.

It was from that time on that the Crown Prince’s birthday became his birthday, and it had been this way every year since.

Even if the jade tablet bore his actual birth date, who would dare to go against the late emperor?

When the late emperor entered the drama, he wished he could pluck all the stars from the sky for the mother and son.

After waking, he felt guilty towards the Empress and her son, feeling that only by punishing them could he atone for his guilt towards the Empress.

The royal scandal could not be spread outside.

All these years, everyone had come to regard the former crown prince’s birthday as his own.

Once, the only one who remembered his birthday was the Empress, but now she had lost her sanity and no longer recognized him.

If it weren’t for Fu Xi preparing a red envelope for him this morning, he would not even have acknowledged this true birthday of his.

Feng Shuo looked up at the sparse stars in the sky, smiling faintly, trying to mask a sense of loss he couldn’t quite articulate: “It’s just a birthday; missing this year doesn’t mean we won’t celebrate next year. Life is long; does it matter whether we celebrate or not…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence because Jiang Yanyi hugged him from behind.

Feng Shuo was taken aback for a while before looking down at the delicate jade-like hand clasped around his waist.

His mind went blank for a moment, and when he regained some clarity, he feigned a teasing tone: “Jiang Yanyi, what are you doing?”

Jiang Yanyi pressed her cheek against his back, her voice filled with concern: “Feng Shuo, happy birthday!”

“As long as I’m here, I’ll help you celebrate your birthday every year, okay?”

Feng Shuo didn’t respond; instead, he suddenly dropped the lantern and pulled her into his embrace.

His cloak was large enough to envelop Jiang Yanyi completely, keeping the biting cold wind outside.

She inhaled the clean scent of soap from him.

Her cheek rested gently on his shoulder, and it was only then that she noticed how slim he looked, though his shoulders were quite broad.

The world was silent, and the embrace lasted for a long time.

The lantern fell to the ground, and the candlelight quickly ignited the paper cage.

Jiang Yanyi noticed and hurried to put out the fire, but Feng Shuo’s hand around her waist showed no sign of letting go.

“Don’t move.”

“The lantern is on fire!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh.”

The firelight illuminated the two of them embracing, while the night sky saw flakes of snow gently descending to the ground.

The delicate snow landed on Jiang Yanyi’s long eyelashes, cheeks, and hair.

She blinked lightly, feeling a piercing chill as the snowflakes melted.

She looked up in delight: “Feng Shuo, it’s snowing!”

Feng Shuo also looked up at the first snow of early winter, “Yes, it’s snowing.”

As he lowered his gaze, he lifted his hand to gently brush the fine snow off her hair, gazing at her blooming smile.

He swallowed hard, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead, sincere and solemn.

His warm lips met the cool snow on her face, causing Jiang Yanyi’s eyelashes to flutter several times, her heart racing, and her mind seemingly blank.

When Feng Shuo stepped back, his ears, hidden in the night, were already flushed red, but his tone remained calm: “It will soon be curfew; I’ll take you back.”

The earlier request for her to stay had been made in a moment of impulse.

As an unmarried woman, if she didn’t return home at night, it would surely invite gossip.

Rumors might not be knives, but they could cut deeper.

He couldn’t bear to let her fall into such scrutiny.

Jiang Yanyi glanced at the sky; it was almost time for the dog hour, with the curfew set at one o’clock.

She pursed her lips and said, “You haven’t eaten longevity noodles yet; I’ll make you a bowl when I return.”

Feng Shuo thought for a moment and replied, “You don’t need to bring it over once it’s ready; I’ll go myself.”

Jiang Yanyi understood that he was thinking of his reputation.

With his noble status, even if he ran into patrolling soldiers at night, no one would dare ask questions, so she nodded.

Feng Shuo walked Jiang Yanyi to the gate.

The doorman was clever; seeing they had no lantern, he handed one to Jiang Yanyi.

Yang Xiu and Bing Shao always returned to the inn after Jiang Yanyi closed her shop, just before curfew.

Jiang Yanyi was afraid they might see something, so she turned back and told Chu Changping, not allowing Feng Shuo to accompany her any further.

She planned to discuss her relationship with Feng Shuo directly with Chu Changping.

Until then, she didn’t want him to hear any rumors that might cause him to worry unnecessarily.

This was Jiang Yanyi’s first time returning so late from the Feng residence.

Although Yang Xiu and Bing Shao were somewhat worried, Jiang Yanyi was the master.

Since she didn’t speak, they, as attendants and guards, didn’t dare to pry. Once they saw her return safely, they returned to the inn.