The protagonist chased the villain, and Tiandao screamed in anger

"It's very cold outside, why don't you have a good rest?" Snow began to fall again. Qingzan held an umbrella and followed behind Lou Jian, stepping on the thick snow in the side yard that had not been cleaned up, keeping up with the footsteps of the people in front of her, one deep step and one shallow step.

"You don't have to follow." Lou Jian was wearing an outer coat, feeling somewhat helpless. He could see that Qing Zan, the maid, seemed to be a little weaker than an ordinary person. She was in the East Palace, but she didn't call herself a slave, as if she was deliberately indulged.

He wasn't on guard at all. He just turned sideways to drive away the person who insisted on following him, and then continued walking forward.

"No... I can't just ignore you." Qingzan was a little annoyed. She felt that the person His Highness asked her to look after was more difficult to deal with than a cicada in summer.

If the summer cicadas are too noisy, you can just knock them off with a stick, but the person in front of you, Your Highness, won't let you knock him off.

Qingzan had no choice but to lift her skirt and follow.

"You are a palace maid in the Eastern Palace, so don't you have your own work to do?" Lou Jian was not clear about the current situation of the Eastern Palace, but Qingzan seemed to be different from the other maids who cleaned the palace. She was free enough that she still had the mood to restrain herself.

The Eastern Palace was very quiet and deserted. Compared to the past when there were hordes of servants around, it was much more lonely. In the corridors that connected everywhere, only one or two eunuchs and maids would occasionally come to sweep the snow. Perhaps because of some orders, Lou Jian's wandering was not hindered too much.

He walked along the palace wall, following his memory to the Qiyan Pavilion where he used to play. He remembered that there was a tree there that he and the prince had planted when they were young. If it was still there, it should be as thick as a forearm...

Even though things are different now... after such a long time, Lou Jian still couldn't help but want to take a look...

Perhaps, the tree is still there... Perhaps, there are still many unspeakable secrets...

"Your Highness said that I don't have to do those things." Qingzan raised his head with a somewhat proud look on his face.

"..." Lou Jian paused and turned around to see that what Qingzan said was not false. He was silent for a moment and continued walking forward.

...What kind of palace maid is not good at performing her duties?

Lou Jian's steps were a bit heavy, and she couldn't help but walk a little faster, leaving the green hairpin behind her.

"Hey, why are you even more unreliable than Shushu!" Qingzan followed behind him, taking a step with difficulty to catch up.

Lou Jian stood at the gate of a palace, looking at the vermilion palace gate in her memory that was now faded and gray, and the golden plaque bestowed by the emperor above the gate that was now empty, and she began to feel a chill all over her body.

I reached out and pushed it open, and the dilapidated door creaked.

The courtyard was desolate and bleak. Even though it was covered by snow, Lou Jian could still see the changes that the courtyard had experienced. The seedling he was thinking about had long disappeared in the corner of his memory, and nothing was left.

The jokes I made in childhood seemed to have really turned into a bubble, disappearing in the bleak north wind.

Lou Jian was shivering in the wind, but he was unwilling to give up. He raised his feet and buried them in the snow half a leg high. He kept turning over the thick snow blanket, trying to find some traces among the buried weeds and dead branches. Even a small wooden stake would at least prove that he existed, but...

Nothing at all.

Standing dejectedly in the dilapidated courtyard, he lowered his head silently in the wind and snow. It seemed that tears were dripping onto the snow at his feet, and then disappeared quietly in the blink of an eye.

"What are you looking for? You will catch a cold if you stay in the snow like this!" Qingzan was a little angry. She stood outside the palace gate with an umbrella and kept looking inside.

"There used to be a tree here... but now it's gone..."

Walking out in the snow, Lou Jian looked at the dilapidated attic, and the little hope in his heart seemed to be completely blown away by the cold wind.

"There used to be many trees in the East Palace. Some were cut down, and some were moved away. Which one are you looking for?" Qingzan didn't know the type of tree. He rubbed his head and felt that this man was really a headache for him.

"...You don't know." Shaking his head, Lou Jian raised his foot and walked in a direction.

The wind was very cold, and the wound on his back seemed to be tearing due to the large movements just now. It was a little stinging and cold, and it must be bleeding. Lou Jian ignored it and continued walking forward, aimlessly, not knowing where to go.

Before she knew it, Lou Jian arrived at another palace gate.

His eyes focused and met the tall figure in the distance, and he stopped again.

He felt that he should hate it. What he saw with his own eyes that year, the scene engraved in his memory could not be faked. But today, he couldn't find the tree in Qiyan Pavilion, and he felt full of sorrow...

Complex emotions surged up in his mind, and Lou Jian was frozen outside the door, but he saw a person with his back to him in the distance squatting down and picking up a little girl who was running towards him, swaying from side to side.

The child was still very young. Even though she was far away and Lou Jian couldn't recognize his appearance, she could tell that he was very cute and adorable.

"Daddy..." The sound of the wind brought a clear child's voice, which made Lou Jian tremble all over.

He watched as another woman in pink approached with snacks in her hand.

The family of three was having a great time, and it seemed as if the winter snow had fallen for them, reducing their chill and adding some liveliness.

'Oh, our prince is now a very powerful person, have you heard about it? Two years ago, the emperor wanted to arrange a marriage for the prince, after all, Prince Yu was already married, but this prince actually brought a prostitute from a brothel back to the palace! That prostitute even brought a burden with her! But this prince accepted her and didn't mind at all!'

'so……'

"The marriage has naturally been put on hold! In my opinion, it would be better to just abolish the crown prince and make Prince Yu the new crown prince! Now this crown prince...tsk tsk tsk..."

Suddenly, in her ears, she could hear some gossip that Lou Jian heard in the teahouse after arriving in the capital.

He lowered his head and exhaled suddenly. The white mist dissipated in the cold air. Lou Jian turned around and went back to the side.

...He came back just for revenge, and nothing else needs to be considered!

"Hey, why are you back again!" Qingzan chased after him breathlessly. After finally catching up with the person, he finally found himself returning the same way.

However, this time, the man with a strange temper whom His Highness asked him to take care of had a sullen face and ignored her inquiries.

She stamped her feet in anger. Qingzan felt that her kindness was in vain and simply ignored him. She keenly heard the laughter of children coming from across the wall, and she immediately smiled and ran over with an umbrella.

"Shushu, do you miss me?"

The little girl leaning in You Mu's arms was babbling, unable to speak complete words. When she heard Qingzan's call, she just opened her arms and asked for a hug.

"Your Highness, it's cold outside. Why don't you go back to your room and have some hot tea?" Seeing the prince still standing in the snow, Liu Mei bowed, worried that the two of them would catch a cold, so she made a suggestion.

Turning his head to look in the direction of the palace gate on one side, You Mu tilted his head, his brows softened, he pinched the little girl's chubby cheeks, and handed the child to Qingzan who was standing on the side teasing the child.

"No need, go play with Shushu for a while. You keep an eye on her, I have something else to do." After explaining things to Liu Mei, You Mu turned around and left facing the falling snow.

"Your Highness, I respectfully see you off." In the outside world, even though she was known as a prostitute, Liu Mei was still very polite.

Unable to relieve His Highness' worries in other ways, she could only cover up for His Highness in such an insignificant way.