Empress Dowager arc: Ten years later, as he lay on his sickbed, he suddenly joked with me, "You've been with me for so long, yet you seem never to have said you love me."
At the time, I was looking over memorials with him. Since he fell ill, I had been helping him handle much of the government business. My hand, holding a memorial, suddenly paused, but a moment later I had let it go.
I smiled. "Your Majesty and I have weathered hardship together and become one. How could a mere word like 'love' possibly express it?"
He smiled too, but there was a hint of twilight in that smile.
I looked out the window. The begonia tree transplanted from the Zhang residence was in splendid bloom.
What is love? I had long forgotten.
In this life, there were very few people I had wronged. Only two.
One was the emperor. He was my present life, and I could not make amends to him.
The other was Liu Yuan. He was my past life, and I did everything I could to make it up to him.
Male lead's arc: Liu Yuan hugged his knees and curled up, trembling. Wang Ruosu was already in tears as she reached out and held him tightly.
After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "I'm sorry, Ruosu. I didn't tell you that I'm only a silversmith's son... I don't like the Liu residence, and I don't like Bianjing. The air in Bianjing is so oppressive I can hardly breathe. But I'm very glad I met you in Bianjing."
Female lead's arc: She buried her face against his chest. "I loved our days in Bashu. I loved planting rice in the paddies, the bamboo shoots in the grove, and the two of us beneath the peach blossoms... Have you forgotten? The landlady on Longquan Mountain is still waiting for us to come eat her honey peaches!"
Theme: In this life, I only wish to take things as they come and remain serene and at peace.
