She frowned as soon as she entered the hall.
A strong smell of wine assailed her, stinging her eyes.
"Xue'er..." Emperor Ye Yao's muddled voice called out.
Liu Lanxue instinctively wanted to respond, but her entire body froze when she saw the state of the hall.
The table was overturned, and empty wine jars were scattered everywhere on the floor. Clothes were carelessly thrown about.
Emperor Ye Yao sat on the ground, clad only in his inner garments.
In just a few days, his face had become pale, his eyes sunken, and he had even grown a beard.
If not for hearing his voice, Liu Lanxue wouldn't have recognized him.
"A'yao?" Liu Lanxue walked forward, looking at him with a complex expression.
Hearing someone call him, Emperor Ye Yao groggily opened his eyes. Upon seeing Liu Lanxue, his heart trembled, and he then let out a bitter smile, "You're here? You're late."
"What?" Liu Lanxue couldn't quite grasp his words.
"Why didn't you come over? You're still angry with me, aren't you?" Emperor Ye Yao struggled to stand up, his hand reaching for a wine cup, slipping, and then falling back.
Liu Lanxue rushed forward in alarm, helping him up, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Emperor Ye Yao shook his head, clasped her hand, and gazed at her with bloodshot eyes, "Xue'er, I miss you so much."
Liu Lanxue's fingers stiffened slightly. She pursed her lips and turned her head, her face involuntarily flushing.
Emperor Ye Yao looked at her with longing, reaching out to caress her face, "Why aren't you speaking? Don't you want to talk to me?"
Liu Lanxue shook her head again, but then remembered he was drunk. One couldn't reason with a drunk person, so she said, "I'm not angry with you, don't worry."
"Really?" The sadness in Emperor Ye Yao's eyes was broken, and he was almost moved to tears of joy.
But he quickly became dejected again, gazing at her foolishly, his eyes welling up with moisture, "You only say this now. It will be different tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Liu Lanxue became even more perplexed, not understanding his meaning.
Emperor Ye Yao withdrew his hand from her wrist, clasped his arms around himself, and buried his head in his knees, as if weeping silently.
"I know, you only appear when I'm drunk. You don't want to see me otherwise."
"I know everything. You still hate me, and you don't want to see me, so... so..."
Liu Lanxue was stunned and shocked. It was only then that she suddenly realized.
This man actually thought the current her was someone he had imagined?
He could see her apparition when he was drunk, so he had been staying in his chambers drinking all these days to see her?
"Xue'er, what should I do? What must I do for you to forgive me?" The man's voice held a hint of helplessness, like an abandoned child.
Liu Lanxue pursed her lips and looked at him with complexity, suddenly feeling a pang of sympathy.
She had thought he was avoiding her because seeing her would remind him of past unpleasant events.
So, he had been enduring it all for her?
What a fool.
If only he had just talked things through.
"I forgive you."
The woman's gentle voice drifted over.
Emperor Ye Yao suddenly looked up, his gaze flustered and anxious, "What?"
"I said I forgive you." Liu Lanxue reached out and hugged his head, turning him to face her, and said word by word, "A'yao, I forgive you."
The man stared at her blankly, tears suddenly streaming down his cheeks.
He almost madly threw himself into the woman's arms, holding her tightly as if trying to meld her into his very bones.
"Xue'er, Xue'er, Xue'er..."
He called out desperately, as if trying to engrave those words onto his heart.
A faint smile flickered in Liu Lanxue's eyes. She gently stroked his head.
Every time the man called her name, she responded, waiting for him to calm down.
After a long while, when Liu Lanxue's upper body had gone numb, the man finally looked up.
His face was tear-streaked; he had been crying.
"Xue'er?" he called out again, his gaze now fixed firmly on Liu Lanxue.
"I'm here." Liu Lanxue gave him a definite response.
Emperor Ye Yao finally curved his lips into a smile, "Xue'er, you are so good today."
Liu Lanxue felt a chill sitting on the ground. She wanted to find an excuse to get him up, so she went along with his words, "How am I good?"
"You let me hold you today." Emperor Ye Yao inhaled deeply in her embrace, then looked up again, a little aggrieved, "You didn't let me hold you the first few days."
Liu Lanxue knew he was referring to his imagined self. Finding it amusing, she continued to ask, "What was I like the first few days?"
Hearing this, Emperor Ye Yao became even more aggrieved.
He tightened his grip around her waist, as if afraid she would run away, "You just stood far away, constantly scolding me, saying you hated me, and that you never wanted to see me again."
He spoke simply, but his voice trembled.
Just listening to him, Liu Lanxue could imagine how much pain he had endured these past few nights.
Yet, despite the pain, he still drank every night just to see 'her'.
The thought of this man enduring his sorrow to numb himself, all for the sake of seeing a false version of her, made Liu Lanxue feel even more sympathetic.
She almost regretted asking him the question just now.
"Are you going to scold me again today?" Emperor Ye Yao looked up at her, his expression somewhat nervous.
He paused, then added, "It's okay if you scold me, but can you not leave so early today? Can you stay here a little longer?"
Liu Lanxue rubbed his hair, helping to tuck a stray strand behind his ear, "I'm not leaving. I'll stay with you all night."
Tomorrow, the day after, forever.
Liu Lanxue didn't say this last part. She wanted to wait until the man sobered up.
Since A'yao dared not take the first step, she would take it herself.
After all, when she first came to the palace, it was always him who walked towards her.
"Really?" Endless joy appeared on the man's face.
He leaned forward, getting even closer to the woman.
From this angle, he could clearly see her crimson lips.
Emperor Ye Yao's Adam's apple bobbed. He asked softly, "Xue'er, can I kiss you?"
Liu Lanxue's earlobes immediately turned red. She hadn't expected him to have such thoughts even when drunk. It was both exasperating and amusing.
"Can't I?" Emperor Ye Yao shrunk his neck, his voice lowering in a somewhat timid manner, stuttering, "I was just... just asking casually. It's okay if you don't let me."
As he spoke, he tightened his arm around the woman, afraid she would get angry and leave.
Liu Lanxue looked at his wronged little expression, let out a soft chuckle, and nodded.
Fine, she would give him some encouragement, considering how much he had suffered these past few days.
"You can kiss me?" Emperor Ye Yao's voice suddenly rose, but then, fearing he might startle her, he abruptly lowered his tone, "That's great!"