"Man'er, if the National Preceptor were to become the consort of Blue Moon, wouldn't that be interesting?" Wen Mo Han asked playfully.
Xiao Man smiled knowingly, "Indeed, great minds think alike. We thought of the same thing."
The two exchanged a smile and walked hand in hand towards the Imperial Princess's mansion. The National Preceptor had entered the imperial palace. Given the Empress's personality, it wouldn't be easy for him to leave. With the National Preceptor's restricted movements, affairs outside couldn't be managed meticulously. This was their opportunity!
Normally, everyone had to dismount their carriages at the inner palace gate. However, this carriage was not opened from the beginning to the end. It was driven directly into the Empress's sleeping quarters.
The carriage stopped in the Empress's sleeping quarters' garden. The guards retreated. The Empress sat in a pavilion, brewing tea. "I've brewed Ice Lotus tea. This is your favorite. After a long journey, you must be parched. Why not come down and have a cup to quench your thirst?"
No sound came from the carriage. The Empress was not in a hurry. She poured the tea and then set up the chess table. "When you left years ago, you left a partial chess game and said if I couldn't solve it, we would never meet again. Now, I have solved this partial game."
There was finally movement in the carriage. The carriage door opened, and a person stepped out. Clad in white clothes and white shoes, with a veil covering their face, those deep eyes seemed to possess a magical charm, capable of captivating anyone who gazed upon them.
Feng Tian Lan sat down in front of the Empress. His gaze fell on the chessboard. The game had been solved, but it was impossible for the Empress to have solved it herself. Someone must have helped her.
"It wasn't you who solved it."
"It doesn't matter who solved it; the partial game has been solved." The Empress handed the tea to Feng Tian Lan. "Taste the tea I brewed. Does it taste the same as before?"
Feng Tian Lan played with the teacup in his hand, his eyes shimmering. "The state of mind of the person drinking the tea is different, so the taste of the tea will be different. The state of mind of the person brewing the tea has changed, and they can no longer brew the tea as before."
"I have been waiting for you to return." The Empress reached out and removed the veil from Feng Tian Lan's face. After all these years, Feng Tian Lan seemed to have not aged at all, still possessing the same appearance as before—gentle as jade, handsome as an immortal. "You are still the same as you were, without the slightest change. Yet, I have grown old."
Feng Tian Lan did not reply. Instead, he drank the tea in one gulp. "You invited me into the palace, for what purpose?"
"I simply wished to see you." The Empress refilled Feng Tian Lan's cup. "How should I address you now? National Preceptor, or Mo Ran?"
"It's just a name. As the Empress wishes." Feng Tian Lan said indifferently.
"What do you think of the title of Imperial Consort?" the Empress asked, raising an eyebrow. "Only a man of the Feng family can be the Imperial Consort to the Empress of Blue Moon. I have kept your position for you all along."
Feng Tian Lan's expression turned cold, his gaze chilling, as if he strongly disliked what the Empress had said.
"I don't think much of that title!"
The Empress did not get angry. She placed a plate of pastries in front of Feng Tian Lan. "Then I will still call you A' Ran. I remember you once said you liked hibiscus cakes. But because your elder sister liked osmanthus cakes, you ate osmanthus cakes too. How long has it been since you last ate hibiscus cakes?"
Feng Tian Lan remained silent, merely looking at the Empress. This Empress had truly aged over the years; the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, no matter how much powder she applied, could not be concealed.
"Missing the past, it seems you have truly grown old."
Hearing this, the Empress immediately laughed. "Yes, I have grown old. But you are still the same as when you were young, only more mature and charming. A' Ran, your blood pact has been triggered, hasn't it?"
The Empress's tone was very certain. If his blood pact hadn't been triggered, he wouldn't have returned so quickly. After all, the situation in Yusheng had become very delicate due to Xiao Man's recklessness. One wrong move, and his arrangements of many years could be ruined.
"It has nothing to do with you."
"Xiao Man is very much like my elder sister." The Empress was not bothered by Feng Tian Lan's coldness and chattered on. "My elder sister seemed gentle, but she was very principled. Once she decided on something, ten oxen couldn't pull her back. As for Xiao Man, she has a fiery temper, preferring to break than to bend. Tell me, if she were to know the truth of my elder sister's demise, would she avenge her?"
Feng Tian Lan narrowed his eyes. "You killed Ruo Xian."
"Is that so?" The Empress smiled at Feng Tian Lan. "Did I really kill my elder sister?"
"Of course!"
"If A' Ran says so, then so be it." The Empress said nonchalantly. "I have always protected you. Whatever you say goes. But that child Xiao Man is very cunning. If I were to accidentally reveal a flaw one day and she caught it... Mo Ran, what do you think that girl would do?"
Feng Tian Lan's eyes narrowed into slits, staring dangerously at the Empress. "What exactly do you want to say?"
"I heard that Xiao Man, because the Prince of Yusheng was involved in Xiao Zhen's murder, regardless of consequences, wanted his life and even rebelled against Yusheng. If that child knew that my elder sister died just as tragically, would she fight the murderer with all her might?"
"Lan Ruo Yu!"
The Empress smiled charmingly. "A' Ran, it's been a long time since I've heard you call my name. I'm so happy."
Feng Tian Lan's composure almost broke, but he managed to control himself. " I have returned to Blue Moon to fulfill my blood pact. I do not wish to get entangled with you further."
The Empress's smile widened. "I know you have returned to fulfill your blood pact. I just don't know who A' Ran intends to fulfill the blood pact with?"
"What do you think?"
"Currently, only I and Xiao Man are left of the direct line of the Lan family." The Empress said with a smile. "Is A' Ran returning to rekindle our old feelings?"
"What old feelings could there be between you and me?"
"A' Ran, your words truly wound me." The Empress picked up a hibiscus cake and took a bite. "Clearly, the method of making it is the same, but the taste is different. No wonder you don't like to eat it."
"We have met, we have reminisced, I bid farewell."
The Empress watched Feng Tian Lan's departing back, her smile deepening. "A' Ran, Auntie Tan, is she well?"
Feng Tian Lan's steps faltered, and he didn't move forward. The Empress curved her lips into a complex smile. So, this person could also be afraid.
"The palace where you used to live, I have kept it. I have had it cleaned daily for eighteen years. Its owner should return, don't you think?" The Empress said softly, looking at Feng Tian Lan's back. She was not in a hurry, nor was she worried, for she was not the one who had a weakness held against them.
Feng Tian Lan took a deep breath and headed in another direction. Although he hadn't entered the palace for many years, the layout of the imperial palace was already etched into his bones. Even with his eyes closed, he could find his way to his palace.