By nightfall, most lights in the Imperial Palace had gone out.

Most people were deep in sleep, bidding farewell to a day of hard labor.

Silly Lian Ye, coaxed and tricked by Baiyi, lay quietly on his large bed, fast asleep.

The prisoner girl he’d brought out now rested in an ordinary room, fitted with a standard energy lock.

He was still a bit worried she might cause trouble.

But for now, her body was so weak—she probably couldn’t do anything anyway.

“Full moon tonight?”

Baiyi, alone with his Curved Saber, left his quarters and strolled slowly through the rear garden.

Cold wind brushed his face, sending a chill through his skin.

He didn’t mind; such cold meant nothing to him.

He’d brought his wineskin along this time.

“Haven’t had this in ages. Feels a bit off.”

He untied the rope at his waist, found a stone pavilion by the pebbled path, and sat down.

“Sigh. Back in the war, nothing drowned sorrows on the battlefield. I drank with the elders and picked up this bad habit.”

He uncorked the wineskin. A strong aroma hit him. Baiyi, who hadn’t touched alcohol in days, felt slightly uncomfortable.

Soon, he relaxed his furrowed brow and took another whiff.

“Too potent. Better not drink it.”

If he did, the smell would linger. That silly one would hate it when he returned to sleep.

“Sigh. Not even a real hobby. Drinking’s no good.”

“I should quit. It was just for battlefield sorrows. I’m not on the front lines anymore.”

He gently shook the plump wineskin, its sharp scent filling the air.

Then he looked up at the flowing river and tossed it in.

The wineskin landed in the gently moving, clear stream.

“Mom really went all out—carving a stream into the garden. Sigh, she spends freely.”

Feeling drowsy, he sat on the smooth stone bench, stretched slightly, and yawned.

Just as he stood to leave—

He spotted a black-and-white figure at the entrance. Someone had just entered the garden.

Who comes here at this hour?

...

Xiao Ling, treated in the Imperial Palace hospital, had fully recovered days after Children’s Day.

She knew her healing had little to do with the medical staff.

Her recovery came entirely from Baiyi’s potion, which she used constantly to get back on her feet.

The doctors and nurses? After treating her that first day, they ignored her completely.

Not because she was just a Maid—but because of her own condition.

Her existence’s memory reset every dawn.

Unless she reminded them, no one remembered her.

“Young master... how has he been?”

Waking in the hospital, Xiao Ling’s first thought was Baiyi’s safety. Learning he and Lian Ye had returned safely to the Imperial Palace, her worried heart slowly settled. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Her master’s safety was her duty as a Maid.

“But... days have passed. The young master hasn’t come.”

Indeed. Days since Children’s Day, yet Baiyi never visited.

She knew it wasn’t his fault. Her faint presence made him forget her.

But a dull ache throbbed in her chest.

Faint stings pulsed there. Warm tears streamed slowly down her cheeks.

She knew it wasn’t Baiyi’s fault. Her weak existence caused his forgetfulness.

Yet sadness and heartbreak lingered.

“Young master...”

After leaving the hospital, she wandered to the rear garden to clear her mind.

She hoped the cold wind would numb the ache inside.

She no longer wanted to feel this pain.

She just needed to be alone, sitting on the icy stone bench at night, lost in thought...

Because right now, Xiao Ling just wanted to—

Cry.

“Young master... where are you...”