Tents were set up and a big fireplace was lit to keep the environment warm. The outerland clearing extended vastly before them. It harbored very few inhabitants, who mainly kept their distance. They had one night of rest, then continued their journey, and by sundown, they were sure to arrive in Yelan.
Prince Liang Chen did everything within his power to avoid Ji Mingyuan. They had meals separately, and he would leave the tent the moment the other walked in. It felt as though the air around him was suffocating.
Liang Chen often found himself deep in thought, with questions he had no answers for, and worst of all, Xiayue wouldn't stop mentioning some silly punishment. But Prince Liang Chen couldn't run forever. Darkness soon settled, and he was forced to retire to the comfort of the tent he shared with Ji Mingyuan.
On arrival, the sneaky prince was nowhere to be found, which was much to the relief of Liang Chen. The weather was cold, and he had no assigned servants to look after him, but a set of clean clothes was laid out.
Liang Chen quickly changed and settled into bed. Unlike his soft, comfy apartment, the mat was hard, and he found himself tossing and turning for hours. It wasn't until every part of his body was sore and tired that he succumbed to slumber.
On the other side of the camp, Prince Ji Mingyuan sat before the ministers, his green eyes gazing at them as if reading their souls, their thoughts were for the land and not for him; that he was certain of.
"What is the meaning of this?" he half-yelled. "We are halfway to Yelan, and you think I can just abandon him in the middle of nowhere?" He growled, but the ministers did not appear worried.
"Why should you care when his people clearly did not?" Minister Wang Shu shot back arrogantly.
"Your primary responsibility is to the throne and the land," another voice added.
"So what do you propose? That we do away with him here?" Ji Mingyuan growled.
"He must go." Minister Wang Shu muttered firmly.
"Have you thought of what the implications will be on the kingdom, on the crown, and on your mother?" Minister Wanshu growled.
"My mother?" Ji Mingyuan's fist tightened on the chair, his cold gaze sweeping across the room.
"I journeyed to Yunzhou under her order, and any souvenir from this trip, I shall claim," he murmured, his voice dripping with coldness.
"Prince Liang Chen comes with us, and he is my consort. If you have a problem with it," he stood and walked toward the exit, "take that up with me." And he was gone.
The ministers sat defeated. Words had already reached Yelan, and both the Prime Minister's family and the royal house were not content with the outcome.
"But then, who sent words to the queen?" Minister Weilong asked, and the other two froze in their seats, their gaze not meeting one another.
Prince Ji Mingyuan strolled endlessly in the open clearing, trying hard to figure out a solution, but his mind remained cramped, his thoughts dwelling only on the other person.
The kingdom and everyone were against his decision to marry the prince of Yunzhou, but what would happen when the conditions of the marriage were known to the world? There would certainly be bloodshed.
Male Consort was a rather open practice in Yunzhou, but certainly not the case in Yelan, and most importantly, not for a prince and heir to the throne. He was expected to take a wife and give the kingdom an heir.
Ji Mingyuan's gaze settled on the still moon. "Maybe leaving him is in his best interest… but then I can't," he sighed. "I can't be away from him…not again."
"How do I fix this?" Ji Mingyuan murmured, his palms sweating and his eyes narrowed, never leaving the dimmed tent. Exhausted, he strolled over.
"Liang Chen…" he called softly, but no answer came. He slowly lifted the flap and stepped inside.
Prince Liang Chen lay on the mat, his back turned toward Ji Mingyuan's side, his frame curled like a ball. Ji Mingyuan was quick to pick up a blanket and spread it over his tiny frame, but then his hand slightly brushed against the soft cheek of the man below, and it burned.
"Liang Chen…" Ji Mingyuan called, slowly taking his hand. His temperature seemed to be rising by the minute. His face was twisted in discomfort, and his lips murmured incoherent words.
"Liang Chen…" Ji Mingyuan called more fiercely, shaking him slightly, but Liang Chen just lay there, unresponsive.
"Help… call the physician!" Mingyuan ordered, and soon the camp was wide awake, guards and maids pacing around, the ministers wishing the prince wouldn't survive whatever was happening, and Ji Mingyuan slowly losing it with every order and delay.
Liang Chen opened his eyes. But instead of the cramped tent space he had expected, he was in a rather luxurious bedroom. Its grandeur was twice that of his own, the exquisite taste and refined furniture leaving no doubt that it belonged to a noble. He stretched and climbed down.
"Have we arrived in Yelan?" he pondered, but before he could get answers, the door slammed open. An angry Ji Mingyuan stepped in, his hair neatly tied in a clean ponytail while the rest fell beautifully down his back. His green eyes weren't so dense, and he appeared younger.
"What is this?" Liang Chen chuckled, but for some reason, the other person in the room did not hear, or at least pretended not to.
"Hey… what madness is this?" Liang Chen roared, but Ji Mingyuan did not acknowledge his presence.
Instead, he strolled over to the giant window overlooking the palace gates, his eyes fixed on an exiting figure. Liang Chen opened his mouth to speak again, but the door slammed open and a second figure stepped in.
"What is the meaning of this, Mingyuan? You think you can just walk away and not give me answers when I demand them?" A woman, well-dressed with a golden crown, hissed. From looks alone, Liang Chen could tell she was the queen.
"What would you have me say, Mother? First, I have to step down, and now you want me to be sent to the border? Why? Isn't that the supposed duty of the first son?"
The woman's face darkened, her nails digging into her palms.
"You know your elder brother was not born for this. The throne should have been his, but…"
"But he messed up. He got a servant pregnant, denied the baby, and killed her. So how is this my fault? Why should I always be the one to clean up his mess? Where is it written that I am the one to maintain the image while he tarnishes it every time?" Ji Mingyuan's voice broke with every word, his eyes carrying unshed tears.
"Because it is your duty as crown prince," the queen murmured.
"Indeed. But I refuse to step down. Even if I must go to the border, I shall not relinquish my rights to the throne."
"Fine." She whispered, her voice dropping coldly. "Be prepared to face the dance of today's music, for the world will know what dirty fancies you harbor toward your kind."
Ji Mingyuan's body tensed, his eyes narrowing as he turned to the woman, now fully facing her. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"You will blackmail me… for him?" he choked, but she did not stay long to explain. Ji Mingyuan watched her exit, his body slowly stumbling backward, crashing into the wall, and falling to the ground as tears streamed down his face. He clutched his chest, his fist hitting it firmly, trying to ease the pain as he choked on his tears, but the pain was too much.
"Why me?" he murmured.
Liang Chen stepped closer, his hands reaching out, but he quickly held them back. Something was wrong. The Ji Mingyuan he knew was not this weak; he was cold, strong-willed, and intimidating. But the man before him seemed broken, pained, and unloved.
"What's happening?" Liang Chen murmured.
"A glimpse of the past completed," the system announced.
Without another second, Liang Chen felt his body tear away. His breathing hitched as he swayed in darkness, his body hitting obstacles and rocks, his lungs choking on water, and his limbs frozen and unable to move. He blinked, and he was there… at the bottom of the lake, drowning, with no one to save him.