A thousand words and a thousand sentiments swirled within my heart.

Du Fu gave a faint smile and no longer argued with Chen Yage. Seeing that he had said nothing for a long while, Chen Yage could not help but peer curiously into the room. The man in white on the bed had been hidden by Du Fu; she could only glimpse the white of his clothing. Not understanding, she took two steps forward, but Du Fu still blocked her way.

Chen Yage was brimming with curiosity about the man on the bed. She edged closer and closer. Though Du Fu had long since noticed her moving deeper into the room, he deliberately pretended not to see a thing.

By the time Chen Yage reached his back, she craned her neck to look at the bed. Du Fu, however, intentionally barred her view and laughed. “Who said I wasn’t interested? Your interest seems rather great now.”

Chen Yage ignored him and, with complete justification, pulled his hand aside. But in that instant, her heart nearly stopped.

She would never have guessed that the person on the bed was Li Bai—the man who should have been in Xiangyang, marrying Xu Ziyan; the man who had occupied her thoughts day and night. And now he lay there, on the bed, utterly still.

His face was pale, his features refined. Slowly, he opened his eyes. When he looked at Chen Yage, his face broke into an unmistakable smile, full of happiness and contentment.

Chen Yage stepped forward and clasped Li Bai’s hand tightly. She did not know what to say. She had once tried to give up, had tried her best to forget him. Yet every night, whenever she saw the moon hanging high in the sky, she would think of those days spent with Li Bai in the Peach Blossom Land, of the heart-stopping moments by Moon Lake, of their interlocked fingers, of Li Bai shielding her. One scene after another, one memory after another. She had laughed, she had been afraid, and more than anything, she had loved, possessed, and lost. So what did this reunion count as now?

Chen Yage wanted to know what had happened after she left, how Li Bai had come to Luoyang, whether he had truly married Ziyan, and whether Ziyan herself was also in Luoyang. She wanted to ask, but did not know how to begin. In that moment, a thousand words all turned into silence.

Seeing that Chen Yage and Li Bai knew each other, and noticing the tender look between them, Du Fu tactfully left the room, even blocking the physician who was about to enter.

“How are you now?” Chen Yage finally asked after a long while.

How could he be well? Sick and lying in bed, she had meant to ask why he was here, but the words changed upon reaching her lips. Such was a woman—outwardly cold, though her heart was full of concern. Yet men seemed much the same. At least Li Bai was no exception. He longed to pull Chen Yage tightly into his arms and never let go, even if lightning were to strike beside them, so that he might ease the ache of longing. But that was not what happened. He merely smiled faintly, as if to say that he was well.

Chen Yage reached out and touched Li Bai’s forehead. Finding it not hot, she finally relaxed. She tucked his exposed arm back beneath the quilt. “Do you want something to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”

“Don’t go.” Li Bai caught her hand. “Just let me look at you like this. Don’t go. Stay and keep me company.”

“All right. I won’t go. I won’t.” Chen Yage smiled softly. She sat down beside Li Bai, and the two of them simply gazed at each other in silence. The whole world seemed to grow quiet.

Chen Yage no longer wished to ask anything. As long as Li Bai was by her side, that was enough. Nothing else mattered.

At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside. The physician rushed in breathlessly. Chen Yage stood up and asked, “Doctor, why are you in such a hurry?”

“Oh no, oh no, miss. Your friend, he...”

“Are you talking about Du Fu? What happened to him? Where is he now?” Only then did Chen Yage realize that Du Fu had long since disappeared from the room. Thinking of how he had cared for her over the past month, she could not help growing anxious for his safety.

“He was taken away by the authorities, miss. Go and have a look outside.” The physician also seemed concerned, though whether his concern was genuine, no one could tell.

“What? What happened?” How could Du Fu have gotten into trouble with the authorities? Chen Yage hurried out, only then remembering she had not even told Li Bai.

Seeing her return, Li Bai merely smiled faintly. “Go on. He is my lifesaver.”

“Where is he? Where is he?” When Chen Yage ran outside, she found the clinic completely empty, and could not help shouting anxiously.

“Perhaps he has already been taken away. Sigh, miss, that young gentleman should have been seized to help build the Southern Heaven Palace. I think you can only go to the authorities to see him off. When the palace is finished one day, perhaps he will come back.”

“The Southern Heaven Palace? What Southern Heaven Palace?” Chen Yage only knew of Zhongnan Mountain; she had never heard of any Southern Heaven Palace.

“The current emperor has decided to build a palace on Zhongnan Mountain. I hear that Princess Jade Truth is to cultivate there, so His Majesty decided to construct a palace here for her residence.”

“He doesn’t fear that wasting so much labor and wealth will ruin Princess Jade Truth’s cultivation?” Chen Yage spoke without thinking, completely forgetting that she was in the Tang Dynasty and not in the new China of the twenty-first century.

The physician was badly startled by her words. He looked around nervously, and only after confirming that no one was nearby did he relax somewhat. He sincerely advised, “Miss, those words are enough to get someone killed. Misfortune comes from the tongue. In the future, you must never speak ill of the emperor so carelessly. If someone with hidden intentions hears you, you’ll be in deep trouble.”

Chen Yage also realized she had slipped. Though she was thoroughly dissatisfied with the emperor, what could she do? He was the emperor; she was mere common folk. He could decide her life and death, while before him she was no more than fish on a chopping block, waiting to be butchered.

“Doctor, is there really no other way? How long has the palace been under construction? Do you know how much longer it will take? And where is the yamen?” Chen Yage fired question after question. She pulled a tael of silver from her waist and handed it to the physician. “Please take good care of the patient inside for me. I’ll go to the yamen first. You must look after him well. If he asks where I’ve gone, tell him I had urgent business and left for now, but that I will definitely come back for him. Please, take good care of him.”

“Miss, wait...” Before the physician could finish, Chen Yage had already hurried out. She only wanted to make sure Du Fu was safe. As long as he was all right, nothing else mattered.

As soon as Chen Yage ran out, she saw a group of soldiers on the street. In front of them, a line of people was being escorted away. Some soldiers were snatching up more men from the surrounding area, most of them young and strong.

Du Fu should be among them, Chen Yage thought, and quickened her pace. As she walked, she silently cursed everything written in the history books. It was all false, all lies. The history books had never said that the Southern Heaven Palace was built during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, nor had they ever said that Du Fu would be dragged off to help build it.