63 Unforgotten

The sky was filled with drifting snow, resembling shattered jade and scattered pearls. The girl's smiling face overlapped with the scene in his memory, causing Yang Guang to feel momentarily dazed, wondering if he was caught in a dream.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?" Shi Nian asked, somewhat perplexed, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

He abruptly grabbed her wrist, his grip startled her. Shi Nian opened her eyes wide in bewilderment, while Yang Guang stared at her for a long moment before slowly breaking into a smile. "You came to say goodbye, but I didn't summon you for that."

Without waiting for her reaction, he pulled her into the hall. A wave of warmth washed over them. As Shi Nian shrank back slightly, Yang Guang had already undone her cloak, revealing the crimson dress beneath.

Slightly nervous, Shi Nian asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," Yang Guang replied, "I just have something good to share with you."

He beckoned a palace servant and gave a few brief instructions. Soon, the servant carried in a round-bellied wine jar, its surface still clinging with fresh soil. Taking the jar without minding that the dirt might soil his robes, Yang Guang removed the lid and personally poured a full cup for Shi Nian.

"I buried this jar of wine myself beneath the plum tree in the Eastern Palace last year during the twelfth lunar month. I had planned to dig it out on the day of the first snow this year, but unfortunately, I wasn't here then. Still, drinking it today is equally fine."

The wine was indeed exceptional—mellow upon the palate, carrying the crisp, cold fragrance of plum blossoms with a lingering, hidden punch. Shi Nian drank three cups in succession, feeling a surge of warmth rise to her head, and let out a light breath.

"Slow down," Yang Guang cautioned, "this wine has a strong afterkick."

A thought still lingered in Shi Nian's mind: her harmonica had been pocketed by Yang Guang earlier and had yet to be returned. Nie Cheng had explicitly instructed her to retrieve it if possible, as such items must not be left behind in antiquity.

Just as she was pondering how to bring it up, she heard Yang Guang ask, "Did you see Daxing City on your way here? This is what will later become Chang'an."

Of course Shi Nian had seen it. In fact, even without the journey here, during the few days she had spent living in Daxing City, she had ventured out several times, unable to suppress a sense of emotional resonance upon seeing the familiar markets and streets. When she first left, the place was engulfed in the flames of war; returning now, it was centuries earlier, before the city had experienced the An Lushan Rebellion or the glorious turbulence of the Tang Dynasty.

Yang Guang took a sip of his wine and slowly continued, "I once thought that taking revenge on the Li family of Tang would bring me immense joy. But looking back now, it didn't at all; instead, it felt tedious and meaningless. Dynastic cycles—when will they ever end, and what lies at the end? After that night at Majiayi Station, I suddenly understood that perhaps this is the way it should be. How can there be an undying dynasty in this world, or an immortal person? The fall of the Sui is fated, and the collapse of the Tang will be no different."

A wave of relief washed over Shi Nian. "You've figured it out? It's good that you understand." Even if she still had to wipe his memories later, at least she wouldn't feel quite so guilty.

However, Yang Guang's tone shifted abruptly. "Understanding it is one thing, but being caught up in it, I still cannot escape mortal conventions. Even without an everlasting realm or a ten-thousand-generation dynasty, and even if the Sui is destined to fall one day, it shall not fall at my hands."

He tilted his head to look at her. "This is what you wanted as well, isn't it?"

Shi Nian was taken aback.

Suddenly, Yang Guang grasped her hand with a firmness that startled her. "When we were in the Tang Dynasty, you told me you came here for my sake. So, are you a divine maiden who came specifically to assist me?"

What?

Before Shi Nian could react, Yang Guang gazed at her with burning eyes. "Because I walked the path of error and became trapped where I ought not to be, you came to save me?"

"I..."

"Since you came for my sake, you might as well stay and keep me company. I will achieve greatness this time, and you want to see all of this happen, don't you?"

For a long moment, Shi Nian was stunned, finally regaining her wits.

Having come full circle, she never expected that she would end up playing the fairy maiden once again in the Sui Dynasty. Yang Guang believed she was his guardian goddess, and given everything they had been through along the way, it seemed logical for him to think so. Yet Shi Nian still found it absurd and laughable.

Yang Guang did not know that while she had indeed come here for guardianship, it was not to protect him, but to protect history. Nor did she wish to watch him achieve worldly greatness; she only wanted to see him retrace his path of death.

"You said my wish was fulfilled," Yang Guang continued, "but that is not true. My wish is not yet complete, and you cannot leave yet. You must watch me become an enlightened ruler of an era."

The guilt in her heart surged like boiling water, so hot and turbulent that it rendered her almost speechless. After a long moment, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I cannot..."

Yang Guang's grip on her hand tightened sharply. The man pressed his lips into a thin line. The next moment, he released her and said with casual nonchalance, "If that is the case, then the thing you want back is something I cannot give you either."

He added, "That strange little flute of yours—you want to take it back, don't you?"

The flute... he meant her harmonica!

With her intentions guessed, Shi Nian instinctively denied it. "W-Who said so? I had almost forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned..."

Yang Guang spoke calmly, "Although I haven't been here these past few days, people have been reporting your situation to me continuously. Clearly, the matter was already resolved, yet you lingered without leaving. Judging by your behavior, you must have been waiting for something. What could you possibly be waiting for? Surely not just to bid me a simple farewell, right? So I guessed there must still be something unfinished on your end. Though I have never studied cultivation or the Dao, I have heard in legendary tales that an immortal's belongings must never remain in mortal hands. Therefore, you must take it back, am I right?"

Never in her wildest dreams had Shi Nian expected that Yang Guang had been having them watched all along! No wonder he had paid her no mind over the past few days—he had done it entirely on purpose!

"You... you plotted against us!" Shi Nian protested. "Is this how you treat the benefactor who saved your life and brought you home?"

"You saved me, and I saved you. The wound from the arrow I blocked for you hasn't even healed yet."

The moment he brought that up, Shi Nian felt a pang of guilt. Yang Guang shrugged. "There is nothing to be done. I am a sentimental person; since I cannot keep the person, I must at least keep something behind. If you truly wish to leave, then give me the flute as a memento."

He was threatening her. Plainly and clearly threatening her.

Yet Shi Nian found herself unable to truly feel angry. He had guessed half of it right—she had indeed stayed behind to retrieve the flute, though something even more important was at stake.

A tightness crept back into her chest. After a moment of silence, she suddenly smiled. "Is this the brilliant plan you came up with after pondering for so many days? Just this one?"

"Actually, there was another, but I felt it lacked the same force, and you probably wouldn't have been afraid of it."

"Let's hear it."

The man gazed at her, half-joking and half-serious. "If you leave, I will have our story painted into scrolls and spread across the markets, and I'll even have a golden statue cast of you so the common folk will worship you as a fairy. Or perhaps you'd prefer to be a fox spirit? I will make the whole world know your story, know the story of you and me..."

Seeing Shi Nian's eyes widen in genuine astonishment, his voice softened. "If you don't wish to see that happen, stay and supervise me. If you stay, I will keep our secret."

He spoke such words—a threat almost childish in nature—believing he could thus retain the person he wished to keep. But he did not know that this memory would ultimately be erased, and he would retain nothing at all.

How much time passed, she could not tell—long enough that he thought she would not speak—when she finally heard the girl's soft voice: "If I agree, will you be happy?"

He felt every fiber of his heart tense. "If you agree, naturally I will be happy. I would be overjoyed beyond measure."

Shi Nian lowered her gaze, seeming to ponder, then broke into a smile a moment later. "Alright, I agree."

The promise came so suddenly and so easily that Yang Guang could scarcely believe it. It took him a moment before he stammered, "R-Really?"

Shi Nian did not speak again, simply nodding with a smile. Finally certain it was not a hallucination, Yang Guang swept her up in his arms and spun her around in sheer ecstasy!

"That's wonderful, that's wonderful, little fox! You have no idea how worried I've been these past few days. I didn't know how I could possibly make you stay. I was so terrified I wouldn't be able to keep you."

He pressed a kiss to her hand, gazing fixedly at her with eyes brimming with genuine, hard-won happiness and a triumphant smile.

Shi Nian asked, "Can you return the flute to me now?"

Without losing his smile, Yang Guang replied craftily, "Since you've already agreed to stay, retrieving the flute doesn't matter anymore, does it? Let's leave it with me. I'll practice a few more tunes and play them for you another day."

Fearing perhaps that she would be displeased, he quickly changed the subject. "More important than that is the fact that we can finally fulfill our ideals together."

When he spoke the word "ideal," a spark seemed to dance in his eyes—so intense that Shi Nian felt she might be scorched by it.

Yang Guang suddenly motioned for her to look up toward the wall opposite the bedchamber, where a massive map was hung, marked with different regions in various colors, giving the overwhelming impression that the entire world was within his grasp.

"Do you see it? This is the territory of the Sui. This picturesque realm—more than half of it was won by my years of riding into battle. I've spent this entire time pondering what I did wrong last time to let it slip from my grasp."

"And did you figure it out?"

"Mn. My mistake was being too arrogant and overconfident. The Sui had just been established; the people needed rest and recovery, yet I was eager for quick success. Three campaigns against Goguryeo wasted three hundred thousand elite garrison troops, nearly breaking the backbone of the empire; the massive excavation of canals left countless subjects displaced and ruined. In the end, public resentment boiled over and heroes rose up everywhere. It was entirely my own fault."

Shi Nian fell silent. Yang Guang's self-analysis was remarkably similar to the views of later historians.

"However, knowing where I went wrong, it won't be difficult to correct it. This time, I will slow my pace and give the people more breathing room. Take that canal, for instance—even if it must be built, we will wait until the state is fully prepared. If there is no surplus strength while I still draw breath, I will leave it to my descendants. I will not allow so many people to die for my arrogance again."

If everything could truly unfold as he described, it would be a blessing not only for him, but a tremendous fortune for this era and its people. Shi Nian could almost picture the scene: enlightened rulers and capable ministers, peace prevailing across the seas, the Sui Dynasty inaugurating a golden age worthy of history books just like the later Tang, with citizens living and working in peace, looking up from afar to praise their wise sovereign.

Pity that it was all nothing more than a beautiful illusion. He was destined to be recorded in history books as a mediocre and doomed ruler, and those common folk were destined to become the wronged bones lining the riverbeds.

History grants no second chances to anyone.

The agony was too sharp; Shi Nian dared not look at him. Catching sight of her expression when he glanced back, Yang Guang misunderstood, his tone softening for the first time that day. "I know you must be angry, feeling that I coerced you. But I truly only wanted to keep you by my side. In truth, even now it feels like a dream. I never imagined I could really come back, that I would truly have the chance to change all this. It is all because of you. Little fox, because of you, I have been able to fulfill my deepest wish without regrets.

"There is something I feel I have never said to you, though I have repeated it in my heart countless times.

"Little fox, thank you."

With that, the man curved his lips into a smile. He smiled so openly, his eyes bright as stars, his expression carrying an almost childlike innocence. Caught as if under a spell, Shi Nian stood motionless, locking eyes with him until he cupped her face and slowly lowered his head.

He drew closer and closer; she did not evade him. Finally, as his lips touched hers, she closed her eyes.

The man's lips were soft and burning, tasting her with gentle yet mounting urgency, a satisfied sigh of long-awaited fulfillment. She felt herself completely enveloped and surrounded by his presence.

She longed to hide within that presence forever, never leaving, never having to face the duty she was bound to perform.

Yet the very next second, the scenery before her eyes shifted. She plunged into an endless ocean of boundless water. Opening her eyes wide, Shi Nian saw streaks of brilliant white light flashing through the blue water ahead, resembling strings woven into a massive net. At the very center of this string formation lay Yang Guang, sleeping peacefully.

The music strings washed over him, but he remained completely insensible, unaware of how long he had lain there. It was as if he had existed here since the very inception of this sea.

Witnessing this scene once more, Shi Nian no longer felt the profound shock of the first time; instead, a dead, numb apathy settled over her. Swimming forward, she carefully searched through the brilliant lights until she finally spotted a distinctly out-of-place string among the tangled web.

Knowing deep down that this was the one, she reached out and slowly grasped it, yet hesitated before taking the next action. Gazing at Yang Guang at the center of the formation, her mind stubbornly replayed his radiant smile from moments before.

Why had she pretended to agree to him? Because at least in that final moment, he had been spirited and ambitious, believing he could stretch his wings and forge a grand millennium enterprise of his own.

At least in that final moment, he had been happy.

Her right hand exerted a sudden, forceful pull. The silvery-white string tightened and vibrated in her palm until, with a crisp, ringing snap, it dissolved into scattering shards of light.

Inside the hall, Yang Guang suddenly opened his eyes. Their lips were still lightly pressed together, yet he seemed to sense something. Shock, incomprehension, and reluctant struggle flickered across his gaze. Shi Nian stared back at him unblinkingly, watching those star-like eyes struggle in vain resistance before gradually growing hazy and dim, like a night sky swallowed by heavy fog until nothing could be seen clearly at all.

Finally, he closed his eyes, and a single tear slipped down the corner of his eye.

Shi Nian held the unconscious Yang Guang, remaining entirely still.

The bedchamber was dead quiet. The cold wind swept snowflakes in through the ajar window, fluttering the gauze curtains.

The luxurious silks and golden treasures scattered across the floor seemed chillingly desolate in that moment.

After a long while, she slowly raised a hand and pressed it against her chest.

At the exact instant he had kissed her, her heart had felt as though it were pierced by a blade, or clenched tightly in a fist. Such fierce palpitations and tremors left her scarcely able to breathe.

So this was what heartbreak felt like.

Although rumors circulated in the capital that the Crown Prince had returned, the citizens of Daxing City had not actually laid eyes on him. The safety of the heir apparent concerned the very fate of the dynasty, and unease lingered without personal verification. Finally, word spread that the Crown Prince's carriage would pass along Zhuque Avenue today, prompting crowds of people to pour into the streets.

Guards cleared the road in advance, holding the populace back on either side. In the distance, a carriage approached under the escort of the Imperial Guard. When the bright yellow curtains were drawn back, the handsome man inside, adorned with a jade crown and brocade robes, was unmistakably the Crown Prince who had vanished for months!

Relief washed over the crowd at last, and they fell to their knees in prostration, celebrating the safe return of the Crown Prince.

Standing amidst the throng, Shi Nian gazed into the distance. Seated upright within the carriage, accepting the prostrations of the common people, he appeared so lofty and unreachable—yet it brought to mind the down-and-out nobleman drinking away his sorrows in Pingkang Lane.

Seeming to sense something, Yang Guang abruptly turned his head, his gaze piercing through the crowd and locking directly onto hers.

Shi Nian felt her heart tighten, an instinctive urge to flee rising within her. But the next second, the man expressionlessly averted his gaze.

The carriage rolled slowly away, growing more distant until it faded into a blurred shadow.

"Alright, it's time for us to go too," Nie Cheng said.

Shi Nian nodded. Everything was resolved; today was the day of their departure. The departure point was on the Wei River. After leaving the city, everyone boarded the boat Nie Cheng had prepared in advance.

As they drifted toward the center of the river, Shi Nian looked up one last time at the bleak winter sky and the faint, hazy outline of Daxing City in the distance, whispering softly in her heart:

Farewell, Sui Dynasty.

Farewell, Yang Guang.

After returning this time, perhaps due to sheer exhaustion, Shi Nian locked herself in her room for several consecutive days, unsure whether she was sleeping or engaging in anything else.

Finally, by the fifth day, Su geng and Meng Xia could no longer stand it and dragged her out by force.

"If you hole up in your room like this all day, you're going to drive yourself crazy. Our line of work already makes it easy to suffer from temporal confusion and mental fatigue; we need to get out more and see people."

Su Geng took Shi Nian along to attend an auction, while Meng Xia said with a smile, "You must have pulled in quite a bit of bonus money on this trip! I heard you haven't really had a chance to spend it, so you might as well take today to enjoy the thrill of a wealthy person spending money like water."

The theme of the auction was antiques. Recalling that Su Geng was a history major at Peking University, Shi Nian wasn't surprised by why she wanted to attend this sort of event. However, as Qing Dynasty fans and Ming Dynasty vases were continuously presented on the display stage, she found herself entirely unable to muster any enthusiasm and soon thought of making an excuse to leave.

"The next exhibit has quite an extraordinary background. It is an ancient painting, estimated from its style to date back to the late Sui and early Tang dynasties, and the signature seal indicates that its author is none other than the notorious Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang..."

Emperor Yang of Sui had left behind no surviving calligraphy or paintings, nor was he an emperor known for his mastery of the brush. For a moment, the crowd was filled with curiosity: could they genuinely be encountering an authentic artwork by Emperor Yang today?

Shi Nian halted her motion to leave, turning her gaze back toward the front stage.

Before everyone's eyes, the antique scroll slowly unfurled. Upon the faintly yellowed xuan paper, moonlight poured down like a layer of white frost, depicting a young girl in an apricot-red dress sitting quietly on a hillside, playing an instrument.

The girl's facial features were not entirely distinct—as though the painter could no longer clearly recall her appearance, or perhaps because she was already so deeply engraved and familiar in his heart that just a few sparse strokes captured her lively and spirited expression.

Yet the instrument she played was somewhat unusual: an elongated rectangular shape with a row of small holes along the side, its gleaming metal reflecting the light.

It looked remarkably like... a harmonica?

An uproar swept through the crowd.

The guide explained, "According to the date on the signature seal, this painting was created in the winter of the first year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty—the second year after Yang Guang's ascension to the throne. Experts speculate that the girl in the painting might have been one of his favored consorts..."

A young woman laughed and said to the person beside her, "A fake, right? Emperor Yang's favored consort playing a harmonica—did harmonicas even exist in the Sui Dynasty? Surely Yang Guang didn't invent the harmonica..."

Her voice cut off abruptly as she noticed that the young girl beside her had eyes brimming with tears.

Shi Nian stared blankly at the painting, frozen like a statue.

The melodious sound of the harmonica seemed to echo once more in her ears, accompanied by a girl's soft, clear singing: "...My beloved is sitting right beside me, watching me quietly without a sound. I want to speak, but don't know how; so many words are kept in my heart.

"May we forever remember each other from this day on, on a night in the suburbs of Moscow..."

May we forever remember each other from this day on...

Yet, he had already forgotten.