Perchance to Dream

Vignette 1: Fallen Flower

This was one of the requested scenes by two readers in the previous chapter. PLEASE NOTE: This will contain spoilers for the first ending of Mei Yanran and Ling Fengxiao!

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"It's been a while since we had a chance to be alone." Mei Yanran exhales, her breathing misting in the frosty afternoon air as she tugs her fox fur cloak tighter around her body. "Why did you suddenly call me here, Moxiao?" Her brows crease, furrowing into the frown he'd seen so many times in the past few months. "Was the information I gave you faulty? Did the rebels escape?"

"No." Ling Fengxiao's eyes linger on her face before he leans in to smooth her forehead. "It was perfect. As always." He doesn't smile, but Mei Yanran still makes a little noise of happiness when he pulls her close by the shoulder.

"That's good," she snuggles close to him as they watch the hills and trees before them. The branches are still bare, with only a few buds sprouting here and there; it would be a few weeks more before they properly flowered into plum blossoms. The heat of her body next to his is all but scorching, yet Ling Fengxiao cannot decide if this is a sign of her clear guilt or his own unsteady heart.

"Yan'er..." he begins, then stops.

"Mm?" she leans against him, content.

"You've been asking a lot about the enemies these days," Ling Fengxiao forces himself to continue.

"Of course!" Bright eyes look up to meet his, untainted and clear. "This is a crucial time. We can't afford to make any missteps, or else something worse could happen!" She already lost them the second prince while preoccupied with her feelings. She can't afford to lose anyone else again.

"What else are you expecting?" Ling Fengxiao's voice drops a few degrees cooler, his fingers tightening their grip on her cloak.

How much do you know? What else are you planning to hide?

A moment passes before Mei Yanran replies. When she does, her voice is so soft that Ling Fengxiao has to bend down to hear her.

"I don't want...anyone else to die..." she drifts off, then catches him staring at her and shakes her head. "I know people have to! That's how it works when they won't listen to reason. I just..." She thinks about the novel, the long intricate chapters of vengeance and warfare, the single sentences painting all of Ling Fengxiao's slaughter in the shadows in ensure Chu Yexuan's peaceful rule. She can live with that, she thinks, but words aren't enough to tell her the suffering of years, the silence of death.

"I just hope you can kill them quickly," Mei Yanran finally murmurs. Maybe then, we'll see peace sooner.

Ling Fengxiao's chest clenches, but all he manages is a hollow, "Why?"

Mei Yanran gives him an uncomprehending look. More and more often these days, she finds herself unable to read him at all. Perhaps she never could.

"Are you that impatient to see them gone?" Ling Fengxiao goes on, his voice as flat and smooth as silk. "Will your heart never rest until the evidence against you is dead and buried?"

"Evidence? What are you..." Mei Yanran's eyes widen as she tries to turn in his arms. "You still think I'm a spy?!"

"When have you ever proven otherwise?" Ling Fengxiao's expression is perfectly calm.

"You—Mo Xiao!" Mei Yanran's hands tremble as she clutches at his arms. "I've told you before, I'm not!"

"Then explain to me how you always know what's going on!" Ling Fengxiao retorts. "Whether it's the emperor's plans or the enemy's moves, you never make a mistake! Are you telling me you can read their minds? Or are you some sort of god?!"