Yu Jingchen knew she had reservations and dared not speak, so he took the initiative to ask, "What do you want to say?"
Nan Zhiyun moved her lips and hesitantly called out, "Your Majesty..."
"Mm?" Yu Jingchen responded softly.
But Nan Zhiyun looked at Yu Jingchen and didn't know what to say, or rather, she was too afraid to say anything.
"What do you want to say? If you don't say it now, I won't have time to listen to you later." Yu Jingchen sat down beside her.
"Don't..." Nan Zhiyun uneasily tugged at Yu Jingchen's sleeve.
"Then what do you want to say?" Yu Jingchen softened his voice.
Nan Zhiyun's eyes held a hint of caution as she looked at Yu Jingchen, still unable to speak.
"Say whatever you want to say," Yu Jingchen was surprisingly patient now.
"Your concubine..." Nan Zhiyun finally managed to speak, but she was clearly struggling to express herself.
Yu Jingchen didn't press her this time, simply watching her quietly, waiting for her to speak when she was ready.
"Your concubine feels as if she hasn't woken up yet..." Nan Zhiyun finally managed to utter a complete sentence.
"Your Majesty, your concubine has had many dreams, but none have felt as unreal as this moment." Nan Zhiyun continued.
"Dreams are indeed not real, but this is not a dream. Didn't you just cry out in pain? If you were dreaming, how could you feel pain?" Yu Jingchen said to her.
"But in dreams, it truly hurts, a great deal," Nan Zhiyun's tears welled up at the corners of her eyes, on the verge of falling, her watery gaze heart-wrenching.
"Your Majesty, in dreams, do you smile at your concubine like you did when you were little? You rarely smiled when you were young, but when you did, the flowers in your concubine's heart would bloom..." Nan Zhiyun's expression was dazed.
"Those flowers... were planted by Your Majesty, but they haven't bloomed for a long time. Today, it seems they have bloomed again..." Nan Zhiyun's expression was as if she had returned to a time long ago, when she was the most esteemed noble lady in the capital.
No noble lady in the entire capital could compare to her; even princesses and county princesses were not as noble as she was. Yu Jingchen was the adopted son of the Empress. At that time... he should have been carefree as a youth, but he carried a depth beyond his years.
Their lives should have been worlds apart, yet they became intertwined. Nan Zhiyun remembered... It was a pity that things were truly different now.
"Your Majesty... your concubine hasn't seen flowers bloom in a long time. Seeing them in a dream today, your concubine... is overjoyed," Nan Zhiyun's voice seemed to stretch, giving a sense of distant longing.
Yu Jingchen fell silent. They gazed at each other in the candlelight. Suddenly, a candle flame flared, as if truly disturbing the tranquil dream.
"It's getting late, let's rest," Yu Jingchen did not continue the topic, nor did he offer any response.
Nan Zhiyun lowered her gaze, concealing the fleeting disappointment. "As expected, even in dreams, Your Majesty despises your concubine?"
"Don't speak nonsense. Go and rest," Yu Jingchen did not want to prolong this conversation.
But as he turned to leave, Yu Jingchen felt a force grasp his sleeve – it was Nan Zhiyun.
"Is there anything else?" Yu Jingchen turned back and asked.
"In dreams, can Your Majesty embrace your concubine again? Just a gentle hug, please?" Nan Zhiyun pleaded humbly.