When the visit ended after less than an hour, the boys saw the Emperor and his concubine to the entrance, where they would now part.
After hugging her son tightly once again in farewell, then caressing his cheek as she roamed her eyes all over his achingly familiar face, she then turned to the younger boy beside him.
“Be good, Little Xue,” she said, her gentle hand patting the top of his head. Leaning down to his level, she then gave him a peck on the cheek. “Until we all meet again,” she told the two boys before departing with the Emperor.
Once they were gone and the courtyard gate closed, Qing Xue raised a hand to his cheek. “What was that for?” he said with a deep, troubled frown.
Then, to Bai Ruyi’s complete and utter shock, Qing Xue used the hem of his sleeve to rub his cheek ha
