Their lives went on as usual after that, broken only by the rare visits from the Emperor and the more regular ones from Bai Ruyi’s uncles.
Qing Xue’s garden prospered and expanded, eventually coming to include both common and exotic shrubs and flowers, not just the edible crops that they would give to the servants upon harvest.
He had even planted a tree sapling in the yard space directly across their central living area. It was barely more than a twig and only rose as high as Bai Ruyi, but Qing Xue said it was worth the wait for it to grow—when it bloomed, its beauty would be unparalleled, and it would surely add more color and life to their humble residence.
Both in body and mind, the boys also grew up steadily, and in the process, Qing Xue had shed a lot of his childish cluelessness
