Extra: News of Cows and Sheep in the Wind-Blown Grass

Once they confirmed Little Dumpling was safe and sound, Prince Nolan and Serena Feng finally felt at ease enough to enjoy themselves. Serena had nearly mastered that tune—using Prince Nolan’s words, it was "pleasant enough to the ear."

But no matter how Serena played, that tune never managed to attract birds. Even when Prince Nolan played the melody right beside her, the birds only circled from afar and never came close...

Prince Nolan was thoroughly frustrated; he had dreamed of standing with Serena beneath the moon, surrounded by a hundred birds, but now it could only remain a fantasy.

"You—"

Prince Nolan was just about to complain when Serena hurriedly cut him off, exclaiming in frustration, "These birds are just too timid! I’m not going to shoot them down to eat!"

Does he really have to dislike her this much?

"I haven’t even said anything about you yet, and you’re already blaming the birds." Prince Nolan, amused and exasperated, couldn’t help but tap Serena on the head with his flute.

Serena winced from the pain and retaliated with a punch to Prince Nolan. "You’re old enough—try acting mature for once and stop behaving like a little boy."

This kind of childish flirting and bickering didn’t really suit them.

"Who are you calling old, me or yourself?" Prince Nolan bit down hard on the word "me," leaning in close to Serena, his threat clear without needing words...

"Uh..." Serena Feng swallowed nervously and replied with caution, "I—I—I meant I'm getting on in years." That answer should be safe, right?

But in reality...

Smack—

Nolan Dongling tapped Serena on the head again with his bamboo flute. "I'm older than you. So if you call yourself old, are you secretly saying I'm old too?"

"Not at all." Serena rubbed her head, afraid Nolan would press the issue, and quickly changed the subject. "You hit too hard. It hurts."

Seeing her looking so pitiful, maybe he should let her off the hook.

Whenever she sparred with Nolan, she never came out ahead.

Unfortunately, this trick didn’t work this time. Nolan smirked, "I know exactly how hard to hit. You’re not hurt. Don't try to change the subject—are you saying I'm old?"

"Really, I swear to heaven I'm not." Serena raised her hand as if to take an oath, but Nolan quickly pressed it down. "No need for random oaths. I believe you."

He was just teasing Serena. After all, she always found ways to mess with him—dragging his scent-sensitive self through crowds of perfumed girls, knowing he was allergic...

"You're really not old at all. Where else could I find such a good-looking old man?" Serena snuggled into Nolan's arms, her fingers absentmindedly twisting his long hair.

Nolan was much older than her, but he didn’t look it. Years of experience and more than a decade as regent had only made him more alluring.

Handsome, wise, steady, powerful—he was a man who combined looks and authority. He only got more charming with time. Just look at all those noble ladies in Jiangnan, falling over each other to get close to him.

"You know exactly how attractive you are. The moment you walk into a crowd, every young lady stares at you, dropping handkerchiefs and sachets left and right." Serena joked, not jealous at all—just teasing.

Nolan was allergic to floral scents, but every girl who 'accidentally' bumped into him was drenched in perfume. More than once, after walking with Serena through the streets, he’d come home covered in red welts.

Okay, Serena admitted—she’d set him up on purpose more than a few times.

Just mentioning it made Nolan annoyed. He warned Serena sternly, "Don’t let it happen again."

"Well..." Serena let go of his hair. "I really can’t promise that."

With that, she spun around and ran off, leaving Nolan to sigh and chase after her.

Having a wife this mischievous—he wasn’t sure it was a blessing or a curse, but he sure enjoyed it.

As they got closer to the grasslands, the sky grew brighter and bluer—so vivid it looked like a painting, pure blue and spotless white. You’d never see a sky like this in the Capital.

Serena wanted to capture the scene, but without a camera and unable to draw, she was stuck.

With no other option, Serena turned to Nolan, her multi-talented partner. Compared to her, Nolan was almost too perfect—master of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, each skill enviable.

If you want a horse to run fast, you have to feed it well. Same goes for Nolan—if she wanted him to paint, it wasn’t enough to keep him well-fed; she had to be sweet and attentive too.

While Nolan painted, Serena couldn’t leave his side. She mixed his pigments, ground his ink, and whenever she had a moment, she fed him snacks.

Honestly, Nolan had picked up some bad habits—thanks to Serena always feeding him while he read, he’d gotten used to having something in his mouth all the time.

It takes more than a day or two to finish a good painting. Nolan let their party camp in place for three days just to make Serena happy.

When the painting was finally done, Serena couldn’t stop praising it.

Nolan was even better than a camera—he brought the grassland to life on paper, making you long to run there yourself. "Little Dumpling and Sweet Dumpling will definitely rush here when they see this," Serena said.

She wasn’t exaggerating. Because Serena loved the scenery, Nolan poured his own fondness into the painting.

With emotion poured in, the painting seemed to come alive.

"You could mount it and send it to Sweet Dumpling," Nolan suggested. Little Dumpling could wait—getting their daughter to visit would be nice enough.

"No way, this is my personal treasure. Hurry—stamp it." Serena quickly hid the painting and kept urging Nolan to stamp it.

When Nolan reached for his private seal, Serena stopped him. "No, use the emperor’s jade seal."

A mark from the founding emperor’s seal—priceless.

Nolan shook his head at Serena’s antics. "You little money-grubber. Planning to sell my painting?"

Still, Nolan had the shadow guards fetch the jade seal, stamped the painting, and signed his name. Just like that...

The painting’s value soared.

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To this day, Nolan had never let any of his writing or paintings circulate publicly.

Nolan didn’t like to show off. His calligraphy and paintings rivaled any master, but he never displayed them in public. Only Serena was lucky enough to see his work.

Serena waited for the ink to dry before carefully lifting the painting. "If I ever run out of silver, I could always sell this." Not that she’d ever be short on money again...

"Didn’t you say it was a personal treasure? What, planning to sell it now?" Nolan warned, "If you dare sell my painting, I’ll make sure you won’t get out of bed for half a month."

"If that day ever comes, I can’t just cling to a scroll and starve, can I?" Serena shot Nolan a look.

Didn’t he know she’d always been practical?

Back in the day, she’d swiped plenty of paintings from her senior sister, planning to sell them once her sister became famous. Too bad she never got the chance.

"As long as I’m here, that day will never come." Nolan stepped forward to help Serena roll up the painting. "I’ll have someone mount it for you."

"No need. We’ll do it ourselves once we’re back at the palace." Mounting a painting took skill, but Serena was eager to learn—if she mastered it, she could coax Nolan into painting even more.

"Why don’t you paint a few more? I’ll mount them all together when we’re back." Serena thought it, so she said it.

"You really don’t know when to quit." Nolan couldn’t find anything handy, so he tapped Serena’s head again. "What, you think I’m a court painter? If you want more, just get the palace artists to paint some."

"No way. If it’s not painted by you, I’m not interested." Serena turned away, proud as ever.

"Fine. If there’s a chance, I’ll paint more for you." Nolan promised gently, lips curving in a smile as he gazed at Serena, eyes full of laughter and undisguised affection.

If they had a camera, or a palace painter, they’d definitely want to capture this moment.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, the emperor and empress stood side by side—a scene so beautiful it could make anyone’s heart flutter. The affection flowing between them was enough to make anyone long for such love.

Even the shadow guards watching nearby were entranced.

The emperor and empress were truly a perfect match. There was no room for anyone else between them—not even the crown prince or little princess could stand between them without spoiling the moment.

With the painting in hand, Serena’s next wish was to gallop across the grassland on horseback. But for now, that plan would have to wait—

They were in the middle of a vast, empty plain, nowhere near a village or inn. Even finding two good horses wouldn’t be easy. Before Serena could ride, they’d have to find Evan Zhou and Yana Zhan first.

Nolan and Serena hadn’t sent word ahead, so Evan and Yana had no idea to wait at home for them.

When Nolan and Serena arrived at the tribe where Evan and Yana lived, they found the camp empty. The friendly herdsmen said Evan and Yana were out, return time unknown, but Evan’s eldest son was at home.

At least someone was home. Nolan and Serena politely declined the herders’ invitation to stay, and with their shadow guards, headed for Evan’s family tent.

The arrival of several dozen obviously distinguished guests naturally drew attention. Evan’s son, warned by the herders, knew a group of important people had come looking for his parents.

Evan’s son was only seven, but he acted like a little grown-up. He wasn’t shy at all when he saw Nolan and Serena—he stepped forward and boldly asked for their names.

"I’m Serena Feng. Has your father ever mentioned me?" Serena didn’t hesitate to give her real name.

Most people—even in the Capital—didn’t know Serena Feng was the empress’s real name. But Evan’s son did. The moment she said it, his expression changed...

His father had told him: the current empress is called Serena Feng, she’s his older sister, which means she’s his imperial aunt...