"Huang Shu… Huang Shu… why…" Yunyu murmured in his sleep. He kept calling his husband in his sleep.

"Huang Shu… I… I don't want… same… mistake…"

"Huang Shu… husband… why…"

Huang Shu, who was sleeping beside Yunyu, was awakened by his wife's sleeptalk. He blinked few times and rubbed his eyes. He stared at his wife, who kept murmuring.

"Huang… don't… marry me…"

Huang Shu held his breath once he listened to Yunyu's mumble. He started recalling whether he did something wrong in this timeline, but everything went smoothly. Thus, he just hugged Yunyu's body tightly, not wanting to let go.

…

"NO!" Yunyu jolted and opened his eyes immediately. Bai Yunyu saw Huang Shu still hugging him, and their eyes met in this bed they shared together.

Yunyu was so scared and heartbroken in that dream that he was grieving so much.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Huang Shu asked worriedly.

Yunyu stared at Huang Shu and slowly put his palm on Huang Shu's cheek. He smiled bitterly and said, "Huang Shu, in my dream, you banished me to the Cold Palace because I've been infertile, a useless wife that can't bear you a child…"

"You accused me of poisoning your child with another woman, and I would never admit something that I didn't do…"

"So you banished me for two years until I died out of starvation. It was during winter, and my body was so cold, I can't even feel my fingers anymore…"

Yunyu seemed to be heartbroken when he said that. He kept his bitter smile, but tears started flowing down and wet his pillow.

"Huang Shu, you won't do that to me, right?"

Huang Shu felt that his heart was pierced by a cold knife as it slowly made him bleed out of pain. He knew how guilty he was. Whenever he imagined how much slow torture he put to his beloved wife, it would hurt his conscience even more.

"I… I would never do something like that, wife. I told you once that you and I will be a pair of lovebirds, right? There will be no other birds in our beautiful nest…"

Huang Shu hugged Yunyu tighter and caressed his hair. He gently pushed Yunyu to rest in his chest as he kept sobbing until he fell asleep again.

'So Yunyu still retains the memory subconsciously…' Huang Shu pondered. He thought that he could completely erase Yunyu's memory about his life in the Cold Palace.

But now, this only made him both anxious and eager.

He was anxious that Yunyu might remember it sooner or later, but he was also eager to prove to Yunyu that he wasn't like the one back then.

'I will make sure to compensate for everything.'

**

Bai Yunyu woke up a bit late, and when he woke up, Huang Shu had personally brought the breakfast to their room.

Huang Shu smiled, and he approached Yunyu in the bed. He kissed Yunyu's lips gently, "Good morning, wife. Do you want to eat now?"

Yunyu was still dazed. Last night dream was too real for him. He kept imagining if that actually happened to him before. But when he saw his husband right now, he felt that he was ridiculous.

Obviously, Huang Shu was treating him like his Empress.

Bai Yunyu felt guilty because he actually accused Huang Shu just because of a stupid dream.

Bai Yunyu joined Huang Shu at the table, and then they ate breakfast.

Yunyu was surprised by the amount of food on the table for breakfast. It was really so much and luxurious, "This is only for breakfast?"

"Yes, Wife. You need to eat a lot."

"Aish, I cannot eat everything. This food is for five people!" Yunyu complained, but he picked up the chopstick and started eating.

Huang Shu felt warm all over when he saw Yunyu was eating so well. He remembered this was his Emperor's daily food every day in the previous timeline, but he always had no appetite because Yunyu wasn't with him. He didn't like to eat alone without his wife.

He tried eating with the concubines once, but it only made him concerned over and over about Bai Yunyu.

Yet, his pride and Yunyu's stubbornness only made things worse for both of them.

Bai Yunyu glanced at Huang Shu, who kept on staring at him, "What? Why are you staring at me like that? Go eat now. You have a lot to do for ministry report!"

Huang Shu chuckled and ate his portion, "Okay, Wife."

Both of them ate together, Yunyu was full, but Huang Shu kept on adding food to his plate, "Try this one, you need to eat a lot of fish and meat. I can't let you get too thin."

"If you keep stuffing me with food, I'll get fat instead!"

"That's alright. As long as you're happy and healthy, everything else doesn't matter."

Yunyu pouted because Huang Shu treated him so well, it made him unable to refuse.

Thus, Yunyu ate until he couldn't stuff any more food.

Huang Shu was satisfied and wiped his wife's lips. Though, Yunyu dodged it and said, "I can wipe it myself. Aish, you are the Emperor. Why would you wipe my lips!?"

"Because I want to do it. I am the Emperor. Nobody won't be able to criticize me," Huang Shu said.

"But—"

Yunyu zipped his mouth as Huang Shu started wiping his lips with a handkerchief gently. He stared at Huang Shu and blushed, "Y—You are too much. I'm not a pampered young miss from a noble family…"

"Doesn't matter. I just want to pamper you," Huang Shu said. 'And I want to compensate for everything, Wife,' he added in his heart.

After the mood got better, Huang Shu was about to leave to prepare himself for the ministry morning report, but before he left, he said to Yunyu,

"Wife, I've been thinking about introducing you to the noble circle. You know that you will be my Empress, right? You should know the nobles. So I've planned an imperial banquet for you, for us."

Yunyu gulped when he heard the words, 'noble' and 'banquet'. Because he knew it would be difficult for him to fit in.

Well, he had plenty of his fellow scholars that he knew, or army lieutenant or young general, who were actually the son of nobles, so they would probably attend as well. But the circle would be completely different, and they wouldn't be able to talk freely anymore.

Because he was married now, and he didn't want Huang Shu to be jealous, knowing him who defeated one of Yunyu's suitor in a duel with such fury, just because that man was boasting around the capital city that Bai Yunyu would marry him.

"Do you think it's necessary?" Yunyu asked anxiously. He never knew those nobles closely unless they were his dad's shop customer.

"It's fine, don't worry. I just want to show the world that you will be my Empress, no matter what," Huang Shu said confidently.

Yunyu had an ominous feeling. He felt that something wrong might happen, especially since his mother in law, Empress Dowager, already cemented her hatred towards him just for being a Ger man.

'But I still have to attend. Huang Shu seems to be so eager about this…'

Yunyu sighed and nodded, "Yes, you can hold the banquet, and I will attend, as long as you're staying with me."