Yu Jingchen carried Nan Zhiyun back to He'an Hall. Nan Zhiyun was rather silent along the way, and Yu Jingchen did not speak either. Fortunately, He Qianxia and the other person exchanged glances behind them, unsure of what was happening between them.
Upon returning to He'an Hall, Yu Jingchen gently placed her down and sat her on his lap.
"Yun'er, were you scared again just now?" Yu Jingchen asked her.
Nan Zhiyun glanced at Yu Jingchen, but did not answer. Instead, she hugged Yu Jingchen again and buried her face in his embrace.
"What's wrong?" Yu Jingchen looked somewhat helpless. Had this girl been frightened by him again today?
"It's nothing~" Nan Zhiyun's voice sounded somewhat muffled.
"Alright..." Yu Jingchen didn't know how to comfort her, so he resorted to the simplest method: holding her and patting her back.
In truth, even Nan Zhiyun herself didn't know what was going on. She seemed to have become particularly sensitive lately, often getting angry or unhappy for no apparent reason.
"I don't know what's wrong with me..." Nan Zhiyun finally spoke.
"I'm just inexplicably unhappy, Your Majesty..." Nan Zhiyun released her arms from Yu Jingchen's embrace and looked at him with bright eyes.
"Have I become bad? Am I becoming strange?" Nan Zhiyun was experiencing some self-doubt. She often became unhappy suddenly, and sometimes felt like throwing a tantrum.
Yu Jingchen smiled upon hearing this, then naturally placed his hand on Nan Zhiyun's head. "How could that be? The Yun'er of today is very good, and is getting better and better. Look, aren't you braver now? You can make requests of me, you can act spoiled, and sometimes you like to joke around and become clingy. You tell me whatever is on your mind, you don't keep it to yourself, you don't deliberately hide things from me, and you're not as afraid of me as before. So, little Yun'er is becoming better and better." Yu Jingchen casually ruffled her hair.
"But my temper has gotten worse... I get unhappy very easily." Nan Zhiyun was like a child who had done something wrong, constantly reflecting on herself.
"No, Yun'er, don't overthink it, and don't think of yourself as being so unbearable. Yun'er is doing very well, and I like the way you are now. Others will like it too. If anyone dislikes you, it's because they are jealous of how good Yun'er is." Yu Jingchen had her sit on his lap and gently soothed her.
"In a couple of days, I'll take you out of the palace. I promised you before that you could go back and see your father every month." Yu Jingchen didn't want Nan Zhiyun to continue dwelling on these thoughts, so he directly mentioned something she cared about to shift her attention.
As expected, upon hearing that she could leave the palace and go home to see her father, Nan Zhiyun's bad mood vanished completely.
"Okay." Nan Zhiyun was truly not much different from a child. These emotions came and went quickly.
Yu Jingchen couldn't help but recall his second life... Nan Zhiyun's disposition in that life was like that of a five or six-year-old child, and he became lost in thought.
At that time, Nan Zhiyun was exceptionally clingy and wanted to be held by him at all times. However... at that time, he was driven by possessiveness and control, and had little patience. Looking back now... perhaps in that life, his treatment of Nan Zhiyun was not entirely about control and possession...