The genuine compliment from Luo Binghe is so wholly unexpected that he half-wonders if this isn't really a dream from start to finish, with none of Luo Binghe's intervention.

"Thank you, my lord," he says at last; it's easier to accept if he pretends for a moment that he's still Luo Binghe's servant, and that it's an emperor's indulgent generosity to call him charming and considerate. "I'll find you later when I wake."