Embroidered paths find no fellow scribe to share the brush; by the green window, who plays the painter of brows? The spring breeze for ten miles cuts through the heart with longing.

Painting one’s eyebrows was, by rights, something meant to pass between husband and wife—yet here was Ziqing, herself still a bride awaiting her wedding, letting Xuanyuan Lige draw her brows instead.

Perhaps, were this not a dream, Ziqing never would have agreed—but all of this existed within a dream, within the very last dream of Xuanyuan Lige’s entire life!

Off to the side, Baili Weisheng and Xiong Xiaobao were doing everything they could think of to give Jun Beiyue a hard time, while here, Ziqing sat quietly before her mirror stand, eyes gently closed, utterly at peace.

Xuanyuan Lige’s hand, so accustomed to plucking zither strings, now held a brush instead, gently tracing along the curve of her brow, following the line outward with delicate care.

Stroke by stroke, he painted slowly—very, very slowly.

In truth, he had no idea how to paint eyebrows—how could he possibly know such a thing, having never once held a brush of this kind before? He simply traced gently along the natural line of Ziqing’s own brows.

Watching her sit there with her eyes gently closed, so peaceful, he found himself feeling a pang of guilt he couldn’t quite shake, as though he were somehow taking advantage of her, wronging her in some way.

Everything within this dream, after all, was entirely of his own making—including Ziqing’s own wishes, including the joy she felt facing this wedding!

In truth, even he didn’t know—with her child already this grown, would she still feel that same nervousness and joy of a newlywed bride, facing her wedding, that same anticipation and longing?

But he wished for her to feel it!

Within the dream, he had even shaped her emotions himself, wanting her to be happy, wanting her to experience and feel that nervousness every woman was surely meant to feel at least once in her lifetime.

A dream could go on like this forever, if he wished it.

But Xuanyuan Lige’s strength, and Bai Zili’s as well, both had their limits. Everyone within the dream had no idea that this dream of theirs was not merely a beautiful dream, but simultaneously a gathering of the very power needed to open Lishang’s exit.

However reluctant Xuanyuan Lige felt, he finally set down the brush.

The moment he set it down, Ziqing’s eyes flew open at once, and she studied her own eyebrows carefully, smiling. “They look lovely!”

Just then, a loud shout suddenly rang out from beyond the door. “Han Ziqing, marry me!”

That voice—unmistakably Jun Beiyue’s!

Ziqing froze, whipping her head around, her face instantly flushing crimson with embarrassment, wishing desperately she could find a crack in the floor to disappear into!

Of course, she could hardly imagine how mortifying it must be for Jun Beiyue himself, shouting like that outside the door in front of so many people—and that man had shouted at the top of his lungs, no less.

“Ziqing, did you hear that?” Baili Weisheng shouted too, ostensibly asking Ziqing but calling it out toward the door instead.

Ziqing was about to answer that yes, she’d heard, when Xiong Xiaobao quickly signaled for her to stay quiet, turning instead to shout loudly at Baili Weisheng, “My mommy says she didn’t hear it!”

“Didn’t hear it?” Baili Weisheng looked utterly incredulous, then called out to the person beyond the door, “Louder! The bride didn’t hear you!”

A moment later, another thunderous shout came from beyond the door. “Han Ziqing, I am devoted to you—marry me!”

This shout was truly deafening—even Baili Weisheng and Xiong Xiaobao were left impressed, turning to look at Ziqing, who stood there dazed, at a complete loss for what to do.

“Mommy, still didn’t hear it?” Xiong Xiaobao asked timidly.

“I… I heard, I heard it,” Ziqing answered, just as timidly.

“Then tell Daddy you heard it!” Xiong Xiaobao pressed further.

Ziqing, quite foolishly, actually called out loudly, “I heard you!”

But the moment the words left her mouth, seeing the barely-contained laughter on everyone’s faces around her, she realized instantly that she too had been played for a fool. Flustered and embarrassed, her face flushing redder than a ripe apple, she was just about to scold this cheeky little troublemaker of a son—when Xiong Xiaobao spoke first. “Mommy, don’t just hear it—you have to answer Daddy back!”

Xiong Xiaobao had clearly done it deliberately, shouting loudly enough that everyone outside gathered for the wedding heard it too, and they immediately joined in the chant, “Answer him! Answer him! Answer him!”

Ziqing could make out those voices—she recognized Yingzi’s voice among them, Guxi’s voice too, and even Situ Haonan and his wife!

They had all come too!

“Answer him! Answer him! Answer him!”

The calls from outside grew louder and more fervent by the second—even if Ziqing had clapped both hands over Xiong Xiaobao’s mouth right now, it wouldn’t have made the slightest difference!

Between him and Baili Weisheng, were they really giving the groom a hard time, or the bride? Was this really how “family from the bride’s side” was supposed to behave?

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Ziqing grew tense and flustered, and pressed so hard, her mind went completely blank.

“Mistress, answer him!” Even Hongyi joined the chorus of encouragement.

Helplessly, Ziqing raised her head and looked toward Xuanyuan Lige, who had always stood silently by her side, her gaze pleading for rescue.

Seeing that look in her eyes, if he claimed it didn’t ache his heart, that would be an outright lie!

Xuanyuan Lige’s heart ached so much it felt as though it might simply give out!

“Silly girl…” he said with a doting smile, “just answer that you agree.”

Only then did Ziqing come to her senses—why on earth had she thought she needed to shout out “I’m devoted to you” the same way Jun Beiyue had? All she needed to do was voice her agreement.

So, rather foolishly, she called out loudly, “I agree!”

Before she’d shouted those words, she hadn’t thought much of it—but the moment she called them out, her heart suddenly tightened just slightly, an indescribable feeling washing over her, sweet and full, impossible to put into words.

It was only at that moment that, beyond her nervousness, she finally felt something else entirely—the realization that she really was getting married.

Truly, genuinely, becoming a man’s wife, becoming the mistress of a household, in every real sense of the word.

Ziqing clenched her jaw, and the nervousness she felt in this moment was entirely different from anything she’d felt before.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Lige’s gaze had already left her. He walked to the door and personally opened it himself.

There stood Jun Beiyue right at the threshold, breathtakingly handsome, as though a god had descended to earth, commanding and noble all at once. He held a small brocade box in his hands, nodding toward Xuanyuan Lige and Baili Weisheng before striding forward toward Ziqing.

Ziqing should have been facing the mirror, but there was no time for that now—she simply stared, dazed, as Jun Beiyue strode toward her. Before she could even collect herself, Jun Beiyue had already dropped to one knee.

A flicker of surprise crossed Ziqing’s heart. Had this been a modern-day gesture, kneeling like this would have meant little at all.

But this man was a sovereign ruler of an entire nation! Beneath his knees lay far more than mere gold and riches.

Yet Jun Beiyue had already knelt down regardless, gazing up at her with a look brimming with devotion, love, commanding authority, and utter determination to claim her—a look that made even Ziqing, genuinely, blush with embarrassment.

Even after all these years together, he could still make her blush this hard with nothing more than a look, forcing her to lower her head, avoiding his gaze.

“You’re so beautiful.”

At this, Jun Beiyue broke into a hearty laugh, personally opening the small brocade box himself—and inside, she found, was a jade anklet, strung with a dozen or so smooth, rounded jade beads, each a different color, utterly flawless, giving some sense of just how precious this jade truly was.

He gently lifted Ziqing’s right foot, lifting the hem of her long skirt to reveal her fair, jade-white foot beneath—and it was only then that Ziqing gasped in surprise. “You…!”