After He Ke Xian left, Lu Chi, who had been pretending to be carefree and composed, secretly glanced at the smiling Shi Fa Ke, then silently turned around to face her properly and very efficiently and sincerely apologized: “I’m sorry, A Ke. I was wrong.”

Shi Fa Ke glanced at him sideways. “What were you wrong about?”

“I shouldn’t have deceived you… but I didn’t really deceive you. I am from Lan Prefecture, and I am a scholar,” Lu Chi said, and as he spoke, he seemed to think he made perfect sense and even nodded.

Shi Fa Ke glanced at him coolly.

Lu Chi immediately sat up straight, corrected his attitude, then smiled ingratiatingly at her and grabbed her sleeve to beg for mercy: “However, this scholar… did indeed use some underhanded methods to falsify his registration for the examinations. Being able to sneak into the examination hall and become a scholar was already the limit. To go further… is quite impossible.” At this point, he looked at her guiltily. “So… I might not be able to make you a juren’s wife.”

Hearing this, Shi Fa Ke couldn’t help but spit at him. “Who agreed to be your wife!”

Lu Chi immediately panicked. “Didn’t we agree… we’ve already matched our birth characters, and… and…” His eyes lit up as he suddenly grabbed her wrist and shook it.

The crystal-clear bracelet on her wrist also swayed with the movement.

“This is our Lu family’s heirloom for daughters-in-law! Sister-in-law has a jade pendant that matches your jade bracelet!” Lu Chi said with bright eyes. “So you’ve been my destined bride all along.”

Shi Fa Ke wanted to spit at him again. This was clearly something his father had coaxed from a foolish scholar for six hundred taels of silver! Thinking about it made her want to laugh… but it seemed this foolish scholar wasn’t foolish at all.

If her father knew he’d been tricked by this foolish scholar and lost his daughter in the bargain, he’d be furious enough to break his legs.

This mixture of amusement and exasperation melted into tenderness when she met Lu Chi’s bright eyes, and she couldn’t bear to bully him anymore. He was clearly talented and learned, but limited by his birth and unable to fulfill his ambitions. Today was the day of the autumn examinations—he might not show it on his face, but his heart must be deeply sorrowful…

Shi Fa Ke looked into his eyes, lifted her chin, cleared her throat, and said: “I don’t want to be some juren’s wife anyway. I only want to be a bandit chief’s wife.”

Lu Chi stared at her in a daze, his eyes suddenly brightening.

Frighteningly bright, that burning radiance seemed ready to devour the young lady before him in one bite.

“A Ke, I’m truly happy,” he looked at her and whispered softly. “Really happy.”

When they were settling the bill after their meal, Shi Fa Ke couldn’t help exclaiming: “We only ordered a few dishes and didn’t even order wine—how can it be so expensive!”

“…Our boss said that from now on, when Young Master Lu comes to dine at the restaurant, everything will be double the price,” the young waiter scratched his head and smiled somewhat foolishly. “Our boss says this is called ‘robbing the rich to help the poor’!”

Shi Fa Ke was furious. “He Ke Xian, you profiteer!”

But Lu Chi smiled and pulled A Ke away. “He’s feeling upset. Let him be.”

After all, he had money.

On a certain day after the autumn examinations, joyful news suddenly arrived: Chu Yi Zhi, the eldest son of the Chu family in Tongluo Town, had passed the juren examination. The entire Chu family was overjoyed and moved to the capital. That day, Chu Yi Zhi hesitated for a long time, wanting to visit the Shi family to see Shi Fa Ke one more time, but overcome by the sorrow of parting, he didn’t have the courage to see her again.

Perhaps Heaven took pity on him, as he encountered her on the street.

At that moment, she was smiling as she watched an old gentleman making sugar figurines, her expression vacant, lost in thought.

Chu Yi Zhi knew that at times like this, she was usually just daydreaming… After all, they had grown up together as childhood sweethearts—no one understood her better than he did.

But… how had they come to this point?

“A Ke,” he finally couldn’t help calling out to her.

Shi Fa Ke glanced at him, then showed a slightly surprised expression. “Chu Yi Zhi? I heard your family is moving to the capital?”

So she knew…

Chu Yi Zhi smiled, feeling indescribable emotions. “Indeed, today. After this parting, I don’t know when we’ll meet again. A Ke, you… take care.”

Seeing him like this, Shi Fa Ke also felt somewhat sad—after all, he was a childhood playmate…

Just as she was about to speak, Lu Chi’s voice suddenly rang out from behind: “A Ke, where are you?”

Shi Fa Ke’s heart immediately tightened. Lu Chi had no hope for the imperial examination path in this lifetime—if he saw the newly successful juren Chu Yi Zhi now, wouldn’t that be like stabbing a knife into his heart? All her sadness immediately disappeared, and she hurriedly said: “Take care, until we meet again,” then quickly walked toward Lu Chi’s direction.

“Until we meet again…” Chu Yi Zhi softly murmured these words. He watched with a ashen face as Shi Fa Ke turned and left without a backward glance, then suddenly felt something and looked up, meeting Scholar Lu’s meaningful gaze. He couldn’t help feeling indignant, then felt empty inside.

Over there, Shi Fa Ke, worried that Lu Chi might feel hurt seeing Chu Yi Zhi, quickly pulled him away.

Lu Chi smiled as he glanced at the dejected Chu Yi Zhi, allowing Shi Fa Ke to lead him away.

The sight of their departing figures together pierced Chu Yi Zhi’s eyes. He stood motionless in place, watching them leave. The crowds around him came and went, and though there was liveliness everywhere, for some reason, Chu Yi Zhi felt an overwhelming desolation.

For a long, long time, he finally drooped his shoulders slightly and turned to leave.

In the distant crowd, Shi Fa Ke seemed to sense something and looked back, but through the layers of people, Chu Yi Zhi was already nowhere to be seen.

“A Ke, what are you looking at?” Lu Chi asked.

Shi Fa Ke quickly turned back and smiled at him. “Nothing, I thought I saw someone I knew.”

Lu Chi smiled slightly and didn’t probe further.

Years later, when they met again on the street, Lady Sun was dressed in brocade but her appearance had become increasingly harsh. It was said that Chu Yi Zhi had reached the third rank of officialdom and had taken two concubines into his household.

At that time, Shi Fa Ke was in a jewelry shop, looking down at a jade pendant.

After years of separation, she still had a rosy complexion and retained the charming demeanor of a young girl as before, but now wore a married woman’s hairstyle. Lady Sun hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to ask: “Are you Miss Shi?”

Shi Fa Ke turned around, smiled slightly, and replied: “My married name is Lu.”

Lady Sun immediately remembered the scholar who had stood up for her that day on the street. After all these years, that person’s appearance remained clear in her memory—for no other reason than his looks were truly too dazzling, the most beautiful she had ever seen in her life.

Although Lu Chi was unable to continue on the imperial examination path due to his limited birth, his student Zhu Ke Ji eventually reached the position of Prime Minister, serving the Son of Heaven and assisting in myriad affairs, reaching the pinnacle that all scholars most desired, becoming a model for scholars throughout the realm.

And while this model was dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the court until death for His Imperial Majesty, his unscrupulous teacher was holding his beloved wife, wandering freely and happily throughout the martial world.

But those are all stories for another time.