“The peach blossom wine of Yuzhou has a story—I wonder if Miss has heard it?” In the private room of the wine house, the man lowered his head and stroked the rim of his cup, his words carrying a hint of bashfulness.

Qiu Xinran nodded, then asked curiously, “Is that story true?”

“I don’t know about that,” Zhang Rong smiled. “But I’ve heard that the Penglai Residence was originally the wine shop opened by that woman, which is why their peach blossom wine is particularly famous in the area.”

Qiu Xinran hadn’t expected there to be such a connection, and said admiringly, “For that woman to have a wine shop yet still be able to leave just like that—she truly had some courage.”

This time it was Zhang Rong’s turn to pause in bewilderment: “Left?”

The two stared at each other, and after a moment Qiu Xinran asked in confusion, “Didn’t that young lady eventually leave here and return to Jiangnan?”

Zhang Rong shook his head with a laugh: “Who told you that?” He continued, “Before the woman left, she said she missed the peach blossom wine from her hometown. Upon hearing this, the man rode through the night across a thousand miles to find where they sold peach blossom wine. On the day the woman was preparing to depart, he indeed brought back a jar of peach blossom wine. Seeing this, the woman’s heart was moved, and so in the end she stayed beyond the passes and became his wife. Together they opened a wine shop that specialized in selling this wine.”

Qiu Xinran was somewhat dumbfounded, wondering why Xia Xiuyan had made up an ending to deceive her, when she heard Zhang Rong continue: “Later this story spread, and whenever local men encountered someone they fancied, they would bring this wine to their door. Upon seeing it, the other party would know his intentions. If the woman was also interested in the man, she would drink the wine; if she had no interest, she would refuse to drink. Over time, it gradually became a custom. This wine has a sweet and refreshing taste, and being called peach blossom wine, it became famous locally as a marriage wine.”

When he finished speaking, he raised his eyes to look across at her, his gaze carrying some expectation. But Qiu Xinran was startled, her mind completely blank. The Eight Trigrams contained sixty-four hexagrams, each hexagram with six lines, totaling three hundred eighty-four lines. These she could calculate mentally at a glance with flying speed, but just now Zhang Rong had only spoken a few sentences, altogether just about a hundred characters, yet she felt completely unable to sort them out.

“You say this wine is used to confess one’s feelings to someone—then ordinarily, would someone properly invite another to drink this wine for no reason?”

“Outsiders might order a pot to try something novel, but locals mostly wouldn’t.”

According to this reasoning, if Xia Xiuyan had only wanted her to try something novel, why did he end up drinking the wine alone? But if he meant that…

Qiu Xinran’s heartbeat quickened. Zhang Rong saw her face alternately flushing and paling, thinking it was because of his words, and couldn’t help pressing on with determination: “Miss has a pure and kind nature, and I have admired you for a long time. I wonder if Miss would be willing to go to Qingzhou with me?”

Qiu Xinran stared at him in a daze, taking quite a while to understand the meaning in his words. Her expression shifted from bewilderment to astonishment, and the wrist holding the wine cup trembled. The cup tipped over on the table, and the pale red wine instantly flowed along the table surface to the floor.

She hastily reached out to steady it. Seeing this, Zhang Rong called out softly, “Careful!” Only then did Qiu Xinran realize that in her panic, her sleeve had brushed across the table surface and gotten her right hand wet.

At this moment, she heard the man across from her laugh in self-mockery: “Even if Miss has no feelings for me, there’s no need to be so frightened as to spill all the wine.”

Qiu Xinran raised her head and found no anger on his face, which made her slightly relieved. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom to wipe the wine stains from her sleeve clean, then sat up properly to answer: “I was indeed startled for a moment just now, and I hope the General won’t blame me.” She continued, “Though I’m grateful for the General’s feelings toward me, I cannot rashly accept out of gratitude. I’m afraid I must disappoint the General regarding the invitation to Qingzhou.”

Zhang Rong had known from the start that she likely didn’t harbor the same feelings for him, but still hadn’t expected her to refuse so decisively. He couldn’t help asking one more question: “Does Miss already have someone in her heart?”

Qiu Xinran’s face showed hesitation. After a moment, feeling there was nothing to hide, she simply nodded.

Zhang Rong hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Is that person the Marquis Dingbei?” When he finished asking and saw her startled reaction, he instantly understood. Beyond some bitterness, there was also a bit of expected amusement.

Seeing him smile bitterly, Qiu Xinran felt uneasy. This was her first time encountering such a situation, and she truly felt at a loss inside. Fortunately, Zhang Rong quickly raised his head and said gently, “My speaking these words to Miss today was truly presumptuous. I hope Miss won’t feel any burden.”

Qiu Xinran opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, when she saw him smile faintly at her: “Because even if I had to do this again, even with the Marquis here, I would still have to say these words.” When he spoke these words, he somewhat resembled that young man who had charged about the palace in his youth with a proud expression. He raised his own cup, still filled with wine, and said to her, “Meeting Miss has been my good fortune. After today’s parting, I will wish Miss peace and happiness from afar in Qingzhou.”

Qiu Xinran was moved. In the end, she didn’t touch the wine cup on the table, but instead looked up at him and said sincerely, “I wish the General good health and great accomplishments.”

After Zhang Rong left, she sat alone in the second-floor private room, staring blankly at the table full of dishes. The white porcelain wine cup on the table was particularly conspicuous, with a bit of wine still left inside untouched. She reached out to bring the wine cup before her, gazing at the pale red wine inside. Zhang Rong had said this wine was a marriage wine. He had brought this wine to find her, asking if she would go with him to Qingzhou. That day, Xia Xiuyan had also ordered a pot—what had he wanted to ask her?

The door to the private room was suddenly pushed open forcefully from outside. Before she could react, she saw the person who had just been in her thoughts suddenly appear before her eyes.

The man who pushed through the door didn’t look as he usually did. Glancing at the empty wine cup on the table, he couldn’t control his cutting tone: “Just because you passed along a message for him, he plans to repay you with undying gratitude? Then should I repay you by offering myself in marriage?”

Hearing this sentence, Qiu Xinran felt as if someone had set off a muffled thunderclap by her ear. It instantly exploded, making her eardrums buzz. In that instant, she recalled what Zhang Rong had said earlier in this room about the peach blossom wine. She stared wide-eyed at the person before her.

Xia Xiuyan seemed to only then realize what he had said, and couldn’t help but press his lips together in vexation.

“Why did the Marquis invite me to drink peach blossom wine?” She had been thinking about this question all along, and now seeing him, she was possessed to ask it aloud.

Xia Xiuyan’s phoenix eyes widened. What he thought was: She indeed already knows the meaning of that wine.

As soon as this thought surfaced, his heart couldn’t help but sink further: She knew the meaning of that wine, yet still drank it.

He laughed self-mockingly: “Since you already know, why are you asking me?”

Qiu Xinran said softly, “If the Marquis doesn’t say it, how would I know?”

Xia Xiuyan glared at her angrily, as if he had suffered some tremendous grievance, his eyes about to redden from anger at her.

Qiu Xinran’s heart softened, and she asked again, “Does the Marquis hope I’ll stay in Yuzhou?”

The man’s body stiffened, as if his thoughts had been called out in broad daylight before everyone, feeling humiliated; yet also like a criminal finally receiving his sentence, feeling relieved. So his eyes gazed at her, and after a long time he finally surrendered, burying his head by her ear so she couldn’t see his expression.

Qiu Xinran felt a slightly warm breath by her neck. She had just moved her neck when she heard him say, “I hope more than anyone else in this world that you’ll stay here.”

She instantly froze in place, her heart melting into a pool of spring water in that moment.

After saying this, Xia Xiuyan felt empty inside, feeling dejected yet also shy. But soon, he felt an arm encircle his waist. His heartbeat seemed to come alive again instantly, and he instinctively gripped the woman’s wrist tightly. But immediately he caught a very faint peach blossom fragrance from her, and thinking of the empty wine cup on the table, he pushed her away somewhat angrily: “You…”

Qiu Xinran looked up at him. The two were close together. Xia Xiuyan suddenly noticed a pale red water stain on her sleeve, his gaze shifting slightly. He looked toward her right side and only then discovered a puddle of wine on the wooden floor beneath her feet that hadn’t yet dried.

“You knocked over the wine?” He furrowed his brow and asked her in disbelief.

Qiu Xinran smiled with pursed lips: “I don’t think I knocked over peach blossom wine—I clearly knocked over peach blossom vinegar.”

Xia Xiuyan’s ears reddened. Qiu Xinran laughed. He reached out in embarrassed annoyance to cover her mouth, concealing most of her face, leaving only a pair of peach blossom eyes exposed outside, their corners smiling as they looked at him. Those eyes were even more eloquent than her mouth. The man’s handsome face also couldn’t help but take on three parts heat. After a while, he still asked uneasily, “You truly didn’t drink that wine?”

Qiu Xinran blinked and reached out to move the hand he had covering her mouth away: “I didn’t drink the Marquis’s wine either.”

“That time doesn’t count,” Xia Xiuyan glanced at her, his gaze faintly carrying some deeper meaning. “If I invited you, would you drink it?”

This time it was Qiu Xinran’s turn to feel embarrassed. She turned her eyes away and said quietly, “You speak nicely, but after two visits, I haven’t gotten to drink even a single sip.”

The person before her stepped back half a pace, and the oppressive feeling covering her body immediately disappeared by more than half. Qiu Xinran looked up to see him turn and grab the wine bottle from the table, shaking it. There was still a bit of wine liquid left inside. He suddenly raised his hand and poured it all into his mouth, then gave her a deep look and suddenly leaned down toward her.

Qiu Xinran felt warmth on her lips and teeth. His long, slender fingers pressed against her neck, drawing her into his embrace. Unlike that out-of-control kiss on Fuji Mountain at dawn, perhaps because he was conscious, this kiss actually seemed somewhat clumsy. He kissed her gently and carefully, slowly yet irresistibly transferring the wine liquid from his mouth to hers. Qiu Xinran caught the scent of peach blossoms, but it was no longer the faint, barely-there fragrance—it had become intense and sweet, making her feel hot all over, almost unable to breathe.

Qiu Xinran didn’t taste any wine flavor at all, yet felt her entire being had been intoxicated by the wine’s essence. When he drew back slightly, she still couldn’t quite come to her senses and could only stare at him blankly.

Xia Xiuyan’s entire eye corners had reddened. With one hand stroking the woman’s cheek, lowering his eyes he could see below her slightly red nose tip, lips more burning than peach blossoms—a color that made him unable to control himself as he brought his lips closer again, wanting to wipe away that bit of moisture on her lips.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” his lips moved slightly, pressing against hers as he said softly, “The peach blossom wine is yours, you are mine.”

Qiu Xinran felt a tingling at the tip of her heart. She pinched her fingertips hard to summon back a trace of clarity and argued on principle: “But you just said you were offering yourself in marriage.”

Hearing this, the man seemed to chuckle softly. He breathed out a puff of air that scorched her breath to a halt, then she heard him laugh in a muffled voice: “Fine, it’s settled then.”

The server stood at the stairway entrance. Seeing the two emerge from the private room, he couldn’t help but curiously sweep his gaze over them both. Qiu Xinran now understood why his gaze had been so strange when looking at her those previous times. Then she heard Xia Xiuyan say to him, “Another pot of peach blossom wine.”

Qiu Xinran turned to look at him. She saw him cough once and say with feigned casualness, “That pot just now counts as me buying it. This pot can count as Zhang Rong sending it to the residence.”

Qiu Xinran found his calculating manner somewhat amusing, but thinking of that sip of wine just now, she ultimately didn’t have the nerve to laugh at him to his face.

The two rode horses back to the residence. Xia Xiuyan had stolen away and needed to hurry back. When handing her the wine, he deliberately put on a stern face to instruct her: “Give this wine to Auntie Zhang. You’re not allowed to drink it, understand?”

Qiu Xinran’s eyes looked at him sideways. The man couldn’t help but smile again: “In a couple days when we go to the donation ceremony, I’ll take you to try their wine.”

When Auntie Zhang saw her return so early in the entrance hall, she was somewhat surprised: “Why has Miss Qiu returned so early today?” Qiu Xinran handed her the wine in her hands. Before she could think of how to explain, she saw her exclaim in surprise, “This is… did Miss buy this herself?”

“It’s General Zhang who invited…”

“General Zhang invited you?” Auntie Zhang called out softly, her face serious as she looked at her. Qiu Xinran’s heart trembled, exactly like when she was a teenager on the mountain. A junior martial brother from her sect had taken her along to sneak down the mountain to drink wine, and when they went back up the mountain and her master caught them, this was exactly his expression.

“No, no,” Qiu Xinran stammered, inexplicably becoming nervous, again like returning to childhood. “This was bought by the Marquis. I drank the other cup. He said this cup counts as General Zhang inviting the residence.”

“The Marquis invited you?” Auntie Zhang was startled again. “He tricked you into drinking it?”

“I know what this wine means.” Qiu Xinran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, kindly explaining for him, “The Marquis didn’t deceive me.”

Auntie Zhang nodded thoughtfully. Although she didn’t quite understand the ins and outs of the matter, she was quite good at grasping the key point: “So you’re saying, Miss Qiu and the Marquis, you two are…”

Qiu Xinran’s face flushed red. She suddenly understood why Xia Xiuyan had her carry this wine back but didn’t enter the door himself. In her heart she cursed Xia Xiuyan several times over, though her words remained relatively composed: “I need to go back to my room to change clothes. This wine… just take this wine back to the kitchen.”

Seeing the young woman’s manner carrying some bashfulness, Auntie Zhang knew she was shy. The smile on her face became even more evident, though she didn’t press with more questions. After Qiu Xinran hurriedly turned and went to the inner courtyard, she also busily carried the wine to find Uncle Liu to tell him about it.