Qing Xia’s heart jolted with shock. Could it be that Liyuan was secretly transporting grain to the rebel army? Just as she wanted to continue eavesdropping, suddenly urgent footsteps approached, followed by guards shouting loudly: “Someone’s over there!”

Not only was Qing Xia alarmed, but those two men were also greatly startled. Qing Xia knew she could no longer hear anything valuable, so she turned to retreat. But after only two steps, footsteps pursued her like death itself.

“They ran that way!”

Qing Xia frowned. Being discovered by them didn’t matter, but if the Liyuan people learned that she had uncovered their secret collaboration with the enemy, it would definitely cause big trouble.

Her thoughts racing, she lifted the curtain of a nearby white tent, wanting to hide inside.

“Ah! Who’s there!” A low cry suddenly rang out.

Before she could recover, she collided headfirst into a warm chest. In her shock, Qing Xia jerked her head up and suddenly crashed into a pair of bright, dark eyes.

“Miss Xiangju!” The man cried out in great surprise, seeing clearly by the faint moonlight outside the appearance of the woman in his arms.

Qing Xia reacted quickly, stretching out her hand to cover the man’s mouth, making quiet gestures with her mouth to signal him not to make any sound.

The man understood Qing Xia’s hint and foolishly nodded repeatedly.

The footsteps outside gradually faded away. The two stood in the pitch-black tent as cool moonlight shot through gaps in the curtain, illuminating them both with an ethereal quality. Qing Xia leaned against the man’s chest, cautiously listening to the sounds outside. Only when there was complete silence did she let out a long breath.

What luck she was having today, repeatedly overhearing things she shouldn’t hear, and now accidentally stumbling into this fellow’s tent.

Thinking this, Qing Xia coughed softly and naturally pushed away the man’s restraint, freeing herself from his embrace.

“I apologize for the intrusion, Lord Lin.” Qing Xia nodded courteously and politely, smoothing her slightly disheveled hair at her temples.

“Not an intrusion at all! I’m so happy you came to see me!” Lin Mubai said hurriedly, smiling from the heart. Qing Xia saw that he held a fire basin, paper money, and some wine, meat, and pastries, with a scroll tucked under his arm. He wore a blue cotton robe with a hooded cloak, and the candles in his tent had been extinguished. She could guess what sort of activity this fellow was planning to undertake again, and couldn’t help but smile slightly at the thought.

The lie about her being dead would be exposed after all. She hoped Chu Li wouldn’t be angry.

Just as she was thinking this, Scholar Lin’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear. This fellow was very obedient – even though the night patrol soldiers had gone far away, he still cupped his hands around his mouth and spoke very, very quietly: “Miss Xiangju, I was just planning to pay my respects to you. I never expected you would transcend yin and yang to visit me. You must have received my funeral rites and come to see me one last time, right?”

“Ah?” Qing Xia’s smile instantly froze on her face as she stared in disbelief at this scholarly-looking but pig-brained pedantic bookworm.

“I usurped your accomplishments to gain this official position and suffer the torment of conscience day and night. Being able to see you once more today, even if I died, I could rest in peace.”

No matter how wise a person might be, under certain circumstances they could be struck speechless. Qing Xia was in exactly that situation now.

People could be silly or stupid, but they absolutely could not be foolish.

Looking at Scholar Lin’s serious expression, she suddenly didn’t know what to say. She sighed helplessly, propping her hand against her temple and saying weakly: “You still think I’m dead, don’t you?”

“No, no,” Scholar Lin paused, hurriedly waving his hands nervously. “Miss, your noble righteousness – as a woman able to turn the tide in a crisis – truly deserves to be recorded in history and receive worship from future generations. Your spirit of sacrificing yourself for the country will forever live in my heart.”

Qing Xia looked at the man before her in disbelief, too depressed to know what to say. Seeing Qing Xia’s expression, Scholar Lin thought she was still angry. After thinking for a moment, he finally gritted his teeth and said: “Miss, rest assured. Even if it costs me this life, I will respect the facts and ensure your name goes down in history. With Heaven above and Earth below, if I cannot return the credit to you, let your spirit forever haunt me, giving me no peace in life and no refuge in death, becoming a lonely wandering ghost, never to be reborn.”

Lin Mubai spoke with righteous indignation. After this passionate declaration, he lowered his head and looked solemnly at Qing Xia, saying gravely: “Miss, rest assured, I will definitely restore justice for you.”

Qing Xia thought to herself that if he wanted her to live a bit longer, such “justice” was better left undone. Looking at Lin Mubai’s sincere expression, she slowly shook her head and said helplessly: “Are all you historians particularly upright in character?”

“Hm? Miss, why do you say that?” Scholar Lin raised his eyebrows slightly, asking with considerable confusion.

“Well,” Qing Xia carefully considered her wording, trying to find the way most acceptable to this bookworm, “meaning, whatever the Emperor says is an imperial edict, and must be believed unconditionally regardless of what it is?”

“Naturally!”

Defeated!

Qing Xia looked at Lin Mubai helplessly, her eyes full of sympathy and pity. How could someone who spent all day around Chu Li be innocent to this degree? Had he eaten all those history books with his meals without gaining an ounce of cunning?

“Miss Xiangju, if not for me, you wouldn’t have died in that great fire. I will definitely take responsibility for you!” Lin Mubai suddenly walked forward with a grave expression, grasping Qing Xia’s hands that had grown cold from being outside for so long, and said solemnly.

“This has nothing to do with you!” Qing Xia’s facial muscles were almost twitching as she struggled to explain to this entangled scholar.

“How can it have nothing to do with me? I’m a man – that day I should have been the one to draw away the rebel army and let you report to the main camp. One moment’s error cost you your life, and I’ll never forgive myself.”

Lin Mubai’s expression was heavy and very serious. Qing Xia, held fast by this bookworm, pushed hard at him twice but couldn’t break free. Just as she was considering using force against him, she suddenly heard the bookworm say something shocking: “Miss Xiangju, marry me!”

“Ah?” Her mouth gaped wide enough to stuff a watermelon into. Qing Xia stared dumbfounded at the man before her with his fervent expression, feeling her worldview completely overturned. With Qing Xia’s self-control, even if a national president came to propose to her, she might not be this shocked. But the man before her – hadn’t he already determined that she was dead? Proposing to a dead person? Necrophilia?

“This is what you mean by taking responsibility for me?”

After stuttering out this sentence, she saw Lin Mubai’s eyes light up as he nodded vigorously, hurriedly saying: “Yes! You saved my life, and because of me you met a bitter end in the underworld. How could I ignore you and pay no attention?”

“But…” Qing Xia pursed her lips, taking several breaths before completing her sentence: “But I’m already dead, aren’t I?”

“Yes!” Lin Mubai nodded forcefully, as if making a firm decision: “Because of this, I should marry you even more. You died an untimely death at such a young age, with no children after death, your grave lonely and desolate. After I marry you, I’ll enshrine your spirit tablet in my Lin family’s ancestral hall to enjoy human incense offerings for generations. How about that?”

Lin Mubai’s eyes were profound. If she didn’t listen to him speak, Qing Xia might actually be moved. But seeing Lin Mubai’s expression now, Qing Xia suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness, not knowing what to say to him.

“This custom is called ghost marriage in my hometown. I’ll send people to your hometown to move your grave here. When I pass away in the future, I can sleep eternally underground together with you.”

“Who wants to sleep eternally underground with you!” Qing Xia rolled her eyes impatiently. She was too lazy to explain further to him. Sensing that the people outside had gone far away, she moved to lift the curtain and leave.

“Miss!”

Lin Mubai suddenly reached out and grabbed Qing Xia’s sleeve. Seeing that she was about to leave, this scholar who normally valued propriety and was pedantically proper suddenly disregarded everything and embraced Qing Xia from behind, holding her entire body tightly in his arms as he said gravely: “Don’t go! After this parting, I may never see you again.”

His cry was most mournful. Qing Xia paused, caught completely in his embrace. Lin Mubai buried his face in the hollow of Qing Xia’s shoulder and neck, warm liquid dropping onto Qing Xia’s fair skin.

“It’s all my fault for not being able to protect you.” The man’s voice was desolate, filled with deep powerlessness and reluctance: “If not for me, the rebel army wouldn’t have discovered your whereabouts, and they wouldn’t have set that fire to kill people. I always thought martial arts was something only crude, lowly people practiced, but the moment I learned you were gone, I truly hated my own incompetence. This is all I can do for you now. Please, don’t reject me.”

This foolish scholar. The corner of Qing Xia’s mouth lifted in a faint smile. She slowly reached out and grasped Lin Mubai’s hands clasped in front of her, saying gently: “The great fire in the Eastern Palace’s rear hall had nothing to do with you. If you blame yourself for this, you’re being too foolish.”

“No,” Lin Mubai shook his head slightly, saying quietly: “My mind is made up. Don’t try to stop me. I know you’re thinking of my welfare, afraid my clansmen will despise your lowly status. Don’t worry – even though you’re not of noble birth, are illiterate, of low bloodline, don’t understand the sages’ teachings, are somewhat crude in behavior, lack the dignified virtue of a great family’s daughter, and are now a dead person, I will still marry you as my wife. I, Lin Mubai, will have only one wife in this lifetime, and that’s you. No matter how many concubines I marry in the future, you will be my only legitimate wife.”