The last impression Lu Jianzhi left in Luoshen’s memory was from autumn two years ago. She remembered it was shortly after the Double Ninth Festival when he departed for Jiaozhou. That night, like tonight, he came to bid farewell to her father before leaving.

The sadness of that time, the melancholy that wanted expression but remained unspoken, and his dejected figure when he finally turned and left after saying goodbye to her—thinking of it even now, Luoshen’s memory remained vivid.

Time flew like an arrow. So much time had passed, and they had each experienced so much in between.

She didn’t know what Lu Jianzhi’s state of mind was tonight, but she suspected that after his farewell with her father ended, he might also want to see her once more.

This time, he was truly leaving Jiankang. Before departing, he should have things to say to her.

This was an intuition based on knowing him since childhood and years of acquaintance.

Luoshen waited all along.

Indeed, a maidservant came with a message that Lord Gao was calling for her.

Luoshen went and pushed open the door to enter.

Both her parents were in the study, with Lu Jianzhi standing to one side.

After their previous parting, a year had passed. Tonight, Luoshen saw Lu Jianzhi’s face again—that eldest Lu brother who, in her innocent girlhood days of romance and poetry, had seemed like a dream, yet remained vague without leaving many deep impressions.

His cheeks were sunken and he looked quite thin, but his spirits seemed reasonably good.

Seeing her arrive, he turned toward her, called her “A’Mi,” and smiled: “Just now I told Uncle and Aunt that I wanted to see you. You won’t blame me for being presumptuous, will you?”

Luoshen smiled and shook her head: “Elder Brother leaves for home tomorrow. Even if you hadn’t spoken, I would have wanted to bid you farewell.”

Gao Qiao helped Xiao Yongjia to her feet and smiled at Luoshen: “You two talk. I’ll escort your A’Niang back to her room to rest first.”

Lu Jianzhi thanked them both, accompanied them out, then slowly turned around.

Luoshen said: “Elder Brother leaves tomorrow. Have all the household affairs, internal and external, been properly arranged?”

Lu Jianzhi’s face showed a slight smile: “Thank you for your concern—everything is settled.”

Luoshen smiled: “Then I wish Elder Brother a safe return and success in all things hereafter. Please keep in touch.”

Lu Jianzhi looked at her, the smile on his lips slowly fading. After a moment of silence, he said: “A’Mi, I won’t hide it—that you were still willing to see me tonight and speak kindly as before, I’m deeply grateful.”

“Last year, you showed concern for my illness and gifted me a musical score as medicine, yet I failed to live up to your kind intentions and couldn’t properly preserve it. Not to mention my second brother’s insane, despicable actions that nearly tarnished the good names of you worthy couple. Not only did Governor Li not blame us, but this time he traveled extensively and spared no effort to rescue me and those tens of thousands of Lu family soldiers.”

“Lu Jianzhi is moved to tears with gratitude beyond expression!”

Seeing him lift his robes and kneel toward her, performing a solemn kowtow, Luoshen was shocked and quickly stepped aside: “Elder Brother, get up quickly! Not just I, but even my husband wouldn’t accept such a grand gesture from you! Though the soldiers bear family names, who among them isn’t a son of Nanchao? What my husband saved were the sons of Nanchao.”

Lu Jianzhi slowly stood up and said: “Last year in Jiaozhou, I was once extremely dejected, complaining against heaven and people, even thinking life had lost all meaning. Now looking back, how ignorant and ridiculous I was!”

“Trapped in the besieged city, truly facing life and death, hearing soldiers weep for home in the deep night, I finally realized that all those previous complaints about fate and resentment were merely the troubles of idle people, groaning without real pain.”

He suddenly smiled.

“A’Mi, do you know why during the Double Ninth competition, I abandoned metaphysical discussion in the third round and pursued Li Mu to Tiger Mountain?”

“Because in the first round, he was no less capable than me. In the archery round, we also seemed evenly matched, but I clearly knew that if we truly compared skills, I was obviously inferior to him.”

“Though I usually seemed to regard fame and profit as floating clouds and made friends without asking about family status, deep in my heart I still held onto my privileged position. Unwilling to be outdone by someone of humble origins, I developed a competitive spirit and abandoned the round Lord Gao had specially set for me, determined to compete with him at Tiger Mountain…”

He was lost in thought for a moment, as if recalling the scene, then shook his head with a bitter smile. “The result was naturally that I lost again.”

His expression gradually became serious.

“Only now do I truly know what kind of person Governor Li is—far beyond what I could hope to match. Losing to him, I’m completely convinced.”

Lu Jianzhi paused, looked at Luoshen, and his lips curved into a smile again.

“A’Mi, you’ve called me Elder Brother since childhood. When you married, Elder Brother couldn’t offer you congratulations. Taking advantage of tonight, I send my best wishes—may you two remain united with white hair, forever in harmony.”

“Elder Brother goes ahead first. If there’s opportunity in the future, I’ll come again to thank you and your husband.”

Luoshen seemed to see in the depths of his eyes a faint, barely perceptible glimmer of moisture.

But this didn’t matter.

At this moment, no trace of the dejection or desolation from that autumn, preserved in Luoshen’s memory, could be seen on Lu Jianzhi.

He was restrained yet composed.

Luoshen personally saw him out, escorting him all the way to the front hall before stopping and slowly returning.

She knew Lu Jianzhi had truly let go.

On her way back, she felt her own mood lighten accordingly, yet couldn’t help feeling somewhat emotional.

In her world, if Li Mu hadn’t appeared, if she had smoothly married Lu Jianzhi originally, now it might not have been another kind of worldly stability.

But if she could choose, she thought she would still choose today’s path—the gatherings and partings, the yearning that filled pages.

Without the slightest hesitation.

If she hadn’t met Li Mu, she wouldn’t have known she could love a man who had originally been just a stranger to her so deeply.

A heroic minister, presenting enemy heads at the altar.

In Luoshen’s heart, her magnificent husband was far more than just this.

She loved his deep, mountain-like character, his heroic spirit that reached the clouds, his warrior’s courage and passion, the scars marking his body that recorded the iron and blood path he had walked.

She loved even more all those masculine shadows, jealousies, and weaknesses he would only reveal before her.

Lu Jianzhi and those surviving soldiers had all returned safely. Now she only hoped he could come for her soon.

She wanted to be with her husband.

But news of their inability to reunite immediately inevitably reached her hands.

After seeing off Lu Jianzhi, Luoshen returned to her room to find her mother sitting on the bed edge waiting for her. Seeing her return, her mother seemed about to rise, so she quickly walked over and helped her sit back down.

“A’Niang, why aren’t you resting yet?”

She touched her mother’s increasingly prominent belly. She remembered A’Ye saying earlier he would escort her back to rest.

Xiao Yongjia smiled and asked: “Has Jianzhi left?”

Luoshen confirmed. She added: “Nothing else happened. Elder Brother Lu just expressed his gratitude to my husband.”

Xiao Yongjia didn’t ask about other matters, only smiled and sighed: “When Jianzhi bid farewell to your A’Ye and me, I could see he’s truly different from before. He was already outstanding—after getting through this ordeal, he’ll only be better in the future.”

Luoshen nodded, thinking this in her heart while asking aloud: “A’Niang, is there still no news of when my husband will return?”

Xiao Yongjia glanced at her daughter and handed over a letter.

“While you were talking with Jianzhi, Jingchen’s letter arrived. One for your A’Ye, this one is yours. Knowing you think of him daily, I brought it to you myself.”

Luoshen’s eyes brightened as she quickly thanked her mother and accepted it.

Though eager to see news of him, she couldn’t bear to tear the seal. She stood up, ran to the outer room, carefully picked open the seal with scissors, and finally extracted the letter.

His familiar handwriting, strong strokes, immediately leaped into view.

The letter was quite long, several pages, but she still couldn’t bear to read it all at once, reading character by character.

But gradually, the smile on Luoshen’s lips somewhat froze.

After news of Lu Jianzhi’s successful breakout and subsequent return south reached him, he stopped his attack on Hulao City and withdrew his troops, returning west of Tongguan.

This news Luoshen had known earlier.

She had thought that once he settled military affairs in Chang’an, he would return for her, or at least send someone to bring her to his side.

But it seemed this hope was clearly impossible, at least for now.

Li Mu told her that the Central Plains west of Tongguan weren’t currently in his plans.

After taking Chang’an, his primary task was to eliminate the Xianbei forces in Longxi.

He missed her greatly and had originally planned to return briefly after withdrawing to Chang’an according to the original plan. But the situation in Longxi had changed again.

The Xianbei Tuyuhun tribe had previously been competing with the newly enthroned Emperor Gu Huilong for Qin City. Last month, the Tuyuhun captured Qin City. With Western Jin destroyed, the Tuyuhun established their own empire, and taking advantage of his eastern advance to Tongguan, frequently harassed Chang’an. He decided to counterattack, eliminate this Xianbei force that had occupied Longxi for years, and capture Longxi to completely stabilize Chang’an. So he temporarily couldn’t return, nor was it convenient to bring her to Chang’an where warfare was frequent.

Before leaving, he had promised to return for her once matters were settled. Now he was breaking his word.

At the letter’s end, his tone was very careful, repeatedly apologizing to her and instructing her to wait peacefully for his news, saying that once he eliminated the Xianbei forces, captured Longxi, and completely stabilized Chang’an’s situation, he would definitely come for her.

Luoshen read it several times, slowly put down the letter, and looked up to see her mother watching her. Suppressing the disappointment rising in her heart, she immediately smiled: “A’Niang, my husband is busy with military affairs and cannot return, and it’s inconvenient for me to go there and cause trouble. I’ll stay home to accompany you and wait for your delivery.”

She thought for a moment: “I haven’t properly served Grandmother in a long time either. In a few days it’s your birthday celebration. After I accompany you through it, I’ll go live in Jingkou for a while.”

Xiao Yongjia had already learned this news from Gao Qiao. Young couples in the height of passionate love—she had worried her daughter would be distressed, but seeing her speak thus, she felt relieved. After chatting with her daughter a bit more, when rising to return to her room, she reminded her to write back quickly if she wanted to, as it could be sent tomorrow along with Gao Qiao’s letter.

Luoshen agreed. Once her mother left, she immediately sat behind her desk, rolled up her sleeves, and personally laid out paper and prepared ink.

Qiongshu and the other maids knew she was going to write back to Li Langjun and waited quietly beside her, holding their breath, not daring to make noise lest they disturb her. After waiting a long while, they saw her pick up the brush but not write a single character, lost in thought for a long time, then actually put down the brush, turned and walked out of the room toward the courtyard. Puzzled, they all followed her out.

She picked a hollyhock flower, then went to a courtyard with flourishing plants and gathered a sprig of purple-red flowering pepper. Returning, she selected a book from the bookshelf, pressed the flowers inside it, put it in an envelope, and without writing a word, the letter was complete.

The maids were perplexed, looking at each other in confusion.

Qiongshu couldn’t help asking: “Young lady, what does this mean?”

Luoshen sealed the envelope and smiled without answering.

She thought that during his military campaigns, it must be quite monotonous. If he sometimes couldn’t sleep at night like her and sat up in his tent, perhaps reading by lamplight the book she sent him wouldn’t be a bad way to pass the long nights.

…

Several days later was Xiao Yongjia’s birthday.

With Lu Jianzhi’s entire family leaving the capital, the Lu family completely withdrew from court. Prince Xin’an also submitted a memorial severely impeaching Xu Mi, and court discussions unanimously condemned him.

This Northern Expedition’s heavy losses weren’t just a court matter—people everywhere discussed it endlessly, far beyond any single family’s affair. Xu Mi knew he could no longer remain safely in court, so using returning home to recover from illness as an excuse, he requested resignation from his position as Minister and left Jiankang, temporarily returning to his ancestral home in Yuanling, Xuan City. Some court officials and former students who had attached themselves to the Xu and Lu families inevitably suffered various consequences, either demoted or dismissed.

Of the formerly three great aristocratic families, after these changes, only the Gao family remained, their prominence unrivaled.

Starting several days ago, the Gao family threshold was nearly trampled by people from various families delivering calling cards.

Xiao Yongjia didn’t make a grand celebration. She had Gao Qi collect the cards and respond with thanks to each, but refused all gifts.

Today, she only invited a few female relatives from the Gao clan with whom she was close, plus that friend Princess Huaide who had invited her to stay for several days during last year’s birthday celebration. They all came together, set up a banquet, and had a troupe of entertainers provide music and dance for everyone to celebrate together.

Being pregnant, she didn’t touch alcohol herself, only chatted and laughed with everyone. Amid the cheerful laughter, a maidservant came in hurriedly with a smile, saying the palace had sent word that Empress Gao was personally coming to congratulate and celebrate the Princess’s birthday, and the imperial carriage was already on its way and would arrive soon.