The two of them leaned against each other in a close embrace, as though they had endless things to say.

“The bestowed marriage — we owe it all to elder sister.”

Wei Yan recalled how things had unfolded that day and couldn’t help feeling a degree of relief: “I was afraid the Emperor would grow suspicious, so I deliberately spoke up to decline at first. Fortunately, the Emperor did not catch on and instead ‘pressed’ me into agreeing to the match.”

Ling Jingshu couldn’t help laughing: “I was the one who was truly caught off guard. Her Majesty the Empress suddenly summoned me in and told me she was bestowing a marriage upon the two of us. I was completely unprepared — I nearly lost my wits entirely.”

“I was the one who was truly so overjoyed I didn’t know what to do with myself.” Wei Yan held the soft, gentle figure in his arms, his heart overflowing with an indescribable sense of contentment: “At last, this day has come. A’Shu, I truly wish I could take you home as my bride right this moment.”

And was she any different?

For those in love, even a single day of separation feels like an eternity!

Ling Jingshu tightened her hold around Wei Yan.

Wei Yan bowed his head, searching with urgent yet tender care until he found her soft red lips.

Ling Jingshu tilted her head up and met him eagerly. In the mingling of lips and breath, their two hearts seemed to gradually melt together through their chests — boundless and lingering.

The two of them were completely immersed in the most intimate of closeness, entirely unaware of time passing.

After an indeterminate length of time, Wei Yan finally lifted his head with an expression of contented satisfaction.

Ling Jingshu’s face was a glowing crimson, her eyes half-open, her lips faintly reddened and slightly swollen — beautiful and captivating in a way that defied description.

Wei Yan suppressed the urge to bow his head again, forced himself to rein in his thoughts, and said in a low, somewhat hoarse voice: “Once you return home this time, simply settle your heart and prepare for the wedding in peace. There is no need to concern yourself with anything else — I will handle everything.”

Ling Jingshu’s heart was calm, serene, and full of joy. She nodded obediently at his words.

Wei Yan thought for a moment, then asked quietly: “By the way — what exactly did the Crown Grandson say to you that time? Now that there is only the two of us, surely you can tell me?”

Ling Jingshu let out an amused laugh.

Even the most broad-minded of men had their moments of petty jealousy. Even after all this time, Wei Yan still held on to that.

Well — there was nothing worth hiding anyway. If he wanted to know, she would tell him.

“It was nothing much. When I pledged my allegiance to the Crown Grandson that day, the only condition I asked was that he deal with the Lu family.”

Ling Jingshu’s voice was very calm: “From the time I entered the palace, I passed along a great deal of useful information to the Crown Grandson. That last time, I happened to save His Highness the Crown Prince’s life, so the Crown Grandson naturally owes me a debt of gratitude. Now that Prince Yan has submitted and surrendered, the Crown Grandson is certain to seize the opportunity to root out Prince Yan’s faction — dealing with the Lu family fits naturally into that course of action.”

Perhaps very soon she would hear the good news of the Lu family’s downfall.

So that was it!

Wei Yan’s doubts dissolved entirely. He reproached himself with a half-joking air: “For an affair like this, asking the Crown Grandson was indeed the most suitable approach. Even if I wanted to help, there was nothing I could do.”

Being as favored by the Emperor as he was, he was still an imperial physician by title, and it was not appropriate for him to become entangled in court affairs.

Ling Jingshu heard the faint, barely perceptible note of sourness in his voice, and couldn’t help smiling gently. She soothed him softly: “This was something I had arranged with the Crown Grandson long before. I did put in effort and do things on his behalf as well. His removing the Lu family is simply his way of returning the favor. Once this matter is settled, there will be no further connection between him and me.”

Wei Yan understood the logic perfectly well. It was simply that, owing to a man’s subtle sense of pride, knowing that the Crown Grandson had done something for Ling Jingshu left him feeling somewhat unsettled.

Wei Yan coughed once: “I was being petty. All right — let us speak of this no more. Let’s talk about something pleasant. The Emperor has already chosen a residence and granted it to us.”

“It is a large compound of five courtyards, not too far from the palace. It formerly belonged to a high-ranking court official, who has since retired to his hometown — the residence was then returned to the crown. It has sat empty for several years and had no one living in it. However, everything inside remains fully intact; it only needs a bit of renovation and tidying.”

“I even went to see it specially yesterday — it is very large and spacious, more than enough for the two of us.”

A five-courtyard compound — considerably larger than even the Ling household.

Ling Jingshu laughed: “Just the two of us — do we really need a residence that large?”

Wei Yan raised an eyebrow, leaned close to her ear, and teased in a low voice: “Right now it’s just the two of us — but give it a few years, and we will have children. Of course the more spacious, the better.”

Children… little ones who would look like both of them, plump and rosy-cheeked, toddling with unsteady steps, calling out to them in their small, soft voices…

Imagining such a scene, Ling Jingshu felt her heart grow soft and warm. She nestled her head against his shoulder: “Wei Yan, do you like children?”

Wei Yan’s gaze also grew especially tender; he smiled and gave a sound of agreement: “Of course. From a young age, it was just my elder sister and me depending on each other. As I grew older, I always hoped to have a home of my own, and children of my own. Only it was a pity…”

Only it was a pity that the scheming Empress Xu had been watching them like a tiger eyeing its prey, and for the sake of self-preservation, he had spent all these years alone.

A woman’s youth was not something to be squandered; and was it any different for a man?

He had let these years slip by in this way, yet now, at last, the bitterness had given way to sweetness. He was about to spend his life at the side of the woman he loved, hand in hand to the end. When he thought of these things, his heart bloomed as though with flowers across a hillside — filled to the brim with gladness.

Ling Jingshu held Wei Yan tightly with a pang of tenderness: “You have suffered through these years.”

Wei Yan smiled, unconcerned: “Everyone, in living their lives, meets with this hardship or that difficulty. Even those as exalted as the imperial princes and the Crown Grandson have their many dissatisfactions. Even the Emperor himself now spends his days bedridden. Why should I be any different?”

“But I have endured through all of it, one by one. Self-pity is useless. The one who can smile at the very end is the true victor.”

“Now Empress Xu has been deposed and is confined to the cold palace, never to see the light of day again. And seated in her place as Empress is my elder sister. The wheel of fate turns indeed. That former Empress Xu could never have imagined that one day things would come to this.”

Indeed!

She herself — who had entered the capital all those years ago filled with bitter hatred — had she ever imagined that in just a few short years, she would have her revenge?

And she, who had once secretly vowed never to fall in love with any man again, had never anticipated that she and Wei Yan would find their way to each other, heart answering to heart, to reach this day as they had.

“All that came before is, like yesterday, dead and gone. All that comes now is, like today, newly alive.” Ling Jingshu smiled gently, her lips softly curved, as she whispered: “Wei Yan, the painful pasts we both suffered have become, entirely and completely, the past. From here on, the two of us will be wed, and live well together. No matter what storms blow in the world outside — we will not be touched by them.”

Wei Yan listened to those soft, gentle words and felt as though his heart were melting. Unable to stop himself, he drew her even closer: “A’Shu, what did I ever do to deserve to have you by my side in this life?”

“Meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life.” Ling Jingshu murmured.

Wei Yan could no longer contain the surge of emotion welling up inside him. He bowed his head and kissed her lips with ardent force.