Inside the room, the table full of people waited and waited, but those two didn’t come.

Fine then. Chieftain Li had finally won Young Master Pei. Han Xu thought, forgive them.

She cupped her fists toward those at the table: “The mountains and waters will meet again, and we shall see each other in the future. Everyone, farewell.”

“I’ll see you off.” Yan Sanhe rose.

“I’ll accompany you.” Xie Zhifei also rose.

The moon was past half full, a crescent hanging in the sky.

Han Xu turned around, the light in her eyes bright and just right. “We must part eventually. See me off to here.”

Yan Sanhe’s eyes showed reluctance: “When will you come claim the mountain territory she gave you?”

“When I lay down this heavy burden.”

Han Xu jumped onto the carriage, grasped the reins, and nodded to Yan Sanhe.

“Tell Chieftain Li that on her wedding day, I may not come in person, but the gift will definitely arrive. Hya—”

Even her retreating figure showed decisiveness. Xie Zhifei withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and asked: “Does this count as ‘later’?”

Yan Sanhe froze.

“How does Han Xu have so many human skin masks?”

Xie Zhifei suddenly changed the subject, mimicking her voice: “You’ll know in the future.”

Still remembering that!

Yan Sanhe smiled.

“How about this—let’s trade secret for secret. How about it?”

Yan Sanhe met his gaze and felt his eyes were full of gentleness, tangled strands of it, making one unable to help drowning in it.

How did that saying go? Beauty clouds judgment.

And that other saying? A beauty trap defeats heroes.

She lowered her voice: “Han Xu is a woman.”

Xie Zhifei: “…”

Maidservant becomes chieftain;

Fortress master becomes maiden;

Mm, you three really know how to play.

It’s just that Li Buyan’s playing was carefree;

Han Xu’s playing would probably cost most of her life—not easy.

Yan Sanhe watched the shock on his face and asked: “Speak—what’s your secret?”

Xie Zhifei released his clenched jaw. “My secret is that I have no secrets from you.”

“Xie Zhifei, you’re playing me.”

“I’ve played you before.”

Xie Zhifei extended his arm: “Come, want to hit me a couple times?”

In eight years at Haitang Courtyard, it wasn’t just a couple hits—little fists pounded him every day.

“Haven’t been pounded enough by me yet!” Yan Sanhe held back a smile.

“Not yet.”

Xie Zhifei looked at her, urging: “Quick, use the fierceness you had when you pounded me before.”

Yan Sanhe punched hard toward him.

He dodged backward, and she stumbled forward, falling into his embrace.

He held her very tightly, leaving no gap, giving an indescribable feeling of security.

The mortal world has cycles—going round and round, fate had long ago delivered people to each other’s sides. It’s just that missing ten years…

Yan Sanhe thought, in the future there would be plenty of time to make up for those ten years of regret.

“Find a chance to have Mingyue come stay for a few days.”

Siblings reunited?

Xie Zhifei thought of that fool beside Mingyue. “Better not.”

“Why?”

“Once she comes, your eyes will all be on her—comforting this one, feeling sorry for that one. Yan Sanhe…”

Xie Zhifei still liked calling her by her full name. What a good name—he couldn’t bear to leave out a single character.

“Feel more sorry for me. My hair has gone white worrying about you.”

This person knew how to strike at her heart.

Yan Sanhe suddenly thought of when she was young. Whenever he did something for her, he liked to run before her to claim credit.

Back then, if something was three parts difficult, he’d insist it was ten parts;

And now, he had not only worried his hair white for her, but also given up family, estate, and future prospects—ten parts difficulty, yet he only sighed out three parts of grievance.

“Third Master Xie, I absolutely won’t commit domestic violence against you. From now on, you’ll manage the money, and the children are yours to manage.”

She lifted her head in his embrace, her gaze smiling: “And me—I’m all yours to manage too.”

Xie Zhifei pressed against her forehead, his brow furrowing very slightly: “Then what are you responsible for?”

“Accompanying you!”

When you’re happy, I’ll accompany you;

When you’re sad, I’ll accompany you;

When you’re wealthy, I’ll accompany you;

When you’re down and out, I’ll accompany you;

When you’re old, I’ll accompany you;

When you die, in the netherworld I’ll still accompany you!

Between heaven and earth, it was extremely quiet.

The warm light from the lanterns fell from above, making her eyes shine like black obsidian. For an instant, Xie Zhifei almost had an illusion.

As if they were still in Haitang Courtyard, he holding her hand, walking under the tree-lined path in the back garden.

The wind blew, crabapple blossoms fell.

Her smile was as bright and brilliant as before;

His hair was still entirely black.

…

For several days in a row, the capital had continuous rain, making people’s hearts moldy while also making them shiver with cold.

On such rainy nights, Spring Breeze Tower normally had no business, yet two customers came to drink at the tower every day.

Moreover, once they drank, they drank until very late.

If it were others, the proprietor would have chased them out long ago. But one was Imperial Physician Pei and the other was Master Xie from the Xie manor—both people who couldn’t be offended.

In the private room.

Pei Yu downed a cup of wine and choked out:

“I painstakingly raised that little beast for twenty-one years. In the end, it was all for nothing. If I’d known this, I should have strangled him to death the moment he left the womb—would have saved harming his parents.”

Xie Erlide’s mouth was full of bitterness.

Half a month ago, he received a letter from Little Beggar.

The letter was in Third Brother’s handwriting, saying he had run far away with Yan Sanhe, he was sorry to Mother, sorry to Elder Brother, asking Mother not to grieve and not to worry—just treat it as if she’d never borne this unfilial son.

He was so shocked he couldn’t believe it. He immediately ran to the Pei residence to ask, only to learn that Pei Yu had also just received a letter—

Pei Mingting had run far away with Li Buyan.

How could children raised in noble families do such irresponsible things?

He and Pei Yu simply didn’t believe it and immediately rushed to the estate.

In the estate, Zhu Qing was recovering from injuries, with Ding Yi and Huang Qi caring for him.

Tangyuan’s whereabouts were unknown.

He grabbed the three by their collars and demanded answers.

But no matter how he asked, all three said they didn’t know where Third Master went. They even cried and asked him and Pei Yu where their master had abandoned them to.

So he and Pei Yu went straight to the Imperial Mausoleum to seek an audience with the Crown Prince.

After waiting a full two hours, the Crown Prince came.

When they explained the situation, the Crown Prince was stunned for a long while before saying he hadn’t seen any of them.

His heart sank to the bottom.

Looking back carefully, many things actually had traceable signs.

That day Third Brother came with a grinning face, gave him bank notes with a grinning face, told him with a grinning face to act like the head of the family…

He was probably saying farewell!

But why?

Clearly Mother could be coaxed into relenting—why did he still have to run far away with Yan Sanhe? How did Zhu Qing get such severe injuries?

Also.

When the Crown Prince saw him and Pei Yu, why did he make them wait a hard two hours? Where did that trace of coldness on his face come from?

Moreover.

Why had the Emperor stripped the Crown Prince of his military authority for no reason? And made him guard the Imperial Mausoleum for three years?

Did the Crown Prince’s downfall have any connection to Third Brother, Mingting, and Yan Sanhe’s departure?

Obviously it did.

But Xie Erlide and Pei Yu dared not ask, dared not investigate, because the door and windows of the estate’s study were sealed with the Crown Prince’s manor seals.

He and Pei Yu could only comfort their families while privately worrying and suffering in their hearts, secretly waiting.

After waiting another half month, Little Beggar delivered another letter.

The letter had only one character: Safe!

Pei Yu’s side was the same: Safe!

It was precisely because of this one character “safe” that he and Pei Yu had been coming to Spring Breeze Tower for days to drown their sorrows.

Both were men of the official world. Leaving without a word yet secretly reporting safety home—what did it mean?

It meant these two children’s departure had unavoidable difficulties; it also meant their whereabouts couldn’t be known by certain people.

Xie Erlide patted Pei Yu’s shoulder. “Uncle, let’s go home. No need to come tomorrow. Five days is enough.”

The act of drowning sorrows in wine was performed for certain people to see.

He and Pei Yu didn’t know who those certain people were, but for the sake of those two little beasts, they didn’t mind playing the heartbroken men who’d lost their kin.

“Go home, go home!” Pei Yu nodded, turned his back, and secretly wiped away tears.

Xie Erlide felt his heart ache.

The performance was fake, but the tears were real.