Let's walk together for the rest of our lives. If the host says to leave, she will leave.

The silver bell with the core removed did not ring, but Gu Ling wanted to, and Shen Nian'an wanted to too.

It was late at night, Shen Nian'an tossed and turned in bed. Today was the third year since Gu Ling left.

Unable to sleep anyway, Shen Nian'an got up. He sat on the bed for a while, put on his shoes, and took out the unembroidered wedding dress.

Since he was free anyway, he was eager to embroider a wedding dress.

"Your eyes are so close and you don't turn on the light, is little Nian'an going to become a little blind?"

Someone's voice seemed to appear in my ears again.

He gave up the idea of ​​lighting a lamp and embroidering in the middle of the night. He didn't want to become a blind little man.

The workmanship of a wedding dress is very complicated. Although men usually embroider their own wedding dresses when they get married, the Shen family is wealthy and powerful, so there is no need for their young master to do it himself.

Shen Nian'an originally only planned to embroider a red veil, but no matter how fine his workmanship was or how slow his movements were, it took him a month to complete a red veil.

He was always busy and even made other parts of the wedding dress.

He was initially concerned about the speed of making the wedding dress.

If it is fast, and that person hasn't come back yet, he will have nothing to do; if it is slow, and that person comes back, but his wedding dress is not yet completed, wouldn't he have to wait some more time to get married?

He struggled and struggled, and finally decided to let nature take its course.

Shen Nian'an sighed and put the wedding dress back, then took out a small box from under the bed.

He carefully placed the jade pendant on the bed, and then counted the letters that Gu Ling had written to him over the past three years, one by one.

There was war going on outside and it was difficult to deliver letters. The same content often had to be written several times, and in the end the recipient might not receive any of them.

There were a total of fifteen letters in Shen Nian'an's hand, several of which had the same content. He still kept them properly. If the identical letters were not counted, he actually only had six letters.

This is actually good news, which means that messages can still be transmitted at the border and messengers can still travel safely between the two places.

He found the first letter whose meaning he had misinterpreted, put the jade pendant and the other letters back into the box and locked it. He placed the letter under his pillow and finally fell asleep peacefully.

For the past three years, Shen Nian'an has listened carefully to Gu Ling.

He would take Yuan Bai to the horse farm to play polo. When he was tired of embroidering wedding clothes, he would go to the yard to play with the whip to stretch his muscles. When he was bored, he would go to the market to stroll around. When he was lazy, he would let Dong Qing read him stories from the storybooks...

He lived his life seriously, but while doing these things, he was also thinking seriously about Gu Ling.

……

In a flash, another seven years have passed. This year's spring came early, and the crabapple trees in Shen Nian'an's yard are in bloom again.

He has lost some of his childishness, and when he smiles, he is not as unrestrained as when he was younger, but rather has a more calm look.

In the sixth year after Gu Ling left, Shen Nian'an embroidered his wedding dress, and at the same time lost Gu Ling's letters.

The only consolation is probably that the court can receive news from the border from time to time.

Shen Nian'an held a book in his hand and read it with his eyes lowered.

It's strange that this lively and active boy actually fell in love with reading during this long period of time.

Perhaps this small house was too restrictive, and the mountains, rivers and lakes in the book were too vast. He yearned for it but was willing to stay here.

He planted himself in this house, and as the crabapple flowers in the yard bloomed and withered, he waited for a general to return victoriously.

"Master! Our army is back!"

Fortunately, he got what he was looking forward to.

……

The dark army slowly approached with the momentum of a dark cloud pressing down on the city and threatening to destroy it. This protracted battle finally ended with our victory.

Over the past ten years, Gu Ling's temperament has become increasingly stern and murderous, making people intimidated.

She jumped off the horse and clasped her fists: "Your Majesty, Gu Ling has fulfilled your mission."

Yan Heng, now Emperor Jingxi, helped her General An Yuan up: "Good! Good!"

The Northern Territory surrendered and retreated 500 miles away, promising not to invade again within a hundred years. It also paid tribute of more than 10,000 war horses and silver coins to the Yan State, now Da Sheng, every year.

Next to her, Shen Jingyi, the then Prime Minister, was just as her mother had expected, gentle, reserved, and with an outstanding temperament.

However, what she manages is not just a small Shen Mansion, but she assists the empress in managing a huge territory.

"Long time no see, Gu Ling."

Gu Ling looked at his old friend and smiled casually: "Long time no see, Jingyi."

The prime minister, the general, and the empress, three women of extremely prominent status and positions, stood at the city gate and smiled at each other, like good friends who had not seen each other for many years.

No, they are good friends who can be trusted.

Gu Ling looked behind the city gate a few times, but didn't see anyone familiar.

Yan Heng and Shen Jingyi looked at each other and said with a smile: "General Gu, it's time for you to go into the city."

Shen Jingyi nodded: "Remember to ride slowly when riding a horse, so as not to hurt anyone."

Gu Ling suddenly understood something. She turned around, mounted her horse, and entered the city first.

The capital city was packed with people, and the common people were laughing and cheering, lining the streets to welcome them.

Gu Ling carefully avoided the flower handkerchiefs and sachets thrown at him, and scanned the crowd with his eyes, suddenly stopping at one place and not moving.

The man was wearing light-colored clothes and had no makeup on. Everyone around him was cheering, but he was the only one standing there quietly, looking at Gu Ling with tears in his eyes.

Gu Ling laughed. She slowly rode closer on her horse, bent down, and stretched out her bruised and scarred hand towards the man.

"Shen Nian'an, I'm here to marry you."

"Do you want to come with me?"

What is the concept of ten years?

It is the blooming and falling of the crabapple flower ten times, it is more than three thousand sunrises and sunsets, it is forty-one letters, and it is Shen Nian'an's endless longing.

The spring breeze was blowing, flower petals were falling, and General Gu, who had returned victorious from the Great Sheng Kingdom, smiled gently and held the hand of a young man.

Just like the time at the horse farm ten years ago, or maybe even earlier, Shen Nian sat on the horse's back, leaning in his lover's arms, walking through the long streets of the capital.

"Gu Ling."

"Ok?"

"Gu Ling."

"I'm here."

"Gu Ling, is this really not a dream?"

Gu Ling hugged Shen Nian'an's waist tightly and answered every one of his questions seriously and solemnly: "It's not a dream, little Nian'an, I'm back."

The familiar strength at the waist and the gentle voice beside his ears were so real. Shen Nian'an touched the uneven scars on Gu Ling's hands and finally believed that this was not a dream.

Because, in his previous dreams, Gu Ling had always looked the same as she did ten years ago. There were only calluses on her hands from practicing martial arts, and no strange marks.

If this was a dream, he would not want to leave these scars on Gu Ling.

"Can you hug me?" he whispered.

Gu Ling, who was already holding Shen Nian'an in his arms, nodded and hugged him tighter.

So the people around saw General Gu riding a horse and hugging the handsome young man tightly in his arms, as if he was afraid that the man would run away.

How could these people know that General Gu in the dream had run away too many times, and the handsome young man was afraid that General Gu would run away this time too.