A piece of Japanese incense

The candlelight flickered, the light was soft, and there was a hint of melancholy between her branches and brows. She sat by the window, holding a comb in her hand, looking at the moonlight outside the window absent-mindedly.

She was going to the mountains to become a nun tomorrow. After dinner, she had planned to say her final goodbyes to her father.

Just as I stepped over the threshold of the ancestral hall, before I could even go in, I heard Dog Dad muttering to himself: "He He, why is your daughter always so worrying! If Xun'er were still alive, maybe it would be different..."

Zhi Yihe retreated without looking back and left resolutely.

She had heard those words hundreds of times over the past few years. Whenever she had a conflict with her father, everything from her grandmother's parenting style to her own stubborn attitude would become a topic of conversation. Every time she felt this way, she would think back to the events of three years ago.

My father rushed into the raging fire and carried my mother out of the sea of fire. Although I was saying goodbye to my dying grandmother at the time, when I recalled that thrilling moment later, I could still vividly remember everything my mother and father said and did.

"He He, it's okay, I'll go find someone to rescue you!"

"No, don't waste time, let me take a good look at you."

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."

"Husband, what is the debt between you and me?"

"He He, I was wrong. I won't fight for anything anymore. Let's find a secluded valley with Xun'er, and we can start all over again..."

"Xun'er, our child, Xun'er..."

My mother held my father tightly in her arms until the last moment of her life, when she finally turned her gaze to me.

Even though so much time has passed, whenever I think of my mother's last gaze, my mind and heart are filled with mixed emotions.

She was angry that her mother, who loved her so much, hadn't even said a word to her. She was angry that her mother, as a daughter, was still calling someone else's husband "husband" when her grandmother was dying. She was angry that her mother had never told her how important the child who had never been born was to her...

When Goudie rebuilt the ancestral hall and wrote the genealogy of the Zhi family, Zhi Yihe had a glimpse of the name, Zhi Xun, which seemed to carry all the good meanings and expectations.

Zhi Yihe sneered, wondering if he was jealous of an unborn child.

"Girl, Yuyi is here."

A hint of joy showed on Zhi Yihe's face, and he quickly put down the comb and stood up.

"Girl~" Yu Yi hugged Zhi Yihe as soon as she entered the door, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh~ We are just pretending. We will go out to play for a few days and then come back. Why are you crying?" Yutuan handed over a handkerchief and wiped Yuyi's tears.

"I just can't bear to leave you. Once you leave, I don't know when you'll be able to come back!"

"Hey~ You have to take good care of Xiao Xi'er. Maybe when we meet again, she will be able to talk and walk!"

"Ah! I thought you'd only be gone for a month!" Yu Yi was a little annoyed: "Forget it! I'll go back and pack my bags, take Xi'er with me and go with you!"

Zhi Yihe hurriedly stopped her: "Alright, alright! You're already a mother, why are you still so unstable? Our purpose this time isn't just to go up the mountain. The most important thing is to find a safe place where Tingzhu and Aban can live an ordinary and peaceful life."

"Miss, you took the risk of being beheaded when you brought them out of the palace. We can't take care of these two siblings forever! In my opinion, once we leave the city, we should give them a box of silver and let them find their own way out! No one should tell the other about their plans, and we should go our separate ways and have no contact with each other! Even if the truth comes out in the future, we will deny it and it won't implicate us."

Zhi Yihe listened to Yutuan's talk and shook his head frequently.

"Yutuan, Miss Tingzhu's mother believed a rumor about life-extending medicine, and was forced to drink talismanic medicine for over a decade, then locked in a dark room. Her heart meridians are already damaged, and it's difficult to heal. Furthermore, she witnessed her mother being murdered and hanged on a city wall. Even the most resolute person, after going through so much, wouldn't be able to withstand such a blow! And A-ban, even if you found him a hot spring and let him soak in it day after day, it will still take more time and effort for the scars on his back to fully heal. Tell me, are you really willing to let these two siblings venture out on their own?"

Zhi Yihe nodded in agreement. "Indeed, these two poor little ones, one imprisoned in the palace since childhood, the other spent years underground. How can you expect them to survive? Furthermore, as long as the emperor hasn't announced the Crown Prince's death, their identities will remain in jeopardy. We must proceed with caution and proceed slowly."

Yutuan pouted and looked out the window.

A complex emotion flashed across Zhi Yihe's eyes, but he quickly concealed it: "As for my marriage, I don't think it will be finally resolved just because I become a monk..."

Yu Tuan caught Zhi Yi's subtle expression change, hugged Yu Yi and hummed twice: "Baby Yu Yi, my daughter and I will miss you. You got married and had children before me, and I can't accept it. This time I must seduce a handsome man and bring him back! Make you jealous and crazy~"

The atmosphere suddenly relaxed, and the darkness gradually thinned out amidst the conversation and laughter. The red candle on the desk burned to the end, the wick curling upwards stubbornly, and the last bit of weak light gently illuminated each other's faces.