The girl traveled through another world and forced the prince to take the imperial examination

Downstairs, the storyteller recounted how the two were chased to the brink of death!

"...That day, Yama, the King of Hell, fought a fierce battle with the Crown Prince on the city wall, and the Black Armor Army fell one after another...The wind and snow raged, there was no way forward, and assassins were attacking from behind...His Highness the Crown Prince was already seriously injured, but he still firmly protected Miss Mu behind him. The two were in dire straits, but their loyalty remained as pure as snow!"

Miss Mu, a frail woman, leans against His Highness, their backs intertwined, sharing life and death! This scene, is it not truly a testament to 'a vow of life and death, a promise made to be together'...?

Upon hearing this, Yun Qing and Mu Qingcheng exchanged a glance, their smiles gradually settling into a deeper and more complex emotion.

The harrowing experiences, the chilling despair, the warmth of mutual dependence, and the vitality that sprouted from the brink of death were far more unforgettable than the legendary romance told by storytellers.

Yun Qing quietly took Mu Qingcheng's hand under the table, his fingertips gently caressing her palm. His hand was warm and strong, calloused, a hand accustomed to wielding a sword, yet now it simply enveloped her tenderly.

"That's what they said!" Yun Qing said softly, her voice barely audible to the two of them. "It wasn't even a fraction of the resolute look in your eyes back then. You don't know how desperate I felt watching your retreating figure..."

“I know! But I can’t bear to see you close your eyes in front of me, I’m scared! You know, I have no family here, only you, you are my everything…”

Mu Qingcheng squeezed his hand back, and Yun Qing's fingertips gently traced patterns on her palm, as if they were back in the time when he was unable to speak, silently writing a code that only they understood.

"Believe me, Yunqing will never leave Nuannuan!"

The story downstairs is nearing its end, and it's about the grand scene of His Highness the Crown Prince proposing to a woman in front of thousands of people on the day he triumphantly entered the city.

Some of the tea drinkers had witnessed it firsthand, while others had heard it countless times and still never tired of it. Downstairs, sighs of admiration and cheers filled the air.

The private room seemed to be a world unto itself. The noise was a blurred background sound; only the clasped hands, the faces reflected in each other's eyes, and the unspoken understanding and warmth flowing in the air were the real place.

"It's good to hear it!"

Yun Qing poured her half a cup of warm tea, a gentle smile on her lips: "Let the whole world know how lucky I am to have married you."

He paused, looking down at the people below who were moved to tears by their story.

"Let the whole world remember that our story has an ending written by ourselves."

He turned his gaze back to her, looking deeply into her eyes: "And the best part is just beginning."

Mu Qingcheng smiled, a smile of breathtaking beauty. She picked up her teacup and gently clinked it against his.

"Yes! Our story has only just begun!"

--------------

June 1st.

After discussion, it was decided that the Jiangzhou government office would be used as the Crown Prince's residence temporarily.

This is a huge project. The little black guys are working themselves to the bone to decorate the mansion, wishing they could tear it down and rebuild it!

Seeing that they had made a mess of the government office, Yunqing ordered that the exterior just need to be painted, but the inner quarters of the government office must be decorated to be warm and inviting, especially the bridal chamber.

That's why the little devils let go and didn't demolish the government office!

Just as things calmed down, Fang Xurao and Feng Zhishang started fighting again!

It turned out that Fang Xurao had volunteered to be the officiant at the wedding. The two had argued over and over again, without a clear winner. Today, they finally couldn't resist and took action!

When Yun Qing was called over to break up the fight, the two old men were pulling each other's hair and beards, kicking and punching each other, while a group of onlookers gathered around, eager to watch the spectacle.

Yun Qing was already fed up with their noise, and now even his eyes hurt! He directly invited Fang Xurao's wife, Rong Siqin.

The next day, Yunqing invited Fang Xurao and Feng Zhishang to have tea together to discuss important matters.

He deliberately led the two through the garden, and when the three of them looked up, they saw a woman in plain clothes already sitting in the waterside pavilion.

She sat by the window, holding a cup in her slender hand. Her moon-white long gown revealed the grass-green hem of her skirt, and her dark hair was neatly tied up, adorned with a gold-inlaid jade pendant and pearl hair ornament.

This is Rong Siqin, a talented woman who was once famous throughout Kyoto.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, tracing a pale golden edge around her profile—as if she were still the same as before, only the dazzling brilliance had been tempered into a warm, jade-like glow.

She looked up and saw Yun Qing and the other two. She slowly rose and bowed, her eyes calm and serene: "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Yun Qing nodded: "Greetings, Madam Fang!" He turned to the two of them and said, "We're all acquaintances, let's sit down and chat! Madam Fang is a blessed woman I invited here."

When Feng Zhishang saw Rong Siqin again after twenty years, he was completely stunned!

"Madam!" Fang Xurao was about to speak when Rong Siqin glanced at him and silenced him.

She turned to look at Feng Zhishang, her eyes calm and still: "Brother Feng, it's been so many years, and you've even grown gray hair."

Before Feng Zhishang could finish saying "Qin'er," he hurriedly changed his mind: "Do you still play the zither? I haven't heard it for many years, and I miss it terribly!"

Yun Qing sat to the side and curled the corners of her mouth. She never expected that Feng Zhishang, who was so sharp-tongued, could speak so kindly.

“I often play it for my own amusement in my spare time!” She smiled slightly and sighed, “I still cherish the ‘Moonlit Night Wutong’ that Brother Feng gave me years ago. The score is still in my dressing case.”

Feng Zhishang felt a slight lump in his throat. He recalled that when he was young, he had heard that an old scholar in the Hanlin Academy had a rare copy of a qin (a seven-stringed zither) score. He had inquired about it extensively, wanting to buy it, but the scholar refused to sell. Helpless, he went to Prince Shaojun and obtained a piece of the prince's calligraphy in exchange for the score, which he then gave to Rong Siqin.

A breeze picked up outside the window, and flower petals fell like rain.

Yun Qing pulled Fang Xurao away under some pretext, leaving only the two of them in the waterside pavilion.

"Old Fang, you can't blame me for meddling!" Yun Qing asked Fang Xurao.

Fang Xurao smiled frankly: "I am not a petty person! When I was young, the person in my wife's heart was not him!"

Yun Qing was quite surprised: "What does this mean?"

Fang Xurao looked up at the sky, his face full of satisfaction: "The two of us, husband and wife, have enjoyed more than twenty years of happiness, which is a blessing from heaven. If it weren't for my good luck back then, my wife might not have even been interested in me."

His eyes were filled with memories: "Before the wedding, my wife suddenly invited me to a teahouse. That day was just like today, sunny and bright! I went in high spirits, but my wife confessed to me that she had someone she had liked for many years, but had never told anyone! That day, she said: 'Since we are already engaged, I will let him go and will never be infatuated with him again!'"

"My wife is decisive and courageous. Over the years, we have supported each other through thick and thin, and walked hand in hand for more than 20 years. She has never mentioned that person again! She devotes herself to me, thinks about me, plans for me, and cooks for me in her spare time... With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for!"

Driven by curiosity, Yun Qing asked, "Who is that person?" But she regretted it as soon as she asked.

Fang Xurao simply smiled and didn't answer. But Yun Qing seemed to understand in an instant!

The pavilion by the water is quiet, yet it does not cause any sense of unease. Rather, it is the atmosphere that should exist when old friends reunite, allowing the past to settle into the passage of time.

Feng Zhishang finally couldn't help but speak: "These years..."

"Life is peaceful and serene; I read books, play the zither, support my husband, raise my children, and watch the flowers bloom and fade in the courtyard in my leisure time." She continued, her gaze falling on the falling leaves.

"I heard that Brother Feng has been guarding the Crown Prince's tomb all these years. He's worked so hard."

Feng Zhishang nodded, a thousand words swirling on his tongue, leaving only two: "It's acceptable."

They were speechless, and the pavilion fell silent once more!

In the end, the tea had gone cold!

Rong Siqin smiled faintly: "When I saw Crown Prince Yunqing, I was momentarily dazed, thinking that he had returned, as if I had returned to my childhood, and I almost made a fool of myself!"

Feng Zhi did not utter a word, but simply listened quietly!

“He’s luckier than his father! That girl is just like his mother back then, smart and brave! None of us young ladies are as good as her.”

Feng Zhishang gripped the teacup tightly, a sudden emptiness filling his heart. He wanted to say, "You'll always be the best, no one can compare to you," but the words wouldn't come out.

"Brother Shang, it's time to go!"

He stood under the eaves, watching her walk towards Fang Xuyao ​​outside the moon gate. The man naturally took her hand, and the two walked hand in hand towards the gate.

More than two decades of experience have fostered a tacit understanding between two strangers that has been cultivated over many years, an understanding that no outsider can penetrate.

As the wind blew, the flowers and leaves fluttered like butterflies, and a few fell into the lake. A pair of fish poked their heads out of the water, then sank back in and swam away.

Feng Zhishang suddenly realized: they were like two fish that had once met by chance, now each with their own distinct scales in their own rivers. Even if they remembered each other's youthful appearances, how could they go back to the source of the past?

That's fine too.