Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

Since Yu Miaoqi left, Yinyin has been prone to absent-mindedness, often sitting there staring at something for a long time.

When Gu Anzhi and Bei An found out, they were terrified, fearing that something might happen to her again. After finishing their shifts, they went straight home and asked Bei An's wife to bring the children over to keep her company.

With their company, Yin Yin slowly emerged from her sadness.

Originally, the emperor wanted to hand things back to Yin Yin as soon as possible, but Yin Yin was determined to observe mourning for Yu Miaoqi, so she pushed her own daughter-in-law to take charge, and asked the girls in charge of the estate and the orphanage to assist her.

When the mourning period ended, Yinyin saw that her daughter-in-law had done a good job, so she didn't say she would bring her back immediately. Instead, she gave her some pointers when she went astray.

For the next two years, Yin Yin rarely went out, and even the banquets held on the estate were not held as often.

It wasn't until Zhan Zheng, who was in mourning, was summoned back by several letters from the emperor that Yin Yin went out to greet him.

The siblings hadn't seen each other for three years, but they still kept in touch through letters, and their relationship remained as strong as ever. However, when they returned this time, Wang Yingqing was missing from Zhan Zheng's side.

Yu Miaoqi's coffin had only been returned to her hometown for burial for a year when Wang Yingqing's family sent a letter saying that her father was not well. Disregarding her own mourning period, she took her eldest son and went ahead to mourn.

She rushed all the way and finally saw her father one last time, but she fell ill from grief and exhaustion. Just then, news came that her mother had also passed away. Wang Yingqing lost both her parents within a few days, and her condition worsened. Even though Zhan Zheng brought his daughter and second son to help, it was too late.

The loss of two loved ones in such a short period of time was a blow to the entire Zhan family, so when the siblings met again, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Shortly after Zhan Zheng returned to the court, the western and northern borders were simultaneously under attack. When the emperor was furious, Zhan Zheng and Gu Anzhi volunteered to lead the expedition.

Both of them were over fifty years old at this time, so the emperor naturally refused to summon them and instead specially invited Yin Yin to the palace.

"Please, Your Highness, persuade your uncle and the Prime Minister..."

Yin Yin listened to the emperor's earnest words, which were essentially that he felt the two of them were too old to go to the battlefield, and that there were plenty of generals in the court, so he could choose someone else.

After he finished speaking, Yin Yin said, "Talented generals are easy to find, but talented commanders are hard to come by. If Your Majesty had a suitable commander to lead the troops, you would not have hesitated until now."

"Your Highness and your elder brother are both in good health. If Your Majesty is worried, you may send the imperial physicians to examine them before making a decision."

The emperor wanted to persuade Gu Anzhi and Zhan Zheng through Yin Yin, but he was persuaded by Yin Yin instead.

Because Zhan Zheng and Zhan Zheng insisted on their own ideas, and the emperor had indeed not found a trustworthy and reliable commander, he finally had the imperial physician examine them to confirm that they were both in good health. After observing them riding horses, drawing bows, and shooting arrows, the emperor finally agreed to let them command two armies, along with several generals he wanted to train, and send them to the battlefield.

At the end of the year, the two returned victorious one after the other, which was another great story.

More than ten years later, Gu Anzhi and the emperor passed away one after the other, and the new emperor, who had cared for Yinyin for a few days, ascended the throne.

Bei'an is not too young anymore, and fearing that he will die young and leave his mother alone in the world, he also began to take care of his health.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, Zhan Zheng submitted a letter to resign from his official post, but his resignation was not granted several times. The new emperor even promoted him to Grand Commandant.

Left with no other choice, Zhan Zheng had to stay in the court for a few more years until the emperor had completely taken control of the court and had his own faction before he submitted another memorial.

At this time, Zhan Zheng was nearly eighty years old.

The emperor allowed him to relinquish his other official positions, but he remained Grand Commandant, though he was no longer required to attend court or go to the government office.

Zhan Zheng was unable to leave the capital, but he also did not want to stay in the Zhan residence. He had already passed on the position of head of the family to his son, so he simply packed his things and moved into the house that he had prepared for Yu Miaoqi and Yinyin when they came to the capital.

As Yinyin entered, Zhanzheng personally poured her wine: "I originally planned to return to Yingzhou after resigning from my official post and live a few years of peaceful life. I never imagined that I was destined to be a busy man, and now that I'm approaching the age of old age, I still have to stay in the capital."

“It’s a good thing you’re not going back, brother. If you leave, I won’t know who to talk to when I go back to my parents’ home,” Yin Yin touched the warm cup, took a sip with relief, and continued, “If you want to go back to your hometown, brother, it may have to be a few more years.”

"Who told you, elder brother, to be a veteran of five dynasties? Even if you do nothing and just stay peacefully in the capital, you are like a pillar of stability, able to keep all those demons and monsters in check."

Zhan Zheng sighed and shook his head: "I thought that I was still safe and sound now, and that when I went back, I could personally clear the weeds around my mother's grave. But in a few years, I don't know if I will still be healthy enough to make it back home."

“I definitely can,” Yin Yin said confidently. “I will go back with you, brother. I haven’t been to Yingzhou for decades, and I don’t know if my old residence is still the same as before.”

“That’s natural,” Zhan Zheng said. “They said they wanted to make changes, but I didn’t allow them to touch a single one.”

"The bamboo in Youhuang Pavilion is growing more and more lush; if you're not careful, it can sprout from anywhere. The lotus flowers in the pond bloom and fade, but there's not much difference. It's just that the trees by the pond have grown much thicker, and I can't bear to cut them down, so I can only leave them as they are."

Zhan Zheng kept talking, and Yin Yin chimed in. The two of them got excited and started looking for interesting things in the house, treating it as their childhood home.

After walking around for a while, Zhan Zheng said again, "Back then you said this house didn't have a plaque and that you wanted to give it a good name. Now, nearly sixty years have passed, and it still hasn't been given one?"

“It’s already been acquired,” Yin Yin said, her eyes filled with nostalgia. “How about we call it ‘Old Garden’?”

It is my hometown, and also my memories.

Five years later, the emperor finally allowed Zhanzheng to leave the capital and return to his hometown. Yinyin also refused Beian's offer to accompany her and returned to Yingzhou to live.

He stayed there until Zhan Zheng was eighty-nine years old, passing away peacefully in his sleep without illness or disaster.

Upon learning the news, Bei'an rushed to Yingzhou with the imperial edict posthumously honoring Zhan Zheng as "Zhongwu" and bestowing upon him the title of Grand Minister, and finally saw Yin Yin one last time.

In the winter of the same year, the emperor died, and a new dynasty was established.