No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

"What is it?"

At the end of the courtyard corridor is my grandfather's most treasured and best-preserved study. Pushing open the antique-style carved door, I followed my grandfather to the second floor.

As Jiang Huai slowly pushed open the locked door to the small room, a musty smell wafted out. The surface of the cabinet was worn, but it still revealed the marks of time.

Jiang Huai carefully opened the cabinet door, as if uncovering a forgotten treasure. As the door slowly opened, Jiang Hua's eyes lit up—the cabinet was filled with brightly colored, elegant Chinese cheongsams from the Republican era and exquisite lace-trimmed Western-style dresses!

These cheongsams and Western-style skirts come in various colors, are exquisitely tailored, and have smooth lines.

When Jiang Huai found a wooden box at the bottom, it wasn't very heavy. "Your mother had too many things. The attic couldn't hold them all, so we had to put them here. These are all your mother's clothes, many of them new clothes that she never wore."

"...Take a look at this one."

Jiang Huai took it out, and Jiang Hua was amazed. "So beautiful!"

The gold thread pattern on that black cheongsam was so captivating.

Each gold thread is meticulously woven into delicate patterns, as if a beautiful scroll is slowly unfolding. These patterns not only embellish the surface of the cheongsam but also endow it with a unique beauty, making it noble, dignified, and elegant.

"This is a cheongsam that your grandmother embroidered for your mother with gold thread over three months by lamplight. She only wore it once. Your mother wore this cheongsam when she gave a speech on stage to promote jewelry restoration as an intangible cultural heritage."

"Grandma is so amazing! The patterns on this are really... so beautiful..." Jiang Hua rarely expresses heartfelt praise for certain things, and she was amazed at first glance.

“Speaking of which, your maternal grandmother was a successor of Beijing embroidery... but nowadays, such techniques are so complex and difficult to understand that not many people are still practicing them.”

“You’re about the same size as your mother, so you should be able to wear it.”

"Thank you, Grandpa."

This is probably the meaning of inheritance. When a person dies, the lamp goes out, but some things don't. Some things will be preserved, generation after generation. Even if the original owner is gone, looking at the things she left behind is like... her mother has never left her side and will never forget her.

When Jiang Weiguo saw one black car after another parked in the yard, he knew that Jiang Hua had gone to the Jiang family's old house. Every time Jiang Hua went to the old house empty-handed, Jiang Huai would make her bring back several cars full of things. Last time, it was some thousand-year-old ginseng, deer antler, and hundred-year-old lingzhi.

Upon seeing the person getting out of the car, Jiang Weiguo, who was playing chess with him, smiled and asked as soon as he placed a piece, "What did you bring back from Grandpa's house this time?"

"At the intangible cultural heritage conference three days later, my grandfather, knowing that I was going to give a speech, gave me the cheongsam that my mother used to wear."

The bodyguards got out of the car and carried everything inside, one item after another; there were quite a few things.

"You went empty-handed again?"

"Oh dear! Dad... these are no big deal. Even if I don't come empty-handed, Grandpa's things are all mine."

"You seem to know quite a bit." That's certainly true.

Back in her room upstairs, Jiang Hua changed into the black cheongsam embroidered with gold thread. The woman in the full-length mirror was even more breathtakingly beautiful. The cheongsam was perfectly tailored, outlining her figure beautifully. Her skin was as white as snow, and her long, silky hair fell over her shoulders, the slightly curled ends gently brushing against her fair skin.

She smiled slightly at herself in the mirror, picked up her phone, and took a picture. The skirt, with its slit extending to her hips, revealed her long, slender, and straight white legs, which were eye-catching.

Jiang Hua rarely uploads her selfies to social media. This time, perhaps because she was in a good mood or on a whim, she opened a social media platform that she hadn't logged into for several years. This account was registered for her by Ji Liangchuan many years ago, and the last post was from five or six years ago, before she graduated from high school. The last comment on the post was still a rant against Pei Zhan.

Of all the dogs we've had in the family over the years, this one my dad owns is the most obedient.

That's all there is to it; the rest are mostly landscape photos she took.

There are two or three more comments below.

What kind of dog does the blogger own? I'd like to ask for dog training tutorials. My dog ​​won't poop in a designated spot, what should I do?

What kind of dog food does the blogger's dog usually eat? I'd like to know how to fatten it up.

The last comment, which was also the first comment, seemed to be from a robot's paid troll. It had a pure black background and no nickname, only a blank symbol, and the comment consisted of a period.

Jiang Hua clicked to look out of curiosity, but there was nothing there; in the following list, there was only her.

Jiang Hua was only seventeen or eighteen years old at the time. Her father was worried about her being alone at home, so he asked her to come with him to inspect the branch office in Haishi. After staying in Haishi for a while, she felt bored and, being a restless person, was about to go to a nightclub to have some fun when that bastard Pei Zhan called and complained to her father.

For the past two weeks, he's been like a lapdog, relentlessly monitoring her every move.

Unable to bear it any longer, she posted this message to vent her frustration.

After posting the photos, Jiang Hua put down her phone and prepared to start preparing for her speech three days later.

...

It is said that anyone who visits Qingfeng Temple and prays to the Old Man Under the Moon (the god of marriage) to ask for a red thread to tie on their wrists will have a peaceful and smooth life, a harmonious family, and grow old together.

The best place to pray for marriage is here.

Now, this wave of discussion has suddenly swept across the internet. Lu Yuanzhou was probably really afraid of losing her, so he abandoned all his possessions and took Song Qingran to Qingfeng Temple. There were no shortcuts on the way up the mountain; they could only go on foot, because only in this way would the efficacies be most effective.

We started at 10 a.m. and didn't reach the top of the mountain until 1 p.m., a full three hours of climbing.

Lu Yuanzhou carried Song Qingran on his back halfway to the top of the mountain.

A young couple standing nearby had one of their boyfriends tugging at her arm, saying, "Look at other people's boyfriends, and then look at you. I'm breaking up with you. I'm not going."

"Ahhh...no, wait until we get down the mountain, I'll carry you down." The man chased after her, trying to appease her, and made the girl who had been angry earlier sit down beside him while he squatted down and massaged her legs.

Song Qingran: "Actually, you don't need to carry me. I can walk up by myself."

"Tired?"

Lu Yuanzhou: "As long as I'm with you, I'm not tired."

The two went to the main hall, knelt down and offered incense. The monks distributed red ropes to them, and Lu Yuanzhou took one, saying, "I'll tie it for you."

Song Qingran: "Mm."

“…Thank you for your trouble, Abbot.” In a room, Xia He followed a temple abbot dressed in a red kasaya out.

The maid who was following them spotted Song Qingran at a glance, who was only a few steps away from them. The maid whispered a reminder, "Madam, it's Miss Qingran."

Xia He: "Qingran?"

Before Lu Yuanzhou could fasten his clothes, Song Qingran heard a familiar voice. She withdrew her hand and turned to look at the person behind her. "Aunt Xia? What are you doing here?"

Xia He smiled slightly and said, "I asked for a talisman for my son to ward off bad influences and ensure his safety, and also... to help him clear away those unwanted karmic entanglements around him."

"Who is this...?" Xia He asked, looking at Lu Yuanzhou standing to the side.

Song Qingran introduced, "He is my fiancé, Aunt Xia, I told you about him, his name is Lu Yuanzhou."

Xia He looked Lu Yuanzhou up and down several times, and nodded in satisfaction. "When it comes to relationships, as long as you like each other, that's all that matters. You two are a good match."

Song Qingran slightly raised the corners of her mouth, but Xia He still noticed her subtle reaction. The girl's smile didn't reach her eyes, and she didn't seem happy. "Then I won't bother you anymore."

"I'm going down the mountain first."

Song Qingran nodded, "Okay, Aunt Xia."

They went to the Longevity Bridge again. Lu Yuanzhou bought some water and saw a girl standing by the bridge, lost in thought. He couldn't help but take out his phone and press the shutter button.

The girl in the photo has long, straight, jet-black hair, looks pure and innocent, and has the kind of face that every man would remember as his first love.

Lu Yuanzhou stepped forward and hugged her from behind. "What are you looking at so intently?"

Song Qingran shook her head. "It's nothing. Let's go down the mountain. If we don't go down now, the road will be difficult to walk on after dark."

"Hey, what are you doing? How annoying." A voice came from the person next to him. Lu Yuanzhou looked over and saw that there were quite a few couples kissing on the bridge.

Lu Yuanzhou gazed at her with deep affection, his eyes filled with desire. "Qingran, we..."

Song Qingran's eyes were timid, as if she wanted to escape, but Lu Yuanzhou kissed her lips gently and tenderly...

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yuanzhou let her go. Seeing her panting and her cheeks slightly flushed, he felt satisfied and took her hand to leave.

As the two descended the mountain, it was getting late.

To everyone's surprise, right there on a deserted roadside, they heard someone calling for help.

"It's... Aunt Xia's voice!" Song Qingran exclaimed in surprise. "Didn't Aunt Xia go down the mountain? Has something happened to her? Brother Yuanzhou, let's go check on her quickly."

When the two arrived, they saw a servant lying unconscious next to Xia He. Xia He's clothes were torn, as if someone was plotting something malicious.

"stop!"

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, the assailant immediately stood up, grabbed Xia He's expensive handbag, and ran away.

"My bag..."

"Brother Yuanzhou."

Lu Yuanzhou: "Xiao Ran, stay here and don't wander off. I'll be back soon."

"Okay, Brother Yuanzhou, be careful."

No sooner had Lu Yuanzhou given chase than another thug emerged from the shadows. "Little girl, has no one ever taught you not to meddle in other people's business, or you'll lose your life!"

Xia He looked at the thug holding a knife with fear. "You old hag, now we'll settle all our old scores and new ones together."

Song Qingran: "No..."

As the assailant lunged at Xia He, Song Qingran suddenly rushed forward again, embracing Xia He...

"What are you doing!" The security guards who arrived at that moment witnessed the scene.

The assailant quickly pulled out the dagger and ran away in a panic.

Xia He was caught off guard by this scene. Before she could react, she felt a warm, damp sensation in her hand that was holding the girl's back. When she looked up, the scarlet blood stung her eyes.

"Qing...Qingran!" Xia He was so frightened that her hands were trembling.

Song Qingran looked at her and gave a weak smile. "Aunt Xia...it's good that you're alright." Then, she seemed to hear a voice calling her anxiously, but she couldn't make out the outline of the person rushing over.

Is that you, Mr. Pei...?

No, it's not you...

In an instant, Song Qingran lost consciousness.

Royal Dragon Bay.

While having fish soup that evening, for no apparent reason... her eyelids suddenly twitched, and she felt a strange sense of panic...