Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

When Yun Chu returned to the courtyard, Gu Ruoxiao was sitting there drinking tea. He was becoming more and more uninvited and casual.

Yun Chu suddenly felt afraid. She was afraid that she would get used to his presence, and what would she do when he was no longer by her side? She had always been an insecure person. It was as if they were going to be separated in ten days, so starting from the fifth day, she would force herself to reduce contact and choose to "desensitize" in advance.

She composed herself, regulated her breathing, and walked over.

"Why are you here?" Yun Chu felt her voice tremble slightly after she spoke, but Gu Ruoxiao did not notice.

"Ping An said, 'Did you go to see the exhibition booth?'"

"Yes, I've seen it. It's already been moved to the store."

"When will you open?" he asked.

"There are still some equipment that haven't been prepared, and we need to prepare supplies. It should take another half month," Yun Chu said after calculating.

"Alright, then there's still time." Gu Ruoxiao took a sip of tea and said, "I need to go to the east in a few days."

"East?" Yun Chu muttered.

"Yes, Dongchi has been harassing us frequently lately, targeting not only Luoshui but also Bingze. Luoshui is alright with General Shen in charge, but if we want him to help Bingze, we'll have to talk about it."

Yun Chu nodded. In her past life, General Shen harbored resentment towards the royal family, but because of his loyalty to the late emperor, he remained steadfastly guarding the Luo River and refused to return to court. However, it wouldn't be easy for him to intervene and rescue Bingze, which had nothing to do with him. Perhaps making the Shen family related to the royal family through marriage was one of the reasons why Gu Ruoxiao sought to marry Shangguan Wan'er, after all, General Shen only had one granddaughter.

Rationally speaking, Yun Chu could understand this, but she felt inexplicably sad.

"Yun Chu." He called her, and seeing her in a daze, Gu Ruoxiao was a little puzzled.

“I’m hungry, let’s eat,” she said.

Night had fallen, and Yun Chu lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She wondered if Gu Ruoxiao's visit had led to some kind of agreement between them, which was why he had later requested a royal decree for their marriage. She dared not ask, afraid of receiving another definite answer. Should she stop indulging her feelings? Should she let Gu Ruoxiao return and reject her again? No, she didn't want that. This time, she would sever their relationship herself; it would be better for everyone. Yun Chu closed her eyes and made her decision.

The next day, the sky was overcast and rained. Yun Chu stood by the window in the private room of Juxian Pavilion. Every time she looked up at the sky for an answer, the sky seemed to have a bad expression.

Someone lifted the curtain and entered.

"Is this a farewell party for me? But you've already spent all your money on the shop, why are you wasting it here?" Gu Ruoxiao said with a smile, fanning herself.

Yun Chu didn't speak. She poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Gu Ruoxiao. Gu Ruoxiao picked it up and drank it. "The tea is good. Do you want to get some for your shop?" he asked.

Yun Chu returned to the window. Outside, a fine drizzle fell slowly from the gray sky, draping the earth in a hazy, mysterious veil. The raindrops were fine and gentle, weaving and lingering in the air before finally landing lightly on the eaves and disappearing. See? Even when they intertwine, they eventually come to an end. They are like two parallel lines, briefly intersecting, but ultimately going their separate ways.

Yun Chu took a deep breath and slowly said, "The first time we met was at Ye Ruohuan's coming-of-age ceremony, the second time was at the bamboo corridor, the third time was at the Duke's Mansion, and the fourth time is here. I can't go to the Ye Mansion or the Duke's Mansion anymore. Everything in the world should have a beginning and an end, so I chose here."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ruoxiao stopped smiling, frowned, and looked up at Yun Chu's back in front of the window.

"You and Miss Shangguan are going to Luoshui to find General Shen. No matter what happens along the way, the outcome will be successful. The peace and tranquility of the border people is your responsibility. Without my intervention, you should be able to make a better decision, or perhaps I overestimated myself."

"What decision?" Gu Ruoxiao asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"General Shen has been guarding the Luo River all this time because he is fulfilling the late emperor's wish to protect it. However, he harbors resentment towards your royal family, so it will certainly not be easy for him to help Bingze."

"What do you want to say?"

“We are both rational people and know what the best choice is. I was overthinking it. You are more rational than me, otherwise you wouldn’t have shot that arrow.”

"In the end, you resent me."

Yun Chu shook her head. "Rationally, I don't blame you. If I were you, I would have done the same. However," she paused, "emotionally, I can't get over it, but what right do I have?" Tears silently streamed down her face, but Yun Chu still didn't turn around.

"I hope that one day I will be strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the person I love and be able to say to him, 'I am good enough for you.' I think that time would be the best."

“So, Gu Ruoxiao, let’s stop here,” Yun Chu said, closing her eyes as if she were gathering all her courage.

She wiped away her tears, turned around, went to the table, and pushed a box and a note in front of Gu Ruoxiao. "I've invested most of the money you gave me in the shop. This is what's left, and this IOU. I don't have any extra money right now, but I'll have someone deliver it to your residence monthly with interest."

"Do you want to be so calculating with me?" he asked, staring at the IOU in front of him.

“It’s best to draw a clear line.” Yun Chu raised her hand and filled both of their cups with tea. “Let’s use tea instead of wine to wish Your Highness all your wishes come true and that you have a safe and smooth life.” She drank it all in one gulp, then turned and left.

Gu Ruoxiao was left sitting silently in the room.

Yun Chu walked along the road, feeling empty inside, but she couldn't cry, nor would she. Nan Rao followed behind, holding an umbrella, and inexplicably walked into the shop.

Yun Chu stepped inside, where the shop was piled with all sorts of goods and utensils. There was an eight-foot-long wooden plank covered with red cloth.

"What is this?" Yun Chu asked, tearing it off casually.

"This plaque was just delivered this morning," Nan Rao said weakly.

The plaque is engraved with three powerful characters: "Shili Pu".

Memories flashed by.

"I heard you rented a shop today?" the visitor said as he stepped into the study.

"You've come at the perfect time, just what we needed!" Yun Chu said with a smile. Just now, she had chewed up several pen nibs, managing to write crooked and messy characters.

She handed the pen to Gu Ruoxiao, saying, "Zhu Ling said that the characters for this shop should be written by a person of high moral character and prestige, as it's a good omen. I can't find anyone of high moral character and prestige, but there is someone with extraordinary bearing right in front of me." When asking for a favor, Yun Chu praised him to the skies.

Gu Ruoxiao smiled helplessly, picked up her pen, and asked, "What should I write?"

Yun Chu pretended to be deep in thought, "Others have ten miles of red bridal procession, so I will have ten miles of long pawnshops. Let's call it Shilipu (Ten Mile Shop). One day I will open all the Shilipu shops!"

In an instant, three powerful and elegant characters appeared on the paper. Xu Li quickly found someone to carve them.

Flashback

It seems it has been finished and delivered. But things have changed. Yun Chu thought, stroking the carvings on it.

"Miss?" Nan Rao asked nervously.

"Just leave it there, it's all money," Yun Chu said. She turned to the side, not noticing that she bumped into the corner of the table, and the instant pain made her kneel down.

Nan Rao hurriedly checked the wound, "Does it hurt, Miss?"

Yun Chu shook her head; her smile looked more like a grimace.

"Miss, if you want to cry, just cry," Nan Rao said, unable to bear it.

"I don't want to cry," Yun Chu forced a smile.

"Miss." Nan Rao hugged her young mistress.