When He Jingyan's fingertips touched the woman's chest, he didn't feel the softness he had imagined; instead, he touched something hard.

The object is hard, cold, angular, and has an irregular outline.

He Jingyan raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of confusion still in his eyes: "Is it jade?"

Song Xizhi nodded, took out the jade pendant and hairpin from his chest, and then opened his hand to show them to He Jingyan:

"They're all yours."

The jade pendant that Qing Tong had given her without her permission was something she couldn't bear to wear, so she kept it close to her chest. Now, the jade hairpin that He Jingyan had given her was also something she had casually tucked into her chest.

Upon hearing this, He Jingyan's serious expression suddenly turned playful. He sat on the bed, tilted his head back, and scanned Song Xizhi's face: "So all these bulging things are mine."

Song Xizhi was taken aback when he heard this, and then his eyes widened.

Why does that sound like...it made her misunderstand?

Sensing the faint smile on the man's lips, Song Xizhi took the jade hairpin and handed the jade pendant to He Jingyan: "Only this is yours, I'm returning it to you intact."

"That jade pendant was given to me by Bronze when you were unconscious. I didn't know if it was your idea, so I kept it for you temporarily. Now that you've woken up, I'm returning it to you."

He Jingyan narrowed his eyes, clearly understanding the meaning behind Song Xizhi's words.

She returned the jade pendant to him not wanting to put him in a difficult position, and also wanting him to make a genuine choice.

He Jingyan stood up from the bedside, holding the jade pendant, and took another step toward Song Xizhi.

The two were extremely close. He Jingyan's tall figure was very imposing, forcing Song Xizhi to look up at him and inevitably take a step back.

He Jingyan gripped the jade pendant tightly in his hand, his fingers gently tracing the patterns on it, before saying:

"All of Bronze's ramblings before were false; I never said such things."

Song Xizhi pursed his lips.

"But now, you can't back out even if you want to."

He Jingyan's voice was low. He suddenly bent down, put the jade pendant back into Song Xizhi's hand, and then squeezed her hand tightly.

Hearing this, Song Xizhi looked up at the man's serious eyes and saw He Jingyan take the jade hairpin from her hand and insert it into her hair.

"This can't be returned either."

Song Xizhi felt as if the world around her had quieted down, and she could even hear her own heart pounding.

Her choice seems to be correct.

The boy who resolutely chose to jump into the water to save her when he was young has now resolutely chosen her as well.

He Jingyan straightened up, carefully examined Song Xizhi's appearance, and then patted her hand hanging by her side: "Granny Wu has already packed the bundle."

"The carriage should be waiting at the door."

Song Xizhi finally realized what was happening. She looked up at the man in front of her, opened her mouth slightly, and finally just told him, "Take your medicine on time."

He Jingyan nodded, took a long stride and sat back down on the edge of the bed, then waved to Song Xizhi: "Go on, I'll wait for you to come back."

Granny Wu had already packed her things and was waiting quietly by the side. Watching the interaction between the two, she felt both happy and wanting to cry, and kept wiping away her tears.

Upon hearing He Jingyan's words, Song Xizhi turned to look for Granny Wu. Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, he hurriedly ran to her side, took her hand, and led her out the door.

She walked quickly, without hesitation, and without looking back.

He Jingyan sat on the bed, watching Song Xizhi's back as he left, his eyes dark and unmoving.

He didn't actually know why he made that choice without hesitation, just as he didn't know why he inexplicably bought that jade hairpin when he went out.

But when faced with Song Xizhi's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say anything in refusal.

He Jingyan thought for a moment, then reached out and rubbed his temples, looking somewhat lost and troubled.

Actually, this is not a good situation, nor is it what he wants.

I don't know how much time passed before footsteps sounded again at the door.

He Jingyan looked up, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his face. But when he saw the person at the door, the smile quickly disappeared.

"Qing Tong, the person has already left, so there's no need to send lilies at night anymore."

The lilies that Bronze sent every night had stamens stained with datura pollen. The datura pollen had been specially processed by the army, making it colorless and odorless, and capable of causing people to lose consciousness.

This method is more common in the military, but rarely used in the home.

In addition, Song Xizhi was skilled in making incense and medicine. Not only was her body covered with various mixed fragrances from the incense shop, but even her inner bedroom had a strong calming incense and He Jingyan's medicinal smell.

So, Song Xizhi hadn't noticed the datura on the lily's stamens all this time, and thought it was because his sleep had improved.

Qing Tong hurried into the house and saw that He Jingyan's smile had suddenly disappeared. He pursed his lips, his expression becoming hesitant.

"Alright, I'll send someone to remove the lilies... But Master, a letter has arrived from the Western Rong border."

Upon hearing this, He Jingyan nodded, got up from the bed, his expression unchanged, only now showing a hint of his usual coldness.

"Did the letter describe the situation on the frontier? After I left, were there any unusual developments within the army?"

Upon hearing this, Qing Tong paused slightly before continuing, "This letter is not about official business, but about personal matters, and says that you should open it with care."

He Jingyan listened, paused for a moment, and froze in place with his long strides.

He calmly accepted the letter, and with a slight movement of his slender fingers, he tore open the tightly sealed envelope.

The handwriting on the letter was unrestrained, with flowing strokes of ink covering the entire sheet of paper.

The more He Jingyan looked, the more solemn his expression became.

He didn't speak, but simply closed his eyes. The letter in his hand floated down and swirled in the air.

Qing Tong stood still, feeling the growing anger in He Jingyan's eyes. Although he didn't say a word, he was completely devoid of warmth, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

There was a strong sense that a storm was brewing.

Bronze had never seen his master so angry. He stared at the letter that had fallen to the ground and hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

When he read the contents of the letter, his eyes narrowed sharply, his whole body trembled, and he knelt down in front of He Jingyan.