Never leaving

After speaking, Wen Zhibai's fingernails dug into her palms, tears welled up uncontrollably, her whole body trembled, she turned and rushed out of the military camp, mounted her horse, and charged towards the war zone.

The horse galloped swiftly, her tears fell in the wind, and snowflakes drifted down onto her long, black hair. She was willing to risk everything for the one she loved.

By the time she arrived at the city gate, the battle was over.

Wen Zhibai quickly dismounted and climbed the unguarded city wall.

Large patches of bright red blood stained the white ground, and corpses were piled up haphazardly. The stench of blood pierced her nostrils, making her feel nauseous.

Two soldiers came up and asked her who she was.

Wen Zhibai grabbed the soldier's sleeve: "I am Pei Qinzhou's wife! Tell me, where is Pei Qinzhou? Where is Pei Qinzhou?!"

"General Pei's wife!?"

At this moment, a group of people appeared in the distance, led by Qi Yuning.

"General Qi! General Pei's wife has arrived!" a soldier shouted down from the city wall.

"Open the city gates and let her come in!"

Wen Zhibai quickly descended the city wall and rushed towards Qi Yuning's horse.

Suddenly, Qi Yuning's horse had another person on it—the injured Xia Chengen.

"Your Highness?!"

Xia Chengen raised his head and replied weakly, "Pei Qinzhou... he's behind me..."

Following the direction Xia Chengen pointed, Wen Zhibai ran off.

Behind the sparsely populated line, a tall and imposing figure gradually came into view.

She opened her eyes wide, her pupils trembled slightly, and she stopped in her tracks.

"General Pei, your wife has arrived!" the accompanying soldier shouted.

Pei Qinzhou frowned for a moment, the sword in his hand fell to the snow, his hands trembled, and then he slowly raised his blood-stained face and looked toward the source of the sound.

Those were her tearful eyes.

It was his blood-stained face.

Longing intertwined at this moment; the girl's hair was disheveled, and her face was smeared with mud.

The person I cherish most is standing right in front of me.

He smiled, the strands of hair on his forehead disturbing his inner turmoil, as he prepared to take that heavy first step.

Wen Zhibai interrupted him, "Don't move."

Pei Qinzhou paused for a moment, then nodded.

Wen Zhibai swallowed all her bitterness and ran towards him with all her might, falling into his arms.

I finally reached you after braving the swirling snow.

For Pei Qinzhou, this warmth was like a beautifully woven dream.

Pei Qinzhou placed his palm on the back of her head, his chin resting on her hair, feeling every breath she had, and his shoulders relaxed.

"How did you get here? And why are you my wife?"

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, finally daring to cry out loud, "I was afraid you wouldn't have enough to eat or wear..."

He smiled, his large palm stroking half of her face: "Let me take a good look at you."

Her nose flushed pink: "Why did you come to Liangchuan without saying a word? Why didn't you tell me?!"

“I heard you.” Pei Qinzhou gently wiped away her tears. “I heard… you were thinking of me.”

Wen Zhibai pouted. Seeing him always made her feel inexplicably wronged. She pointed her finger at Pei Qinzhou's scratched face.

"It's so good to see you again."

After saying that, Pei Qinzhou suddenly vomited blood, his eyes went blank, and he collapsed onto Wen Zhibai.

"Pei Qinzhou!"

...

Back at camp, Wen Zhibai personally removed his armor. The jasmine wood plaque was broken in two, and he was covered in cuts of all sizes, still bleeding. His forehead was covered in cold sweat.

After the doctor finished bandaging his wound, Wen Zhibai and Xie An stayed by his side the whole time, never leaving his side.

"Cold...I'm so cold..." His eyes were closed, his pale lips moved as he kept saying he was cold.

Wen Zhibai tucked the quilt around him, held his hand tightly, and gently hugged him.

Tears soaked the quilt, and also soaked the hearts of two people in love.

Xia Chengen walked in, supported by Guangxi.

"Your Highness." Wen Zhibai stood up and bowed.

“Miss Wen, there’s no need for such formalities. There’s no one else here.” He gestured for Guangxi to step back. “It was my fault. Knowing that Pei Qinzhou’s health was not as good as before, I still brought him to Liangchuan.”

"Not as good as before?"

“I don’t know much more, but a month ago, Pei Qinzhou and I were discussing important matters at the East Palace when he suddenly vomited blood. I have known him for five years and have never heard of him having any illness. I also summoned the imperial physicians to examine him, and they only said that he had injured his lungs during a previous battle, leaving him with sequelae.”

She knew nothing about the time she spent with Pei Qinzhou.

"Pei Qinzhou, what else do you have that I don't know about?" Wen Zhibai thought to himself.

“Miss Wen,” Xia Chengen began, “I’m telling you this because I can see that you are Pei Qinzhou’s closest person. Even my years of life-and-death friendship with him can’t compare to that. You should know everything he has done for you. He knew he had a slim chance of survival in the battle of Liangchuan, and I granted him one request.”

"What kind of agreement could possibly warrant him remaining unconscious to this day?" Wen Zhibai was somewhat annoyed, but even more so, he felt heartbroken.

“I promised him that after pacifying Liangchuan, I would ask the emperor to grant him a marriage, but the only person he sought was you. Whether in the past or now, all he wanted was you, and everything he did was only for you.”

Wen Zhibai turned away, tears streaming down his face. The person on the bed was covered in wounds, all from past military exploits.

——

Although the frontier battle recovered lost territory and stabilized public morale, the losses were severe, with only a thousand of the original thirty thousand soldiers surviving.

To recover their strength, Pei Qinzhou and his party stayed in Liangchuan to recuperate and postponed their return to the capital.

Qi Yuning led them back to their ancestral home, an old house located halfway up a mountain.

Pei Qinzhou was still unconscious, and Wen Zhibai stayed by his side day and night. Fortunately, Qi Yuning often took care of him, hunting wild chickens in the mountains to make soup and sending it to the two of them in their room.

That day, Qi Yuning and Wen Zhibai sat chatting in front of the gate.

"You care so much about Lord Pei, yet you say you're just friends?" Qi Yuning peeled an orange, took a segment, and held it to Wen Zhibai's lips: "Here, ah—"

I don't know how to say it.

Qi Yuning nudged her gently with her shoulder: "Do you not know how to say it, or are you too shy to say it?"

"Miss Qi Yuning, aren't you talking a bit too much? Believe me or not, I'll send a letter back to Shangjing and tell General Qi where you are."

"Hey, Madam Pei, are you trying to burn bridges after you've served your purpose?"

Wen Zhibai snatched the remaining orange from her hand and shoved it into her mouth, saying, "Eat yours." Then he hurriedly went into the room and closed the door.

"Hmph, when Lord Pei wakes up, I'm going to complain to him about how bad his wife's temper is and how she bullied me!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhibai pushed open the doors and windows, feigning smugness, and said, "Then guess, is he on my side or on yours?"

"Okay, okay—I was wrong, I was wrong, I won't say anything more, I'm going to catch chickens." Qi Yuning stood up and called out, "Everyone, shall we have stewed chicken today?"

Xia Chengen pushed open the door and put the book in his hand aside: "Miss Qi has been working hard these past few days, so let Guangxi go today."

At this moment, Guangxi and Xie An had just returned from chopping firewood and piled it on the ground.

Guangxi: "Yes, that's perfect. Xie An and I will also go down the mountain to see how the town is doing. I'll trouble Miss Qi to take care of His Highness for me. We'll be back as soon as possible."

After the two left, Xia Chengen spoke up, "Miss Qi is my savior. Is there any reward you would like?"

Qi Yuning shook her head: "Your Highness, there's no need to be so polite. It's all what I should do. I would have helped even ordinary soldiers."

"Miss Qi is different from the rumors."

"Hmm?" Qi Yuning was puzzled: "Then what kind of person is the Qi Yuning in the rumors?"

"I don't remember what they said, but Qi Yuning, who is standing before me now, is brave, loyal, and a friend worth befriending."

"Hahaha—" She was about to burst into laughter, but then she remembered what the etiquette lady in the manor had said, and quickly shut her mouth: "Hehehe, His Highness is the same, he is a good person."

"I don't care about etiquette. Miss Qi, you can laugh whenever you want in the future, there's no need to restrain yourself." Xia Chengen looked at the girl with a carefree smile in the center of the courtyard, and then recalled Qi Yuning, who led her troops to fight her way out for him that day. She was different then than she is now. She was dressed in red on the battlefield, wielding her spear with ease and striking without hesitation.

She held out her hand: "Get on the horse!"

Fate is like a sudden rainstorm; you can't find it, nor can you escape it.

With only three days until Lunar New Year's Eve, Guangxi and Xie An returned from their journey down the mountain with six or seven domesticated chickens. These chickens were transported from Shangjing and were the supplies that Wen Zhibai had gathered earlier, which were now being delivered one after another.

At this moment, Wen Zhibai was lying on the edge of Pei Qinzhou's bed, still asleep.

Warm fingers gently tucked the strands of hair behind her ear. Pei Qinzhou was still very weak. Looking at the sleeping Wen Zhibai, he felt a sweet warmth in his heart. It was so good to have her by his side.

It doesn't matter where he is anymore.

Just then, a loud commotion came from outside the door.

Wen Zhibai was woken up by the noise. She opened her eyes groggily and saw the face she had been longing for looking at her tenderly.

"Was it a dream?" she asked, dazed.

Until his thin lips touched her forehead.

Her heart was pounding.

The next second, she pulled him into her arms: "When the arrow grazed my ear, I was actually thinking that I hadn't fulfilled my promise to you yet."

“Pei Qinzhou, I think I’ve really fallen for you.”

Wen Zhibai didn't say these words aloud, but kept them to herself, instead embracing him tightly.

——

Wen Zhibai took Pei Qinzhou's hand and pushed open the door. There, Xia Chengen sat under the eaves, watching Guangxi and Qi Yining catch chickens, causing chaos and making a racket all over the yard. Xie An, meanwhile, was eating candied hawthorns and watching the show by the firewood.

Hearing the noise, everyone's eyes turned to the two of them.

A few seconds of silence fell over the air, and Xie An even stopped chewing the candied hawthorn in his mouth.

"M-My lord...? My lord!" Xie An dropped the candied hawthorn in his hand, rushed forward, and prepared to hug Pei Qinzhou.

Pei Qinzhou stretched out a hand to block his forehead.

"My lord, you've finally woken up..." Xie An said, wiping away his tears.

Wen Zhibai smiled and pushed away Pei Qinzhou's hand that was holding Xie An, then stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, "We're family, don't do this."

He reluctantly lowered his hand, letting Xie An cling to his arm and sob, "You scared me to death..."

Qi Yuning, with chicken feathers on her head, stepped forward: "I've long heard that Lord Pei is unparalleled in the world. Seeing him today, I can see that he is indeed extraordinary. No wonder Miss Wen risked her life to transport a large amount of grain to Liangchuan."

Wen Zhibai: "You talk too much."

He naturally wrapped one arm around Wen Zhibai's waist: "Now that I have such a wife, what more could I ask for?"

Qi Yuning: "A perfect match! A perfect match!"

"By the way, who is this young lady?"

"I forgot to mention, I am Qi Yuning from the Qi family of Changqing."

“She was originally General Qi’s younger sister.” Pei Qinzhou nodded in acknowledgment.

Xia Chengen walked up and removed the feather from Qi Yining's hair: "Thankfully, we're all alright."

Pei Qinzhou and Xia Chengen exchanged a smile. The friendship between gentlemen needs no words; their understanding is evident in their eyes.

“By the way, the day after tomorrow is Lunar New Year’s Eve. Shangjing can’t go back for the time being. Why don’t we go down the mountain tomorrow to buy some things we need for the festival?” Qi Yuning said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Qi Yuning: "To celebrate Lord Pei's recovery, how about we have roast chicken today?"

Wen Zhibai smiled and leaned her head against Pei Qinzhou's chest, watching them bicker.

A precious moment of warmth, free from hatred, intrigue, and the turbulent court politics; only the companionship and love of one's beloved and close friends.

A moment like this in life is enough.