Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Finale (Part 2)

Three months have passed since the battle in Eagle Canyon.

The New Year is approaching, and the weather is cold again at the end of the year.

In a dilapidated little house on the hillside, charcoal was crackling.

Several children were reciting the Thousand Character Classic with their heads shaking.

After a while, a woman returned to the desk, tapped it lightly, and said with a cough, "I'll stop here for today. Let's go home."

The kneeling children immediately bowed and said goodbye to the teacher.

Lin Zhen packed up the bamboo slips and walked out of the hut first.

"Master!" A little boy followed behind him. It was the same boy Lin Zhen had met in the temple that day. He pulled out a stack of pancakes from his school bag. "Master, these are pancakes my mother baked. It's cold out, so they'll keep for several days!"

As the child spoke, he stuffed the cloth bag containing the cake into Lin Zhen's arms and said, "Mother also said that we should invite the teacher to our house for the New Year this year! We should eat something good during the New Year so that the new year will be more prosperous!"

Hearing this, Lin Zhen's face flushed. It was not that she couldn't afford good food. The tuition fees given by the children were enough to provide her with enough food and clothing.

It's just that her craftsmanship was not very good, and happened to be seen by the child's mother.

She knew they meant well, but she felt awkward nonetheless. She pursed her lips, not knowing how to respond.

Fortunately, the other students had come out by then, and the boy hurried to join his friends, waving his hands and running away.

She lived in a small courtyard not far away, and part of the way there was. She was holding bamboo slips and pancakes, looking at the children walking happily in front of her, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"My father said that we can have such a peaceful and lively New Year's Eve this year, all thanks to that great hero!"

"Me! And me!" the little boy shouted, "Grandpa and I also made a lot of contributions! If it weren't for us at that time——"

"If you hadn't given General Ji food and mules, they would have starved to death, right? You've said it eight hundred times!"

"So what! I'll say it a thousand times and ten thousand times!!"

Before he could finish, he and the children beside him covered his mouth and ran down the path laughing and playing.

Lin Zhen stood at the fork in the road. It took him a long time to look away. He took a deep breath and walked towards the courtyard.

*

As he approached the courtyard, Lin Zhen saw from afar a slender man who was putting down the burden on his shoulders and pouring water into her tank bucket by bucket.

"Master Qi!" Lin Zhen hurriedly pushed open the fence and walked over quickly. "Master Qi, didn't I say..."

Qi Yuanzhou smiled and rolled down his sleeves, saying, "Don't worry, Miss Lin. This may be the last time. I will be going to the city to prepare for the provincial examination next year, and I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you anymore."

Qi Yuanzhou is the only scholar in this village. Originally, he was the teacher here, but because he had to stay at home to prepare for the provincial examination, he had no time to teach. It happened that Lin Zhen came here with the grandfather and grandson, and by chance, he replaced him as the teacher and stayed here to live.

With the help of Qi Yushi, Hongye brought Lin Yue and Bai Ce here.

Lin Zhen gave all the silver that Qi Yushi brought to them to Hongye, and she opened a cosmetics shop in the town.

Lin Yue and Bai Ce also live in the town and usually go to help Hongye look after the shop.

Lin Zhen stayed in the village to teach the children more conveniently.

Hearing Qi Yuanzhou say this, Lin Zhen felt happy for him. She sincerely wished him well: "I wish you success in the imperial examination and a bright future."

Qi Yuanzhou looked at Lin Zhen steadily. She was a woman so open-minded and kind that he rarely met.

He admitted that he was still deeply impressed by her, but they were indeed not suitable. When he looked at her, his eyes were always full of light, yet hazy.

It's like looking at flowers in the fog, or looking at the moon in the water.

He seemed to know her very well, yet also seemed to have never really known her.

He knew that she must have had many stories, but he had never been involved in any of those stories. Perhaps this meant that they were destined to be from different worlds.

He smiled and returned the greeting, then took out a clean handkerchief from his arms, with a piece of paper wrapped inside.

Lin Zhen frowned and didn't reach out.

Qi Yuanzhou hurriedly said, "Miss Lin, don't misunderstand me. My family has found a match for me recently. She's a very good girl. We will get married after the New Year, and she will accompany me to the city to study."

Lin Zhen exclaimed in surprise, then thanked him repeatedly. He took the invitation with both hands and said to him, "Sir, wait a moment."

Lin Zhen hurried back to her room and brought out a wooden box. She said, "These are the pearl hairpins and cosmetics my two younger sisters gave me. They are just my congratulatory gifts." She shyly took out one of the wooden hairpins and said, "This one is not worth much. I carved it myself. It's just a token of my appreciation."

Qi Yuanzhou refused several times but finally accepted it.

Lin Zhen saw him off and returned to the house, looking at the several wooden hairpins carefully placed next to the empty space where he had just taken the wooden box.

They are all plum blossom patterns.

The one that Ji Sui gave her was broken in an accident. She always wanted to carve an identical one based on it, but she always failed to achieve her goal.

Lin Zhen sighed deeply and was about to put the wooden hairpin away when he suddenly heard a noise outside the yard.

Does Qi Yuanzhou have something else to say?

She hurried out.

A tall, bright red horse stood in her yard, grunting and shaking its head.

Lin Zhen recognized it at a glance; it was Chi Heng.

It's still alive.

For three months, she never dared to go near Luoying Gorge. On that day, she didn't even have the courage to collect his body. She watched him being transported back to the capital along with other soldiers who died in the battle.

She didn't even shed a tear for him.

But the moment she saw Chi Heng, she tightly clenched the wooden hairpin in her hand, and suddenly squatted on the ground and burst into tears, crying like a child.

*

A shrill sound suddenly came from the side room of an old house in the town.

Lin Yue, who was drying flowers in the yard, hurried into the room upon hearing the sound, and saw Bai Ce squatting on the ground picking up broken porcelain pieces, with blood still oozing from the tip of one of his fingers.

Lin Yue raised her eyes and glared at the man sitting on the ground not far away, with ragged clothes and messy hair.

This is the first time he has smashed a bowl this month.

Lin Yue pulled Bai Ce up and angrily shouted, "Don't bother with him anymore! There's no reward for saving him!"

The man in the corner sneered, "Did I ask you to save me?"

"Get out!" He suddenly threw a wooden crutch at him. Bai Ce had sharp hearing and quickly pulled Lin Yue into his arms and dodged.

"You! You!!" Lin Yue was so angry that she couldn't speak.

It was indeed she who took the initiative to rescue him.

That night, holding on to a glimmer of hope, she went to search among the dead bodies as hard as she could, and dragged him back on a cart.

He was covered in wounds and was almost half dead. If it weren't for Bai Ce's superb medical skills, he would definitely not live to see tomorrow.

He was in a coma for two months and when he woke up, he looked moody.

At first, Lin Yue did have some selfish thoughts, so she did not tell her elder sister that Ji Bai was still alive.

After he regained consciousness, he ordered them not to tell anyone that he was alive and attempted suicide several times.

He seemed to be completely different from the general that Lin Yue had in mind.

Seeing his listless and untidy appearance, Lin Yue became even more angry. She took Bai Ce's hand and said, "If he doesn't want to eat, then forget it. Let him fend for himself! Let's get out!"

Lin Yue held Bai Ce's hand and walked for a long way until he stopped and reminded her, then she hurriedly let go of his hand.

"I'd better make another meal." Bai Ce said softly.

"Are you crazy? He treated you like this! Why are you still so nice to him?" Lin Yue said angrily.

Bai Ce's voice suddenly became very low, but Lin Yue heard it, "I'm not doing this for his own good, I'm doing this for your own good..."

Lin Yue was suddenly speechless and remained silent for a long time. She slowly took Bai Ce's hand again, took out a clean handkerchief from her sleeve, and silently bandaged him circle by circle.

Bai Ce couldn't help but hissed softly, and Lin Yue realized that she had been too harsh. She realized that Bai Ce himself was the best doctor and there was no need for her to do these things.

She loosened her hand again, but subconsciously warned him, "Don't get cold, and don't touch the water."

"And the most important thing is, don't hurt yourself because of him again! I'll be unhappy!"

After Lin Yue finished speaking, she turned around and ran to continue drying the flowers.

For the first time, Bai Ce hated his blindness. He thought that Lin Yue must be especially cute at this moment.

Lin Yue ran fast and bumped into Shi Zhu who came to see Ji Sui. He helped Lin Yue steady herself and asked anxiously, "Where is my master?"

Lin Yue's originally joyful mood was suddenly filled with gloom. She pushed Shi Zhu and said, "He's dead!"

"What?!" Shizhu, who had experienced his master's life hanging by a thread, took it seriously and immediately ran into the house. He saw Ji Bai sitting upright and breathing heavily.

He and Lin Yue concealed the news that Ji Bai was still alive from everyone. He was afraid that the new emperor would find out that he was still alive and would inevitably take revenge on him later.

In order to protect Ji Sui, he specifically submitted a memorial to reject all rewards for destroying the Dian Kingdom, and only asked to stay here as a coach.

He came here today because he received some bad news. After thinking it over, he decided to tell his master the truth.

"Master, Miss Lin...seems to be getting married."

*

The sixth day of the first lunar month.

The day Qi Yuanzhou got married.

The small courtyard was decorated with lights and filled with guests. Even the old branches in the corner of the courtyard were tied with strings of red flowers.

Although Lin Zhen was invited as a guest, the Qi family was small and short of manpower. Everyone was busy and chaotic on the wedding day, so she followed suit to help.

Finally, all the guests were welcomed to the table. Lin Zhen stood aside and looked at the perfect couple in the hall. Amid the cheers and applause of the crowd, she also smiled.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around quickly, "Excuse me, which side are you from..."

Lin Zhen turned around, but stopped where he was.

Ji Sui changed into a clean set of coarse cloth clothes, tied up his long hair high, and shaved his beard cleanly. After being locked up in the house for three months, his skin became white and translucent, and his figure became thin, giving him a scholarly air. However, the scar on his face that had not yet faded was shocking.

He stared at Lin Zhen blankly for a long while, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Why... aren't you the bride?"

Lin Zhen smiled, but tears rolled down her cheeks. She replied, "I'm afraid I can't be the bride. I promised him that I would marry him."

As soon as he finished speaking, before Ji Sui could make any move, Lin Zhen ran towards him.

The wooden crutch fell to the ground, and he reached out to catch her tightly, holding her in his arms.

Snow started falling from the sky again, and snowflakes slowly fell into their black hair, stuck to their cuffs, and fell into their collars.

But they no longer felt cold.

They have warmth for each other.

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