She stopped in her tracks, a flood of possibilities rushing through her mind. Could it be...? Could it be...?
At that moment, a young boy emerged from behind the middle-aged woman.
The boy, barely ten years old, had a handsome yet childlike face full of joy as he shouted, "Sister! You're back?"
Shen Mianmian's vision gradually blurred because the boy looked very much like her younger brother, Shen Sui!
Is this fate's arrangement?
Was it a coincidence that she dressed as Ning Furong?
Unable to control herself any longer, Shen Mianmian rushed over, hugged the middle-aged woman, and choked up, unable to speak.
Ning's mother also cried as she hugged her daughter, "My good child, you've suffered so much. It's good that you're back."
The neighbors sighed and talked about how the Ning family had been poor before, and how Ning Furong had entered the palace to make a living for her family. Now, with the favor of heaven, she had not only achieved her wish but also gained a lot. With the Empress as her backer, not only would Ning Lidian's future be bright, but even the county magistrate would have to give the Ning family some respect.
Ning's mother gently patted her daughter's back. "Alright, let's go back first. Someone has already gone to the yamen to inform your father. He will be back soon."
"Okay." Shen Mianmian looked at the familiar face of the middle-aged woman and smiled through her tears.
Soon, Ning's mother returned home with her two children.
The Ning family home was simple yet tidy, exuding warmth in every corner.
At the same time, the convoy leader was directing the soldiers to carry the gifts bestowed by the Empress into the mansion, box by box.
Chen Mianmian took out a bag from an alley and handed it to her younger brother Ning Junchu, asking him to distribute the copper coins to the neighbors who were watching the commotion. She said it was to share in the joy, but in reality, it was also to win people's hearts and avoid a lot of trouble.
The copper coins were prepared in advance by Jiang Yinjin; the task of distributing the copper coins was also instructed by Jiang Yinjin.
Ning's mother busied herself, having the soldier settle the box in the room. Several close neighbors brought tea and food from their homes, and started cooking to prepare a meal for the soldier.
On the other side.
When Ning's mother heard that her daughter had been harmed in the palace and lost her memory, she refused to let her daughter do any work after she returned home, and instead made her sit and rest in the hall.
Sudden.
A commotion came from outside the door, followed by the sound of congratulations from the neighbors.
Shenmian blindly guessed that it was Ning's father who had returned.
Also returning at the same time must be... Bai Qingzhou.
Her heart suddenly pounded, and she quickly walked to the entrance of the hall.
The Ning family was poor, with only a courtyard and three rooms. The main house's door faced the courtyard gate, so when Chen Mianmian stood at the house's door, she saw two tall men walking in, exchanging pleasantries with the neighbors.
One was a middle-aged man whose face was familiar because he resembled her father in real life.
The other young man, naturally, is...
Chen Mianmian looked at the young man who was still wearing the county magistrate's robe. Sure enough, he had grown taller, his eyebrows and eyes were more deep and firm, and his features were more handsome and outstanding. Standing in the crowd, he was like a pearl falling on a pebble, attracting attention.
Her appearance has changed somewhat, but her temperament remains the same.
He remained as gentle and refined as jade, as humble as bamboo. Even when wearing official robes, he did not put on airs. He was as clean and clear as an autumn pool in the afternoon, calm and serene.
Bai Qingzhou sensed the gaze and looked over accordingly.
When he saw the woman with tears streaming down her face, he was momentarily stunned, then looked away.
"..." Sleepless.
Soon, Ning Lidian finished greeting the neighbors, and then said apologetically to the man beside him, "I'm sorry, Lord Bai, for keeping you waiting. Please come in."
Bai Qingzhou nodded slightly, "The clerk is too kind."
Ning Lidian naturally missed his daughter and saw her tears streaming down her face, but as the head of the family, he needed to calmly manage the situation. So he suppressed his excitement, said only a few words to his daughter, and then invited Magistrate Bai and the officer leading the royal caravan into the hall.
I won't go into the details of our pleasantries.
Chen Mianmian sat in the corner, looking at Bai Qingzhou with a mournful gaze—even Jiang Yinjin recognized her, but he didn't? Apart from exchanging a glance with her at the courtyard gate, he hadn't looked at her once since.
All those years of longing were in vain.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ning Lidian invited the officers and soldiers of the caravan to a restaurant for drinks, but the officers politely declined, saying they had to hurry back to report.
At this moment, Ning's mother came over and said that the meal was ready. If the soldiers didn't mind, they could simply have a simple meal.
After a moment's thought, the officer agreed.
Following the Empress's instructions, the leading officer loudly proclaimed in the courtyard, in front of the onlookers, "Lord Bai, the Empress has instructed you to take good care of Lady Ning."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qingzhou did not kneel to receive the imperial decree, but instead bowed to accept it.
No one was surprised, because everyone knew that Lord Bai had repeatedly made military achievements and held a noble title. According to the laws of the Southern Chu Kingdom, the emperor and empress had decreed that he did not need to kneel.
After waiting for a while, Shen Mianmian saw that even after being reminded by the Empress, Bai Qingzhou didn't even glance at her. Instead, he was going to accompany the soldiers with Ning Lidian. Finally, she couldn't help but shout, "Lord Bai, Her Majesty the Empress has a secret order. Please allow me a moment to speak with you."
Everyone was on high alert—was there another secret order?
Bai Qingzhou thought for a moment and replied, "Alright, thank you, Lady Ning."
Afterwards, he walked to the hall, stood outside the hall, and said to the people beside him, "Please excuse me."
The crowd quickly moved a few steps to make way.
Shen Mianmian looked at Bai Qingzhou, who was standing firmly at the door—how could she not know what he was thinking? She had used this tactic many times before. Whenever she spoke to a man outside the family, she would always do so in full view of everyone, never giving anyone a chance to gossip about her.
Who would have thought that he would learn it?
It was also used to deal with her.
Shen Mianmian had imagined many scenarios for their meeting, such as hugging and crying or being speechless with emotion, but she never expected that the other person would not recognize her at all.
She comforted herself—this was only human nature. She had changed her identity, and she could recognize people with just a glance. Bai Qingzhou wouldn't need to be a county magistrate; he could go work in the Ministry of Justice and use his sharp eyes to interrogate criminals.
Bai Qingzhou glanced at the woman quickly before politely turning his head away, not staring at her. "It's convenient to talk here, please speak, Lady Ning."
Chen Mianmian was both annoyed and amused, and too lazy to argue with him, so she went straight to the point, "Jiang Yinjin should have told you about transmigrating into the book, right? I've transmigrated back from the book."
The man, who had been avoiding the issue, froze, standing motionless at the courtyard gate.
Shen Mianmian continued, "My real name is Shen Mianmian. My previous identity had the same name as me, but a different appearance; this identity has the same appearance but a different name."
I know you might not believe me, so why don't you give me a question? Ask me what we said together seven years ago, before you faked your death and left?
Bai Qingzhou turned around abruptly, his starry eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at her. His thin lips parted slightly, a thousand words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.
Faced with the intense gaze, Shen Mianmian couldn't help but feel a little shy. She lowered her eyes and muttered to herself, "Now you're shocked? Even Jiang Yinjin recognized me immediately. I don't expect you to recognize me immediately, but you should at least look at me a few more times because you seem familiar, right?"
Bai Qingzhou took two deep breaths to calm her wildly beating heart, not wanting to lose her composure in front of the people behind her.
Speaking as calmly as possible, "Because... I've thought about you for seven whole years."
Shen Mianmian's lips curved into a deeper smile, and her accusatory tone became somewhat sweet, "You've thought about it for seven years, so you can't recognize me? Don't you think this Lady Ning looks a lot like me?"
"No, it's just that every woman I see resembles you."
"?"
"Because I miss you so much, every woman on the street looks like you. The young ones look like you when you're young. The old ones look like you when you're old. The young ones look like you when you're young. When I miss you so much, I even think that all the men look like you."
"..."
“So, I came up with a plan: to avoid looking at any women and keep my distance from all of them.” Bai Qingzhou stared intently at Chen Mianmian and said seriously, “I saw you at the courtyard gate just now and thought you looked so much like me that I didn’t dare to look at you a second time, so I kept avoiding eye contact.”
Shen Mianmian chuckled, then realized there were still people in the courtyard, so she quickly took two steps back and went deeper into the hall so that no one would see her "ruining her image".
Bai Qingzhou subconsciously lifted her leg to follow, but then heard the person inside say, "Don't come in. Jiang Yinjin has written a script for us of love developing over time. If we act like we've fallen in love at first sight now, it'll easily ruin your 'persona.' The King of Qin is cunning and knows about my transmigration into the book. If you do anything too outrageous, he might become suspicious. I don't want to be dragged into this vortex anymore. I just want a peaceful life, and to live a good life with you..."
As she spoke, Chen Mianmian's voice grew softer and softer, and her cheeks burned.
Just as Bai Qingzhou was about to feel joy, she suddenly thought of something and reached out to touch her face. "I'm getting old, but you're still young. Will you... dislike me?"
Seeing the other person's expression change drastically, Shen Mianmian thought he had thought of some bad news again, but she did not expect it to be this question. She laughed and said, "The year I left, you were nineteen years old. Seven years later, you are twenty-six. How are you old? Actually, I am the one who is really old. I am older than you think."
Bai Qingzhou breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you don't mind. No matter how old you are, I'll love you. You... are you leaving this time?"
At the end of her voice, there was a hint of unease.
Chen Mianmian smiled and shook her head, "I'm not leaving, I'll stay forever."
Bai Qingzhou pressed on earnestly, "Really? You promise?"
Chen Mianmian nodded, "I guarantee it. If you don't believe me, I can swear a solemn oath."
"No need," Bai Qingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and said with a sense of relief, "If you leave again, I will continue to wait for you. I believe you will still come back to find me."
Shen Mianmian's nose tingled, and she nodded, "Okay."
Then, one of them was inside the hall, and the other was outside.
It was as if the noise in the courtyard had nothing to do with them, as if they were shielded from the whole world.
Between heaven and earth, there were only two people.
After a while, Bai Qingzhou said reluctantly, "I'm going to Ning Lidian's place. You can rest in your room."
"I'll go too."
"No, you shouldn't go."
Bai Qingzhou turned her head, her voice awkward, "If you go, I can't help but look at you more, and someone with ulterior motives might notice. I... can't control my eyes."
Chen Mianmian chuckled, "Okay, then you go ahead and get busy, I'm going back to my room to rest."
Bai Qingzhou nodded hastily, then looked deeply at his beloved woman before turning away to attend to his business.
Chen Mianmian entered a room and peered through the crack in the window at the lively scene in the courtyard. She had already begun to plan a new scenario in her mind—how should Lady Ning interact with Magistrate Bai so that they could develop feelings for each other over time?
First, he asked Magistrate Bai for some small favors.
Then, like women in ancient times, would they give handkerchiefs? purses? shoes? homemade snacks? various soups and broths?
The more I think about it, the more I look forward to it.
She pushed open the window, leaned against the window frame, propped her chin on her hand, and watched the busy people in the yard with a smile.
She thought to herself, "If I had known I could travel back in time, I should have learned embroidery and needlework in the modern world. But it's okay, it's not too late to start learning now."
That's it, I'll start learning embroidery tomorrow.
She couldn't wait to give him the handkerchief he had embroidered himself.
I couldn't wait to see his joyful expression as he received the handkerchief.
Just then, Bai Qingzhou and the team leader walked into the courtyard from outside, talking as they walked.
Bai Qingzhou maintained a serious expression, appearing to be handling official business; the officers, on the other hand, were extremely respectful, not daring to slight the magistrate Bai Qingzhou who held a noble title but had come to serve as a county magistrate.
Suddenly, Bai Qingzhou noticed the woman's gaze. Her expression remained unchanged as she listened to the officer talk about the current situation in the capital, but her face quietly flushed.
Chen Mianmian's smile deepened—Oh, you're blushing. Well… take another look and make his face blush even more.
A spring breeze blew in my face.
Something touched Shen Mianmian's face. She quickly grabbed it, and when she looked at it, she found that it was a small apricot blossom.
Spring breeze, apricot blossoms, and a young man?
I suddenly remembered a poem by Wei Zhuang that I once memorized: "Spring outing, apricot blossoms fill my hair. Whose young man is that on the road, so dashing and charming? I intend to marry him, for life. Even if I am heartlessly abandoned, I will not be ashamed."
"Sleeping soundly, lips curved"—let's embroider this poem on the first handkerchief we give him.
However... thirty-four characters, what a huge project! I wonder if she can embroider them successfully.
again,
A sense of joy arises in the heart—
The future looks so promising!
[End of article]
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