Qi Mingyue choked, her face flushed: "Who...who is..."
"Isn't that so?" Yao Xiuyan wiped the medicine from the corner of her lips. "Then I've asked the Emperor for a decree in vain."
It turned out that he had already requested an imperial decree to grant them marriage! Qi Mingyue was both happy and shy, burying her head in the quilt without saying a word.
Yao Xiuyan laughed loudly, then suddenly coughed. Qi Mingyue quickly checked on him and discovered that blood was seeping from his shoulder—he had come to the rescue injured!
“You…” she felt a pang of heartache.
"It's alright." He held her hand. "Wherever you are, that's where I belong."
The two stood side by side on the city tower and saw that on the Gobi Desert where the barbarians had retreated, clusters of greenery had sprung up.
“These are seeds brought by the mission,” Qi Mingyue said softly. “I had them scattered outside the pass.”
Yao Xiuyan exclaimed, "It will surely become an oasis next year."
Suddenly, a military report arrived: the barbarian tribe was in turmoil, and their leader had died suddenly! It turned out that the Third Princess's delegation had successfully contacted the Western Regions kingdoms, cutting off the barbarian tribe's reinforcements.
Qi Mingyue exclaimed with delight: "Cousin Chengyu has done a great job!"
Yao Xiuyan gazed at her: "Mingyue has also made great contributions." He said solemnly, "If it weren't for your valiant defense, the border would have been lost long ago."
When the good news reached the capital, the emperor was overjoyed. Rewards were sent to the border in droves, and Qi Mingyue was specially granted the title of "Lady Protector of the Nation".
On the day she received the imperial decree, the pear blossoms were in full bloom. Yao Xiuyan adorned her hair with the imperial phoenix hairpin: "Do you like it?"
Qi Mingyue nodded, but took off the pear wood hairpin he had given her: "I like this one better."
The two looked at each other and smiled. No words were needed; their hearts were in sync.
With the border gradually stabilized, Yao Xiuyan was about to go to Dunhuang for inspection. Before leaving, he handed the tiger tally back to Qi Mingyue: "I trust you with the border in my care."
Qi Mingyue straightened his battle robe: "Go early and come back early."
This time she felt no unease, for she knew that no matter how far she traveled, she would eventually return home.
When the pear blossoms had all fallen, she received a letter from the capital. It was written by the Empress herself, praising her as "worthy of being a daughter of the Qi family" and inviting her back to the capital to attend the Crown Prince's birthday banquet.
Qi Mingyue wrote back: "Spring is in full bloom at the border, and all things are growing. I am willing to stay here and wait for the pear trees to bear fruit."
She remembered Yao Xiuyan's parting words: "When autumn comes, I will pick pears for you to eat."
A wind rose over the Gobi Desert, stirring the pages of the book in her hands. On it were written: "Home is where the heart finds peace."
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