When Ji Zhuo saw that Lin Xihe was safe and sound the next day, the weight on his heart finally lifted.
However, Ji Zhuo had disappeared from Da Hao without warning. If he were to return now, given Xiao Yugan's suspicious nature and ruthless temperament—who would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free—he would surely become suspicious of him.
At that time, once Ji Zhuo steps into Da Hao, it will undoubtedly be like a lamb entering a tiger's den, with no chance of return.
Lang Feng, Ji Zhuo's confidant, meticulously planned a mine explosion and publicly claimed that Ji Zhuo had unfortunately died.
Since then, Ji Zhuo has never been seen in the court of Da Hao again. From then on, Da Hao no longer had Ji Zhuo, but Mu Ruoyan had a minister who appeared to be close to her.
They claim to be close, but it's just a facade.
The two argued constantly in private, and were filled with resentment and hostility towards each other.
Lin Xihe felt helpless about this, but she also found that the two could still barely cooperate on serious matters and occasionally exchange a few words.
With her modern knowledge, Lin Xihe provided Mu Ruoyan and Ji Zhuo with many suggestions, such as the scientific research system that was gradually improved, the improvement of agricultural tools, and the establishment of a courier system.
She was mainly responsible for describing the appearance of modern life, while the specific implementation plan was discussed and improved by Mu Ruoyan and Ji Zhuo.
Despite their private discord, the two surprisingly found common ground in these matters.
Lin Xihe continued to live in the palace. Mu Ruoyan was not in a hurry to let Ji Zhuo leave, but instead let him continue to live in the separate palace that had been set aside for him.
The winters in the North are bitterly cold. Mu Ruoyan plans to move the capital to Da Hao after conquering Da Hao, and then choose another place to establish the capital after the world is unified.
Later, when news of the fall of the Western Regions arrived, Mu Ruoyan personally led troops to cooperate with Gu Qinghuai from within and without, and in just three months, they captured Xiao Yugan without bloodshed.
Apart from Gu Qinghuai, Mu Ruoyan had already taken control of or turned other important court officials of the Great Hao Dynasty.
The process must have been fraught with difficulties, but Mu Ruoyan never revealed a single detail to Lin Xihe.
He had told her to just wait patiently and leave everything else to him, and he had kept his word.
The only thing that left Lin Xihe speechless was that Mu Ruoyan would take Ji Zhuo with him wherever he went.
Although the two didn't get along, Mu Ruoyan clearly didn't want Ji Zhuo to spend more time with Lin Xihe, so Ji Zhuo was almost always wherever he was.
This subtle competitive relationship left Lin Xihe both amused and exasperated.
A year later, under Xu Qi's escort, Lin Xihe finally embarked on her journey back to the capital.
The carriage slowly drove through the familiar streets, her feelings were complex and hard to describe.
The capital city remained bustling, with people coming and going in the streets and alleys, as if nothing had changed. However, she knew that in the past year, many things had changed beyond recognition.
At this moment, Mu Ruoyan and Ji Zhuo were rushing back from Nanzhao, while Lin Xihe stood alone in front of the Lin Mansion, looking at the familiar vermilion gate, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
The Lin residence still stands, the stone lions in front of the gate still majestic, as if time had never passed there. She reached out and gently touched the door frame, but her fingertips only touched the cold reality.
Just as she was lost in thought, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from behind her, breaking the surrounding tranquility.
Lin Xihe turned around and saw a fine horse galloping towards them, and the person on the horse was Gu Qinghuai.
That year, Gu Qinghuai hardly stopped, rushing to wherever there was still unresolved warfare.
They had almost no contact. It wasn't that Lin Xihe didn't want to contact him, but no matter how many letters she sent, she never received a reply.
Lin Xihe vaguely understood that Gu Qinghuai might already know about her relationship with those two people, which was why he chose to distance himself.
Gu Qinghuai reined in his horse, stopped beside Lin Xihe, and dismounted.
His face bore a long-lost smile, but that smile contained a hint of weariness and alienation that was hard to detect.
"Xihe." He stood not far away, deliberately keeping a distance, his voice low and gentle.
Lin Xihe didn't step forward; she just quietly watched him.
She noticed that his skin was darker than before, and he had become much thinner, but his eyes remained as bright as ever.
"Was your journey back smooth?" Gu Qinghuai asked first, his voice tinged with caution.
"Yes, now that the war has subsided, the journey is quite safe." Lin Xihe replied softly, looking somewhat reserved. She secretly pondered to herself that he hadn't paid any attention to her for the past year, perhaps because he disliked her, or even loathed her.
"I just got back yesterday."
The atmosphere between the two became somewhat stiff, as if even the air itself had become heavy.
Lin Xihe felt extremely embarrassed and didn't know how to face the person in front of her for a moment.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally suggested, "Um, would you like to come inside and sit for a while?"
Gu Qinghuai nodded, and the two walked into the mansion together.
However, he did not go inside, but instead sat down with Lin Xihe at the stone table in the courtyard.
Xue had already prepared fragrant tea, which she gently placed on the table before quietly leaving the two of them alone.
The courtyard was so quiet that only the rustling of the wind through the apricot tree leaves could be heard.
After a long while, Gu Qinghuai finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse: "I went to see Tang Bao and Zhi Hao before, and they are both fine. It's very safe there. I will personally go to pick them up next month."
"Um."
Mu Ruoyan had already told her these things, so she wasn't surprised.
Silence fell again. Gu Qinghuai's fingers unconsciously traced the rim of his teacup, as if he were considering what to say next.
After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Before... what happened between you and me was a setup. I'm sorry, I failed to see through it back then."
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