The summer sun shines warmly.
The gentle breeze is refreshing.
The continuous chirping of insects outside the window makes the girl in bed frown slightly and open her eyes.
A blinding white light pierces her eyes instantly, making it hard for her to keep them open.
She struggles to lift her eyelids and rubs her stinging eyes.
Only then does she realize that the darkness before her eyes has vanished.
She props herself up and sits, and the next moment, she is stunned by what she sees.
Where is this?
The Xie Family's Mansion?
She gets up, bare - footed, and steps off the bed. Looking at the familiar furnishings in the room, it is exactly the room she lived in at the Xie Family's Mansion in Qinzhou.
She can't help but feel a pang of emotion.
It turns out that after death, one would return to the place they most long to go.
Just then, Ruan Jiu suddenly hears a 'bang'.
She turns her head immediately.
There stands Chun Tao at the door, her hands frozen in mid - air.
The iron basin on the ground is still rolling, and the water in it has spilled everywhere.
"Miss Ruan is awake!"
Ruan Jiu looks blank. She doesn't come to her senses until Xie Jingchu carries her bare - footed back to the bed, squats in front of her, and tightly holds her hands.
Frowning, she mutters to herself, "Is... Is A Jing dead too?"
Xie Jingchu smiles and places Ruan Jiu's hand on his cheek.
"Why don't you feel it?"
A warm sensation spreads to Ruan Jiu's palm instantly.
Ruan Jiu jerks her hand back in surprise and exclaims, "I'm not dead?!"
Xie Jingchu nods with a smile, his eyes filled with the joy of getting back what was lost.
Ruan Jiu reaches out her hand again and touches Xie Jingchu's cheek.
The warm touch gradually makes her believe that what is in front of her is not a hallucination at her dying moment.
But soon, Ruan Jiu frowns and asks, "But didn't I already take poison?"
Hearing this, Xie Jingchu frowns tightly, with a hint of blame in his eyes.
"You still have the nerve to say that. Do you know how dangerous what you did was? If the imperial physician hadn't treated you in time, you would have been dead long ago!"
Ruan Jiu suddenly realizes and pouts, "I've been like a walking corpse every day. It's better to be dead."
After hearing this, Xie Jingchu immediately panics and pulls Ruan Jiu into his arms.
"It's my fault! All my fault! I failed to rescue you!"
Ruan Jiu lies on Xie Jingchu's chest, quietly listening to his strong heartbeat.
Everything in front of her seems so unreal. There are too many questions in her heart.
"My eyes were blind, weren't they?"
Xie Jingchu loosens his arms.
He bites his lips and looks at Ruan Jiu thoughtfully.
After much deliberation, he decides to tell her everything.
"A Jiu, your eyes... are Xiao Wang's."
Ruan Jiu widens her eyes suddenly, and her eyelids start to twitch violently.
She reaches out and touches her eye sockets, in disbelief. "What on earth is going on?"
"After you took poison and tried to kill yourself that day, Xiao Wang did his best to save you. Later, he sent someone to summon me into the palace. I only learned what had happened to you in the Eastern Palace from Lan Yu."
Speaking of this, there is a layer of guilt in Xie Jingchu's eyes.
He regrets listening to Ruan Jiu's words and waiting for her to regain her memory on her own.
If he had known that Ruan Jiu would do something to harm herself in order to escape from the Eastern Palace, he would have rushed into the palace even if it cost him his life.
Ruan Jiu reaches out and touches Xie Jingchu's frowning eyebrows.
She says softly, "A Jing, don't blame yourself."
Xie Jingchu then continues, "When I saw Xiao Wang, his eyes were already blind. It was him who asked the witch - doctor to transplant his eyes to you."
After hearing this, Ruan Jiu can't help but be surprised and exclaims, "Why did he do that? He's the crown prince!"
"He abdicated the crown prince position to the son of Concubine Feng. He said that a person like him is unworthy of being a king. But he will always remember what you said and will assist the king well for the sake of all the people in the future.
He also said..."
Xie Jingchu bites his lips and swallows the rest of the words.
"What else did he say?"
Xie Jingchu smiles, "He said he was wrong. The only thing he could do was to give you his eyes to make up for the harm he did to you."
Ruan Jiu touches her eye sockets again.
She feels neither grateful nor touched by Xiao Wang's actions.
Everything in the world has its cause and effect.
Actually, there is another thing that Xiao Wang said, but Xie Jingchu didn't tell Ruan Jiu.
"I didn't know how to love someone in this life. In the next life, I hope to meet her earlier and love her all over again."
-
July 3rd is an auspicious day.
It is good for making money, attracting fortune, and getting married.
It is an auspicious day for all things.
In Qinzhou City, there is a grand wedding procession stretching for miles. The carriages line up from one end of the street to the other.
Ruan Jiu is wearing a red wedding dress like the rosy clouds in the sky, with a thin and soft crimson veil over it.
The wedding veil adorned with southern pearls covers her delicate face but can't hide the slight curve of her lips.
Stepping with brisk steps, her skirt flutters gently in the breeze. She is incredibly beautiful.
Xie Jingchu is dressed in a red brocade robe. Time seems to stand still on his handsome and elegant face, which shines brightly.
The smile on his lips seems to be fixed there and refuses to fade away.
He gently takes Ruan Jiu's hand and walks shoulder - to - shoulder into the hall covered with red silk.
"The wedding ceremony is completed, and a good marriage is concluded.
Today, the peach blossoms are in full bloom, indicating a harmonious and prosperous family. May your descendants be as numerous as the gourds on the vine, and may your family thrive.
We hereby make a vow of lifelong commitment, writing it on the letter paper. We shall record this wonderful marriage on the marriage register.
This is the proof!"
After a whole day, Ruan Jiu is so tired that she feels like her bones are about to break.
No one told her that getting married would be this tiring.
Suddenly, she hears the sound of footsteps at the door. She quickly tidies up her wedding veil again.
She sits calmly by the bed, but in fact, her panicked heart makes her clench her fingers tightly.
As the veil is lifted, Ruan Jiu raises her eyes and meets Xie Jingchu's dazed eyes. She is slightly lost in thought.
"A Jiu."
Xie Jingchu moves his head closer.
At such a close distance, Ruan Jiu can clearly see her own reflection in Xie Jingchu's gentle and deep eyes.
Not sure if it's because of the alcohol on Xie Jingchu, Ruan Jiu feels a flutter in her heart.
She stretches out her slender arms and wraps them around Xie Jingchu's neck.
"A Jing."
Ruan Jiu calls out softly.
Xie Jingchu reaches out his finger and stops on Ruan Jiu's pink and soft lips.
"A Jiu's lips look so kissable."
His voice is deep and seductive.
Ruan Jiu raises the corners of her eyes and stares directly at the dazed man in front of her.
She slightly opens her mouth and bites Xie Jingchu's finger.
Xie Jingchu trembles, and a tingling sensation spreads all over his body.
He looks at the bright - eyed and white - toothed girl in front of him in a daze.
"A Jiu, what should you call me?"
"Hubby."
From being 'Fourth Master' to 'Hubby', it has taken Xie Jingchu ten years to walk this path.
The red bridal curtains are fragrant, and the red candles are flickering.
That night, the courtyard of the fourth branch of the Xie Family is lit up all night.
From then on, all the chaos finally returns to normal.
Among the vast crowd, they finally get what they want and will accompany each other until the end of their lives.
【The End】