For a moment, the three were silent.
"I'd rather she hate me than live her life refusing to marry anyone else because of me, nor would I want her to be a widow for me. We've known each other for many years, and you know her character well. If she knew the truth, she would never leave me, and would even wish for our wedding to be sooner."
After a brief silence, Ji Rong spoke again.
What he said was not false.
The person who understood Qin Yiqing best in this world was not her parents, nor friends like Yun Shu, but Ji Rong.
Ruan Xi, who was usually very talkative, was speechless.
He truly didn't know what to say.
His heart ached terribly.
Yun Shu frowned deeply.
"Help me keep it from Yiqing," Ji Rong implored them once more.
After a period of silence, Yun Shu said, "If, one day, Yiqing learns the truth, what then?"
"By then, I will already be gone. Perhaps she will have married and had children, and the past will have faded like smoke." Ji Rong pursed his lips, a discernible pain in his expression.
Ruan Xi sighed, "Can't you defy fate and change your own destiny? Why not change your own fate? Must you watch the woman who was supposed to marry you have children with someone else? Can you truly rest in peace in the netherworld? Do you believe there's anyone in this world who dotes on Qin Yiqing more than you do?"
Before he knew Ji Rong, he thought fortune-telling and physiognomy were all scams, but now he knew Ji Rong's abilities very well.
Yun Shu's beautiful eyes deepened, echoing Ruan Xi's words, "Have you ever tried to defy fate for yourself?"
Ji Rong gently shook his head, "I have tried, but I never had the opportunity to defy fate for myself."
For a moment, Yun Shu was silent.
"Damn it! I don't like cliché stories of parting in life and death. Ji Rong, are you deliberately saying this to trick us? I'd rather you had fallen out of love! If you die, I'll have one less person to brag with! Ji Rong, you wouldn't be so cruel, would you?" Ruan Xi's eyes could not help but turn red.
Hearing this, Ji Rong smiled, "Don't worry, I won't die anytime soon. I can hold on for a while longer. While I'm still alive, cherish your bragging."
After speaking, he said to Yun Shu as if entrusting his child, "Yiqing has always listened to you the most. After I'm gone, can you help her choose someone trustworthy to spend her life with?"
Yun Shu shook her head, her tone firm, "You truly understand Qin Yiqing best, but you've forgotten Yiqing's resolve. She will never marry anyone else but you; she would rather wander the world."
This was precisely what Ji Rong was worried about.
Ji Rong's face turned even paler.
The three were once again left in silence.
"Haven't we reached the final moment yet? Are you giving up?" Yun Shu questioned Ji Rong again.
She had a feeling that Ji Rong's life could not be so short.
Ji Rong pondered.
Yun Shu glanced at the sky, "I'll think of a way too. I'll go back and see Qin Yiqing first."
Seeing Yun Shu about to leave, Ji Rong suddenly remembered something very important.
"Wait!"
Yun Shu stopped and turned to look at Ji Rong.
"Do you plan to marry the Night King?" Ji Rong asked.
He had been troubled by the Night King's destiny for the past two days.
A solitary star of misfortune, yet he could have three sons.
And although he couldn't discern the fate of Yun Shu and those three children, he could feel that they would definitely not have short lives.
Thus, for a time, he was plagued by this anomaly.
Yun Shu was slightly taken aback, "I haven't made a final decision yet."
Recalling her interactions with Zhan Tianye during the assassination attempts, she felt an unspoken connection had formed between them.
Moreover, she carried the burden of three villages and the lives of those innocent people behind her.
Her original plan to leave the capital was inevitably postponed.
It seemed that the connection between her and Zhan Tianye was growing stronger, as if guided by fate.
"Good. Please comfort Yiqing. Thank you." Ji Rong felt relieved upon hearing her indecisive response.
After he figures out these unfathomable matters, he will go see the Night King.
Yun Shu hummed in agreement.
Even if Ji Rong hadn't said it, she wouldn't have stood by and watched Qin Yiqing fall into despair.
After Yun Shu also left, Ruan Xi, unable to bear it any longer, persistently questioned, "You've helped so many people, surely you can't really be unable to help yourself?"
He simply couldn't accept it.
Ji Rong smiled helplessly, "In the past few months, I've tried countless methods, but they are all futile."
However, he would not give up until the very last moment.
He did not want Yiqing to witness this process of persistent hope being repeatedly dashed, to face repeated blows like him.
Watching those hopes extinguish one by one.
Ruan Xi gritted his teeth and made a decision, "The world is vast and full of wonders. It's impossible that only your Ji family knows divination. There must be other masters! I'll have people search for them! With a hefty reward, someone will surely be able to change your fate!"
Ji Rong chuckled, touched, "Alright."
Ruan Xi patted Ji Rong on the shoulder, "Leave it to me. It's just a small matter! I guarantee I'll find a master even more skilled than you in the shortest possible time!"
...
Outside the General's mansion.
As Yun Shu was about to enter.
A familiar voice came from behind her.
"Second Miss Yun."
Yun Shu turned to look.
It was Qiu Lu.
In just one night, Qiu Lu stood before her looking extremely haggard.
The murder of Uncle Qian's family had dealt Qiu Lu a devastating blow.
Yun Shu walked back a few steps and came before Qiu Lu, "Have Uncle Qian's family been buried properly? I'm sorry, Qiu Lu, this matter started because of me."
Although Qiu Lu was sad, he was reasonable and quickly said, "This matter is related to those assassins, and has nothing to do with Second Miss Yun! Your subordinate will definitely catch those assassins, find out who is behind them, and kill them to avenge my cousin! However, for some reason, my cousin is nowhere to be found in the village. Perhaps... she escaped."
"Have you sent people to look for her?" Yun Shu asked.
Qiu Lu nodded, "I've already sent people to look."
Yun Shu hummed in agreement.
At this moment, a pair of slender, well-defined hands with extremely beautiful long fingers parted the carriage curtain.
A pair of bottomless dark eyes looked towards Yun Shu.
Yun Shu happened to be looking at the carriage as well.
Their eyes met.
"This matter is for this king to handle," he said, his words full of responsibility.
Yun Shu was momentarily speechless, unsure how to reply.
Especially after this incident, she felt an indescribable something between them.
"I haven't seen the little ones for a few days, and this king truly misses them," Zhan Tianye added, providing a very reasonable excuse for his arrival.
Yun Shu nodded, "Let's go inside together."
As they stepped into the General's mansion.
Moments later, Geng Yufei, who was imprisoned in the celestial prison, was released.
And was brought back to the palace by the Empress Dowager, who ordered her to be well taken care of.
Zhan Tianhong was reviewing official documents.
Upon hearing this, he slammed the memorial he was holding onto the table with a bang, "The Empress Dowager has released a convicted criminal?!"