The mistress who remarried has returned.

The moment Su Yunxi received the marriage certificate he returned, she felt relieved and no longer resentful. She completely gave up hope and stopped wishing for anything more.

I now have the courage to recount what happened on that dark, rainy night.

"That day, your mother found me and told me that Miss Xue told her that I was just a tool you used to spite Miss Xue." Su Yunxi smiled faintly, slowly tearing open her scars. "I didn't believe it was true, so I went to the barracks to confront you. Qin Huai, you were drunk at the time. When I approached you, you grabbed my arm, looked into my face, and told me, 'I am not Xue Wenying, we can't be together.'"

As she spoke, her smile was both frank and pitiful, "I took me in because I'm skinny and not as well-built as her, so I wouldn't make Miss Xue angrier."

Qin Huai was heartbroken beyond measure.

Su Yunxi gently withdrew her hand from Qin Huai's. She had only taken a few steps when Qin Huai embraced her from behind. He held her so tightly that it was almost shameless and unrestrained. Su Yunxi couldn't break free at all. This was completely different from his usual restrained and polite demeanor, who always tried to keep his distance from her.

"You are not Xue Wenying. I will not let my mother marry you off to someone else as she did Xue Wenying. We can no longer continue to live secretly in this separate courtyard."

Su Yunxi's heart suddenly felt hot. "What did you say?"

"Just because you heard one of my drunken, incomplete words, you negated our seven-year relationship, and you ran away before I sobered up, didn't you?" Qin Huai handed her the necklace he had brought back from Linzhou four years ago when he asked her to marry him, under the moonlight. "The first time I got completely drunk was because I decided to propose to you the next day, to take you to meet Mrs. Qin no matter what, and to stop being Mrs. Qin's obedient child. That night, I was in a lot of turmoil, worried that I couldn't protect you."

Su Yunxi stared at the necklace, suddenly understanding why Qin Huai had bought it four years ago. She turned to Qin Huai and asked, "Wasn't I just a tool you used to spite Miss Xue?"

"You are not."

"Then what am I?"

"You are my mischievous wife."

Su Yunxi snorted in dissatisfaction, "Let me go. You called me a bad woman yesterday, and you're still not happy that I broke you up with Miss Xue. I'm not talking to you anymore."

"There's nothing between us, it's just that I feel guilty. I'll cut all ties with her from now on," Qin Huai said in a deep voice. "I know I was terrible last night."

Su Yunxi gave an "oh" and then fell silent. After a long pause, she finally said, "You left me here all alone while you went to find Miss Xue. You even said she was an innocent woman. I'm a bad woman. You forced me to move my things, and... and you even returned the marriage certificate to me..."

"It's my fault. I was bad last night, so bad, Xixi." Qin Huai raised his hand and gently stroked her face, sincerely apologizing, "I'm sorry, Xixi. I cared too much. When I saw you in Zhou Yu's bed back then, I was stunned. Thinking back on it, I regretted slapping you so many times."

Su Yunxi felt his gentle caress on her face and suddenly said softly, "I'm not much better. I shouldn't have said that you are nothing compared to the Crown Prince. And, I really was too insecure, so I ran away after hearing your drunken words. Because... I care too much, so much that I can't believe you belong to me."

"Are you still blaming me, Xixi? To get your forgiveness, I'm willing to make it up to you. You can name any conditions," Qin Huai asked sincerely.

Su Yunxi realized she had taken things out of context and misunderstood Qin Huai, so she shook her head. "I actually stopped blaming you a long time ago. You don't need to compensate me for anything. You've been living with the reputation of being a cuckold in Beijing for the past few years. Um... do you still blame me?"

"It's your fault," Qin Huai said seriously.

No.

Su Yunxi was speechless for a moment.

She's already so forgiving of him, so why is he still blaming her?

This is so different from the image of the carefree young master from a noble family that people in the capital describe; he is clearly very calculating.

"So what do you want?"

"Your words left me with a deep emotional wound. I've been in unbearable pain for the past four years, and your public displays of affection with Zhou Yu have tormented me for four years as well." Qin Huai clutched his chest in anguish. "Unless you come back to me, I'm afraid I'll never recover."

"So what do you want?"

"I'm about to set off to conquer the Great Qi, and I need you to come with me...to come with me?"

Su Yunxi remained silent.

As if on trial, Qin Huai gradually suffered in Liangdi's silence. Perhaps under Zhou Yu's careful care over the past four years, she had fallen in love with him.

Su Yunxi thought for a moment and said softly, "Let's bring my brother along too. He can go to Daqi to train and gain experience after his spring exams."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huai opened his arms, and Su Yunxi gently leaned in. Qin Huai tightened his arms around her, and suddenly, like two incomplete semicircles, they were pieced together and became whole. The pain in their bodies and hearts faded away in the moment of their embrace. It was as if, suddenly, the harm done by Lord Su and Madam Qin could not hurt them, because they had each other, and each other was the safest armor for the other.

Qin Huai lowered his head and kissed Su Yunxi under the moonlight. In his passion, he pressed her against the wall, deepening the kiss. He whispered in her ear, "I want you more. That night wasn't enough. I want more, Xixi. How much longer do I want to live like this, without any official status?"

Su Yunxi said softly, "Actually, when the Crown Prince fell on hard times, Zhou Yu had already written a letter of release for me. But he has been kind to me these past few years, and seeing his dire situation, I didn't accept the letter. I came to him today to retrieve the letter, as I was originally planning to leave the capital."

"Don't leave my sight." Upon hearing this, Qin Huai pressed his forehead against hers. "After the banquet ends, I'll wait for you outside the East Palace. You take the letter of release from concubine, and we'll go back to Jiuli Lane."

Su Yunxi said, "I have to go home."

Qin Huai said with difficulty, "Then I'll go home with you... so your mother won't find out..."

***

Back at the banquet, the Imperial Guards' swordsmanship performance had already ended.

Qin Huai returned to his seat, while Su Yunxi returned to Zhou Yu's side.

Qin Huai and Su Yunxi did not look at each other, as if they had never been together under the moon in the pavilion.

Zhou Yu looked at Su Yunxi's face and asked her, "Is your headache any better?"

Su Yunxi nodded. "I'm feeling much better."

Xue Wenying asked Qin Huai, "Where did you go just now? The Emperor and Lord Qin are still asking about your whereabouts."

Qin Huai glanced at Liu Shun.

Liu Shun said to Xue Wenying, "As I just mentioned, the master's injuries are severe and he is too weak to continue, so he went to change his medicine."