The mistress who remarried has returned.

Old Madam Qin had heard about the child's remarriage to the Crown Prince. Now all the misunderstandings had been cleared up. It was Qin Huai's mother who spread the wrong information, causing the two children to have a rift and delaying things for several years. Seeing that Su Yunxi was afraid of Qin Huai, Old Madam Qin said, "Huai'er, don't make things difficult for that child. When the Emperor and the Second Prince were making things difficult for our family just now, it was that child who asked the Crown Prince to help us."

Without saying anything, Qin Huai stood up from the dragon throne and chased after Su Yunxi.

Qin Lanzhang felt quite ashamed. If Qin Huai had rebelled for the sake of the Qin family's foundation, that would be one thing, but how did it seem like he was rebelling for his former mistress? Hmm, this kind of infatuated behavior was a bit shameful. He quickly said to Shen Shu, "Qin Huai eliminated the tyrannical emperor and supported a wise ruler for the sake of the Qin family and the country. His character is excellent."

Shen Shu chuckled. "Indeed, indeed, Uncle's words are spot on. Qin Huai is a man of impeccable character. This isn't treason; this is overthrowing a tyrannical emperor. The court is convinced of his merits."

Qin Lanzhang turned to look at Chen Lin and Liu Shun, and in his delight, calmly said, "All of them will be betrothed."

Liu Shun and Chen Lin nearly fainted. What was going on? Suddenly everyone was being betrothed. Had Lord Qin gone mad?

Shen Shu remained tight-lipped. He wouldn't tell Liu Shun and Chen Lin that Qin Huai had once told Lord Qin that if his brothers didn't get married, he wouldn't get married either. He couldn't be the only one being randomly paired up by Lord Qin; it would be fair if everyone was unfamiliar with their wives.

Liu Shun asked timidly, "Sir, can we know who they've assigned to us?"

Lord Qin said quietly, "It's not certain yet. Let's point to it first."

Chen Lin was speechless. This old man would arrange marriages for the men around General Qin whenever he had the chance. What kind of fetish was that?

***

Su Yunxi quickly fled from the Golden Palace.

As autumn approached and the weather grew cooler, her clothes were rather thin, and a gust of autumn wind made her shiver.

She heard footsteps approaching her at a leisurely pace.

For the past two years, she has been bedridden with illness, and her body is severely depleted. After walking for a while, she was too weak to walk and had to stop by the trees by the lake. She was covered in a fine sweat, and her legs gave way, and she was about to fall into the lake.

Suddenly, her waist tightened as a strong arm gripped her waist, and she collapsed weakly against the man's chest.

She raised her face, gazing at Qin Huai's gray hair, and suddenly her eyes stung, her throat tightening with emotion. "Why is your hair so white, Qin Huai?"

"Because I'm useless."

"Um?"

"It took nearly three years to wipe them all out. It made my Xixi sick for almost three years." Qin Huai said gently, then raised his hand to stroke Su Yunxi's face.

Su Yunxi was taken aback. "I broke my promise and didn't go to Daqi that day. Aren't you angry, Qin Huai?"

She always thought that Qin Huai was disappointed, angry, or furious about what happened that day, but she never expected that Qin Huai would give her nothing but gentleness and affection.

Qin Huai held Su Yunxi tightly in his arms, stroking her back gently. "I know it was him who wouldn't let you leave. You are my woman, and I understand that you want me to give up and not embarrass the Zhou family. You're thinking of me. Three years ago, when they didn't make a move, the time wasn't right for me to retaliate. Now that they've taken action first to eliminate the loyal minister, I'm in a favorable position to get rid of the tyrant, install the crown prince, and take you back."

As he spoke, he stroked her face with his fingertips. "Xixi, don't worry. I not only preserved the reputation of the Qin family, but also eliminated them. You didn't cause me any trouble."

Su Yunxi was moved. So he understood her feelings. She wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered, "I thought you were really dead."

Qin Huai sensed her deep concern and said seriously, "I can't die, Xixi. I will definitely live longer than Zhou Yu. I can only breathe my last in peace when he dies."

Su Yunxi didn't know whether to cry or laugh, so she laughed through her tears, which probably didn't look very good. "You."

Qin Huai reached out and pulled off the gold hairpins and ornaments from Su Yunxi's neck, then casually tossed them on the ground. He then said to Su Yunxi, "Come home with me."

Su Yunxi nodded, but then shook her head.

Qin Huai was taken aback. "What?"

Su Yunxi stammered, "It's just..."

Qin Huai frowned. "You can't bear to part with Zhou Yu?"

With that, he sighed softly, "It seems Zhou Yu must be eliminated."

"No. I'm not reluctant to part with Zhou Yu," Su Yunxi said, blushing. "It's just that two years ago, I gave birth to twins. I needed to bring them home with me."

Qin Huai felt a dull blow to his chest, and it took him a long time to catch his breath. He blamed himself for arriving too late; Xixi had been defiled by Zhou Yu. He nodded silently, "I'll raise her. She's the same as my own child."

Su Yunxi was taken aback. "What do you mean? The child is yours!"

Qin Huai was stunned.

"Mommy, Mommy." Two little devils ran towards Su Yunxi. The two-year-old toddlers, a boy and a girl, came to Su Yunxi's feet, looked at Qin Huai, and politely said, "Dudu."

One called out "Dudu," and the other followed suit. Suddenly, the sounds of "Dudu" echoed throughout the room.

Su Yunxi was extremely embarrassed. The child couldn't speak properly yet, and he didn't pronounce "uncle" correctly, calling him "Dudu."

Qin Huai stared blankly at the two figures who barely reached his calves, then finally said, "What did you say? My seed?"

Qin Huai immediately tried to squat down to look at the children, but was quickly surrounded by Old Madam Qin, Qin Yue, Madam Qin, Lord Qin, and Sun Bin, who were all in a hurry. In addition, Su's mother, Empress Xiao, and Zhou Yuan, who were taking care of the children, made the scene chaotic and blocked the way.

Qin Huai wanted to sneak in and take a look at the two children, get to know them, and become familiar with them, but he didn't know where to start.

Qin Huai tried to bully the old lady by sidling up to her, but he instantly lost favor and was slapped away by the old lady who had always doted on him. "You have a murderous aura about you. Don't offend the child."

Lord Qin said, "Qin Huai, go back and take a bath. Your hands have committed too many murders. For the next two years, you must observe a vegetarian diet and recite Buddhist scriptures. You are not allowed to touch children."

Madam Qin couldn't hold back any longer, smiling like a young girl, looking at the two children with great affection. "Aunt Xia, I told you these children looked like members of the Qin family, but you didn't believe me. See if I'm right. Where in the Zhou family could you find such handsome children? These children look exactly like me."

Mrs. Xia smiled and said, "Madam is indeed wise; she realized long ago that this child is from the Qin family."

Unable to break through from any direction, Qin Huai was suddenly grabbed by a small hand from Old Mrs. Qin's side, who called out, "Dudu."

He felt a little embarrassed to be greeted by Qin Huai. He had only been intimate with Xixi once, and now he was the father of two children. He felt it was quite sudden and said rather seriously, "Hello."

Su Yunxi suddenly smiled.

Shen Shu couldn't help but burst into laughter. What the hell is this "hello"? These two are completely unfamiliar with each other.

Qin Huai turned to look at Su Yunxi.

Su Yunxi walked out of the palace first. The two children were being led by Old Madam Qin, who doted on her great-grandchildren. Her mother was also there, so she wasn't worried at all.

Qin Huai followed slowly behind Su Yunxi and whispered, "Was it painful when you gave birth?"

Su Yunxi really didn't know how to answer this question, so she just said, "It didn't hurt, it was born in no time."

Qin Huai sensed the veil of sarcasm in her words, so he took her hand and said, "Next time, I'll give birth."

Su Yunxi was amused and smiled.

The road was covered with fallen leaves in late autumn, and they walked slowly on the leaves.

Upon arriving at Qin Huai's carriage, they boarded the carriage.

When the carriage stopped, Su Yunxi realized that Qin Huai had brought her to the East Palace Gate.

"Why are you at the East Palace, Qin Huai?" Su Yunxi asked, puzzled.

Qin Huai extended his hand to Su Yunxi.

Su Yunxi handed her hand to Qin Huai, who led her down from the carriage.

Qin Huai led her into the East Palace. The guards of the East Palace already knew that General Qin's army was at the city gates. Whether the Great Zhou would change its name was entirely up to the general, so they did not stop them.

Qin Huai left Su Yunxi inside the East Palace Gate, while he walked out of the East Palace Gate and turned back to look at Su Yunxi.

Su Yunxi stared at him, puzzled.

Qin Huai slowly extended his hand to Su Yunxi and said the same words he had said three years ago: "Xixi, come here."

Su Yunxi's eyes welled up with tears. Looking at the powerful minister whose hair had turned white for her from inside the East Palace, she knew that she could finally go home.

Su Yunxi crossed the threshold she hadn't been able to cross three years ago and ran into the arms of the man she had been entangled with for fifteen years.

"Do you really have to go home, Qin Huai?"

Where do you want to go?

"I want to go to the Temple of the Old Man Under the Moon."

"Go once you've recovered."

***

The following spring.

Qin Huai established a court in Linzhou, and supported his wife and brother-in-law to ascend the throne. The Great Qin was established, and for decades it did not invade the Great Zhou.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he personally imprisoned the court official surnamed Su. The only person the new emperor could not stand against was his elder sister.

The Great Zhou Emperor had seventeen children, all born to palace maids, and the position of Empress remained vacant for his entire life.

***

"Sir, sir, have they finished telling their story?"

The young girl in the tavern held her face in her hands, gazing intently at the storyteller on the stage.

The storyteller closed his fan and said, "That's the end of the story."

"I haven't heard enough, sir! Where did Miss Xue end up? Does Madam Qin still have a prejudice against General Qin?"

The storyteller chuckled softly, "Who is Miss Xue? Who is Madam Qin?"

"She's the character from the story you just told, sir," the little girl said curiously. "The mother of General Qin, who established a separate court in the Great Qin."

"If I knew what these two were thinking and where they were, would I still be here telling stories and wasting my time? Wherever you think she went, that's where she went. Maybe she's listening to stories here. If you think she has no prejudice, then she has no prejudice. She's someone else's mother." The storyteller laughed, picked up his folding fan, and left.

At the tavern window, a voluptuous woman closed the book in her hands.

The villa in Jiuli Lane, the fire in Donglang Lane.

The powerful minister who had been struck by six arrows that pierced his vital points ascended the precious steps.

The new emperor, who loved his sister dearly, and the young man who was arbitrarily betrothed.

That encounter in the dilapidated temple, that parting in the military camp.

The shrine to the Old Man Under the Moon is ultimately tied to the red thread on both wrists.

All of them settled into dust along with the closed book.

Peaceful and serene.

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