During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Did you believe it? Or... did you remember something?"

Ye Qingqing's heart was pounding.

"I have no idea."

Ye Dazhuang shook his head, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed. "I can't remember anything. That name is completely unfamiliar to me, but when that person saw me, their reaction didn't seem fake."

Ye Qingqing was silent for a moment, then walked over and stood in front of him, looking up at him.

"So what do you plan to do?"

Ye Dazhuang looked down at her, the moonlight clearly outlining his silhouette.

There was something complex in his eyes, like a struggle, or perhaps fear.

"I have no idea."

After a long silence, Ye Dazhuang said softly, "I'm afraid that if I remember, everything will be different."

Ye Qingqing understood the meaning behind his words.

He didn't explain it clearly, and she pretended not to understand.

The two stood there, half a step apart, neither of them taking another step forward.

Finally, Ye Qingqing spoke first, her voice much calmer than she had expected, "Let's not think about it for now, we'll talk about it after your wound heals."

She turned and pushed open the shop door, took two steps, then looked back at him. "Come in, I'll reapply the medicine."

Ye Dazhuang stood at the door, watching her figure disappear behind the curtain, and only stepped in after several seconds.

When Ye Qingqing woke up the next morning, it was already broad daylight.

His first thought was to retrieve the divination slips to calculate Ye Dazhuang's fortune, but for some reason he just couldn't concentrate.

She drew water from the well in the backyard and washed her face. The cool water made her feel much more awake.

I didn't sleep well last night. I tossed and turned and had several messy dreams. In my dreams, there were dogs, Zhao Yuanlang's hypocritical face, and Ye Dazhuang standing in a fog, not responding no matter how I called him.

She wiped her face with a handkerchief, stared blankly at the basin of water for a while, and only came back to her senses when she heard the sound of the shop door being taken down in front of her.

Li Chunyan was sweeping the floor in front when she saw her come out of the backyard. She leaned the broom against the wall, took a card out of her sleeve, and handed it to her.

"Second daughter, the Zhao family has sent another invitation."

Ye Qingqing glanced at the bright red invitation card, didn't take it, and said, "Throw it away."

"They sent it early this morning, saying that Young Master Zhao has reserved a table at Zuixianlou and would like you to grace us with your presence so that we can make amends for what happened last night."

Li Chunyan kept shoving the invitations into her hands, saying, "At least take a look at it, they're really sincere."

Ye Qingqing took the post and glanced at it.

The handwriting was indeed beautiful, and the wording was polite, repeatedly saying "I was abrupt yesterday," "I am deeply sorry," and "I have prepared a small drink to express my sincere apologies."

She closed the note, walked to the stove, and casually tossed it into the firebox.

The flame licked at it, and the post quickly rolled up and burned to black ash.

Li Chunyan exclaimed "Ouch!" and slapped her thigh. "You silly girl! Young Master Zhao kindly invited you, and you burned his invitation! What kind of behavior is that!"

"Sister-in-law,"

Ye Qingqing dusted off her hands, turned around and looked at her, "I don't want to get involved with any of the Zhao family members. From now on, don't show me their invitations; just return them."

Li Chunyan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing the expression on Ye Qingqing's face, she swallowed her words back.

This girl is usually carefree and cheerful, but once she makes up her mind, nothing can change it.

She sighed, waved her hand, and said, "Fine, fine, you say you won't touch it, then we won't. So, are we still open today?"

"Open it," Ye Qingqing said. "But I won't go back to the shop first; I need to go back to Kaoshantun."

"What are you going back to the village for?"

"Something came up." Ye Qingqing didn't say much, turned around and went inside to pack her things.

Looking at her back, Li Chunyan felt that something was off about the girl today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She shook her head and continued sweeping.

When Ye Qingqing finished packing and came out, Ye Dazhuang was already waiting by the carriage.

He changed into clean clothes, and his left arm was wrapped in a white bandage, which Ye Qingqing had re-bandaged him the night before. When he saw Ye Qingqing come out, he didn't ask anything, but simply reached out and took the bundle from her hand and placed it on the cart floor.

Ye Qingqing glanced at him, said nothing, and stepped onto the carriage.

Ye Dazhuang then climbed onto the carriage, sat down next to her, tugged on the reins, and the horse snorted and started moving forward.

The carriage traveled north along the main street of the town. As it passed the town's entrance archway, Ye Qingqing caught a glimpse of someone sitting in the window of a teahouse by the street. The figure looked somewhat familiar. She turned her head and looked over. The person was wearing a dark blue robe and was holding a teacup, looking in her direction.

Zhao Yuanlang.

Ye Qingqing withdrew her gaze, her face expressionless.

Zhao Yuanlang had obviously seen her too. He put down his teacup and stood up, as if to chase after her. But the carriage had already turned the corner, leaving him behind.

Ye Qingqing didn't turn around, nor did she mention this to Ye Dazhuang.

Once you leave the town, the houses on both sides of the road gradually thin out, replaced by patches of farmland.

The dirt road was full of potholes, and the carriage bounced violently, causing Ye Qingqing to sway from side to side and almost hit the carriage floor several times.

She lurched again, tilting to the side and bumping her shoulder into Ye Dazhuang's arm. Ye Dazhuang reached out to steady her, placing his hand on her shoulder before releasing it.

"The road is difficult to travel," he said.

"Hmm." Ye Qingqing sat up straight and straightened her clothes. "I should have worn a cushion with me."

The two fell silent again.

The horses' hooves pounded on the dirt road, making a monotonous, clattering sound.

An old man herding sheep came towards them from the roadside. Ye Dazhuang moved his carriage aside, and the old man nodded to them and called out to the sheep as they passed by.

Ye Qingqing leaned against the car floor, squinting at the road ahead, her mind racing.

She saw through Zhao Yuanlang yesterday!

She appeared gentle and refined, but who knew what lay beneath? The dog's arrival last night was suspicious; she didn't believe it was a coincidence.

She had only offended Zhao Yuanlang in this town. She had just left his house when she was ambushed by a dog. What a coincidence!

But she had no evidence, so saying it was pointless. She could only stay out of the way for now and see what other tricks he could pull.

As for Ye Dazhuang's matter, she didn't want to think about it for the time being, nor dared to think about it too much. How could a general end up in this godforsaken place?

How could I have been injured and lost my memory?

How could she have found it in the woods?

These questions kept popping up, but she suppressed them one by one.

I can't figure it out no matter how hard I try, and thinking about it is pointless.

She glanced at Ye Dazhuang, who was sitting next to her, holding the reins in one hand and his injured arm draped over his leg.

His profile was very sharp, with a distinct jawline, and his eyes were looking straight ahead, as if he were lost in thought.