With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

"If you truly feel unworthy of me, then do something. You're not allowed to sit here crying, nor are you allowed to spend your travel money, and you're certainly not allowed to bury your head in the sand. The person I, Princess Yongle, love is not allowed to say they are unworthy. Do you understand?!"

Amo nodded obediently.

Princess Yongle added, "I can wait for you, one year, two years, three years, I'll wait. If you die out there, I'll burn all your junk, leaving nothing behind!"

After she finished speaking, she raised her head and snorted, but her round almond-shaped eyes reddened. She blinked stubbornly, refusing to let the tears fall.

Looking at her, Amo really didn't know what to do with her, so he raised his hand and gently patted her head, just like she had patted him earlier.

With his future uncertain, he didn't know if he could ever return.

He wanted to make a gesture to tell her that he would definitely come back, but his hand remained raised in mid-air, and he couldn't bear to lower it.

"I understand." Amo twirled his fingers slightly, conveying another meaning: "You must take good care of yourself."

Princess Yongle nodded, then leaned on his shoulder, and the two sat together on the threshold, just like when they were children.

child time.

Amo carried his luggage out of the Jing'an Prince's Mansion. Just as he mounted his horse, the horse suddenly neighed and pawed the ground restlessly with its front hooves.

He turned to look. Pei Jinxuan stood under the moonlight, his black brocade robe fluttering gently in the night breeze, his peach blossom eyes curving into crescents, just like when he found that wounded boy in the northern army camp years ago.

Amo hurriedly dismounted, knelt on one knee, and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

Pei Jinxuan stepped forward to help him up and bent down to brush the mud off his knees.

"The journey is long and arduous, please be careful on your way," he said, his voice a few decibels lower than usual.

Amo nodded, gesturing: "Your Highness, please be careful as well. The Prince of Liang is cunning and will not let this go easily."

Pei Jinxuan nodded and smiled, saying, "I burned down his pawnshop and silver shop. Right now, he wishes he could skin me alive, tear me apart, chew me up, and swallow me whole. But he messed with Lin Ci's eyes, and he'll have to pay for that debt."

Upon hearing the name "Lin Ci," A-Mo's shoulders slumped slightly, and she lowered her head again: "It's all my fault."

"Why blame you? You should blame me for not thinking things through." Pei Jinxuan patted his shoulder with a smile, squeezing it hard with his fingers. "Good brother, you've worked hard."

Amo suddenly raised his eyes. The word "brother" was too heavy for him to accept. He was about to kneel again when Pei Jinxuan quickly caught his arms.

"There's no need for that. In my heart, you're still my younger brother." With that, Pei Jinxuan took out a small bundle from his bosom and stuffed it into his hand. "These are the pills Lin Ci prepared for you. Some are for strengthening the body, some for promoting blood circulation, and some for clearing heat and detoxifying. I personally rolled a few of them; look, my palms are all yellow from rolling them."

As he spoke, Pei Jinxuan opened his palm, revealing black lines embedded in the palm, like crisscrossing ravines.

Amo looked at his hands, then at the bundle, and grinned, his smile both honest and shy.

"Lin Ci doesn't blame you," Pei Jinxuan said seriously. "She told me herself that since she couldn't meet you, she had to ask me to pass on her message."

Amo's eyes suddenly reddened. He straightened his robes and stood at attention, bowing respectfully to Pei Jinxuan and Lin Ci.

Pei Jinxuan also straightened his clothes and returned the greeting solemnly.

"Hurry up and go. Remember to send a message by carrier pigeon when you get there."

Amo nodded emphatically and mounted his horse. The horse spun around, and he couldn't help but look back again. Pei Jinxuan was still standing there, hands behind his back, smiling.

Amo took a deep breath, clasped his hands in a fist salute, then spurred his horse and disappeared into the vast night.

The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, until finally there was no sound.

The lights are still on in Liufang Garden at this moment.

A night breeze blew by, and the bells under the eaves swayed gently, along with the row of lanterns in the corridor, producing a delicate and pleasant tinkling sound.

Pei Jinxuan tied the bells on herself; there was one on every door so that she could find her way by following the sound.

Lin Ci listened to the sound of the wind chimes, unable to fall asleep.

Since I became blind, the boundary between day and night has become blurred.

Sometimes she thought she had slept for a long time, but when she opened her eyes she could hear sparrows chirping; sometimes she had just taken a nap, and when she woke up she found the lights on in the room and the only sound was her own breathing.

Whenever she couldn't distinguish between day and night, she felt a little scared, but she didn't want to trouble Zhang Niang and Si Qi, so she could only open her empty eyes, stare at the blurry halo, and count the sound of the bells under the eaves over and over again.

Suddenly, the ringing became disordered, unlike what one might expect from the wind.

Lin Ci held his breath and listened intently. After the bell outside the eaves rang, there was the sound of boots grinding against the fine sand on the bluestone slabs.

It's Pei Jinxuan.

Lin Ci's heart inexplicably tightened. For some reason, she suddenly wanted him to come in, but when the footsteps got closer, she didn't want him to come.

They were all so hesitant and stammering, neither of them was being open and honest.

Pei Jinxuan lingered at the door for a while, then left.

Lin Ci's heart returned to its place. The moment she heard his footsteps leave, she couldn't tell whether she felt relieved or empty. She didn't want to think about it, so she just turned over and started counting the bells under the eaves again.

It rained the next day.

In the courtyard, the sound of rain pattering on banana leaves, along with the tinkling of wind chimes, was unexpectedly pleasant.

Lin Ci hadn't noticed it before when she could see it, but now, lying quietly on the couch with her eyes closed, she felt it was a beautiful melody bestowed by heaven.

After listening for a while, she got up.

Zhang Niang noticed the commotion and quickly went to the bedside, brought her clothes, and helped her up.

"Won't you sleep a little longer, my lady?" Zhang Niang said as she squatted down to put on Lin Ci's shoes.

Lin Ci pulled her foot back and said with a smile, "I'll trouble you, Zhang Niang. I'll do it myself."

After saying that, she bent down and groped for the embroidered shoes. After groping for a long time, she finally found one, but realized that it was inside out when she put it on. So she switched to the other foot and went to find the other one.

Knowing her stubborn nature, Zhang Niang couldn't bear to interfere and could only sigh, saying, "Why must you do this, my lady?"

"I don't expect to be waited on for the rest of my life." Lin Ci finally managed to put on both shoes, then playfully lifted her feet and curled them up twice, and they fit perfectly.

"Even if I can't see the days to come, I have to find a way to live well." She raised her head and smiled sweetly, her eyes, though lifeless, were brighter than the spring sunshine.

Zhang Niang loved this woman dearly and couldn't help but tease her, "Your temperament is somewhat like the prince's. Even if you hit a wall, you'll still try to pry a few bricks off the wall. You just won't give up."

Lin Ci laughed upon hearing this, and couldn't help but touch the space beside her. "Zhang Niang, could you find me a long, thin stick? So I can scout around the room."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Before long, Zhang Niang found a straight and thin bamboo stick. Lin Ci found it easy to handle, so he used the bamboo stick to feel the ground and carefully explored every corner of the room.

It's five steps from the tatami mat to the dressing table.

It takes twelve steps from the dressing table to the door.

She walked slowly, her bamboo cane tapping on the blue bricks with a soft, rhythmic sound. When she reached the corner of the wall, the tip of her cane struck something soft and moving.

Startled, she quickly crouched down and touched it. It turned out to be the princess's leopard cat, curled up in the corner dozing off. For some reason, this cat always liked to stay here with her. Even when she was poked awake, it wasn't annoyed. It just lazily flicked its tail, changed its position, and continued sleeping.

Lin Ci gently ruffled its head twice, a smile involuntarily creeping onto her lips, when suddenly footsteps sounded behind her. She quickly stood up straight, her hand flashing unintentionally as she swept the bamboo stick backward. A muffled thud followed by a cry of "Ouch!"