Chapter 72 – Final Chapter

The lights stayed on all night, making the capital as bright as day.

In Prince Rui’s mansion, the dragon and phoenix lanterns remained lit, and the entire mansion was decorated with red silk and fake silk flowers tied to the trees.

Meanwhile, in the Marquis of Ningguo’s mansion.

The smell of alcohol filled the air, and Wei Yuntai’s eyes were dazed as he continued to drink cup after cup.

The servants didn’t dare to stop him, watching him anxiously as he showed no signs of stopping. The news soon reached Madam Sun, who suppressed her smile, feeling disappointed in him but not intending to intervene. Why didn’t he act like this earlier? Let’s see when he will come to his senses.

Wei Yuntai just couldn’t understand. He felt full of guilt towards Lu Minghua, only wanting to protect her and ensure her happiness and peace for the rest of her life. But why, now that she had found someone, and Prince Rui cherished and protected her so much, he didn’t feel happy?

No, perhaps he understood, but he didn’t dare to think deeply.

What he regretted might not be the misunderstanding and hurting her but missing out on her. The woman who used to smile at him was gone forever. No matter how much he regretted and wanted to make amends, it was already too late.

The wine cup fell to the ground, and he was completely drunk, unable to remember the answer he had just thought of.

That night, Lu Minghua didn’t sleep well. She felt constrained and unable to move, but the warmth surrounding her made her feel comfortable.

When she woke up in the morning, the first thing she saw was the slightly open red collar, revealing a piece of fair skin with a scar running across it, indicating the danger at that time. She couldn’t help but gently touch it with her finger. The skin under her finger was firm, and she remembered the feeling of leaning against it last night. But now, all she could see were the shocking scars.

Looking at them, Lu Minghua felt her eyes sting. She could not help but think of how much pain he must have been in at that time.

“Don’t look,” Yan Yuanhua had woken up early. Seeing her finger touch the scar, he initially felt a tickle in his heart, but seeing her smile fade and a hint of sadness appear, he quickly calmed down and held her hand, speaking softly.

He wanted to cover his collar, but Lu Minghua stubbornly pulled it open.

“How did you get this scar?” she asked, pointing to the most dangerous one across his chest.

Yan Yuanhua chuckled, not intending to tell Lu Minghua about his past. Life and death on the battlefield were not good things, so why let Minghua know?

“We’ll talk about it later. We need to get up and go to the palace to pay our respects.” He moved her jade-like finger from his chest, suppressing the itch in his heart, and stole a kiss on her cheek.

Lu Minghua knew he didn’t want to talk about it, so she glared at him and sat up, feeling a soreness in her waist, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Yuanhua stood up and, seeing her frown, immediately asked.

Lu Minghua was too embarrassed to say, shaking her head as she got out of bed. She put on her embroidered shoes and tried to stand up, but her legs felt weak, and her waist was even more sore, causing her to wobble.

Yan Yuanhua quickly supported her, realizing something was wrong. He put her back on the bed and gently massaged her waist, secretly regretting his carelessness last night. He forgot that Lu Minghua couldn’t handle it.

“It’s okay, I’ll massage you, and you’ll feel better soon,” he said softly.

Lu Minghua couldn’t help but glare at him. It was all his fault last night…

“Next time, you can’t do this.” Thinking about everything from last night, her face turned red, and her heart raced. She finally looked away, pouting.

“What can’t I do?” Yan Yuanhua pretended to be clueless.

“You… you know exactly what I mean.” Lu Minghua was exasperated.

“But I really don’t know. Please enlighten me, Minghua.” Yan Yuanhua grinned, not wanting to agree. Seeing Lu Minghua glare at him, he stole another kiss.

Lu Minghua wanted to say more, but the maids had already come in to serve them. She had to hold back her words until they were alone in the carriage. Then she pinched Yan Yuanhua hard and said angrily, “Next time, you can’t be so excessive.”

Who behaves like him, over and over again, never stopping?

“How was I excessive?” Yan Yuanhua chuckled, pulling Lu Minghua into his arms.

“Don’t play dumb.” Lu Minghua pushed his face away.

“Minghua bullies me and doesn’t let me speak?”

“How did I bully you?”

“I’ve stayed away from women for years, finally waiting to marry you and bring you home. Minghua won’t let me be close. Isn’t that bullying me?”

“Who said you can’t be close? You…”

Lu Minghua’s words were cut off as he pulled her hand to that place. Feeling the sensation under her hand, her cheeks instantly turned red, and she couldn’t continue.

“I think about it all the time, even in the carriage—” Yan Yuanhua pulled Minghua down, holding her on top of him.

Lu Minghua didn’t dare let him continue, quickly covering his mouth with her hand. “You can’t say anymore.”

Yan Yuanhua relaxed his brows and smiled at her.

“Shameless.” Lu Minghua lay on him, letting go of his mouth and lightly scratching his face.

“Why be ashamed in front of my wife?” Yan Yuanhua said confidently.

Lu Minghua could only pout at him.

Yan Yuanhua lifted his head and gently kissed her lips.

The two had just gotten married and were inseparable. Yan Yuanhua wished he could always stay by Lu Minghua’s side, holding her in his arms. When the carriage stopped, the maid reminded them. Hearing the sudden commotion inside, she dared not enter since the masters hadn’t spoken.

“Aiya.” Lu Minghua turned around, raised her hand to gently smooth her hair, and realized her hair was messy and her collar was loose. She could only glare at Yan Yuanhua.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine in a moment.” Seeing her flustered, Yan Yuanhua immediately reached out to help her tidy up. Lu Minghua didn’t have time to be angry with him, so she applied lipstick and fixed her hair in front of the mirror.

Yan Yuanhua wasn’t in a hurry either, holding the mirror for her and watching her busy herself.

Fortunately, her hair wasn’t too messy, just a bit loose. Lu Minghua used a jade comb to tidy it up, and after putting it down, she sighed in relief and couldn’t help but glare at him again, scolding him for his mischief.

Yan Yuanhua laughed heartily, leaned over to kiss her, lifted the curtain, and got off the carriage to help her down.

The carriage went straight to Shoukang Palace as usual. When Lu Minghua got off the carriage, she saw the waiting maid, but she didn’t avoid Yan Yuanhua’s hand this time. She held onto him and lightly lifted her skirt as she exited the carriage.

The palace servants all greeted them, addressing them as Prince and Princess.

After acknowledging the greetings, the two went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. Soon, the Emperor and Empress also arrived, and they stayed for lunch at Shoukang Palace before being allowed to leave.

Watching the two walk away, the Empress Dowager smiled lightly. It seemed her grandchildren were not far off.

The joy in Prince Rui’s mansion never faded. The arrival of the mistress made the once-cold mansion lively. All day long, the maids and servants came and went, laughing and playing, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

It was now almost March, and the peach blossoms in the mansion were in full bloom, the willow branches were green, and the magnolia buds in the courtyard were ready to bloom. The leaves of the crabapple tree outside the window were dense, promising a splendid display of flowers soon.

The window was open, revealing the two people nestled together at the desk below.

Lu Minghua was practicing her calligraphy, and Yan Yuanhua suggested they do it together. But when they started, he didn’t write; he just held her waist, lazily leaning on her shoulder, watching her.

“Go read a book.” With such a big person leaning on her, Lu Minghua couldn’t continue writing. She had to put down her brush and say helplessly.

“Then accompany me to read.” Yan Yuanhua smiled, pulling her hand.

“You read, I’ll practice calligraphy, okay?” Lu Minghua glared at him.

“No. If you’re not by my side, I can’t read.” Yan Yuanhua looked at her pitifully.

Lu Minghua sighed, preparing to wipe her hands, but he took the cloth and carefully wiped her hands himself.

When there was no more cloth, they held hands and went to sit on the soft couch.

Lu Minghua casually picked up a book, seeing it was a storybook, and gently opened it. Ping An, lying on the side for a long time, jumped up and nestled in her seat. She reached out to stroke the cat gently, then looked at Yan Yuanhua, intending to hand him the book.

Yan Yuanhua took the book, glanced at the fat cat, and found it an eyesore. But since Minghua liked it, he couldn’t throw it away. He decided to ignore it, watching the cat meow softly under Minghua’s touch, and couldn’t help but glance at it again.

Ping An looked at him and purred.

He couldn’t help but grip the book tightly, thinking how annoying this cat was.

“Minghua, tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival. Let’s go for an outing outside the city,” he said, putting down the book and calmly pulling Lu Minghua’s hand, smiling.

Lu Minghua was very interested and agreed.

The next day, the two set off and went outside the city.

At the mansion, the servants spent half a day trying to appease the cat master, Ping An, with good words and treats, finally managing to take the cat to a cattery.

Ping An wandered around inside for a while. Many cats came to snuggle up to her, but she drove them all away, leaving only a large black cat.

The two cats became entangled. At first, Lu Minghua didn’t notice. By the time she did, Ping An was already a mother. She didn’t realize Yan Yuanhua’s careful planning and thought it was a coincidence, only making sure the cat was even more carefully taken care of.

With a family and children, Ping An became much busier and no longer clung to Lu Minghua as before.

Unaware of all this, Lu Minghua and Yan Yuanhua walked through the woods by the river outside the city.

In the distance, people were enjoying a spring banquet by the flowing water. The sound of singing and poetry could be heard from afar. The two walked leisurely towards the sound, and along the way, Yan Yuanhua picked a peach blossom and handed it to Lu Minghua.

The flower was delicate, and Lu Minghua took it, suddenly remembering last spring when she went to the mountains, and Yan Yuanhua picked a bunch of apricot blossoms for her.

“Only one?” she asked, looking up at Yan Yuanhua.

Yan Yuanhua’s eyes were bright and clear, just like last year, but now filled with endless tenderness and affection.

“As many as Minghua wants,” he laughed, turning to pick more flowers.

In the distance, Wei Yuntai watched Lu Minghua’s gentle gaze towards Prince Rui and suddenly understood what he was sad about. He truly regretted it, but it was too late.

Not noticing the distant figure, Lu Minghua also stepped forward, carefully selecting flowers as she used to. Yan Yuanhua watched her with a smile, patiently picking whichever one she pointed to.

The maids and guards waited in the distance. The two masters were not particularly affectionate, just chatting and laughing, but for some reason, everyone smiled. The warm spring day made everyone’s hearts feel light.

Soon, a bunch of peach blossoms was gathered. Lu Minghua held them in her arms, looking up at Yan Yuanhua standing tall under the tree, smiling at her, waiting for her to continue choosing.

She laughed, went over to take his hand, and said, “That’s enough.”

“I’ll pick more for you next year,” Yan Yuanhua also remembered last spring, feeling indescribable joy, and promised warmly, looking at Lu Minghua with a smile.

They looked into each other’s eyes and both smiled.

The years passed peacefully, with harmony and mutual respect, growing old together.

Later, even when they were old and gray, Yan Yuanhua would still pick flowers for Lu Minghua every spring.

They always remembered that spring day when they met, got to know each other, and finally fell in love for a lifetime.

End Of Main Story