After dealing with Prince Rui, the Emperor fully supported the King of Chu to take the throne.

Among all the King of Chu’s retainers, the Emperor trusted Ji Yanming the most.

The Emperor was always proud of appointing Ji Yanming to the King of Chu. Over the years, he secretly praised himself for having such sharp judgment.

The Emperor’s health had worsened recently. After Prince Rui’s downfall, the Emperor let Ji Yanming enter the cabinet to plan the future of the King of Chu, and he even seemed to be preparing to entrust his son to Ji Yanming’s care.

Like many elderly people, the Emperor believed a person becomes more stable after marriage and having children. He began hinting to Ji Yanming that he should get married soon, thinking this would make him even more dependable.

To speed up the marriage, the Emperor ordered the inner court to prepare betrothal gifts.

Su Jia looked at the long gift list from the inner court and joked to Tao Sheng, “This is one benefit of being poor. His Majesty considers his subjects so much that even the betrothal gifts have become imperial gifts.”

The Emperor’s focus on Ji Yanming’s marriage was ultimately to ensure he served the King of Chu better. Tao Sheng laughed, “It’s all for the sake of the child.”

Su Jia didn’t think much about it and focused on wedding preparations: “We need to pick a date soon. Madam Luo knows a master who is good at choosing dates. I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

The Emperor sent betrothal gifts to urge the marriage, so they couldn’t delay any longer.

Lord Qiu, the Grand Master of Music, soon heard about Tao Sheng’s upcoming marriage.

Lord Qiu had a large family, and all his children were married. He knew young couples are often busy after getting married. If he retired due to poor health, Tao Sheng might not be able to take over due to a lack of energy.

Lord Qiu had served as an official for over seventy years. He believed he had served his country long enough, so he submitted his retirement letter to the Emperor, recommending Tao Sheng as his successor before she got married.

Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the highest position a female official could hold was the fifth rank. Although Tao Sheng’s status was different from palace officials, many people believed she had already reached the peak of her career, with the fifth rank being the highest possible.

However, Tao Sheng was appointed as the fourth-rank Grand Music Master, a significant achievement. This opened up the possibility for her to rise to the third and second ranks in the future.

Tao Sheng had always gotten along well with her colleagues at the Taile Bureau. None of them objected to her taking on the role of Grand Music Master, and they even organized a dinner to celebrate her promotion.

Since Ji’s family was preparing for the wedding, Tao Sheng planned to move back to Luo’s family for convenience. After having a few more drinks than usual at the celebration, she left feeling a bit dizzy, but she still instructed the driver to take her to Ji’s house.

Su Jia had been busy preparing for the wedding and was not at home. Su Wan’s two children had grown, Luo Xiu bought a new house after his promotion, and Tao Sheng reconnected with Luo’s family, so she also moved out.

Ji Yanming was still at the government office and had not returned. Xiao Feng was napping quietly in the courtyard. The whole place was silent.

Tao Sheng returned to her room, which was half-empty, and couldn’t help but smile.

She remembered her aunt saying that they shouldn’t move Tao Sheng’s belongings just yet, as she would eventually move back to Ji’s house, so it would only waste time.

Ji Yanming had disagreed, standing by the antique shelf with a rarely-seen relaxed posture, and responded in a deep voice, “It’s different.”

The next time she came back, she would move into his room.

After returning to her room, Tao Sheng felt increasingly sleepy. She lay down fully clothed and soon fell asleep.

In her dream, she found herself in a space she had never seen before, surrounded by bookshelves filled with neatly arranged, finely bound books.

Tao Sheng’s eyes fell on a book titled “A Life of Glory.” She raised her hand and gently pulled it from the shelf. The long-lost sight of coated paper and printed words appeared before her.

Tao Sheng flipped through the book quickly to the end and found that the ending had been rewritten.

At the end of the story, everything is exactly what she has experienced so far. 

In Ji Yanming’s extra chapter, it says they have been living together happily.

When Tao Sheng opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Ji Yanming’s handsome profile. His clean and pleasant voice sounded beside her: “What did you dream about this time?”

Tao Sheng sat up, her eyes feeling a bit sore: “I dreamed that you were very kind.”

Ji Yanming gently stroked her hair: “That’s good.”

Liu Mian entered the room and lit two lamps. Tao Sheng took a few sips of tea from Ji Yanming’s hand and started to feel more awake. “Cousin, you came back early today.”

“Yes, something came up, so I came back early.”

“What happened?” Tao Sheng asked curiously.

“Mother sent someone to say that the wedding date has been set, and she asked me to come back to discuss it. It will be on the eighth day of next month. What do you think, Ah Sheng?”

Tao Sheng didn’t know much about this. She only knew that it was good to have an even number for a wedding date, as it symbolized a lifetime of happiness together.

Ji Yanming sat in front of her, the bed curtains reflecting in his eyes. His focused, passionate gaze on her face made Tao Sheng feel a bit shy.

She lowered her head and played with Ji Yanming’s belt, feeling joy spread in her heart.

“I think it’s all good,” she said softly.

-The End-

***

T/L Notes:
Thank you so much for sticking with the whole story! I hope you enjoyed it, and I’d love to hear any feedback or thoughts you have.

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And don’t forget to check out Vyl’s profile for more awesome projects! ⋆. 𐙚 ˚