Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Old Master Ji wasn’t much different from before. In fact, he seemed even more benevolent than ever, making Mu Jingzhe feel disbelief and discomfort.

  “I thought… I thought…”

  “Don’t think too much. Don’t.” How could he bear to detest and hate her? This was the woman Ji Buwang had treasured in his heart. She was the girl he had risked his life to save.

  If he hated her and stabbed her with a knife, his grandson would be in so much pain when he saw this from up there.

  Old Master Ji was in so much pain that he wished he was dead, but he really didn’t hate Jingzhe. Not even a little bit. This was because Buwang had exchanged his life for Jingzhe’s. He couldn’t wait to love and protect her. Only by doing so would he not let him down.

  Right now, treating Mu Jingzhe well meant treating Ji Buwang well. He couldn’t let Buwang die with remaining grievances.

  “Jingzhe, remember this… I definitely don’t hate you, nor do I blame you. You have to live well. Only then will Buwang and I be happy.”

  Mu Jingzhe looked into Old Master Ji’s eyes and couldn’t help but burst into tears again. “Thank you, thank you, Grandpa. Buwang is gone, but I’m still here. I’ll take his place and be filial to you in the future.”

  She had once asked Ji Buwang to help take care of Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng if she died. Now that she wasn’t dead and Ji Buwang was gone, she would take care of Old Master Ji in Ji Buwang’s place.

  Old Master Ji reached out with his trembling hand and patted Mu Jingzhe’s hand. “Alright, it’s settled then.”

  He thought that this had also been Ji Buwang’s intention. He’d wanted her to live on and be filial to his grandfather.

  After seeing Old Master Ji, Mu Jingzhe seemed to calm down a lot. She ate whenever she was told to and actively cooperated with the doctor’s treatment.

  Her hands didn’t heal that quickly, but her mind slowly recovered and she also regained her peace of mind. The five kids heaved a sigh of relief, but they still didn’t dare mention a particular problem to Mu Jingzhe—Ji Buwang’s funeral.

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  His funeral had to be arranged eventually, but Mu Jingzhe didn’t seem to have completely accepted it. She didn’t go to look at Ji Buwang and didn’t mention him again, as if she was deliberately trying to forget him.

  Later on, she didn’t cry anymore. She just kept staring in the direction of the funeral home in a daze. However, her condition wasn’t okay either. Li Zhaodi and the rest instead hoped that she would cry more.

  Still, it was a good thing that she was willing to eat and rest. They didn’t dare say much to her.

  However, Li Zhaodi quickly realized that Mu Jingzhe hadn’t slept at all. She would fall asleep facing them at night, but when no one could see her, Mu Jingzhe would look in the direction of the funeral home and wouldn’t fall asleep at all.

  When Li Zhaodi found out, she started to cry again. She didn’t know what to do.

  After two days in the hospital, Li Zhaodi felt that this couldn’t go on. She felt that it might be better for Mu Jingzhe to be discharged and go home. This way, she would miss Ji Buwang less.

  Upon hearing that she was about to be discharged, Mu Jingzhe fell silent for a moment and couldn’t help but look at the funeral home. After a long while, she nodded.

  She kept thinking that if she stayed in the hospital, just as Shao Dong had said, Ji Buwang would be next door, so she didn’t want to leave. However, she agreed, as she couldn’t just stay there forever.

  Mu Jingzhe agreed to be discharged and everyone helped her pack up. Little Bei helped Mu Jingzhe button up and took out a comb to comb her hair.

  “Mommy used to be the one combing my hair. I’ll comb Mommy’s hair in the future.”

  “Alright.” Mu Jingzhe smiled. Little Bei helped comb her hair seriously and realized that there was suddenly a lot of white hair hidden under her normal hair color.

  She paused and didn’t dare say anything. She only secretly told Shao Dong.

  Shao Dong’s hands trembled when he heard that. After a moment, he said, “It’s fine. She’ll be fine in the future.”

  Perhaps Mommy was very sad, so she had grown some white hair. It would be fine in the future. It had happened to Xiao Wu before, but he had recovered later.

  Mu Jingzhe returned home after a long time. She had merely been away for a few days, yet she felt like she had been in a dream. When she returned to her room, she was stunned when she saw the red shoes on the ground.

  Little Bei followed her in and was stunned for a moment when she saw this too. A hint of frustration flashed across her eyes. When she turned around, she saw the small ‘happiness’ character on the window again and her eyes were filled with helplessness.

  Mu Jingzhe and Ji Buwang’s wedding date had been set. Because it was too far from the capital, many of Mu Jingzhe’s acquaintances were here. Besides, this was the Ji Family’s hometown, and their old residence was also there, so the wedding was set to be held in the county city.

  The dowry from Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng had long been sent to the old residence.

  Over at the old residence, arrangements had been made long ago. Uncle Li had waited for many years to finally get to see Ji Buwang get married. He had made ample preparations, and the house was red all over.

  Not wanting to be beaten in this aspect, after Mu Jingzhe and Ji Buwang had gone to visit his maternal grandmother, Li Zhaodi had specifically come to decorate the new house. Because Mu Jingzhe was used to living there, it had been decided that she would get ready for her wedding there.

  Li Zhaodi, Shao Dong, and the rest had decorated the place together. They had hung red lanterns, red silk, and wedding decorations from the windows. Li Zhaodi had personally cut the paper-cut decorations, and it all looked really festive.

  A red wedding blanket and red candles had also been brought over, just waiting to be placed. They had even hung up some carefully chosen wedding photos.

  Initially, Li Zhaodi had still not been sure how many gold bracelets Mu Jingzhe should wear when the time came. She hadn’t expected Ji Buwang to suddenly have an accident. Now, she no longer had to fret over that.

  Before Mu Jingzhe had been discharged, Li Zhaodi had remembered these arrangements and asked Mu Teng and the kids to remove them.

  In her hurry to leave, she had forgotten about the red shoes and the small ‘happiness’ character in the corner of the window.

  When Little Bei saw the red ‘happiness’ character, her eyes were suddenly filled with anxiety. Afraid that Mu Jingzhe would be sad, she quickly reached for it. In the end, she wasn’t tall enough and she bumped into something on the table in front of the window.

  As soon as the things on the table fell, so did everything else. Little Bei’s eyes widened as she watched Mu Jingzhe turn around and look at her. She also saw the word ‘happiness’ in the corner.

  As Little Bei was at a loss, Mu Jingzhe suddenly smiled. “Don’t be nervous. It looks quite nice. Just leave it there.”

  Mu Jingzhe walked closer to unpack her things, but she didn’t manage to do so. As soon as she moved, the things on the table fell. More importantly, the dolls on the table also fell.

  Coincidentally, there was a mechanism. The doll that Mu Jingzhe had been trying to untie fell to the ground with a bang. It shattered into pieces, and the box below also broke.

  The broken doll happened to be Ji Buwang’s doll. It was in pieces now, silently symbolizing something.

  Mu Jingzhe heard Little Bei’s apology, but nothing registered in her mind. She subconsciously said that it was fine, but there was only one thought in her mind—Buwang was broken.

  She went over to pick the doll up and saw what was hidden inside. It was a white jade ring.

  This was the one she had been given later on. It was rather large and it looked like a man’s design. Mu Jingzhe picked up the broken mechanical box and saw the faint trace of a word—’lai’.

  If Mu Jingzhe had formed this character on the outside, the box would have opened. Unfortunately, she had tried for several years but hadn’t been able to get it right…… Now, it had opened in this unexpected way.