After dinner, Lin Kangping found an excuse to pull Zi Qing out. The two strolled to the back mountain to digest their food, and Lin Kangping sat down on a dry grassland at the top of the mountain, saying that he would take a good look at today's sunset glow.

  "Qing Er, do you think today's sunset is beautiful or my Qing Er is more beautiful?"

  Ziying had changed into casual clothes at home, but still wore her hair accessories. At the dinner party, which was attended only by family members, she playfully drank a couple of sips of rice wine. Her eyes sparkled like water and her cheeks were flushed red, not unlike a sunset. Lin Kangping couldn't resist, and hugged Ziying to steal a kiss.

  "Kangping, I didn't plan on inviting my relatives to work for us. I thought my uncle was honest, but it turns out his mouth isn't reliable at all. Now everyone knows we spent a thousand two silver coins to set up this household, who knows what will happen in the future? I don't want to be speechless among relatives later on, meaning I don't want outsiders to know about our family matters. And my aunt and elder sister, they only thought about taking advantage of us at the birthday banquet, even coming empty-handed, it's really laughable." Ziying leaned against Lin Kangping's arm, feeling exhausted today.

  Lin Kangping smiled and said, "Not at all, you didn't see your grandfather's face, it was gloomy at the time. Today is really excessive, I estimate that when you go home, your grandfather will scold them again, I don't know how they will hold their heads up in the village in the future? Alright, you don't have to worry about it anymore, I'll take care of things from now on." After finishing speaking, Lin Kangping hugged Zi Qing's head to his chest.

  Jian Zi Qing still looked somewhat depressed, Lin Kang Ping lowered his head and gently pecked her forehead, saying: "Cheer up, don't think about these things anymore, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

  Ziying was lost in thought when Lin Kangping suddenly hugged her and lay down with her in his arms. By the time she came to, Lin Kangping had already placed his hand on her face, gently stroking it. Just as Ziying was about to speak, Lin Kangping swiftly captured her lips, lightly licking them. He then inserted his tongue into her mouth, probing cautiously, and finding no resistance from Ziying. He began to suck more forcefully, and Ziying playfully decided to tease him by sucking his tongue with all her might, slowly drawing it in. Lin Kangping was both startled and delighted, and the two of them went back and forth, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Before they knew it, night had fallen.

  After going down the mountain, Lin Kangping carried Zi Qing back and forth, saying: "There's one thing I almost forgot to say, has Young Master come to see you? He said he wants a gift, something made by your own hands. When we get married, he'll return a big gift. What do you think we should give him?"

  "You were just thinking of asking if it was this, right? Why don't you ask directly? How would I know what you wanted to ask? With so many things on my mind, I've already forgotten. He did come to see me, and we exchanged a few words at the door. Well, the only thing I can do with my own hands is embroidery. Otherwise, let's send him the double-sided embroidered screen that was prepared for us, there's nothing else to give. I'll embroider a 'Joy on My Face' piece first and send it to him. We can keep our own for later."

  "It can only be like this, I reckon he also wants a piece of embroidery. I'll try to come back early after his wedding, your dad doesn't agree with us getting married in the spring, I'll beg him again. Qing'er, I really don't want to wait any longer, looking and touching but not being allowed to eat, what if one day I can't bear it and make a mistake? I want to hold you like this every day, carry you on my back."

  Zi Qing tapped Lin Kangping's head and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't you know my mother's illness? How old am I? Besides, spring is really busy. Zi Shou will take the imperial examination in June, and second brother will go to take the jinshi examination in August, which won't be until October at the earliest. Moreover, I haven't prepared what I should prepare for yet. Your wedding dress isn't finished, the bedding and quilt aren't started yet, and I just finished making our undergarments. We still lack several sets of seasonal clothes."

  Lin Kangping carried Qianqian to the front, pretending to be wronged and said: "It hurts, wife, what if I get stupid? Alright, listen to you, we'll wait for you."

  The two of them slowly made their way back home, and after entering the house, Shen's wife looked at Zi Qing suspiciously for a long time. Zi Qing thought to herself: "I'm in trouble, earlier I messed up my hair, and when we were getting ready to come down the mountain, I hastily fixed it, Shen's wife must have noticed." Zi Qing found an excuse to go into her own room to do some needlework, but she didn't know that her lips had almost been swollen by Lin Kangping's kisses, and the spring color on her face couldn't be hidden. Shen's wife couldn't help but start worrying secretly, and went to discuss it with Zeng Rui Xiang.

  Lin Kangping left early the next morning with Mr. Tong, and Shen's wife had him bring a lot of baby supplies to Zi Fu. According to Shen's mood, she would have liked to follow Lin Kangping to Beijing for a trip, but unfortunately, Zi Lu's wedding was approaching, and there were many things waiting for her.

  The days are getting cooler day by day, and Ziqing's hands are full of needlework that can't be finished. Today, Shen Shi gave her a piece of crimson satin, saying it was for Old Master and Tian Shi to each make a padded jacket, which they would wear on the day of Zi Lu's wedding.

  "Mother, what about you and Father? Didn't Grandpa and Grandma make such red clothes last year?"

  "Didn't you see that the clothes were worn by your elder aunt? On the day of your elder uncle's wedding, wasn't the dress on your elder aunt actually your grandmother's? It was so tight-fitting and didn't fit her at all. She must have been quite brave to wear it without fearing others' ridicule."

  "I didn't notice that anywhere, but I heard that Guiying is going to get engaged, it's already been arranged with someone from a nearby village."

  "Alas, I heard it's all yellow again. This time, your aunt and them have really shot themselves in the foot. Don't you remember that on your coming-of-age day, we invited the village elder to come and celebrate with a meal? Who knew that one of them had some connection with the family that was trying to arrange a marriage for Guiying? They took one look and thought, who would dare to marry someone from this kind of family? Not to mention the one that Damao married, she's not even from a good family, I heard she's lazy at home too, doesn't even lift a finger. Probably they were trying to get in with our family thinking they could live off us, but then they saw it wasn't possible and there wasn't much wealth to speak of, so they stirred up Damao to split the family, and Damao isn't a good person either, he abandoned his whole family to live on his own. Guiying is one year older than you, I heard your eldest aunt is getting anxious now, searching everywhere. Alas, why worry about these things? Just focus on your embroidery, next spring our Qing'er will also start making her wedding clothes."

  Zi Qing listened, feeling embarrassed, stomped her feet, and hugged Shen Shi's arm, pouting, "Mother, I won't talk to you anymore. You're laughing at me again. Who said I wanted to get married?"

  "Not getting married? Really not getting married? Don't regret it later, I've heard that some people can't wait and beg your father, while others secretly prepare new clothes for all four seasons. They even make undergarments without knowing how many they've made for someone else! Let me tell you, what should be done and what shouldn't be done, you weigh it clearly in your heart. Don't do anything foolish, I won't forgive the two of you."

  Zi Qing knew it was that night when she went down the mountain and was found by Shen Shi to be not quite right, so she hurriedly said: "Mother, don't worry, I have a plan. I definitely won't let you down. Don't listen to Zi Yu's nonsense." The mother and daughter chatted for a while longer before Shen Shi left with satisfaction.

  On the twentieth of October, we received a letter from Zifu saying that Liu had given birth to a baby girl on the eighth and that both mother and daughter were doing well. They planned to return home with Lin Kangping by the end of November or early December, in time for Zirong's wedding.

  Shen's family was delighted to hear the news. Although it wasn't perfect, not a grandson, but after all, it was the first grandchild of the next generation, and everything was prepared, including golden locks, bracelets, and anklets. Zi Qing also prepared a new set of clothes for the child for the New Year. The whole family began to eagerly await, as Zi Fu had been away from home for almost a year. Shen's heart was especially heavy, and whenever the weather improved, she would hurry to open up the garden. She helped them air out the bedding, clean the house, and open windows for ventilation. Zeng Rui Xiang couldn't say anything when he saw this, and could only let his wife do as she pleased.

  Who would have thought that on the eve of this year's Winter Solstice, Zeng Ruiqing suddenly brought Zhou Shi and the children back home? Zeng Ruixiang also heard about it after coming out of school and told Shen Shi, who was equally shocked. She had no idea what Zeng Ruiqing and his family were thinking, remembering that they had clearly said they would wait until their son was married before visiting again, but now the child was only five years old.

  "It can't be that there's nothing wrong with Ziquan, can it? This time, you can't blame me for everything. You say all these things, but after marrying into your family, I haven't had a peaceful day in years. First, Big Brother's family left, and then Chunyu's family made a fuss for several years. Now, Chunyu doesn't have to worry about it anymore, they've gone back home. There's never a moment of peace, luckily I don't live with them, otherwise, who knows how many more worries there would be."

  "Don't be too anxious, we don't even know what's going on yet. We've already had a good chat, so you can rest assured that if he really comes home, I'll have a lot to say to him. As for our parents, they should also do their part. My mother has been unable to see the good in us all these years, so it's better to let big brother take care of them for a few years and we can also save ourselves some worry."

  The couple was just discussing when Zi Shou and Zi Xi came home. Zeng Rui Xiang sent the two to take a trip to the old house to see the old master, and also asked about the arrangement of the winter solstice ancestor worship ceremony the next day.

  Zi Shou and Zi Xi were about to leave when Zi Qing suddenly remembered that today was November 18th, wasn't it Zi Xi's birthday? She quickly reminded Shen Shi, who slapped her thigh and said: "Isn't it? I've been so busy these days that I even forgot my son's birthday. It seems I'm getting old." After speaking, she went to the kitchen to knead dough.

  Ziying took out the shoes she had prepared, sat on the bed, and thought that it had been ten years since she came here. Ten years of life and death, no thoughts, hard to forget. For her parents in her past life, the pain of losing their daughter was something that nothing could replace. It had been ten years, and her older brother's children should be in elementary school by now. Her parents must have gone gray prematurely, with unknown companions by their side. Were they still healthy? Unbeknownst to her, Ziying's tears filled her cheeks, a sharp pain pierced her heart, and she clutched at her chest.

  Suddenly, Zi Yu came in and found Zi Qing's abnormality, anxiously asking: "Sister, sister, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!"

  Ziying was startled, and hastily pulled out her handkerchief to wipe away tears, saying: "Nothing, just sitting here thinking of some past events, thinking that your younger brother has grown so big, who knew that in the blink of an eye ten years have passed. Ten years, time really flies by quickly. I remember it like it was yesterday, but for them, perhaps it's been a long and difficult wait. I don't know if this torment has lessened with the passage of time. I'm truly an unfilial daughter, unable to do anything or help them in any way."

  "Sister, what's wrong with you today? I seem to be having trouble understanding what you're saying. Sister, what's going on?" Zi Yu shouted, shaking Zi Qing.

  Ziyu's shouting woke up Ziqing, who quickly gathered her thoughts and stroked Ziyu's head, saying: "If you don't understand, then just don't understand. Sister was just thinking of some old things, so she spoke a few words of sentimentality. You're not allowed to tell Mother about this again, last time's matter hasn't been settled yet, little traitor. Let's go out, your younger brother and the others should be back by now. What are your uncle and the others coming back for? Let's go listen."