After eating the early morning porridge of greens and brown rice at Beitian Fang, and after Xing Yue and Xing Zhao had finished their medicine and had their dressings changed, Qingheng obtained the prescription and ingredients for mahuangtang for them, as well as some jinchuangfen.

Master Qingquan urged her to stay: “Young Layman Xing’s fever has subsided, but he is still weak. You are welcome to stay at the clinic a while longer to recuperate.” Qingheng understood.

But if the documents submitted today were all approved, and Xing Yue had a wealthy fiancée like him as a “family member,” it would be difficult to determine whether he was truly without support.

County Magistrate Liu suggested that he let Xing Yue stay at Beitian Fang for one night; it was fine to treat him, but he should try not to keep him there too long. Qingheng knew this was for the sake of caution.

He replied, “Things are busy at home; it’s just as good if I take him back to recuperate there.”

He thought for a moment, then asked, “A-Lian, I’d like to borrow a copy of the Thousand Character Classic from Jingju Temple. Do you think that would be possible?” Jingju Temple had a monastic school and a library.

Master Qingquan sighed with a smile, “Time really flies. In my memory, you were still only seven or eight years old, and in the blink of an eye, you’ve reached the age of engagement.”

“There’s no need to go,” he said with a wry smile. He leaned over, fished a scroll out of the scroll holder, and handed it to him. “I copied a copy by hand this morning. Consider it your betrothal gift—take it.”

Qingheng guessed he might have seen the marriage contract and assumed he was engaged.

Knowing he intended to teach several people in his household to speak, and that he might need it, he had written this early that morning as a congratulatory gift.

Although he knew the marriage contract was a sham and the engagement was a sham, upon hearing this, Qingheng still couldn’t help but feel a stinging sensation in his eyes as tears welled up. Since his father’s passing, his world had grown much colder and lonelier; he often felt a sense of desolation.

He never expected that Master Qingquan still remembered him and was genuinely happy for his joy.

Qingheng pressed his lips together, held back his tears, smiled, and bowed sincerely: “Thank you, thank you, A-Lian!”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The cart shop was located in the East Market, directly across from Beitian Fang.

Qingheng first bought a quilt, then carried it to retrieve his old horse. He paid off the outstanding storage fee and spent twenty wen to rent a cart.

His old horse hadn’t seen him since they parted ways yesterday afternoon. The cart shop had fed him dinner and breakfast this morning—wheat straw, which he hadn’t enjoyed—and now he kept rubbing his head against Qingheng’s, seeking comfort and affection.

Qingheng burst out laughing, patting its big head. “All right, all right. When we get back, I’ll feed you myself—I’ll add wheat bran and alfalfa. How about that?” His horse wagged his tail, nuzzled his face once, then moved his big head away, sparing him.

At the entrance to Beitian Fang, Qingheng met Xing Yue and Xing Zhao. He told them to get under the covers to shelter from the wind, while he himself took the reins and, with a shout, rode off to the county magistrate’s office.

The gatekeeper was still Jiang Shen.

When he saw Qingheng, Jiang Shen smiled cheerfully, but the moment he saw the marriage contract, his smile vanished instantly.

“Did you discuss the engagement with Lord Liu last night?” Jiang Shen’s face darkened, and he growled in a low voice, “Why didn’t you tell me? You’re only sixteen—how could you arrange your own marriage? How could Lord Liu agree to it or encourage it…”

“Watch your tongue!” Qingheng snapped sharply. “Don’t let me get you into trouble.”

“I brought it up myself,” Qingheng explained. “It has nothing to do with Lord Liu. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

In fact, when Lord Liu appeared last night, asking if he intended to protect Xing Yue and the others, and then took him home, he had already suspected that Lord Liu wanted him to protect Xing Yue and Xing Zhao.

After all, there had been a gap of time between when he’d said he’d protect the two and when Lord Liu appeared.

Lord Liu must have been watching him silently from the doorway. Once he was certain of Qingheng’s sincerity, he appeared before them.

That was why, after arriving at Lord Liu’s house, he had offered only ten flatbreads instead of copper coins to build rapport. His original plan had been to bribe him with two strings of copper coins in exchange for a chance to visit.

As it turned out, his hunch was correct; once he had explained his reasons, Lord Liu’s attitude softened.

Later, when he proposed paying a fine in lieu of labor and asked Lord Liu to draft all the necessary documents, Lord Liu did not refuse, but merely reminded him to proceed with caution.

“Once the marriage contract is issued, he’ll have an excuse to approve it, but what about you?” Jiang Shen said angrily, “Do you still want to marry a good husband?” 

“You keep going on and on about a ‘good husband,’ but haven’t you noticed that that ‘good man’ is a coward?” Qingheng said with a grin. “If he were to boldly show up in front of me right now and say he’s smitten with me, I’d refuse to sign the marriage contract on the spot. The problem is, he’s a coward—he hasn’t come looking for me in all these years.” 

Jiang Shen: “……”

He looked around and realized that apart from him and Xing Yue, who was barely alive in the carriage, there wasn’t a single adult man at the gate of the magistrate’s office. He suddenly felt all hope for life slip away. He closed his eyes resolutely, put on a grim face, and struck a heroic pose as if preparing for martyrdom: “How about… I say right now that I’m smitten…”

“Stop it, stop it right now.” Qingheng hurriedly silenced him: “You’re doing yourself a disservice, but don’t drag me down with you.” 

Jiang Shen：“……”

Suddenly, it seemed perfectly normal that no suitable suitors were coming to find him.

He didn’t say anything else, wiped his face, and registered the marriage contract.

After handing it into the inner chambers, he looked at Qingheng with a world-weary expression: “Just wait. We might get a reply in a little while.”

Jiang Shen was right; the county office was working quickly this time. In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a messenger arrived with the guarantee letter bearing the official seal. However, the marriage contract was missing.

The court official said, “A copy of the marriage contract has been made; you may take the original home to keep. The application documents will be filed, and the two marriage contracts will be temporarily held at the magistrate’s office. You may come to retrieve them whenever you need them.”

Under normal circumstances, marriage contracts should never be kept at the magistrate’s office; they’re meant to be kept in one’s own possession. When it comes time to end the engagement, as long as both parties agree, they can simply discuss it and tear it up privately to settle the matter.

“How could the marriage contract…” Jiang Shen clearly sensed something was amiss and was about to speak up. 

“All right,” Qingheng immediately cut him off. “Thank you, officials.”

Qingheng put the guarantee document away and asked Jiang Shen if he had any messages for his family. Seeing there was no way around it, Jiang Shen had no choice but to get down to business.

After he finished, Qingheng nodded and turned to leave. But before he could turn away…

“Wait a moment!” The constable returned and called out to him, reaching into his robe: “Magistrate Liu said he bought some flatbreads from you last night. They were quite tasty, but he didn’t have enough copper coins on him at the time, so he ran a tab. He’s instructed me to pay you now—please accept this.”

With that, he pulled out two strings of copper coins and handed them to Qingheng. 

Jiang Shen: “???”

Qingheng was equally stunned. How could County Magistrate Liu…?

He hurriedly declined: “They’re just homemade treats—it’s an honor that he’d praise them…”

“Take it. Your Excellency isn’t about to go broke over a few copper coins.” The constable didn’t stand on ceremony; he shoved the coins into Jiang Shen’s hand and walked right out. Jiang Shen, still in disbelief, leaned over and whispered, “What’s gotten into Magistrate Liu?”

Qingheng had already come to his senses. He shook his head and said softly, “Don’t mention these things again.”

Unlike him, a man without a family, others had entire households to support. They couldn’t act on a whim; even if they wanted to help, they could only do so indirectly.

After all, this wasn’t just about their own futures; it could also endanger their families.

No one knew whether the Emperor might dig up old grievances later, letting his anger get the better of him and cracking down on everyone involved all over again.

At that point, anyone who helped now could be caught in the crossfire and dragged down.

Therefore, although their actions were limited by having to take a roundabout approach, their sincerity was all the more precious.

To Qingheng, Xing Yue, and the others, it is already incredibly precious.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

On the journey back, the gloom that had hung over Qingheng for the past two days vanished completely.

He drove the carriage, galloping across the vast Gobi Desert, whistling happily.

Xing Yue noticed how remarkably skilled he was for his young age; he had tamed such a large horse to be completely obedient and docile. He drove the carriage with great steadiness; even without rubber wheels to absorb the shock, the ride was surprisingly smooth.

As he practiced reading the characters from the *Thousand Character Classic* with Xing Zhao, he kept one eye on him, watching his unbridled excitement and joy, and stammered, “Are you… that happy?”

“Of course, I’m happy to be going home.” Qingheng whistled at a golden eagle soaring overhead and laughed heartily. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”