"Guan Qingshu, are you alright?" Yang Ruxin saw Guan Qingshu standing motionless, not even blinking, and immediately grew worried. She feared an excessive shock might send this esteemed scholar into despair, and if he did something extreme, that would be troublesome.
Finally, Guan Qingshu lifted his eyes and stared deeply at Yang Ruxin, then let out a wry smile before sadly turning around and staggering home, each step uneven.
"Gu Yao, follow him and make sure nothing happens," Yang Ruxin said, glancing at Gu Yao.
Without waiting for his older brother’s command, Gu Yao nodded and trailed far behind Guan Qingshu.
"Xinxin, do you regret it?" Gu Qingheng held Yang Ruxin’s hand.
"Regret what?" Yang Ruxin looked at Gu Qingheng.
"Regret rejecting such an outstanding man..."
"Gu Qingheng, don’t tell me you’re feeling insecure," Yang Ruxin said with a laugh.
Gu Qingheng honestly nodded.
"You..." Yang Ruxin sighed. "You know what? Just now, you shook my confidence. Guan Qingshu must feel like his heart is shattered to pieces... Honestly, I don’t even want you to regain your sight. I’m afraid that once you can see and walk, just how outstanding you’ll be? Then you might not find this country girl attractive anymore..."
"Silly girl," Gu Qingheng laughed. "Are you trying to comfort me? Alright, I accept your comfort. I’m confident now, I won’t be so insecure anymore..."
"Haha... Gu Qingheng, I find myself liking you more and more, what should I do?"
"Then just keep liking me, I won’t let you regret falling for me..."
Yang Ruxin glanced around, quickly pecked Gu Qingheng on the lips, then stood up and pretended nothing happened as she began to push the wheelchair outward, saying, "Let’s hurry home." Her face was already blushing.
Gu Qingheng also touched his lips with a hand, a flush spread on his handsome face, after being momentarily stunned. If this wasn’t in the middle of the street, he really wanted to pull her into his arms, and then...
For the rest of the way home, neither of them spoke. Their pace wasn’t quick, but both their hearts rippled with a faint sweetness. It was a weird silence, yet surprisingly harmonious.
By the time they reached home, Gu Yao had caught up with them, saying he saw Guan Qingshu enter his yard before returning.
Yang Ruxin was then reassured.
Feeling cheerful, Yang Ruxin decided to showcase her culinary skills again for dinner. However, her specialty was Sichuan cuisine; in the past, no meal was complete without some heat. Unfortunately here... she gazed at the zanthoxylum and sighed.
Chilies, she remembered, were introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty. Yang Ruxin had inquired about the historical events from Gu Qingheng. Normally, after the humiliation of Jingkang led to the fall of the Northern Song, the trajectory of history should have seen King Kang Zhao Gou ascend to the throne in the Southern Song at Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing, followed by the defeat at the hands of the Yuan Dynasty after the Battle of Yamen, which then lead into the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty lasted barely over a century before Zhu Yuanzhang’s uprising overthrew it, ushering in the Ming Dynasty.
However, in this timeline, after the fall of the Northern Song, history forked. Zhao Gou did not establish the Southern Song, but instead, a man named Zhao Cheng appeared, who was said to also be a relative of Zhao Kuangyin, albeit from a collateral branch. He had always been by King Kang’s side, had long since marginalized the king, and used him as a puppet to start an uprising under the banner of overthrowing the northern invaders; he quickly rallied forces and soon unified the country. Then, he expelled the invaders from the Central Plains Region and established the Great Qian Dynasty.