Will you love me forever

Hu Shaoyou's injuries had not yet healed, and they still hurt terribly, but what was a bit of pain compared to love?

Especially since, before, there had been mutual affection, a shared journey toward a bright future. Now, Hu Shaoyou's confidence had shattered before love, scattered beyond repair.

He desperately wanted to know Wanqing's attitude.

Wanqing's attitude toward him.

"Wanqing is such a wonderful girl. She definitely won't mind."

"Yes, yes, she won't mind at all."

"She loves me for who I am, not for anything else. She said that as long as she could be with me, even if I became a beggar, she would still be with me, just the same."

"She's such a good girl, like a pure and tempting angel fallen to earth. How could she care about such a small flaw in me?"

On his way to find Wanqing, Hu Shaoyou kept comforting himself like this. Perhaps because his mind was preoccupied, even the bumps of the horse beneath him couldn't make him remember the pain in his body.

Or maybe it was that riding hurt a little less now.

He wasn't slow either. Soon, he arrived outside a certain residence.

At almost the same moment, Ren Tianye received the news.

After a close aide whispered in his ear, Ren Tianye stood up with a smile and looked at the woman before him, Gu Qing. "Miss Gu, come with me."

"After this trip, I'll give you back a lively husband, and I'll also get the fugitive I want. Two birds with one stone."

Gu Qing's expression was already deeply complicated.

The meaning in Ren Tianye's words stirred her heart. Countless chaotic thoughts flooded in, and she didn't dare guess, didn't dare believe, yet her heart desperately wanted to know.

"Sister Gu Qing…" Su Jin smiled as she took Gu Qing's arm and said, "A thousand sails pass by the sunken ship, ten thousand trees bloom before the sick tree. Sometimes you just have to see it for yourself. Some things, once experienced, let you move on. Only then do you know what's worth chasing."

Su Jin's words struck a chord in Gu Qing's heart.

A flicker of resolve hardened in her eyes.

But in truth, whether she agreed or not, she couldn't stop Ren Tianye's actions.

Ren Tianye had already set off with his men.

Gu Qing, as the party involved, was pulled by Su Jin, hurrying along behind. Soon, they arrived at the location.

They entered through the back door of the residence. Inside a spacious room, Ren Tianye and the others stood still, while Gu Qing listened intently.

"Why isn't Wanqing out yet?"

An anxious voice rang out.

Just those few words made Gu Qing's body tremble.

The voice of the speaker was so familiar to her—so deeply woven into her life that she had once believed she would never forget it for as long as she lived.

"General Hu, please wait a little longer. My young lady is coming out soon. She's still putting on her makeup and dressing up. She's really putting in a lot of effort to see you," came a maid's voice, clear and deliberate.

"General Hu, you've already waited so long. What's a little more time?"

"I can't wait. Not even a moment longer. Where is Wanqing?"

The tinkling of jade ornaments sounded, mixed with a soft, coquettish voice: "Shaoyou, why are you so impatient? Are you that eager to see me?"

"Wanqing… Wanqing…"

Inside the room, Hu Shaoyou finally saw Wanqing. Gone was his usual composed and gentlemanly demeanor. Like a starving dog pouncing on food, he lunged toward her in a flash.

"Wanqing, do you love me?"

"Of course I do!" Wanqing answered without hesitation, her voice sweet and playful. "If I didn't love you, why would I hide it from my husband and sneak around with you?"

"And I plan to keep it from him forever."

"That way, I can always be with you, dear Shaoyou!"

At these words, some of the tension in Hu Shaoyou's face relaxed, but outside the room, Gu Qing felt as if she'd been struck by lightning.

Wanqing, that wretched woman!

Back then, it was for this woman that Hu Shaoyou had fought with Gu Qing, sparking the biggest conflict between her and Hu Shaoqiu since they'd been together.

But then,

Hu Shaoyou had told her that he'd cut ties with that woman, and she could no longer find any trace of Wanqing in Yuancheng.

She thought it was all water under the bridge, so she let it go. But now…

That wretched woman was still here!

Still here!

"Sister Gu Qing, you were right. That woman really has a shady past. She's utterly shameless," Su Jin whispered in Gu Qing's ear. "I thought she was just a concubine that Hu Shaoyou kept on the side."

"I never expected that this Wanqing actually has a husband."

"She's sleeping with Hu Shaoyou behind her husband's back."

"Looks like my Demon-Suppression Bureau prison will be welcoming a distinguished guest again!"

Inside the room, Hu Shaoyou continued, his voice urgent. "Wanqing, will you love me forever?"

"Of course!" Wanqing laughed. "We were childhood sweethearts, dear Shaoyou. Fate separated us back then, but now we're together again. Of course I'll love you forever."

"Then… if something happens to me, will you still love me?" Hu Shaoyou nervously rubbed his hands together as he posed this critical question.

"I will love you, dear Shaoyou!" Wanqing answered without hesitation, her voice decisive. "No matter what happens!"

"And besides, look at all the money we have now—over four million taels of silver. Even after giving a share to the Feasting Pavilion, there's still enough for us to live on for the rest of our lives."

"Later, let's find a place no one knows about. We'll take this money, live in our own little world just for two, and I'll bear you a few children too. We'll be a happy family, envied by everyone around us."

"Oh, and dear Shaoyou, your parents did so much during this whole ordeal. I want to thank them too. How about when we go into hiding, we bring them along?"

"Then, with children and grandchildren at our knees, and loving parents above—I can't imagine a life more wonderful than that!"