We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? Chapter 423: A Hundred Years of Harmony

Morning.

Qin Siyao woke early in the Qin embassy residence.

Just as she always did.

After washing up with the help of the palace maids, Qin Siyao sat in the courtyard in quiet contemplation for a full hour, then read for another half an hour.

For Qin Siyao, the two things she used to dislike most—cultivation and reading—had already become daily habits. Even scraps of free time were something she would put to use for cultivation.

A little past mid-morning, Qin Siyao set down the book in her hands and said to the maid beside her, Mingyue, “Come on. Let’s go out for a walk.”

“Is Your Majesty going to the imperial palace?” Mingyue asked.

Ever since they arrived in the Zhou imperial capital, whenever her sovereign had free time, she would go to the Zhou imperial palace.

And now, there were less than half a month until the wedding ceremony.

All the Zhou court etiquette that Her Majesty needed to learn had already finished yesterday, and the coming days were all free.

So in Mingyue’s eyes, Her Majesty should be going to the Zhou imperial palace even more often these days.

“No.” Qin Siyao smiled and shook her head. “Compared to the Zhou imperial palace, there’s somewhere else I want to see more today.”

With that, Qin Siyao rose and walked out of the embassy residence.

Mingyue hurried after her at a quick jog.

Half an hour later.

The carriage Qin Siyao rode in stopped in front of a small courtyard home.

Mingyue helped Her Majesty down from the carriage.

Mingyue looked the place over. It was remote and ordinary, and she couldn’t help wondering who could possibly live here—someone important enough that Her Majesty would come in person.

Qin Siyao stepped forward and knocked on the door: one light knock, then two heavier ones.

“Coming—please wait a moment.”

Only after Qin Siyao knocked three times did Mingyue hear a woman’s voice from inside the courtyard.

Very soon, the door opened. A young woman who looked barely over twenty stood in front of Qin Siyao and Mingyue.

“Hello. May I ask if Young Master Jinyuan lives here?” Qin Siyao asked with a smile.

“Yes. I am his wife, Ji Yue. May I ask who you are, miss?”

Ji Yue stared blankly at Qin Siyao.

She had never seen a woman this beautiful. Her skin was pale as fresh snow pressed into paper, and in the morning sunlight it looked so delicate it could break at a touch.

And her features were exquisitely shaped, her figure was graceful, too.

Every movement carried the poise of a well-bred lady.

To Ji Yue, the woman in front of her looked as if she had stepped out of a painting.

She had never seen anyone so beautiful.

“Greetings, Madam. It’s like this—my father admires Young Master Jinyuan’s calligraphy, so I’ve come to request two pieces. I wonder if Young Master Jin has the time?” Qin Siyao said warmly.

“So that’s how it is. Of course he has time. Please, both of you, come in.”

Ji Yue quickly led Qin Siyao into the courtyard.

Qin Siyao sat on a stone stool, while Mingyue stood to the side to attend her.

Ji Yue went inside, brought out some tea leaves, and brewed a pot for them.

“There’s no good tea at home. I hope you won’t mind,” Ji Yue said, offering the cups.

“Madam, you’re too kind.” Qin Siyao accepted the cup with both hands. “This tea is already very good.”

Ji Yue smiled slightly, knowing the other woman was being polite. “Please wait a little. My husband should be back from the private school soon. I hope you’ll forgive us.”

“We’re the ones who came unannounced. We should be the ones apologizing.” Qin Siyao took a sip of tea. “Madam, your brewing is truly excellent.”

“You flatter me. As long as it suits your taste.” Ji Yue poured Qin Siyao another cup. “By the way—how did your honored father come to know my husband?”

“It was like this. My father happened to pass by White Elephant Private School and went in out of curiosity. He just happened to see Young Master Jin writing, and he wanted to request a piece right then.

“But Young Master Jin was teaching at the time, and my father didn’t want to disturb him. He also didn’t have time to wait until class ended.

“So today, he had me come to pay a visit.”

Qin Siyao delivered the explanation she had prepared in advance.

“I see.” Ji Yue nodded, accepting it.

After that, the two women chatted back and forth, and before long the conversation began to flow naturally.

Mingyue remained to the side, quietly looking around the courtyard.

It was very simple—so simple it could even be called shabby.

But the woman speaking with Her Majesty didn’t look like a poor commoner at all. From her manner and the way she spoke, she was at least educated, and she was also very pretty.

In Mingyue’s eyes, Ji Yue’s beauty was only three parts less than Her Majesty’s.

To possess seven parts of Her Majesty’s looks was already extraordinarily rare!

But beyond her looks and her speech, what made Mingyue most curious was Her Majesty’s attitude toward this woman.

How to put it...

It felt as if Her Majesty had known her for a very, very long time.

Her Majesty spoke as though she were talking to family she hadn’t seen in years—there was an effortless closeness in her tone.

Later, listening to their conversation, Mingyue also learned that they were not natives of the Zhou imperial capital. They were from Jiangnan.

Ji Yue truly was a well-bred young lady, and her background was not low. She wasn’t from an ordinary merchant family—she was born into an official household.

But by a twist of fate, Ji Yue fell in love with a poor scholar, and that man was now her husband—Jinyuan.

Ji Yue had insisted on marrying him.

Her parents refused.

Yet although she looked gentle, she was a woman of strong feelings.

She took her private savings and her jewelry box and eloped with the man named Jinyuan.

They took Heaven and Earth as their matchmaker, the stars and moon as their witnesses, and bowed to the heavens to become husband and wife.

After that, Jinyuan passed the provincial exam, then came to the capital to take the metropolitan exam. They lived in this courtyard home, waiting for the spring examination to begin.

Because their travel funds were nearly gone, Ji Yue handled the household while also doing needlework to help cover expenses.

And the man named Jinyuan, besides preparing for the exam, taught at a private school and also sold calligraphy pieces.

Though their life was poor and hard, there wasn’t the slightest trace of resentment in Ji Yue’s eyes—only a quiet kind of happiness.

“Madam, I’m back.”

About a quarter hour later, just as Qin Siyao and Ji Yue were chatting merrily, a man’s voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Ji Yue quickly stood up, opened the gate, and welcomed her husband with a bright smile. “Husband, you’re back!”

“I’m back.”

The man named Jinyuan nodded, then his gaze fell on the two women in the courtyard.

From their clothing—especially the woman seated—she was clearly no ordinary person. At the very least, she was the daughter of a wealthy household.

“Madam, these two are...?” Jinyuan asked.

“Husband, this miss is the daughter of a Lord Qin in the city. Lord Qin once saw your writing and thought it quite good, so he specifically sent Miss Qin to request a piece,” Ji Yue explained.

“So that’s how it is.” After understanding, Jinyuan immediately stepped forward and bowed with clasped hands. “I am Jinyuan. Greetings to both misses.”

“Greetings, Young Master Jin.” Qin Siyao and Mingyue rose and returned the courtesy.

“I kept you waiting. I truly apologize. This student will fetch brush, ink, paper, and inkstone at once,” Jinyuan said.

“I’ll help you get them,” Ji Yue said, not waiting for her husband to trouble himself. She hurried into the room and brought out the writing set.

In the courtyard, Ji Yue carefully ground the ink for her husband.

When it was about right, Jinyuan lifted his brush and asked Qin Siyao, “May I ask what words your honored father wants?”

“Just write...”

Qin Siyao thought for a moment, then looked at the husband and wife, the corners of her lips lifting into a smile.

“Write ‘Safe and Joyful’ and ‘A Hundred Years of Harmony’—eight characters in total.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment, miss.”

Jinyuan rolled up his sleeves, dipped the brush in ink, and wrote with careful strokes, line by line, on the paper.

When the eight characters were finished, he set down the brush cautiously.

Looking at what he had written, he felt quite satisfied.

“May I ask what you think, miss? If it is not to your liking, I can rewrite it,” Jinyuan asked the woman beside him.

His own satisfaction meant nothing. What mattered was whether the guest was pleased.

Qin Siyao looked at the eight characters and nodded. “You’ve worked hard, Young Master Jin. These eight characters are written excellently. There’s nothing wrong at all—Young Master Jin truly is talented.”

As she spoke, Qin Siyao took a small box from her sleeve and handed it to Ji Yue. “This is the fee for your brushwork. Please accept it.”

Ji Yue accepted the box, opened it—and saw eight small gold ingots inside.

“This...” Ji Yue jumped in alarm. She quickly closed the box and tried to hand it back. “Miss Qin, this is far too much. We can’t accept it.”

“Yes, Miss Qin.” Jinyuan also hurriedly said, “I’m no calligraphy master. That my writing can earn your honored father’s appreciation is already an immense honor—how could I dare accept such a fee? Twenty copper coins would be enough.”

Qin Siyao shook her head and insisted, “What it should be is what it should be. I believe Young Master Jin’s writing is worth this much, and so it is worth this much.

“If Young Master Jin still feels uneasy, then please work hard for the spring examination.

“In the future, after you place highly, your writing will be worth a fortune. Compared to that, what is one small ingot per character today?”

“This...” Jinyuan still felt it was improper.

It was truly too much.

“If Young Master Jin keeps refusing, it will only make things unpleasant.” Qin Siyao smiled.

Jinyuan looked at her, then at the gold in the box, and finally at the calligraphy he had written.

How could he not understand? Requesting a piece of writing was true enough—but she also meant to support him.

Most likely, she was using “brushwork fee” as a pretext to help cover his living and study expenses.

After hesitating again and again, Jinyuan stopped forcing the matter. He bowed deeply. “May I ask where your honored father’s residence is? If I place highly in the spring examination, I will certainly repay this kindness!”

“It’s one hand for the writing and one hand for the money. This is what you deserve—how could it be called kindness that needs repayment?” Qin Siyao laughed softly. She personally gathered up the dried scrolls. “Now that I’ve obtained the pieces, I won’t trouble you two any longer. I’ll take my leave.”

“This...”

Ji Yue looked at her husband.

She and her husband thought the same: they wanted to know where the other party lived.

Not to curry favor, but because if there were a chance in the future, they truly wished to express thanks and repay her.

“I understand.” Since she would not say, Jinyuan did not press. “My wife and I will see you out.”

“Mm.” Qin Siyao did not refuse this.

The couple escorted Qin Siyao out of the courtyard.

“You can stop at the gate. We’ll be leaving now.” Qin Siyao and Mingyue climbed into the carriage.

“Please take care on the road.” Jinyuan and Ji Yue bowed.

Qin Siyao nodded and lowered the curtain.

“Drive!”

With the crack of the whip, the carriage rolled away. Before long, it vanished at the end of the street.

“Husband... who was that miss? You truly don’t know any Qin family in the capital?”

Standing at the courtyard gate, Ji Yue asked her husband.

“I truly don’t.” Jinyuan shook his head with a bitter smile. “We’ve only been in the capital a month and a half. I’m at the private school all day, and there’s no one surnamed Qin there. I really can’t think of who it might be.”

“But...” Jinyuan looked toward where the carriage had disappeared, frowning. “For some reason, I keep feeling as if I’ve seen that miss somewhere before—and there’s a strange familiarity... like... like a younger sister I haven’t seen in a long time. It feels odd.”

“You feel it too?” Ji Yue blinked. “When I saw Miss Qin, I also felt like I’d met her before. She felt so close, as if we’d known each other for a long time—so I chatted with her quite a bit. I even told her about how you and I eloped.”

As she spoke, her eyes lit up. “Could it be she knew we were short on money, so she gave more as the fee?”

“Maybe it really is that simple.”

Jinyuan took his wife’s hand.

“Forget it. Don’t think too much about it.

“She was so generous— even in the capital, that means she isn’t from a small household.

“With a little asking around, we should be able to find out.

“When the spring examination comes, if your husband places highly, we’ll go pay a visit and thank her for today’s help.

“And if I place highly, then in the future, Yue’er, you won’t have to live a hard life with me anymore.”

Ji Yue shook her head and said softly, “I’ve never felt that life with you is hard. As long as I’m with you, everything is worth it.”

Hearing his wife’s words, something in Jinyuan’s heart stirred gently.

He reached out, pulled her into his arms, and stroked her hair with tenderness. “Yue’er, thank you. Don’t worry—this time, your husband will definitely earn you a top-ranked placing, and we’ll return home in glory!”

Inside the carriage, Qin Siyao spread out the calligraphy and looked at the eight characters written on it.

Mingyue sat beside her sovereign and looked as well.

“Your Majesty—was that scholar’s writing really that good?”

His calligraphy ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) was indeed decent, but no matter how Mingyue looked, it didn’t seem worthy of a piece of gold per character.

“Of course it was. And in the future, it will only get better and better.”

With that, Qin Siyao rolled up the two pieces and gently tossed them out the carriage window.

The two scrolls fluttered like autumn leaves, drifting back toward that shabby little courtyard home.

They floated in the air above the courtyard. Then the eight characters lifted off the paper—one by one—and stamped themselves onto the left and right sides of the courtyard door.

To Second Brother and Sister-in-Law—

“Safe and Joyful.”

“A Hundred Years of Harmony.”