Xiao Yi carefully reviewed the matters between Su Xiao Qi and Xiao Ze, realizing he had committed a grave folly.
He regretted his impulsive actions.
He should have consulted Sister Xiao Qi or Little Magpie before acting.
Indeed, one shouldn't act solely on hot-bloodedness.
Seeing Xiao Yi's remorseful expression, as if he had done something terrible,
Su Xiao Qi patted his shoulder in comfort, saying:
"Xiao Yi, you have no need to be upset. It's a good thing Xiao Ze is alive.
I'm sure Little Magpie and Xiao Sanzi will be happy to see him.
Besides, some things must eventually be revealed."
With the identity of the person before her revealed, Su Xiao Qi finally understood why he had been so angry.
Xiao Ze was an exceptional presence in their beggar troupe.
Being two years older than the original host, he naturally took on the role of caring for their group.
Before the appearance of the Su family's steward, their lives had been impoverished but peaceful.
Xiao Ze would lead the slightly older boys in the beggar troupe to the docks to find work.
While the original host, along with the younger children and girls, begged on the streets.
Although they couldn't eat their fill or eat well, they could barely subsist, and their lives were manageable.
As two of the older individuals in the beggar troupe, the original host and Xiao Ze had long harbored feelings for each other and vowed to grow old together.
Xiao Ze had been working diligently, wanting to provide Su Xiao Qi and the younger siblings under her care with a decent life.
He had also vowed to save up thirty-two dowry chests before marrying the original host.
Life could have continued without much incident.
Serene and peaceful.
Perhaps one day Xiao Ze would fulfill his vow and lead everyone to a better life.
And all this tranquility was shattered by the arrival of the Su family's steward.
Steward Su, upon seeing Su Xiao Qi's appearance, brought her into the Su family.
From then on, the original host lived in luxury, enjoying a prosperous and beautiful life.
In the beginning, the original host still remembered her fellow unfortunate companions.
She would secretly send them money and food given to her by the Su family.
But after a few times, Steward Su discovered this and mocked her, threatening to turn her out if she continued.
After all, that role could be replaced by anyone; she wasn't indispensable.
As the saying goes, it's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
The original host had grown accustomed to the opulent life in the Su family.
How could she bear to return to the hardships of living outdoors?
She weighed the pros and cons and naturally didn't want to lose this life.
Thus, the original host gradually severed ties with them.
Xiao Ze noticed her change and secretly sneaked into the Su family to find her.
But he was met with indifference and rejection.
Xiao Ze was heartbroken but did not give up.
He soon learned the reason she was brought into the Su family – to replace the legitimate young lady of the Su family and marry a fallen scholar, a poor scholar, much like themselves.
Xiao Ze, who cherished the original host, could not allow her to marry him.
So, he sought opportunities to see her every day.
This annoyed the original host to no end.
Then, instigated by Su Mo and with the help of Steward Su, she framed Xiao Ze, leading to his imprisonment and sentence of exile.
At that time, Xiao Yi, along with Little Magpie and others, had sought out the original host, but she coldly refused them all.
The life of wealth had corrupted her soul.
Moreover, even if she had softened her heart, she couldn't have done anything.
Xiao Ze was exiled, and after being turned away several times, Xiao Yi and the others no longer dared to approach the original host.
She had finally become completely independent, free to openly flirt with Su Mo and live the life she desired.
But unexpectedly, she was eventually married into the Shen family by the Su family, becoming Shen Yun's wife.
However, fate intervened, and just a few days after marrying Shen Yun, Su Xiao Qi replaced the original host.
Thus, Xiao Ze, who had played such an important role in the original host's life, was buried.
Su Xiao Qi knew how important he had been in the original host's life.
But she couldn't recall his face.
Su Xiao Qi guessed that perhaps the original host had a pang of conscience and felt guilt towards him.
So, she selectively forgot him to alleviate her own self-recrimination.
This led to the current awkward situation.
Su Xiao Qi held her teacup, looking at the dark and heroic young man before her, and tentatively asked:
"You are Xiao Ze. Where did you come from?"
Xiao Ze let out a cold snort and ignored her.
This woman had hurt him deeply enough.
Yet, pitifully, he still harbored thoughts of her.
He wondered what kind of life she would have, being used by the Su family and married into the Shen family.
Would she be sad? Would she occasionally think of him?
If she still remembered him and thought of him, then he wouldn't begrudge her having been married before, or how she had treated him.
He would still bring the promised thirty-two dowry chests.
No, with his current capabilities, not to mention thirty-two chests, he could easily afford sixty-four dowry chests.
He would marry her, he would definitely marry her!
With this thought in mind, Xiao Ze worked diligently on the frontier, just as he always had.
In just two years, he transformed from an exiled criminal into a soldier, starting as a vanguard and fighting alongside the Western Border Army.
He repeatedly saved the army's commander, and his promotions continued.
From a commander of a hundred men to a commander of a thousand men, and now a Deputy General of the fourth rank.
Although only two years had passed, his path of promotion was undeniable.
It was all accumulated through substantial military achievements.
Tangible contributions.
When he was buried in piles of corpses, he thought he might die with them.
But as soon as he remembered his engagement vows with Su Xiao Qi, his spirits would immediately lift.
He wanted to achieve merit, he wanted to be promoted, he wanted to return home and marry Su Xiao Qi!
With this simple yet powerful motivation, he persevered until now.
He became the most trusted subordinate of General Huang, the commander of the Western Border Army.
Hence, he was dispatched to the capital to carry out this mission.
He had expected this mission, like many others, to involve facing death, achieving the objective through everyone's efforts, and then receiving rewards upon their return.
But he never anticipated meeting Xiao Yi here.
Su Xiao Qi ignored Xiao Ze's anger and looked at Xiao Yi:
"Have you been in contact all along?"
Otherwise, how could they have reunited so quickly.
Xiao Yi gave a wry smile, "No. Brother Ze came to the supermarket to buy things, and I happened to be preparing to restock. I saw him."
It was pure coincidence, perhaps even heaven felt they were destined to meet here.
After all, Xiao Ze had been sentenced to exile and sent to the Western Border.
He had no right to write or receive letters.
Later, after accumulating military merit and being promoted, he did send several letters to the City God Temple in Mianzhou.
Unfortunately, by that time, Xiao Yi and the others had already moved away with Su Xiao Qi.
They never received any of the letters he sent.
When Xiao Yi first met Xiao Ze and heard about this, he felt immense shame.
Brother Ze had been thinking of them all along.
And although they had also thought of him,
after not hearing any news from him for a long time, they had assumed he was dead.
They never expected to meet in the capital.
Xiao Yi was overwhelmed with excitement and immediately invited Xiao Ze to stay at his home.
As Xiao Ze hadn't found suitable accommodation at the time, he agreed.
Upon further conversation, Xiao Yi was astonished to discover that Xiao Ze still held onto thoughts of Su Xiao Qi.
He was startled at that moment.
He had thought that after experiencing what happened before, Brother Ze would have long forgotten Sister Xiao Qi and would no longer think of those things.
But unexpectedly, not only was he still thinking of her, but he also intended to marry her with sixty-four dowry chests.
Xiao Yi had been in turmoil all these days.
He was deliberating whether or not to tell Brother Ze the truth.
It wasn't until today, when Sister Xiao Qi brought people to the supermarket for inventory,
that his unease caught Su Xiao Qi's attention.
He finally made up his mind. As soon as he returned, he would reveal everything about Su Xiao Qi's circumstances to him.
Including her marriage to Shen Yun, and how after some hardships, they had both found good lives.
And that they were now in the capital.
After listening to Xiao Yi, Xiao Ze finally understood the current situation of the woman he had devotedly thought of.
But for him, this did not seem like a good outcome.