As the final chapter of "Inkstone Xiangyuan", the eighth volume focuses on the stable years and final destination of Shen Yan and Xiao Jingyuan in Wuzhen, Jiangnan. In the winter of the eighteenth year of the Apocalypse, the two lived in "Yanyuanju". In the winter, they roasted chestnuts together and received village children. Hollyhocks and sweet-scented osmanthus became footnotes of daily warmth.
An unexpected messenger from the capital broke the peace - His Majesty, who was seriously ill, summoned Xiao Jingyuan back to the capital. Faced with the inheritance of the throne and the turmoil in the court, Xiao Jingyuan stabilized the situation, but always adhered to his original intention of returning to Jiangnan. After handling His Majesty's funeral affairs and assisting the new emperor in ascending the throne, the two returned to Wuzhen and resumed their life of planting hollyhocks and putting out lotus lanterns.
After that, they witnessed the spring wedding ceremony of Xiao Lizi and Su Xiao, jointly resisted the final counterattack of Zhao Hu's remaining party, and were recognized by the new emperor with a plaque of "Jiangnan Justice". Ten years have passed, Xiao Lizi and his wife have children, Housekeeper Zhou is spending his old age peacefully, Shen Yan and Xiao Jingyuan still often go to the ruined temple in Tongzhou to reminisce about their first meeting. Amidst the hollyhocks in the courtyard and the smoke in Wuzhen, they have fulfilled their promise of "lifelong companionship", and this friendship that spans the disputes in the capital and the slow time in the south of the Yangtze River has been successfully concluded.
