[Blurb] [Problematic draft, undecided.]
Eight years later, Song Baozhen returned to the capital.
Her carriage rolled down the Imperial Avenue, past shops filled with pearls and jade and a bustling crowd.
She lifted the curtain to take a look, then bent over to write to her fiance:
"The capital is just as prosperous as ever..." She described every little detail, then ended with a light flourish: "Brother Qing, this is the last letter I'll send you."
"Because I'm coming to marry you! ^O^"
--
The Marquis of Anding's residence.
Lu Qingheng's face brightened when he received the letter, and he wrote back to discuss the wedding arrangements.
But months went by...
The woman who had insisted she would marry him vanished without a trace, never to be heard from again.
--
One day, Lu Qingheng's younger sister invited some new friends over.
As he passed beneath a peach tree, he heard a sweet, clear voice:
"You might not believe this... I've been writing to my fiance for eight years. A few days ago, when I returned to the capital, I found out the letters had been sent to the wrong person all along... and that person really does intend to marry me!"
His sister asked, "So what are you going to do?"
"It's not as if I like him." The woman speaking bit her lip, her eyes bright and brows delicate, her manner as soft as jade and flowers, yet her words were merciless.
"I've already written back to say I'm dead. I can only hope he'll believe it and forget me soon."
Lu Qingheng stopped in his tracks, his brows drawing together as he stared at her back. After a long moment, his lips curved into a faint smile. "Hah."
Song Baozhen, chatting away: "QWQ. Why did my back suddenly get so cold?"
[Extra Scene 1]
When Lu Qingheng first met Song Baozhen, he had lost his sight in an accident.
It was the Lantern Festival, and the streets were packed with people.
He and his attendant were separated by the crowd. He bumped straight into her, and she led him somewhere quiet before handing him a rabbit lantern, smiling as she said:
"Here, Big Brother, hold this. People will see the light and won't bump into you so easily."
He didn't know what she looked like, but he remembered her voice for a long time.
The night before the little girl left the capital, she came to see him with her eyes red from crying.
As dusk fell, she sniffled and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. "I'll write to you. When I come back, you have to marry me, okay?"
Lu Qingheng's expression grew solemn. He thought it over for a long time, then gave a stiff nod.
"All right."
She had mistaken him for someone else back then, but she had tricked him into giving her his heart.
[Extra Scene 2]
Many years after Song Baozhen and Lu Qingheng married,
Song Baozhen found a fragrant, embossed letter in his study.
Thinking it was a love letter from someone else, she teasingly read it aloud in his ear:
"When you receive this letter, I'll already be dead. (Several red stains) You don't need to send any more letters to Bao Niang... Just burn them and send them over..."
??? The moment she remembered, Song Baozhen's face turned bright red.
Lu Qingheng glanced at her. "Does it look familiar?"
Song Baozhen took a few steps back. "^~^ A little."
"Hah." Lu Qingheng raised a dark brow, pulled her over, and pressed her against the desk. "Think carefully."
Song Baozhen: "O_o!!!!"
Theme: Love and honesty
