In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

In that narrow, enclosed space, it seemed that no one would ever disturb them, and it seemed that they would never reach the end. It was as if only he and she remained in the world, with no one else around.

Gu Zhao held Zhu Qingyu in his arms, cupped her face, and entangled and chased her, almost kissing her until the end of time.

Since she was there to fulfill her promise and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, Zhu Qingyu was now very tolerant and cooperative with Gu Zhao.

She embraced him, responding to his needs, gently soothing his urgency with the tip of her tongue. When he intermittently and frantically demanded to know who he was, she would respond with timely and perfectly timed whispers of tenderness.

"My husband."

Outside the carriage window, snow was falling heavily and the weather was freezing cold, but the atmosphere inside the carriage grew increasingly heated, almost out of control.

When Gu Zhao reached his hand inside her clothes, Zhu Qingyu finally stopped, turned her head, pressed his hand, and also pressed the pause button.

Gu Zhao did not try to continue, but the look in his eyes was filled with strong dissatisfaction:

"no?"

It's not that it's impossible, but Zhu Qingyu felt that the occasion wasn't appropriate and the objective conditions for fulfilling the promise weren't met.

It's snowing heavily outside, and the weather is very cold.

The carriage was hard and didn't have enough space. In fact, given Gu Zhao's height, he would feel somewhat constrained just sitting in the carriage, let alone performing any other actions.

And most importantly, the seal isn't very good; Xiong Kun is right outside and can hear it at any time.

She didn't quite understand. Master Gu didn't seem to lack money, so why couldn't they find a more suitable place?

Zhu Qingyu kissed Gu Zhao's cheek again, softening his murderous aura, before confirming with him:

"Are you sure you want to do this here, in the carriage?"

Hearing her question, Gu Zhao suddenly looked as if he had just woken up from a dream. He withdrew his hand, released her, covered his eyes with the back of his hand, leaned back against the carriage, and let out a long breath.

"No, I was just a little confused."

Gu Zhao didn't understand what was wrong with him. He had clearly thought it through before coming here, and he wanted to stay sober and calmly end things.

But just seeing how she had dressed up especially for him, hearing her call him "husband," and feeling the slight, proactive touch of her tongue, he couldn't control himself and fell into a state of intense desire for her.

All he could think about was more, more, he wanted more.

"Zhu Qingyu".

Gu Zhao's tone was unusually dejected:

"Could you give me the antidote so I can be free?"

Zhu Qingyu didn't understand what he was saying, but his sadness was so obvious.

Perhaps she shouldn't have refused him. She could have just stayed in the carriage. And on the bright side, now that it's over, she can still make it home for dinner.

Zhu Qingyu stood up, took the support of the carriage, and assessed the space and feasibility.

Although she lacked practical experience, she possessed a great deal of theoretical knowledge thanks to the abundance of information available in modern times.

Noticing her departure, Gu Zhao lowered his hand, his eyes filled with despair.

"Zhu Qingyu, you must have drugged me. It's all your fault."

Zhu Qingyu still didn't understand what he was talking about, but following her assessment of the most reasonable approach, she put her arms around his shoulders, sat on his lap facing him, and while unbuckling his belt, answered him in the same way:

"Yes, it's all my fault. Please forgive me. If you want to stay here, then we'll stay here."

Why were you so gentle with me when you were about to leave me? You made me fall deeper and deeper into your tenderness, making it harder and harder for me to let go.

The more understanding Zhu Qingyu was, the more pain Gu Zhao felt. He held her hand, pulled her into his arms again, and said:

"I don't want to be here, I just want to hug you."

Zhu Qingyu hugged him, rested her head on his shoulder, and replied tenderly:

"Okay, not here."

Hair to hair, face to face, like a pair of birds nestled together, she and he quietly leaned against each other.

In this raging, snowy weather, at this moment when they both felt the urge to part ways, the two found a rare moment of peace and tranquility, just like a true couple.

I don't know how long we hugged, or how long the tranquility lasted.

It could be a long time, or it could be just a fleeting moment.

Long enough time had passed, and the scenery along the roadside had changed. Long enough time had passed, and Xiong Kun had driven the carriage into the back mountain of Huangjue Temple and entered the gate of Yongfu Villa.

Yet it is fleeting, like sand slipping through your fingers; the moment you grasp it, it is gone.

The carriage came to a stop, and all around was quiet.

The people on the bus did not get off, and those outside dared not urge them to get off.

Someone asked:

"Zhu Qingyu, you're a doctor. You said that obtaining something is the antidote, obtaining it brings liberation, right?"

Someone answered softly:

"right."

Someone then asked:

"If I had met you first and treated you well, you would definitely like me more than him, and you would definitely marry me, right?"

Some people still answered affirmatively:

"Yes."

Gu Zhao laughed:

"fraud."

Zhu Qingyu also laughed:

"You insist on asking."

Gu Zhao carried her out of the car and helped her stand up.

In the late afternoon of winter, when it was already dark, lanterns were already hung up at Yongfu Villa.

The sleet that started last night has turned into heavy snow. Snow has begun to accumulate on the surrounding grass and trees, and even the snow underfoot is slowly piling up. If we arrive any later, we might get stuck on the way.

Zhu Qingyu looked up at the heavy snow and suddenly felt a little worried. She was concerned that if the snow blocked the mountain tomorrow, she might not be able to get back in time before Zhang Shen woke up.

Snowflakes immediately landed on Zhu Qingyu's hair. Gu Zhao brushed the snow away for her, then pulled her hood up, and led her inside, saying:

"Qingyu, do you know why I chose this place?"

Zhu Qingyu was unaware that, in principle, this was the back mountain of Huangjue Temple, which was within the scope of a Buddhist holy site. However, when he brought her here last time, he wasn't very particular about it, and this time he actually spent an hour traveling from Qingyi Lane to get here.

This place is probably very important to him.

Sure enough, Gu Zhao answered to himself:

"Four years ago today, it was snowing just as heavily. I was ordered to become a monk and moved here. At that time, I thought I would stay here forever and never be able to leave. I accepted it and made this place my home. So, this place is home to me."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qingyu, who had been obediently being led by Gu Zhao, suddenly stopped.

Gu Zhao turned to look at her, and a gust of wind blew her hood open.

Zhu Qingyu's face showed a mixture of bewilderment and shock:

"Four years ago, on the day of Lidong (the Beginning of Winter)?"

Gu Zhao didn't understand why the Beginning of Winter four years ago had shocked her so much, and asked:

"Yes, what's wrong with this date?"

Zhu Qingyu couldn't answer him what was wrong. This day was so important to her that just hearing about it would shake her to her core and make her unable to calm down.

Four years ago, on the day of Lidong (the beginning of winter), Zhu Qingyu transmigrated to this world.