Xiao Baoshan thought for a while before he said, “I want to find my roots, but I owe you too much.”
“You owe me nothing. I made the choice voluntarily, so nobody is to blame. I’m not a delicate or clingy woman. I won’t take what doesn’t belong to me.”
He looked gratefully at her.
“Do you like your wife?” she asked.
He fell into silence. In all honesty, he didn’t know. He just felt distressed on seeing Ye Xiaoxian’s sorrowful face. They said that she was his wife. Although he had given her a letter of divorce, he needed to figure out the reason why he had done so.
“Who’s prettier, her or me?” Jin Xiaoyu asked.
She just wanted to tease him and didn’t expect him to answer. But to her surprise, he replied without hesitation, “You!”
At that moment, she burst into tears. Then, she smiled. “I’ve known you for over a year and you’ve finally said something pleasing.”
…
After that, Xiao Baoshan went to Ye Xiaoxian’s room. Standing outside the room, he hesitated for some time before knocking at the door. He felt like his hand against the door weighed a ton, as so many thoughts were whirling around in his mind. Although he didn’t recall anything, he got a sense of direction after seeing Ye Xiaoxian. It was like the duckweed on the water finally knew where to go. Although it didn’t go ashore, it had hope and expectation for its future. He felt an urge to know his past, and Ye Xiaoxian and her companions were his guides.
After a while, the door was opened, revealing Ye Xiaoxian’s face. She looked somewhat tired with her slightly puffy and black-ringed eyes.
“What is it?” she asked in a flat tone yet with clear anger.
He said, “When are you leaving? I’ll go with you.”
“Then what about your bride?” She raised her brows. “You haven’t gone through the last step in the bridal chamber, have you?”
He said, “I’ve talked to her. She thinks I should go with you.”
“What if she doesn’t want you to go?” she asked deliberately. “Will you then stay?”
He knew how furious she was and didn’t explain anything. He just said, “I’m sorry.”
Her hostility suddenly disappeared because she didn’t know how to vent her anger on such a man. He was always like this, mollifying her so easily. As for his apology, she didn’t know to whom he said that. Anyway, she felt happy to know that he would go back with her. If he didn’t do so, she would hate him. Thankfully, she had come here in time and he was willing to go with her.
After a while, she asked, “What about your new wife? Won’t she come with you?”
“She said she would stay here.”
“I hope you won’t regret it!” After saying that, she slammed the door.
When she went back to the room, Liu Qianqian teased her about her duplicity – happy inside but indifferent on the surface.
…
The next day, Ye Xiaoxian and her companions set off for the tribe. Xiao Baoshan also came out with them. He wanted to say goodbye to Jin Xiaoyu, but her room was locked.
Idiot walked over and said sulkily, “Miss Jin is sleeping. She asked us not to bother her. But she’s prepared a horse for you to ride.”
Xiao Baoshan felt his heart pounding in his chest. Perhaps he was moved or perhaps he was affected by some more complicated emotions.
He wanted to say thank you, but words were powerless at this moment. Finally, he said at the door, “I’m sorry.”
Idiot said, “Don’t hang about here. Just have breakfast and go. Oh yes, Miss Jin said you can’t come back after you leave because she doesn’t want to see you again.”
Xiao Baoshan paused. Then, he turned around and went downstairs.
The breakfast was buns. When he came to the hall, Ye Xiaoxian and her companions had been there eating. Xiao Tieshu immediately beckoned him to join them, but Ye Xiaoxian pretended not to see him. Being Ye Xiaoxian’s best friend, Liu Qianqian, naturally, also ignored him.
After breakfast, Ye Xiaoxian and Liu Qianqian got into the carriage, Xiao Tieshu sat on the edge and Wong Wu drove the coach.
Xiao Baoshan also mounted the horse prepared by Jin Xiaoyu. It was her own private horse which she loved very much and sometimes chatted with. The fact that she was willing to give the horse to him showed she still had affection for him.
On horseback, he looked back towards the inn. The inn was as it had been the day before. The redness of the lanterns and festoons were quite dazzling. The window to Jin Xiaoyu’s room was shut tight.
Liu Qianqian lifted the curtain of the carriage and shouted at him, “You don’t want to go? We don’t mind if you stay!”
Cracking his whip, he caught up with the carriage and rode alongside it.
Liu Qianqian sat back and said to Ye Xiaoxian, “I’m so afraid that he might turn around.”
Ye Xiaoxian replied, “If so, just let him go. Anyway, he can choose only one of us.”
“Little Ye, now that he’s willing to go with us, you should be nice to him. Don’t be so sarcastic, or he might return to Longmen Inn on impulse.”
Ye Xiaoxian still looked contemptuous. “He can do whatever he likes.”
“Ho ho, if he really turns around, you’ll be heartbroken.”
Ye Xiaoxian didn’t say anymore.
…
The group went to Baoning city first. Wong Wu advised Xiao Baoshan to meet the two kings and Qian Qi. After all, Xiao Baoshan had been a general before disappearing, and once saved Qian Qi’s family. Grateful for his help, they even set up a memorial tablet for him on the last Tomb Sweeping Day.
Knowing that he was back, the Sixth King hurried to hold a banquet and invited Qian Qi and his family over. Seeing him, everyone became emotional. Old Mrs. Qian even shed tears since she hadn’t expected that Xiao Baoshan was still alive. She also regretted that they hadn’t enlarged the search area, having him suffer outside for over a year.
She then held Ye Xiaoxian’s hand in hers. Having heard about Ye’s deeds, she praised Ye for her capability and virtuousness and said she was a perfect match for Xiao Baoshan.
Xiao Baoshan didn’t remember any events or people. But from their tears and words, he could feel their sincerity and became sure of his identity as Xiao Baoshan, a hero. His duckweed-like heart was getting closer to the shore. He would soon find his true self.
For the others, it was a great pity that he had lost his memory. But the Sixth King promised that he would send every well-known doctor in the state to cure Xiao Baoshan until he remembered everything.
Tears rolled down Old Mrs. Qian’s face again. “General Xiao had been such a mighty figure before. He killed enemies bravely on the battlefields and risked his life to protect us. What an awesome man he was! But now… Your Highness, if you know a good doctor, please be sure to send him over. I really don’t have the heart to see a great man become…”
Qian Qi said to his mother, “Mom, General Xiao has just lost his memory, not his abilities or noble spirit. As long as his heart of gold and martial arts remain, he’ll always step up at moments of crisis when our country needs him.”
Old Mrs. Qian wiped away her tears again.
Hearing their conversation, Ye Xiaoxian felt as if she saw a Xiao Baoshan that she had never known. She was proud of him when he won the praise of the king and the general. But she didn’t forgive him. Could he marry another woman just because of amnesia? Could he do so before he knew who he was?
Suddenly, Old Mrs. Qian turned to Ye Xiaoxian and said, “Mrs. Xiao, now that General Xiao can’t remember anything, please take good care of him. You’re a couple. If you chat more with him and tell him more about the past, perhaps he can regain his memory.”
It was Ye Xiaoxian’s first time being called “Mrs. Xiao”. In front of so many people, she couldn’t show too much grievance, so she simply replied, “I see. I’ll try my best.” But the time they had spent together was merely one or two years.
Just then, Li Chengru asked, “Oh yes, how did you find him? What was he doing when you saw him?”
Xiao Tieshu hemmed and hawed. Liu Qianqian and Wong Wu were also silent. So, all the people looked at Ye Xiaoxian in confusion. Was Xiao Baoshan’s life very miserable?
Ye Xiaoxian didn’t want to mention the wedding in front of so many people. With dignity, she said, “He was… a waiter in an inn.”
They sighed with relief and said there was no shame in being a waiter, as long as he was not tortured and didn’t do anything harmful.
…
After the banquet, Ye Xiaoxian took Xiao Baoshan back to the tribe. Those who stayed in the tribe were more than uneasy when they were waiting. A man would be happiest when he married a beloved woman. Would Xiao Baoshan go back in such a jubilant situation? If he was reluctant, would Little Ye be very disappointed and unhappy?
During these days, Li Hongmei had asked Wong Mudan many times, “Do you think Baoshan will come back or not?”
Wong Mudan wished Ye Xiaoxian well and naturally spoke for Xiao Baoshan, “Yes! Little Ye is such a good wife. Baoshan won’t marry that innkeeper unless he’s blind. Don’t worry. They will take him back. You shouldn’t necessarily listen to Tieshu’s nonsense. He doesn’t know much. Perhaps Baoshan is not going to marry anyone.”
But what she said to Chen Ju was totally different. “A man’s heart is too unpredictable. How could a man care about his previous love after having a new affair? I’m so afraid that Baoshan won’t come back.”
But at dusk, they saw a carriage approaching from the distance. Together with it was a man riding a horse. He looked exactly like Xiao Baoshan!