“I propose that we kill two birds with one stone,” Liu Mingyan said, and if her tone goes a bit theatrical, Jiang Cheng had the decency not to point it out. “I don’t follow,” Jiang Cheng deadpanned, crossing his arms. “I thought the plan was to milk this whole thing for what it’s worth and gracefully part ways when it inevitably fell apart.” “Yes, well. There’s a perfectly viable solution to the whole ‘falling apart’ part - you,” she said, pointing to Jiang Cheng, “Marry my brother.” -- Jiang Cheng gets married in the spring of his 39th year. It turns out better than he expected.

"This is not what they wanted, and it’s almost enough that they both know that. Yanli knows that it’s not fair, because she has come out with the better half of the bargain--she gets to stay at Lotus Pier with her brothers, her people, her home. Jin Guangyao has been married off, outside of his Clan, practically abandoned to the plain faced sister of a Sect Leader; the second choice after his older brother’s engagement to her fell through with devastating finality. But Jin Guangyao has been patient in all of their meetings, his manner pleasant, his smile gentle." -- Jin Guangshan gets Jin Guangyao out of JinLinTai almost as soon as he is recognized as his son, marrying him into the Jiang Clan. Jiang Yanli gets a husband, though it's not the one she expected. Jin Guangyao gets a family, though it's not the one he worked for. But maybe that's alright.

Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng have a...decent sex life. It's okay! And she loves him so much they could have no sex life at all and it would, of course, be fine. But what if what they do have could be better? It's worth finding out anyway, and Jiang Cheng seems to have somethng in mind that he won't pluck up the courage to tell her. // “I thought you might fuck me, when you started kissing me like that,” Jiang Cheng says in a rush, letting go of Wen Qing's hips to clap his hands over his eyes as his next exhale rattles on its way out. “I thought - but you said before that you don’t - so I never asked you to and I won’t ask you to because your reasons are so valid and it’s not important as long as I can keep you in my life but I’m not good enough this way -“ “What part of it do you need the most?” she asks, petting his hair slowly. “Do you need me inside of you or do you need me to take care of you, or is it both? What’s the most important part?” He stops to genuinely think on it. But then..“I’m fine with what we have,” he replies finally, an echo of her own words weeks ago when this all started.