Chapter 65 Drinking Snow (Part 5) He pulled her into his arms.

The shadows of the trees enveloped the two people. Their breaths were so close that the tense atmosphere suddenly shifted. Zhi Rou paused slightly, her grip loosened, and her eyes were fixed on the person opposite her like a magnet.

Wei Yuanzhan pulled the arm off him and chuckled to himself, "It's really not easy to see you."

Even though he was wearing winter clothes, he still felt a pain in his back, as if the texture of a tree trunk had seeped into it, drawing out a little blood.

Zhi Rou could no longer believe it. She had recovered her senses and quickly pulled him outside the tree, hoping to check on him by the moonlight.

In his haste, Wei Yuanzhan felt a light but firm hand grinding against his back. He couldn't help but laugh and turned around to block Zhi Rou: "What are you afraid of? You can't hurt me."

His shadow loomed over her, and he didn't have the familiar scent of soap; it seemed to be masked by the smell of grass and air, giving off a refreshing feeling.

Zhi Rou looked at Wei Yuanzhan with complicated eyes. Before long, her attention was diverted by the patrolling people in the distance. With a step, she pulled him to hide behind the lake rocks.

He was too tall; although the lake rocks provided enough cover, his hair was still clearly exposed. Zhi Rou commanded in a low voice, "Lower your head."

Wei Yuanzhan was stunned for a moment, perhaps unaccustomed to being ordered around, and the blood in his palms began to burn.

A moment later, he took Zhi Rou's hand and, taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, led her to the other side, hiding under the ancient tree he had chosen earlier.

After a while, the footsteps faded away. It turned out that the inspectors had been urgently summoned from inside the tent and had almost run back to the main tent.

Zhi Rou had no interest in figuring out what had happened within the group; she was only concerned with why Wei Yuanzhan had been so audacious. If he were discovered, would his status as the heir apparent still be of any use? Could it persuade people to let him off the hook because of his status?

She hesitated to utter words of criticism or reprimand, because his presence had filled her with immense joy, and she even selfishly didn't want him to leave.

“The person is gone,” Wei Yuanzhan said.

Underneath their sleeves, neither of them let go of the other; their fingers were pressed together, warm and slightly burning.

"Aren't you going back to Beijing?" Zhi Rou looked up.

The light here is still too dim, but fortunately I can see his outline. It's him... Zhi Rou regrets not recognizing him at first. She used a lot of force, and he must be in a lot of pain when she pinned him to the tree.

Wei Yuanzhan shook his head, glanced at her casually, and said in a calm tone, "I'm going to Yuyang."

After he said that, there was a long silence around him.

Before joining the marriage procession, Zhi Rou had never heard of Yu Yang. The Great Yan territory was vast, and many places were not recorded in books; at her current age, she had no way of knowing them.

However, Yuyang is a border region between the two countries. It's a frontier area; what is Wei Yuanzhan going there for?

Zhi Rou was uneasy: "You... want to join the army?"

Wei Yuanzhan responded, but did not say anything more.

Will your father agree?

"Hmm." He thought of something and smiled softly, "It seems that Father sent a group of people to follow me. Once I leave Liang City, I will definitely find a way to shake them off."

From the day he left the capital, he vaguely sensed a group of suspicious people behind him. Their disguises were quite clever, but he was certain that they were the Marquis's secret guards.

His father still didn't trust him. But that was fine too; it served as a reliable safeguard for his infiltration of the camp to find Song Zhirou.

Zhi Rou's mind was in turmoil. She didn't want to interfere with Wei Yuanzhan's actions; everyone has their own ideals, and besides, he had said so since childhood. But for some reason, for the first time, she had the urge to stop him.

"Do you really have to go?" she asked, tilting her head.

"What?" Wei Yuanzhan either didn't hear clearly or he did, but for a moment he didn't understand what she meant.

Seemingly realizing she had overstepped her bounds, Zhi Rou gently shook her chin and then fell silent again.

Their meeting was brief, but she wondered if it was time to part ways. He shouldn't have come here in the first place; the longer he stayed, the more uneasy she felt.

Are you trying to urge me to leave?

A deep, warm voice came from beside her; Wei Yuanzhan was once again fully aware of her thoughts at this moment.

The marriage procession was disorganized and the guards were lax; such an opportunity would likely only come once. After tonight's parting, he would probably never be able to truly get close to her again.

Wei Yuanzhan held Zhirou tightly, expressing his reluctance through words and actions: "Stay a little longer, I'll leave soon."

Feeling the warmth in her palm, Zhi Rou seemed to forget her family etiquette and didn't think that this action was abrupt. Instead, she moved her thumb and gently rubbed the back of Wei Yuanzhan's hand.

Her hands were like silk, or like a living, dancing creature.

Wei Yuanzhan wasn't sure if what he had just felt was a hallucination. He paused for a moment before asking, "What are your plans?"

From the very first day she received the imperial decree, Zhi Rou had been contemplating her escape route. She was determined to return to the capital, but she couldn't leave within the Great Yan territory. She had heard that the Northern Li royal court was complex, no less so than the imperial court. Once she arrived there, she needed to understand the situation within the royal court and avoid siding with the wrong people.

There was also Princess Huaixian. She was only summoned once along the way, but afterwards, the maidservants around Huaixian would come to her tent every morning without saying a word, just like surveillance, standing there for a long time.

She didn't understand what the princess meant, but she had to be wary of the princess.

Zhi Rou had no intention of hiding anything from Wei Yuanzhan, except that she didn't want him to worry about her. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, her tone light, as if she knew nothing of sorrow: "Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best. The grasslands can't hold me back."

Zhi Rou released her hand, handed the dagger to Wei Yuanzhan, and said, "I can't give you the New Year's gift anymore. Do you want to take it back from me?"

To be honest, he was quite surprised when he heard the sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath as she attacked him by the lake. How could she have concealed such a sharp weapon as part of a marriage alliance?

Seeing her quick wit and intelligence, Wei Yuanzhan's fear eased slightly, but he couldn't completely put his mind at ease.

He kept an eye on his surroundings, his bright eyes fixed on Zhi Rou in the moonlight: "I won't take back what I gave you."

He also said, "If you encounter a vicious person, do not show mercy. Your knife is not fast enough."

Zhi Rou practiced martial arts for self-defense, but had never had a chance to use it; her sword and knife had never been stained with anyone's blood. Hearing the seriousness in his tone, she chuckled softly: "Are you a vicious person?"

Wei Yuanzhan stared at Zhirou for a long time.

The sky was as calm as still water. A few wisps of wind blew by, and her black hair by her ears became a little loose. A great impulse welled up in her fingertips, and she wanted to brush it away for her.

Forcing himself to restrain himself, Wei Yuanzhan clenched his fist and turned it behind his back, his gaze still relentlessly sweeping across her face. He secretly resented that it wasn't daytime, so he couldn't see her face clearly; but he was also fortunate that the light was dim, allowing him to freely depict her like this.

Zhi Rou could feel his gaze, but she never avoided it, giving the impression that she was letting him scrutinize her.

After a moment, she asked in surprise, "How did you recognize me just now?"

If he were to play a trick on someone, how could he guarantee that the person wouldn't scream and alert the guards to arrest him? His confidence suggests she might possess something particularly striking.

Wei Yuanzhan smiled and said, "Who else could be a woman walking alone at night besides you?"

His words were teasing, but when she couldn't see him, his brows furrowed slightly.

Since this unexpected turn of events, tonight was the only time he had seen her up close. Unlike what he had imagined, she had become quieter, yet she still exuded a strong vitality. He didn't know if she had secretly cried, but from what he saw today, she showed no fear.

Is she really not afraid at all?

Wei Yuanzhan had many questions he wanted to ask, but when he was actually in front of her, he seemed to have nothing to say.

As the night deepened and silence from the camp grew, Zhi Rou gradually began to suspect something.

So many people have fallen ill these days. Judging from the symptoms, it doesn't seem like she's just not used to the local environment. But if it is something else, why doesn't she feel any discomfort when she eats and sleeps with Jing Yao?

Upon careful recollection, she realized that she had only refused to eat the mutton when the Northern Li delegation delivered it, finding it too gamey and pungent.

Zhi Rou's heart skipped a beat.

She had to leave. Looking at Wei Yuanzhan, the words of parting were on the tip of her tongue, but they seemed bittersweet, and neither of them uttered them.

Personally speaking, Zhi Rou was extremely reluctant to part with him. He was probably the only close person she had seen since leaving the capital, and she still felt like it was all a dream.

I don't believe he's real, and I don't understand why he dares to come.

Therefore, Zhi Rou was taciturn, fearing that this dream would shatter, leaving her with nothing to remember in the future.

The north wind ruffled his robes again, and even though Wei Yuanzhan was unwilling to move, he still had to force himself to walk back.

There was one more very important thing he hadn't said yet, probably because it was too difficult to say. He hesitated, then relayed Song Qiyu's unfinished instructions to her.

My cousin asked me to pass on a message to you.

"Big brother?" Zhi Rou raised her eyebrows.

During her last few days at the Song residence, she never left the Osmanthus Garden; only Song Hanjin visited her. Song Qizhang sent people to call her out several times, but she did not respond.

As for Song Qiyu, he never showed up, not even on the day she left. She heard from her third sister that he had argued with their father and was locked in his room, and Changli was also punished along with him.

When did he meet Wei Yuanzhan?

Wei Yuanzhan didn't elaborate on the details to her; his voice was deep, almost blending into the darkness of his hair.

"The road ahead is long, please take care."

Zhi Rou's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she remained silent for a moment, but when she spoke, it was to Wei Yuanzhan: "You too. Swords have no eyes..."

The battlefield in the book, littered with bones, is hardly a good place.

Wei Yuanzhan smiled and said, "I have important matters to attend to, and the King of Hell will not spare me."

His tone was too arrogant, so Zhi Rou curled her lips and remained silent.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. Wei Yuanzhan became suspicious, fearing that Zhi Rou's late return would be a problem, so he did not linger.

Behind him was the boundless night. Zhi Rou was still standing there, motionless, as if waiting for him to leave safely.

In the end, emotions prevailed. He suddenly turned around, strode to her side, stretched out his arm, which he had restrained all night, and pulled her into his embrace.

The boy's chest bumped against her forehead, his breath lingering. Zhi Rou was startled by this unexpected action; her body stiffened, she dared not breathe, and her heartstrings trembled.

Wei Yuanzhan himself was somewhat surprised. Perhaps when he looked back, he would regret his rashness today and his offense against her.

But he had to say what he wanted to say and ask what he wanted to ask.

Zhi Rou could hear a rapid and powerful heartbeat, which sounded like his, and also like her own.

Wei Yuanzhan held Zhirou even tighter, as if she were a rock, as if he were afraid that if he let go, she would disappear from his arms.

"Could you... wait for me?" His voice seemed to roll out from his throat with difficulty. Zhi Rou couldn't see his face, but her heart was beating faster and faster.

She was now certain that the sound rising and falling beside her ear was coming from her.