A cold wind blew in through the window, the candlelight flickered, and Xu Lan's face was illuminated by the flickering flame, letting out a sigh.

She had no children of her own, yet she treated Xu Xie as her own flesh and blood.

·

At the border, the sea of ​​clouds stretches endlessly, the wind blows for thousands of miles, and snow accumulates heavily.

The boy, dressed in thin clothes with a crimson cloak over them, kept his eyes glued to the red figure ahead. His white deerskin boots left a trail of footprints in the snow. "A-Xie, wait for me, don't run away." Behind him followed a group of bulky-clad imperial physicians and servants carrying porridge and pots.

He had a string of bells tied around his ankle, but it wasn't the original string anymore.

It was designed by Bi Xie and crafted by artisans. The bell is surrounded by colorful gemstones. To prevent the bell from hurting the ankles, tassels were specially designed to adorn it. When walking, it jingles and the bells make different sounds when they collide.

"Your Highness, please wait, please wait for this old minister..."

"I can't wait any longer. You should all go back. I have A-Xie to protect me; I don't need you!"

A group of old men from the Imperial Medical Academy ran up, panting heavily, their faces red and necks bulging as they shouted at the top of their lungs, "Your Highness, you've just recovered, it's cold outside, no..." The rest of their words were choked by the wind and snow, the howling cold wind in the desert was simply deadly.

They spend most of their time in the capital, their residences, the palace, and the Imperial Hospital, rarely venturing into such harsh and barren conditions, except when treating nobles in the palace.

Soon, the group was left behind by the two figures in front.

The old imperial physician only saw General Xu stop, make a snowball, and throw it at the young prince's chest. The young prince seemed stunned for a moment, then ran a few steps forward. General Xu then made an even bigger snowball and threw it at him. The bright white snowflakes burst open on the young prince's cloak and fluttered down to the ground. This time, the young prince didn't hesitate or dodge the snowball. He ran straight over and hugged General Xu's waist...

"Let's go, let's go back," the old imperial physician said, unable to bear the sight any longer. "The young prince has been taking too many tonics lately, it would be good for him to get some exercise."

The group of people were already shivering from the cold. Seeing that the old doctor had left, they followed suit and left one after another.

"A-Xie, don't run so fast next time, I can hardly keep up with you." He rested his chin on her shoulder, his ears and cheeks reddened by the wind from beyond the Great Wall, and said softly with aggrieved voice.

"Who's not dressing properly, huh?" Despite her frail health, she always wears ridiculously short clothes that reveal her long, white legs... Who is she trying to seduce?!

The boy pursed his lips and said reluctantly, "A-Xie, wearing too many clothes doesn't look good." He released her waist and stood in front of her, his dark eyes full of light. He took off his cloak to show her the purple robe and Hu clothing he was wearing, and twirled around like a child showing off in front of someone he liked. "A-Xie, do you think this looks good? It's so stuffy in the tent, will you take me hunting?"

Bi Xie subconsciously felt that this should be the female lead's line when she was being coquettish.

As he expected, she looked him up and down, stroked her chin, and nodded. "Hmm, handsome."

His sleeves were pulled tight, and the starlight in his eyes shone brighter than the snow. He produced a bow and quiver from somewhere, grabbed her hand, and ran forward with great enthusiasm. "A-Xie, what can we hunt in the snow? The climate at the border is too harsh. Will there be any small animals?"

Bi Xie took the bow and arrow, casually picked up an arrow from the quiver, and pulled hard, trying to recapture the feeling of the original owner drawing the bow and shooting an arrow.

Han Yun followed closely behind her, glancing up at her every now and then with a look of adoration on his face.

"Put your clothes on properly," Bi Xie said helplessly as she turned to look at him, fastened his cloak, and then took off her own red fox fur cloak and draped it over him without any room for resistance. Just as he was about to struggle, she said softly and affectionately, "You look good in any clothes you wear."

Ru Hua: "She looks better without it."

"Get out of here, you lousy system with a head full of pornographic garbage."

He paused, then looked at her knowingly, his face flushing: "Really? Ah Xie thinks I'm pretty?"

"Hmm." She's not just pretty, she's an irresistible little devil.

He couldn't stop smiling, his face flushed as he pulled his red fox fur cloak tighter around himself. It still held her warmth, making his heart suddenly flutter like a trapped rabbit. "Ah Xie, look over there, there's a rabbit—"

Bi Xie immediately nocked an arrow and turned to look: "Where?"

The boy suddenly cupped her face in his hands, kissed her, and then quickly lowered his head as if he had done something wrong.

Bi Xie was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she looked down at him blankly. His eyelashes were also drooping, long and covering the dark undercurrent in his eyes. All that could be seen was his fair and red cheeks, as if they were burning.

The two of them wandered around outside and actually managed to hunt a snow rabbit.

The chefs in the imperial kitchen stewed snow rabbit into soup, and the usually picky young prince actually drank the soup clean.

At night, the wind and snow intensified, and the howling wind seemed to carry people into the sky. The soldiers patrolling outside the tent had icy armor and all longed for a bowl of strong liquor to warm them up. However, with the two armies facing each other, the soldiers of Kuiyang Kingdom had all gathered at the border, and war was imminent. No one dared to relax their vigilance or disobey military orders.

Inside the tent, Bi Xie looked at the contents of the letter, a slight smile playing on his lips.

As she had expected, the Empress not only dispatched a large army to the border, but also sent envoys seeking peace.

As night fell and the shadows of the trees loomed like ghosts, a lithe figure leaped nimbly out of the tent.

·

"Military Advisor Wei, is there any news of General Xu?"

The thin, goatee-faced man frowned gravely, dismissed his confidants, and shook his head after reading the letter. "This isn't a message from General Xu, but from the capital. His Majesty has listened to the pro-peace faction and will soon send an envoy to negotiate peace with Ye Xi Kingdom."

"The war hasn't even started yet, why are you negotiating peace?" Jiang Huan clenched his fists. "When General Xu was in power, when did he ever lose a battle? Ye Xi Kingdom was always defeated and fled in disarray. Your Majesty actually wants to negotiate peace with them. If these traitors knew that Your Majesty wanted to negotiate peace, they would become even more arrogant and would not take Kui Yang Kingdom seriously!"

Wei Fang did not stop Jiang Huan; his words reflected his true feelings.

After a long while, Wei Fang looked up at him and asked, "Young Master Jiang, would you please let me take another look at General Xu's token?"

Jiang Huan was stunned for a moment, then took out the small jade gourd that Xu Xie had given him when they parted ways.

Wei Fang held it in his hand for a while, then uncorked it. It was indeed the general's gourd of wine. The soldiers were not allowed to drink, but the general was a drunkard who couldn't live without wine. Whenever he was craving it or in a bad mood, he would smell the aroma of the wine...

"Young Master Jiang, rest assured, since General Xu gave you the token and said those words to you... she will definitely come back," Wei Fang handed the wine gourd back, his brow furrowed slightly. "But what about the Prince of Xiaoyao and Prime Minister Jiang? Are you confident?"

Suddenly, the tent flap was lifted by a pale hand. The two people inside immediately looked over warily. Chu Wei, his lips pale, said apologetically, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I just came to find A-Huan..."