Chapter 4 is most talked about for its unwavering devotion...

The western suburbs were deserted and dark, except for the brightly lit Lindu Post Station, where people moved about in the front hall and could be faintly heard whispering instructions.

Two maids in coarse clothes were kneeling on the ground at the corner of the stairs on the second floor, carefully cleaning the dust.

The postmaster of Lindu Post Station stood in the hall, pacing back and forth and giving instructions: "Clean everything carefully, don't miss a single corner."

A maid with her head bowed walked past him, and he called her back, "Go and see if the kitchen is ready. All the ingredients must be the freshest."

The maidservant whispered "Yes," and quickly walked towards the backyard. The kitchen was already bustling with activity, with freshly killed chickens, ducks, fish, and meat neatly prepared and placed in earthenware basins.

Only one place stood out from the hustle and bustle: a dilapidated house near the back door, with only a lamp lit in the window, illuminating a short, stout figure inside.

Yan Niang spent a great deal of effort to seal the leak. From inside the bed came Huiyin's soft sobs, and she quickly wiped her hands clean and came to the bedside.

The girl on the tatami bed had her eyes tightly closed, her hands unconsciously clenching the blankets. The soft pillow under her neck was already wet with tears, revealing a dark stain.

Yan Niang leaned closer to Huiyin and touched her forehead. The girl's cheeks were flushed, and she was talking incoherently, already delirious from her illness. She had no choice but to take out her medicine bag and go to the kitchen to ask someone to borrow a small stove to brew the medicine.

"Huiyin".

Who was calling her? Huiyi opened her eyes with difficulty. The furnishings in the room were familiar to her: brocade and mica curtains, a gilded Boshan censer with wisps of smoke rising from it, and a bronze mirror with intertwined floral patterns. This was the Song residence.

She propped herself up on the couch and looked around, her hair hanging down in front of her chest and swaying slightly. The Song family was gone. Was this a dream?

"Huiyin, what are you standing there for? Come here quickly."

Huiyin looked up and saw Madam Song standing at the door, dressed in a deep green flowing robe. Her eyes were gentle and calm as she smiled and waved to her. A head popped out from behind her and shouted, "Sister, it's past noon and you're still sleeping! Aren't you ashamed?!"

Huiyin stumbled off the bed, staring incredulously at the two smiling figures. Madam Song continued to wave at her and walked behind her, following them all the way down the corridor.

"Huiyin".

At the end of the corridor, someone called her. The person had a square face, a long beard, and held a bamboo scroll in his hand. He had a refined and scholarly air about him.

"Didn't you say you wanted to read about the strategies of the Warring States period? Your father has found it for you."

Huiyin could no longer hold back her tears and burst into sobs.

Yan Niang carried the ceramic bowl into the room, took a handkerchief, dampened it, and carefully wiped the fine sweat from Huiyin's forehead, softly calling out, "Young lady, young lady."

Huiyin was caught in a nightmare, overwhelmed by sorrow and pain, which suffocated her. She heard someone softly calling her name in her ear, the voice gentle and full of tenderness. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Yanniang's anxious face, only then realizing where she was.

She cleared her dry throat, as if grasping at a straw, and asked, "Have you found Jingchuan?"

Yan Niang avoided Huiyin's hopeful gaze and said bitterly, "Young lady, no matter what happens to the young master, you must live well."

These words were like a death sentence. Huiyin closed her eyes in despair, tears streaming down her face. Yanniang wiped away Huiyin's tears, wrapped her in the quilt, and said with heartache, "Young lady hasn't eaten or drunk anything all day. I'll go find some food."

She stepped out of the room, glancing back several times as if she were still worried. She saw Huiyin leaning quietly against the couch, her lips pale but her expression calm, and only then did she leave with peace of mind.

The old window frames couldn't be sealed, and a light north wind blew into the room. Huiyin felt a little chilly, and she leaned on her weak body to get out of bed.

In just a few breaths, she recalled many past events: her parents' loving and devoted relationship, and how Jingchuan, though young, was extremely close to her, his older sister. She had once been the happiest little girl in Chang'an.

On the fifteenth of each lunar month, my mother would personally cook a fish soup from Jingzhou and open a jar of yellow rice wine. The family would sit in the warm room, tapping their bowls with chopsticks and singing along.

"If there is someone on the mountain slope, draped in ivy and adorned with maidenhair fern."

Today is also the day of the full moon, but she is all alone.

Huiyin stood quietly by the window, the hushed chatter reaching her ears. It was the kitchen helpers at the post station, chatting and picking vegetables together.

"Have you heard? The Crown Princess has been chosen."

Who did you book it with?

"Daughter of Minister Su."

Huiyin was genuinely happy for Su Jinghao. Now that she had become the Crown Princess, she would no longer have to suffer from her stepmother and younger sister's harassment, no one would dare to bully her anymore, and she would no longer be invisible.

After a long silence, a fawning voice broke the silence: "General Pei, the best room upstairs has been prepared by your humble servant. Please come upstairs directly."

Huiyin did not hear General Pei's reply, but only the metallic clanging of armor as they walked. The heavy footsteps were not chaotic, clearly indicating that this was a well-trained elite force.

After another half hour, the wind grew stronger, and a young man's voice was heard mixed in with the howling wind. Huiyin heard him say, "Rest here and set off tomorrow morning."

The two short sentences were quickly drowned out by the neat and loud replies of the soldiers. She opened the window and looked out, her gaze passing over the sea of ​​black armor in the front hall. The man was tall and imposing, and could be seen at a glance.

Huiyin could see his face clearly by the dim moonlight. His sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards into his temples, and his face was somewhere between a boy and a young man, with an exceptionally handsome appearance.

It was Pei Yu. A renowned young general, a prodigy. When he left Chang'an five years ago, Huiyin was only twelve years old and didn't know him well. She had met Pei Yu once, at a banquet where Empress Pei was selecting a consort for the Crown Prince.

Besides his early fame and widespread renown, what people talk about most is his unwavering and undying love. He was betrothed to Liu Tan, a woman from the Liu family of Hexi, when he was young, and the two grew up together as childhood sweethearts.

Three years ago, Pei Yu launched a surprise attack on the Xiongnu, but was mistakenly reported dead. By the time he returned to Chang'an after achieving great military exploits, Liu Tan had already remarried.

However, less than six months later, Liu Tan's newlywed husband died unexpectedly. Her husband's family was powerful and forced her to remain chaste for her deceased husband for life. It was Pei Yu, who was at the height of his power at the time, who personally went to Qingzhou to put pressure on her, causing Liu Tan's husband's family to relent and agree to a three-year chastity period instead. Pei Yu himself has remained unmarried ever since, waiting patiently for his beloved.

Huiyin stared at Pei Yu's back for a few moments. The man was very alert, and his cold gaze shot towards Huiyin. His narrow eyes were exceptionally sharp and full of pressure.

Huiyin withdrew her hand and took a few steps back. When she looked up again, the figure under the eaves was gone, and only the sound of soldiers slowly retreating could be heard.

Yan Niang carried the wooden tray into the room and saw Huiyin standing by the window, deep in thought. The wind blew against her thin body, as if she were about to ride the wind away.

She quickly stepped forward to close the wooden window, pulled Huiyin to sit at the table, and explained, "A very important person just arrived at the post station. I was stopped in the kitchen and not allowed to leave. Are you getting impatient, young lady?"

Huiyin picked up the chestnut porridge from the lacquer tray and ate. She had been starving for too long; her stomach no longer felt hungry, but instead ached with a dense, throbbing pain. After finishing a bowl of warm chestnut porridge, her fingers gradually warmed up, and she felt somewhat alive again.

The food Yan Niang brought was very little: two bowls of chestnut porridge and a flatbread. Huiyin pushed the lacquer plate over, indicating that Yan Niang should eat.

Yan Niang quickly waved her hand and shook her head: "There's not much food to begin with, so please eat it, young lady. I'm not hungry."

Huiyin got up and walked to the clothes rack to put on her outer garment. The flickering candlelight illuminated her, making her figure appear slender and beautiful.

With her back to the door, Yan Niang couldn't see her expression, but she could hear her neutral voice as she said, "Mother Fu, I'm not going back to Jingzhou. I'm going back to Chang'an."

Yan Niang was confused and stared blankly as Huiyin sat in front of the dressing table combing her hair. She let her hair down and tied it into a bun at the back of her head.

With her pale face and the stray hairs on her cheeks, a picture of a beautiful woman from Xi Shi appeared before her. She heard Huiyin continue, "I want revenge, to overturn my father's case, and I want Su Xin to pay the price."

Yan Niang knelt down in front of Huiyin, tears welling in her eyes, and asked, "What does the young lady want to do?"

Huiyin bent down to wipe away her tears, then smiled and said, "I need to borrow Pei Yu to return to Chang'an."

Yan Niang covered her lips with both hands. She understood what Huiyin was going to do. She hated herself for not being able to help her and could only watch helplessly as a pearl was tarnished. She held Huiyin's hand tightly and said firmly, "No matter what you do, I will stay with you and never leave you."

Huiyin tilted her head back, blinked, and forced back the tears in her eyes. She grasped Yanniang's hand, holding onto the last vestiges of her girlhood. She picked up the cold medicine from the table and drank it all in one gulp, her pale, slender fingers wiping her lips.

Yan Niang escorted Huiyin to the door and watched her departing figure. Huiyin's faint voice drifted through the air: "Only when you're full will you have the strength to fight your way back to Chang'an with me."

Yan Niang wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, turned around without hesitation and went back to her room to eat. She bit into the flatbread fiercely, as if she were tearing apart those who had bullied Huiyin.

Lindu Post Station, located near Chang'an, consisted of two courtyards. Viewed from above, it resembled the Chinese character "日" (sun). The front courtyard housed rest areas for traveling officials, while the rear courtyard contained stables, kitchens, and official residences. The entire compound was enclosed by tall, thick rammed earth walls, with connecting corridors on both sides.

Pei Yu, being of noble status, stayed in the best room in the post station. Huiyin bypassed the backyard and came to the main hall of the post station, ignoring the gazes of the soldiers and generals who were looking at her, and stopped at the stairs in the hall.

She was stopped downstairs. The soldier in front of her held a knife to his chest and said sternly, "Martial law is in effect here. Young lady, do not trespass."

Huiyin removed her hood and pleaded with her eyes lowered, "Please help me announce this. Just say," she raised her head, her amber eyes looking at the soldier, "that Song Huiyin requests an audience."

Chi Yan was momentarily stunned by her stunning beauty, and he subconsciously asked, "Song Huiyin?"

Huiyin pursed her lips and nodded: "I have something to ask General Pei, thank you for your trouble."

She took out the last pearl earring and handed it to him. Chi Yan, being younger, blushed instantly when he touched Huiyin's cool fingers. He took the earring with a dazed look on his face and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go and inform them right away."

He ran lightly up to the second floor, leaving only Huiyin and another soldier at the stairs. The man secretly glanced at her, and Huiyin smiled at him with her eyes crinkling. He immediately turned his head and touched the back of his head, not daring to look at her again.

Outside the bedroom on the second floor, Chi Yan hesitated and stopped at the door. He had rushed up in a moment of impulse, and now he realized how strange it was that a beautiful woman was asking to see him alone in the dead of night.

Last year, shortly after he returned to Chang'an with the young general, some sycophants secretly sent women to him. They bribed his guards to smuggle the woman into his room. When the young general discovered this, he was furious. He not only banished the woman but also punished the guards with military law as a warning to others.

Thinking of their strict military law, Chi Yan couldn't help but shudder.

The young general had already instructed that he should not be disturbed unless it was urgent. Chi Yan stopped at the door of Pei Yu's room, hesitating as if he wanted to leave.

He recalled Huiyin's pleading expression earlier. He had heard about her deeds and felt great pity for her, but he couldn't bring himself to knock.

As he hesitated outside the bedroom, Pei Yu's voice rang out from inside: "What are you standing there for? Come in!"

Chi Yan wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and pushed open the door. The room was filled with warm steam. The young general must have just finished bathing; his white undergarment was open, revealing his lean, muscular physique. He obediently knelt on the ground, not daring to look any longer, and felt quite regretful.

Pei Yu sat on the carved wooden couch by the window, opened the wooden window to let in some fresh air, and the humid heat in the room dissipated. He propped one leg up and placed the other foot on the footstool.

He casually flipped through the wooden slips on the table; they were all letters from Empress Pei and Madam Pei, which he hadn't had time to read because he had been on the march for the past few days.

The same two sentences were repeated over and over again: advising him to take care of his health and to return to Chang'an as soon as possible to meet a noble lady, get married, and have children.

Pei Yu tossed aside the wooden slip with a bored expression and looked at Chi Yan kneeling on the ground, asking, "What is it?"

Chi Yan sensed his displeasure and cautiously began, "Someone requests an audience with the young general, she..."

Why are you stammering?

He dared not deceive him any longer and honestly confessed: "A young woman came just now, she had something to ask General Pei, she said her name was Song Huiyin."

Pei Yu paused in his reading of the bamboo slips, and asked, "Song Huiyin? What does she want to see me about?"

"This subordinate does not know." Chi Yan swallowed hard, looking nervously at Pei Yu.

Pei Yu looked at his evasive gaze and sneered, "What did she give you?"

Chi Yan knew he was in trouble. He took out the pair of pearl earrings from his waist and carefully placed them on the lacquer box on the wooden table. Then he lay on the ground to await punishment.

He caught a glimpse of Pei Yu getting up and heading towards the inner room, and his voice followed: "Go down and receive ten strokes of the military rod yourself, then tell her to go back."

Chi Yan breathed a sigh of relief, gave a slight bow, and left the house.