That was the first time Ji Mo'an met Li Ge. It was on a night when the north wind was howling. The north wind was so domineering that it disturbed his heart.
"Hey, pretty boy, whose son are you? Are you homeless? Why don't you come home with me?" The girl in red, sitting on a black horse, stared at the disheveled man on the ground with great interest.
Ji Mo'an was somewhat annoyed. These women from the Northwest were indeed shameless. He had never seen such a... such a vulgar woman in the capital. She just casually pulled a man home on the street. It was simply... against the rules.
Seeing that the man on the ground was pale and didn't reply, Li Ge assumed he was a mute who had frozen out. After thinking for a moment, Li Ge dismounted, picked up the man sitting on the ground, and wanted to put him on the horse to take him back to the manor to warm him up. Look how cold he is! Li Ge was secretly pleased. She had done another good deed today. She really was a heroine, hehe.
The moment Ji Mo'an was held in Li Ge's arms, his usually sharp mind went blank. His face instantly turned bright red, all the way down to his neck. He struggled, but Li Ge only held him tighter. He could only say angrily, "You...you are simply outrageous. How dare you treat me like this? Do you know who I am?"
He didn't say the rest because Li Ge patted his butt. Ji Mo'an was so ashamed and angry that he wanted to chop off the woman's hand. She actually touched him there.
Li Ge stared at Ji Mo'an with a leisurely air, and said in a roguish tone, "Oh, so you're not mute after all. In that case, come home with me."
Before Ji Mo'an could say anything more, Li Ge threw him onto the horse's back, flicked the whip, and the two of them slowly disappeared from sight. Ji Mo'an looked up at the woman riding the horse with effortless skill and thought, "What a strange person. If any woman in the capital dared to treat him like this, she would have died eight hundred times over! Humph!"
The northwest wind was too strong, tearing his skin and disturbing his peace of mind. Yet it was also too weak, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to mask the sound of his heartbeat.
When Li Ge slowly stopped her horse, Ji Mo'an saw the two large characters and realized that she was a woman who had left home.
A servant respectfully took the reins from Li Ge's hand. Li Ge patted Ji Mo'an's leg, signaling him to get down. As soon as Ji Mo'an landed safely, the butler came forward, glanced at Ji Mo'an curiously, and then cautiously said to Li Ge, "Miss, why did you bring things back again? Master and Madam will definitely not allow it."
His young lady is good in every way, except she has a habit of picking up things—cats, dogs, maids, and now she's picked up a young master? Sigh!
"Uncle Fu, he's so pitiful. He has to pick up trash on the street to eat and he gets bullied by others," Li Ge said coquettishly.
The butler had no choice but to turn a blind eye and let his young mistress bring the beggar inside.
Ji Mo'an was so angry he almost laughed. This woman had actually brought someone else back. He didn't know why he was angry, but when he saw the cats, dogs, and a little boy in Li Ge's courtyard, his anger dissipated.
Fortunately, she only picked up herself, an adult man.
Ji Mo'an was thus hidden in the courtyard by Li Ge. Li Ge's residence was far from the inner courtyard of the Li family home, and no one usually visited her. The Li family members didn't particularly like Li Ge's cats and dogs, so no one discovered her presence for a time. However, Li Ge and Ji Mo'an unexpectedly developed feelings for each other during their time together. Ji Mo'an also confessed his identity to Li Ge, stating that he planned to propose marriage to the Li family after returning to the capital. Six months later, by chance, Ji Mo'an was discovered by Li Ge's parents. It turned out that the person they had sent so many people to search for was hiding in their own home.
But he was the one they wanted to kill. How could he possibly offend that person for the sake of the man his daughter liked?
Li Ge's parents exchanged a glance and made up their minds. Li Ge, however, was still enthusiastically introducing her lover to her parents, completely unaware of the murderous intent in their eyes.
Li Ge was overjoyed to prepare for her wedding because Ji Mo'an said he would come to marry her after he returned to the capital, and her parents were also very satisfied with him. This made Li Ge even happier, and she felt that she was the happiest person in the world.
But all of this was soon shattered. On the day Ji Mo'an left, Li Ge reluctantly saw him off for a long time before returning. However, she had only gone halfway when she heard a commotion. She hurriedly rode her horse to catch up. Li Ge saw that Ji Mo'an was surrounded by several men in black. He had several cuts on his body, and his robe was stained red with blood.
Li Ge rushed forward with her sword like a madwoman, but she realized that the men in black were not going to kill her. They blocked her way to Ji Mo'an, separating Li Ge from Ji Mo'an.
Li Ge rushed frantically toward Ji Mo'an, but she couldn't get there no matter how close the distance was. She watched helplessly as Ji Mo'an was pierced through the heart and lungs by a sword. She struggled desperately, cried out in despair, and slashed, but she still watched as Ji Mo'an fell to the ground. She saw him looking at her with love and saying, "I'm sorry, I can't marry you."
She tried to run forward and hug him, but she frantically pushed away the man in black who was slashing at her. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and fainted. In the moment she lost consciousness, she saw the man in black next to Ji Mo'an remove his mask. It was her father, and next to him was her brother.
Li Ge wanted to laugh, but couldn't; she wanted to cry, but couldn't. Wasn't she about to find happiness? Her parents and brother were clearly satisfied. This must be a nightmare!
When Li Ge woke up again, she saw her parents and brother looking at her with guilt. She cried and asked them, "Why? Why did you treat me like that? It must be fake, right?" But even her second brother, who usually loved her the most, didn't say a word.
She didn't know what to do, she didn't know who to hate. The murderer was her family, her family!
Later, Li Ge locked herself in her room, silently weeping while holding Li Shang. That carefree and joyful woman also died that day. Not long after, Li Ge was married off to someone in Jiangnan. Her family thought that a change of environment and a different man would help their daughter see things differently.
But what they didn't know was that Ji Mo'an died that day, and Li Ge also died.
He wanted to return to the capital to prepare a dowry to marry the woman he loved most, but he died in the Northwest, while she, who longed to return to the Northwest, died in Jiangnan.
One died with the regret of not being able to marry the woman he loved most, while the other lived on with guilt and pain. Separated by life and death, their fate was sealed.
Ji Mo'an will live forever in Li Ge's memory. As long as she lives, she will always remember that pathetic little mute.
The carefree, cheerful, and passionate young girl and the disheveled, mute boy were originally the perfect match.
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