Chapter 1
On the sixteenth day of the eleventh lunar month, in Jiangdu City, Sangyu Mountain was covered in snow, a hundred miles of silver.
The sky was dim and the surroundings were desolate. Dense, chaotic snowflakes fell from the gray sky. The mountains and forests were deserted, with no human or animal in sight. Only by the rugged path halfway up the mountain stood a dilapidated thatched hut, with a faint candlelight shining inside.
The cold, dilapidated windows and crumbling walls barely kept out the wind and snow. The interior was extremely simple, with only a table, a chair, a stove, and a bed. The rest of the space was filled with pots, pans, and other household items. The space was particularly narrow and crowded. For the first time ever, six people were crammed into this room that could be walked to the other end in five steps.
Of the six people, there were two men and four women. One was lying on the couch, three were kneeling on the ground, one was standing by the table, and the other was sitting on the only bamboo chair.
Who sent the person?
In the dead silence, the young woman on the bamboo chair was the first to break the silence.
In the dim, flickering candlelight, she wore a snow-white dress underneath and a thick yet not heavy brocade robe over it. She sat upright with a serene expression, holding a small silver dagger in her hand, the tip of which swayed slightly and was somewhat dazzling in the light from the side.
“It’s…the Su family from the city,” the peasant woman kneeling on the ground answered.
"When?" the young woman asked again.
"Last night." The peasant woman lowered her head, her body trembling violently, whether from the cold or from fear, it was hard to tell.
"Last night?" The young woman glanced at the peasant woman, then shifted her gaze to the bed. "What did the people who brought her tell you?"
The peasant woman looked troubled, seemingly unwilling to speak, and was secretly considering how to respond. But in that moment of hesitation, a sharp "clang!" suddenly rang in her ears, and the other woman in green who had been standing silently by the table moved to her side in an instant.
The woman was ghostly and silent, her expressionless face revealing a deep-seated murderous intent.
The icy, thin blade pressed firmly against her neck. The peasant woman was terrified and quickly replied truthfully, "They gave her fifty taels of silver and told the three of us not to take care of her. They said they wouldn't give her any food or water and would just let her... let her fend for herself."
"Then what?"
"If it drags on until you die, burn everything to ashes, leaving not even a scrap of clothing..."
Outside, the wind howled fiercely, and the snow fell heavily, its ferocity resembling the clamor of countless wild ghosts swirling around. The thatched hut trembled violently, teetering on the verge of collapse.
As if unsurprised by these words, the young woman merely raised an eyebrow slightly after hearing them, remaining silent, her gaze on the couch deepening.
It was just an ordinary bamboo bed, covered with a very thin layer of cotton. On it lay a little girl, half-conscious and half-awake, wearing a thin, tattered cloth dress. Her childish face was completely bloodless, as pale as a sheet of paper without ink stains. Her breath was so weak that it was hard not to doubt whether she was still alive.
Perhaps startled by the wind and snow in her dazed state, the girl's curled-up body trembled violently, and she struggled to lift her eyelids. Her long, fan-like eyelashes lifted slightly for a moment, then quickly closed again.
The woman in green sheathed her sword and turned to look at the person on the bamboo chair: "Martial Uncle?"
The young woman took out a silver note, placed it on the table, and stood up: "This is five hundred taels. I'll take the person."
Upon seeing the silver note, the peasant woman's eyes lit up, but she hesitated, unable to make up her mind, and quickly looked at the man beside her.
The couple looked at each other for a moment, and the man had no choice but to speak: "You two ladies are very generous, but this is not about money. If you take people away, what will we say when the Su family asks about it in the future?"
The young woman twirled the dagger and chuckled softly at his words: "Five hundred taels isn't enough to shut you up?"
"this……"
"Take the silver notes and move elsewhere with your son," the young woman said calmly. "It's not a good thing for this child to die in your hands. Don't risk your family's lives for fifty taels of silver. Is money that easy to earn?"
The couple hesitated, as if they wanted to say something but then stopped.
“I’m saving her, and I’m also saving you,” the woman said again. “The Su family wants to kill someone, but they need to use you as a scapegoat. If anyone investigates later, you two will be the scapegoats. Take this five hundred taels and move your whole family to another place. That will be enough for you to live a good life for a few years.”
After she finished speaking, without waiting for the couple's reaction, she went straight to the bedside, picked up the sleeping girl, kicked the door open, and left.
The cold wind outside was even stronger, and the temperature was extremely low. The young woman mounted her horse, took off her outer robe, wrapped it around the girl, and placed it in front of her.
The woman in green followed closely behind, not speaking, but her eyes conveying a questioning intent.
"Let's find a place to stay first and check on the child's illness," the woman said, holding the girl with one arm and the reins with the other. "You stay here and escort the family of three away immediately. Come back and meet me after you've settled them in."
The woman in green accepted the order and watched the two figures, one large and one small, disappear into the thick snow.
·
Wrapped in a brocade robe, still warm from the body heat of others, and feeling a constant warmth emanating from her back, Yin Qiu was jolted awake by the howling cold wind. She regained some of her senses in her dazed state, but her head was throbbing with pain, and she couldn't open her eyes in the face of the icy snowflakes.
The horse beneath her was running fast, its jolting and lurching making Yin Qiu even more dizzy. Several times her throat tightened and she almost vomited, but she forced herself to hold it back.
The snowy day was dark and visibility was poor. She shivered, her lips and teeth chattering, her whole body was frozen stiff, and her limbs were numb.
She huddled in her robe, straining to open her eyes halfway to look ahead. She saw scattered trees and winding mountain paths. A stranger's arm was wrapped around her chest; it looked thin and weak, yet it held her tightly.
Yin Qiu thought vaguely that she wondered who had bought her again.
Although she was not fully conscious, she was not completely unconscious. In her hazy state, she seemed to hear the woman behind her say that she would take her away and leave her some silver notes.
Five hundred taels of silver to buy someone who's dying. What are you going to do with it?
A familiar sense of despair welled up inside her. She closed her sore eyes and gradually drifted off to sleep amidst the rising and falling sounds of horses' hooves.
After galloping for an hour, they finally entered the city and arrived at an inn. The woman handed the horse to the servant, quickly asked for a superior room, and carried the woman up to the second floor.
As soon as she reached the door, Yin Qiuxian vomited a mouthful of yellow fluid. The woman paused, and the servant behind her exclaimed in surprise, hurriedly taking off the handkerchief from his shoulder and bending down to wipe it.
"Should I fetch a doctor for you?"
"Thank you for your trouble," the woman said, striding inside and tossing the servant a few silver ingots. "Also, boil a bucket of hot water and buy a new set of clothes while you're at it."
The servant readily agreed, wiped the floor dry, and hurriedly left. The other staff members, having received instructions, quickly brought over the hot water.
After spitting out that mouthful of yellow fluid, Yin Qiu felt a great sense of relief and felt much more comfortable. The woman gently placed her on the bed, and after the servants finished their work, she said to her, "Take off your clothes."
The room was filled with steam and white mist, gradually bringing a long-lost warmth. Yin Qiu shivered and huddled on the bed, her eyes revealing unease.
The woman was testing the water temperature when she heard no sound for a while. Turning her head, she saw Yin Qiu looking confused, so she asked her, "What are you doing?"
Yin Qiu glanced at her twice, her voice barely audible: "Who are you?"
The woman replied, "My name is Man Jiangxue." She then stepped forward to help her undress, saying, "Take a bath first, and I'll talk to you after you're warm."
She was already wearing very little clothing, and in no time she was stripped naked. Yin Qiu was at a loss and hurriedly raised her hand to cover her thin body. She subconsciously wanted to hide, but Man Jiangxue picked her up by the waist without saying a word and gently sank her into the water.
She was extremely cold, and the moment she touched the hot water, her skin stung painfully. It took a long time for the cold to dissipate and for her blood to begin to warm up.
Yin Qiu felt as if she had been half-resurrected. She let out a long breath. The heat made her dizzy again, and two unnatural blushes appeared on her pale face. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt Man Jiangxue pat her head and say, "Don't sleep yet, come out and eat something."
Yin Qiu was in a daze, her eyes opening and closing repeatedly. Before the water cooled down, Man Jiangxue scooped her out of the bathtub, dried her with a handkerchief, wrapped her tightly in a quilt, and placed her by the bed.
The cold had been washed away, along with her already dwindling strength. Yin Qiu felt weak all over and couldn't help but fall to the ground. Fortunately, Man Jiangxue caught her in time. Once she was settled, Man Jiangxue called a servant to bring out hot food and fed her bite by bite.
Having not eaten properly for days and having little appetite due to illness, even when her stomach was empty and she was extremely hungry, Yin Qiu could no longer wolf down her food. Instead, she would vomit as soon as she ate a little, as it never actually reached her stomach.
The vomit spilled onto the floor beside the bed, inevitably soiling Man Jiangxue's dress. But she ignored it, remained silent, and simply fed Yin Qiu spoonful by spoonful, hoping that Yin Qiu would gradually adapt and eat as much as she could.
The dishes were light and simple, and the rice was just ordinary hot porridge, but it was better than any meal she had ever eaten before. Yin Qiu finally swallowed a few mouthfuls of soup, but her eyes turned red from vomiting, and her chest felt like it was on fire.
Listening to the endless wind outside the window and feeling the patience and thoughtfulness of the stranger in front of her, a pang of sorrow welled up in her heart, and large tears fell down, landing directly on the back of Man Jiangxue's hand holding the spoon.
"Why are you crying?" Man Jiangxue asked, but didn't stop feeding him.
Only then did Yin Qiu have a chance to look her over.
A beautiful woman in white, with an ethereal air, reflected in the candlelight of the room. Man Jiangxue's face was like a piece of warm, smooth jade, pure and flawless, with a faint luster. Her features were beautiful, especially her eyebrows and eyes, which were long and willow-like, and her eyes were like stars, deep and serene.
Yin Qiu looked at her closely for a while, then said weakly, "I've never eaten anything this good before."
Man Jiangxue looked at the food on the table and asked, "What did you eat before?"
Yin Qiu recalled: "Leftovers, cold steamed buns, everything was scrambled, and there was no clean water to drink, only the dirty water from the pool."
After swallowing a few more mouthfuls of hot porridge, Yin Qiu shook her head, indicating that she really couldn't eat anymore. Man Jiangxue then stopped, patted her head, and said in a gentle voice, "It won't happen again. You can eat whatever you want."
There was a light knock on the door. The servant boy and the doctor stood at the door. Man Jiangxue gestured for them to wait a moment, took the newly bought clothes from the servant boy, and quickly dressed Yin Qiu before opening the door to welcome them in.
Upon seeing vomit in front of the bed, the servant busied himself cleaning up. The doctor entered, put down his medicine box, and took Yin Qiu's pulse.
"A cold is not difficult to treat," the doctor said after a short while, looking at Man Jiangxue. "But she will have to suffer for a while. This child is weak and her pulse is unstable. She needs to be well cared for. I will prescribe some medicine for her to take first. She should not take too much tonic, eat a light diet, and avoid getting cold again. After she takes the medicine on time, you can add some nourishing soup. It's still timely now. If it had been delayed for two more days, her brain would have been damaged by the fever, and she would have been beyond saving."
Yin Qiu collapsed onto the bed, breathing rapidly. Her face, which had been pale, was now flushed red and covered in cold sweat.
Man Jiangxue paid the consultation fee and saw the doctor to the door, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."
The doctor bowed to her and gave her some instructions. The servant cleaned the bedside and thoughtfully brought her a pot of freshly boiled ginger soup before immediately following the doctor to the pharmacy to get the medicine.
As the hustle and bustle deepened, all was quiet after nightfall. The noise inside the inn subsided, making the wind and snow outside seem even more intense.
The doors and windows rattled, and a charcoal fire burned inside. The house was no longer as cold and desolate as when she first arrived, but Yin Qiu still felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave and couldn't sleep warmly no matter what she did.
Her eyelids were burning, and her head was throbbing in waves. She fell asleep without realizing it. In the middle of the night, someone gently helped her up and held her, fed her some extremely bitter medicine, and then put a small sugar pill in her mouth.
A blurry white figure flickered before her eyes. Yin Qiu was delirious with fever and couldn't remember what day it was or where she was. The white figure suddenly moved away, as if it was about to leave. She reflexively reached out and grabbed the white figure's hand as if grasping at a lifeline, panting heavily and refusing to let go.
The white figure stopped in place.
A moment later, the blanket was lifted, and a person carrying a pleasant fragrance lay down beside her, with a body temperature that was almost burning hot to Yin Qiu at that moment, like a blazing sun in the darkness, enveloping her completely.
The warmth was so comforting, yet also terrifying, as it seemed to dissipate quickly. Yin Qiu snuggled into her arms, holding the person beside her with all her might, trying to draw in as much warmth as possible.
She vaguely heard a low sigh, and the candlelight in the room went out in an instant. Yin Qiu stirred and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
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