Xin Jiuwei's tears instantly burst forth!
She rushed to the carriage shaft, cautiously reaching out her hand, her fingertips trembling, to gently touch her brother's cold cheek. The real touch, the warm breath, finally put her heart, which had been hanging in suspense for months, back down to earth.
“Brother…I’m here…I’ve come to take you home…” she choked up, her voice so soft as if she didn’t want to disturb him.
Xin Yunzhou seemed to sense something; his tightly closed eyelashes trembled slightly, and his chapped lips moved, emitting an extremely faint, almost inaudible whisper: "...Wei...er..."
This faint call completely shattered Xin Jiuwei's defenses. She collapsed onto the carriage shaft, sobbing uncontrollably, as if trying to release all the fear, torment, despair, and ecstatic joy of regaining what she had lost over the past few months. Xin Kui also silently shed tears beside her.
The imperial physician whispered, "Miss Xin, although the general's condition is stable, he is extremely weak and needs to rest immediately. He should not be exposed to cold wind for long."
Xin Jiuwei abruptly stopped crying, hastily wiping away the tears on her face with her sleeve, forcing herself to calm down. She took a deep breath and bowed deeply to the imperial physicians: "Thank you all! Please follow me!"
She directed the guards to carefully protect the carriage as it headed towards the capital. However, the carriage did not head towards Jingyuan, but instead, after entering the city, it went straight to a heavily guarded and secluded residence in the west of the city—the villa of the Sixth Prince's residence.
Xin Jiuwei stared at the familiar doorway, slightly startled. Was this Xiao Xun's arrangement? To place her brother in his place? A complex mix of emotions surged within her. Was it tighter protection? Or… another form of control?
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the villa. Stewards and servants were already waiting. Everyone carefully lifted Xin Yunzhou off the carriage and settled him into a warm, spring-like room filled with the fragrance of medicine that had been prepared beforehand.
The imperial physician immediately stepped forward to check his pulse and change his dressing. Xin Jiuwei stayed by his bedside without leaving for a moment, tightly holding her brother's withered hand, greedily gazing at his still-furrowed brow in his sleep. It was a mark left by the blood-soaked battlefield, and also the mark of the family she was willing to protect with all her might.
After everything was settled, the imperial physician left to prepare the medicine. Xin Kui went to prepare hot water and liquid food. Only Xin Jiuwei and the unconscious Xin Yunzhou remained in the room.
Just then, there were light footsteps at the door.
Xin Jiuwei turned around abruptly.
Xiao Xun stood at the doorway. He was still dressed in his usual black casual clothes, with unmelted snowflakes still clinging to his shoulders, clearly having just returned from outside. He didn't come in, but simply stood outside the threshold, his deep gaze passing over Xin Jiuwei and landing on the pale, emaciated, and unconscious figure on the bed.
His gaze was deep, carrying a complex emotion that Xin Jiuwei had never seen before. It wasn't scrutiny, nor an assessment of value; it was more like... a heavy gaze? As if he were looking through Xin Yunzhou at something distant.
Xin Jiuwei stood up, faced the doorway, and bowed deeply and solemnly. This bow came from the bottom of her heart, carrying all her gratitude and lingering fear.
"Your Highness, I, Xin Jiuwei, kowtow to thank you for saving my life!" Her voice was still choked with emotion, yet exceptionally clear and firm.
Xiao Xun's gaze slowly shifted from Xin Yunzhou to Xin Jiuwei's lowered hair. He remained silent, not letting her get up. The room was quiet, save for the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire and Xin Yunzhou's faint breathing.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice low and steady, revealing no emotion:
"I saved him, not to thank you." His gaze swept over the figure on the bed again, his tone almost coldly declaring, "Xin Yunzhou is a man of honor. He fought bloody battles in the Northern Frontier, killing enemies and generals, living up to his name. His life is beneficial to the country and to the morale of the Northern Frontier army."
He paused, his gaze returning to Xin Jiuwei, his eyes unfathomable, as if trying to see right through her.
“As for you,” his voice deepened, carrying a strange penetrating power, “remember your identity, remember your promise. The Xin family needs a clear-headed leader.”
Having said that, he didn't linger. He turned around, and his dark figure disappeared into the biting wind outside the door. The sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.
Xin Jiuwei remained frozen in her curtsy posture. Xiao Xun's icy words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the slight warmth that had risen in her heart out of gratitude.
I'm not thanking you for that.
It is beneficial to the country and to the morale of the army.
Remember your identity, remember your promise.
The Xin family needs a clear-headed leader.
Every word was as cold as a knife, precisely severing the sliver of illusion that shouldn't have existed in her heart. He saved her brother because her brother was useful, because the Xin family needed to continue, and because she, as the "helmsman," needed this reassurance to stay clear-headed and continue fulfilling the contract! From beginning to end, it was nothing more than a cold exchange of interests!
A sharp pain and an overwhelming sense of humiliation instantly gripped Xin Jiuwei's heart! She slowly straightened up, her face as pale as snow, biting her lower lip so hard she could almost taste blood. She looked in the direction Xiao Xun had disappeared through the doorway, then turned back to look at her brother, who lay unconscious on the bed, having risked his life for his country. Her eyes churned with complex emotions—gratitude, lingering fear, relief that her brother had been saved, and a chilling clarity pierced by Xiao Xun's words, along with… an indescribable sorrow.
She walked to the bedside and took her brother's cold hand in hers again, her fingertips trembling slightly. Her brother's hand was rough and covered with scars, the marks of a warrior.
“Brother…” she whispered, her voice choked with sobs, “Can you hear me? You survived…we all survived…” Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto her brother’s hand.
“But… this path is so difficult…” She pressed her forehead against her brother’s hand, her shoulders trembling slightly. Xiao Xun’s coldness was like a bucket of ice water, making her see her place clearly. Gratitude could not replace a contract, and warmth could not melt the ice. Between her and Xiao Xun, there would forever be a cold abyss of self-interest and mutual exploitation.
Her brother's breathing was weak and steady, as if he were responding to her pain in his sleep.
Xin Jiuwei raised her head and wiped away her tears. All the vulnerability and confusion in her eyes were forcibly suppressed, replaced by a harder, colder resolve. Looking at her brother's sleeping face, she whispered each word, like a vow:
"Brother, you just stay alive. The rest... I'll take care of it."
Her gaze shifted to the gloomy sky outside the window, where snow was falling.
The contract remains, the game is not over. But this time, she will walk more steadily and ruthlessly, carrying the clarity pierced by ice water and the support given by her brother. For the Xin family, and also so that... no one will be able to easily pierce her weak spot again.
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