The moonlight was as clear as if it had been washed, and its cool light poured down from the sky onto the earth, like a god with half-closed eyes, silently observing all living beings, watching the joys and sorrows, the partings and reunions of mortals on earth.
The city's supplies had long been exhausted, and no candles were lit inside. The window was pushed open, and the moonlight descended, preferentially illuminating this small corner of the ground, allowing people to see their surroundings without wasting lamp oil.
There were scattered white specks in the sky, barely noticeable as they slowly descended. It wasn't until those white specks drifted from the distant horizon into the house on the night wind that they caught the attention of the people living on the ground.
Shu Yun leaned her head against the bedside, extending her hand out from under the covers. The fluttering white fabric landed on her fair fingertips, melting instantly upon touch.
It's snowing.
She closed her fingers and rubbed them together; the slight coolness brought by the snowflakes quickly dissipated from her fingertips.
The snow outside the window quickly went from being scattered here and there to becoming more plentiful and dense.
"A timely snow promises a bumper harvest." Xiaowen breathed into the sky, and wisps of steam rose from her mouth.
She clasped her hands together and began to pray, hoping for her family's health and happiness, hoping to marry a good husband, hoping the Southern Barbarians would stop harassing the Southern Border, hoping for favorable weather in Xiliang, and hoping that her sister Shuyun would recover from her illness soon.
She wanted too much, and couldn't make all her wishes at once. The wind outside, carrying the first snow, blew on her face, making her small nose red, but she wouldn't stop.
Making a wish must be done in one go, without stopping halfway, otherwise the gods will think she is not sincere and the wish will not be granted.
"A timely snow promises a bountiful harvest." Along with Xiaowen, who lived in the north of Xiliang, people in the northern city of Xiliang also offered their annual traditional prayers during this first snowfall.
Some people sat on their doorsteps, enjoying the peaceful moment after the war and the first snow, looking up at the snow falling all around them.
The heavy snowfall is an auspicious sign.
Only those who have truly faced the cruelty and ruthlessness of war can understand how hard-won peace is, and only then can they cherish every moment of stability.
General Beicheng waved his hand and granted permission for them to go home and visit their elderly parents. However, once they returned home, they no longer served the general and were no longer informed of any news from the various social strata of Xiliang. They didn't know if the young master had found anyone, if he had contracted the disease, or if he had told his feelings to the young lady.
That day, while tidying up the young master's residence after he left, a piece of red paper fell out of the erotic novel that every man in Xiliang owned.
There are only a few places where red paper could be used, and given the words carefully written on it in black ink, it is undoubtedly a marriage compatibility chart.
"So, the first heavy snowfall of winter in Xiliang was of great significance to you?"
Shu Yun was wrapped in thick blankets by Xie Fu, the corners of the blankets pressed tightly against her, preventing her from moving. She could only twist her neck to look at Xie Fu lying next to her.
Xie Fu's eyelashes drooped, and he pursed his light-colored thin lips, ignoring her.
He ignores her; she says ten things, and he only responds with one.
Shu Yun was wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon, round and plump. She looked at Xie Fu's handsome profile and asked in a low voice, "Are you angry with me?"
Xie Fu lazily raised his eyes, looking at her without saying a word.
Shu Yun thought for a moment and asked, "Why are you angry?"
"Because I just stuck my hand out from under the covers?"
She tried to reason with Xie Fu, "You can't stop talking to me because of this. You're completely covered in blankets, it must be so stuffy. It's normal to stick your hands out for some fresh air."
Xie Fu interrupted her coldly, "What's normal about it?"
"Is it normal to lock the door from the inside with chains and then leave someone to die?"
In the short few hours since the afternoon, he has heard her suppressing coughs countless times.
He couldn't imagine what her situation would be now if Li Tie's letter had come any later, or if he had encountered some unexpected event on his way to the Southern Border.
Shu Yun retorted softly, "I wasn't waiting to die... I was just afraid of scaring people by revealing my true form, okay?"
Xie Fu looked down at her, his tone unfriendly, "Yes, you didn't wait to die. You relied on the Wind and Thunder Cavalry I gave you and had people give you the green light all the way south. When you got to the southern border, you abandoned the Wind and Thunder Cavalry and went into the dead city alone..."
He gritted his teeth, finding it difficult to continue.
The bodies that these people couldn't clean up in the outer area were burned down along with the houses to prevent them from rotting and smelling.
The cleared area is only a small part of the northern part; the buildings engulfed in flames make up the vast majority of this dead city.
How did she manage to save people and clean up the corpses all by herself in a place completely infected with the plague?
Xie Fu had a pale, cool complexion and thin eyelids, with faint blue veins visible. When he lowered his eyes, he appeared very indifferent. If the young master of Xiliang showed this expression, it meant he was impatient. If you knew what was good for you, you would quickly slip away.
But Shu Yun knew that his current demeanor, with his head turned away and his eyelids drooping, wasn't out of impatience with her. He was probably angry that she hadn't followed his instructions and stayed obediently near the capital.
In truth, the lives and deaths of ordinary people were of no concern to her. It was only because Xie Fu was here, the future king of Xiliang, and he wanted to protect his country and people that she took the initiative to act.
The southern border was ravaged by plague, so it was understandable that the southern barbarians retreated. This was not their homeland to begin with, but it was territory of Xiliang.
If they were to truly give up and allow those infected to remain trapped in the city, slowly dying and rotting away, the Xie family might lose the support of the people.
It was because of this consideration that Shu Yun decided to go south after other doctors had failed to develop a cure for the plague. He used the Xie family's name to treat patients and eventually entered the southern region, which no one dared to go to.
Shu Yun curled her lips into a smile, her eyes crinkling. "Worried about me?"
Xie Fu met her captivating eyes and said in a low, husky voice, "Do you know that if I hadn't come looking for you, you would never have been able to enter the north gate of the city, and you would have been trapped here to die?"
Although Shu Yun felt it wasn't that serious, she didn't argue with Xie Fu about such a pointless topic.
She struggled to pull the tightly wrapped blankets out of the covers and freed her hands.
Xie Fu frowned, about to shove her back, when she pounced on him and hugged him tightly, looking at him with a smile. Her eyes, clear as ice and snow, were just as affectionate and tender as when they first met.
He instinctively caught her, wrapped his arms around the blanket covering her, pulled her into his embrace, and pulled the blanket he was using to cover her shoulders.
He said in a slightly reproachful tone, "The conditions here are harsh, don't keep pulling back the covers."
Shu Yun hugged him, her voice soft, as if comforting him, or as if making a promise, "It won't happen again, I won't let you worry."
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