For several days in a row, there was heavy snow in Shuojing City, and the streets were much deserted.

In Xu's house, He Xinying stood in front of the study and knocked on the door. Someone inside said, "Come in." He Xinying walked in.

"I made some red bean sweet soup in the kitchen. It's too cold outside." He Xinying smiled and took the small bowl out of the basket and put it on Xu Zhiheng's table. "Husband, drink some to warm yourself up. Don't let it get frozen."

Xu Zhiheng's eyes fell on the small white porcelain bowl on the table. In the bowl, the red bean soup gave off a sweet aroma, and the brown soup suddenly reminded him of the bowl of tonic that the He family had sent him a long time ago.

It was also this color, and had this sweet aroma. The soup was extremely effective. After He Yan drank it, he had a high fever for three days, and then he could no longer see.

Xu Zhiheng looked up subconsciously. He Xinying was looking at her tenderly. Her eyes and brows were somewhat similar to He Yan's. Xu Zhiheng's heart skipped a beat and he stood up subconsciously. His sleeve accidentally brushed the soup bowl on the table, and the sweet soup spilled all over the floor, staining his clothes.

"Is my husband okay?" He Xinying was startled and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the soup off Xu Zhiheng's body, while calling the maid to come and clean up.

"Nothing." Seeing that the sweet soup was spilled, Xu Zhiheng breathed a sigh of relief and took the handkerchief to wipe the water stains on his body.

"This bowl is spilled. I'll ask someone to bring another bowl over." He Xinying said hurriedly.

"No need." Xu Zhiheng held her hand, smiled and pulled her to sit beside him, "I'm not hungry anyway."

The woman's hands were warm and soft, which somewhat relieved the uneasiness he had been feeling for the past few days.

He Xinying sat down beside him as he said, thought for a moment, and said to Xu Zhiheng, "I heard from Liu'er that my mother is not feeling well and has been bedridden. I want to go back and see my mother. Does my husband have any free time these days? Why don't you come with me to the He family?"

He Xinying always felt uneasy because the book of military strategy had been placed in her room. If Xu Zhiheng suddenly decided to search the entire mansion, it would be easily discovered. Moreover, the book of military strategy came out of nowhere, and she herself could not figure out what was going on. It would be better for her to go back to the He family and ask the second wife of He. Her mother knew her elder sister better than she did.

"Do you want to go back to the He family?" Xu Zhiheng paused and asked He Xinying.

He looked at He Xinying with a look of scrutiny. He Xinying's heart skipped a beat and she reached out to hold his arm, "I'll go back and take a look. I'll be back the next day. Can you go back with me, husband? My mother hasn't seen you for a long time."

He Xinying had never suffered much since she was a child. When Xu Zhiheng married her home, he knew that she was a little arrogant when she was in the He family, but after entering the Xu Mansion, she has always been well-behaved. This is different from He Yan's temperament. Although He Yan also never makes trouble and is law-abiding, it is impossible for her to act like He Xinying and hold his arm and act coquettishly.

Xu Zhiheng said, "I've been very busy these days, I'm afraid I don't have time to accompany you back home. So, I'll ask someone to take you back first, and I'll accompany you again when I'm free after a while."

He Xinying showed an aggrieved expression at the right time and said, "...Okay."

Xu Zhiheng smiled and held her hand, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.

Of course, he couldn't go to the He family now. Not to mention the He Yuansheng brothers, who knew what He Rufei was planning now. He had placed spies in his house to try to catch him... and He Xinying, Xu Zhiheng thought, although He Xinying was his wife, her last name was He, who knew if He Rufei had communicated with her, it was good that way, since He Rufei could place spies in his house, how could he know that he wouldn't play along?

This time, let He Xinying go home and find out the truth first.

…

At midnight, it started snowing again.

It was freezing cold, and He Yan climbed out of bed in the dark. The room was pitch black, and not even an oil lamp was lit. Fortunately, she had long been accustomed to being blind, so she would not fall even without a lamp. After putting on her clothes, she took out a short sword from the drawer and went out.

It was snowing heavily. To facilitate her movements, she was dressed lightly, with only a thin layer of cotton under her nightgown. As soon as she went out, her nose almost froze. A charcoal fire was burning in the Xiangxiang stable, emitting a faint flame. The yard was quiet inside and outside. He Sui and his son and Qingmei were all asleep. There was no movement in Chiwu's room either. He Yan quietly opened the door and walked out.

There was snow everywhere, the long street was covered in silver, and lanterns were hung under the eaves on both sides of the street, glowing red, and it was very lively. In less than two months, it would be the Chinese New Year. The New Year atmosphere was already there, although it was still a little cold.

He Yan exhaled, and a cloud of white mist immediately appeared in front of him. It was strange to say that the winter in Liangzhou was much colder than that in Shuojing, but at that time, he trained every day and sweated profusely, and he forgot about the cold. Now, here, he was really stamping his feet because of the cold.

She had only walked a few steps when she saw a carriage parked at the end of the street. He Yan was stunned for a moment. It was late at night and there was no one on the street. Suddenly, there was a carriage on the road. It was like seeing a ghost. He Yan squinted her eyes and looked carefully. There was a driver sitting in front of the carriage. When he saw her, he took off his hat.

"Fei...Fei Nu?" He Yan asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Fei Nu didn't say anything, but the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a person walked down from it. He was wearing a brocade dress with black gold cloud pattern, and had a slender and elegant figure. When he looked over, it was like a painting in a snowy night. It was Xiao Jue.

He walked over, his boots rustling on the snow. He Yan waited for him to get closer and asked, "Why are you not sleeping at night? What are you doing here?"

Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows and said disapprovingly, "What about you? What are you doing going out in the middle of the night?"

"I..." He Yan was speechless for a while, "I couldn't sleep, so I came out to relax."

Xiao Jue sneered and stared at her calmly: "Miss, why are you wearing night clothes when you go out to relax?"

He Yan scratched her head, knowing that this person was very smart and it was not easy to deceive him, so she frowned and said, "I'm out here to do something..." She looked at Xiao Jue, and suddenly realized something and glanced back, "You follow me all day long, even in the middle of the night? Xiao Jue, even if I'm your fiancée, you don't have to chase me so closely."

Xiao Jue: “…”

"What are you thinking about?" He seemed speechless. "You went out this morning and bought a short sword from a blacksmith's shop in the west of the city. Forget it," he said lazily, "You went out so late, did you kill someone or set a fire?"

"Didn't I get rid of Chiwu when I bought the dagger?" He Yan was also puzzled, "How did you know?"

She was always very cautious when doing these things, knowing that being discovered by Chiwu would arouse suspicion, but she still managed to get rid of the big guy with great difficulty.

"It's not Chiwu," Xiao Jue said, "Anyway, I know it." He glanced at the short sword that He Yan wore on his waist, and said with some disdain, "I gave you silver, so you can't buy a good sword?"

"What does this have to do with the sword?" He Yan said, "What's important is the person who uses the sword and the swordsmanship. My swordsmanship is good, so I don't need a good sword to add to my glory."

Xiao Jue nodded and said, "Be diligent and frugal in managing the household."

"...It's a good thing," He Yan asked, "Why does it feel like you're scolding me?"

The snow outside kept falling, and soon a thin layer of frost and snow covered her hair and body. Xiao Jue pulled her to the eaves of the street, stood outside, and blocked most of the wind and snow. He only asked: "I haven't told you yet. It's so late, what are you doing with a sword?"

Seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore, He Yan sighed and told the truth, "I was thinking that He Rufei must have some other relationship with the Wutuo people. He Rufei is a cautious person, and it's hard to catch him. I want to go to the He family and look for other evidence. It would be great if I could find evidence that He Rufei is related to the Wutuo people."

"The He family?" Xiao Jue frowned slightly, "Are you planning to go alone?"

"After all, I was a member of the He family in my previous life," He Yan approached him and whispered, "I know the He family inside and out. I also know secret passages that others don't know about, so it's easy to sneak in. It's absolutely no problem for me to go alone."

"No," Xiao Jue interrupted her without thinking, "It's too dangerous."

"No, there's nothing dangerous about it." He Yan retorted, "I can beat ten of the He family's guards by myself. They've already gone to bed by now. The house where He Rufei lives now is the house I used to live in. I know exactly what secret compartments are on the bookshelves and what compartments are in the wooden walls. I can leave immediately after I find the things, and it won't cause any trouble. I've done it before, sneaking into the enemy camps of tens of thousands of Wutuo people at night. There's nothing to be afraid of with the He family."

"He Rufei is suspicious of you now, so he must have increased the number of guards in the mansion. Now is not a good time to go to the He family."

"If it's any longer, I'm afraid all the evidence will be destroyed."

Xiao Jue's eyes fell on her, and after a moment, he said, "I'll go with you."

"What?" He Yan refused immediately, "If you go with me, it will become a burden. It's easier for me to get away alone, but it's very inconvenient with you."

"Then don't go."

"Xiao Jue," He Yan said angrily, "Why don't you speak the truth?"

"Um."

Is this guy a stickler for words? But if we start a quarrel with him here, the neighbors will be woken up and we won’t be able to get away. He Yan was in a stalemate with him for a long time, and finally gave in. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, but I really didn't expect that everyone said that the second young master Xiao was cold and unkind, but I didn't expect that he would be so clingy in private."

"Same here," Xiao Jue folded his arms and looked at her, "Who told Miss He to go to other people's houses to relax in the middle of the night?" He leaned forward slightly, looking down at He Yan, his tone was indifferent, "I'm afraid something will happen, and the wife will have to pay the debt."

This person probably never loses an argument with others. He Yan also lost his temper and said viciously: "Forget it, if you want to go with me, then go together. But I have to tell you in advance, don't regret it when you really get to the He family."

Xiao Jue smiled and reached for her waist. He Yan quickly protected her belt. "What are you doing?"

He took a deep breath and asked, "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"It's the dead of night, a man and a woman alone, there are a lot of things you can do." He Yan whispered, "Then who knows what you are going to do?"

"He Yan." Xiao Jue spoke calmly.

"I was just joking." He Yan smiled ingratiatingly.

"Your sword is too inferior. Change it to this one." He took off his sword and handed it to He Yan.

"Isn't this Yin Qiu?" He Yan was stunned for a moment. Xiao Jue had already stuffed the Yin Qiu sword into her hand. She knew that Yin Qiu was precious and wanted to return the sword to him. "What are you giving it to me for?"

Xiao Jue glanced at her and raised his lips: "Change to this one, so that others won't say that my Xiao family is shabby and bring shame to me."

"What do you mean by others?" He Yan said quickly, "Pah, pah, pah, we are going to the He family today, and we will definitely not alarm anyone, so how can others see us?"

Before He Yan could finish, Xiao Jue had already pulled out the short sword from her waist and walked forward on her own, "Take it."

He Yan had no choice but to follow.

Fei Nu parked the carriage on the side of the road, and the three of them left together, heading towards the He family.

The He Mansion is located in the west of the city. The mansion doesn't look as elegant as the Xu family, but it's still impressive. Fei Nu was waiting outside the mansion to meet them. He Yan took Xiao Jue to the backyard wall. When they reached a place, he stopped and whispered, "Here, this is my secret passage."

Xiao Jue stared at the hole in front of him that was barely wide enough for one person to crawl through, and asked calmly: "The secret passage you mentioned is the dog hole?"

"Hush," He Yan put his finger to his lips, "keep your voice down. This dog hole is not an ordinary dog ​​hole. I dare say that no one in the entire He family knows about it."

"When I was young, I pretended to be a man, but I didn't have much strength. When I was with other boys, I was always worried that I would be exposed. My family was afraid that I would get into trouble if I showed too much of my face outside, so they locked me up in the mansion. Before I entered Xianchang Hall, I would crawl out of this dog hole before dawn every day and climb up Donghuang Mountain in the capital to help the monks in the temples to fetch water and chop firewood. At first, the skin on my hands was worn out, but after I gave birth to a zygote, I could practice boxing with a stone hanging on my wrist."

"The young men in Xianchang Hall are very powerful, but if I hadn't secretly climbed the mountain to practice, I'm afraid my life in Xianchang Hall would have been even worse."

"Ah," she thought to herself, "Could it be that I did too much work for the monks in the temple at that time, so the Buddha saw that I was sincere and gave me a chance to start over again. No wonder everyone always says that they should make more good friends. If that is true, don't you think so?" She turned to look at Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue pinched his forehead and forbearingly said, "So, you mean, you want me to crawl through the dog hole?"

"Yes." He Yan said: "I told you long ago that you must follow me, so don't regret it. I have reminded you."

"No." Xiao Jue frowned slightly and turned his head away, as if he would be disgusted if he looked at her any more. "I'll climb over the wall."

"No, there are traps everywhere on the walls of the He family. He Rufei must have rearranged them now. I don't know exactly where they are. If you trigger a trap, all our efforts will be wasted." He Yan looked at him, "Why don't you wait for me outside like Fei Nu and I can go in by myself."

"no."

"Young Master, please be kind," He Yan said helplessly, "This is not okay, that is not okay, what do you want?"

Xiao Jue stared at the dog hole expressionlessly for a moment, then suddenly lifted the corner of his robe, half-knelt down, and said to He Yan, "You go first."

This time, He Yan was really shocked, "Do you really want to drill?"

"Hurry up." Xiao Jue couldn't bear it anymore.

He Yan originally hoped to use this dog hole to make Xiao Jue retreat, but she didn't expect that this person would actually drill through it. For a moment, she was filled with emotion. Xiao Jue's sacrifice was too great. If the soldiers of the Nine Banners Camp and the Southern Palace knew that their governor stayed up late at night to drill through a dog hole, they would definitely kill her.

However, this was not He Yan's deliberate embarrassment. The dog hole in the He family was dug by her herself. The He family did not like to keep dogs, and He Yan had personally fed the stray dogs outside. This place was much safer than climbing over the wall as Xiao Jue had said.

"Then follow me." He Yan whispered, "Be gentle."

She herself didn't care at all about crawling into a dog hole. After all, she had crawled into a dog hole since she was a child. It had been a long time since she had crawled into a dog hole. She was quite friendly. She slipped in like a loach. Xiao Jue endured it and crawled in as well.

The wall of the He Mansion was thick, and the hole was dug by He Yan when he was young, so it was not very big. With his adult body now, it seemed a little narrow. Just as he got out and hadn't stood firmly, he saw a yellow ball "whoosh" towards him under the dim light of the lantern.

Just as Xiao Jue was about to make a move, He Yan whispered in surprise, "Ermao!"

The one called "Ermao" ran up to He Yan, rolled over, and clung to He Yan's legs, being very affectionate. It turned out to be a yellow dog.

Xiao Jue: “What is this?”

"I raised it." He Yan whispered, "I thought Ermao was driven out after I died, but I didn't expect it to still be here."

To be precise, when He Yan was still a child, he picked up a stray dog ​​and brought it home, naming it Damao. The He family didn't like dirty stray dogs, but He Yan had no friends at the time, and when he was lonely, it would be nice to have a yellow dog as a companion, so he begged Mrs. He to keep Damao in the house. Damao later gave birth to a litter of puppies, but the weather was too cold, and all of them died except Ermao. The surviving Ermao was still dumb.

He Rufei cleared away all traces of He Yan. He Yan thought he would never see Ermao again, but he did not expect to see him again. However, Ermao usually lived in the backyard and caught mice to eat. He guessed that it was not that He Rufei did not want to get rid of it, but that she had forgotten about the dog.

"It seems to recognize me." He Yan looked at Ermao who was wagging his tail towards him and sighed, "I was classmates with you, Lin Shuanghe, and Yan He for so long, but you didn't recognize me. Your eyesight is not as good as Ermao's."

Ermao smiled foolishly at He Yan with his tongue sticking out.

Xiao Jue closed his eyes and said patiently: "Now is not the time for you to reunite and reminisce."

"I know." He Yan made a "sit down" gesture to Ermao, and the yellow dog sat down obediently. "Ermao, you stay here and keep watch for me." She turned to Xiao Jue and said, "Come with me."

The He Mansion was very large, and He Yan walked around very cautiously. Every time she walked around, she would hide in the dark to check if there were any servants around. Although she had not entered the He Mansion a few days ago, she secretly walked around outside the He Mansion. There were a lot more servants in the He family than when she was there before. She knew without thinking that it was the work of He Rufei.

Perhaps He Rufei thought that the He family had more servants, so he could live up to the style of "General Feihong", or maybe he was just guilty.

The courtyard where He Rufei lived, which was also the courtyard where He Yan originally lived, was the deepest and innermost room in the He Mansion. Xiao Jue asked in a low voice, "Why is it so far away?"

"Because Young Master He is born ugly, lonely and weird." He Yan said, "He doesn't like to have too much contact with others."

There were not many servants in her courtyard, and it was very remote. If He Yan had been a quiet person since childhood, it would be fine, but children always have many fantasies. She was lively and curious about everything. But because of her status, she could only stay in the courtyard and play alone. After a long time, even if she was not a loner, she became a loner.

As a child, she could not do this or that. She could not even have maids and servants serve her, let alone play games. As time went by, she started to find her own entertainment. For example, she drew pictures on the sand with tree branches. She could draw every room in the He family yard accurately because she had gone through them thousands of times in her mind.

He Yan once suspected that the reason why she was always particularly sensitive to terrain after joining the army and could remember every road she had walked on was actually due to her childhood experience.

"The layout of the mansion has changed." He Yan whispered, "We have to be careful."

It was already very late at night, and the night watchmen were all in the outer courtyard. There was no movement in the mansion, so he could feel a little more at ease. As they were about to reach He Rufei's courtyard, He Yan became more and more nervous.

When they turned a corner and were about to walk forward, He Yan paused, and suddenly, he quietly pulled Xiao Jue into an empty tea room.

Just as Xiao Jue was about to speak, He Yan covered his mouth with his hand: "Hush, there's someone."

There were dragging footsteps outside. It was probably the servant going to the toilet at night. He Yan breathed a sigh of relief when there was no more sound outside. He turned his head and was stunned.

The moon came out at some point, shining a little light through the window onto the ground. Xiao Jue was pushed to the wall by her, with his back against it. He Yan was nervous for a moment, and almost lay on him, but he didn't move, with his hands slightly back, as if deliberately avoiding her. He Yan covered his mouth, like a female hooligan who was molesting others.

She was startled and subconsciously retracted her hand.

The young man looked at her indifferently, then suddenly curled his lips and said silently: "Take advantage of me?"

He Yan almost choked and shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, I was too anxious just now, it was not intentional."

The man nodded with a half-smile, his eyes clearly showing disbelief.

He Yan had a hard time speaking out her pain, but that was fine. She had been molesting Xiao Jue for a long time, so she didn't care if it happened once or twice. She peeked out through the crack in the door, and seeing no one, she whispered, "Let's go."