Before He Yan could say anything, Xiao Jue glanced at her and turned away.

The lamp in front of her had not been taken down yet, and He Yan could not care less, so she quickly pushed through the crowd and followed. The craftsman behind her was stunned and called her: "Girl, you forgot to take your lamp!"

But there was no response.

He Xinying also heard the craftsman's shout, and subconsciously followed the craftsman's gaze, and saw a familiar figure hurriedly leaving.

She was startled, this figure looked just like He Yan, Marquis of Wu'an, whom she had met in Yuhua Temple before.

For some reason, she and He Yan only met once, but she had a particularly deep impression of him. Xu Zhiheng beside her asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He Xinying came back to her senses, "Let's look at the light." She felt a little worried.

Since she married Xu Zhiheng, whenever he had time, Xu Zhiheng would accompany her to the night market. Xu Zhiheng was busy with official duties these days, and he had not been here for two months. Yesterday, when she returned to Xu's house, Xu Zhiheng offered to accompany her for a while. If it were in the past, He Xinying would definitely be very happy, but now when she walked next to Xu Zhiheng, she no longer felt excited, and even a little nervous.

Her mother's illness, the assassin that night, and the military book hidden in the bedpost by her deceased elder sister, all of them were enough to arouse suspicion. But she could do nothing and had to pretend to know nothing.

She stared at the various colored lanterns in front of her, but the figure who had just hurried away appeared in her mind, and she was heavy-hearted.

…

The crowd was so crowded that He Yan finally managed to grab Xiao Jue's sleeve and said, "Walk slowly. There are so many people here. It will take a long time to find you if we get lost. I just got stepped on several times."

He just walked forward without looking back, but his steps did slow down a little.

In the crowd coming and going, He Yan grabbed Xiao Jue's sleeve with the strength of a slingshot, almost tearing his sleeve, and finally walked out of the crowd and along the river.

"Xiao Jue," He Yan stared at him and asked, "Are you angry?"

Xiao Jue said nothing.

He tilted his head, and He Yan couldn't see his expression clearly, so he stood on tiptoe and moved closer to him to see more clearly. However, Xiao Jue blocked his way with his arm and pushed He Yan away.

"Are you really angry?" He Yan said, "I just..."

"He Yan," Xiao Jue interrupted her, staring at her, his voice slightly deep, "Are you..."

He Yan looked at him.

"Do you still have feelings for Xu Zhiheng?"

"Cough, cough, cough--" She started coughing because of the snorting.

"Don't be ridiculous!" He Yan denied it outright, "You know what he did, how could I still have feelings for him?"

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows, his eyes sharp, "So, there was love in the past?"

He Yan almost couldn't catch her breath, she was stunned by Xiao Jue's question. What kind of question was this? No matter how she answered, it seemed wrong. After hesitating for a long time, He Yan whispered, "It didn't happen in the past."

Xiao Jue looked down at her, expressionless. He Yan felt guilty being looked at, and carefully chose her words to lie, "You know, it was my parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. I didn't have the power to choose in my previous life. After I exchanged my identity with He Rufei, it was natural that I followed what my family said... The He family arranged for me to marry Xu Zhiheng, so I married him. I didn't... I didn't have any feelings for him."

He Yan inexplicably felt guilty that her husband had discovered her affair with someone else, and she was in great pain. She just glanced at Xu Zhiheng under the flower lanterns, but who knew that it would cause such a big trouble. But in this way, it seemed that she was more guilty. After all, Xiao Jue had never had other girls before her.

"But I heard that you were very happy when you first married Xu Zhiheng." He looked at the river under the fence with a calm gaze.

He Yan was shocked: "Who said that? Spreading rumors about me behind my back like this, the person must be punished!"

Xiao Jue glanced at her indifferently. He Yan froze for a moment and drooped her head. "Well, before I knew he was this kind of person, there was... a little bit." She used her little finger and thumb to compare a little bit, "It's just this tiny bit, as big as an ant, and it can be crushed to death with one foot."

Xiao Jue laughed out of anger and said lazily, "Then tell me, why do you like him? Even if you don't know who he is, your vision," he looked at He Yan, "is much lower than that of ordinary people."

Is he scolding Xu Zhiheng or himself? He Yan thought to herself, I never thought that when the young master got angry, he was really hard to appease. Why ask such an embarrassing question? It was like stabbing someone with a knife. But the person in front of her kept staring at her, and his beautiful eyes were full of scrutiny.

He Yan sighed: "At that time, I just thought this person was nice."

Xiao Jue smiled sarcastically.

"Do you remember the time when you secretly gave me a rabbit during the hunting trip in Dongshan?" He Yan asked.

"Um."

"In order to please the emperor, the teachers in Xianchang Hall asked the students to compete with all their heart and set a rule that if they did not catch any prey, they could not eat and would be hungry for the whole day."

He Yan still felt angry when he thought about it now, "The person who made this rule is simply sick. The death row prisoners were given a full meal, but they made such a cruel and inhumane punishment just because they didn't catch any prey... Although you gave me a rabbit that day, I let it go, so I didn't catch any prey."

It would be fine in the summer, but being hungry in the snow is really uncomfortable. When the hunting was over, He Yan looked at the young men around him who were returning with full loads, and felt very uncomfortable.

It was at that time that she met Xu Zhiheng.

At that time, Xu Zhiheng was just a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in green, looking handsome and gentle. He Yan walked towards the place where the bag was placed with an empty stomach. The snow on the ground was very deep. She had been going to the hunting ground since morning and did not come out until it was almost dark. She was really weak and did not pay attention to a stone buried in the snow. She kicked it accidentally and stumbled. Half of her body fell into the snow and she did not get up for a long time.

As she was playing in the snow, she suddenly heard a voice from the front: "Are you okay?"

He Yan raised his head and saw a young man in blue.

This young man looked unfamiliar, so he was probably not a student of Xianchang Academy. However, there were students from other academies who joined us in hunting today. I guess they were students from other academies.

He Yan was still in a daze, but the young man smiled, reached out and grabbed her hand and said, "I'll help you." He pulled her up from the snow.

She was still wearing a mask on her face, and the mask was cold, but the boy's hands were warm.

"My name is Xu Zhiheng. Are you from Xianchang Hall?"

He Yan nodded randomly.

"I heard that the rules of Xianchang Pavilion are very strict. If you don't hunt today, you will go hungry." Xu Zhiheng looked at her empty hands, "It's a pity that I didn't go hunting, otherwise I could have shared the prey with you."

She was a loner in Xianchang Hall and had no friends. Because of her mask, others thought she was not sociable and were reluctant to approach her. This was the first time she had met such a kind-hearted person. She didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Where are you going to get your bag?" Xu Zhiheng asked, "Can I help you? You can hardly walk."

He Yan was about to say no, but when he lifted his foot, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. It seemed that he had just sprained it. Thinking of this, he nodded slightly to the young man and said shyly, "Thank you." He pointed to the red bundle and said, "That's mine."

Xu Zhiheng turned around and went to the platform to help He Yan get the bag. After getting the bag back and handing it to He Yan, he helped her to the carriage where the students from Xianchang Hall were sitting before leaving.

At that time, He Yan looked at Xu Zhiheng's back and felt that this young man was really warm and considerate.

When they returned to Xianchang Hall, it was indeed a day without food. He Yan hid in the room alone and poured himself some hot tea. The more he drank, the hungrier he felt, and his stomach kept growling.

But what else could she do? Xianchang Hall had the strictest rules. Besides, she really didn't catch anything. If she really wanted to go, she couldn't bring herself to do it. After sitting for a while, He Yan sighed helplessly, took the bag, and prepared to put the paper and pen she brought during the day back. As soon as she opened the bag, two yellow loquats rolled out from it.

How come there are loquats at this time of year?

He Yan was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously picked up the loquat. The loquat was big and heavy, and you could faintly smell its fragrance. This bag had been placed on the high platform. During the hunting, the students only brought quivers and arrows for the sake of convenience. After thinking about it, the only person who had touched this bag was the young man in blue named Xu Zhiheng.

She peeled the loquat and took a small bite. The fruit was sweet. Thinking of the boy's face and smile just now, she felt that her luck today was not too bad.

A few years later, when He Yan returned from the battlefield and exchanged identities with He Rufei, when Madam He told her that she had arranged a marriage for her and the man's name was Xu Zhiheng, He Yan was surprised but also secretly happy. The women of the He family always paved the way for the men to get married. Compared to marrying a stranger she had never met, marrying Xu Zhiheng was obviously the best choice for her.

Regardless of how people outside praised Mr. Xu for his young and promising career, in He Yan's heart, she only felt that Xu Zhiheng, who was only in his teens at the time, could be so caring and considerate to someone he met by chance, so he must be a good person. At that time, she actually had many expectations for this marriage. Even though Xu Zhiheng later favored He Wanru, and He Wanru always showed off in front of her, but based on the two loquats when she was young, He Yan still had some fantasies about Xu Zhiheng.

Until he became blind, until Xu Zhiheng shattered this fantasy bit by bit with his own hands.

"So," Xiao Jue said playfully, "you like him just for two loquats?"

"I guess so." He Yan said, "I just think that he can be so considerate of other people's feelings and see through their plight. He is at least a good person."

"Your preferences are so random." Xiao Jue sneered, walked forward, took two steps, stopped, and said coldly: "Those two loquats were given by me."

He Yan was stunned.

He continued to walk towards the river. He Yan was stunned for a moment, then caught up with him and grabbed his sleeve. "How is that possible? Are you lying to me?"

Xiao Jue looked down at her with calm eyes.

When Lin Shuanghe proposed to give He Yan a rabbit, he was so annoyed that he shot one, but He Yan let it go. This reminded him of his childhood experience in the mountains, so he began to look at this seemingly insignificant kid differently. He also knew that the students who did not hunt today would be hungry for a day when they returned to Xianchang Hall.

As the first place winner of this hunt, Xiao Jue received many rewards. People in the palace even gave him some food, including two loquats.

Loquats in this season are not available everywhere. He had no interest in this sweet fruit. When he was leaving, he passed by the platform and saw a red bundle in the corner. He vaguely remembered that the bundle seemed to be from "He Rufei".

The kid didn't catch anything today. He would be hungry the whole night after returning home. It was winter, so he might have a hard time. He looked at the food basket in his hand and thought of the first time he met "He Rufei". He saw this guy standing under the loquat tree in the school, jumping up and down trying to pick loquats. It was so funny. After thinking for a while, he stopped, took the two loquats out of the food basket, and stuffed them into the red bag.

He Yan stammered, "No way? Was it really you who gave it to me?"

Xiao Jue looked at her quietly.

He Yan thought, this is over, it's like Xiao Jue did a good thing, but Xu Zhiheng took it away, how can I feel comfortable with this? But at this critical moment, how can I calm his anger.

"Today is your birthday. I forgot to take the lamp just now. What gift do you want..." She changed the subject clumsily and glanced at someone selling candied haws on the street across the street. She said, "Wait for me." She rushed over, bought a string of candied haws, ran back, and handed it to Xiao Jue: "Here you go!"

Xiao Jue turned his head away.

He might be really angry.

He Yan was in a dilemma. The past could not be undone. She had indeed been attracted to Xu Zhiheng and married him, but Xiao Jue had not. She had never experienced Xiao Jue's feelings at the moment, but she knew in her heart that it must be a difficult feeling.

He Yan circled around him, "Xiao Jue, Xiao Jue?"

Xiao Jue avoided her gaze and just looked at the gurgling river under the railing.

At some point, it started snowing, and snowflakes fell on her body. Away from the crowd at the night market, He Yan finally felt cold. She suddenly remembered what Qingmei had said to her before she left.

He Yan glanced at Xiao Jue, who still didn't look at her. She sneezed exaggeratedly and said to herself, "It's so cold."

The next moment, warmth descended from the sky. Xiao Jue turned around, took off his cloak and covered her with it. He finally turned around to look at her.

He Yan quickly took advantage of the situation and rushed in front of him, "Are you not angry anymore?"

Xiao Jue helped her tie the rope on the front of her cloak, but still ignored her.

His cape was so big that it almost enclosed He Yan. He Yan was afraid that he would be cold, so he moved very close to Xiao Jue, just like when he was drunk that night, he almost stuck to him. She tilted her head and teased Xiao Jue, "General Xiao, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have recognized the wrong person. Today is your birthday, don't be angry, smile? If you don't want to smile... have a bite of candied haws?"

She raised the candied haws and moved towards Xiao Jue's lips, but suddenly, her hand was grabbed.

He Yan was startled, and subconsciously raised his head, meeting his sparkling black eyes.

The young man's facial features have lost the delicate beauty of his youth, and are now like the moonlight on a snowy mountain, with clear and clean outlines, beautiful and distinct, like a flawless jade.

He held He Yan in one hand and pulled her towards him, holding her in his arms, then leaned over and kissed her.

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

Repeatedly test the edge of the shield.

Although I don't know how to continue without being blocked at the beginning of the next chapter.

I'm having a hard time?