Chapter 04 Cold Wind

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the crows flew south.

Ning Yuan finished her bath and lay back on the bed, stroking Su Jin who was covering the quilt.

It was cold and soft, like the running water that she could not catch when she was struggling.

She shuddered and huddled closer in the quilt. She turned over, bent her knees and curled herself into a ball. When she raised her eyes, she saw the outer robe that she had casually put on the back of the chair.

The courtyard was quiet and silent, except for the moonlight that penetrated the window and intertwined with the snow-white robe to form a cold silence.

She thought of the pair of light and indifferent amber eyes at the right time.

At that time, Shen Yan looked down at her like this.

Maybe he was too confident in his own arrangements, or maybe he was quite proud of his foresight. In short, he had no worries or concerns for her who was still frightened and struggling in the water.

Although he protected her, he only prevented her from dying.

As for whether she was afraid or cold, he didn't ask any more questions.

Even when he was in Changchun Palace, he didn't ask her if she wanted to summon the imperial physician. He just acted like a rogue so that she could see him again under the pretext of sending clothes.

Alas, Shen Yan has always been like this.

Although he has always loved her deeply, he really doesn't know much about love.

The memories of her past with Shen Yan flooded into Ning Yuan's mind.

Although they were engaged, her mother suffered a dystocia when she was born, and died soon after.

After that, Mingwei married into the Ning Mansion and seldom interacted with the Shen family.

She and Shen Yan had almost never met in private.

She remembered the year when she was six years old.

That was the first time she met Shen Yan.

At that time, the late emperor was still alive, and the current majesty was still a prince, and Shen Yan was his companion.

The Wanshou Festival banquet happened to snow heavily.

After the children of various families left the banquet, they found an abandoned palace to play snowball fights.

At that time, her relationship with her sister Ning Li was not as estranged as it is now, and she joined in with the invitation of Princess Zhaohui.

When they were having fun, Zhaohui suddenly suggested playing a snowball fight version of the scarecrow.

The rules are the same as those of an ordinary scarecrow. She can move when the command is given, but must remain still immediately after the command is given.

The commander can make a snowball and throw it at one of them. If the person dodges unconsciously, it is considered a failure.

She is an honest and stubborn person. Whenever someone throws a snowball at her, she tries her best to stay still.

But for some reason, all the children like to pick her to be hit.

Some people's snowballs are scattered, and when they hit her, they break into pieces and melt on her body, easily soaking her clothes.

Some people's snowballs are firm and hard like small stones. Even through the cotton clothes, they still hurt her.

In the end, her clothes were soaked by the snow, and she felt cold and painful all over, looking extremely ferocious.

But they had not violated the rules, and she could not say anything. She was also afraid that she would be excluded if she expressed her dissatisfaction, so she had to hold back her tears and remain silent.

It was Shen Yan who was passing by who spoke first.

He stopped everyone, walked up to her, stared at her red eyes and nose, and frowned.

"Are you Ning Yuan?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Didn't you promise my mother that you would go find her after lunch? Why are you still here playing with others?"

"Just come with me."

She was a little confused.

She didn't know who his mother was, and she hadn't promised anyone to go find her after the banquet, but since he said so, she wouldn't be beaten, so she hurriedly followed him.

Who knew that after he led her through two corridors, she didn't see the "mother" he mentioned.

"Who are you?"

She stopped first, a little alert.

"Shen Yan, Shen Zhiyu."

He stopped, his amber eyes seemed to be soaked in the drifting snow, and looked a little indifferent.

...The son of the Shen family who was said to have had an engagement with her as a child?

Ning Yuan was a little nervous, but suddenly felt a little grateful.

It seems that he is a good man. After growing up and marrying him, he will treat her well, right?

The boy's voice was light: "Didn't you notice that they only threw snowballs at you?"

She nodded obediently.

"I know."

"Then why are you still playing with them?" The mockery in the boy's eyes was obvious, "Do you know why they are like this?"

For some reason, he was a little disappointed that they could not make up for each other.

The girl lowered her head and thought for a long time, then blinked her clear eyes.

She knew, but she didn't want to say it.

It was simply because her mother had no children and died early, so there was no one to support her.

But she didn't want to look bad in front of him, so she made up an excuse and said, "Maybe... maybe Princess Zhaohui is jealous that I'm prettier than her."

Who knew that Shen Yan took a deep breath, said "Take care of yourself," and turned away.

At that time, he would save her from the water and fire, but he never comforted her, and he wouldn't even lend her his cloak to keep her warm.

Ning Yuan's eyes fell on the snow-white robe again, and suddenly she realized that after so many years, Shen Yan had made some progress.

At least he would lend her clothes.

No, Ning Yuan, getting married is a very cautious thing for women, and you can't lower your requirements for men.

She shook her head and reminded herself.

Come to think of it, if it weren't for what happened today, she would never have recalled the rescue in her childhood.

Now that she thinks about it, maybe Shen Yan already thought she was very special at that time.

Otherwise, he could have asked Zhao Hui to leave.

...But he was ten years old at that time, and she was only six years old!

He could barely be considered a teenager, but she was really just a young girl.

What a beast.

As Ning Yuan thought about it, he felt a little dizzy. He couldn't remember what day it was or where he was. He just felt vaguely that he was the same as he was back then, a little cold and a little hot, sweating all over, but he felt that the quilt was not thick enough.

In the Shen Mansion, Shen Yan, who was lying quietly on the bed, was also not sleepy.

The voices in his mind overlapped, disturbing him from sleeping.

It was understandable that Ning Yuan thought he was unlucky, and he could forgive the villain's fault.

But she said he was a beast, which was really nonsense.

He remembered the incident that Ning Yuan mentioned very clearly.

Thanks to his mother's nagging, he knew since he was a child that Ning Yuan had an engagement with the soft and tender white dumpling from the Ningguo Mansion, who looked easy to bully, so he meddled in other people's business and offered his help.

At that time, he did not dislike her.

After all, marriage between noble families is a very normal thing. As long as marrying the other party is beneficial to the family and the other party is a normal-minded young lady, he can accept it.

He thought Ning Yuan was just simple-minded and did not realize that the group of people were targeting her.

Who would have thought that she knew it clearly, but still wanted to play with those people.

At that time, he felt that she was a little confused.

He asked her in detail, but she replied that it was because Zhao Hui was jealous of her good looks.

That was really a little superficial and stupid.

That group of people are all children of aristocratic families, and their parents are all from famous backgrounds, but she has lost her mother, and her father doesn't love her much. If not bullying her, who else could he bully?

Since this answer, he felt that his engagement with Ning Yuan was really a mess.

He would never fall in love with such a stupid and shallow girl.

But the soft voice in his mind did not stop, sometimes saying it was hot, and sometimes saying it was cold.

Shen Yan's originally calm heart was completely disturbed, and he was immediately furious.

Don't you even know how to call a doctor when you are sick?

How did you live to this age when you can't take care of yourself?

He sat up, held his forehead, and called the servant guarding the door, "Mingjue, call the doctor and go to Ning Mansion to see what's wrong with Ning Yuan."

It's better not to be in the brain.

Mingjue was a little surprised when he heard this.

The young master always didn't like others to mention Miss Ning in front of him, why did he suddenly change his nature?

Why did he care about Miss Ning?

But it was late at night, this is not good, right?

Mingjue said embarrassedly: "Will it be..."

Before the four words "too offensive" came out, he was interrupted by Shen Yan and said: "Why are you talking so much, just go."

"It's annoying."

Mingjue could only say "oh" and left in a hurry.

On the way, he couldn't figure it out. He just said three more words, what was wrong with him?

The more Ning Yuan slept, the more she felt something was wrong.

She was probably sick.

She put her hand to her forehead and felt her palm was terribly hot. She was about to open her mouth to call Soxing, but she found that her voice was very hoarse. She had to force herself to throw the teacup that was always placed on the bedside.

The white porcelain fell to the ground, and the sound of shattering spread out into the room. Soxing hurriedly opened the door, but saw that her young lady's face was red and not normal.

She rushed to the bed and helped her up: "Miss, do you have a fever?"

Ning Yuan nodded.

"...Finally, you have a fever."

It was so late, Dad must have gone to bed, and to ask for a doctor from the inner courtyard, Mingwei's consent was needed, but she would definitely not give in easily.

She thought for a moment, then said weakly, "Go, find the tenth volume from the left in the third row of my bookshelf, turn five pages, there is a prescription for treating colds... Then follow the custom, get out through the dog hole in the corner of our yard wall, and get me some medicine."

Zhuxing didn't delay, nodded and agreed, and ran out in a hurry.

In front of Ning Mansion, Mingjue brought the doctor, but was stopped outside the gate.

The gatekeeper explained for the fifth time, "You are a foreign man after all, please be patient, someone has been sent to inform the lady."

"My son ordered me to find a female doctor to treat Miss Ning. I don't need to go in, you can just bring the doctor in."

Mingjue was a little impatient.

Why is the efficiency of this Ning Mansion so low?

They had been waiting for an incense stick.

Finally someone came and hurriedly whispered a few words to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper understood and hurriedly said to the doctor: "Miss Ning is indeed unwell, please come with me."

The doctor nodded and followed with the medicine box. Mingjue wanted to follow, but was stopped again.

The man looked embarrassed: "It is still inconvenient for you to go in. Don't worry, the doctor will definitely take a good look at the young lady."

*

After Xing prepared the medicine for Ning Yuan, she drank it with bitterness, and finally drove away some of the cold.

She was wrapped in the quilt, and felt faintly sweating. She heard Suo Xing sigh and said, "Miss, when I was boiling the medicine just now, I heard that the second young lady called a doctor in the middle of the night."

"Ning Li? What happened to her?"

She herself fell into the water until now, and her family didn't care. How come Ning Li spent a day in peace, but called a doctor overnight.

"I don't know." Suo Xing shook her head, staring at her dress stained with grass debris, and said, "Alas, I don't know when this hard life will end. Apart from the monthly allowance, there is no care from the young lady." "

Maybe it will be better when the young lady marries Lord Shen."

Ning Yuan closed her eyes and pouted.

Come on.

Shen Yan is very similar to her father. If you don't happen to be miserable in front of him, he won't take the initiative to ask more questions.

If she married him, wouldn't she have to live such a miserable life for the rest of her life?

She said nonchalantly, "I don't think it's possible."

There were only two ways to resolve this evil fate between her and Shen Yan.

Either he became gentle and considerate, or she found another good man.

Compared to the former, she felt that the latter was more realistic.

"Okay, I'm going to sleep. You should also have some rest. I'm sorry for making you suffer, little star."

"...You're so corny, miss."

Ning Yuan turned over with a smile, feeling sleepy.

On the other side, Shen Yan, whose mind had finally calmed down, was completely out of sleep.

From her voice, one could roughly infer what happened in the Ning Mansion tonight. He

didn't expect that the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion could live in such a miserable state.

No wonder she was sick and refused to take the initiative to see a doctor.

Putting aside the useless Mingjue, the way she handled it was beyond his expectation.

He didn't know she had such a decisive skill.

In such an environment, hiding one's shortcomings is indeed a way to protect oneself, but one cannot just let others do whatever they want. The best thing is to find a way to save oneself.

The unrepaired dog hole in the corner of the yard and the prescriptions mixed in the book... She

is so familiar with it, I am afraid she has used it many times.

It turns out that she can be smart sometimes.

Waste...

This is what Ning Yuan usually says.

Maybe because he heard it too much today, even he unconsciously learned her tone.

Thinking of this, Shen Yan was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but recall that beautiful face that always looked good with light or heavy makeup.

She always had a timid and innocent look, and she didn't have any intelligence on weekdays, not at all like a high-ranking lady from a noble family.

At that time, in the corridor full of wind and snow, what did she say?

She said that Zhao Hui was jealous of her good looks.

He thought about it and felt that although Zhao Hui was coquettish, her vision was barely good.