Yan Changying’s screams finally ceased when she saw Yan Chuanxing.
Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed at her father, her expression as though separated by endless mountains and rivers, by the cycles of life and death.
Yan Chuanxing, a man accustomed to the fickleness of human emotions and the trials of the world, found himself unable to bear it. His heart ached under her gaze, and he nearly shed tears. He dared not approach, calling out from a distance with a pained voice, “Little Ying?”
Yan Changying did not respond, only letting her tears flow freely.
“Sister, it’s Father,” Yan Changfeng crouched beside her, holding her hand. “Weren’t you always worried about Father’s safety? He’s back, safe and sound. He wasn’t killed by bandits, our family won’t fall apart, and none of those terrible things will happen, understand?”
“Father…” Yan Changying murmured uncertainly, as if afraid this was all a dream.
Yan Chuanxing’s heart shattered at the sound of her calling him “Father.” Suppressing his own turmoil, he replied, “It’s Father, Little Ying, it’s Father.”
“Father, is it really you? I thought I’d never see you again!” Yan Changying sobbed like a child rescued from a den of wolves.
Yan Chuanxing stepped forward, his hands trembling as he carefully placed them on his daughter’s shoulders. Perhaps it was the warmth and strength these hands offered, long absent, that made Yan Changying do something unprecedented—she embraced someone other than her sister for the first time.
“Father! It’s so good that you’re alive. Xueyi and I won’t be left helpless anymore, and I won’t have to go to Beidu to rely on Maternal Grandmother…”
At this, her body shuddered violently, and she cried out in terror again, “I don’t want to go to Beidu! Father, please don’t make me go to Beidu. I’d rather become a nun than go to Beidu—there’s not a single good person in that family, the good ones don’t live long. I don’t want to marry, I’d rather die than marry!”
Yan Chuanxing’s heart ached as if pierced by a knife. Helpless, he could only soothe her, “Alright, alright, we won’t go to Beidu. We won’t marry. Little Ying, you can do whatever you want. Your mother and I will take care of everything.”
After calming Yan Changying, father and daughter emerged, exhausted in body and spirit. Looking up at the sky, they saw the night had grown pitch black. The autumn chill easily pierced their thin clothing, uprooting the warmth left in their bodies from summer and leaving behind a panic of the impending winter.
A sudden sense of despair washed over them both, and they couldn’t help but wonder: Will Little Ying ever recover?
Neither dared to hold out hope too easily.
“Father, I’ve decided. If this marriage cannot be canceled, I will go to Beidu in Eldest Sister’s place.”
Yan Changfeng had thought that seeing Father might improve Eldest Sister’s condition, but the result remained the same. This only strengthened her resolve: regardless of the outcome with Maternal Grandmother, she would not let Eldest Sister go to Beidu.
“Changfeng,” Yan Chuanxing sighed, walking as he spoke, “To be honest, I still can’t quite understand. Did your Eldest Sister become like this just because of a dream? Could it be some illness we don’t know about?”
Unlike Mother, Father did not believe in divine warnings or the like. He wanted to get to the root of the matter. After all, how could anyone accept that a perfectly fine daughter had suddenly become like this?
"Father, I can't make sense of it either." Yan Changfeng could only speak her mind to her father. "Even now, I'm just being pushed along by Eldest Sister's terrifying predictions—at first half-believing, then forced to believe, and now, gradually and inexplicably, I've come to accept them as truth. Of course we must treat Eldest Sister, using whatever methods we can, but my decision remains unchanged."
Yan Chuanxing could tell that these past days, his second daughter had borne immense pressure alone. She had to care for her sister and mother, hold the family together inside and out, and make decisive arrangements without hesitation. Had she wavered even slightly, they might not have received news in time, and encountering bandits unprepared would have been unthinkable.
"Changfeng, Beidu isn't a place we must go. It's just a marriage proposal—we can refuse it. Don't put too much pressure on yourself…"
"Please, Father, enough of that," Yan Changfeng interrupted before he could finish. "As if you'd dare say 'no' in front of Maternal Grandmother. I wonder who turns into a quail the moment they see her."
Yan Chuanxing: "…"
Sometimes he truly hated that his second daughter had such a sharp tongue.
"Do you know why there was trouble at the mine in Fengyang Prefecture?" Yan Changfeng set aside the jest. "Someone brought up the cave-in from two years ago that killed people, stirring up public outrage."
If they hadn't pried open Yaoniang's mouth and intervened in time, it might have become common knowledge.
Yan Chuanxing's expression turned grave as he immediately grasped the key point.
The mine in Fengyang Prefecture was nominally owned by the Yan Family but was actually co-owned with the Deqing Marquisate. The Deqing Marquisate was Lady Yao's maternal family, and many of the Yan Family's businesses were connected to the marquisate.
While relying on the marquisate in business brought great advantages, the cost was high, mainly in having little autonomy over many matters. The Yao Family's business affairs were managed by Second Master Yao, Lady Yao's second brother—a man driven by quick success, obsessed with profit, and fond of meddling, often giving Yan Chuanxing headaches.
The accident two years ago was caused by him. In his haste to mine an unexplored area, he triggered the tragedy. Fortunately, casualties were minimal, and the Yan Family promptly compensated and handled the aftermath, so it never became public.
Regardless of how Zhang Mingshun learned of it, his audacity to challenge the Deqing Marquisate indicated the matter was far from simple.
"You mean this involves…"
"Father, let's not speculate on state affairs," Yan Changfeng reminded him. With esteemed guests now staying in their home, walls had ears, and some words were better left unsaid. She shifted to comforting her father with a smile. "Our family must eventually send someone to Beidu—to maintain kinship ties, and also because I want to experience the business world there. Who knows, perhaps one day the Yan Family's enterprises will span both north and south."
Yan Chuanxing sighed with a mix of melancholy and relief. He grieved that his precious daughter could not live carefree and happy but had to shoulder the family's burdens; yet he was comforted that the next generation still had a child capable of bearing such weight, lest their vast family estate invite endless crises.
Though the family was reunited tonight, few slept peacefully. Lady Yao and her husband wept half the night, pouring out the worries and fears accumulated over the past days. Yan Changqing, heartbroken, also lay awake.
As for Yan Changfeng, she was troubled by her mother's request that she take Prince of Shu and Pei Er out for a stroll the next day.
It wasn't about worrying how to have fun, but rather how to face Pei Er's face. She now constantly wanted to chop that hypocritical face into mincemeat, fearing that tomorrow she might not be able to hold back and do something irreversible.
"Achoo—!"
Early in the morning, just after getting up, Pei Xiu sneezed several times in a row, startling his attendant Bajiao, who immediately brought him winter clothes.
"Second Young Master, you really shouldn't go out today. Tomorrow we'll be returning to Beidu, and the journey will be tiring without proper rest. If it gets worse, that would be terrible."
"It's not that serious… cough, cough… just a bit of an itchy throat." Pei Xiu's nose was a bit stuffy from sneezing, and his voice sounded muffled. "Wearing winter clothes at this time of year is too much. Do you want to smother me?"
"Who says it's not serious!"
Just then, Sheng Mingyu from the next room yawned and walked in uninvited. Dark circles hung heavily under his eyes, and he looked utterly exhausted, clearly having slept poorly. "You coughed all night long last night. I could hear it from next door. Better put on more clothes sooner rather than later."
"Your Highness Prince of Shu, you're one to talk," Bajiao complained. "Why didn't you stop him last night when our Second Young Master was eating fish and crab? You know perfectly well he can't handle those things."
Bajiao was an honest lad, wholly devoted to his young master. He would intervene in anything that wasn't good for the Second Young Master, even if the other party was a prince.
Sheng Mingyu cried out in protest, "Ask your young master if I tried to stop him or not! Last night, I blinked my eyes so hard they nearly cramped up, but he was too busy being smitten to pay me any attention. He ate every single dish Second Miss served him without even glancing my way. What could I do?"
Hearing this, Bajiao looked at his young master in astonishment. "Good heavens, is that true, Young Master? Is this a case of the iron tree blooming? Have you taken a fancy to Second Miss?"
Pei Xiu lifted his eyelids and glared at him, about to say something, when they heard Prince of Shu's servant shout from outside: "Good morning, Second Miss!"