Heavy snow fell throughout the entire night.
When Xie Ning awoke, a blanket of endless white stretched across the world outside, yet the room was filled with comforting warmth as the charcoal stove crackled softly, its vigorous flames burning at a steady pace. She felt an intense thirst. Barely swallowing with difficulty, a cup of warm water was delivered right before her.
There was no scent of orchid, yet the person remained that very same individual.
Gazing at the figure before her, Xie Ning felt momentarily dazed.
Xiao Rong nudged the warm water a little closer, “Hmm?”
Muddled yet obedient, Xie Ning instinctively took a few sips.
Observing her blank, dazed expression, Xiao Rong could not help reaching out to gently rub Xie Ning’s fine, soft hair, “How obedient!”
Xie Ning flinched. Before the flushed redness on her overheated cheeks could fade, she pushed Xiao Rong away with a feeble effort and turned her head away.
Xiao Rong fell silent for a brief moment before bursting into a soft laugh. She felt that the blushing Xie Ning at this moment was simply adorable beyond measure! Compared to her prickly or overly polite demeanors when lively and well, the difference was like night and day, causing the Eldest Princess’s heart to soften along with it.
She had guarded Xie Ning through the night. For no other reason than wanting to see what further gibberish Xie Ning might blabber out. However, after being fed the medicine brewed by the physician, Xie Ning stopped talking in her sleep. Feeling intensely weary herself, the Eldest Princess simply ordered the warm pavilion to be readied and settled for a makeshift rest, sleeping peacefully through the night.
It was only that Xie Ning had taken so long to wake up, leaving Xiao Rong unable to set her mind at ease. Fortunately, as noon approached, she finally witnessed Xie Ning regain consciousness.
Hearing her unreserved laughter, the redness on Xie Ning’s face deepened even further. Indignant at heart, she turned back around to give another push, speaking with a touch of embarrassed annoyance, “Xiao Rong!”
Hearing her call her directly by name once more, a look of surprise involuntarily surfaced in Xiao Rong’s eyes. She harbored an indescribable sensation, as if Xie Ning hid some secret within her… Yet how extraordinarily clever was the Eldest Princess? She made no overt reaction to Xie Ning’s offense; with a single blink, the surprise vanished completely. Instead, she reached out affectionately once again to check the temperature on her forehead, “Let me see if you are still running a fever?”
Xie Ning was indeed still somewhat feverish. She carried numerous wounds across her body; although treated in time, she had been exposed to the freezing cold for a prolonged duration. Coupled with her naturally frail constitution and years of malnutrition, this ordeal had nearly claimed half her life.
Xie Ning’s mind was indeed not entirely clear, especially after opening her eyes to find herself in Xiao Rong’s private villa, which muddled her head even further. When the Eldest Princess asked if she was still running a fever, she did not answer, merely uttering, “Why is this mattress different?”
It seemed other details were different as well.
Though the villa was still that same villa, the interior decorations appeared excessively opulent. Xie Ning felt somewhat dazed. In her past life, to win her favor, Xiao Rong had specifically furnished the villa with many old items from Bianyang Pass; even the bedspreads featured patterns from Xie Ning’s hometown. Yet looking at it now, the bedding consisted entirely of soft silk duvets, and even the warm brick bed in the room was nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by the initial charcoal stove—
The initial… Xie Ning’s eyes snapped wide open, her consciousness returning with delayed realization.
Thoughtful, Xiao Rong feigned ignorance, asking her, “How was it supposed to be?”
Xie Ning’s spine stiffened instantly, her brain spinning at rapid speed. Bolting upright, she scrambled onto her knees on the bed in a panic, “Your Highness!”
Xiao Rong’s expression froze slightly. Due to Xie Ning’s sudden kneel, her heart unexpectedly felt suspended in uncertainty. Remaining silent, she merely kept her eyes fixed on Xie Ning.
Xie Ning broke into a cold sweat, “I was truly muddled by my illness and committed many offenses; I pray Your Highness bestows forgiveness!”
Hearing these words, the heart that Xiao Rong had held suspended settled down completely, though a trace of disappointment was unavoidable, “Since you are ill, I naturally shall not hold it against you.” Noticing the wounds covering Xie Ning’s body, she let out a quiet sigh in her heart, rising to her feet, “Enough, get plenty of rest.”
Xie Ning bowed her head, “Thank you, Your Highness!” Yet lowering her head, she realized the clothes on her body had been changed, “Your Highness, my… my clothes…”
“Thrown away!” Xiao Rong said, “Dirty and torn could you possibly wear them onto my bed?”
Xie Ning had originally wanted to ask who had helped change her clothes, but hearing this, she could only keep her head lowered with a flushed face, daring to speak no further.
Feeling somewhat irritable, Xiao Rong waved her hand to take her leave. Turning back just as she reached the doorway, she saw Xie Ning still kneeling in farewell. While this was standard etiquette between a ruler and a subordinate, the Eldest Princess suddenly found it quite eyesore. Unwilling to bottle up her displeasure, she said maliciously, “By the way, while you were asleep, you kept calling me directly by name. Xie Ning, that counts as extreme disrespect toward me!” Pausing deliberately, she added, “You had better give it some careful thought. Once you recover from your illness, come and explain it to me yourself.”
However, without waiting for Xie Ning to open her mouth, she opened the door and departed on her own.
Leaving Xie Ning alone in the room, filled with utter regret! She should not have fallen ill! No, she should not have appeared before Xiao Rong while ill! That wasn’t right either—it was clearly Xiao Rong who had suddenly appeared right before her…
Wait, that was not the point!
Xie Ning’s groggy head grew even dizzier, unable to untangle the mess how was she supposed to explain this? Given her current status compared to Xiao Rong’s, even if she talked until the heavens fell, she could not justify calling the Eldest Princess by her name!
Of course, she did not yet know that she had uttered “Changyi” an intimate, pillow-talk term and the Eldest Princess had no intention of revealing it to her either.
Calling her “Xiao Rong” could still be explained, but calling her “Changyi”… Brilliant as the Eldest Princess was, she instinctively did not even wish to hear an explanation for that.
Another maidservant arrived to deliver medicine.
Fearing no bitterness, Xie Ning wished for nothing more than to recover quickly and depart from this place. The moment the medicine was handed to her, she drained it in a single gulp, leaving the maidservant utterly stunned!
Xie Ning paid no mind to any of that; she truly needed to think carefully about how to explain things to Xiao Rong. However, whether due to her frail physical state or the medicine taking effect, she sank into a groggy slumber again before long. Her dreams flickered between intimate moments with the Xiao Rong of her past life and the unfamiliar Eldest Princess of this current life, causing Xie Ning to break into wave after wave of anxious sweat.
Fortunately, as day after day passed, Xie Ning finally devised a reasonable explanation. Yet by the time her fever had completely broken and she was preparing to depart, Xiao Rong never showed up again.
It is better if she does not come, Xie Ning thought to herself. If they were never to meet again in the future, the events of these past few days could simply be treated as if they had never occurred.
Gazing at this unfamiliar yet familiar villa, Xie Ning’s heart was filled with a tapestry of complex feelings.
Especially looking up, she spotted the locust tree peeking over the southern wall of the courtyard.
The other decorations in the villa differed from her memories, save for this single locust tree, which had already grown to look identical to her past life. At this moment, the locust tree was covered in snow, just like every winter she had spent with Xiao Rong before. Its branches were clad in silver, and the snow piled on its canopy connected together like a massive open umbrella, half inside the courtyard and half outside.
Xie Ning stood, gazing at the courtyard draped in a layer of white, staring at that bare locust tree resting against the southern wall—just as she used to do when guarding the bedside after Xiao Rong fell asleep from exhaustion.
In the past, staring at that old locust tree, Xie Ning had asked herself countlessly: What did this intimate entanglement with Xiao Rong truly amount to? How many days could such a life last? When the day arrived for her to truly wed, what was to be done?
She and Xiao Rong had no future, just like the old locust tree on the southern wall. Once autumn passed, no matter how beautiful the flowers and leaves were, they could only wither and fall. Except the locust tree could await the next spring, whereas the next spring she and Xiao Rong awaited would be her wedding day.
Xiao Rong had never brought up their future on her own initiative, and though Xie Ning wished to ask, she could never bring herself to utter the words.
Thus, all unspoken emotions dissolved into the warmth of fingertips, ending in a stifling, passionate heat.
They maintained a unspoken understanding never to demand a promise from one another, for both knew their respective lack of freedom. Yet on that day at the Gate of Supreme Peace, learning that Xiao Rong also harbored ambitions for the throne, Xie Ning could not help thinking: If Xiao Rong ascended the throne as Emperor and was no longer controlled by the old Emperor, would she and Xiao Rong have a different future?
Of course, Xie Ning never got to see that future. She had chosen her own future instead.
And now, this was the future Xie Ning had chosen for herself.
Sinking out from her memories, Xie Ning exhaled a gentle breath and bade farewell to the old servant left behind.
The suburban villa was far from the Gate of Supreme Peace. Walking along the path, Xie Ning had already learned of the upheaval at the General’s Manor.
Sure enough, before she even reached the Gate of Supreme Peace, personnel from the City Patrol rushed up to meet her, “Miss Xie?”
Upon confirming it was her, the guard who found her hurriedly called out, “Quickly report to Commander Wang—Miss Xie has been found!”
Before long, City Patrol Commander Wang Zhan personally brought a team to receive her, acting exceedingly attentive, “Miss Xie, we have finally found you!” Though Wang Zhan was past fifty, he had always possessed a robust physique. Yet the case of the Xie father and daughter mistakenly entering Wild Boar Forest—especially the death of Xie Yuanshan—had nearly claimed Wang Zhan’s life. At this moment, half his hair had actually turned white, his expression worn and exhausted beyond belief, lacking the slightest trace of his former authoritative dignity! Seeing Xie Ning, old tears streamed down his face; his head had finally been spared! Thus, looking at Xie Ning was like looking at a living Bodhisattva, personally escorting her back to the manor with immense respect while giving detailed explanations along the way
“Miss Xie, it is all this old man’s fault! I governed with lax discipline and neglected management, leading you and General Xie to mistakenly enter Wild Boar Forest”
“Heaven truly envies talent! General Xie was a pillar of the nation, yet he passed away just like that. This old man truly deserves ten thousand deaths for his crime! However, Miss Xie might not be aware that I have both elderly and young at home. If I were to follow General Xie to the grave to express my apology, where would that leave my family?”
“If one were to strictly reckon it, General Xie and I could be considered relatives by marriage. The General’s wife and my daughter-in-law were born of the same mother we are one family after all! Counting carefully, Miss Xie ought to call me grand-uncle! Now that General Xie has passed away, since I am a relative, if you or your mother face any trouble in the future, feel free to seek me out, and I will certainly do everything in my power!”
“I only hope that when the Emperor summons you, my grand-niece can take pity on an old man like me and speak a few good words on my behalf! By the way, those two duty officers who neglected their watch have already been thrown into prison by me; I shall never show them leniency!”
…
Wang Zhan wracked his brains to gain Xie Ning’s sympathy. Truth was, the Emperor in the palace had flown into a violent rage; when news reached the palace, Wang Zhan had nearly lost his head on the spot! Had it not been for the Emperor hearing that Xie Ning’s corpse had not been found and ordering the City Patrol to search with all their might—demanding to see her alive or her corpse if dead, and warning that if no one was found within three days, not only would Wang Zhan lose his head, but even his descendants would be implicated.
Under such circumstances, even if everyone in the City Patrol deduced that Xie Ning had been devoured clean by wild boars, they dared not report another word, forced to search day and night across all directions for Xie Ning’s whereabouts.
Xie Ning remained silent, only expressing shock after hearing everything, “What did you say?”
“My father—what happened to my father?”
Her face was filled with panic, her words faltering, “Officer Wang, that’s impossible! The day I ran away from home, my father was still energetically beating my mother, beating her nearly to death—by the way, how is my mother?”
Wang Zhan hurriedly replied, “Rest assured, rest assured, Mrs. Xie has already regained consciousness!”
“My mother has been beaten by my father for so many years and remained fine how could my father possibly die? That day I was truly terrified by the way my father was beating my mother. Fearing that in his fury he might beat me as well, I ran away from home through the night. Having nowhere to go, I just wanted to head back to Bianyang Pass…”
Xie Ning choked up, “I never expected that right after leaving the Gate of Supreme Peace, before I had traveled far, I passed by a patch of woods and heard strange cries. My horse was spooked and threw me off! I was terrified and didn’t dare enter the woods, so I just hid outside”
Hearing this, Wang Zhan slapped his thigh, “Good grand-niece! Thank goodness you didn’t enter those woods with the strange cries!”
“You wouldn’t know, but those woods are called Wild Boar Forest. In past years, because few people passed by and the foliage was dense, many wild beasts loved to venture inside. Our City Patrol dispatches guards every year to warn passersby to stay far away, as homicides have occurred there before!” Wang Zhan sighed, “Now it seems General Xie went looking for you, assuming you had entered Wild Boar Forest, and mistakenly entered as well! Who could have known”
Xie Ning stared blankly, “Are you saying my father, Xie Yuanshan, was mauled to death by wild boars?”
Wang Zhan’s hair was turning white from worry as he nodded with great difficulty.
“How could that be!” Xie Ning cried out, “My father was the Zhenyuan General! Born with immense physical strength! How could a mere wild boar maul my father to death!”
Looking at the young girl’s shocked and pained demeanor, Wang Zhan sighed, “Grand-niece, you don’t know those wild boars are unlike other beasts. They often move in packs, ranging from one or two to as many as ten or more. The group General Xie encountered was a pack! Your father was indeed heroic, even slaying several wild boars, but after all, two fists cannot withstand four hands. Judging from the inspection of the site, General Xie likely suffered severe injuries while battling the final wild boar. The boar’s tusk pierced straight through General Xie’s throat, yet General Xie also drove a spear through its head to kill it a true top-tier hero indeed! What a tragic shame”
Wang Zhan shook his head and sighed, genuinely admiring Xie Yuanshan, truly regretting his passing, and deeply anxious about his own fate.
Xie Ning remained stunned for a good while, “This matter… does my mother know?”
“We haven’t dared to tell Mrs. Xie yet…”
“Don’t tell her yet!” Xie Ning shouted, “My father where is my father’s body? I want to go take a look; I don’t believe my father could be mauled to death by wild boars!”
She needed to see Xie Yuanshan’s corpse with her own eyes before she could truly set her mind at ease.