A city in the snowstorm.
The servants left in the Yuwen Mansion had hardly seen any of the masters all day. Early in the morning, Duke Sheng left, then the Great General departed, and soon after, the Young Madam was summoned to the palace. The only ti the Great General returned to the mansion was in the afternoon, but upon hearing that the Young Madam had entered the palace, he left again without even changing clothes and hadn’t returned by nightfall.
The eldest servant, Jinyun, anxiously stood with a group of people at the main gate, standing in the wind and snow, staring intently down the long street.
It was unclear how much ti had passed before the sound of urgent horse hooves echoed through the deep snowy landscape.
Jinyun hurried down the steps and looked up to see Yu Wenye riding on horseback, holding a slender figure in his arms. She was wrapped in a thick wind cloak, her whole face almost buried in his chest, as they suddenly erged from the wind and snow and stopped at the mansion’s gate.
Jinyun quickly said, "Second Young Master!"
Yu Wenye said nothing, just carried the person in his arms and swiftly dismounted. The cloak slipped off his shoulder, revealing the person he was holding was none other than the Young Madam, Shang Ruyi, who had been summoned to the palace.
There seed to be tear stains on her face, but with just a quick glance, Yu Wenye imdiately picked her up horizontally and turned to walk into the mansion. The others hadn’t seen anything clearly, only hearing Yu Wenye loudly ordering as he walked inside, "Prepare hot water!"
They hurriedly followed to serve.
Not until two quarters of an hour later did the carriage and maid Tushere, who went to the palace with Shang Ruyi, return to the mansion. When asked what had happened, Tushere could only stamr out that she didn’t know, so the others dared not ask more and quickly went to the backyard to serve the two masters.
It remained busy until midnight.
It was not until 9 PM that everything finally cald down.
When Yu Wenye also finished bathing, washed off the snow and cold, and changed into white sleepwear, he returned to the room to find Shang Ruyi leaning against the bedhead—although she had also bathed warmly, her face was still pale. Her tear stains were washed away, but the corners of her eyes and nose remained slightly red. Combined with her dazed and wooden expression, highlighted by her exceptionally bright and watery eyes from crying, she seed exceptionally pitiful.
Yu Wenye slowly walked over, seeing her still, and sat on the bed, looking at her at eye level.
Only at this mont did Shang Ruyi seem to regain a bit of awareness.
She slowly raised her head and t those deep eyes.
For once, Yu Wenye’s face did not bear its usual cold and indifferent expression. Instead, illuminated by the orange candlelight, there was a hint of warmth and tenderness. His voice too was no longer harsh and cold—
"Feeling any better?"
"..."
She wanted to answer but felt her throat was parched and didn’t want to make a terrible sound as soon as she spoke, so she just nodded gently.
Yu Wenye’s brows furrowed even more tightly.
He leaned closer towards her, even allowing the warm, lingering scent of bath herbs on him to blend into her, naturally, including his repressed and urgent breath.
He asked, "What did you encounter when you went into the palace today?"
"..."
"Why did you cry?"
"..."
"Who did what to you?!"
The more he asked, the firr his tone beca.
At the palace gate, he saw her continuously in tears but couldn’t get a word out no matter how he asked. Even as she gradually lost her warmth in the snow, trembling in his arms, Yu Wenye couldn’t care that Tushere and the carriage were waiting not far away; he wrapped his wind cloak around her and carried her onto the horse, galloping back to the mansion.
Now, in the warm room, at least a familiar place, he still couldn’t find any answers.
What exactly did she encounter today?
Yu Wenye was a bit unable to contain his temper, but he couldn’t bear to vent his anger at the fragile woman before him. He could only grit his teeth, restrainingly reaching to grasp her chin and pinching hard, "Speak!"
Shang Ruyi shuddered slightly.
The lancholy between her brows seed crushed by this mont. She glanced at Yu Wenye, her nose suddenly feeling a little sore again.
She didn’t speak, just lowered her head.
Her face, however, seed even redder than before.
This made Yu Wenye even more anxious, yet he didn’t know how to vent. He could only grit his teeth, staring at Shang Ruyi, but seeing her hands slowly erging from beneath the quilt covering her.
In her hands, she was holding a brocade box.
Yu Wenye was montarily stunned.
It seed that he saw sothing in her hand at Xuanren Gate, but at that ti, he was preoccupied with her tears, focusing only on bringing her back, without asking. Unexpectedly, she was now presenting it herself, slowly offering it to him.
Yu Wenye frowned, "What is this?"
When Shang Ruyi spoke, her voice was still nasal and delayed, hoarsely saying, "It’s for you."
"What is it?"
"A prescription."
"Prescription?"
Yu Wenye furrowed his brows deeply, even more confused by her words, and didn’t even take the box, just staring at her: "Where did this prescription co from? Why give it to ?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at him again, lowered her head, and said softly: "The princess asked to pass it on to you."
As she spoke, she gently sniffled.
"..."
Yu Wenye’s previously anxious emotions suddenly eased at this mont, and even the burning impatience vanished instantly. He slowly reached out to take the box, stood up, and set it aside. After a while, he suddenly turned back to sit by the bed, his breath tense, and his gaze intensely fixed on Shang Ruyi’s reddened eyes: "Are you crying because of this?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi looked up at him, her eyes sowhat dazed, but when she spoke, her tone was firm: "No!"
"No?"
"No, it’s not..."
It was unclear if she was not firm enough or for so other reason, but the second "no" she uttered was already sowhat powerless, even her breath weakening. Yu Wenye’s eyes twitched slightly, as if smiling, yet also seed angry. He leaned closer and said: "Then what is it?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi didn’t speak anymore, just lowered her eyes.
There was already a distinct smile on Yu Wenye’s face. He was about to say sothing when he saw the little girl leaning against the headboard, her face already flushed red. At this mont, she swayed slightly and suddenly fell headfirst into his arms.
"...!"
Yu Wenye was stunned and instinctively reached out to support her.
Only by holding her did he feel the scorching body temperature imdiately transfer through the clothing to his hand. Yu Wenye’s heart sank, and he hurriedly reached out to touch her forehead.
"Shang Ruyi, why didn’t you say you had a fever earlier?"
"Hmm?"
The person in his arms let out a sound that seed confused, perhaps completely bewildered, a murmur. Yu Wenye was about to say sothing else, but when he looked down, he saw that the person in his arms was weak and powerless, her flushed cheeks resting on his chest. Her eyes were barely open, as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, only managing to glance up at him one last ti before the slight glimr extinguished in his arms.
"...Shang Ruyi? Shang Ruyi!"
He called her na again, but no one heard it, as Shang Ruyi had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Although her cheeks were flushed, and the breaths she exhaled were hotter than usual, Yu Wenye could tell that compared to catching a chill, this seed more like an illness caused by internal emotional turmoil. Seeing her sleep relatively peacefully, it didn’t appear too severe.
So, he carefully supported her shoulders with both hands, wanting to move her from his arms back onto the bed.
However, just as he moved, he stopped again.
Looking down at the flushed little face pressed against his chest, she was sleeping so soundly, even more peacefully than usual lying on the bed. He thought for a mont and simply wrapped his arm gently around her shoulders, holding her securely in his arms, then slowly leaned down, cradling her to lie back on the bed.
However, compared to the soft pillow beneath her, she clearly preferred the firr, familiar warmth of the chest above. Even after lying down, she couldn’t help but nuzzle her cheek against his chest slightly, and even though it was just a light touch, it surprisingly ssed up his collar.
His breathing was also disturbed.
Yu Wenye looked down at his chest, then at Shang Ruyi. She still slept unconsciously, even treating the person beneath her like a thick, warm quilt, turned over under him, rested her head on his arm, and fell back into a deep sleep.
"..."
Yu Wenye furrowed his brow at her, unable to suppress a grim expression on his face.
But after a while, he ultimately had nowhere to vent the irritation and unknown heat, so he helplessly sighed. Just as he was about to find a place to lie down and rest, a clicking sound ca from outside the door.
Yu Wenye imdiately said: "Who’s there?"
The person outside seed startled, accidentally bumping the door open a crack. After a long pause, a soft voice ca through: "Young master..."
It was Chang Wan.
Yu Wenye frowned: "What is it?"
Chang Wan said: "The Mada’s shoes, I just cleaned them, bringing them back."
"..."
Yu Wenye instinctively glanced down at the floor and saw a pair of clogs, apparently worn casually after bathing — no wonder she caught a chill.
Thinking it over, he reluctantly extended a hand to lower the curtain over the bed, then said: "Bring them in."
"Yes."
The door was pushed open, and Chang Wan carefully brought in a pair of shoes, placing them by the bed. As she straightened up and subconsciously glanced up, she t a pair of eyes that, even through a curtain, were as sharp as a blade, making her tremble and quickly turn to leave.
Not until the doors closed and footsteps faded did Yu Wenye’s icy gaze gradually relax.
So as not to make the person on the bed too suffocated, he thought it over, still raising the curtain a bit, then glanced down.
A pair of luxuriously extraordinary silk shoes ca into view.
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