Chapter 92

The spring leaves were gradually growing denser, and the garden was lush with green. Xie Que Shan sat at the stone table deep in the bamboo grove, the green shadows from the leaves playing across his figure, lit by the soft glow of a candle.

He was waiting for her. When she arrived, a faint smile appeared on his face.

With his white jade crown, sword-like eyebrows, and bright eyes, he looked like a graceful bamboo.

Most of their interactions had been filled with tension and conflict, so she rarely saw him in such a calm state. It was oddly soothing, easing the tension in her heart.

Nan Yi had mentally prepared herself for this conversation. On the way here, she had been thinking that perhaps her words from that night had caused confusion. She had been impulsive, wanting to hear him admit that he wasn’t a traitor.

But she hadn’t gotten that answer. Instead, the situation had taken a strange turn.

She decided to take things slowly and try to get things back on track. If she had misjudged him, she could at least listen for some useful information about the Bing Zhu Si from him.

Nan Yi gathered her courage and got straight to the point: “Did you misunderstand what I meant?”

“What did I misunderstand?” He calmly raised his eyes to look at her.

“I meant... if you really are a traitor, I will fight you. But if you’re not...” Facing his composed and confused gaze, Nan Yi’s words faltered, her carefully prepared speech crumbling. She tripped over her words, “Then we can... we can be good partners, good friends.”

He tilted his head and watched her for a while, enjoying her incoherent rambling.

Nan Yi thought he was seriously listening to her, still considering how to debate with him.

But once she finished speaking, he replied slowly, “That’s not for you to decide.”

“You are being unreasonable!” Nan Yi got frustrated and almost wanted to stomp her foot.

“Am I unreasonable?” He laughed and asked her back.

Before she could respond, he made a sudden move, reaching out to pull her waist toward him. With a swift motion, she ended up sitting on his lap.

She was about to say something when she felt his breath against her ear. He lowered his voice, “Shh—”

Light footsteps came from outside the bamboo grove, as if a few servant girls were passing by. The light from their lanterns flickered through the bamboo leaves.

Her bravado was immediately silenced. She instinctively grabbed onto his collar to steady herself, worried about falling.

They were so close. He tilted his head slightly, looking at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“I heard the family head had a fight with the head of Gui Lai Tang.”

“Really?”

“My sister, who shares a room with me, saw it with her own eyes... It was a fierce fight. The family head beat the wealthy merchant so badly, he almost couldn’t get up. The merchant called for help, nearly smashing the walls, but in the end, the family head let him go.”

Gossip and rumors were often embellished and twisted, taking on a completely different form.

Nan Yi frowned and looked at Xie Que Shan, her eyes filled with questions.

Xie Que Shan half-closed his eyes, his expression calm as if he was listening to idle gossip that had nothing to do with him. The scent of her perfume filled his nostrils, and he felt like he could sit there forever, letting the sounds outside fade away.

“Why did they fight? Was it because that rich merchant wanted to marry the young mistress?”

“I heard that the head of Gui Lai Tang and the young mistress were childhood sweethearts, but the family head wouldn’t allow the young mistress to remarry. That’s why she didn’t marry.”

Nan Yi tried to struggle a little, but Xie Que Shan never loosened his grip. They were locked in a silent contest of strength, careful not to make any noise.

“Heh, could it be that the family head... has feelings for the young mistress?”

As soon as those words were spoken, there was a brief silence. The servant girls were too shocked to respond; the idea was just too scandalous.

A few steps later, the youngest servant girl couldn’t hold back and said, “It’s said that the young mistress and the eldest son don’t have a true marriage... and the family head hasn’t married in all these years...”

“Couldn’t be. After all, they’re still uncle and niece... That’s against the morals!”

The older servant scolded, “What are you all talking about? If the family head hears this, he’ll have you sold off!”

The more Nan Yi listened, the more uncomfortable she became. Her attempts to struggle grew weaker. She didn’t dare move a muscle, terrified that their intimate position would attract attention.

She felt like the entire garden of new leaves was watching them, as if there were eyes everywhere. Her face burned red as though she were dripping with blood.

Finally, the footsteps faded.

The bamboo shadows fell over them, and the wind whispered through the gaps in the leaves.

Nan Yi took a long time to regain her composure, before suddenly breaking free from his arms.

Her movement was too sudden. She lost her balance and fell to the ground with a soft thud. Xie Que Shan reached out to catch her, but she recoiled like she had seen a ghost, stepping back once again.

“You... don’t come any closer.”

Xie Que Shan innocently spread his hands. “I haven’t moved.”

Nan Yi glared at him, the heat in her face not yet fading. She felt both embarrassed and angry.

She knew now, she had to face it—he had romantic feelings for her.

And she did too.

In every moment of physical contact, she felt like a snowflake floating in midair, and he was a distant campfire, emitting deadly warmth. She, who feared the cold, would always unconsciously draw closer to him.

She wanted to follow her body’s instincts and melt in his scorching embrace.

But she no longer believed in love. That was the scar that Zhang Yue Hui left on her. The time she wasted was profound. She had become wary of dangerous things and refused to be a moth drawn to the flame.

Just like how she thought Zhang Yue Hui wasn’t a bad person, she also believed Xie Que Shan, at his core, was a good man. But that was a completely different matter from discussing love. In Xie Que Shan’s long life, if he had to sacrifice something important step by step, where would she fall in the hierarchy of things to be discarded?

Or perhaps, she wasn’t even important—more like a brief companion in his journey through loneliness.

Her instinct told her that drawing closer to him would lead to her being consumed. No one would care about the disappearance of a snowflake, but she did.

She almost seemed to be pleading: “Xie Que Shan—what exactly do you want?”

A gust of wind passed by, and the elongated shadows of the bamboo became sharp daggers, wandering on their bodies. They seemed to be surrounded by a trap filled with pointed knives.

Xie Que Shan smiled, and the cold in his eyes slowly resurfaced: “In Lidu City, sooner or later there will be a winner and a loser. This is a muddied situation. Let’s rot together in it. You want to do something? As long as the Qi people don’t catch you, I won’t care; I want to do something, and you won’t be able to stop me.”

Nan Yi felt a bit lost in his words. After thinking carefully, wasn’t this still not telling her what he wanted to do? She knew she couldn’t win in these word games with Xie Que Shan, but she didn’t want to be completely passive.

She had originally fallen clumsily to the ground, but she straightened up and stubbornly stared into his eyes.

“Then we need a set of rules.”

Xie Que Shan was slightly surprised. “Tell me, then.”

“This isn’t up for discussion. If you don’t agree, I’ll turn all your plans upside down—you know I can do that.”

After a pause, he didn’t hesitate. “Fine, I agree.”

“Between us, we can remain silent, but there must be no lies.”

The incense that had been placed in the snow finally burned out, and the previous game was over. Their positions had subtly changed. He was no longer the only one controlling the game.

It was he who had helped her to stand at an equal position with him, and now he had to bear the uncontrollable consequences she brought.

And at this moment, he found her more beautiful than ever. The world was mysterious. Poison always had an antidote within ten steps, and she, in some way, was his antidote. She always found a way to pry open his heart. He was so lonely, and though he remained silent, he had already poured out all his truths.

He slowly reached his hand out to her. She looked into his clear eyes and placed her hand in his. He pulled her up and, in one smooth motion, embraced her.

This too, was the truth.

He wished time would forever stop on this night, under the vast mountains and sky, with only the two of them.

Nan Yi’s heart settled down, staying quietly in Wang Xue Wu.

Finally, the day came when she had to send Xie Qin to Song Mu Chuan for his lessons. Although it wasn’t something that needed to be kept secret, Nan Yi was still very cautious, trying to keep a low profile so as not to draw attention from all sides.

Bing Zhu Si had secretly dug a network of underground tunnels in Lidu City. Beneath Song Mu Chuan’s residence, there was a hidden passage leading to the courtyard where Xu Kou Yue was staying.

Nan Yi appeared to enter Song Mu Chuan’s house, accompanying Xie Qin to study, but in reality, she was heading for the underground passage.

Song Mu Chuan had to stay in the house to teach Xie Qin and couldn’t accompany Nan Yi, so he simply exchanged a few words with her, reassured that everything was fine at Wang Xue Wu, and then he let her go.

Before sending her to the passage, Song Mu Chuan said, “The princess has been wanting to meet you.”

Nan Yi couldn’t help but quicken her pace.

Xu Kou Yue was living with Liang Da and Jiu Niang, taking over the original role of Nan Yi. This arrangement allowed them to look after each other. After hearing that she had regained her freedom, the first thing Xu Kou Yue did was tirelessly copy out the solitary works.

The Yu Dynasty was focused on literature, and the easiest way to destroy scholars was to burn their books. When the Qi people massacred the city, they burned many books and paintings. Xu Kou Yue barely saved a few, but in the end, they were still difficult to preserve. Fortunately, some of the books were memorized in her mind, and whenever she got the chance, she would rewrite them and have someone from Bing Zhu Si take them to Jinling for safekeeping.

Xu Kou Yue knew that this was just a drop in the ocean, a futile attempt to patch up the dam. But she felt that she had to do something, as if this were the only way to repay those who had risked everything for her.

When Nan Yi met Xu Kou Yue, she respectfully bowed deeply. Standing in the simple courtyard, Xu Kou Yue, dressed in a plain skirt with thorny hairpins, accepted her bow with proper form.

She then smiled and helped Nan Yi up, pulling her inside the house.

Her tone lightened. “They’ve all been asking me how the imperial edict was hidden. I told them we’d have to wait for you to come and reveal it.”

Liang Da and Jiu Niang echoed from the side. “Yes, Nan Yi, we’ve been waiting for you. We’re all so curious!”

This small courtesy made Nan Yi’s heart bloom with happiness.

At the time in the Wan Yan mansion, Nan Yi had very little communication with Xu Kou Yue, and she didn’t know how the imperial edict was hidden. Xu Kou Yue had given her a heavy gold pendant to hold, but Nan Yi hadn’t understood how it could hide the edict.

Xu Kou Yue, in front of everyone, opened the delicate gold pendant. Inside, it was folded several times. When she unfolded it, there was a thin, small sheet of gold foil.

“This is the imperial edict.”

Nan Yi bent over to examine it carefully and finally saw the densely packed characters etched onto the gold foil.

Xu Kou Yue explained in a gentle voice, “Wanyan brought me to Lidu City and insisted on having me wear the attire of an imperial consort. Other jewelry could be discarded, but this gold pendant cannot. It is a symbol of status and identity. It was personally crafted by the imperial family. The characters on the gold foil were etched by the imperial family, stroke by stroke, and the seal was also pressed onto it. The technique of gold engraving has been passed down by the Han people for over a thousand years. These are wisdoms that outsiders will never understand.”

Nan Yi was deeply shaken by this small object.

It was not just an imperial edict; it was something heavy with the weight of centuries of heritage, compressed onto this tiny piece of gold foil.

What everyone had been united in protecting wasn’t just the land beneath their feet or the flesh and blood of their people, but also the cultural depth that had seeped into their daily lives, from food to clothing to shelter. Outsiders came in waves, learning a few superficial things, but they could never learn the craftsmanship of the Han people. Generation after generation, it had brought them here. The bloodline must not be severed, and the heritage must continue.