The sky was getting darker and darker. The swirling snowflakes blinded Pin Hao, who was driving the carriage. The red lantern hanging on one side swayed violently. After struggling for a few moments, it went out completely.
Cu Huan wrapped herself in a felt blanket and went out to take over the driving, intending to let Pin Hao come inside and have a rest. The wind and snow were fierce, and it was extremely cold outside. She was afraid that he would freeze stiff if he stayed out for too long.
Faint sounds of firecrackers came from the horizon. The group sat in the carriage, each lost in their own thoughts. On this New Year's Eve, the carriage swayed along the mountain road towards a distant destination.
In the second half of the night, Wei Dongling was dozing soundly, leaning on Cu Huan's shoulder. Suddenly, she was awakened by the neighing of the horses outside. Immediately afterwards, the carriage overturned violently. The sleeping people inside panicked and rolled into a heap.
Pin Hao grabbed the disheveled Wei Dongling and Cu Huan and shouted at the secret guard driving outside, "What happened?"
The secret guard replied calmly, "It's dark, the road is narrow, and there's a downhill. I didn't pay enough attention, and the carriage overturned. Are you all okay?"
Since everyone was wearing thick clothes, they weren't injured. They climbed out of the carriage one by one to check the road conditions.
Sure enough, the mountain road ahead was extremely narrow. The road surface was uneven, and some dangerous parts were covered with thick snow. It was really easy for the carriage to tip over when passing these areas.
Everyone worked together to lift the overturned carriage. The secret guard looked at the injured horse and sighed, "Miss Wei, Lord Pin Hao, the horse has sprained its front hoof. It probably can't go any further."
Wei Dongling felt a pang of frustration in her heart. What should they do now? It was the first day of the New Year. Were they going to stay in this freezing cold, waiting for dawn?
She was afraid that by the time dawn broke, everyone would be frozen stiff.
Just when they were at a loss, they suddenly heard the clattering sound of horses' hooves behind them.
Everyone quickly turned around and saw two tall figures on horses standing on a high place, looking down at them.
The man on the left was wearing a ghost - face mask, which looked extremely terrifying in the darkness. The masked black - clothed man on the right had a very familiar silhouette. Pin Hao stared at him for a long time and always felt that he had seen him somewhere before.
Without saying a word, Wei Dongling averted her eyes, covered her face with the felt blanket, and took Cu Huan back into the carriage.
Yu Zixi felt a twinge of pain in his heart when he saw Wei Dongling's actions.
Seeing that the newcomers had no intention of harming them, Pin Hao stepped forward alone, intending to ask them to sell their horses.
After walking a few steps, he heard the man with the ghost - face mask ask in a low voice, "Pin Hao, I intercepted the mourning notice you sent to the prince's mansion a few days ago. Is what's written in the letter true? Has Young Master Yun really passed away?"
Pin Hao was stunned. Only then did he recognize that the man's voice sounded like Young Master Yu!
Tears welled up in Pin Hao's eyes. He rushed forward quickly to pay his respects to Yu Zixi. Holding onto his robe, he trembled all over and sobbed uncontrollably.
Yu Zixi bent down to help up the grief - stricken Pin Hao. His heart was also filled with indescribable sorrow.
He had been a playboy since childhood and was often scolded by the world. Most people in the capital would shake their heads and sigh when they mentioned him, looking at him with a look of "a useless piece of wood that can't be carved."
Only when the old prince was alive did he bring the young Shangguan Yun secretly to see him and teach him from time to time. At that time, Shangguan Yun rarely spoke, but under the influence of his grandfather, he always respected and loved Yu Zixi and was always humble towards him.
After the old prince passed away, Shangguan Yun still remained true to his heart and always defended Yu Zixi outside. No matter how coldly the world treated Yu Zixi, Shangguan Yun still looked down on everyone with his lofty and cold demeanor.
In Yu Zixi's heart, Shangguan Yun, who had accompanied him for so many years, was already as close as a brother.
That day, when his master forced him to marry Qi Jinxuan for the military power in General Qi's hands, he didn't hesitate to turn around and leave. It was Qi Jinxuan's words that finally made him waver.
She said, "The child in my belly is Young Master Yun's! But Young Master Yun was drugged with aphrodisiac that day and didn't know about it!"
She also said, "After Young Master Yun learned about the imperial edict from the empress dowager to arrange the marriage, he would rather leave home or become a monk than marry me."
She continued, "If I had taken the initiative to approach Young Master Yun and pleaded my case, he might have reluctantly agreed to marry me. But I, Qi Jinxuan, the proud daughter of the general's mansion, no matter how much I love Young Master Yun, how could I use the child to blackmail him into marrying me?"
She added, "I want this child! This is my last memory of Young Master Yun."
Finally, she said, "The alliance with the Yu family is only to make this child's identity legitimate and avoid being gossiped about by the world! After it's done, I want the position of the empress, and I want this child to be granted a title and rank."
Looking at Qi Jinxuan's slightly protruding belly that she couldn't hide no matter how hard she tried, Yu Zixi finally felt a twinge of pity.
If it was really Shangguan Yun's child, he couldn't stand idly by!
He just didn't expect that this matter would be misunderstood by Wei Dongling.
What's more, he didn't expect that after their last farewell, he would never see Shangguan Yun again.
The child in Qi Jinxuan's belly had actually become the only bloodline of the Shangguan family!
Yu Zixi felt cold all over. He lowered his eyes and said coldly, "The deceased has passed away. Please accept my condolences." The living still had a lot to do.
Pin Hao's eyes were red. He silently wiped away his tears with his sleeve.
Yu Zixi asked, "Why did the carriage stop here?"
Pin Hao briefly described the situation. Yu Zixi looked up at the still - early sky and waved his hand, telling Pin Hao to take his and Tian Qi's horses to replace the injured one.
On this freezing first day of the New Year, how could he just watch Wei Dongling freeze in the mountains?
The carriage of Wei Dongling's group set off again, swaying unsteadily.
Pin Hao drove the carriage and frequently looked back. He saw Yu Zixi and Tian Qi leading the lame horse, following far behind. Their thin clothes fluttered in the cold wind.
It was finally dawn. Wei Dongling was already shivering uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.
Cu Huan was secretly worried. Since the last time Wei Dongling jumped into the icy lake to save someone, her body had become more and more afraid of the cold. Even if she wrapped herself tightly, her palms were never warm.
Cu Huan thought to herself that this situation might not be good in the long run. They had to go back quickly and find Ruan Niang to figure out a way to condition her body.
After getting along for a few days, Cheng Hao and the secret guard from the prince's mansion had gradually become familiar with each other. The two of them worked together to catch two fat rabbits in the snow. They lit a bonfire on the spot and stewed a large pot of rabbit meat that smelled delicious.
Everyone cut some green bamboo tubes to hold the rabbit meat. They each picked up a tube and gobbled it up with some dried bread.
After suffering from the cold all night, everyone was quite satisfied to be able to eat something warm. But seeing that Pin Hao was in a heavy mood and didn't want to talk much, everyone also kept silent and just focused on eating.
Cu Huan picked up the rabbit skins and got into the carriage. She wanted to take them back and sew them into shoes for Wei Dongling to keep warm.
Seeing that Wei Dongling ate very little and was sitting there silently with a preoccupied look on her face, looking rather haggard. Cu Huan reached out to touch her forehead and quickly withdrew her hand in shock. Her forehead was burning hot!