The heavy snow on Qilian Mountain fell like goose feathers, fluttering past the man's handsome face, making it hard to discern his expression.
Qingqing lowered her head, silently staring at the tips of her shoes.
Sheng Jiangli gazed at the distant mountains for a long while. It wasn't until a small mound of snow had piled up at the tips of Qingqing's shoes that he finally spoke, his voice uncharacteristically deep.
"You should leave now."
Qingqing suddenly looked up, her eyes red-rimmed. "Brother Sheng!"
Sheng Jiangli averted his gaze from her pitiful look and said mercilessly,
"Back then when you brought Fan'er to find me, I was carrying the unconscious Shu'er. Considering how carefully you took care of them, I'll let go of all the deceptions from the past. But don't think that you can stay after Shu'er wakes up."
"Shu'er has never been soft-hearted. The fact that she chose to turn a blind eye to you must be because she saw that you've had a similar wandering experience as hers. Her not caring doesn't mean she'll still treat you as a sister in the future."
"I'm not someone you can cling to either."
Sheng Jiangli curled his lips, delivering a hurtful blow. "Now I'm dependent on Shu'er. There's no room for you here."
Qingqing bit her lip. Looking at the man who seemed to have turned over a new leaf, her heart beat even faster.
"It's normal for a man to have multiple wives. In Tartary, even fathers and sons, or brothers, might share a wife... Brother Sheng, I'm willing to follow you and Sister Caiyu and serve you both."
"Absolutely not!" Sheng Jiangli flatly refused. "I've only loved one woman in my life. I'm not like Song Yinghuai, who needs to be bestowed a marriage for political alliance. I'm so poor that I can't afford a second wife."
"Moreover, Shu'er gets jealous easily. If I were to get involved with you after being with her, what if she fakes her death again?"
Sheng Jiangli narrowed his eyes slightly and warned, "If you ever reveal the fact that she's still alive, I'll kill you with one stroke of my knife!"
"If you're afraid I'll tell others, then keep me by your side!" Qingqing shouted after his retreating back reluctantly. "If I'm here, I won't be able to reveal any of your information!"
All she got in return was Sheng Jiangli's cold and heartless back.
Ever since she brought Lan Guifan to find him, he knew that this stubborn girl wouldn't reveal any information to others.
If she didn't want to, even torture couldn't make her talk, not even the people from the Vermilion Bird Camp.
When Sheng Jiangli pushed open the door, Caiyu was holding Lan Guifan in her arms. Her eyes were still red, looking like a little rabbit.
He couldn't help but grab Lan Guifan's ear and scowled. "You little rascal! I told you to keep your third sister company. How did you make her cry? She just woke up. She shouldn't be upset!"
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Lan Guifan grimaced and pleaded for help from Caiyu. "Sister! Third Sister! Save me quickly! Brother A Li is so fierce!"
Caiyu was heartbroken. She struggled to get out of bed to protect her little one.
Sheng Jiangli quickly let go and pulled Caiyu back onto the bed. "I was just joking with Fan'er. Why are you so anxious?"
Lan Guifan rubbed his ear and winked playfully. "Third Sister, he's so fierce. He doesn't act like an obedient betrothed husband at all. Let's find a different one! I want a gentle third brother-in-law!"
Sheng Jiangli gasped in surprise. "Hey, you little rascal! How can you talk like that? Where am I not gentle?"
"You grabbed my ear!"
"Your sister often grabs my ear too!" Sheng Jiangli rolled up his sleeves in protest. "Did I ever say she wasn't gentle?"
Lan Guifan quickly hid behind Caiyu and looked at her slyly. "Sister, how do you grab Brother A Li's ear? Show me... I want to see if you're really gentle or not?"
Sheng Jiangli stopped in his tracks abruptly. He looked at the siblings pitifully. Adhering to the principle that a wise man knows when to yield, he quickly changed his expression and smiled ingratiatingly.
"Shu'er, don't listen to this little rascal... There's no need to grab my ear, right?"
"I'm such a grown man..." When he met Caiyu's cold look, he obediently grabbed his own ear and begged for mercy. "I was wrong."
Caiyu couldn't help but laugh.
The panic and sadness caused by the long sleep were quickly dispelled by the funny atmosphere created by the two.
The snow outside the window was still shining brightly. Caiyu couldn't help but think of the few days she spent with Song Yinghuai at the Great Compassion Temple last winter.
It was also snowing heavily, and she was also injured.
But her state of mind was completely different.
Seeing that her mood had stabilized, Sheng Jiangli told Lan Guifan to go out and gather firewood. Then he felt her forehead and face.
Caiyu turned her head to avoid him and closed her eyes. "It tickles!"
Sheng Jiangli chuckled softly. "Ticklish is better than painful!"
He gritted his teeth slightly. His peach blossom eyes were filled with a hint of anger. "I told you to fake drowning, but you had to get shot in the chest with an arrow! Do you know you almost didn't make it?"
He remembered the day when he saw Caiyu being swept down the waterfall with a long arrow sticking out of her chest.
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck him on the head. In the mountain in early winter, he broke out in a cold sweat all over his body. He couldn't even lift his legs as he stood there.
He had never felt such fear before. When he held Caiyu in his arms, his blood seemed to be flowing backwards. He was so panicked that he didn't know what to do.
It was only later when the Hu cavalry arrived. Seeing his stunned expression, Duo Yong and the others helped to deal with the situation.
Only then did they discover that there was actually a dagger in front of Caiyu's body.
The outer shell of the high-quality dagger had blocked the iron arrow.
But the force of the arrow was so great that it had shaken her internal organs. Coupled with the fall from a high place and the rushing river in winter, she had inhaled a large amount of water into her lungs.
She had truly had a narrow escape.
Looking at his red eyes, Caiyu felt a pang of guilt in her heart. "I'm sorry, Brother A Li. I made my own decision."
But if she had only pretended to drown, she was afraid that Song Yinghuai wouldn't give up.
But if she had told Sheng Jiangli that she wanted to get shot with an arrow, this man probably wouldn't have cooperated.
"You always have a lot of ideas." Sheng Jiangli smiled helplessly. He took out the dagger from his bosom and returned it to her. "This Yaojiu dagger. You once used it to threaten me by putting it against your neck. Now you're using it to make Song Yinghuai give up. If he knew that you used the dagger he gave you like this..."
"He'll never know." Caiyu put away the dagger. "Brother A Li, I'm hungry."
As soon as she woke up, Lan Guifan had force-fed her a bowl of medicinal soup. There wasn't even a single candied fruit.
The bitter taste in her mouth made her think of the countless sweet treats Song Yinghuai had prepared for her when he coaxed her to take medicine in the Yanwang Mansion.
After all, the sweetness had reached her heart, making her forget herself.
That was why things between them had ended up like this.
"Sister! Brother A Li! Dinner's ready!"
Lan Guifan poked his head in and urged. "I cooked vegetable porridge with partridge meat in it. It smells so good."
He looked around. "Brother A Li, I can't find Sister Qing! Where did she go?"
Sheng Jiangli helped Caiyu out of bed without looking up. "Your Sister Qing went back to the Central Plains to take care of some business. She won't be back for a long time."
"Ah!" Lan Guifan looked around disappointedly. "Why didn't she say goodbye to me? I'll miss her. I made a slingshot to give to her."
"Keep it." Sheng Jiangli said calmly. "There'll be a chance to see her in the future. It's not too late to give it to her then."
Caiyu glanced at him subtly.
Would there really be a chance in the future?
Ever since they had sent the crown prince's witness into the palace last time and had a big argument with Song Yinghuai, things had come to this point.
After much thought, she finally understood the operations behind it all.
The sisterly bond between her and Qingqing was also gone forever.
The few of them sat at the simple table and ate the food Lan Guifan had cooked.
Lan Guifan took a bite and spat it out immediately. He frowned and said, "Ugh! I followed Sister Qing's method. Why does mine taste so bad?"
Sheng Jiangli also looked disgusted. "Your cooking skills are on par with mine. Lan Guifan, you're hopeless."
"If I'm hopeless, then so are you, Brother A Li."
"Hehe! That's different! I can't cook, but Shu'er can. She'll cook delicious food for me for the rest of my life." Sheng Jiangli mocked mercilessly. "What about you? If you don't marry a good wife in the future, you'll have to eat this kind of terrible food for the rest of your life!"
Lan Guifan was so angry that he protested to Caiyu.
"Third Sister, I'm emphasizing again. I object to him being your betrothed husband. Find me a different brother-in-law!"