“Jiang Qingyue, is Jiang Qingyue of Yancheng here?”

It was mid-winter, with heavy snow falling, and the quarry was covered in white. The guard’s voice carried from afar, laced with impatience.

With a clink of chains, Jiang Qingyue dragged her shackled feet forward slowly.

With each step, the wounds on her frostbitten, red ankles, chafed by the shackles, bled a little more.

Seeing someone step forward, the guard casually ticked off a name on the list: “You’re free to go. Your family has come to pick you up.”

Other miners around cast envious glances.

Now that the new emperor had ascended the throne, a general amnesty had been declared, and its blessings had reached even their quarry, where the sun never shone.

Anyone who had not committed the heinous crimes of murder or treason could be pardoned and restored to their former status.

From birth, Jiang Qingyue had been exiled here with her family. Day after day, she was trapped in this quarry, never seeing the light of day.

The quarry was too harsh, and her shoulders, no matter how burdened, had to bear the weight themselves.

Jiang Qingyue was released from her shackles, and as she left the quarry, she felt somewhat dazed.

Her family had come to pick her up?

She could no longer distinguish who her family truly was…

The Jiang family had two branches. Her father was from the second branch. Years ago, her father was implicated in an embezzlement case, and their entire family was sentenced to exile.

Because the two branches had already separated, the first branch of the Jiang family was spared from involvement.

But three years ago, her mother, whom she had called mother for over a decade, told her before her death that she was not her biological daughter.

It turned out that years ago, before the second branch was exiled, the second branch’s wife couldn’t bear to see her biological daughter suffer, so she secretly switched children with the first branch.

She left her biological daughter in the Jiang family, where she enjoyed over a decade of wealth and glory.

And Jiang Qingyue was the swapped-out legitimate daughter of the Jiang family’s first branch.

After learning the truth, the Jiang family’s eldest branch rushed to her. She was doing hard labor, washing clothes for the laborers here. The dirty clothes were piled up like mountains, and the water was icy cold in the dead of winter.

Because she had a fever and was washing slowly, the foreman, an old woman, lashed out with a whip, striking her back, which burned with pain.

When her whole family saw her, their eyes turned red, and they hugged her with heartache, weeping and saying that she had suffered.

They brought many things and even hired a doctor to apply medicine to her wounds.

Jiang Qingyue remembered that at the time, she was overjoyed, thinking that she was about to escape the sea of ​​suffering, reunite with her relatives, and have a family that loved her.

But her biological younger brother said, “Sister Guiyu is weak. If she stays to replace you, it would be sending her to her death.”

Her mother also said, “Qingyue, you only have a few years left until your term of hard labor is over. If we push Guiyu out, it will only be one more person suffering.”

“Moreover, your second aunt’s act of swapping children to avoid exile is a crime of deceiving the emperor. Although we didn’t know about it, we will inevitably be used by those with ulterior motives, and the entire family will be implicated.”

Her biological father also said with guilt, “Father knows you’ve been wronged. When your term of hard labor is over, we will definitely compensate you doubly!”

Everyone persuaded her to be patient, to prioritize the big picture.

At that time, Jiang Qingyue knew that she had no family.

Today, under the general amnesty, the released convicts left her side one by one, overjoyed and eager to go home.

But Jiang Qingyue walked very slowly, not knowing who was coming to pick her up.

It wasn’t until she saw the tall, imposing figure under the snow-covered rime in the distance that she paused slightly.

Although he was far away, she could see that the man was standing under the flying snow and rime. His cloak fluttered like a black military banner in the northern wind of the borderlands, and his chilling presence was sharper than the icy world.

Without seeing the person clearly, she could tell that he was not someone to be trifled with, so she subconsciously moved away.

Who knew that just as she took a few steps away, the man strode directly in front of her.

Up close, she finally saw the man’s appearance completely. Although his face was young, his sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes were so strikingly handsome that the surrounding snow seemed dull in comparison.

Because of his martial training, this handsome face had no hint of femininity, but radiated heroic spirit. He lowered his eyes, swept them across her face, and revealed an air of arrogance and indifference.

“Jiang Qingyue?”