Jiang Yanyi pried his hand off her face, freeing herself. “Understood.”

Then, in the next second, she asked with a tongue-twister of a question, “Why me?”

Feng Shuo stared at her for a moment before replying faintly, “This prince happened to be blind for a moment and took a fancy to you. Is that alright?”

Jiang Yanyi: “…”

She glared at him angrily, “Dare I ask, Your Highness, when will this blindness of yours be cured?”

Outside, the wind and snow howled.

The cold wind blew in through the open door, lifting Feng Shuo’s long hair that fell over his shoulders and outlining his tall figure.

He looked at her frustrated expression, the usual sharpness in his eyes softened, tinged with a hint of a smile. “It won’t be cured in this lifetime.”

Jiang Yanyi’s heart skipped a beat. “When did you become so glib?”

Feng Shuo had come out in a hurry, without his cloak.

He felt a scratchy sensation in his throat from the cold and covered his mouth, coughing twice. “Apart from you, I’ve never sweet-talked anyone else in my life.”

The corners of Jiang Yanyi’s lips lifted slightly. “And in the future?”

“In the future… I might have to sweet-talk one or two little girls.”

Still thinking about little girls?

Jiang Yanyi’s face darkened instantly. “Your Highness should go find a little girl right now.”

Feng Shuo chuckled, “Without you, who would I have little girls with?”

Jiang Yanyi’s face flushed red, “You… shameless!”

Feng Shuo just smiled and said nothing more.

If that was considered shameless, he certainly had more shameless thoughts about her.

Outside, the sound of the night watchman’s clapper echoed along the street.

Feng Shuo glanced at the pot of soup she had simmering and asked, “Do you stay up this late every night?”

“Just today. Making jerky earlier took some time,” Jiang Yanyi replied, watching the soup in the pot reach just the right consistency.

She added the last bit of firewood to the stove, so the residual heat would continue simmering the broth until morning, making it ready for use as soon as she woke up.

Feng Shuo’s eyes scanned the kitchen counter and noticed some reddish-brown jerky in a basket that she hadn’t put away yet.

He picked up a piece and tried it.

After cooking and drying, it had lost much of its moisture, making it less tender than fresh meat, but it was dense and chewy, with a flavor that intensified the more he chewed.

Next to it were strips of meat with a beautiful color, thinner and sprinkled with white sesame seeds.

The surface glistened in the candlelight, looking oily, but when he picked up a piece, he realized it wasn’t oil; the subtle sweetness came from honey.

Feng Shuo took a bite of the jerky. “Is this a new dish you’re selling at the shop?”

“My uncle is heading back to the capital to bring my mother and grandmother here. This is travel food I prepared for him.”

Feng Shuo nodded. “This prince will be away for a few days as well.”

Jiang Yanyi paused, realizing what he meant.

He wanted her to prepare rations for him too?

She asked suspiciously, “In this cold weather, with your old injury not fully healed, where are you going?”

“There’s been heavy snowfall on the plains, and the livestock are running out of food. The Turkic didn’t manage to steal enough grain before winter. If things get desperate, they’ll surely turn their eyes towards the interior. I haven’t been to the army for a while, which might make the Turkic khan suspicious.”

Earlier, Fan Yaonian had directed Prefect Xie to let the Turkic prince into the city, and likely informed the Turkic of his injury as well.

The prince’s entry served both to assess the situation and to facilitate a coordinated attack with the Turkic forces.

Fan Yaonian had calculated everything except for the survival of Chu Changping, who managed to relay the news of his infiltration into Xizhou back to Feng Shuo.

This led to Feng Shuo uprooting Fan Yaonian, Prefect Xie, and the Hu family.

Only the Turkic prince remained, having vanished like smoke after being wounded.

Feng Shuo had the city under lockdown for days, searching house by house, but there was no trace of him.

The worst-case scenario was that the Turkic prince had already escaped from Xizhou.

If he didn’t go into battle, it would be a perfect opportunity for the Turkic, who were eyeing Xizhou with hostility.

So he needed to return to the army, to drill and train, at least publicly, to pose a threat to the Turks.

Jiang Yanyi remembered that Chi Qing had mentioned only a few people knew about Feng Shuo’s old injury and asked, “How did the Turkic find out about your injury flaring up in the harsh winter?”

A trace of mockery flickered in Feng Shuo’s eyes. “Of course, it’s thanks to the one in the palace.”

Back then, he was severely injured, on the brink of death several times, with one foot almost stepping into the underworld.

Even the military doctors who treated him shook their heads, saying that even if he survived, he would likely be plagued with chronic pain for the rest of his life.

Later, he locked down all information about his injury, paid the military doctor a large sum of money, and ensured that the secret would be buried with him when he retired to his hometown.

From then on, to avoid anyone discovering his condition, Feng Shuo only consulted doctors from his own household.

He thought this matter would remain hidden, but his excessive caution in using his own doctors aroused the Emperor’s suspicion.

It wasn’t until he interrogated Fan Yaonian that he learned the Emperor had found that military doctor and forced the truth about his old injury out of him.

Feng Shuo didn’t want to say more, not wanting Jiang Yanyi to worry unnecessarily.

He cut the conversation short, saying, “The soup is ready. You should rest early.”

Jiang Yanyi understood.

He had come tonight mainly to inform her that there was no need to make medicinal meals for the next few days since he wouldn’t be in the residence.

Though she had many worries in her heart, there was nothing she could do to help in matters like this.

But if the female lead was on her way to Xizhou, logically speaking, the Turkic prince should also be here.

Xizhou had been conducting strict searches these past days, so perhaps Feng Shuo was investigating the Turkic prince.

Since it concerned military secrets, Feng Shuo wouldn’t say much, and she shouldn’t inquire either.

But if they could capture the Turkic prince, the Turkic Khan wouldn’t dare to act rashly for the sake of his son.

Jiang Yanyi pursed her lips and tentatively asked, “The city gates have been allowing entry but no exit recently. Are they trying to catch someone?”

Feng Shuo replied, “A Turkic spy has infiltrated.”

“A woman, too?” Jiang Yanyi asked.

When they were at the Xizhou military camp before, a Turkic spy had disguised herself as a camp prostitute, so her use of the word “also” wasn’t inappropriate.

However, Jiang Yanyi’s question wasn’t just out of curiosity.

In the original story, the first time the female lead met the Turkic prince, he was disguised as a woman to evade capture.

Feng Shuo shook his head. “It’s the Turkic prince.”

Still, Jiang Yanyi’s words gave him some food for thought.

His men had searched all the men in Xizhou City without finding the Turkic prince.

What if… the Turkic prince really was disguised as a woman?

With this thought, Feng Shuo’s expression instantly became stern. “You should rest early. I’m leaving.”

The wind and snow outside were fierce, and Jiang Yanyi noticed that he wasn’t wearing a thick cloak or anything to keep warm.

She remembered that he had left a brocade and sable cloak with her, so she quickly stood up and hurried to her room. “Wait a moment.”

Feng Shuo stood in place for a while until he saw Jiang Yanyi return, carrying the cloak he had given her back in the military camp.

“You’ve kept it all this time?” Feng Shuo’s eyes sparkled.

Jiang Yanyi nodded.

Such fine material—how could she have thrown it away?

She wasn’t that foolish.

Clearly, Feng Shuo was delighted that she had kept the cloak, and the smile in his eyes deepened.

Thinking back to their time in the Xizhou military camp, Jiang Yanyi felt as if it were something from a past life.

Back then, she had disliked him so much—who would have thought they’d end up like this?

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

Under the candlelight, her lips were a deep, vivid red, and her beautiful eyes sparkled like pools of autumn water, her loose locks falling gently along the sides of her face, exuding a soft charm.

Feng Shuo raised his hand to brush aside the stray hairs near her face, his fingers barely touching her skin.

Looking at her full lips, he suddenly asked, “What lip balm did you use today?”

Jiang Yanyi was puzzled by his sudden question but answered, “It’s the lip balm you gave me earlier—the camellia-scented one.”

Feng Shuo leaned down and lightly pecked her lips.

When he lifted his eyes again, he looked like a cat that had just stolen some cream. “It does indeed smell like camellias.”