Jiang Yanyi cried enough and sniffed before remembering to ask him, “How did you come here?”

Feng Shuo looked at her red nose, hiding the pain in his eyes, and said, “I heard about the Chu family’s situation. When I didn’t see you at the antique soup shop, I came looking for you.”

He glanced at the gray, snow-covered street and asked, “Do you want to ride a horse?”

Jiang Yanyi then realized he had come on horseback.

His entirely black warhorse stood nearby, not tied up but behaving well, shaking off the snow from its mane occasionally as it stamped its hooves.

Jiang Yanyi had never ridden a horse before.

With her current heavy heart, she indeed wanted to run a bit to clear her mind, but looking at the horse that was taller than her by half a head, she hesitated, saying, “I don’t know how to ride.”

Feng Shuo shot her a glance. “Naturally, I’ll teach you.”

Jiang Yan Yi recalled Feng Shuo’s injury: “You’re sensitive to the cold because of your old illness; it’s better not to.”

Feng Shuo directly took her hand and walked toward the warhorse. “I’ve been in the Xizhou military camp, enduring the cold wind for several days. It won’t matter to take you for a quick ride.”

Previously, his fief was in the south, where the winter chill wasn’t as severe.

But since arriving in Xizhou early this year, the harsh cold had aggravated his old injury, causing him recurring pain.

After taking medicinal baths and tonics for a while, his health had noticeably improved due to his good constitution.

While indoors, he had felt cold in his hands and feet, but now, holding Jiang Yanyi’s hand in the snowy wind, it felt warm.

Feng Shuo mounted the horse and extended his hand to Jiang Yan Yi.

After hesitating for a moment, she placed her hand in his, and instantly, she felt herself pulled upward with great force, landing steadily on the horse’s back.

Feng Shuo had already wrapped her snugly in a warm fox fur cloak.

“Let’s go.” His clear voice almost whispered in Jiang Yanyi’s ear.

Perhaps because of the cold weather, the warmth of his breath felt particularly significant against her skin.

He squeezed the horse’s belly, and the warhorse galloped away down the empty street.

This street had originally belonged to the Hu family, but now that the Hu family had been confiscated, the shops lining the street were all shut tight, and there were no pedestrians in sight.

A thick layer of snow covered the ground, and as the horse’s hooves trampled, it kicked up a flurry of snowflakes.

Jiang Yanyi leaned back against him due to the horse’s speed.

Her back pressed against his chest, while his hands held the reins, forming a protective circle around her as if he could shield her from anything that might come crashing down within that embrace.

The icy wind whipped against them; Feng Shuo didn’t let the horse run too fast, so the cold wind didn’t hurt her face.

Still, the oppressive mood in her heart seemed to be blown away by the coolness that brushed against her.

The houses along the street swiftly receded behind them, icicles glinting in the morning light from the eaves.

In the distance, snow covered the mountains, presenting a misty gray-green hue.

A snowflake landed on Jiang Yanyi’s eyelashes, and she gently blinked; the snowflake melted into tiny droplets hanging on her lashes, reflecting the long street ahead and the mountains in the distance, resembling a small lake.

Feng Shuo guided the horse out of the city.

On both sides of the official road were towering mountains, with the withered grass weighed down by light snow lying flat by the roadside, adding a sense of desolation to the cold stillness.

Listening to the rhythmic sound of the horse’s hooves and gazing at the vast world before her, Jiang Yan Yi gradually felt her mood settle.

When Feng Shuo finally brought the horse to a stop, she said, “Thank you.”

Feng Shuo replied, “Do we need to thank each other between us? When spring arrives and the weather is warmer, I’ll teach you how to ride.”

She responded, “Okay.”

Feng Shuo continued, “You’re too weak; you might not be able to draw a bow, but you can learn to use a crossbow. I’ll teach you how to wield a knife, how to stab with a sword to kill.”

“When I’m around, you can be completely useless. But when I’m not by your side, you need to have the ability to protect yourself.”

This was also why, despite knowing how hard it was for her to run a shop, he didn’t stop her.

He respected all her decisions.

The phrase “for your own good” was not a justification for breaking someone’s wings.

He was willing to wait for her to transform from a fledgling into a majestic eagle.

Jiang Yanyi’s eyes turned red at his words, and she asked, “Feng Shuo, why are you so good to me?”

“You are my fiancée. If I don’t treat you well, who should I treat well?” He brushed away the tears at the corner of her eye and added, “I originally planned to propose when your mother and the others arrived in Xizhou…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, gently holding her in his arms. “Don’t overthink things and don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, you still have me.”

The heavy snow was cold, but this embrace was warm.

Having been in this strange world for so long, it was the first time Jiang Yanyi realized what it felt like to completely rely on and trust someone.

From now on, both joy and sorrow had someone to share them with.

---

Although Madam Jiang was buried in the capital, the mourning period still had to be observed.

Old Madam Chu’s emotions were unstable; Jiang Yanyi had to persuade her to eat her three meals a day.

She could only stay in the new residence that the Chu family had bought, neglecting the shop.

Fortunately, Chef Yao was in charge of the kitchen, so there wouldn’t be any trouble, and the old scholar could help manage the accounts.

Yang Xiu would bring the accounts back to Jiang Yan Yi every night for her to review.

The ten thousand taels of silver notes that Chu Changping had given her were spent sparingly, and after setting up the entire residence, there was still eight thousand taels left.

She returned the silver notes to Chu Changping, but he insisted that she keep them.

Jiang Yanyi refused, handing the notes over to Old Madam Chu that very evening.

What worried Jiang Yanyi the most was her younger brother Jiang Yan Gui’s leg injury.

There’s a saying that “it takes a hundred days for muscles and bones to heal,” but she wondered if the bumpy journey to Xizhou had caused too much jostling.

Several times, she had seen him pale from pain, sweating profusely.

Despite changing the topical medicine daily and taking internal medicine with every meal, Jiang Yan Yi couldn’t understand what was wrong.

Feeling anxious, the next day, she invited a renowned doctor in Xizhou to examine Jiang Yan Gui’s injury.

Before this, Jiang Yan Yi hadn’t seen the wound on Jiang Yan Gui’s leg; each time she visited him, he had already had the servants change his dressings.

This time, the doctor uncovered the bandages to check the wound, and Jiang Yanyi discovered that it had become infected, with a layer of necrotic tissue surrounding it.

The doctor shook his head repeatedly. “It’s not good for the wound to keep festering like this. We need to remove this necrotic tissue.”

Jiang Yanyi’s heart twisted with worry.

Jiang Yangui lay on the bed, pale and fragile, like a delicate porcelain piece, yet he still said to her, “Sister, don’t look. It’s really disgusting.”

Unable to hold back her tears, Jiang Yanyi replied, “Your leg has deteriorated; why didn’t you say anything?”

She turned to call the guard who usually assisted Jiang Yan Gui, “Chu Zhong!”

“Sister, don’t blame Uncle Zhong. It was me who wouldn’t let him say anything. Grandma has been unwell lately; I didn’t want to trouble her. It’s just a useless leg; if it gets worse, it’s already like that. Even if the doctor removes the necrotic tissue, it will still fester,” Jiang Yan Gui said with a pale smile.

Now it was the depths of winter, and his leg was wrapped too tightly, making it easier for the wound to fester.

But if it wasn’t wrapped tightly, the frostbite would be even worse.

His leg had festered once in the capital, and after the doctor scraped away the rotten flesh, it was still in this state.

Jiang Yangui had given up hope for that useless leg.

Jiang Yan Yi felt both anxious and angry, her heart aching for him. “Do you know that if the infection becomes too severe, they might have to amputate both your legs to save your life?”

The ancients didn’t understand the concept of amputation, so she could only explain the consequences to Jiang Yan Gui.

Seeing her younger brother stunned, it seemed he had no idea about the consequences of the wound deteriorating.

Her heart ached, and she turned to the doctor, saying, “Please remove the necrotic tissue from his leg.”

However, the doctor shook his head repeatedly and started to pack up his medical box. “I don’t have the skills for this and can’t take that risk! Miss, for such necrotic wounds, you should consult someone in the military camp. The military doctors are best at handling these kinds of injuries.”

After the doctor left, Jiang Yanyi looked at Jiang Yangui lying on the bed and said, “Do you want to torture yourself like this? Or are you trying to drive me crazy?”

Although Jiang Yangui had gone through so many changes and had matured a little, he was still only fourteen and didn’t understand some of the knowledge he hadn’t been exposed to before.

When he mentioned that his leg would continue to get worse and might cost him his life, a hint of fragility and pain emerged in his eyes. “Sister, after all, we are the Jiang family, not the Chu family. I don’t want to cause any more trouble for Grandma. If it weren’t for my useless leg, Mother wouldn’t have lost her life.”

He feared that Jiang Yan Yi would be upset, so he hadn’t told her that, when he was in the capital, the medicine prescribed by the doctor contained a pain-relieving pill, but it was too expensive.

His aunt had heard that the medicine was just for pain relief, so she hadn’t let the servants buy it.

Madam Jiang had begged his aunt to help, but she had been ridiculed and sent away, implying that the Chu family had already spent a lot of money on his treatment.

This kind of thing had happened many times in the capital.

If it weren’t for these circumstances, Madam Jiang wouldn’t have taken the risk when leaving the city.