The wind was still blowing, and the snow kept falling. The winter night in Liangzhou remained as cold as ever.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Looking at the face she had longed for countless times over the past thousand days, for a brief moment, Yan Zheng almost forgot to breathe.
“Xie Yu?”
She murmured.
The figure nodded, “It’s me.”
Yan Zheng opened her mouth slightly. All the suppressed longing she had held back for so long shattered like a dam breaking, and the surging emotions transformed into a roaring torrent, rushing forward wildly.
Suddenly, she felt a bit wronged, her nose tingled, and her eyes grew warm.
“You…why did you come so late?”
Before her words faded, Yan Zheng had already fallen into an embrace still carrying the chill of wind and snow, “I’m sorry I came late.”
Yan Zheng sniffled, raised her hand, and hit his back fiercely a few times before burying her face into his neck.
It had been over three years since they last met. He seemed much taller now, his back and chest broader.
“Zhengzheng, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you,” Xie Yu kept kissing her hair, feeling as if he were dreaming, “As soon as I arrived in the city, I came straight to you.”
He thought he was indeed sick.
The emperor originally wanted to keep him waiting a few more years, but seeing his condition, he had no choice but to let him go.
If he hadn’t relented, Princess Ningde would probably have come with a sword to force the issue.
After hugging at the door for a while, Yan Zheng pulled away from Xie Yu’s embrace and glanced behind. The street was empty, battered by wind and snow.
“Why isn’t anyone following you?”
Xie Yu chuckled, “It’s the middle of the night; Yuanpei and Huoping need to sleep too.”
“They came too?!” Yan Zheng was both surprised and delighted.
But Xie Yu didn’t want to talk about others with her.
“It’s cold. You’re not even dressed properly. Let’s go inside first.”
Yan Zheng hummed, “I thought you were sick; how could I think about all that?”
Xie Yu wouldn’t let go of her hand, nodded, and said seriously, “Indeed, I’m a patient.”
Sick with longing, deeply ill.
Yan Zheng glanced sideways at him and couldn’t help but laugh.
They entered the house, and only after stepping inside did Yan Zheng belatedly feel uneasy:
There was only one kang bed. How were they going to sleep?!
Xie Yu was also taken aback.
Before coming, he hadn’t expected the courtyard to be this small.
The west wing was filled with medicinal herbs, and the east wing was piled with miscellaneous items and gifts from neighbors. There was no space for anyone else.
Holding hands, they stood there, slowly their faces reddening.
The young marquis was a bit flustered.
Leave?
No way!
Where else could they go at this late hour?!
The residence of the Fiscal Commissioner was vacant; that wouldn’t work either!
But… being unmarried, a man and a woman sharing a bed didn’t seem quite appropriate.
While he was caught up in such thoughts, he suddenly felt her hand trying to pull away. His body reacted faster than his mind—he grabbed her hand tightly.
“Don’t go!”
His voice was filled with panic, and Yan Zheng’s heart immediately softened.
She sighed and gently patted the snow off his clothes, “I’m not chasing you away. I’ll go get bedding for you.”
In this life, she had already decided on this one person. They had nearly died for each other several times; how could she still care about worldly etiquette?
The young marquis was instantly overwhelmed with indescribable happiness.
He even clung to the doorframe, watching with eager eyes as his beloved girl indeed went to the opposite room before finally sitting down on the edge of the kang bed, reassured.
He curiously examined the small room. In the warm air floated the familiar scent of medicinal herbs…
When Yan Zheng came back shortly after with pillows and quilts, she found the newly appointed Transport Commissioner, who had been so full of energy just moments ago, already lying on the kang bed, hugging her pillow and sound asleep.
Yan Zheng was momentarily stunned, then her heart ached with tenderness.
He must be exhausted. There were faint dark circles under his eyes, a ring of stubble around his mouth, and his hair was slightly disheveled.
Just looking at him, she could imagine how he must have rushed day and night without rest.
She quietly placed the quilt aside, sat beside him, and gently raised her hand, lightly tracing his brows and eyes.
Unbelievable—he had really come.
As she was touching him, Xie Yu opened his eyes.
They gazed at each other for a moment before Xie Yu extended his long arms, pulling her into his embrace.
“It’s so good…”
He murmured, his forehead resting against hers.
Through countless days and nights, he had imagined holding her like this. But upon waking from his dreams, there had been nothing.
After a moment of tenderness, Yan Zheng coldly and ruthlessly pushed him away, even forcibly pulling him upright.
“Hurry up, take off your outer clothes—they’re so dirty! Wash your face, soak your feet, and then sleep!”
Xie Yu: “…Okay.”
Obediently, he took off his heavy cloak, went to wash his face and soak his feet, and upon returning, found a steaming bowl of beef noodles on the table.
In winter, food doesn’t spoil easily. When she had free time, Yan Zheng had braised a lot of beef and mutton and cut some noodles, all stored under the eaves outside.
After all, in winter, water freezes instantly, so nothing would spoil. Cooking in bulk meant she could cook anytime she wanted, very convenient.
Only now did Xie Yu remember he hadn’t eaten all day.
Earlier, he had been too excited to notice, but now, catching the aroma of food, his stomach immediately started its “empty city strategy.”
“It smells so good!”
“Here, you must be starving,” Yan Zheng handed him chopsticks and added a plate of pickled vegetables, “Eat slowly, have enough to eat before sleeping.”
In winter, there weren’t many fresh vegetables available in Liangzhou, so Yan Zheng had found ways to get some vegetable seeds and built wooden boxes on the kang bed in the west room to grow vegetables, with some success.
Instantly, Xie Yu recalled their past in Kaifeng Prefecture, when they would sneakily cook late at night when hungry.
He couldn’t help but laugh, deliberately carrying his bowl to Yan Zheng’s right side, using his free left hand to hold hers before picking up his chopsticks to enjoy his meal heartily.
What a fool.
Yan Zheng thought to herself, but a smile couldn’t help but appear on her face.
It was really good.
That night, Yan Zheng slept exceptionally well.
The next morning, as she slowly woke up, she felt as if someone was placing something on her hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw a mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist.
Xie Yu withdrew his hand, propped his head up with one hand, and smiled at her, his eyes brimming with tenderness so intense it seemed ready to flow out.
“What is this?” Yan Zheng asked.
The jade bracelet was of excellent quality, surprisingly warm and smooth—it was warm jade.
Such an item was probably rare outside.
Xie Yu said, “Mother asked me to give it to you when I came. I forgot last night.”
Yan Zheng was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood the implication, her ears slightly heating up.
She couldn’t help but look at it again, her lips curving slightly.
Later, when she got up to cook breakfast, Xie Yu went to chop firewood, only to be criticized.
“You chopped it too small; how can we burn this?”
The young marquis was a bit wronged, weakly arguing, “Smaller pieces burn better…”
Yan Zheng shot him a sidelong glance, scooped up the pile of sawdust, and flung it into the air with one hand. The mutton-fat jade bracelet glimmered under the sunlight. “Burn what? It’ll all turn to ashes!”
Meanwhile, the big black horse in the stable gave a loud snort, its long equine face showing a distinctly human expression of disdain:
What are you doing? What’s the point of chasing here?
You’re useless!
Later, Yuanpei and Huoping came to cause trouble, but were chased away by Xie Yu with a dark expression.
Yuanpei jumped outside the wall, shouting, “Sir, you’re not doing this right! We’ve been friends, how can you treat guests like this?”
Huoping also grumbled, “This is Yan girl’s home. You’re overstepping.”
“You can come back in three days!” Xie Yu snapped.
He added, not forgetting, “And it’s not her home—it’s our home!”
Later, when someone came for treatment and saw a man in the courtyard, they were very surprised.
Xie Yu volunteered, “I’m Yan girl’s fiancé.”
Seeing Yan Zheng didn’t deny it, the old lady was delighted for them, but couldn’t help sneaking glances at Xie Yu, secretly feeling sorry for Yan Zheng, “The young man is nice, but a bit too thin.”
In terms of physique, one should look at our northwestern lads!
That build, those thick legs and arms—they looked like the proper material for settling down!
Saying so, she peeked out the window again, just in time to see the messy firewood on the ground, instantly frowning deeply, looking extremely worried.
The old lady whispered to Yan Zheng, “The young man’s skills are pretty bad…”
Even a dog from someone’s house biting randomly a few times would be better than that.
Yan Zheng suppressed a laugh and solemnly replied, “We’ll manage somehow. What else can we do?”
The old lady widened her eyes, “Our Liangzhou people won’t endure such humiliation!”
This is a lifelong matter; how can it be managed carelessly!
Yan Zheng laughed and fell onto the kang bed, explaining that he works for the government and doesn’t rely on chopping firewood for a living.
Only then did the old lady relent.
But she still felt somewhat unsatisfied.
Even a man who eats from the public rice bowl must manage a household, right?
Don’t let our Yan girl end up chopping firewood—that won’t do!
In the evening, she told Xie Yu, “Hey, did you hear? They said you’re too thin and criticized your firewood chopping skills.”
Xie Yu immediately felt the nearness of a difficult mother-in-law’s scrutiny.
Weren’t the people of Liangzhou supposed to be warm and hospitable?
Three days later, Yuanpei and Huoping finally managed to break through and reunite with their delayed reunion.
The four of them had a hotpot meal together, and Yan Zheng raised a soul-searching question, “Don’t you have to go to the office and handle official matters?”
They looked really idle!
Xie Yu vaguely felt her disapproval.
“We just need to complete the handover by the end of December. I arrived in late October, so I came early!”
Yuanpei stuffed a big chopstick full of fatty lamb into his mouth, grinning, “The commander rushed here like his life depended on it, almost leaving us brothers behind. The main group is still behind and won’t arrive for at least ten more days.”
Yan Zheng nodded in understanding.
It made sense. Xie Yu’s stay this time would be at least three years, so naturally, he needed to bring along all his accustomed daily necessities.
With so many things, there would definitely be a convoy for transportation, which naturally couldn’t match the speed of riding horses.
But seeing Yuanpei and Huoping exchanging glances, Yan Zheng felt that Xie Yu was hiding something.
Ten days later, when Yan Zheng looked at the two thick lists on the table, she was stunned.
Xie Yu explained very seriously, “This is the list of engagement gifts, and that one is the dowry list prepared by General Pei and others. Master Tu, Lady Zhao, Doctor Wang, and others also added many things…”
Everyone at home felt that since he was going away for three years, it might not be impossible to bring back a child.
After all, there was such a pretty girl waiting there. It would be too cruel to make the young marquis remain a celibate monk.
Thus, Princess Ningde privately discussed with Xie Xian and his elder brother, and also communicated with the Pei family. Eventually, they decided to let Xie Yu bring everything himself.
After all, the children are grown up now, and their skins are thick enough.
Since the elders couldn’t conveniently leave the capital, and considering Yan Zheng’s family was no longer around, it would only make the girl feel uncomfortable if Xie Yu’s side had all the elders present.
These rituals were superficial formalities anyway. What really mattered was for the two young people to live together happily.
The emperor also said that once the two of them agreed on a wedding date, he would issue an imperial decree to arrange the marriage.
After all they had been through, the two young people couldn’t remain without official recognition—it would be unacceptable both publicly and privately.
A few days later, the news spread throughout Liangzhou city: the newly appointed Transport Commissioner was none other than the young marquis who had descended from heaven alongside Yan Zheng on their celestial trial.
“I was the first one to see it! At the time, I thought that young man was special. Look at his build, his looks, his firewood chopping skills—how outstanding!”
Early in the morning, an old lady was animatedly telling the story.
Coincidentally, Xie Yu passed behind her.
“Hmph, women’s mouths—lying ghosts!”
Last time, you were still criticizing me for being too thin and chopping firewood poorly!
Let me tell you, my firewood chopping is much better now!
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