This bitter summer in the Great Jin Dynasty passed particularly long. Due to the ravages of war, it seemed to have turned into a heap of scorching desert, devoid of life. Xuan Li’s forces had finally retreated from the capital to the edge of the city gates, ultimately outnumbered. Xuan Pei’s subordinates included no shortage of military generals—the veteran General Zhao Guang and his four sons from the General’s Manor, the young and valiant God of War Jiang Xinzhi, civil officials like Lin Wei and Liu Min, and militarily, Xiao Shao’s hundreds of thousands of Embroidered Uniform Guards. Xuan Li’s forces retreated steadily. Among them, Jiang Xinzhi and Xiao Shao’s Embroidered Uniform Guards were particularly fierce, almost as brutal and unreasonable as autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves. Sometimes when facing isolated units of Xuan Li’s army, even when the numbers were evenly matched or even greatly inferior, it ultimately became one-sided slaughter.

Xiao Shao had always brought assassin habits to the battlefield. In the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ eyes, enemies couldn’t be called enemies—they could only be called prey, so slaughter became instinct. Everyone knew why Jiang Xinzhi and Xiao Shao were so frenzied—because Xuan Li had captured Jiang Ruan and killed her.

Xuan Li’s initial willingness to make this decision was probably because having Jiang Ruan in hand made him so fearless and unscrupulous. As long as the Embroidered Uniform Guards didn’t intervene, Xuan Pei’s people could naturally only fight him to a draw. Who knew that Yuan Chuan’s final scheme would actually calculate him into it as well, thus becoming mortal enemies with Xiao Shao. And those who opposed the Embroidered Uniform Guards would naturally face additional difficulties walking in this world.

Moreover, with Xuan Pei stationed in court, handling affairs methodically, even those ministers who still couldn’t decide their position, who had initially harbored lucky thoughts in the succession struggle, were all arranged and dealt with by Xuan Pei one by one. Xuan Pei vigorously supported new ministers, including many confidants who had followed him from the beginning. His rewards and punishments were clear, and his settling of scores afterward made all ministers realize that this young emperor was no pushover. The movements of everyone in court had been observed by him long ago—he had simply refrained from acting before.

But even if the war was intense and victory reports came frequently, the parties involved—whether the emperor, the General’s Manor, Jiang Xinzhi, or Xiao Shao—all showed not a trace of joy. Especially Xiao Shao, who did everything coldly each day, ate coldly, and had become far more indifferent than before, as if nothing in the world could be reflected in his eyes.

“Still no news?” Butler Lin—who should now be called the new court minister Lin Wei—looked from afar at Xiao Shao standing in the pavilion in the courtyard, lost in thought, and asked those beside him.

Qi Feng shook his head. These days, Xiao Shao had never given up searching for Jiang Ruan’s whereabouts. Every Embroidered Uniform Guard unit had received notice, but such large-scale searching yielded no results, which perhaps meant something. Xiao Shao was a calm and rational person—he couldn’t possibly not know this. Yet he persisted in believing Jiang Ruan hadn’t died. When the Embroidered Uniform Guards had wanted to find some ashes in that fire-destroyed temple to erect a cenotaph for Jiang Ruan, and Xiao Shao saw it, he flew into a rage, directly smashing that cenotaph to pieces and severely punishing those Embroidered Uniform Guards who had acted on their own initiative. Since then, no one dared mention Jiang Ruan’s whereabouts in front of Xiao Shao.

Extreme wisdom brings sorrow; deep love shortens life. Since Xiao Shao insisted on holding onto this hope, what could they do? But having someone cling to hopeless hope was rather heartbreaking for onlookers.

Lin Wei also sighed and said: “Let’s go.” Just as he was about to leave, he saw Jin Er running out from somewhere, looking extremely excited, holding something, not even bothering with lightness skills, running hastily while shouting: “Master, Master, there’s news!”

Qi Feng and Lin Wei were both stunned, then immediately hurried toward the two. Xiao Shao turned around. Jin Er was so excited he forgot master-servant etiquette. Just as Qi Feng and Lin Wei approached, they heard Jin Er’s voice: “Young Master, someone discovered Young Mistress’s jewelry at a pawn shop in the southern district!”

…

Jiang Ruan finished the last stitch on the small jacket, bit off the thread with her mouth, and skillfully tied a knot. She was quite practiced at these tasks. Seeing this, Sister-in-law Gui couldn’t help but praise her, saying that looking at her delicate skin, she seemed like a young lady from a wealthy family who probably hadn’t done much rough work, yet her clothing was sewn so exquisitely it was even better than the village tailor’s work.

Jiang Ruan just smiled. She had once lived on an estate for a long time, doing endless embroidery work daily, so naturally her needlework had improved. After returning to the Minister’s Manor, she rarely touched needlework, but now thinking of the child in her womb filled her with joy, making needlework a pleasure. She had been sewing from spring to summer, and these past days had rushed to make some light summer jackets, all cotton cloth that felt very comfortable.

Sister-in-law Gui said: “Though you sew well, Ruanniang, you still shouldn’t do too much. Your due date is approaching—don’t let anything go wrong because of this. Rest well these days. It’s hot too, so leave these things to me.” She looked at Jiang Ruan’s belly and lovingly reached out to touch it: “Looking at how big this belly is, it’s definitely a big fat boy.”

Jiang Ruan also looked down at her abdomen and reached out to touch it, seeming to still feel the child kicking her. The days here had been much more relaxed than her previous life in the outside world. Perhaps because this place was remote and isolated from the world, the people here didn’t live calculating lives. Regardless, it was very suitable for her to nurture her pregnancy here.

Just then, reproachful voices came from outside, along with a child’s quiet sobbing. Both Jiang Ruan and Sister-in-law Gui were startled, then saw Da Shan pulling Xiao Shan over. Xiao Shan hung his head with tears still on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Sister-in-law Gui asked. “Da Shan, did you bully Xiao Shan again?”

“Mother, I didn’t bully Xiao Shan!” Da Shan’s face still showed anger, seeming very upset. He looked at Xiao Shan and said: “Tell Mother and Ruanniang yourself what you did!”

Sister-in-law Gui and Jiang Ruan exchanged glances—this matter actually involved Jiang Ruan. Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Da Shan, don’t be hasty. Xiao Shan is still young and doesn’t understand things. You might scare him this way. What happened to Xiao Shan?” She had been staying at Sister-in-law Gui’s home all this time. The two brothers Da Shan were her lifesavers and treated her very sincerely. Returning favors for kindness, she should naturally be grateful. She just had no way to repay them currently.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shan burst into loud tears, making Jiang Ruan even more puzzled. Da Shan sighed, stood before Jiang Ruan with a shameful expression, bowed to her, and said: “I’m sorry, Ruanniang. This boy stole your jewelry and sold it.”

Sister-in-law Gui shot up, her expression changing as she looked at Xiao Shan. She said angrily: “Xiao Shan! How did I usually teach you? We don’t steal or rob, we don’t do sneaky things. How could you be so worthless? How can you face your father!” Sister-in-law Gui became so angry that her eyes reddened, almost ready to cry. Truly furious, she reached out to hit Xiao Shan.

“Sister-in-law Gui, don’t be angry,” Jiang Ruan quickly advised. Being pregnant, she couldn’t directly intervene, so she said: “Xiao Shan certainly didn’t mean it. Let’s hear what the child has to say first.”

Xiao Shan sobbed: “Qionghua’s grandmother is sick and needs expensive medicine to save her life. Doctor Wang doesn’t have those medicines—they can only be found in the capital. Qionghua’s family is poor and can’t afford that money. I saw that Ruanniang’s jewelry looked valuable, so I stole it to pawn. But I pawned it as a live pawn—when I have money later, I’ll definitely redeem it for Ruanniang.”

Having lived here for a long time, Jiang Ruan naturally knew about Qionghua’s family situation. Qionghua lived with only her grandmother, and Qionghua’s grandmother was now very old, already in her twilight years. Qionghua had probably confided in her playmates, and Xiao Shan, having grown up with Qionghua, couldn’t provide that much money himself, so he thought of the jewelry Jiang Ruan had brought when she arrived, which she had later removed due to pregnancy.

Sister-in-law Gui was stunned, probably not expecting Xiao Shan to steal Jiang Ruan’s jewelry for such a reason. This behavior was indeed inexcusable, yet it came from good intentions. She said indignantly: “Even so, you shouldn’t have stolen Ruanniang’s jewelry!”

Xiao Shan cried: “Mother taught us to repay kindness with gratitude. After Father died, our family of three lived in hardship, and Qionghua’s grandmother often helped us. Now she’s in trouble, we can’t just stand by and watch. But I have no money, and those jewels are just dead objects. I just borrowed from Ruanniang—I’ll definitely return them later.”

Jiang Ruan thought for a moment and said: “Xiao Shan, this place is far from the outside, and it’s more than ten li from the capital. How did you get out?”

Xiao Shan still had tears in his eyes: “I walked out myself. It took several days to get out. A few days ago when I said I was going to the mountains to play with Er Gouzi, I was actually going to pawn things.”

Sister-in-law Gui gasped. Xiao Shan was still a child, and walking for several days like that must have exhausted him. What mother doesn’t feel sorry for her son? Especially Sister-in-law Gui, who depended on her two sons, naturally the resentment in her heart quickly dissipated. She just looked at Xiao Shan and scolded: “You little fool! Why didn’t you tell Mother and your big brother?”

“I was afraid Mother and big brother wouldn’t agree, but only Ruanniang’s jewelry could save Qionghua’s grandmother.”

Jiang Ruan smiled: “It doesn’t matter, Sister-in-law Gui. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Those jewels aren’t worth much anyway, and I can’t use them now that I’m pregnant. They’re just dead objects—better to exchange them for silver to treat illness. Da Shan and Xiao Shan saved my life, and Sister-in-law Gui gave me shelter. You’ve all been caring for me this whole time, and I have nothing to repay you with. I originally wanted to give you those jewels as compensation for troubling you all this time. Xiao Shan is still a child—what’s important is his kind heart. He didn’t steal intentionally. I think Sister-in-law Gui shouldn’t blame him.”

Xiao Shan rubbed his eyes and looked at Jiang Ruan without speaking. Sister-in-law Gui felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly said: “How can that be? Ruanniang, Da Shan saving you was his duty. What compensation are you talking about? Wouldn’t that be treating us as outsiders? We really can’t accept these things. Later I’ll have Xiao Shan tell me the amount of silver, and we’ll redeem them.”

Jiang Ruan shook her head: “They’re just external possessions, not important. No need to redeem them. But Xiao Shan, when you went out from here, did you encounter any danger? Did you meet anyone?” She was worried about something else—previously fearing Yuan Chuan’s people were still wandering outside, she hadn’t dared easily show herself, lest she fall into the tiger’s mouth again. Would Xiao Shan taking her jewelry out be discovered by anyone?

Xiao Shan shook his head: “No.”

Jiang Ruan thought: “What about the capital—has anything happened there recently?”

Xiao Shan thought: “The capital is at war, with people everywhere.” Living in this secluded place, they weren’t very clear about court succession struggles, naturally not knowing Xuan Li’s name either.

Sister-in-law Gui became anxious upon hearing this: “There’s a war and you still ran out? Don’t you think about what your big brother and I would do if something happened to you? You’re not hurt, are you?” She had looked ready to devour someone earlier but now couldn’t help worrying about her child’s safety. The more Sister-in-law Gui thought about it, the more uneasy she became, so she grabbed Xiao Shan’s ear and walked toward the house: “No, I need to check.” She instructed Da Shan: “Da Shan, watch Ruanniang and don’t let her lift heavy things.” After speaking, she left with Xiao Shan.

After Sister-in-law Gui and Xiao Shan left, only Da Shan and Jiang Ruan remained. Da Shan looked at Jiang Ruan somewhat at a loss, finally gathering courage to say: “I’m sorry, Ruanniang. I didn’t teach Xiao Shan well.”

Jiang Ruan came back to her senses and smiled: “What does this matter? Xiao Shan didn’t mean it either, and it was all to save someone. Da Shan, you don’t need to take it to heart.” As she spoke, she remembered what Xiao Shan had said about the situation in the capital. Xiao Shan said there was fighting in the capital but didn’t specify what the situation was. She wondered how Xiao Shao was now, and how Xuan Pei and her elder brother were.

Da Shan also guessed that Jiang Ruan was distracted because of Xiao Shan’s words. However, Da Shan thought Jiang Ruan was thinking of her husband—that vicious husband who abused, deceived, and wanted to kill her. In Da Shan’s eyes, Jiang Ruan was gentle and kind, so she must be feeling sorry for her husband. Da Shan felt somewhat indignant for Jiang Ruan. He thought Jiang Ruan deserved someone better, so he said: “Ruanniang… actually, you don’t need to think about the past. You should look forward. People who don’t cherish you should be left in the past.”

After gathering courage to say these words, his face immediately flushed red. Jiang Ruan looked at him somewhat surprised. She could naturally see this young man’s feelings for her. During these days, he had been extraordinarily caring, and Jiang Ruan had politely maintained distance from him. But this child was probably single-minded, and living in such a simple environment, his feelings had never changed.

Da Shan looked at Jiang Ruan’s bright face and said: “Ruanniang could actually stay here. I… Xiao Shan also likes you very much. The child in Ruanniang’s belly—I could also help take care of him. I could teach him archery…”

This subtle confession was almost the extent of what Da Shan could say. This was his first time saying such words to a woman. For him, it didn’t matter that Jiang Ruan had been married or that she had her own child—he wanted to sincerely care for this woman.

Jiang Ruan was also momentarily stunned. If this were in the outside world, with her status she would be an outright divorced woman. No matter how pitiable her background, no man from a good family would want her. But this place was different, and Da Shan was so young—he could find a better girl, yet he still confessed his feelings to her.

Jiang Ruan looked at the young man before her, vibrant like a sun untainted by the outside world. She smiled: “Thank you, but Da Shan, I can take care of him myself.”

Her words were calm, without the slightest fluctuation. Clearly, her state of mind hadn’t changed even slightly because of Da Shan’s words—she wasn’t moved.

Da Shan looked at her disappointedly and asked unwillingly: “Is it because… Ruanniang still can’t forget him?”

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly. Just as she was about to answer, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She couldn’t help reaching out to cover her belly, but the pain grew stronger and more intense. Unable to bear it, she groaned and bent over, supporting herself against a nearby pillar.

“Ruanniang?” Da Shan was first stunned, then seeing Jiang Ruan’s distressed state, his heart panicked. He quickly went over and, disregarding propriety between men and women, supported Jiang Ruan: “Ruanniang, what’s wrong?”

“It hurts so much,” Jiang Ruan frowned, her face instantly becoming pale as paper. Seeing the situation was wrong, Da Shan quickly called loudly: “Mother! Mother, something’s wrong with Ruanniang!”

Sister-in-law Gui was teaching Xiao Shan a lesson in the house when she heard Da Shan’s words and quickly ran out. Seeing Jiang Ruan’s condition, she was also startled and hurriedly said: “What happened?” She came to support Jiang Ruan, and seeing Jiang Ruan’s expression clearly, she was shocked and said: “Oh no, she’s probably going into labor.” She quickly said: “Da Shan, go to the village and call Granny Yu. Tell her Ruanniang is going into labor. I’ll take her back to the room first.”

Da Shan agreed and left. Sister-in-law Gui carefully helped Jiang Ruan to the bed in the room. By now, Jiang Ruan was in so much pain she was starting to sweat, but she bit her teeth to keep from crying out. Sister-in-law Gui felt sorry watching this and said: “Ruanniang, don’t force yourself to endure. The child is just starting to move now—we don’t know when the birth will actually begin. Don’t exhaust your strength now. I’ll have someone boil some brown sugar eggs right away. Ruanniang should eat some to have strength, so you can deliver the child smoothly later.”

This was Jiang Ruan’s first time giving birth in both lives. No matter how composed and steady she usually was, it was impossible to say she felt no fear at all. But she was always rational and calm, so she obediently nodded to Sister-in-law Gui: “Good.”

Sister-in-law Gui quickly asked the young wife next door to help boil eggs while she personally sat by the bed to accompany Jiang Ruan. She held Jiang Ruan’s hand, comforting her not to be afraid. Jiang Ruan was somewhat delirious from pain and unconsciously called out Xiao Shao’s name: “Ah Shao…”

At this very moment, Xiao Shao, who was rushing toward this place from outside the capital, was rapidly whipping his horse. For some unknown reason, his expression suddenly froze. Jiang Xinzhi, who was closely following beside him, noticed and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Shao pressed his lips together, shook his head and said: “Nothing.”