After traveling on water for several days, Jiankang City was already visible in the distance ahead.

Gao Huan had long been waiting at the ferry, ready to receive Xiao Yongjia and Luoshen.

From the day of her marriage until today’s return, it had actually only been about a month or so in between.

But to Luoshen’s feelings, it seemed as though they had been separated by a vast distance.

Riding in the carriage into the city, looking out through the window, seeing familiar street scenes piece by piece made her feel deeply moved.

Several days ago, that kind of melancholy that had been drawn out gradually began to fade away.

In her heart, she still held expectations after all.

After all, she was finally returning to her most familiar home, able to live together again with the parents who loved her most.

Previously, on the night Luoshen married, Xiao Yongjia had returned to Bailu Zhou. Today, bringing his daughter back from Jingkou, Gao Qiao knew about this and had sent word saying he would return home early, asking the Eldest Princess to also return to the residence to have dinner with their daughter.

Gao Qiao indeed returned home early today. Father and daughter met with great joy, and at the family banquet, their familial affection was beyond words.

After the meal, it was only the Hour of the Dog, yet the sky had turned completely dark, as the season was already November and the outside air felt cold. However, Xiao Yongjia ordered servants to prepare a carriage, wanting to return to Bailu Zhou that very night.

Luoshen earnestly tried to dissuade her, and Gao Qiao also spoke up to persuade her to stay. Only then did Xiao Yongjia reluctantly remain for one night. The next morning, she wanted to set out early to leave the city, asking Luoshen which side she would choose.

On one side was her father, on the other her mother – Luoshen couldn’t bear to part with either, and her mood suddenly became dejected.

The joyful feeling of returning home last night completely vanished at this moment.

She stood there, silent and speechless.

A’Ju looked at her, her expression also sorrowful.

Gao Qiao hesitated for a moment, then went up to Xiao Yongjia and said, “A’Ling, come with me.”

Xiao Yongjia looked at her husband’s retreating figure, but eventually stepped forward to follow. The two entered the room one after the other.

“What is it?” Xiao Yongjia asked coldly.

“I know you despise me utterly, and naturally wouldn’t force you to reluctantly face me. But A’Mi has just married and returned home – could you please stay?”

In Gao Qiao’s tone, there was a hint of pleading, and also some helplessness.

Xiao Yongjia gazed at him for a moment, and her expression finally began to soften somewhat.

“Very well, it’s for our daughter.”

Gao Qiao’s expression relaxed, and he smiled slightly, saying, “Thank you. If there’s anything I do that displeases you, please speak freely – whatever I can change, I will certainly change. A’Mi is grown up now, not like before. I don’t want our discord to put her in a difficult position between us.”

Xiao Yongjia looked at her husband across from her, her coral lips pressed tightly together, forming a stubborn line. Suddenly, something like a flash of sadness seemed to pass through her eyes, but it was fleeting.

“No need to speak of this,” she smiled faintly, “I understand what you mean. I’ll stay then.”

She turned to leave, but Gao Qiao called her back.

“Now that A’Mi has married, it’s not convenient for me to ask about her married life. She’s close to you – has she mentioned to you how Li Mu treats her?”

Xiao Yongjia thought of some things about her daughter and Li Mu’s intimate affairs that A’Ju had told her, and frowned.

“That he married my daughter is a blessing he cultivated in his previous life. How would he dare treat her poorly?”

Gao Qiao sighed and nodded.

“Has A’Mi said how long she plans to stay back home?”

“Naturally she won’t return there again!” Xiao Yongjia said coldly.

“If they want my daughter to become a member of the Li family, that depends on whether that man surnamed Li has the fate for it!”

Gao Qiao’s expression was complex. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly turned and walked out.

……

Mother finally stayed after all, and that evening, father didn’t go sleep in the study either.

What transpired between them behind closed doors, Luoshen didn’t know, but at least during the day, on the surface, their relationship seemed much more harmonious than before.

This brought Luoshen a trace of comfort.

But deep in her heart, she didn’t truly feel that kind of happiness that comes after real relief.

Rather, during those days at the Li family, except for the discomfort she felt all over when facing Li Mu, whenever Li Mu wasn’t there and she was together with Lu Shi and A’Ting, Luoshen actually felt most relaxed.

The aftermath of the Gao family’s daughter’s marriage had still not dissipated and remained a topic of discussion among the noble ladies behind closed doors in Jiankang.

Xiao Yongjia was well aware of this, so she deliberately didn’t spread news that her daughter had been brought back from Jingkou. Luoshen was even less likely to actively engage in social activities, spending each day only at home, living a quiet life in her boudoir.

After several days like this, Emperor Xingping apparently still learned that she had returned to Jiankang, and sent palace attendants to deliver two baskets of fresh fruit tributed from the south and a piece of Huayang tea.

Huayang produced the finest tribute tea, but the tea cakes made needed to be consumed fresh – if stored too long, they would lose their flavor.

It so happened that last night, Jiankang had its first snowfall since entering winter.

The snow was Jinling’s fine snow, light silken threads drifting and fluttering against the window screens – nothing like the northern snow Luoshen had read about in childhood and yearned for: “increasing ice towering high, flying snow for a thousand li.” But the plum tree branches still bore a layer of fresh snow.

She collected some, letting it sit quietly through the night, obtaining half a jar of snow water. That afternoon, she invited Xiao Yongjia to the Snow Pavilion, personally brewing tea for mother and daughter to drink together.

Outside, the white snow was fluffy; inside the pavilion, the warm brazier made it feel like spring. Xiao Yongjia reclined on the couch, leisurely half-leaning against a cushion, her dark brows and vermillion lips watching her daughter prepare tea.

Luoshen cleaned her hands, rolled up her sleeves, exposing her white wrists, took a silver knife to cut off a small piece of tea cake, placed it in a jade cup, slowly ground it with a mortar. When the snow water gradually boiled, producing tiny fish-eye bubbles, she added the tea, gradually adding fragrant paste. After it boiled and cooled slightly, she added a few drops of sweet dew, finally serving it in a tea cup, personally carrying it to Xiao Yongjia with a smile: “Please, A’Niang.”

Xiao Yongjia smiled as she accepted it, closed her eyes to smell it, then gently took a sip, praising: “Excellently brewed. No less than the tea masters I drank from in the palace before my marriage.”

Luoshen picked up her own cup, took a sip, and also smiled: “A’Niang, could you tell me about how you married A’Ye back then?”

Xiao Yongjia paused, glanced at her daughter, her smile still present but said: “What’s there to tell about that? It’s been so many years, I’ve forgotten.”

Luoshen slowly set down her teacup, gazing intently at her mother.

“A’Niang, I’ve wanted to know for a long time – why have you and A’Ye come to be the way you are now? I’ve asked A’Ju countless times, but she only says she doesn’t know. I know she knows, but just won’t tell me.”

“Minister Xu and his wife are at odds because Minister Xu took concubines and his wife disapproved. A’Ye is a good person – all these years, there hasn’t been a single other woman around him, and he wholeheartedly labors for state affairs. I feel very sorry for him.”

“A’Niang, why exactly do you dislike A’Ye?”

Luoshen finally asked the question that had been buried in her heart for so long.

The smile on Xiao Yongjia’s face gradually disappeared. She sat up straight and put down her teacup.

“A’Mi, so today you invited me for tea for this reason.”

She smiled.

“Your A’Ye is a good person. But A’Niang tells you, in all these years with him, the only thing A’Niang doesn’t regret is giving birth to you. As long as you can live well in the future, A’Niang is willing to do anything.”

She picked up her teacup again, lowered her brows, and gently blew on a strand of green tea leaf floating inside, smiling at her daughter.

“If you ask about this again, I’ll leave.”

……

The topic that had lingered in her heart for so long had barely begun before being cut short by her mother.

Luoshen had no choice but to drop the subject.

The afternoon passed, and the snow stopped.

Last night, plus today’s full day, a thin layer of white had accumulated on the ground in the courtyard.

At dusk, Luoshen sat by the half-open south window, copying a stone rubbing.

Yingtao and several younger maids ran into the courtyard, building little snowmen. Their chattering laughter kept coming through.

The cold air seeped through the window bit by bit. After sitting for a long time, her fingertips holding the brush became slightly cold.

She put down the brush, breathed on her hands, and rubbed them together.

Qiongshu brought over a white fox fur hand warmer.

Luoshen tucked both hands inside, asked Qiongshu not to close the window, and continued sitting there, watching the maids running back and forth under the snowy branches outside, playing and laughing. Gradually, she became lost in thought.

This afternoon, mother’s words – “As long as you can live well in the future, A’Niang is willing to do anything” – made her involuntarily think of Li Mu.

Thinking of Li Mu, she inevitably also thought of that night before his departure, the scene of their time together.

And the words he had said to her.

Naturally, she wouldn’t wish for his defeat.

Moreover, in her consciousness, she always felt that someone like him would surely be able to win battles.

This was an intuition, without reason.

She wondered where he had led his troops by now, and how the battle situation was going.

While Luoshen’s mind wandered, she suddenly heard someone outside say: “Sixth Young Master has arrived.”

Luoshen turned her head and saw Gao Huan stamping his feet a few times outside the threshold, shaking off the snow and mud from his boots. After calling “A’Jie,” he stepped across the threshold and entered. She revealed a smile and rose to greet him.

Gao Huan waved his hand, telling her to sit there, then walked over to sit across from her, leaning over to glance at the calligraphy she was copying, praising that her writing was excellent – even men couldn’t compare.

Luoshen smiled and had Qiongshu serve tea and refreshments. The two chatted casually for a few moments.

From childhood to adulthood, Gao Huan was someone who wore his feelings on his face. Luoshen could see he was restless and troubled by something.

She had felt this way ever since returning these past few days, which made her think of Lu Xiurong.

After returning, she had learned about Lu Xiurong’s situation.

Not long after her own marriage to Jingkou, Lu Xiurong had also married into another prominent family according to Lu Guang’s arrangements. That family had long-standing grievances with the Gao family.

Though Gao Huan was still naive about romantic feelings, he had known Lu Xiurong since childhood and their relationship had always been good.

In this lifetime, these two would never have a chance together.

When Luoshen heard this news, she felt melancholy.

Whether herself or Lu Xiurong, both were powerless regarding their marriages.

This was perhaps the destined fate of noble-born women like them – appearing glamorous and well-provided for on the surface, but unable to control their own destinies.

Gao Huan’s heart was perhaps troubled by exactly this.

Luoshen hesitated, about to speak words of comfort to him, when Gao Huan ordered the maids to leave and said: “A’Jie, I want to go to Jiangbei. Can you help me?”

Luoshen was startled and looked at him.

“Li Mu faces Yuan Jie’s hundred thousand troops with only six thousand mixed soldiers. Three thousand are palace guard regulars, the other three thousand are Second Uncle’s men who may not obey his commands. This battle will surely end in defeat. Though I resent him for forcibly marrying you, he is still a hero – I don’t want to see him die so uselessly.”

He looked back behind him, then leaned closer.

“I’ve stolen Second Uncle’s tiger tally – it can mobilize the twenty thousand troops stationed outside Guangling to go provide reinforcement. I urgently need to cross the river! But Uncle watches me extremely closely. Whenever I go out, Gao Qi follows me – I can’t shake him off!”

“A’Jie, help me cross the river! If I can lend him assistance, when he returns, I’ll speak up to have him divorce you. This way, I’ll have repaid his kindness to me, and A’Jie, you can find another good match. A’Jie, please help me!”

Luoshen was stunned. Suddenly, the scene of Li Mu’s time with her that night before his departure flashed rapidly through her mind again.

His appearance then, and the words he spoke to her, made it hard for her to imagine that what he was about to face would be such a battle.

“A’Jie, if I don’t leave now and get discovered, there won’t be another chance…”

Gao Huan grabbed her arm, his face showing anxiety, shaking her continuously.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door again.

Luoshen turned around once more and saw Gao Yin appear at the threshold.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Gao Huan, frowning with his heroic brows: “Sixth Brother, return the item! Uncle’s orders – you are to be confined and not permitted to leave even one step until you repent!”