A’Cuo’s carriage had not fallen behind — it had been held up from the very start.

Madam Wei had made all the arrangements in advance. Knowing they might be delayed by the snow, and also perhaps as a small gesture of apology — given that her precious son had once used the evening curfew as an excuse to block the Ye Family carriage in the middle of the road the first time — she had assigned an escort party to each group, bearing Marquis Wei’s personal token, which granted unimpeded passage.

A’Cuo’s carriage had actually departed first, since Fu Yunrui had detained Qinglan in conversation. At the time, A’Cuo said nothing. But when the carriage had traveled two streets away and was well beyond the grounds of the Wei Marquis’s residence, she called out: “Sister Yang Hua — tell them to stop.”

The carriage stopped. Yang Hua smiled and asked: “What is it, Miss?”

A’Cuo’s expression was cool and set. “Tell the Young Marquis that the Ye Family has no need of his escort. Madam Wei did not arrange for him specifically to accompany us, and we certainly have no wish to trouble him further.”

Yang Hua had actually seen it when they were leaving: the escort party that had originally been assigned was led by a military officer of around thirty, but at the last moment Wei Yushan appeared — in that magnificent embroidered robe of his — and without a word, he mounted his horse. No amount of coaxing from his elderly servant — “Young Master, you’re still injured, you shouldn’t be riding” — made any difference. The party followed his lead, and with a single word from him, they rode out the gate.

Now that A’Cuo had thrown down the challenge, Yang Hua could see well enough which way the wind was blowing. They were still Madam Wei’s guests today, so there was no need to be afraid. Liu Ji was with them too — the sharpest of footmen, more capable than the average household’s senior steward. So Yang Hua said cheerfully: “Liu Ji, go and say a word to the Young Marquis.”

Liu Ji was bold enough — he actually jumped down from the carriage step and went toward Wei Yushan. In truth, the inside and outside of the carriage were close enough, and the snow was not falling heavily, so Wei Yushan had already heard everything.

A young frontier general, seventeen or eighteen years old at most — whose only experience in the world was fighting battles — was completely unprepared for the soft, edged tactics of a young woman. He was in the wrong, by all reasonable measure; moreover, the other party had been entirely proper and polite in asking him to leave.

But he did not want to leave.

And yielding was entirely out of the question. He had been beaten into that state and had not begged for mercy once — and certainly not in front of his own subordinates. Besides, even if he wanted to yield, he had no idea how. He found himself at an impasse, and nudged his horse forward two steps, toward the window of the carriage.

“Young Marquis, please — ” Liu Ji immediately stretched out his arms to block him, quick-witted as always, and spoke with a full smile while making a reasonable case: “The young ladies inside are sheltered young misses — how could they receive the Young Marquis here?”

Wei Yushan almost said, “We already met at noon” — but stopped himself, afraid that would only make her angrier. And it would not do her reputation any good.

So she had come looking for him at noon — on her own initiative. At the risk of her own reputation.

That thought moved him. And then, remembering the things he himself had said, he understood at once where her anger was coming from.

She must be furious with him — that was why she wouldn’t let him escort her.

He was truly contemptible.

He could not see her, could only speak through the carriage window. Imagining her sitting inside, seething, Wei Yushan was even more at a loss for what to say.

“I…” He hesitated, and hesitated again, and still could not find a single thing that fit the moment. He could only say: “The snow is heavier now. Let me see the young lady home first — she mustn’t catch a chill.”

“Tell the Young Marquis,” her voice came, cool and quiet, through the walls of the carriage, “if I freeze to death, it is no concern of his.”

If a subordinate had spoken to him like that, Wei Yushan would very likely have twisted their head off. Yet she said it just like this, and Wei Yushan felt not even a trace of anger.

He was afraid of her.

He understood that suddenly — and in doing so, he dimly grasped why the Cui Jingyu who had seemed all-powerful in his eyes would turn red-eared at the mere mention of a name like Ye.

The snow truly was heavier now. Wind and snow both — the carriage must be getting colder. He now understood on his own, without anyone telling him, why Cui Jingyu had once tossed him off a horse on Chang’an Street.

But he was still Wei Yushan — even moved as he was, he had his own pride. He couldn’t force the person inside the carriage, but the person outside could bear the consequences. The Ye Family’s coachman happened to know who he was, and cowered before him on sight.

“Drive on,” he ordered the coachman.

“No,” A’Cuo’s voice immediately commanded from inside the carriage.

One was the completely unruly Wei Family’s young marquis; the other was a young miss spoiled like the apple of everyone’s eye. The coachman was caught in the middle — and even Liu Ji wore a helpless smile.

Fortunately, there was one more person inside the carriage with A’Cuo.

“What are you all doing,” Yanyan immediately protested. “If you have something to say, just say it — the Elder Sisters aren’t here anyway, and I won’t go telling. Are we going or not? I’m freezing!”

A’Cuo was, after all, still young — she didn’t understand the art of knowing when to push and when to pull back. She was like a child who had just been given a bow and arrow for the first time, eagerly testing its power, wholly intent on taming Wei Yushan — the cold hadn’t even entered her thoughts.

Wei Yushan, however, came back to his senses.

His father cared only for battles; his mother had been ill for years. He had long since learned to conduct himself as though he were already grown, which was precisely why he was always so set on doing things his own way. He was, therefore, surprisingly more aware of the moment’s stakes than A’Cuo. Seeing Yanyan complaining of the cold, he simply said: “Everyone step back.”

Liu Ji understood the signal and drew back with the coachman and the soldiers, leaving a clear distance for them to speak. But Yanyan said: “I’m certainly not going out — I’d freeze to death.”

Wei Yushan nearly laughed at her.

“Ye Yanyan — four years, and you haven’t changed at all. Still just as shameless.”

Yanyan refused to concede.

“Hmph! You have the nerve to call me shameless — you’re the one who had people surround our carriage in the middle of the night, trying to freeze us to death! No wonder your father beat you. Even your own mother didn’t say a word against it — what right do you have to bully us? We’re your enemies, aren’t we?”

Her tirade left Wei Yushan with nothing to say. He could only reply: “I don’t feel like arguing with you.”

“If you won’t argue with me, you want to argue with A’Cuo?” Yanyan fired back quickly. “Did she do something to you? She only arrived at our house ten days ago! Why are you taking what our family did out on her?”

Wei Yushan had actually looked into it — he knew A’Cuo’s surname was Yu, not Ye. Faced with Yanyan’s question, he had no answer.

But he hadn’t expected A’Cuo to be so fierce.

“I may have only arrived ten days ago, but anyone who bullies Sister Qinglan and Sister Lingbo is bullying me. Your enemy is my enemy, and I will never forgive you.” Her voice remained cold. “Yanyan, if you have something to say to him, say it. As for me — I have nothing. Young Marquis, you may go. I do not need your escort, and I have no wish to see you again. In the future, at the Flower Announcement Banquet, let us each go our own way and have nothing to do with each other. That is cleaner.”

“No need to start” — meaning something had already started.

Wei Yushan understood what she meant. It was like swallowing a fireball — the feeling in his chest was indescribable. Yanyan, wanting to cause trouble, pried the carriage window open a crack to see his reaction. A’Cuo had spoken those cutting words, yet she too could not help stealing a glance at his expression.

The sky had not yet gone dark. She was in shadow; he was in light. Outside, the snow-light was brilliant and clear, making the brocade robe on his frame blaze with color, all the more making his features look sharp and fine. His long brows were drawn tight — young still, not quite a full-grown man, and yet already carrying an air of battle-honed intensity.

The Wei Family were of Qin lineage. He had the Qin man’s narrow face, with a clean, decisive jaw that set hard when clenched.

How much time passed — it was hard to say. Just when A’Cuo thought he was about to stand down, he raised his hand.

“He Jiu — see the young ladies home.”

Marquis Wei’s personal token was a black tablet. It cut an arc through the air and dropped into the hands of the officer called He Jiu.

Wei Yushan had finished giving his orders. He turned his horse and rode away — not looking back once.

Yanyan was not at all surprised that A’Cuo had overplayed her hand, and was not the slightest bit worried. She simply turned back to look at A’Cuo with a smile.

“Second Elder Sister said — Wei Yushan is rather like a donkey: lead him gently and he won’t move, but hit him and he goes backward.”

A’Cuo understood what she meant. Which was precisely why she had to hold her head high.

“It’s no concern of mine what kind of animal he resembles,” she said. She was now a second Lingbo in every sense — even the habit of delivering parting declarations was exactly the same: “The Flower Announcement Banquet has twenty-four rounds. We have plenty of time ahead.”