With two main commanders severely wounded, the army’s morale collapsed and they quickly retreated. Though Munuha was unwilling, he could only allow his subordinates to carry him away. They had spent enormous resources preparing for this ambush, hoping to kill Shen Yueshan in one strike.

They planned to throw the empire into chaos and then take advantage of the situation. However, their scheme was thwarted by a young white-faced commander who appeared from nowhere. Munuha fixed his gaze intently on Xiao Huayong, burning his image into memory – this arrow shot today would be repaid in the future.

At this moment, Xiao Huayong had already gracefully landed on his horse and cupped his hands toward the rapidly approaching Shen Yueshan: “Thank you for the rescue, Your Highness.”

Shen Yueshan’s reinforcements had also caught up. After glancing back at his unharmed beloved general, Shen Yueshan was extremely pleased: “It is I who should thank Your Highness.”

He had initially thought it was just a small-scale ambush, but only after charging through with Xiao Huayong did Shen Yueshan realize how extremely dangerous it had been. Had he charged through alone, he would certainly have been wounded, and his subordinates would have suffered several casualties at a minimum.

“Assisting Your Highness is Yong’s duty,” Xiao Huayong replied modestly with a smile.

Shen Yueshan gave Xiao Huayong a meaningful look, then raised his whip and spurred his horse forward.

“Your Highness shows such gallant bearing!”

“Your Highness’s archery is superb!”

“Your Highness is so courageous!”

…

The soldiers following Shen Yueshan all offered compliments and cupped their hands in respect before spurring their horses to catch up with him.

Xiao Huayong smiled slightly and also urged his horse forward. Having left the valley, the wind and snow grew increasingly fierce, making it difficult to keep one’s eyes open. They had now entered Longyou Road, the territory of the northwest.

Battling against the wind and snow, they galloped for two quarter-hours until reaching a small town. The men and women of the town all recognized Shen Yueshan. Upon seeing him, they emerged from their homes to welcome him warmly. Some villagers even brought out their six or seven-year-old children, asking Shen Yueshan: “Your Highness, my child is sturdy – let him join the army camp to follow you and protect our homeland!”

“Mine too, my boy is also strong and can eat plenty!”

“Ah Qi’er, you just can’t afford to feed him anymore and want to send him to the army camp for His Highness to feed…”

This sparked a round of hearty laughter. The people showed both respect and familiarity toward Shen Yueshan, who also displayed no airs. He even good-naturedly squeezed the arm of a child pushed toward him: “Not bad, sturdy indeed, but still needs more nourishment at home. I can’t afford to feed you.”

“Your Highness, we can’t afford to feed him either – this little one eats too much!” the middle-aged man bantered casually with Shen Yueshan.

“Go ask Magistrate Niu at the prefect’s office why you can’t afford to feed your children,” Shen Yueshan declared magnanimously. “I only look after your safety – keeping you well-fed is the court’s responsibility.”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense, Your Highness. We all eat well and praise the court’s benevolence and generosity.” Someone who was respected in the town pushed the crowd back and led Shen Yueshan’s group inside.

They were given hot water and boiled sheep’s milk to warm themselves.

After changing clothes, Xiao Huayong and Shen Yueshan sat by the fire while the others went elsewhere to rest.

The crackling of sparks was especially clear in the small, quiet room. The bone soup in the hanging pot gave off an enticing aroma. The bright flames cast half of Shen Yueshan’s face in red light: “What Your Highness said about my son, I now understand; Your Highness’s intentions, I have witnessed today. To be frank, before today, I harbored many suspicions about Your Highness.”

Xiao Huayong listened with a gentle smile, like a junior heeding an elder’s teachings.

“Youyou is my daughter. I know better than anyone that since childhood, she has never had any interest in forming marriage bonds with others…” On this point, Shen Yueshan showed some self-reproach.

Shen Xihe had no mother and thus lacked some of the feminine gentleness and shyness typical of young women. From childhood, her greatest wish was simply to live a few more days, to spend more time with her father and brother. Apart from her father and brother, and the Tao family, she didn’t take anyone else to heart, nor did she plan to.

This was because her illness prevented her from experiencing intense emotions – great joy and great sorrow were especially forbidden. For the sake of longevity, she deliberately minimized the number of people who could cause her to worry or affect her emotions.

In her youth, she read too many romance novels about infatuated men and resentful women, which led her not only to lack any yearning for romance between men and women but also to regard it as taboo. She didn’t find those passionate entanglements moving or earth-shattering; rather, she thought those men and women were selfish, obsessed, and foolish, wasting their lives.

Seeking death for a stranger, disregarding one’s closest family for an unrelated person…

Shen Yueshan and Shen Yun’an were too busy, sometimes only seeing her once every ten days or half a month. Her education was always handled by female tutors, but these tutors only taught proper conduct, understanding principles, and knowing etiquette. Not being her birth mother, how could they dare overstep and teach her about matters between men and women?

This led Shen Xihe to form her unique way of thinking about such matters. Combined with her dependence on her father and brother, she felt even more strongly that allowing herself to develop feelings for a stranger would lead to losing control and becoming unrecognizable – something she never wanted in her life.

“Actually, in earlier years, when her brother and I teased her about such things, she did say a thing or two. We just thought she was shy as a young woman and didn’t want to tease her further for fear of upsetting her and harming her health…” Shen Yueshan’s tone grew increasingly heavy as he spoke. “It wasn’t until my son properly came to the capital in the first month that I realized how much we father and son had overlooked.”

Xiao Huayong had never quite understood why Shen Xihe was so uniquely cold and disinterested in matters of love between men and women. He had asked her before, and she told him it was because the world was unfair – he had believed that. Only now, hearing from Shen Yueshan, did he realize there was much more to it.

Was she someone who, because of her physical weakness that prevented great joy or sorrow, had concluded that all historical cases of infatuated lovers involved such extreme emotions, and thus subconsciously suggested to herself that falling in love was equivalent to disregarding one’s life?

And because she wanted to live longer, she had cut off such thoughts early on, and these thoughts had become deeply rooted over many years.

Moreover, having been raised in the palm of Shen Yueshan and Shen Yun’an’s hands, she was extremely dependent on familial affection. Being frightened by those romance novels where people abandoned their families for the sake of earth-shattering romance, she warned herself never to become such a person.

During this process, she must have discussed with others why someone would disregard family ties for a stranger.

Perhaps someone, unable to win the argument or convince her, had told her something like “You’ll understand when you meet the right person – emotions can’t be controlled.”

This must have made her even more afraid of becoming such a person and hurting Shen Yueshan and Shen Yun’an, causing her to reject romantic love even more strongly.

Understanding why Shen Xihe had developed such a personality, Xiao Huayong’s heart ached slightly. If she had had a mother’s guidance and companionship, if she had witnessed her parents’ deep conjugal love, she surely wouldn’t have turned out this way.

Shen Yueshan raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Huayong with sincere intensity: “Your Highness, if you’re not seeking mutual love and affection; Youyou will be the most virtuous wife in the world.”

No jealousy, no drama, managing the household, maintaining the inner quarters – no one could surpass her in these aspects.