The cold wind blew in, and despite downing a cup of hot wine, Xiao Huayong felt no warmth – instead, his heartfelt chilly, as if he were standing naked in the snow and ice.

He wasn’t angry, just hurt. He knew Shen Xihe held no feelings for him, but seeing her give away his carefully chosen gift to another, even if that person was her birth father, made him jealous!

The earlier joy of gaining Shen Yueshan’s approval vanished completely. Without Shen Yueshan having to chase him away, he hurriedly left early the next morning.

“Your Highness, the Prince seems displeased?” The deputy commander didn’t understand why the Prince’s attitude had changed so dramatically after one night’s sleep.

Shen Yueshan gave a somewhat mocking cold laugh: “Ambitious wolf.”

Now he understood – if it were just Youyou giving him a cup, why would the young man look so sour? He should have shown more admiration. The cup was originally his gift to Youyou, who then gave it to her father, causing such a sullen expression.

His daughter had to marry, and this man was smitten with her – what could he as a father do to prevent it? Accepting Xiao Huayong as a son-in-law didn’t mean he had to like him. Between father-in-law and son-in-law, there was never any question of liking each other.

When there was business to discuss, they would discuss it; when there wasn’t, son-in-law and father-in-law were enemies!

Seeing his enemy’s discomfort made Shen Yueshan cheerful. He raised his horsewhip and rode forward leisurely.

After a few steps, Shen Yueshan stopped, his expression darkening: “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?” The commanders quickly gathered around, many worried, some vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

“Forgot to get His Highness to share his falcon training methods.” Shen Yueshan felt he’d missed an opportunity.

That Xiao Huayong could train so many obedient falcons – he’d only known of such masters in Khitan, never in Central Plains.

If they could train a batch of falcons for scouts, it would greatly benefit future military campaigns.

Whether for concealment, enemy detection, or disrupting enemy forces, it would be an extraordinary tactic.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness – you’ll be in-laws in the future,” teased the trusted deputy commander. “I noticed the Prince is quite thoughtful. He’ll probably offer it without Your Highness having to ask.”

Shen Yueshan glanced at him, just shaking his head lightly: “Let’s go.”

Regarding the falcon training, he would need to find time to discuss it privately with Xiao Huayong. As for whether these two could grow old together, even Shen Yueshan dared not conclude. Both were strong-willed people, not easily swayed.

He didn’t know if the future would bring his precious daughter’s ice melting or the Prince’s graceful withdrawal.

It was better to be clear about such crucial matters. Shen Yueshan didn’t want to take advantage of others, affecting his daughter’s decision – not trying to curry favor with him to influence his daughter’s response.

Three days after Xiao Huayong left, Shen Xihe grew worried about Shen Yueshan’s safety, as Mo Yuan had not yet returned with his men.

His Majesty had been busy purging Hebei Road these days, reorganizing everything from top to bottom. The court appointments had indeed been improper, leading to the Qi family tragedy. There were many compensations for Qi Pei, but Qi Jun and his wife could never be brought back to life, and Qi Pei would never stand again.

Qi Pei had begged the Princess’s manor physicians to treat him, and Emperor Youning had permitted it. Xie Yunhuai, Zhenzhu, and Axi took turns treating him. With his strong will to live, they managed to save his life, though he would never walk again and might suffer unbearable knee pain in cold weather.

“Being able to survive is enough for this humble one,” Qi Pei seemed accepting.

Shen Xihe stared at him. Though he appeared peaceful, she could sense the complete lack of light in his eyes, a dangerous darkness: “Do you know why I helped you?”

Not understanding why Shen Xihe asked this, Qi Pei could only answer: “The Princess is kind-hearted.”

“Kind-hearted?” Shen Xihe gave a derisive laugh. “You’re wrong. I didn’t save you out of kindness, but because before you came, I already wanted to deal with the Yang manor.”

Zhenzhu and Axi glanced at Shen Xihe, while Xie Yunhuai stood smiling.

Qi Pei’s eyes grew darker.

“Does it feel cold? Like there’s no warmth in this world?” Shen Xihe struck at his heart directly. “We’re neither family nor friends – why should I save you? Don’t place extravagant hopes on any strangers in this world. This is the first lesson I want to teach you today.”

Qi Pei bowed his head, cupping his hands: “Thank you for the Princess’s instruction.”

Shen Xihe crossed her shawl over her chest, slowly walking toward the window: “Right now you must feel resentful, cursing the world’s injustice, hating that heaven is blind.”

Qi Pei remained silent. He didn’t want to deny it, knowing Shen Xihe could judge truth from lies: “Should I not hate?”

“You should,” said Shen Xihe. “No one should suffer unjustly. When others bully and humiliate you, you should strike back. But if you harm innocent people because of this, you become no different from those you hate, and lose the right to hate.”

Qi Pei suddenly raised his head to look at Shen Xihe.

Shen Xihe turned back at that moment, giving him a gentle smile: “Those who can endure great ups and downs, physical disability, and loss of family are no ordinary people. Having survived this ordeal today, no future hardship can trap you. But I hope you emerge as a butterfly from your cocoon, not an evil dragon breaking free.

If you resent this world, then use all your strength to change it. Only cowards vent their hatred on the weak.”

Qi Pei’s gaze was blank as he stared unfocused in Shen Xihe’s direction.

“This is my second lesson today: you may hate and resent, but don’t become the kind of person you despise and hate.”

“Don’t become the kind of person you despise and hate…” These words struck the deepest part of Qi Pei’s soul, making him somewhat fearful, feeling completely seen through by Shen Xihe.

“I saved you partly because you happened to help me achieve my goals, but fundamentally because your family was truly innocent victims,” Shen Xihe finally addressed this point. If she had started with this, she wouldn’t have resonated with Qi Pei’s inner feelings.

As a victim, at this time he wouldn’t have listened to anyone telling him to be at peace, to be a good person in the future.

Shen Xihe didn’t want him to act normal only in front of her out of gratitude while being a madman behind her back.

“If your Qi family weren’t innocent victims, if you had been involved with the Yang manor, I wouldn’t have helped,” Shen Xihe said. “The Yang manor’s harm to your family – the main culprit was drawn and quartered, the Minister of Justice banished three thousand li, the Li County magistrate beheaded, the prefect dismissed and permanently barred from office, the governor sentenced to three years’ hard labor, his descendants banned from office for three generations – this is the answer given for your brother and sister-in-law.”

“But my brother and sister-in-law can’t come back to life,” Qi Pei’s eyes filled with tears.

“The dead are gone, the living continue,” Shen Xihe said softly. “I haven’t experienced your hardships and have no right to tell you to let go, but since you’ve survived through such difficulty, I think it’s better to bring glory to the Qi family and comfort your ancestors, making your brother and sister-in-law smile in the afterlife, than to create more pitiful people like yourself through vengeful hatred.”