Racing along winding paths, they finally stopped at a manor. Shen Xihe asked puzzled: “Why have we come here?”

Xiao Huayong gave her a mysterious smile without answering, leading her inside. After passing through the second gate, she saw a tall figure standing in the courtyard. Shen Xihe called out instinctively: “Brother!”

During the wedding procession earlier today, Shen Xihe had guessed it was her brother. Since her father couldn’t escort her, family custom dictated that brothers should escort marrying daughters. Shen Xihe only had Shen Yun’an as her blood brother, so to avoid her regret, they arranged for her Tao family cousin to escort her.

But this was her once-in-a-lifetime wedding, and she had hoped Shen Yun’an would escort her. However, she understood the necessities of circumstances and greater matters, so she never mentioned it.

Shen Xihe lifted her skirts and ran to Shen Yun’an. He turned at her call, opening his arms wide.

She threw herself into his embrace, holding him tightly. It had been over a year since she’d seen her brother, and despite their frequent letters, she had missed him desperately.

Shen Yun’an hugged Shen Xihe and spun her around once before setting her down. He patted her head and looked down at her, his eyes filled with emotion: “My Youyou has grown up.”

She truly had grown up, now a married woman.

“Brother, I’ll always be your sister,” Shen Xihe tilted her head up slightly, her obsidian eyes reflecting Shen Yun’an’s figure, filled with tender warmth.

Xiao Huayong stood at a distance watching. This was the first time he’d seen her so dependent, like a little bird.

It wasn’t that she lacked feminine grace, but few people could make her show it.

Even though she was now tolerant, accommodating, and trusting of him, she had never been this soft in his presence.

He envied how Shen Xihe behaved in front of Shen Yun’an, but wasn’t jealous. Shen Yun’an had earned this through fifteen years of constant companionship and deep-rooted familial bonds. He and she had known each other for less than three years.

Shen Yun’an opened his palm, revealing a wolf fang with a hole drilled through it, strung on a cord. “Do you remember this wolf fang?”

Shen Xihe looked down at the smooth but somewhat worn wolf fang, its age evident. This was one of a pair. When Shen Xihe was seven, she heard that Shen Yun’an had gone missing while training with soldiers. Ignoring others’ attempts to stop her, she had slipped away from everyone to search for him.

Back then, Shen Yun’an was just a young boy. He had merely stepped wrong in the snow and been buried instantly, which was why no one had seen how he disappeared. When he finally managed to climb out, he ran into Shen Xihe. The siblings’ luck turned bad when they encountered a lame, starving wolf that had been driven from its pack. Shen Yun’an had no weapons – a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth fighting bare-handed with a starving wolf, getting covered in wounds, and finally preparing to die together with the wolf.

It was Shen Xihe who found a sharp tree branch, following their tracks down the snowy slope. Gathering all her courage, she made one desperate attempt to stab the wolf’s eye.

At that moment, Shen Yun’an was tangled with the wolf. Shen Xihe might have missed the wolf entirely and stabbed her brother instead, but they both knew there was only one chance. For young Shen Xihe, this required immense courage.

But she didn’t hesitate, precisely bursting one of the wolf’s eyes, giving him a brief opportunity. After he killed the wolf, he turned to find Shen Xihe had already fainted – not from fear, but from being unable to breathe during an attack of her illness.

If their father hadn’t arrived in time with Shen Xihe’s doctor, he might have lost his sister.

Later, the wolf was brought back, and Shen Yun’an extracted two of its sharp fangs, wearing them ever since. Through countless bloody battles on the battlefield, no matter how difficult things got, just seeing these two wolf fangs would remind Shen Yun’an of that year. If he hadn’t gritted his teeth and persevered then, Shen Xihe would have become the wolf’s prey. This always filled him with a limitless fighting spirit.

“I wanted to give this to you then, but Father said you were a young lady – how could you carry a wolf fang? Your constitution was weak, and such a bloody, fierce object would suppress your fortune.” Shen Yun’an lifted one of Shen Xihe’s hands and placed it in her palm. “Now your health has greatly improved and you can surely suppress its fierce energy. From now on, we siblings will each have one. When you miss your brother, just look at it.”

He paused briefly and lowered his voice: “As will your brother.”

The wolf fang was warm – Shen Yun’an must have been holding it in his palm. It still retained the warmth from his hand.

Shen Xihe closed her fingers, trying to prevent the cool night breeze from dispersing its lingering warmth.

Shen Yun’an looked down at Shen Xihe reluctantly for a moment before saying hoarsely: “Brother has to go now, Youyou. Take good care of yourself.”

“Mm.” Shen Xihe forced a smile, responding dully. She dared not speak more.

Her heart was particularly fragile today. When leaving home and bidding farewell to her father, she had already shed tears. Now she felt she might not be able to hold back her tears again.

Shen Yun’an held Shen Xihe’s hand and walked to Xiao Huayong, handing his sister over to him. Without further words, he simply made a fist and thumped it once against Xiao Huayong’s chest. He stepped backward, keeping his eyes on Shen Xihe until he reached the door, then turned and strode away.

Shen Xihe didn’t move. Only when the horse’s neighing and the sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance did she finally lower her gaze?

“I arranged this hoping to make you happy, but instead I’ve made you sad,” Xiao Huayong sighed softly, holding her in his arms, sheltering half her body.

Shen Xihe turned her head, her slightly moist eyes showing gratitude: “Your Highness, I am very happy. Thank you for planning all this for me.”

Now she understood. On New Year’s Eve, when he went to see Shen Yueshan, it was for this purpose – to find someone to impersonate Shen Yun’an in the Northwest, pretending to be ill for a few days while Shen Yun’an rushed back to escort her to her wedding.

He had protected her wedding sedan chair and personally escorted her through the Vermillion Bird Gate, fulfilling every duty of a brother.

Her wedding was thus without any regret.

That’s why Shen Yueshan had allowed Xiao Huayong to stay that night – because he discovered that this son-in-law cared for his daughter even more than expected. Married to him, she would surely live better than before her marriage.

This was an enormous risk. Even though they felt regret, they wouldn’t have dared such a risky endeavor. Yet Xiao Huayong, to ensure Shen Xihe would have no regrets in life, took the risk and declared he would bear all responsibility if anything went wrong.

Only Shen Yueshan, who was involved, truly knew how much effort Xiao Huayong had spent and how many people he had deployed to ensure everything went perfectly.