Wen Yu closed the courtyard gate and walked inside. She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she heard knocking sounds ring out again.

She thought it was that man refusing to give up, so she paid no attention and continued walking forward. But the person outside waited for a while, and when no one came to open the door, knocked again.

Unable to bear it any longer, Wen Yu turned back, pulled open the gate and said, “Are you ever going to stop…”

Her words came to an abrupt halt.

Standing outside the door was none other than Xiao Li.

Heavy snow like salt and catkins fell on his hair and shoulders. His dark eyes gazed calmly at Wen Yu. The dried bloodstains on his cheek had congealed into a dark color, like a lone wolf returning from injury.

Seeing the blood on his face, Wen Yu’s heart skipped a beat. “Second Master? You’re injured?”

She stepped over the threshold, her skirt hem dancing like a butterfly in the cold wind, reaching out to support him.

Her fingertips had already touched his elbow when he seemed to come back to his senses, avoiding her slightly and saying, “The blood is someone else’s.”

Yet his gaze no longer dared fall upon her.

Stepping through the courtyard gate, he asked, “Where’s my mother?”

Wen Yu didn’t notice that subtle abnormality in him. She reinserted the door bolt, saying, “Auntie went to the medical clinic to see Xiao An. She told me to wait at home for your return.”

She briefly recounted everything that had happened after he left.

Xiao Li scooped water from the water vat in the courtyard that had formed a thin layer of ice, carelessly washing the bloodstains from his face, saying, “I’ll also go to the medical clinic later to take a look.”

The ice-cold, bone-piercing water splashed on his face, and all those emotions that couldn’t be displayed before others were completely pressed down into the depths of his heart.

Xiao Li breathed shallowly in the freezing air of this icy, snowy world. He blinked once, allowing the water droplets hanging from his lashes to slide down. Unexpectedly, a cotton cloth handkerchief suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

The hand holding the handkerchief was slender and fair, with well-proportioned flesh and bone. Even though faint red rash marks could still be seen on the back of the hand, it was extremely beautiful.

Xiao Li’s gaze moved upward, seeing Wen Yu’s calm and gentle face. She seemed to know her appearance was frightening, so she rarely faced people directly. This moment was no exception.

But what was revealed had not half a measure of timidity. Rather, it carried a kind of compassion and tenderness that pitied all things in the world.

The sound of the wind was too loud, drowning out his heartbeat in that moment.

Seeing that he didn’t take the handkerchief and didn’t speak, only suddenly staring at her somewhat absently, Wen Yu had no choice but to extend the handkerchief forward again. “Wipe your face. The weather is so cold—you’ll easily get sick.”

Only then did Xiao Li come back to his senses. He said thanks and took the handkerchief, carelessly wiping it across his face.

Thinking he was troubled by today’s events, Wen Yu took the initiative to bring up the topic. “You fought with someone?”

Xiao Li nodded slightly.

Outside, the wind and snow grew stronger. Standing for just a short while, their bodies were already covered with a layer of fine snow. He used the handkerchief to dry the water droplets on his hands, saying, “Let’s go inside to talk.”

The two entered the main house. Xiao Li added firewood to the fire pit. The flames that were nearly extinguished immediately blazed up fiercely.

Wen Yu said, “I learned some of the cause of this matter from Xiao An. Since the gambling house people used Chen Laizi’s trickery in making me pay his debt to Auntie as a pretext, it has at least some connection to me…”

Xiao Li picked up a thin branch and idly scratched it through the ash pile in the fire pit, hearing this and saying, “This is a grudge between me and Chen Laizi.”

Wen Yu’s words were interrupted, yet a trace of surprise rose in her heart.

The meaning in his words… it had nothing to do with her?

Wen Yu’s opinion of him improved slightly again in her heart. She said, “Auntie has treated me well, yet now she’s suffered this calamity. I always feel guilty in my heart. Xiao An said that group of people are under your mortal enemy Wang Qing’s command. The gambling house has all sorts of people. Xiao An said those with seniority more or less know about your family matters. But after you and that Wang Qing have been at odds for so many years, they never thought to use Auntie to provoke you. Yet these past two days, they’ve acted so excessively…”

She paused here, glanced at Xiao Li, then continued, “I’ve been thinking—could it be that Wang Qing feels he has some backing, or received some hint, feels that from now on he can firmly suppress you, which is why he dares to do things so absolutely?”

Xiao Li’s hand that was poking at the ash pile with the thin branch stopped. The firelight reflected in his pupils. “Continue.”

Wen Yu felt she had already hinted quite obviously. This was just a balancing tactic commonly used by those in power. Whether he and his mortal enemy had small skirmishes was one thing, but to reach this degree of serious injury, he absolutely must have discerned the intentions of those above.

Otherwise, after Xiao Li turned around and finished taking revenge on his mortal enemy, his mortal enemy would be in the wrong and unable to receive protection from above. Wouldn’t everything done have been asking for trouble?

Although Wen Yu looked down on such people, whether in the court or in the marketplace, there was no shortage of such opportunistic rats.

She didn’t want to speak too directly, so she asked, “You argued with that Wang Qing today. What did your boss say?”

Xiao Li threw the small branch in his hand into the fire. It was instantly devoured by the flames. He lowered his eyes to gaze at it, laughing quietly, “So this is the method being used to force me…”

Punishing the brothers under his command, allowing Wang Qing’s subordinates to gossip and humiliate his mother among the neighbors, beating Xiao An severely.

Making him hate his own incompetence, eager to suppress Wang Qing, protect his family and brothers, willing to forever leave a murder handle in the other party’s hands.

Seeing that he seemed to have figured it out, Wen Yu didn’t know what he meant by forcing him, but she didn’t ask more. She just lowered her eyes slightly to advise him, “If your gambling house boss values Wang Qing, your current situation is indeed more difficult. But if he discovers that Wang Qing isn’t as loyal to him as all that, he’ll promote you again to suppress Wang Qing.”

Afraid the other party would be suspicious about why she knew these things, she proactively said, “My father used to work under a wealthy merchant. That wealthy merchant treated my father and other workers this way.”

The two major factions at court frequently fought with each other. It was nothing more than this.

No one would be the eternal winner, because the emperor’s hands couldn’t hold only one blade.

If the blade’s edge was too dull, it would be replaced. If the sharpness was too prominent, it would be feared.

How to maintain that balance was a wisdom that ministers throughout the dynasties had been exploring.

Hearing this, Xiao Li only laughed and said, “No matter. He won’t be able to use Wang Qing anymore.”

That laugh was casual yet carried a cold intent.

Some confusion flowed through Wen Yu’s eyes. But Xiao Li said no more, raising his eyes to her. “Is there food? I’m a bit hungry.”

He had only eaten two buns this morning before going out. Now it was nearly dusk.

Wen Yu said, “There’s some in the kitchen. I’ll go serve you some.”

In a moment, she came carrying a bowl of rice.

The small green vegetables covering the rice were fresh and tender, not overcooked, looking quite appetizing.

Xiao Li had already witnessed that she couldn’t even light a fire. His earlier words were just to change the topic, a casual question. Who could have expected she would actually make food?

He was extremely familiar with his mother’s cooking skills. At a glance, he could tell these vegetables were definitely not stir-fried by his mother. He was somewhat surprised by Wen Yu’s suddenly displayed culinary skills.

Xiao Li took the bowl and chopsticks and said thanks. Because he was focused on being surprised, he didn’t see Wen Yu’s anxious yet somewhat expectant expression waiting for him to eat.

When a bite of green vegetables entered his mouth, it was so salty he thought he was eating pickled vegetables that had been salted for eighteen years.

Xiao Li wanted to spit it out on the spot. In front of Wen Yu, he at least managed to hold back. When Wen Yu asked him how it tasted, he chewed it roughly a couple times and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay…”

Then he immediately began shoveling rice into his mouth in large mouthfuls, trying to cover that overwhelming saltiness.

Who could have expected that when the rice entered his mouth, this time he truly couldn’t hold back and spat it out right away.

As the sky gradually darkened, the light in the room was rather dim. He hadn’t even noticed earlier whether the rice in the bowl was cooked. Now, holding it up to the firelight, he raised his head and looked at Wen Yu with particular shock. “Raw?”

Oddly, there was also a burnt smell.

Wen Yu was also somewhat embarrassed, asking stiffly, “It’s not cooked through?”

Xiao Li said, “Half-raw. Didn’t you eat?”

Wen Yu said, somewhat sheepishly, “It wasn’t long after I finished making it.”

After using an ink brush to outline the fan base pattern, while waiting for the ink to dry, she had thought about how Xiao Huiniang had to care for Xiao An at the medical clinic and Xiao Li didn’t know when he would return. She wanted to proactively do something, so she went to the kitchen to cook this meal.

Xiao Li wiped his face, picked up the bowl and headed to the kitchen, saying, “It’s fine. Just add some water and cook it more.”

Seeing him heading to the kitchen, Wen Yu’s expression became even more embarrassed. She hurried after him, saying, “Then I’ll just cook it over again…”

But it was already too late. Xiao Li lifted the wooden pot lid that had been burned in one corner, looked at the layer of charred black rice carbon stuck to the bottom of the pot, and said nothing for a long while.

Wen Yu stood at the kitchen doorway, too guilty to step further inside, saying awkwardly, “I don’t know how to use that steamer to steam rice. I’d seen Auntie add water to the pot and cook rice before, so I learned to do it…”

Under the guidance of the cooks at the prince’s manor, she had stir-fried vegetables and knew not to add too much water when stir-frying.

So when she put the rice in the pot, thinking she was cooking dry rice, not porridge, she hadn’t added too much water. Who could have expected it would burn like this in just a short while?

Xiao Li asked her, “You’ve hardly ever been in a kitchen before, have you?”

Wen Yu hesitated for a moment. Faced with this undeniable fact, she finally couldn’t worry about him guessing about her family circumstances and could only nod.

Xiao Li looked at that layer of blackish rice carbon in the pot and said, “Then from now on, you’d better not enter the kitchen either.”

Wen Yu, half ashamed and half embarrassed, said, “The pot of rice I burned and the wasted firewood—when I receive the money for the Xu family embroidery, I’ll compensate at the proper price.”

Xiao Li glanced at her. “Did I ask you to compensate?”

Wen Yu increasingly didn’t understand what he meant. She only said, “It was my mistake. Compensation is also appropriate.”

Xiao Li’s throat moved, as if he wanted to say something more, yet chose silence. He took the iron spatula from the side, scooped up the charred rice carbon from the pot, and said, “Half an hour until the meal is ready. Go warm yourself by the fire.”

Wen Yu felt she should do something. With him personally cooking here while she went outside to warm herself by the fire and wait for the meal—no matter how she thought about it, it seemed strange. So she said, “I can help you tend the fire.”

She was just lifting her foot to walk behind the stove when Xiao Li said, “No need.”

As if wanting to cover up something, he added, “You waste firewood when tending fire.”

Wen Yu’s embarrassment deepened. She only felt this hoodlum had suddenly become quite caustic.

She said, “The food, clothing, and living expenses during the period you and Auntie have taken me in—when the time comes, I’ll repay all of it.”

After speaking, she turned and left.

Hearing her footsteps fade into the distance, Xiao Li suddenly threw down the spatula. His hands pressed against the edges of the stove as he stared at that pot of rice carbon for a long time, lost in thought.

What kind of family could raise a young woman who didn’t know how to use flint, had hardly entered a kitchen, yet possessed broad knowledge and extraordinary bearing?