For several consecutive days, heavy snow fell in Shuo Capital, making the streets notably quieter.

At the Xu Manor, He Xinying stood outside the study and knocked. A voice from inside said, “Come in.” He Xinying entered.

“The kitchen prepared some red bean soup since it’s so cold outside,” He Xinying smiled as she took out a small bowl from her basket and placed it on Xu Zhiheng’s desk. “Husband, drink some to warm yourself up, don’t catch a chill.”

Xu Zhiheng’s gaze fell on the white porcelain bowl on the table. The red bean sweet soup emitted a sweet fragrance, its brownish broth suddenly reminding him of the medicinal soup the He family had sent long ago.

It had the same color and sweet aroma. That medicine had been extremely effective – after He Yan drank it, her high fever subsided after three days, and she was never seen again.

Xu Zhiheng instinctively looked up. He Xinying was watching him tenderly, her features somewhat resembling He Yan’s, causing his heart to skip a beat. He stood up reflexively, his sleeve accidentally brushing against the bowl on the table, spilling the sweet soup everywhere and staining his clothes.

“Are you alright, husband?” He Xinying was startled and quickly pulled out a handkerchief to help Xu Zhiheng wipe the soup from his clothes while calling for maids to clean up.

“It’s nothing.” Seeing the spilled soup, Xu Zhiheng felt relieved as he took the handkerchief to wipe the dampness from his clothes.

“Since this bowl spilled, I’ll ask them to bring another,” He Xinying said hurriedly.

“No need.” Xu Zhiheng took her hand and smiled, pulling her to sit beside him. “I’m not hungry anyway.”

The woman’s hands were soft and warm, somewhat dispersing his recent unease.

He Xinying sat down beside him as requested and after some thought, said to Xu Zhiheng, “I heard from Liu’er that my mother hasn’t been well lately and has been bedridden. I want to go back to see her. Do you have any free time these days? Perhaps you could accompany me to the He family?”

The military book was still in her room, and He Xinying felt uneasy about it. If one day Xu Zhiheng suddenly ordered a search of the entire manor, it would be easily discovered. Moreover, the book’s mysterious appearance puzzled her. Rather than wondering about it herself, she thought it better to return to the He family and ask Second Madam He about it, as her mother knew her elder sister better than she did.

“You want to return to the He family?” Xu Zhiheng paused before asking He Xinying.

His gaze carried a hint of scrutiny as he looked at He Xinying. Her heart skipped a beat, and she reached to hold his arm. “I just want to go back for a visit and return the next day. Can you accompany me? Mother hasn’t seen you in a long while either.”

Having grown up without experiencing much hardship, He Xinying was known to be somewhat spoiled by the He family when Xu Zhiheng married her. However, since entering the Xu household, she has been consistently well-behaved. This differed from He Yan’s temperament – while He Yan was also well-behaved and kept to herself, she would never act coquettishly by holding his arm like He Xinying did.

Xu Zhiheng said, “I’m quite busy these days and probably won’t have time to accompany you. How about this – I’ll have someone escort you back first, and when I have some free time later, I’ll accompany you then.”

He Xinying timely displayed a disappointed expression and said, “…Alright.”

Xu Zhiheng smiled while holding her hand, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.

He certainly couldn’t go to the He family now. Besides the He Yuansheng brothers, who knew what He Rufei was plotting? Arranging spies in his manor to catch him off guard… And then there was He Xinying. Xu Zhiheng thought, though He Xinying was his wife, she was still from the He family. Who knew if He Rufei had communicated with her? This arrangement worked well – since He Rufei could plant spies in his manor, why not turn the tables?

This time, let He Xinying go home first to test the waters.

…

By midnight, it started snowing again.

In the bitter cold, He Yan got out of bed in the darkness. The room was pitch black without even an oil lamp lit, but having grown accustomed to living as a blind person in the past, she could move around the room without stumbling even without light. After getting dressed, she retrieved a short sword from the drawer and went out.

The snow was heavy, and for ease of movement, she wore light clothing – just a thin layer of cotton clothes under her night-walking attire. As soon as she stepped out, her nose nearly froze. The stable where Xiangxiang stayed had burning charcoal, emitting a faint glow. The courtyard was completely quiet inside and out – He Sui, his son, and Qingmei were all asleep, and there was no movement from Chiwu’s room either. He Yan quietly pushed open the door and went out.

Snow was everywhere, covering the long street in silver-white. Red lanterns hung under the eaves on both sides of the street, creating a lively atmosphere – in less than two months, it would be the New Year. The festive mood was already present, though it was still quite cold.

He Yan exhaled, creating a white mist in front of her. Strangely enough, though the winters in Liangzhou were much colder than in Shuo Capital, the daily training there had kept her sweating so much that she’d forgotten about the cold. Now here, she truly felt the biting chill.

She had only walked a few steps, nearly reaching the end of the street, when she spotted a carriage. He Yan was startled – on an empty street in the dead of night, such a carriage seemed almost ghostly. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer, noticing a driver sitting at the front who removed his hat upon seeing her.

“Fei… Feinu?” He Yan exclaimed in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

Feinu remained silent, but the carriage curtain was lifted, and a person stepped down – wearing black and gold brocade clothing, with an elegant figure, looking like a painting on a snowy night – it was Xiao Jue.

He walked over, his boots making crunching sounds in the accumulated snow. When He Yan waited for him to come closer, she asked, “What are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow and replied nonchalantly, “And you? What are you doing going out at midnight?”

“I…” He Yan was momentarily speechless, “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk.”

Xiao Jue snickered and stared at her leisurely: “Young Lady, does your family usually go for walks wearing night-walking clothes?”

He Yan scratched her head, knowing this clever person wouldn’t be easily fooled, and frowned, “I’m out to do something…” She looked at Xiao Jue and suddenly realized something, glancing back, “You follow me around all day, and won’t even leave me alone at night? Xiao Jue, even if I am your fiancée, you don’t need to track me this closely.”

Xiao Jue: “…”

“What are you thinking,” he seemed speechless, “This morning you went to the ironsmith’s shop in the west city and bought a short sword,” he said lazily, “Tell me, going out so late – are you planning to kill someone or start a fire?”

“I thought I’d lost Chiwu when I bought the sword,” He Yan was puzzled, “How did you know?”

“It wasn’t Chiwu,” Xiao Jue said, “I just know.”

He glanced at the short sword at He Yan’s waist, somewhat disapprovingly, “Didn’t I give you money? Couldn’t you buy a better sword?”

“What does it have to do with the sword?” He Yan said, “What matters is the person wielding it and their swordsmanship. My sword skills are good; I don’t need a fine sword to add to my glory.”

Xiao Jue nodded and said, “Practicing frugality.”

“…Those are good words,” He Yan asked, “Why does it feel like you’re mocking me?”

The snow outside continued falling relentlessly, quickly covering her hair and body with a thin layer of frost. Xiao Jue pulled her under the eaves of a nearby house, standing on the outer side to block most of the wind and snow, and asked, “You still haven’t said what you’re doing out so late with a sword?”

Seeing no way to hide it anymore, He Yan sighed and told the truth, “I was thinking that He Rufei must have other connections with the Wutuo people. He Rufei is cautious, making it difficult to catch him in the act. I want to go to the He family to look for other evidence. If I can find proof of He Rufei’s connection to the Wutuo people, that would be perfect.”

“The He family?” Xiao Jue frowned slightly, “You plan to go alone?”

“I was part of the He family in my past life,” He Yan moved closer and whispered, “I know the He family inside and out. I even know secret passages that others don’t know about. Sneaking in will be a piece of cake. Going alone won’t be a problem.”

“No,” Xiao Jue cut her off without thinking, “It’s too dangerous.”

“No, what’s dangerous about it?” He Yan argued, “I can take on ten of the He family guards at once. At this hour, they’re all asleep. The room He Rufei currently occupies used to be my room – I know every secret compartment in the bookshelf and every hidden layer in the wooden drawers. I’ll leave as soon as I find what I’m looking for. I’ve even raided tens of thousands of enemy Wutuo camps at night before; there’s nothing to fear from the He family.”

“He Rufei is already suspicious of you and has surely increased the guards in the manor. Now is not the right time to go to the He family.”

“If we wait too long, I’m afraid all evidence will be destroyed.”

Xiao Jue’s gaze fell on her, and after a moment, he said, “I’ll go with you.”

“What?” He Yan immediately refused, “You’ll be a burden if you come with me. I can escape easily alone, but with you added, it becomes very inconvenient.”

“Then don’t go.”

“Xiao Jue,” He Yan said angrily, “Why won’t you listen to reason!”

“Mm.”

Was this person completely immovable? But if they started arguing here, they’d wake the neighbors, and neither of them would be able to leave. He Yan stood her ground for a while before finally giving in, gritting her teeth, “Fine, but I never expected that while others say Young Master Xiao is cold and unfeeling, he’s so clingy in private.”

“Likewise,” Xiao Jue crossed his arms and looked at her, “Who knew Young Lady He had a habit of visiting other people’s manors in the dead of night.” He bent slightly, looking down at He Yan with an infuriatingly calm tone, “I’m worried that if something happens, the husband will have to pay for the wife’s debts.”

This person must have never lost an argument with others. He Yan was left speechless and said fiercely, “Fine, if you want to come along, then come. But I’m warning you, once we’re at the He family, don’t regret it.”

Xiao Jue smiled and reached for her waist. He Yan quickly protected her belt, “What are you doing?”

He took a deep breath, “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

“Late at night, a man and a woman alone, there are many possibilities,” He Yan muttered quietly, “Who knows what you’re planning?”

“He Yan.” Xiao Jue said calmly.

“I was just joking,” He Yan smiled appeasingly.

“Your sword is too inferior, take this one instead.” He unstrapped his sword and handed it to He Yan.

“Isn’t this Yinqiu?” He Yan was stunned. Xiao Jue had already pushed the Yinqiu sword into her hands. Knowing how precious Yinqiu was, she tried to return it, “Why give it to me?”

Xiao Jue glanced at her and raised the corner of his mouth: “Take this one, so others won’t say the Xiao family is stingy and brings me shame.”

“What others?” He Yan quickly said, “Nonsense! We’re going to the He family today and definitely won’t alert anyone. Who would even see?”

Before He Yan could finish speaking, Xiao Jue had already drawn the short sword from her waist and started walking ahead, “Just keep it.”

He Yan had no choice but to follow.

Feinu parked the carriage by the road, and the three headed towards the He family mansion.

The He residence was located in the western part of the city. Though not as elegant and refined as the Xu mansion, it was still quite imposing. Feinu stood guard outside for support while He Yan led Xiao Jue to the back wall of the courtyard. When they reached a certain spot, she stopped and whispered, “Look, this is my secret passage.”

Xiao Jue stared at the hole that could barely fit one person crawling through and asked calmly, “Your so-called secret passage is a dog hole?”

“Shh,” He Yan put her finger to her lips, “Keep your voice down. This isn’t just any dog hole – I guarantee no one in the entire He family knows about it.”

“When I was young and disguised as a boy, I wasn’t very strong. When I was with other boys, I was always worried about revealing my secret. The family was also afraid I’d cause trouble if I was seen too much in public, so they kept me confined to the mansion. Before I entered Xianchang Academy, I would crawl through this dog hole before dawn every day to climb Mount Donghuang in the eastern part of the capital to help the temple monks carry water and chop firewood. At first, my hands were badly blistered, but after calluses formed, I could practice punching with stones hanging from my wrists.”

“The youths at Xianchang Academy were incredibly skilled, but if I hadn’t secretly climbed the mountain to practice, I would have had an even harder time there.”

“Ah,” she suddenly thought, “Could it be that because I did so many good deeds helping the monks at the temple, Buddha saw my sincerity and gave me a chance at another life? No wonder people always say to build good karma. It’s true, don’t you think?” She turned to look at Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue pinched the bridge of his nose and said with restraint, “So, you’re saying you want me to crawl through a dog hole?”

“Yes.” He Yan said, “I told you earlier, if you insisted on coming with me, don’t regret it. I did warn you.”

“I won’t crawl,” Xiao Jue frowned slightly and turned his head away, as if even looking at it was distasteful, “I’ll climb over the wall.”

“Don’t! The He family’s walls have traps everywhere. He Rufei must have rearranged them by now, and I don’t know exactly where they are. If you trigger one, all our efforts will be wasted.” He Yan looked him over, “Why don’t you wait outside with Feinu? I can go in by myself.”

“No.”

“Young Master, please,” He Yan said helplessly, “This won’t do, that won’t do – what do you want?”

Xiao Jue stared expressionlessly at the dog hole for a moment, then suddenly lifted his robe hem and knelt on one knee, turning his head to He Yan: “You go first.”

This time, He Yan was truly shocked, “You’re going to crawl through?”

“Hurry up.” Xiao Jue said impatiently.

He Yan had originally hoped to use the dog hole to discourage Xiao Jue, but unexpectedly, he was willing to crawl through. She was deeply moved – Xiao Jue’s sacrifice was truly great. If the soldiers of the Nine Banners Southern Army knew their Commander was crawling through a dog hole in the middle of the night, they would surely kill her.

However, this wasn’t He Yan deliberately making things difficult. This dog hole in the He family mansion was one she had dug herself. The He family didn’t like keeping dogs, and He Yan had personally fed the stray dogs outside. This was much safer than climbing over the wall as Xiao Jue had suggested.

“Follow me then,” He Yan whispered, “Move quietly.”

She wasn’t at all embarrassed about crawling through the dog hole, having done it since childhood. After not using it for so long, it felt quite familiar. She slipped through like a loach. Xiao Jue endured and crawled in after her.

The He family’s wall was thick, and the hole that He Yan had made in her youth wasn’t very large. For their adult bodies, it was rather tight. Just as they emerged and before they could steady themselves, in the dim lantern light, a yellow shape darted towards them.

As Xiao Jue was about to act, He Yan exclaimed softly in delight: “Ermao!”

The one called “Ermao” ran to He Yan, rolled over, and pawed at her legs affectionately – it was a yellow dog.

Xiao Jue: “What’s this?”

“I raised it,” He Yan said softly, “I thought after I died, Ermao would have been driven out, but I didn’t expect it to still be here.”

To be precise, when He Yan was young, she had taken in a stray dog and named it Damao. The He family members all despised the dirty stray dog, but at that time, He Yan had no friends. When lonely, having a yellow dog for company wasn’t bad, so she begged Madam He to let Damao stay. Later, Damao had a litter of puppies, but it was too cold, and only Ermao survived. And this surviving Ermao was mute.

He Rufei had removed all traces of He Yan, and she thought she would never see Ermao again, but unexpectedly, she did. However, Ermao usually lived in the back courtyard, catching rats to eat. She guessed it wasn’t that He Rufei didn’t want to get rid of it; he had simply forgotten about the dog completely.

“It seems to recognize me,” He Yan remarked, looking at Ermao who was wagging its tail happily at her, “I studied with you, Lin Shuanghe, and Yan He for so long, yet none of you recognized me. Your perception isn’t even as good as Ermao’s.”

Ermao foolishly grinned at He Yan with its tongue out.

Xiao Jue closed his eyes briefly and said patiently, “Now is not the time for your reunion.”

“I know.” He Yan made a “sit” gesture to Ermao, and the yellow dog obediently sat in place. “Ermao, stay here and keep watch for me.” She turned to Xiao Jue and said, “Follow me.”

The He mansion was large, and He Yan moved cautiously, checking for servants from hiding spots at every turn. Though she hadn’t entered the mansion in recent days, she had secretly circled it outside and noticed there were many more servants than when she had lived there. This was undoubtedly He Rufei’s doing.

Perhaps He Rufei thought more servants would better suit the status of “General Feihong,” or perhaps it was due to a guilty conscience.

He Rufei’s courtyard, which was formerly He Yan’s, was the deepest and innermost in the He mansion. Xiao Jue whispered, “Why is it so far?”

“Because the He family’s eldest young master was naturally ugly, antisocial, and strange,” He Yan said, “He didn’t like interacting with people much.”

Her courtyard had few servants attending it and was quite remote. If He Yan had been naturally quiet from childhood, it would have been fine, but children always have many fantasies, and she was originally lively and curious about everything. Being forced to stay alone in the courtyard because of her identity, even someone who wasn’t antisocial would become so over time.

For a child, being restricted from doing this and that, not even allowed close contact with maids and servants, let alone playing together – after a while, one had to find ways to entertain oneself. For instance, drawing pictures in the sand with tree branches. She could accurately draw every room in the He family courtyard because she had walked through them thousands of times in her mind.

He Yan once suspected that her later exceptional sensitivity to terrain while in the army, her ability to memorize routes after walking them just once, was developed through her childhood experiences.

“The layout of the mansion has changed,” He Yan whispered, “We need to be more careful.”

It was very late now, and the night watchmen were all in the outer courtyard. There wasn’t much movement in the mansion, which was somewhat reassuring. As they approached He Rufei’s courtyard, He Yan became increasingly tense.

As they turned past a long corridor and were about to move forward, He Yan suddenly stopped and silently pulled Xiao Jue into an empty tea room.

Just as Xiao Jue was about to speak, He Yan covered his mouth: “Shh, someone’s coming.”

Outside, the shuffling sound of footsteps approached – probably a servant going to the latrine at night – passed by the door and gradually faded away. When there was no more sound outside, He Yan finally relaxed, but when she turned her head, she froze.

The moon had come out at some point, casting a sliver of light through the window onto the ground. Xiao Jue had been pushed against the wall by her, his back against it, and He Yan, in her moment of panic, had practically pressed herself against him. He remained motionless, his hands slightly behind him as if deliberately maintaining propriety. With He Yan’s hand over his mouth, she looked like a female hooligan taking advantage of someone.

She startled and instinctively withdrew her hand.

The young man looked at her indifferently, suddenly curved his lips, and silently mouthed: “Taking advantage of me?”

He Yan nearly choked, shaking her head repeatedly, “No, no, I was just too anxious earlier, it wasn’t intentional.”

He nodded with an ambiguous smile, his eyes clearly showing disbelief.

He Yan had no way to defend herself. Well, it wasn’t the first or second time she had taken advantage of Xiao Jue, so once or twice more didn’t matter. She peered through the door crack, and seeing no one, whispered, “Let’s go.”