With these thoughts, she slowly crouched down. When her hand was still about a foot away, there was a light sound from the window, and at the same time Li Shimin, who should have been fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed her hand, sternly demanding, “What do you want to do?”
He hadn’t been asleep at all. Although her story about her background was indeed moving, it hadn’t dispelled his suspicions. He had pretended to sleep while waiting for Yunyi to take the bait, and sure enough, he caught her!
Being grabbed by him, Yunyi indeed showed a panicked expression, “Second Young Master, weren’t you asleep? How could you…”
“Of course you’d hope I was asleep, otherwise how would you have a chance to strike! Tell me, who sent you here, and why did you try to assassinate my father!” Li Shimin had always given people the impression of being gentle and peaceful, but this time he was unusually stern and frightening.
Just as expected! A cold smile flashed through Yunyi’s heart, while her face showed even more panic as she said in shock, “Second Young Master, what are you saying? What striking, what assassination? I’m Meixue! I’m not an assassin!”
“If you’re not an assassin, why did you sneak over while I was sleeping? Wasn’t it to assassinate me?” Faced with Li Shimin’s interrogation, Yunyi hurriedly said, “No, I… how could I assassinate Second Young Master? I was afraid Second Young Master would catch cold, so I wanted to cover you with the cloak.”
Li Shimin was stunned and looked down. Indeed, Yunyi was holding the cloak he had given her earlier. Before he could recover, Yunyi was already choking back tears, “So… Second Young Master doesn’t trust me at all. Even now you still think I’m in league with Yunyi and am an assassin.”
Li Shimin hadn’t expected this turn of events and was momentarily speechless. Taking advantage of his daze, Yunyi had already broken free from his grip and run out, leaving Li Shimin alone staring at the cloak.
When the cold wind hit her warm body, Yunyi couldn’t help but shiver, yet her face was filled with uncontrollable laughter. She had to exert great effort to prevent the laughter from escaping her lips. Just thinking of Li Shimin’s expression made her want to laugh – it was truly amusing.
No matter how much Li Shimin schemed, he couldn’t have imagined that she would turn the tables on him. Just now, she had truly wanted to kill Li Shimin with one strike to avenge Moping.
But she hadn’t forgotten how Moping died. Everything Moping did was to protect her, so before she had absolute certainty of protecting herself, she wouldn’t act rashly. Just now she had heard some noise from the window – perhaps Duan Zhihong was hiding outside. If she had acted, not only would her identity be exposed, but she might not even have been able to preserve her life.
Li Shimin, I will definitely kill you with my own hands, but not now!
The “creak” of the door opening interrupted Yunyi’s thoughts. Li Shimin walked out from the room, wanting to put the cloak over her, but Yunyi stepped aside to avoid it, saying coldly, “Meixue’s status is lowly, I dare not use Second Young Master’s cloak.”
In the darkness, Li Shimin’s expression couldn’t be seen clearly. She only heard him say, “It’s cold outside, come in.”
Yunyi said sarcastically, “I’m afraid that once I go in, Second Young Master will again think Meixue wants to assassinate you, so it’s better to stay here.”
Li Shimin sighed, “After Shen Yunyi’s assassination attempt, the residence was heavily guarded. Not even a fly could escape, yet she vanished without a trace, leaving no clues behind. It’s truly baffling. The only thing I can think of is that she had someone helping her from inside the residence.”
“So Second Young Master suspected me? If that’s the case, why did you save me in the first place? Wouldn’t it have been better to let me die in the dungeon?”
“Before catching Shen Yunyi, everyone is suspicious, not just you alone.” Before Li Shimin finished speaking, Yunyi pretended to be angry, “But you’re constantly on guard against me, even pretending to sleep. I was being kind-hearted, but the result…” Her voice became hoarse, “I’m afraid… even coming to this suburban mountain to paint snow lotus was just Second Young Master’s excuse, really just to test me.”
Li Shimin naturally wouldn’t tell the truth, “What are you thinking? Bringing you here was indeed to paint snow lotus to send to Wugou. As for just now, I did fall asleep, but I’ve followed my father in campaigns for years and am accustomed to staying alert at all times. I wake up at the slightest approach.”
Yunyi lowered her head without speaking. After a long while, she said bitterly, “I… I told you long ago that I was also deceived by Shen Yunyi. I know nothing about her affairs. Why won’t you believe me? Does it mean that as long as you don’t catch Yunyi for one day, my suspicions can’t be cleared for one day?”
“What happened just now was my fault. I promise you, I won’t doubt you anymore in the future, alright?”
Yunyi looked at Li Shimin with half-belief, “Really?”
“A gentleman’s word cannot be taken back!” As he spoke, a large clump of snow that had accumulated on a tree was blown by the wind toward their faces. After this gust of wind finally passed, they found that each other’s hair, eyebrows, and even eyelashes were covered with snow, as if they had just emerged from a snowdrift, looking extremely comical.
No one knew who laughed first, but the other joined in. For the first time in nearly a year, this abandoned village echoed with continuous, joyful laughter.
After the laughter subsided, Li Shimin brushed the snow off Yunyi’s body and said by the weak firelight from inside the room, “Are you not angry anymore?”
Yunyi turned her face away, “So Second Young Master actually cares whether this little dancer is angry or not?”
“You painted the snow lotus for me, and we’ve been through so much together. I already consider you a friend, so naturally I care.” As he spoke, he solemnly bowed to Yunyi, “Please forgive me for what happened just now, Miss Meixue. I guarantee there won’t be a next time!”
After waiting a while without hearing Yunyi speak, he said, “How about it? Can you forgive me now?”
Seeing that the timing was about right, Yunyi said, “Since Second Young Master has said so, how dare I continue to hold grudges? I just ask that Second Young Master remember your words just now – I truly know nothing about Yunyi’s affairs.”
“I understand. There won’t be a next time!” With Li Shimin’s words, Yunyi returned to the room with him. Nothing happened through the night. When they woke up the next day, the snow had stopped, and the ground was covered with more than an inch of accumulated snow.
The two rode Azure Cloud back to the residence. As soon as they entered, they saw Steward Lin hurrying over anxiously, “Second Young Master, where did you go? Why didn’t you return to the residence all night? Second Madam and the Eldest Young Master were worried sick, but they didn’t dare tell the Governor for fear of affecting his condition. If you hadn’t returned, they were about to send people to look for you.”
“I’m fine. I was just blocked by the wind and snow yesterday, so I couldn’t return to the city in time and spent the night outside.” Li Shimin then said, “Send someone to ask Physician Xu to come over.”
Steward Lin’s heart, which had just settled down, was stirred up again by these words. He looked Li Shimin up and down, “Second Young Master, are you injured?”