Shen Lingzhen had never seen Huo Liuxing lose control like this. His hands holding her seemed to tremble not from exertion, but from fear.

The way he grasped her was like desperately trying to verify whether she was intact and unharmed.

Shen Lingzhen was held so tightly she couldn’t breathe. Feeling around his waist in the narrow space, she pushed and said with difficulty: “Young master, you’re squeezing me…”

Huo Liuxing abruptly released his grip and carefully examined her from top to bottom, his hands rubbing back and forth across her back: “Did I hurt you?”

She was indeed squeezed a bit painfully, but how did it warrant using the word “hurt”? Shen Lingzhen shook her head, but Huo Liuxing seemed to treat her as fragile porcelain, still unwilling to relax his vigilant inspection.

“I’m not hurt. Young master can set your mind completely at ease.”

Huo Liuxing stopped his hands, then asked nervously: “These past few days while I wasn’t at the residence, has your body felt uncomfortable anywhere?”

Shen Lingzhen shook her head: “The weather hasn’t been so cold recently. I’ve been sleeping quite soundly at night. However, I haven’t stopped the medication—I’m still properly using Divine Physician Luo’s prescription to regulate my condition. The day before yesterday, Divine Physician Luo just came to check my pulse. He said my cold syndrome has lessened. After spring arrives, my hands and feet won’t be cold anymore.”

“What else? Any bumps or bruises?”

Shen Lingzhen found him increasingly strange today, but still patiently answered: “No. With young master away, I’ve moved about less, always staying in my own courtyard. Besides, if I had any bumps or bruises, Kongqing would have reported it to young master long ago.”

Huo Liuxing responded absently, his expression still showing he hadn’t set his mind at ease.

According to the silk handkerchief’s hint, Shen Lingzhen should have written a poem about him campaigning for Hexi after he departed from the capital on this journey, and then something happened to her alone in the capital.

By the time he returned to the capital, she had already passed away. That’s why when he saw that silk handkerchief, he wrote a poem on the reverse, saying he would rather live henceforth in drunken dreams, muddling through, treating this “death’s parting” as “life’s separation.”

But right now, Shen Lingzhen’s condition had improved, she hadn’t been unexpectedly injured, everything was perfectly fine. He truly couldn’t fathom where the hidden danger causing this outcome lay.

If one said the imperial family would strike at Shen Lingzhen, there was also no logic to it.

The former dynasty faction had operated in the court for a full twenty-nine years. Looking at the current political situation, no matter how the circumstances changed like wind and clouds, it couldn’t possibly escape his control to this degree. When he went to Hexi, he would naturally be concerned about Shen Lingzhen and wouldn’t miss news from Bianjing. Even if sudden changes occurred, he should at least be confident of protecting her life.

“Young master, what exactly is troubling you?” Seeing his flickering gaze, Shen Lingzhen finally couldn’t help asking again.

Huo Liuxing looked at her, hesitating for a moment.

Proving the lifesaving benefactor’s identity should have been a good thing. However, because of those two poems, he became unable, unwilling, and uncertain how to broach this subject.

Huo Liuxing shook his head and said nothing was wrong.

Shen Lingzhen knew he was talking nonsense with his eyes open, but because they hadn’t seen each other for many days, she was unwilling to have an unpleasant dispute with him. She pouted and didn’t hold it against him, pretending not to see through him.

After descending from the carriage and entering the courtyard, Huo Liuxing pushed his wheelchair, watching Shen Lingzhen walk on his right side. His mind was still full of that phrase “death’s parting” from the poem. Seeing something on the ground, he suddenly grabbed her forcefully toward his side: “Careful not to trip.”

Shen Lingzhen’s steps halted. She stared blankly at the ground for a long time before finally discovering the culprit that had alarmed him so: a pebble smaller than her thumbnail.

Was this still the same General Huo who ten days ago had been bold enough to personally kill the current Emperor and Imperial Prince?

Shen Lingzhen walked around that pebble in complete bewilderment. When she entered the courtyard and prepared to ascend the steps, she heard another serious “wait.”

Then she watched with wide eyes as Huo Liuxing dismissed the idle servants, left his wheelchair to stand up, and solemnly put one hand around her waist and the other supporting her arm: “Come, I’ll help you up.”

“…” Was she six months pregnant or something?

Being carefully helped into the room, Shen Lingzhen was just about to pour some hot tea for Huo Liuxing to ward off the cold when he blocked her with one hand: “Don’t overexert yourself. I’ll do it.” He personally poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. Halfway through, he paused, took it back to examine the tea’s color, sniffed its aroma, and finally tasted a sip. “Let me test it first. You can drink it after I confirm it’s safe.”

“…” Pouring tea counted as overexertion? Also, was someone in this residence trying to assassinate her?

Shen Lingzhen felt panicked from his behavior: “Young master, did His Majesty tell you something bad? Are we about to face family ruin and decline?”

Huo Liuxing shook his head: “I’m about to receive promotions and honors. How could that be?”

Shen Lingzhen guessed again with a worried expression: “Then why is young master suddenly so solicitous toward me? Could it be you’ve recently done something to wrong me? These past few days when young master didn’t return home at night, was it perhaps not by imperial decree to stay in the palace, but rather you went to a pleasure house?”

Huo Liuxing choked: “It’s both a state funeral and wartime—the pleasure houses are all closed. Naturally I stayed in the palace.”

“Then…” She became more flustered, seeing how he held her in his mouth afraid she’d melt, held her in his hands afraid she’d fall. She speculated: “Then with your excessively careful manner, could it be I’ve contracted some incurable disease?”

Huo Liuxing scolded in a low voice: “What nonsense are you saying?”

“Then what exactly is wrong with young master!” Shen Lingzhen sat down with a melancholy expression. “If young master has something he doesn’t want me to know, at least act as if nothing’s wrong. Like this, both letting me discover something’s amiss but not revealing the truth—are you trying to drive me to distraction?”

“Such loose lips! Don’t say the word ‘death.'” Huo Liuxing frowned and admonished her.

Shen Lingzhen felt both angry and wronged from his two consecutive reprimands. She lowered her eyes and said in a low voice: “Young master promised me earlier that he would never deceive me about anything. Now not only are you not keeping your promise, you’re even fiercely scolding me… We haven’t seen each other for so many days, and I was hoping to have a good talk with young master…”

Hearing her speak with increasing grievance, her voice faintly tinged with a crying tone, Huo Liuxing realized that from a completely uninformed perspective, his actions were indeed quite inappropriate. He sat down beside her and patted her back: “It’s my fault. I was so concerned I became confused. I won’t be harsh with you.”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye: “But you still haven’t said what exactly happened.”

Huo Liuxing sighed: “Yinyin, I have to set out on campaign in three days.”

Shen Lingzhen was startled, held back her tears, and sniffled: “So that’s it. Young master should have said so earlier.”

Huo Liuxing looked at her without blinking: “When I go to Hexi, what will you do?”

“Naturally I’ll wait in Bianjing for young master’s triumphant return.” She said, not understanding.

Huo Liuxing furrowed his brow.

With only three days left, he probably no longer had time to investigate this matter thoroughly. No matter how reluctant, he had to speak openly and honestly with Shen Lingzhen. This way, after he left, she would at least have some guard up.

“It’s not just this matter.” Huo Liuxing said, “Yinyin, I’ve found your lifesaving benefactor.”

Shen Lingzhen was shocked: “Where?”

“Right before you.”

“Ah?”

Huo Liuxing spent half an hour laying everything out.

“Do you still remember that fortune we drew at the temple? ‘Far in the heavens, near before your eyes’—I think this ‘far’ refers to the future, and ‘near’ refers to me.”

Shen Lingzhen stared at him in a daze. Although this matter sounded incredible, thinking about it this way, everything really did match up.

“But…” She vaguely felt something was off. “But when I saw the wound on my lifesaving benefactor’s waist and abdomen, it was fresh. If that person was truly the future young master, then young master should have only come into conflict with Ya Lichong after becoming Grand General. Why has the conflict happened earlier now?”

“The logic is simple. If not for this lifesaving benefactor incident, you wouldn’t have shown me such favor back then, and I wouldn’t have cherished you because of it. So I might not have rashly pursued Ya Lichong so early in order to resolve the knot between our two families. It’s precisely because the future me returned to the past and saved you in Peach Blossom Valley that this event was changed and happened earlier.”

Shen Lingzhen understood, murmuring in a daze: “How strange… No wonder when I looked at the old scar below young master’s collarbone, although the position and appearance matched, the degree of age was inconsistent with my lifesaving benefactor’s.”

Huo Liuxing suddenly thought of something and pulled open his collar: “Look again—is the degree of age consistent now?”

Shen Lingzhen looked and shook her head: “Still not quite the same.”

That meant the current him hadn’t reached that age yet.

But the change in scar coloration couldn’t be achieved overnight. If the naked eye could distinguish the inconsistency, at least five years would have to pass, perhaps even longer.

Shen Lingzhen had obviously also thought of this puzzle: “Could it be that young master even became Grand General many years earlier than originally?”

Judging by the scar, this was indeed the case. But the problem was, Huo Liuxing didn’t think the change in his relationship with Shen Lingzhen had such a great impact on political affairs.

Carefully recalling the past two years, in political matters, he hadn’t taken different paths because of Shen Lingzhen.

This question couldn’t be figured out for now. Shen Lingzhen turned to connect it with Huo Liuxing’s earlier strange behavior, finally understanding where his trepidation came from: “So young master is worried that poem will come true?”

Huo Liuxing nodded.

“But young master also said things have been changed. Thinking optimistically, perhaps because young master returned to Peach Blossom Valley to save me and spared me from that injury, I won’t… won’t leave young master early?”

Seeing Huo Liuxing remain silent, Shen Lingzhen instead smiled and comforted him, patting the back of his hand: “I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I! Since young master believes in those two poems so much, then think carefully again—didn’t I write in the poem ‘When will dawn come, my heart yearns deeply’?”

“This shows that according to the original trajectory, when young master set out on campaign, you had no idea I had feelings for you. But now it’s different. I can clearly and openly declare my heart to young master—I like young master.”

Huo Liuxing stared at her, his gaze moving slightly.

“Since this line of the poem doesn’t correspond anymore, how could the later lines still count?” Shen Lingzhen said with certainty.

Her words certainly had logic. But just as Huo Liuxing was destined to suffer that axe blow from Ya Lichong, Hexi was also destined to encounter this current war. Many things seemed to have predetermined trajectories. Could his single action truly change so much?

“Regardless, caution ensures smooth sailing. Before the campaign, I need to thoroughly investigate this matter. You stay safely at home and don’t go anywhere.”

Huo Liuxing left the Huo residence with heavy thoughts and immediately set about investigating potential crises in Bianjing.

Once he left, he didn’t return until deep into the night.

With only those few days left, Huo Liuxing naturally was unwilling to sleep apart from Shen Lingzhen. Even though it was already late, he had no choice but to wake her and still decided to sleep in her quarters.

After bathing, he quietly entered Shen Lingzhen’s bedchamber and suddenly smelled a strange incense. Shen Lingzhen was lying on the bed with her back to the screen, looking as if she had already fallen asleep.

Alarm bells rang loudly in his heart. Thinking it was some harmful incense, he was about to overturn the censer when he suddenly heard Shen Lingzhen’s voice from the bed: “Young master, you’re back. I lit that incense.”

Oh, being overly nervous and making a big deal out of nothing again.

He walked toward the bed and lifted the bed curtain: “Why did you suddenly light incense?”

Shen Lingzhen was completely wrapped in the bedding, only her flushed little face exposed outside, stammering: “Just… just thought it smelled quite nice…”

Huo Liuxing sat on the edge of the bed looking at her strangely, reaching to touch her cheek: “Why is your face so red?”

“The bedding was wrapped too tightly, it’s a bit hot…”

“Then why wrap it so tightly?”

Huo Liuxing reached to lift her blanket corner, but she blocked him.

She shrank toward the corner of the bed with the person and bedding together, as if harboring some unspeakable secret.

“What’s wrong?” Huo Liuxing was already particularly sensitive today. Seeing her like this, thinking something had happened to her, he became more determined to lift her bedding.

Shen Lingzhen refused to let him no matter what: “Wait, young master wait, I’m not ready yet…”

Ready for what?

Huo Liuxing looked confused, but his hands lost patience. Using great force, he yanked open her bedding in one motion.

With this yank, a snowflake-like expanse of white appeared before his eyes. He saw Shen Lingzhen wearing only a thin belly band, hugging her chest and curling her body, looking at him tremblingly and fearfully.

“…”

Huo Liuxing was dumbfounded: “You… what are you doing…”

Shen Lingzhen hugged herself trembling, even her ears turning red: “I… I saw young master has been afraid that poem would come true, so, so I wanted to consummate the marriage with young master. That way it would be even more different from what the poem says…”