The cold winter descended, and all of Gaoding City was swept by the chill.

Heavy snow continued falling, dancing all over the sky.

Encountering national mourning in the first month, everyone now dared not openly welcome the New Year. Every household could only celebrate a proper New Year behind closed doors.

The bustling Gaoding City had fallen into complete silence!

Snowflakes drifted, lightly brushing across Ji Yunshu’s cold, pale cheeks.

She stood beneath the corridor, dressed in women’s clothing, with a light blue cloak draped over her shoulders. Her long hair hung loose, held back only by a simple bamboo hairpin pinning the hair by her ears.

Like a fairy untouched by worldly concerns.

Her cold, haggard gaze was fixed on the sharp icicles formed on the eaves.

The ice tips gleamed with a silvery-white luster, piercingly cold.

She had been standing here for a very long time…

So long that she had forgotten time itself.

Presently, someone slowly approached from behind.

“Miss Ji, Young Master Cheng has arrived!”

Her eyes moved slightly, but she showed no surprise.

That Li Cheng would come to see her was inevitable.

After a long silence, she finally spoke: “Let him come over.”

Li Cheng came alone—Zhao’er hadn’t followed.

The young servant who led the way brought him here and then hurriedly withdrew.

Leaving just the two of them.

Li Cheng looked at her back, as if remembering the moment of their first meeting.

He had walked into the Yiwu yamen and saw that slender yet very upright figure standing in the center of the great hall, so fearless!

But now, all of Ji Yunshu’s fearlessness had been crushed one by one by waiting and searching.

Li Cheng slowly approached, hesitating to speak.

All his words stuck in his mouth, unable to come out.

Because at this moment, he didn’t know what he should say.

Or what he should ask.

Ji Yunshu turned her eyes slightly, turning to meet Li Cheng’s gaze.

Looking at Ji Yunshu dressed in women’s clothing before him, Li Cheng’s heart shook considerably.

At this moment, he felt that all the women he had met before didn’t measure up to even a third of the woman before him.

Although he had known long ago that Ji Yunshu was a woman!

And since the night of the palace siege, he had also learned that she was the princess of the former dynasty!

And his own father was her father’s killer—her mortal enemy.

They say karmic retribution—sometimes fate truly toys with people this way.

Ji Yunshu looked at him with calm eyes.

Li Cheng gave a bitter laugh: “I never imagined that after our last parting, when we met again, it would be in this manner.”

“From the beginning, none of us intended to deceive.”

“I understand, so I have no intention of blaming you at all. Comparatively, I should thank you—at least everyone in my Li family can still live, not facing collective punishment.”

“The calamity doesn’t extend to the innocent!”

“But regardless, my Li family owes you.” Li Cheng said.

But Ji Yunshu no longer cared about these things: “What’s past is past. Now, no one owes anyone anything.”

Li Cheng was grateful for her magnanimity.

He knew that right now, what Ji Yunshu cared about most was Jingrong’s whereabouts.

“Young Master Jing, is he now…?”

Ji Yunshu shook her head without speaking.

“He’ll be fine.”

“I also believe he’ll be fine. As long as I haven’t found him, I’ll keep waiting.” She looked at the snow-filled sky in the distance, holding firm to this belief in her heart.

After a short while, she turned her back to Li Cheng and asked: “What are your plans now?”

“My father’s dying wish was for me to leave Gaoding.”

“Leaving would be good!”

The Li family had now fallen so low—from now on they would surely suffer. Li Cheng had been a tyrant in Gaoding for so many years. Now that he had lost power and his backing, who knew how many people were waiting to step on him to vent their hatred. Leaving here would at least distance him from trouble.

Ji Yunshu asked him: “You came to find me—there must be something else, right? Does Zhao’er have a request?”

“Truly nothing can be hidden from you.”

Ji Yunshu obviously saw through everything: “Don’t worry. I’ll speak with the marquis to let Marquis Pingyang and Duke Wang be buried in peace. If Zhao’er needs help with anything, have her come find me.”

“Thank you!”

“What I can help with… is only this much.”

Li Cheng had a thousand words to say, countless questions he wanted to ask, but in the end, they all condensed into two words: “Take care!”

Perhaps many years from now, they could meet again.

Perhaps from this moment on, they would never see each other again.

Perhaps this story… had also drawn a perfect ending here.

After Li Cheng left, Ji Yunshu continued standing beneath the corridor.

A small hand suddenly grabbed the cloak on her body and tugged it gently a few times.

She looked down and saw little A’mo looking up at her with his small head raised.

“Elder sister.”

His voice was very tender!

“Mm?” She touched the little one’s head.

A’mo blinked his eyes several times. “Why are you crying?”

Was she crying?

Ji Yunshu unconsciously touched her cheek—there were indeed tears.

Probably because it was too cold—she didn’t even know when she had started crying.

She said, “Elder sister isn’t crying.”

“Father said elder sister is waiting for someone, right?”

“Mm.”

“Why wait for someone?”

She took A’mo’s small hand and crouched down, saying, “A’mo, when you grow up, you’ll understand.”

“I’ve already grown up.” A’mo put on the appearance of a little adult. “If someone bullies elder sister, I can help you. If elder sister wants to wait for someone, I’ll wait together with you, okay?”

His little head tilted, very serious.

Ji Yunshu showed a gentle smile, her eyes moistening once again.

A’mo reached out to touch her cold face. His thin little arms spread open, hugging her as he said, “Elder sister, don’t be afraid.”

Ji Yunshu also embraced his small body.

And immediately burst into tears…

The next day.

After Li Cheng buried Marquis Pingyang’s body and handled all the manor’s affairs, arranging everything, he left Gaoding.

He was going to find his elder sister, and from then on, would live as a carefree person.

Before long, Zhao’er also finished Duke Wang’s funeral affairs. She packed her belongings and left with her mother, Jiang Shi.

On the carriage’s route toward the city gate, Jiang Shi grasped Zhao’er’s hand and said: “After you send me to the temple, go find your sister. With your sister, she can take good care of you.”

Although Zhao’er and her sister were from the same father but different mothers, the two had been very close since childhood and talked about everything.

After Duke Wang died, Zhao’er’s sister told her to come live with her.

But the condition was that she couldn’t bring Jiang Shi.

For Zhao’er, this was completely unacceptable!

She would rather die than be separated from her mother.

So she refused!

She tightly grasped Jiang Shi’s hand and said, “Mother, no matter what, your daughter cannot abandon you.”

“Mother will only be a burden to you!”

“No! You won’t be at all!”

“If you go to your sister’s place, life will be much easier for you from now on. Why suffer together with mother?” Jiang Shi’s eyes filled with tears.

“Mother, I can give up everything, but I cannot abandon you.”

“Silly child!”

She threw herself into Jiang Shi’s embrace: “From now on, Zhao’er will be mother’s support. I’ll never let mother suffer again.”