Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The icy wind and snow brought a bone-deep chill. Ji Hanyi waited until well past midnight. The last few embers had long since gone cold, leaving only the glass lantern hanging from the carriage roof to cast its faint, flickering glow.

The carriage sent to fetch her still had not arrived.

The snow was heavy tonight. She knew he was not coming.

Fortunately, even the longest night would eventually give way to dawn.

Only when the first pale glimmer appeared on the horizon did the carriage finally arrive.

The coachman hurried over and passed a fox-fur cloak into the carriage as he explained, “The snow was too heavy last night. If we hadn’t happened across some officials in a rush to leave the city on urgent business, no one would have cleared the road. I fear I still wouldn’t have reached you by now, Young Madam.”

“Thank goodness we ran into them. Otherwise, what would Young Madam have done out here in the snow?”

Ji Hanyi’s fingers tightened around the fox-fur cloak, and she lowered her eyes.

The coachman continued from outside the curtain, “We prepared a hand warmer too, but it’s probably long since gone cold. The charcoal in the carriage has burned out as well. It’s my fault for not bringing more.”

Ji Hanyi listened in silence without blaming him. She merely lifted the curtain.

The wind and snow whipped her hair into disarray. The endless expanse of white stung her eyes.

The coachman was still speaking. “Eldest Master was frantic when he heard yesterday that Young Madam and the young cousin were stranded on the road. He wanted to come fetch you himself right then. A man as busy as Eldest Master didn’t even attend to his official duties. Last night, he even…”

His voice abruptly cut off. Belatedly realizing what he had said, he snapped his mouth shut and stole a glance at Ji Hanyi’s face.

Young Madam’s face was lowered, concealing her expression. The coachman wished he could slap himself. Why had he brought this up? He hastily went to set down the footstool.

Ji Hanyi silently drew the cloak tighter around herself, then stepped out of the carriage.

As she climbed down from the damaged carriage, she gathered her skirts and stepped into the thick snow. Her frozen body had long since gone numb. She could not even feel the ground beneath her feet.

Several times, she nearly fell, only for Rongchun to catch her firmly.

Rongchun’s eyes were already red. Like her mistress, she walked on in silence without a single complaint.

When the carriage returned to the Xie Residence, the front-gate servants came to help Young Madam down. The usually gentle and dignified Young Madam was now disheveled and struggling with every step. They could not help looking at her with sympathy.

She and the young cousin had gone to the hot-spring estate together, yet Eldest Master had personally fetched the young cousin while Young Madam was left stranded in the snow all night.

They had heard that after the young cousin returned, the entire residence had bustled about for some time and even summoned a physician to examine her, as though everyone had forgotten that Young Madam was still out in the snow.

Yet somehow, it also seemed perfectly understandable.

Back then, who in the residence had not assumed that Eldest Master would one day marry the young cousin?

Ji Hanyi paid no heed to their looks. Fighting through her unsteady steps, she returned to her courtyard. Her hand pressed heavily against Rongchun’s wrist, her knuckles white as she struggled to remain upright.

The charcoal fire in her room was blazing, but Ji Hanyi could feel no warmth. At the sight of the flames, she instinctively crouched before the brazier and held out her hands.

Her palms were so close that the flames licked at them, yet she felt no heat.

Her mind was blank. She did not even feel wronged. Instead, there was a strange sense of relief, as if a burden had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

If anything, she was grateful — grateful that this realization had not come too late.

Rongchun brought over ginger tea to warm her. Seeing her mistress, who had always cared deeply about propriety, crouched there with her body curled in on itself, she choked out, “Young Madam, you should bathe and change your clothes first. That will warm you up faster.”

Ji Hanyi held the cup in both hands, but her cold, stiff fingers still had little feeling. Even after the hot tea slid down her throat, her body remained just as cold.

Just then, the curtain was swept open from outside. Light, hurried footsteps followed, and Li Mingrou entered with concern written all over her face. She paused when she saw Ji Hanyi crouching before the brazier, then quickly came over and said, “I heard you were back, Cousin-in-law. Aunt asked me to check on you. She wants you to rest well, so there’s no need to go see her for now.”
As she spoke, Li Mingrou came over and crouched beside Ji Hanyi, asking with concern in her eyes, “Are you all right, Cousin-in-law?”

“After Cousin brought me back, I asked him to go and fetch you at once. But he was worried about my health and insisted on staying with me. Now that I see you’ve returned safely, I can finally rest easy.”

“When Cousin returns from duty and sees that you’re safe, he’ll be relieved too.”

Ji Hanyi turned her head slightly to look at Mingrou.

She wore a yellow padded jacket trimmed with a ring of fox fur around the collar. Her hair was immaculate, and her fair complexion glowed with health, showing no sign that she had been battered by the wind and snow.

Her young, lovely face was fair and delicate, like a dewy flower bud that had been carefully sheltered from the elements. Yet deep within those bright, seemingly vulnerable eyes lurked a trace of smugness and contempt.

It was as though her gaze were constantly reminding Ji Hanyi that she could never win against her.

But Ji Hanyi had never wanted to compete in the first place.

She looked away and said quietly, “I’m fine. You needn’t have come to see me. Your health is more important.”

With that, Ji Hanyi braced a hand on her knee and rose, taking a seat in the cushioned chair nearby. She then told Rongchun to serve Li Mingrou tea as well.

Li Mingrou faltered when she met Ji Hanyi’s placid gaze. She had imagined countless possible reactions from Ji Hanyi, but such calm had never been among them.

In the past, Ji Hanyi had always told her that it was improper for an unmarried woman to cling to her cousin. Li Mingrou had seen the resentment beneath those lectures, as well as the hurt and sorrow that had once surfaced in Ji Hanyi’s eyes. Whatever else she might have expected, Ji Hanyi should not have been this calm.

She admitted that she enjoyed seeing the disappointment in Ji Hanyi’s eyes. Only then would Ji Hanyi understand who truly mattered most in Cousin’s heart.

If Ji Hanyi had any sense, she would ask to leave the marriage of her own accord. She had forced her way into the Xie Family, but Li Mingrou still looked down on her.

A melon plucked by force was never sweet. How could she fail to understand something so obvious?

Li Mingrou sat down in the other cushioned chair, casting Ji Hanyi a disdainful glance. Ji Hanyi was still dressed in the same dark blue clothes from yesterday. Her hair was slightly disheveled, with only a simple hairpin tucked into her dark tresses. Sitting sideways with her head bowed, she sipped her tea.

The faint light from outside the window fell upon her. With her snow-white skin and exquisitely drawn features, she appeared as poised as ever.

That poise was all she had left.

Li Mingrou desperately wanted to push Ji Hanyi until she lost her composure, to tear away the false calm of a woman unloved by her husband.

She watched her for a moment before saying, “I was worried about you too, Cousin-in-law. That’s why I hurried over to see you.”

“But you don’t seem happy that I came. Is it because Cousin brought me home first last night? Are you upset with me again?”

Rongchun had heard Li Mingrou say such things more times than she could count, always looking so pitiful and frail. The Eldest Master was indeed biased toward her, but the moment Li Mingrou put it that way, it made the Young Madam seem petty. The Eldest Master would inevitably blame the Young Madam again.

Ji Hanyi set down her teacup, the fragrance of Spring Snow Tea curling gently through the air. She looked at Mingrou with calm eyes and said in a soft, mild voice, “You needn’t think that way. I’ve only just returned, and the chill has yet to leave me. Your health can’t withstand the cold, so you should go back and rest.”

“Don’t make your cousin worry.”

Her words were gracious and composed, betraying none of the humiliation of having been abandoned.

Ji Hanyi knew what Li Mingrou wanted to see, but perhaps she would never get her wish.

Li Mingrou froze for a moment, then suddenly smiled and turned to look out the window. Her straight-backed silhouette radiated pity and mockery. “I remember you planted many crabapple trees outside the window during your first year here. The view was so beautiful when they bloomed in the third month.”

She turned to Ji Hanyi. “What a shame I can’t bear the scent of crabapple blossoms. For my sake, Cousin forbade anyone in the entire residence from planting them. He even ordered the ones you planted to be uprooted.”

“I heard crabapple blossoms are your favorite. You won’t get to see them this third month. Will that make you sad, Cousin-in-law?”