With both commanders severely wounded and morale in disarray, the troops swiftly retreated. The injured Munuha was unwilling but had no choice but to let his subordinates carry him away. They had made extensive preparations for this ambush, spending vast resources in hopes of eliminating Shen Yueshan in one strike.
Throwing the imperial court into chaos would have allowed them to seize the opportunity, but their plans were thwarted by a pale-faced young general who appeared out of nowhere. Munuha stared fiercely at Xiao Huayong, engraving this man's face in his mind—the arrow wound today would be repaid in full someday.
By now, Xiao Huayong had lightly landed back on his horse and clasped his hands toward the approaching Shen Yueshan: "My thanks for Your Highness's rescue."
Shen Yueshan's men caught up as well. Glancing back at his beloved officers who emerged unscathed, Shen Yueshan was in high spirits: "It is I who should thank Your Highness."
What they had assumed would be a small-scale ambush turned out to be exceptionally perilous once Xiao Huayong charged in with Shen Yueshan. Had he attempted it alone, he would certainly have been injured, and at least several of his men would have been lost.
"Assisting Your Highness is my duty," Xiao Huayong replied with humble courtesy.
Shen Yueshan smiled meaningfully as he scrutinized Xiao Huayong for a moment, then raised his whip and galloped forward.
"Your Highness displays remarkable valor!"
"Your Highness's archery is superb!"
"Your Highness is divinely brave!"
...
The officers following Shen Yueshan each offered praises and clasped hands before spurring their horses to catch up with him.
Xiao Huayong smiled faintly and urged his horse onward as well. Leaving the canyon behind, the wind and snow grew increasingly fierce, nearly blinding them. They had now entered Longyou Circuit, territory of the northwest.
Battling through the blizzard, they rode swiftly for two quarters of an hour until reaching a small town. The townsfolk, men and women alike, all recognized Shen Yueshan. Upon seeing him, they emerged from their homes, beaming with joy. Some villagers even brought their sturdy seven or eight-year-old children forward, asking Shen Yueshan: "Your Highness, this child of mine is tough—please take him into the army to follow you and protect our land!"
"Me too! My boy is strong and has a big appetite!"
"Aqi'er, you just can't afford to feed him yourself and want the army to raise him for you..."
This sparked roars of laughter. The crowd respected Shen Yueshan yet remained familiar with him. Shen Yueshan himself showed no airs, even amiably feeling the arms of the children pushed toward him: "Good, sturdy. But you'll need to raise them a bit more yourselves—I certainly can't afford to feed them."
"Your Highness, we can't afford it either! This lad eats far too much!" a middle-aged man bantered casually with Shen Yueshan.
"Go to the prefect's office and ask Prefect Niu why you can't feed your children," Shen Yueshan declared boldly. "My duty is your safety. Ensuring you're well-fed is the court's responsibility."
"Your Highness, don't listen to his nonsense. We all have enough to eat and drink, and we're grateful for the court's benevolence and generosity." An evidently respected elder of the town shooed the crowd aside and led Shen Yueshan's group indoors.
They boiled water and heated goat's milk to warm them.
After changing clothes, Xiao Huayong and Shen Yueshan sat before the fire while the others went elsewhere to rest.
The crackling of flames echoed distinctly in the small, quiet room. The bone broth simmering in the hanging pot emitted an enticing aroma. The bright firelight cast a red glow across half of Shen Yueshan's face: "Your Highness, I am aware of what you said to my son; today I have also witnessed your sincerity. To be frank, before today, I held many doubts about Your Highness."Xiao Huayong listened with a gentle, obedient smile, like a junior respectfully heeding an elder's admonitions.
"Youyou is my daughter. I know better than anyone that she never had any intention of marrying since childhood..." Mentioning this, Shen Yueshan felt a pang of self-reproach.
Shen Xihe grew up without a mother, lacking some feminine softness and maidenly shyness. Her greatest wish since childhood was simply to live a few more days, to spend more time with her father and brother. Aside from them and the Tao family, she held no one else in her heart, nor did she intend to let anyone else in.
Because her condition couldn't bear heavy emotions, and was most vulnerable to extreme joy or sorrow, she minimized the number of people who could affect her thoughts and feelings in pursuit of longevity.
Having read too many tragic romance novels in her youth, she not only failed to develop any yearning for romantic love but came to regard it as taboo. She didn't find those passionate, heart-wrenching stories moving—instead, she saw the men and women in them as selfish, foolish, and senseless, wasting their lives.
To risk death for a stranger, to neglect one's closest family for an unrelated person...
Shen Yueshan and Shen Yungan were often too busy, sometimes only seeing her once every ten days or half a month. Her education was entrusted to female tutors, but they taught her manners, principles, and etiquette—not being her birth mother, how would they dare overstep and instruct her in matters between men and women?
Thus, Shen Xihe developed her own unique perspective in this regard. Combined with her dependence on her father and brother, she felt that falling for a stranger would make her lose self-control and become unrecognizable—something she never wanted in her life.
"In earlier years, when her brother and I teased her about this, she would occasionally say a word or two in response. We thought she was just being shy, as young maidens often are, and didn't press further, afraid she might get upset and harm her health..." Shen Yueshan's tone grew heavier as he spoke. "It wasn't until my son went to the capital during the Mid-Autumn Festival that I realized how much we, as father and son, had neglected her."
Xiao Huayong had never quite understood why Shen Xihe was so particularly cold and indifferent toward romantic love. He had asked her before, and she told him it was because the world was unjust—he had believed her. Only now, hearing from Shen Yueshan, did he realize it went far deeper than that.
Was it because her frail health forbade intense joy or sorrow that she saw all tragic lovers throughout history as victims of emotional extremes, thus convincing herself from the root that falling in love equated to disregarding her own life?
And since she wanted to live longer, she severed such thoughts early on—thoughts that had now become deeply ingrained over the years.
Moreover, having been raised in the palm of Shen Yueshan and Shen Yungan's hands, she relied heavily on familial love. Shocked by the depictions in novels of lovers who abandoned their families for the sake of "earth-shattering romance," she warned herself never to become such a person.
In the process, she must have discussed with others why someone would disregard their family for a stranger.
Perhaps someone, unable to refute or convince her, had told her something like, "You'll understand when you experience it—love is beyond control."
This would have made her even more afraid of becoming such a person and hurting Shen Yueshan and Shen Yungan, thus reinforcing her aversion to romantic love.
Understanding how Shen Xihe developed such a temperament, Xiao Huayong felt a slight pang in his heart. If she had had a mother's guidance and companionship, if she could have witnessed the deep affection between her parents, she surely wouldn't have turned out this way.Shen Yueshan lifted his gaze, looking sincerely at Xiao Huayong: "Your Highness, if you do not seek mutual affection, Youyou would be the most virtuous wife in this world."
Neither jealous nor quarrelsome, managing household affairs and stabilizing the inner residence—no one could surpass her.
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