Chapter 42

No matter how much he doted on his youngest daughter, Lord Jiang did not indulge her in every matter.
For instance, when Yan Yiming braved the wind and snow to plead for Jiang Yi, Lord Jiang had no intention of intervening in the matter.
After all, Jiang Yi was not a child of the Jiang family. Not only that, his mother had caused a rift between his own younger brother and the family for so many years. Unlike Old Madam Jiang, who wore her emotions on her sleeve, Lord Jiang did not openly display his feelings, but deep down, he could not help but hold a grudge.
He had known from the very beginning that Old Madam Jiang was taking the opportunity to make things difficult for Jiang Yi, but he pretended to be unaware. Since Jiang Yi was not his own child, no matter what happened to him, Lord Jiang felt no pain. On the other hand, Yan Yiming’s venturing out in the heavy snow for Jiang Yi’s sake pained him greatly.
Lord Jiang scolded the maids attending Yan Yiming for their negligence, allowing the young lady to wander about in such cold weather, while feigning indifference as he asked Yan Yiming why she had suddenly taken an interest in Jiang Yi’s affairs.
In that instant, Yan Yiming understood Lord Jiang’s attitude toward Jiang Yi. Even if Jiang Yi were to freeze to death in the snow, Lord Jiang would not feel the slightest bit of remorse.
Lord Jiang disliked Jiang Yi and even disliked her speaking up for him. If Yan Yiming insisted on standing up for Jiang Yi, it would only upset Lord Jiang.
Yan Yiming lowered her eyes slightly and sighed, saying, “I’ve been cooped up in my room for too long and felt stifled, so I thought I’d take a walk to Grandmother’s place. As soon as I entered, I saw him standing in the snow.” At this point, a look of pity crossed her face. “He looked so pitifully thin and was dressed so lightly. I couldn’t bear it and felt truly distressed.”
Since childhood, his daughter had been frail, sensitive, soft-hearted, and easily affected by distressing sights. Thinking of her kind and tender heart, Lord Jiang did not want her to suffer, so he sent someone to arrange for Jiang Yi’s care. After giving brief instructions, he warned Yan Yiming to focus on recuperating and not to involve herself in such matters anymore.
Yan Yiming nodded in agreement. After the snow stopped, she had dinner at Lady Jiang’s place before returning to her own courtyard.
As it happened, Yan Yiming’s residence was located in the southernmost part of the Jiang residence, and the dilapidated courtyard assigned to Jiang Yi was also in the south. By sheer coincidence, they had become neighbors. The difference was that Yan Yiming’s courtyard was meant for tranquility and was, in fact, far more complete and luxurious than other places. In contrast, Jiang Yi’s dwelling was desolate and barren. When he moved in that night, he was given only a quilt and a few candles, with the promise that more would be provided the next day.
On her way back, Yan Yiming passed by the small courtyard where Jiang Yi lived. It was pitch dark inside, without a single candle burning.
But after just a glance, her maids hurriedly urged her to return quickly, fearing she might fall ill from the bitter cold outside.
The master had forbidden the young lady from concerning herself with this “young master,” and the maids, worried that Yan Yiming might be moved by compassion again, quickly escorted her back to her own courtyard.
Yan Yiming wasn't afraid of the maids reporting her, nor was she worried about Lord Jiang or Lady Jiang actually scolding her. No matter how angry they were, they wouldn't deprive her of food or drink, but they might take their anger out on Jiang Yi.
It was better to avoid trouble. She still had Little A, and if she wanted to keep things from them, it wouldn't be difficult.
Midnight was the coldest time of the day.
This residence had long been uninhabited. The only saving grace was that the room didn't leak wind, but it had been neglected for so long that fine dust particles floated in the air. The room lacked any trace of human warmth or heat.
Whether it was an illusion or not, it felt even more bone-chillingly cold here than in the snowy storm outside.
Jiang Yi's consciousness was already slipping. Every part of his body ached terribly, but even worse than the pain was the unbearable cold.
His handsome young face was now tinged with blue from the cold, and his thin body curled up tightly in an attempt to stay warm, wrapping the thin cotton quilt as tightly as possible around his shivering frame.
He had long anticipated that coming to the Jiang residence would bring humiliation. Everything that had happened today was within his expectations, but even with forewarning, he was alone and powerless to change anything.
His mind grew increasingly hazy. Exhausted as he was, Jiang Yi refused to close his eyes. On such a cold night, he feared that if he fell asleep, he might never wake again.
He dared not sleep, nor could he.
Outside the window, aside from the howling wind, Jiang Yi could hear no other sounds. Clenching his teeth, he forced his burning, painful eyes to stay open, his unfocused gaze fixed on the pitch-black ceiling until it was drawn to the faint sound of footsteps outside the door.
No matter how mature he was, he was still just a child of ten or so. In an empty room, in a residence where he had no one to rely on, the slow, approaching footsteps in the pitch-dark night were terrifying.
He heard the footsteps draw nearer until they pushed open the door to his room. A soft, startled gasp from a woman reached his ears, and the door was quickly shut again.
He wanted to sit up and see who it was, but he had no strength left. He couldn't even manage to get a clear look at the visitor.
After some rustling sounds, a faint light finally appeared. The person blew on a fire starter to light a candle, and the empty room was no longer shrouded in darkness. With great effort, Jiang Yi turned his head and saw a figure wrapped in a large, heavy cloak. He couldn't make out their face or build, only a pair of slender, excessively pale hands.
Jiang Yi couldn't guess who it was, he knew no one here. His already frozen body stiffened further with tension. He watched helplessly as the figure drew closer. The large cloak hid half of their face, revealing only a delicate chin and pale lips.
It was a woman.
She stood before him, studying him. Perhaps it was the humiliation of having his most vulnerable state exposed while he was powerless to do anything, but Jiang Yi felt a flicker of anger. He opened his mouth to speak, but the woman reached out with her pale hand and suddenly touched his forehead.
Jiang Yi was burning with fever. When the woman's icy hand touched his skin, he couldn't help but flinch and pull away.
She quickly withdrew her hand, murmuring either to herself or to him. Her voice was crisp and clear, like ice, yet her words carried no chill. “You're burning up like this. If I'd come any later, you might have ended up a fool.”
Jiang Yi didn't recognize her at all, and his head was still throbbing painfully. But perhaps sensing she meant no harm, he instinctively mumbled in response, “No one has ever called me a fool before...”
At thirteen, he was still very much a boy. Yan Yiming hadn't expected that Jiang Yi, who would later become so serious, could be this tsundere now. Instantly, she separated the image of this boy, who was still shorter than her, from the handsome man he would become.
Yan Yiming laughed, her cold voice warming with amusement. “Yes, yes, you're the smartest.”
Jiang Yi fell silent, suddenly at a loss for words.
It was then that he finally got a clear look at her face.
Her skin was almost translucent, her features exquisitely delicate. Her light-colored eyes were like glass, but at the corner of her right eye was a tiny red mole.
Just like her voice, her appearance was icy and refined, yet her smile at that moment erased any sense of distance.
Jiang Yi was certain he had never seen her before.
But she acted as if she had known him all along, speaking to him with familiarity and teasing him. She laid out a quilt she had brought from somewhere on the bare bed board, then patted Jiang Yi, signaling him to scoot over.
Jiang Yi's eyes widened abruptly, his already flushed face turning even redder. His starry eyes stared straight at Yan Yiming.
Yan Yiming paused, realizing she had patted the wrong spot.
She felt a moment of awkwardness, but the sight of Jiang Yi's still-childish face made her burst into laughter again. As if deliberately teasing him, she pulled his blanket away while he was still dazed. Just as Jiang Yi snapped back to his senses and hurriedly tried to cover himself, she slipped a hot water bottle into his arms and tucked the blanket back around him.
Jiang Yi felt the sudden warmth in his embrace and fell silent.
He watched quietly as the woman disappeared, only to return shortly after. A brazier filled with burning charcoal now sat in the room. She stirred the embers with somewhat clumsy movements, then sat by the stove to boil water before handing him a cup to drink.
She didn't explain why she was there, and Jiang Yi didn't ask. Outside the window, the cold wind still howled, but it no longer felt as bone-chilling as before.
His body still ached, and his mind remained somewhat hazy, but Jiang Yi inexplicably felt warmth spreading in his heart.
Even though she kept teasing him.
Some time later, the woman reached out again to feel his forehead. This time, her hand wasn't as cold as before, and Jiang Yi looked up at her serious expression without flinching away.
“The fever's gone,” she finally said with a sigh of relief, standing up. Having stayed up for nearly half the night, Yan Yiming was exhausted. She put her cloak back on, pulling the wide hood over her head, then turned to Jiang Yi as if remembering something. “Don't tell anyone I was here.”
Jiang Yi didn't ask why. There were always people in this household who wished him ill, he could roughly guess the reason.
“Then who are you?” Jiang Yi asked.
Yan Yiming turned her head, suddenly leaned in and crouched by the bedside. Watching Jiang Yi's startled expression again, she laughed heartily for a while before saying, “I won't tell you now. I'll wait for you to figure it out yourself.” A smile curled on her beautiful face as she reached out to tuck his quilt properly before standing up. “When the time comes, you'll naturally know exactly who I am.”