The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

In the land of exile, the north wind blows like a knife.

The dilapidated thatched hut could not withstand the severe cold of the north. Every night, frost would seep in through the cracks and condense into tiny ice crystals on the quilt.

"Father."

"Father, wake up, wake up."

The desperate cries continued in my ears.

When Ying Yi woke up, she saw Ying Fuyan kneeling in front of the bed.

Ying Fuyan is currently only a teenager.

He had suffered a lot; he was thin and his face was dirty and disheveled.

How is he still alive?

Isn't he dead?

After he died, he watched Yan Ge'er being tortured to the point of wishing he were dead, watching him live each day as if it were an eternity, and seeing him trampled on by anyone.

I also saw Wei Fengyuan disregard his own safety and take him away...

He watched as Yan Ge'er ascended the throne, only to die in the sixth year.

Can……

Before Ying Yi could think any further, she reached out to touch Ying Fuyan's face.

But that touched his tear-streaked face.

Ying Fuyan's body trembled slightly, and he suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with light.

"Father."

Ying Yi slowly sat up straight.

Voices could be heard coming from outside, growing louder as they approached.

"Boss, how should we report the cause of death?"

"What's there to report? Those who freeze to death or die from exhaustion are all short-lived either way. Do you really think he's still the high and mighty Prince of Yan? Who among those people in the capital dares to hold him accountable? Let me tell you, it was that person who didn't want him to live."

"Just you wait and see, it won't be long before the little one doesn't survive either."

As he spoke, the man spat.

"What bad luck! I'm being sent to collect corpses again..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dilapidated door was kicked open, and tattered snowflakes poured in.

The thatched hut was small, containing nothing but a broken couch.

The soldier with a knife at his waist took a deep breath when he met Ying Yi's cold and stern face.

Wasn't he dead?
They said the corpses were already stiff.

how……

Ying Yi: "Is there something you need?"

Despite the fact that the servants didn't take him seriously in private, the Prince of Yan was, after all, of royal lineage, and his imposing presence was innate.

Besides, it came back to life.

How could the soldiers not be afraid?

He was so scared that he stepped back again and again.

"No...no."

Ying Yi: "Then why aren't you leaving?"

The two soldiers took off running.

Ying Yi closed his eyes, his thoughts in turmoil, but his hands clenched tightly, veins bulging.

Thinking of his wife and daughter, and the tragedy at the Prince of Yan's mansion...

My emotions were churning.

It's all hatred.

"Ayan."

Ying Yi: "Do you want to go back to the capital?"

Ying Fuyan was slightly taken aback.

Going to Beijing?

He didn't even think about it.

All I remember is that bowl of thin porridge that was served every day, so thin you could see your reflection in it. You had to sip it little by little to make it to the next day.

He heard his father speak.

"Father tried his best this time... to take you back, okay?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Ying Yi waited for Wei Fengyuan.

Every time Wei was preparing to return to the capital in triumph, he would secretly come to see him.

But they dared not linger, for there were Emperor Yingqian's spies here.

Enter.

All was quiet.

Ying Yi sneaked into the stone quarry in the dark, avoiding the patrols. Wei Fengyuan was already waiting for him at the other end of the wall.

"Long story short."

Wei Fengyuan lowered his voice: "I know the prison clothes are thin and worn out, but I can't prepare warm clothes for you." If you wore them, you would see through the trick.

In particular, the guards often took advantage of the situation to whip the prisoners.

With one lash, not only were the prison clothes torn open, but the flesh on the body was also whipped raw and torn.

"This time I brought wound medicine, Five-Stone Powder... Five-Stone Powder makes the whole body feel warm and can resist extreme cold, but it cannot be taken for a long time, and the side effects are also great."

"Feng Yuan."

Yingyi interrupted him.

"I'm going to fight my way back to the capital."

Wei Fengyuan, on the other side of the wall, fell silent.

I don’t know how much time passed.

"Are you crazy?"

"You don't have any soldiers at your disposal."

"You have."

Wei Fengyuan: ? ? ?

Ying Yi: "Recruit soldiers and buy horses..."

If the younger generation can do it, then these elders have no way out. They might as well gather together and take a gamble. It's not too late to start planning now...

Ying Yi's throat tightened.

"The Shen family girl who entered the palace as a concubine. Feng Yuan, you should take her back."

Wei Fengyuan's eyes darkened slightly, and his breathing paused slightly.

No one in the family knew about this except for the elders.

"How do you know..."

Ying Yi smiled bitterly. He looked up at the sky, which was dark and gloomy, with no stars or moon in sight. "You know that the person on the dragon throne cannot be shaken by his own strength. In order to protect the entire Wei family from being implicated, he cannot selfishly put the entire Duke of Shun's mansion on the fire. There are too many things to consider, and too many people to be taken care of. Even though he knew that he was deliberately provoking him, he endured the humiliation and dared not cause any trouble."

"To be honest, it's not that I'm not greedy for the throne; I'm not that virtuous. It's just that I know what it means to be flattered to death. My father is nice to me on the surface, but he's using me as a stepping stone for that person."

He knew that position was not for him.

Therefore, I did not compete. Even if I had too much ability, I could not win.

“I didn’t want to antagonize them, and I obeyed my father, bowing down to let them trample on me, but who could have imagined that they… still wouldn’t give me a peaceful end.”

Before his exile, Old Master Wei was still alive and had visited him.

Let him be... a ghost who knows nothing.

Before his death, his father was plotting to have him train his third brother, and the imperial edict he left behind pointed him to a dead end.

Ying Yi: "Listen to me."

"I don't know what happened, but I was supposed to die today."

"Your return to the capital this time will only last a month before you have to rush off to war again. In one battle, you will... lose your life on the border."

Wei Fengyuan's figure suddenly swayed, the iron scales he drilled with his fingertips crackled, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

He arrived in haste, travel-worn, his warhorse having trod across thousands of miles of yellow earth. Stationed on the border, spending his days training his soldiers, he was already disheartened and hadn't taken care of himself; his stubble had grown to a finger's length.

"You are a smart man."

"You should know what will happen to Feng Xing and the Wei family if something happens to you."

Ying Yi's voice continued to come from the other end.

But Wei Fengyuan was no longer willing to listen.

How could he not guess?

Because he knew all too well, he was powerless and unable to risk the lives of the entire Wei family against the royal family regarding Shen Jin's matter.

Wei Fengyuan wanted to refute Ying Yi's nonsense.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Ying Yi would never joke about such a thing.

But there was always a voice in his heart telling him to believe in him.

Ying Yi: "The Marquis of Zhongyong has suffered enough these past years. He... should stand up for himself."

"The son-in-law of the Marquis of Qingyuan, that one named Gu Fuju. If I remember correctly, he doesn't dare to show his talent these days. A few years ago, he was even sent to serve as a county magistrate in a certain region. I wonder what has become of him now."

"I'll trouble you to make a trip to his side as well."

"This man is very wary and probably won't agree immediately. Tell him that the person he's secretly looking for is still alive and well, having been taken in by a bodyguard surnamed Yu from Ze County. Is anyone trying to eliminate him completely?"

"Also, here is a list I wrote down. Keep it safe. They are all capable people."

Wei Fengyuan remained silent for a long time.

"How...how will you escape?"

Ying Yi could not possibly remain trapped here indefinitely.

"As that person wished, I will die once."

Ying Yi: "Not just me, you are too."

His tone was weary, yet resolute.

"Only by feigning death and hiding in the shadows can one escape a life-or-death situation."

(End of this chapter)