High-class Spring Joy

Qinghe realized what was happening and got up to drape the two cloaks from her shoulders over Chu Jingxian.

Although the Third Young Master had practiced martial arts since childhood, his physique was not as muscular as Chen Sha's. Perhaps martial artists are more physically robust than ordinary people.

The Third Young Master was dressed lightly in such cold weather, yet he spent the night there, in the freezing cold.

Daytime temperatures are usually higher than nighttime temperatures, and nighttime temperatures are lower than daytime temperatures. It's already unbearably cold during the day, let alone at night. Even martial arts practitioners would find it hard to endure wearing so little, and non-martial arts practitioners would probably freeze to death.

But the person in front of her, the Third Young Master, still didn't know when, after she fell asleep, he dressed and gave her the cloak.

He's always like that.

Qinghe couldn't help but look at the sleeping face in front of her.

This face is truly stunning; even after looking at it for so many days, Qinghe has never grown tired of it.

On the contrary, as time goes by, each time she looks at it, she has some new feelings. As for what exactly they are, Qinghe can't say for sure, but it is already not easy for someone in such a miserable and dangerous situation to maintain their original composure.

Even someone like the Third Young Master, after many days of turmoil and dangerous situations, looked tired.

His pale, handsome face seemed to hold a hint of suppressed pain, as if he were enduring some kind of suffering; even his brows were unconsciously furrowed.

Whether it was the cold or the hard, cold cave walls, it was very uncomfortable to sleep like this. Qinghe felt sore back and aches after sleeping all night, but at this point, just being alive was the greatest challenge.

Qinghe was a little worried about Chu Jingxian's eyes, but there was no use in worrying. She didn't know any traditional Chinese medicine or any medical skills, so she couldn't help the third young master in front of her at all.

All Qinghe could do was reach out and gently smooth out Chu Jingxian's furrowed brows when she saw him doing so.

No sooner had Qinghe's fingertips touched Chu Jingxian's cheek than her wrist was grabbed. Qinghe looked down instinctively, thinking that Chu Jingxian had woken up, but that was not the case. His eyes were not open, and Chu Jingxian showed no signs of waking up. Only the pain and tightness in her wrist kept reminding Qinghe.

Chu Jingxian didn't wake up, nor did he open his eyes. His thin lips moved slightly, as if he were saying something. His voice was soft, and Qinghe paused, thinking of leaning closer to listen.

As soon as Qinghe got close, she could feel the warm breath emanating from the man's nose, which gently brushed against her ear, causing a slight tickling and tingling sensation.

But Qinghe clenched her hands, resisting the urge to back away, and listened to the words Chu Jingxian was muttering. What she heard made her freeze—

"Ahe...Ahe...Ahe..."

Each of the three "Ah He"s was more tender, more gentle, and more reluctant to part.

Qinghe was afraid that she had misheard, and she was also afraid that she had misperceived. Even though she knew that she should back away at this moment, she did not. She still wanted to hear clearly whether what this person was saying was Ahe, whether it was her name.

"He treated you badly, he didn't trust you, he didn't favor you, he was never there when you needed help, he was never there when you needed comfort, and he even kicked you when you were down. He had someone else in his heart. He was so blind and heartless, so ungrateful, unable to recognize the most precious thing in his life. I dumped him and left him..."

As his thin lips moved, his warm breath brushed against Qinghe's ear, making her ear grow hotter and hotter, and redder and redder.

Even so, Qinghe was completely stunned when she heard these words.

How could this be...

Was the Third Young Master speaking to her, or to someone else?

Who is the "he" in the sentence referring to?

Could it be the Fifth Prince?

No, no, no, I absolutely cannot think like that anymore, I absolutely cannot.

Qinghe dared not continue thinking in this direction, feeling that if she continued to think like this, she would fall into an abyss.

But some thoughts become increasingly uncontrollable the more you try to stop thinking about them.

The words Chu Jingxian had mumbled in a daze kept echoing in Qinghe's mind, like a curse swirling around and around.

Even Qinghe couldn't take her eyes off the Third Young Master's face.

These were the Third Young Master's thin lips. With each opening and closing of his lips, he uttered only two words, yet Qinghe felt all the blood rush to her head.

Because what she heard was—

"Ahe, leave him and come with me."

If what happened before the sands settled made Qinghe realize or perceive something, then upon careful reflection, she realized all of Chu Jingxian's previous actions towards her—all the help, all the support, and all the care he had shown her…

Qinghe dared not think about it, nor dared to think about it in detail. But since the words had already been spoken to this extent, Qinghe heard words that were even more straightforward and certain than before. Even if Qinghe wanted to escape, she could not escape them.

The third young master comes from a good family, is highly talented, and is extremely wealthy. He is proficient in both literature and martial arts, and is skilled in poetry, songs, swords, spears, and clubs. He also has a heart that is devoted to the country and its people, and is the most kind-hearted and upright person.

In Qinghe's mind, there were so many positive words and compliments that could be applied to the Third Young Master without any problem.

Such a good person, such a perfect person, who has helped and supported her time and time again, always appears when Qinghe needs help, and always stands up for her when she is bullied. The kindness of helping and saving her life is so great that it can be said that the more he helps her, the more grateful he becomes.

Such a person is neither domineering nor overbearing, has never done anything harmful to Qinghe, and has never forced her to repay kindness or seek evil revenge. With such a person by her side, how could Qinghe not be moved? Moreover...

The Third Young Master in front of her was the first and possibly only man in her life. Qinghe agreed to the job because of the money and because he was the Third Young Master.

How could Qinghe not be moved? But even if she was moved, what could she do?

Even if she was tempted, she was still just an ordinary citizen, an ordinary citizen, and a legitimate one at that, after ten years of struggling in the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion.

Qinghe knew all too well that she didn't have a good background, nor a background she could talk about, and she didn't have a family to support her. Everything she had now was earned by herself, bit by bit.

How could someone like her be worthy of the Third Young Master?

Even though the Third Young Master is currently in business and registered as a merchant, he is still, in the end, the legitimate eldest son of the Marquis of Zhenguo's mansion. Putting aside the matter of inheriting the marquisate, just this status alone is something that Qinghe cannot match.

Qinghe was acutely aware of the difference between her own status and that of the Third Young Master, as well as the differences between the two of them, and even more so of what she herself truly desired.

She wanted freedom, she wanted to live a good life with her child, to work at sunrise and rest at sunset, to live out her life peacefully, to cry when she needed to cry, to laugh when she needed to laugh, and to be sad when she needed to be sad.

She no longer wanted her life to be easily controlled by others, nor did she want to be a slave or servant, nor did she want her children to be slaves or servants.

Even if she's fallen for him, so what? Even if the Third Young Master's words were sincere, even if he truly loved her...

Qinghe never wanted to return to the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion again; it was a cage she had finally managed to escape from.

That kind of cage was too dangerous and too dark. Qinghe knew she wasn't a smart person, and she wasn't sure she could survive in such a cage. She couldn't guarantee that she could do anything for the Third Young Master.

The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed to Qinghe.

There were some clues before, and Qinghe wasn't stupid or a completely emotionless block of wood. There were some things she could sense and perceive, but even if she perceived them, she couldn't change anything. Instead, it would only make Qinghe herself get stuck in a rut.

Therefore, Qinghe would rather think that she had made a mistake in perceiving things, and rather not feel anything at all, because feeling anything would be useless.

Because sometimes, liking someone is useless, being moved is useless, and the chasm remains just that—a chasm.

Qinghe was thinking to herself, her gaze fixed on Chu Jingxian's face.

Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind. Qinghe immediately took two steps back and then heard Chensha's voice:

"Young Master, Miss Qinghe is back. I was lucky today and caught a wild rabbit! But I'm not very good at cooking it..."

As soon as Chen Sha walked in, he realized that the atmosphere was a bit off. He looked up and saw Qing He squatting not far from the young master, slowly moving back, looking somewhat flustered.

Standing there, Chen Sha seemed to understand something about the unclear tension between the two men after being scolded by his young master last night.

Chen Sha dared not speak easily at this moment, afraid that she might say something that would ruin the atmosphere or disrupt the original communication between the two, even though Chu Jingxian was not awake yet.

Chen Sha dared not do it again; now he was like someone who had been bitten by a snake once and was afraid of a well rope for ten years.

Qinghe didn't dare to look at Chensha behind her. She felt guilty. When she realized there was no sound behind her, she didn't dare to look back. She slowly moved back and turned around to find Chensha standing there with a wild rabbit in his hand. He didn't dare to move forward or backward, so he just stood there without moving.

Qinghe could only steel herself and ask Chensha, "What's wrong, Guard Chensha? Have you noticed something amiss?"

Chen Sha then realized what was happening, scratched the back of his head, and stepped forward to Qing He, saying, "Miss Qing He, I've prepared this wild rabbit, but I don't know how to cook it. I've always failed at cooking in the wild, like grilling fish or rabbit. I really don't know how. If Miss Qing He and you would like some roasted, tough, shoe-sole-like meat, I could try. But I thought Miss Qing He's cooking skills were so good, surely grilling a rabbit shouldn't be a problem for you?"

Qinghe felt a little relieved when she saw Chensha say this, thinking that Chensha probably hadn't seen what happened between them.

Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief before walking up and taking the rabbit from Chensha's hands. It has to be said that Chensha had made the rabbit very well and cleaned it thoroughly, probably by washing it with snow. Looking at Chensha's hands, which were red from the cold, it was probably true.

Qinghe placed the rabbit over the fire and roasted it slowly, adding firewood every now and then to keep the flames burning but not too bright or too dim. There weren't many other spices available in this place, so Qinghe could only find some salt in the inner pocket of her thick cotton-padded coat.

The salt was originally put in there to keep warm. This method was told to Qinghe and Princess Jing'an by the farmer when they passed by.

Who knew that it would actually come in handy now?

Qinghe was intently roasting the rabbit meat, watching it slowly fill her stomach. She had managed to keep her eyes off Chu Jingxian, but then she heard a noise nearby, followed by Chu Jingxian's voice:

"Ah He's cooking skills are so good, she can even roast this rabbit so deliciously in a place like this."

Chu Jingxian's blow was like a thunderbolt from the heavens, striking Qinghe so hard that she froze, even forgetting to flip the rabbit over.

It wasn't for any other reason than that the name "Ahe" that came from Chu Jingxian's mouth overlapped with the name Qinghe had heard when Chu Jingxian was asleep. At that moment of overlap, Qinghe had a feeling that was hard to explain.

Just like those two words, those two light and airy words, that calm voice without any extra emotion, so calmly reminded her, reminded Qinghe, that everything she had just heard was not a figment of her imagination, that everything she had experienced was real, not fake, but truly happened.

It deprived Qinghe of her last bit of escape space.

Chu Jingxian, standing beside her, seemed to notice Qinghe's silence:

"What's wrong, Ahe? Are you cold?"

Qinghe turned her head stiffly and smiled, trying her best to make her voice sound normal and to appear calm:

"Young master, there's no need to worry. I slept very well last night and I'm not cold now. Besides, Guard Chensha has been keeping this fire burning, so how could I be cold? It's just... I'm a little confused right now... I don't understand why you gave me the cloak. Your health is already a bit weak, and you had an eye problem yesterday. When I woke up today, I saw that you seemed to have blindfolds. I wonder if you're better now?"

Instead of addressing that topic, Qinghe asked about what was on her mind. She didn't know if Chu Jingxian was truly awake or just pretending, nor what he had dreamt about in his nightmare, or whether he had noticed her unusual behavior.

"Yes... I dreamt about something, but nightmares are a frequent occurrence for me. If it weren't for the medicine that Sai Huatuo gave me to suppress them, I'd probably be having nightmares 360 out of 365 days a year. I've gotten used to it. Ah He, don't worry too much. It's just that I've been away for too long now, and I've run out of medicine, so I've lost control a bit. It'll be fine once we get back to Bianjing City, so don't worry too much."

Chu Jingxian said twice that there was no need to worry too much, which was actually the most unusual sign.

Qinghe knew Chu Jingxian all too well. No matter the situation, he could always remain calm and composed, always confident and prepared. Even when she first fell into the snowdrift, the Third Young Master she saw was completely at ease and showed no signs of panic.

At first glance, what he just said seemed fine, but upon closer listening, one could detect the panic hidden in his words.

If it really was just an ordinary dream, why would the Third Young Master be so flustered? He's the Third Young Master who wouldn't even flinch if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

Qinghe dared not ask any more questions, so she simply avoided the topic. Coincidentally, both of them were avoiding the topic, so the conversation smoothly turned to the roasted rabbit in front of them, which was crispy and juicy.

"This rabbit was hunted by Guard Chensha. It was perfectly fat, but with enough fat to prevent the meat from being too dry. It's only because Guard Chensha brought back such good raw materials that I was able to roast such delicious rabbit meat."

As Qinghe spoke, she took the rabbit off the table. Since she didn't have a dagger or knife with her, she handed the rabbit meat to Chensha and said, "Please have the guard divide it up."

The rabbit meat was roasted until golden brown and glistening with oil, sprinkled with a thin layer of salt. The outer shell looked incredibly crispy, while the meat inside had a pinkish hue. You could easily guess that it would be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

"It's strange, but as soon as Miss Qinghe arrived, I caught a rabbit. You know, a few days ago when Miss Qinghe wasn't here, my young master and I had to eat some sour and astringent wild fruits that we had to find far away to fill our stomachs."

As Chen Sha spoke, he was already drooling over the roasted rabbit meat in front of him. He took the roasted rabbit from Qing He's hand, placed a clean leaf on the stone, took out his dagger, and made a precise cut.

As he spoke, the rabbit was divided into three pieces. The largest piece was half of the whole rabbit, while the other two pieces were divided from the other half. However, within those two pieces, one was clearly larger and the other was smaller.

All that could be heard was Chen Sha muttering, "The biggest one is for the young master, the second biggest one is for Miss Qinghe, and I'll just have the smallest one."

Chen Sha first took half a meat and handed it to Chu Jingxian: "Young Master, you haven't eaten much these days, and your health wasn't good to begin with. Now that you have meat to eat, you should eat more. It's alright for me to eat less, but you can't afford to have any problems with your health. I promise you, the brothers will definitely bring you back safely. If anything happens to you, those brothers will crush me to pieces, leaving not even ashes!"

As Chen Sha spoke, Chu Jingxian remained unmoved, his voice sounding somewhat cold: "I'm perfectly fine."

Having been through countless trials in life, Shen Sha, despite his young master's brief pause after only one sentence, finally came to his senses and handed the half of the rabbit meat directly to Qing He.

"Miss is weak, please eat more. This rabbit was originally roasted by you. If you weren't here, even if I had caught it and cleaned it thoroughly, with our cooking skills, we would have only managed to make tough, dry rabbit meat that we couldn't even chew. It's all thanks to you, Miss. So you should eat more, especially since there are two of you to eat. You should eat the most. It was my oversight before."

Chen Sha reacted quickly this time and guessed his young master's thoughts with great accuracy.

No matter how much Qinghe tried to refuse, she couldn't resist the two of them, master and servant. They talked back and forth as if Qinghe would commit a terrible crime if she didn't eat the rabbit today.

Qinghe tore the rabbit meat apart bit by bit. Now that she was pregnant, she was finally experiencing some morning sickness and couldn't eat meat in big bites.

Chu Jingxian, standing beside him, was naturally very refined. No matter what he ate, his manners were elegant and composed. He ate slowly and methodically, and anyone who didn't know better would think he was sitting at a grand banquet, eating so calmly.

It was almost impossible to tell that they were in danger.

The way Chen Sha ate next to him was quite ferocious; he was eating heartily, taking big bites of meat, which actually made one's mouth water. While chewing the meat in his mouth, he said:

"Don't tell me, is Miss Qinghe really just born with good fortune? For so many days before, the young master and I went out to look for animals every day, along the same road, in the same place, searching so far and wide, but we couldn't find any pheasants or rabbits. In the end, we could only eat those sour and astringent fruits, and I almost threw up. How come, as soon as Miss Qinghe arrived, wild rabbits appeared? And it's true that after getting to know Miss Qinghe, the young master's eyes have shown signs of improvement. Although they're sometimes good and sometimes bad, at least they're good sometimes, unlike before when they were only bad. Before, I didn't believe in this kind of fate-telling, thinking it was just something those old Taoist priests used to swindle money. But I can't explain Miss Qinghe's fate either. Maybe she really is born with a lucky charm destiny. If that's the case, then with Miss Qinghe here, maybe we'll be out of there soon, and this matter might really take a turn for the better?"

Chen Sha became more and more optimistic and hopeful as he spoke, but as soon as he finished speaking, the layer of ice and snow above their heads showed signs of shaking!

As the ice and snow collapsed, the sounds of clashing swords immediately came from above!

Who knows what would happen if the ice and snow collapsed and buried it? But as soon as the sound rang out, Chu Jingxian reacted instantly, pulled Qinghe over, pulled her back and hugged her in his arms. With a turn of his body, Chu Jingxian's back bumped into the hard stone wall.

Qinghe felt a jolt run through her body, and when she looked up, she saw that it was the Third Young Master again.