Chapter 5 — The North Wind Knows My Heart

"Is it really to the point that you risked your life to chase them all that way?"

I nodded. "One is my mistress; the other is my fiance. Truly, both are of great importance."

"Go!"

He immediately spurred his horse to give chase, but the carriage had already vanished from sight. We stopped by the riverbank. On the water, countless lanterns drifted aimlessly, while the shore was filled with the sounds of boisterous laughter. Yet, my vision began to blur.

I asked, "Young Master... Tell me, why would he refuse to stop the carriage?"

He knew perfectly well that if I lost track of the Ninth Princess, I would certainly be punished. The man beside me silently held out a handkerchief.

"Wipe your face."

I took it, and immediately after, he handed me a small vial of medicine.

"The wound on your hand. You should apply some ointment."

"Thank you."

I sniffled, lifting my tear-filled eyes to look at him. "Young Master, we are clearly strangers. Why are you treating me with such kindness?" It was better than the treatment I received from Shen Yu, better even than that of my own father. His long eyelashes flickered, and he turned his face away.

"It is only a matter of course."

"Princess! Princess!"

Several guards ran toward us in a panic. "Wanyuan, the lady-in-waiting, where is the Princess?"

After I explained the situation, they rushed off in a hurry. When I turned back, the man in black had disappeared without a trace. I never expected to encounter him again within the palace walls. I smiled.

I smiled. "Young Master, thank you for what happened that day. I still have the handkerchief and the vial of medicine. I had intended to return them to you when the opportunity arose."

He gave a soft cough. "Keep them, young lady. Anyway, in the future, my belongings will be yours as well."

I did not hear him clearly. "Huh? What did you say?"

His ears suddenly turned a deep shade of red. "It is nothing."

He parted his lips as if wanting to say more, but at that moment, a palace attendant hurried over, whispered a few words into his ear, and then respectfully invited him to leave. It was the Emperor’s personal attendant. To be summoned so directly… his status clearly was not ordinary. It was strange, however, that I had never heard of such a person in this capital. Just as I was lost in thought, the voice of Shen Yu rang out.

"Zhu Wanyuan?"

He stood not far away, staring at me in a daze. "Why are you dressed like this today?"

Shen Yu’s heart pounded like a war drum. Out of habit, he knitted his brows, not understanding what was wrong with himself. Why is she dressed so beautifully today?

The words almost slipped out. He bit his tongue hard, forcing them back. His tone immediately shifted to one of reproach. The two of us have known each other for over ten years. Standing before his future wife, how could he behave so ungracefully like a green youth? If they were to marry, could he even manage her? Would he not spoil her to the point where she climbed over his head? His mother already disliked her; if he showed her too much favoritism, his mother would only view her with more disdain. Her situation would only become more difficult. That was why, throughout these years, he had treated the Ninth Princess better than he treated her. Firstly, he saw the Ninth Princess as innocent and simple; he had subconsciously spoiled her like a younger sister. Secondly, he knew that as long as he kept a close eye on the Ninth Princess, ensuring she caused no trouble and suffered no grief, Wanyuan would not be punished. The time he knelt before the Hall of Cultivating Heart to beg the Emperor not to send the Ninth Princess to the Northern Frontier, he was, in truth, thinking of Wanyuan. Given the Princess’s temperament, if she were sent away, she would surely insist on taking Wanyuan with her. The Emperor might find a way to keep the Princess, but no one would pity a lowly lady-in-waiting. At that point, he would truly be powerless.

As for what happened two years ago, when Wanyuan had followed the Princess to sneak out for the lantern festival—she had chased the carriage for miles and was subsequently grounded for a month—he had only done that so she would learn a lesson. She should not let the Princess lead her by the nose. A Princess is a mistress, but a servant must know how to adapt; otherwise, she would only be the one to suffer. Thinking of this, Shen Yu sighed softly. His future wife was too soft-hearted and stubborn; she still needed to be tempered.

Shen Yu looked at me, his expressions shifting between a frown and a sigh. "You are merely a lady-in-waiting. Dressing in such nobility, no different from a princess, is not in accordance with court rites."

He was not wrong. But the attendants who dressed me must have been acting under the Emperor’s orders. Since he intended to confer the title of Princess upon me before all the officials, I could not appear overly modest. However, I could not easily explain this to Shen Yu. I looked around. "Where is the Ninth Princess?"

"I heard the Emperor is hosting a banquet in the Imperial Garden to welcome the Prince of Northern Pacification. Are you not going?"

"No. The Ninth Princess is terrified of that God of Slaughter. She is certainly hiding somewhere."

Shen Yu’s face darkened. "Do you intend to go? Others are avoiding him as if their lives depended on it. Why would you want to go there yourself?"

I forced a laugh and changed the subject. "Where is the winter cloak you promised me?"

He shrugged. "I gave it to the Ninth Princess. She clutched that snow-fox fur and refused to let go, and I had no other choice."

I maintained my smile. "I understand."

He hesitated, then laughed as well. "It does not matter. When winter arrives, I shall hunt another snow fox and make you a new one. After all, it is summer now; you could not wear it anyway. Let the Ninth Princess use it for now."

By the time winter arrived, I would have been at the Northern Frontier for half a year. If I really waited for that cloak, I would likely have frozen to death. I hurriedly waved my hand. "There is no need."