When love draws near, it's like snow

Chapter 35

At this point, Huaiyuan suddenly looked at me very seriously and said, "Next time, you're not allowed to drink again when I'm not around. What kind of girl acts like you? As soon as you're drunk, you just lean into a man's arms?"

"What do I have?" I protested stubbornly.

"Isn't that right? Last time we were drunk, you insisted on sleeping with me. And this time you slept on top of me again. Whatever, it's already happened, so you have to take responsibility for me." Huaiyuan's lips curled into a sly smile, deliberately speaking ambiguously, while his face even wore an expression of utter grievance—as if he had no other choice!

"Huaiyuan!" I jumped up quickly and covered his mouth, scolding him in a low voice, "They didn't drag you down! They just mistook you for someone else! Why are you bringing this up everywhere? Besides, you clearly know, uh, you know nothing happened. Why are you being so vague? It makes it sound like I did something to you!"

I secretly glanced at the boy sitting at the stern of the boat, head bowed, pretending to row hard—oh no, judging from his expression of trying his best to suppress a laugh, he had clearly misunderstood!

"Okay, you didn't do anything to me." Seeing my nervous expression, Huaiyuan grabbed my hand that was covering his mouth and kissed it lightly. He winked at me, couldn't help but smile, and suddenly shouted loudly towards the stern, "Shijian, listen carefully! It was me who did something to Miss Ye, so I have to take responsibility for her! Please don't misunderstand!"

Shi Jian couldn't help but chuckle, revealing his teeth in a smile. Meeting my embarrassed and annoyed gaze, he quickly nodded, feigning seriousness, "Master, I understand. Miss Ye didn't do anything to you."

"You...!" I was furious and jumped up—my knees slammed into a low table in front of me. The pain made me fall back to the floor, and I gasped—when did this person go from being an extremely cold and taciturn guy to being so glib and frivolous?

"How could you be so careless?" Huaiyuan's smile faded when he saw that I hadn't straightened up for a while. He stretched out his long arm and pulled me up, carefully examining me. "Where did you bump into?"

"It's alright, just a minor scrape." I quickly reassured him gently, "It wasn't just a bump, it was pushed by that servant surnamed Ma yesterday."

"A guy surnamed Ma? How come another guy with the surname Ma has appeared?" Huaiyuan narrowed his dark eyes and asked me calmly.

"It's that Ma Juncai! He insisted that Xiaofeng was some kind of courtesan from Yihonglou and tried to drag her home. Of course I refused, and in the struggle, I couldn't fight off their numbers, so I fell to the ground." I pouted slightly and rambled on as I told him my story—my tone contained a coquettishness that I myself didn't even realize.

Huaiyuan's face was ashen, and he didn't say a word. Suddenly, he pulled up my trouser leg, revealing two round, purplish-black bruises on my knees, which were now oozing blood from the impact.

"Hehe, it's just that my skin bruises easily, so it looks a bit scary, but it's not that serious." Seeing his gloomy and fierce expression, I quickly comforted him, "Compared to the knife wound I got in Sunjiawan, this is a small calf. That one went deep into the bone; if I hadn't met Brother Yan, this arm would be useless!"

She glanced at his gloomy face and decided to flatter him anyway, "Of course, it was mainly your brocade cloud-patterned pouch that saved my life that time, otherwise I would have been cut in two, how could I have survived... ah!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Huaiyuan hugged me tightly, his voice filled with pain, filled with remorse. The force was so great that it almost suffocated me—I think that time really frightened him.

"It wasn't your fault, why are you apologizing?" I tried to keep my tone light and nudged him gently with my elbow. "Besides, I'm incredibly resilient. I always escape unscathed, and sometimes even turn misfortune into good fortune. Look, I'm perfectly fine now, all right! And I've even gained two wise and powerful older brothers for free."

“That’s true. Let’s not even talk about your second brother.” Huaiyuan pinched my nose helplessly, his tone half-amused and half-teasing. “Your eldest brother is a man of refined elegance, unrestrained and wild nature, cunning and mysterious. He’s definitely someone to be reckoned with. It’s just that he seems to have a poor eye for people—he actually became sworn brothers with an unknown little girl like you?”

"You're the one who misjudges people! What's wrong with me? I have a thousand years more cultural accumulation than all of you! In my eyes, you're all old-fashioned and inflexible! The fact that I'm willing to become sworn brothers with him is a blessing he earned in his past life!" I retorted angrily. "Besides, who said my second brother is inferior to my eldest brother? You don't know anything! He's just starting out now, but in a few years, hmph!"

"Alright, you and your second brother Yue are both remarkable figures, my apologies!" Huaiyuan chuckled, putting on airs as he apologized to me—clearly, he still didn't believe me!

"Fine, don't believe me then. Just wait and see." I puffed out my cheeks, crossed my arms, and glared at him fiercely—so he never believed I was from a thousand years in the future?!

"Don't move." Huaiyuan bent down and applied some light green ointment to my wound. A cool, fragrant scent wafted up. "Here, keep this safe. Remember to apply it several times a day. Don't skip it because you find it troublesome, understand?!"

"Salted duck." Who told him to let me smell that aroma? Suddenly I feel so hungry.

"ah?"

"I'm hungry." I rubbed my empty stomach and looked at him pitifully. "I haven't eaten anything all day. No, it seems like I only drank alcohol last night and didn't eat anything."

"Shijian, go to the plum garden." Huaiyuan couldn't help but chuckle, shook his head, and instructed Shijian to turn the boat around and row towards the shore.

"I also want eight-treasure pomfret, fried shrimp balls, shredded tofu with three kinds of vegetables, honey-glazed ham..." I couldn't contain my joy, counting the delicious dishes on my fingers. I wasn't afraid that little devil would just grin at me—I'd already completely ruined my image in front of him anyway.

My stomach was growling, and with delicious food in front of me, I immediately and without hesitation devoured it, eating with great relish.

"Hey! Young Master, isn't that the starving ghost? What's he doing here?" A young man in a blue shirt appeared downstairs, angrily running up to me and pointing his finger at me, yelling, "You liar! You cheated my young master out of five hundred taels of silver, and you still dare to swagger into our restaurant to eat and drink? Tell me! Who are you trying to cheat this time? Our master, is that it?!"

"Xiao Rao!" Huaiyuan frowned slightly and stopped him.

"Hey! You stingy guy." I held a fried shrimp ball in my hand, smiling at him, deliberately teasing him. "It's been so long, how come you're still so stingy? Your young master and the manor lord are so rich, it's their good fortune that I'm willing to help them spend a little! Think about it, there are so many people in the world, why wouldn't I cheat others? Are they just a little foolish?"

"Brother, Brother Ye, you're all here." Liu Wufeng was as refined and handsome as ever, smiling like a spring breeze.

Xiao Rao was so angry he was jumping up and down, but because of Huaiyuan and Liu Wufeng, he didn't dare to retaliate, his handsome face turning bright red. "Hehe, you look just like a boiled crab." — I stuck my tongue out at him and made a face. "Hehe, aren't you afraid of making me so angry!"

"Qingyang." Huaiyuan stopped me in a low voice, stood up and cupped his hands behind me, "Greetings, Master Ye."

Mr. Ye? I was startled, my hand trembled, and the shrimp ball in my chopsticks tumbled to the ground. I slowly turned my head, staring intently at the weathered old face—it was him! Although he was now dressed smartly and exuded arrogance, completely unlike his impoverished self when he was selling goods at his stall, his eyes, his face, and his physique were absolutely unmistakable!

"Young master, do you recognize me?" Mr. Ye was clearly displeased with my almost rude stare. "You look completely unfamiliar to me!"

"You don't recognize me? Are you sure?!" I stared intently into his eyes. "Think again. We met about a year ago, on the Mid-Autumn Festival!"

"Last Mid-Autumn Festival?" Master Ye stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said arrogantly, "That day in Lizhou, I personally killed the Three Demons of the Yellow River, a fact known throughout the land. Could you have been one of the guests at the Shao residence that day?!"

"Impossible, impossible! You were clearly selling jade on the street that day, how could you have gone and killed someone?!" I was struck dumb, utterly disoriented, my body weak and limp, and I collapsed onto the bench. "How could this happen? How could this happen?!" This book was first published on Xiaoxiang Novel Original Network. Please retain this information when reprinting!

[Volume Two: Farewell Chapter Sixteen - Night Mooring on the Qinhuai River (Part Two)]

"Qingyang, are you alright?" Huaiyuan looked at me with concern, then nodded apologetically to Mr. Ye, "I'm sorry, my friend may have mistaken me for someone else."

I was at a loss, and subconsciously touched the jade Guanyin pendant. I really wanted to take it out in public and let Mr. Ye identify it. However, since he claimed that he did not know me, it seemed unlikely that he would admit to knowing the jade pendant.

"I only hope that Master Jiang can come forward and explain why the Heartless Decree appeared in Sunjiawan?" Master Ye looked at Huaiyuan with an arrogant expression. "I hope Master Jiang can give a reasonable explanation for my third brother's death!"—as if he had already given Huaiyuan a great deal of face by not reacting on the spot!

"The appearance of the Heartless Decree in Sunjiawan was purely accidental. However, our Jingyou Manor will thoroughly investigate this matter and find the real culprit as soon as possible." Huaiyuan's smile was as cold as ice. He stopped Liu Wufeng's explanation, "Since that person dared to provoke me, Jiang Mohui, he should pay the price!"—The implication was, I'm not investigating this matter for your sake, Mr. Ye, but simply because he offended someone he shouldn't have!

“My third brother died so tragically, do you really think you can just brush it off with a simple ‘it was purely accidental’ and ‘investigate to the end’?” Mr. Ye persisted, refusing to let the matter rest.

"Then, in your opinion, Mr. Ye, what would be considered a satisfactory explanation?" Liu Wufeng asked him with a smile.

"Naturally, it's your Number One Manor under Heaven that should give a deadline for resolving this matter. Otherwise, wouldn't I be waiting indefinitely?" Master Ye rolled his eyes. "Do you think I, Master Ye, am a fool?"—These words sounded truly shameless! He was practically clinging to Number One Manor under Heaven!

"What if we don't agree?" Even with Liu Wufeng's good temper, he couldn't help but sneer at him. "It's not our brothers who are dying, why should we help you?!"

"Uh!" Mr. Ye was clearly not expected that they would abandon him, and he was stunned on the spot, his old face turning red, unable to say a word.

I had no desire to listen to their rambling any longer. I suddenly stood up, pushed back my chair, and walked out, ignoring everyone—I couldn't solve their problems, and likewise, they couldn't help me with mine! Ever since that day I accidentally saw Mr. Ye on the street, I had always thought that as long as I found Mr. Ye, I could find my way home—clearly, I was terribly wrong!