Chapter 47

Proofreader : Mim

As dusk passed and dawn arrived, time drained the meadow of its lush green hues. The brilliant wildflowers quietly disappeared, leaving behind wind-scattered seeds that heralded the arrival of autumn.

The pregnant mare in Li Zhi’s stable was due to give birth as expected.

On the day the foal was born, Li Zhi and Xie Lanxu stayed in the stable together all night.

The dry, clean hay spread across the ground served as their makeshift bed. A plate of dried berries—preserved by Li Zhi in the summer for winter treats—sat nearby, along with a leather water pouch filled with fresh water to quench their thirst if needed.

The cleaned stable was dry and cool. Besides Li Zhi and Xie Lanxu, only the mare with its dark, gentle eyes and long lashes remained. Compared to places always filled with scheming and bloodshed, this stable was as peaceful as a secret refuge removed from the world.

They waited from the time the sun dipped below the horizon until the night draped its curtain over the land, and the sky filled with twinkling stars. The mare paced restlessly inside the stable, yet still showed no signs of giving birth.

Xie Lanxu pressed Li Zhi’s head onto his shoulder but didn’t look at her. He gazed nonchalantly at the Luosha mare in the stable.

Resting her head on his shoulder, Li Zhi closed her eyes and unexpectedly dozed off into a half-sleep.

She was startled awake by a long, resounding whinny.

The mare rose from the hay-covered ground, and with a strong motion, expelled the foal—its legs already visible—along with the afterbirth that enveloped it.

With the mare’s movement, the connecting membrane between mother and child tore apart. The foal lay on the hay, letting out a weak cry. Its eyes were already open—pure, innocent, and bright, like those of all newborn foals.

The mare approached carefully, sniffing the foal, while the young horse curiously looked around at this unfamiliar world.

Li Zhi turned her head and noticed Xie Lanxu watching intently.

Most of the time, the expressions on Xie Lanxu’s face were carefully crafted, deliberately put on display. But occasionally, he would be caught off guard, forgetting to put on his mask.

Just like now, Li Zhi could read a sense of wonder toward life on his face.

For Li Zhi, it was also her first time witnessing a birth, even if it was a horse’s. She too was deeply moved. After caring for this pregnant mare for a year, she fully understood how difficult it was to bring new life into the world.

It must also have been Xie Lanxu’s first time seeing a new life being born.

Unlike most animals, mares usually only give birth to one foal at a time—similar to humans. But newborn foals can stand immediately and run within hours, a stark contrast to humans.

“What is it doing?”

Xie Lanxu’s question brought Li Zhi back to the present.

In the stable, the mare was nudging the foal with its head. Seeing the foal struggle repeatedly to stand but fail, the mare even began stomping its hooves anxiously.

“The foal can’t stand up, so the mare is encouraging it,” Li Zhi explained.

“What if it still can’t stand?”

“If it can’t stand, it’s considered weak. In the wild, it would quickly be killed by predators. At the horse farm…” Li Zhi paused. “The steward would kill it for meat.”

“How pitiful,” Xie Lanxu sighed softly.

He stood up, and at some point, a small knife appeared in his sleeve.

“Your Highness—”

Xie Lanxu walked into the stable and squatted beside the foal, raising the knife.

Realizing his intention, Li Zhi cried out, “Your Highness!”

The blade froze above the foal.

“Your Highness—” Li Zhi called again, standing outside the half-open gate of the stable, her disbelief clear as she stared at Xie Lanxu. “What are you doing?”

“I’m saving it,” Xie Lanxu said calmly, meeting her gaze.

“How is killing it saving it?”

“Isn’t relieving its suffering a form of saving it?” Xie Lanxu countered.

Li Zhi was at a loss for words.

She looked at his eyes—so calm they seemed incapable of stirring even the faintest ripple. After a while, she spoke slowly, “If, when I was being whipped by Zheng Gong, Your Highness had killed me in advance… would you consider that saving me?”

Her response made Xie Lanxu pause, falling into contemplation.

Li Zhi didn’t know if losing the sensation of pain would also erase part of the heart’s function.

Compassion and empathy are born from putting oneself in another’s place. If a heart doesn’t know pain, how can it understand another’s suffering?

Li Zhi crouched beside him, tentatively reaching out to touch the hand holding the knife.

“I believe this foal will make it through—just like I did back then. Your Highness, would you be willing to wait with me for a while?”

Xie Lanxu looked at her, his expression thoughtful. After a moment, he lowered the hand holding the knife.

“Very well.”

Li Zhi remained close to the foal, watching it with bated breath, silently hoping it would stand soon.

The mare continued to nudge and sniff the foal as encouragement.

Finally, the foal used its still-stiff legs to shakily stand up.

Li Zhi instinctively tightened her grip on the hand she was holding. As though sensing her nervousness and anticipation, that hand gently squeezed hers back.

The foal stood up briefly, only to fall again. But it stubbornly struggled to its feet once more. After a few attempts, it finally mastered the use of its legs and began to prance happily around the small stable.

“Your Highness!” Li Zhi called out joyfully, looking at Xie Lanxu.

Encouraged by Li Zhi, Xie Lanxu reached out to touch the damp foal. Seeing that her child was no longer in danger, the gentle mare wandered to the feeding trough to eat the hay.

As they both petted the lively foal, Li Zhi suggested, “Your Highness, why don’t you give this little foal a name?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you,” Li Zhi encouraged.

Xie Lanxu thought for a moment and then said, “Longyan.”

[Note: Longyan is the pronunciation of longan in Mandarin. It literally means dragon eye because the fruit looks somewhat like an eyeball. Xie Lanxu continues his streak of choosing fruit names ever since meeting Li Zhi.]

Perhaps because she had already gotten used to Xie Lanxu’s peculiar naming preferences, Li Zhi wasn’t surprised. Instead, she graciously praised him, “That’s a great name. It sounds powerful and grand—he’ll surely grow up to be a mighty general one day!”

Xie Lanxu didn’t respond, but the slight upward curve of his lips showed he was clearly pleased.

The birth of Longyan added much joy to Li Zhi’s life at the horse farm. The following morning, Li Xiangsheng, Li Cien, Jia Sui, and Hei Huo all gathered at the small stable to watch Longyan play.

At night, Li Zhi attended Hei Huo’s martial arts class.

Hei Huo announced to the group that the evasive training to improve dodging ability was officially over. From now on, everyone would be assigned specific training based on their talents.

As girls, Li Zhi and Li Cien lacked the physical strength of boys. Instead of focusing on offense, they were better off specializing in defense.

While Li Xiangsheng tirelessly kicked an ancient tree—so massive it would take two people to encircle it—Li Zhi and Li Cien were tasked with racing Longyan.

The day Li Xiangsheng could kick down the tree and the day Li Zhi and Li Cien could outrun Longyan, they would move on to the next phase of training.

Li Zhi willingly accepted Hei Huo’s arrangement.

Retreating didn’t mean losing—death was the true defeat. Practicing escape skills was nothing to be ashamed of.

During the day, she fought with horse dung in the stables. At night, she battled Hei Huo’s rigorous and varied training. In her spare time, she and Xie Lanxu explored the meadow with Longyan.

Li Zhi spent fulfilling days in the Xipeng Horse Ranch.

When Xie Lanxu one day brought her a red fox pelt and asked her to make him a fur coat, Li Zhi realized that winter had arrived.

After winter began, time seemed to pass even faster.

On New Year’s Eve, Li Xiangsheng returned from hunting with several rabbits. Li Zhi invited Xie Lanxu to join them for roasted rabbit.

Everyone sat around the fire pit. Several rabbits, half-cooked, were skewered on iron spits and roasted over the flames.

Li Cien was listening to Hei Huo tell stories in his native language, occasionally asking him questions in the same tongue. After half a year together, Hei Huo’s once somber face now showed renewed life and spirit.

Jia Sui was asking Xigua for tips on growing melons, while Taozi sat quietly to the side. Her posture was the most proper and serious, but her aloof demeanor made her seem somewhat out of place among the group.

Li Zhi and Xie Lanxu sat together, chatting idly.

The firelight reflected off their jade-like faces, with the clear moonlight acting as a silent companion, painting a serene and touching scene.

After finishing the roasted rabbit, Li Zhi helped Jia Sui clean up. When everyone had returned to their rooms to rest, she found herself unable to sleep.

Li Zhi decided to take a walk. At the courtyard gate, she ran into Xie Lanxu, who was waiting for her.

“Would you like to go out for a walk with me?”

Xie Lanxu’s words brought Li Zhi back to that summer night not so long ago.

Smiling, she replied, “I’d be honored.”

The two walked out of the courtyard together. As if in silent agreement, they headed toward the small hillside where they had admired the moon the previous year.

The New Year’s Eve wind was dry and cold. The once vibrant meadow was now yellow and withered, covered in a thick layer of snow. Only the tall azalea tree on the hillside still resisted the harsh winter.

Wrapped in the fiery red fox fur Xie Lanxu had gifted her, Li Zhi stood gracefully beneath the tree, resembling a red azalea blooming in the snow.

When she was sent into exile, she had not even turned fifteen.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, she was now seventeen.

The years passed silently. The once budding azaleas were now in full bloom despite the frost and snow. On one branch, two flowers bloomed side by side—one had already withered, while the other still flourished against the wind.

A faint, indescribable sadness rose in her heart.

Xie Lanxu gazed at her contemplative face, realizing she had drifted into another world—one that clearly had nothing to do with him.

For some reason, this displeased him.

Raising his right hand, he plucked an azalea flower just above Li Zhi’s head. The snow on the branch scattered and fell, startling her.

“Your Highness?”

Before Li Zhi could finish, Xie Lanxu tucked the azalea flower into her hairpin.

Xie Lanxu carefully observed her—her hair speckled with snow, the flower in her hair, and her moonlit face. In this moment, she seemed to belong entirely to him.

“Call my name,” he said.

“…Ah-Li.”

He smiled contentedly.

“I’m here.”

Li Zhi adjusted the azalea flower in her hair, her gaze turning toward the snow-covered Xian Naiyue Mountain in the distance.

“When will we return to the capital?”

“Soon,” Xie Lanxu said.

“Ah-Li, when we return to the capital, will we still be the same as we are now?”

“Of course,” he said without hesitation.

“If there is another woman—someone more beautiful, more noble, and more understanding than me—will you still treat me the same?”

Xie Lanxu didn’t understand why she was asking this question.

He had seen jealousy in women before, but he didn’t understand it. Most emotions in this world were incomprehensible to him.

Without pain, there is no fear.

If this were before, he would have used words most acceptable to the world to appease her. But now, he tried to reassure her in his own way.

He couldn’t yet understand what this meant.

“Do you think I treat you differently because of your looks, your noble birth, or your obedient nature?”

Xie Lanxu’s response surprised Li Zhi.

She had thought that was the reason.

“…Then why?” she blurted, forgetting the words she had prepared.

After some thought, Xie Lanxu replied, “Because you are extraordinary. So, I treat you differently.”

Li Zhi was stunned.

Xie Lanxu looked at the azalea flower blooming proudly in her hair and said softly, “No one else will ever share this azalea’s fragrance with me, Banban.”

Li Zhi paused for a moment, then took his hand that hung loosely by his side.

He didn’t pull away. Instead, he quietly looked at her with his deep, ink-black eyes.

Her heart stirred. Her fingers slid between his, interlocking their hands.

“Do you like me?” Xie Lanxu asked, like a child.

“What about you?” Li Zhi asked. “Ah-Li, do you have even the slightest affection for me?”

Such a simple question, yet it made Xie Lanxu hesitate.

The snow, which had paused for a day, began to fall again.

The delicate flakes scattered across the vast land like jade dust.

A night breeze blew, rustling the azalea tree above them.

Amidst the snow, the wind, and the moonlight, the girl’s smile appeared dreamlike.

“My feelings for Ah-Li will always exceed his for me,” Li Zhi said softly.

“From the first moment I saw Ah-Li, they were already far greater.”

 

Translator’s Note:- I am extremely sorry guys for the very late update but something urgent came up and i was busy whole week working on the stuff. I am uploading all the 6 chapters of this week now. Stay tuned and enjoy your weekend. Thank you for your patience !!❤️❤️