Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 171 Childhood Sweethearts
Xiao Wang lifted up his clothes and squatted down. He reached out to push away the snow on the ground, revealing the bloodstains hidden underneath. However, because it had been washed away, only a faint layer of red remained.

He stood up and looked around; there was no one around.

"Someone must have taken the body away and cleaned up the scene. They must have received professional training to accomplish so many tasks in such a short period of time."

Having said that, Xiao Wang turned his head and looked at Yan Ciwan. At this moment, his gaze was even deeper than the night.

"Aci, your enemy's background is not simple."

Yan Ciwan knew that he was suspicious of her background, so she half-jokingly said, "If you knew who my enemy is, you would probably be scared away."

Xiao Wang stared at her steadily and asked, "If you don't tell me, how do you know I will be scared away?"

Yan Ci took a step closer to him and spoke in a low voice, enunciating each word.

"The person who just assassinated me was the Ulanqi."

Xiao Wang had heard about the deeds of Wulanqi and frowned slightly: "Is it the King of Xizhou who wants to kill you?"

"It's not the King of Xizhou, it's his daughter Yan Tingyu, she was born to the King of Xizhou's concubine. Half a year ago, Yan Tingyu accompanied Princess Leyou from Xizhou, but she killed Princess Leyou on the way. When I learned about this, she sent people to hunt me down, wanting to kill me and silence me."

Xiao Wang pondered, "Why would Yan Tingyu want to kill her own sister? How could you know about this?"

"Because Yan Tingyu wants to marry the prince in place of her sister. She wants to become the prince's consort. When the prince ascends to the throne in the future, she will be the queen, the mother of the country. I was originally a confidant of Princess Leyou. In name, I was her maid, but in fact, I was her bodyguard, responsible for secretly protecting her safety. Now that Princess Leyou has been murdered, I have to go to Chang'an to find Yan Tingyu, expose her crimes, and give Princess Leyou justice."

Xiao Wang remembered that she couldn't even light a stove at first, and couldn't help but doubt: "You don't look like a maid."

Yan Ciwan explained: "Maid is just my disguise. I rarely do servant work. My real identity is a guard. As a guard, it is enough to be good at fighting, alert, and loyal to the master."

"Who is your fiancé then?"

This sudden question caught Yan Ciwan off guard.

Her mind froze for a moment, then she quickly realized, "He's my childhood sweetheart, his name is Lu Jinshu."

In fact, there is indeed a person named Lu Jinshu. His parents died when he was young, and he was adopted as a son by the King of Xizhou. He is currently the commander of Ulan, and the entire Ulan Cavalry is under his jurisdiction.

Originally, the King of Xizhou wanted Lu Jinshu to be Yan Ciwan's son-in-law. Yan Ciwan's good friends often teased her about this, saying that Lu Jinshu was her child husband. Later, the sage issued an edict to grant the marriage, and Yan Ciwan was forced to leave Chang'an, so the son-in-law thing was left unresolved.

At this moment, Xiao Wang suddenly asked about her fiancé, and Yan Ciwan subconsciously said Lu Jinshu's name.

Xiao Wang did not ask any further questions.

At this moment, his mind was full of the words "childhood sweetheart".

Originally, Xiao Wang thought that Ning Ci, like himself, had an arranged marriage by his parents. The two parties were not familiar with each other, and there was no love between them.

It was not until now that he realized that he was wrong. Ning Ci and her fiancé were childhood sweethearts. They grew up together and were very familiar with each other, so their feelings must be very deep.

If someone asked Xiao Wang now what idiom he hates the most?
He will answer without hesitation that it is childhood sweetheart!

The two walked back in this silent atmosphere.

When they returned to the guest room, Xiao Wang suddenly said, "You have no evidence, how can you make Yan Tingyu admit the crime she committed?"

Yan Ciwan's answer was simple and blunt: "Whether she admits it or not, I will kill her in the end to avenge Princess Leyou."

"What will you do after killing her?" This is the question that Xiao Wang was most concerned about.

It was a long time before he heard Yan Ciwan's answer.

"I don't know." Yan Ciwan really didn't know.

Logically speaking, after she got her identity back, she should follow the imperial decree and marry the prince, but she couldn't be sure whether the emperor would continue to let her fulfill the marriage contract after knowing the truth about Yan Tingyu's fake identity?

There are too many variables in the future, so for now she can only take one step at a time.

Xiao Wang still had many more questions to ask, but in the end he just said, "It's late, go to bed."

They both went to bed.

Yan Ci Wan closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly, but Xiao Wang couldn't fall asleep at all. His mind was full of Ning Ci and her childhood sweetheart.

He silently told himself to let go, to be more open-minded, and to learn to respect and bless.

The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt, and I completely lost sleep.

Finally, he decided not to sleep anymore. He got up, walked to the screen, and picked up the woman's coat hanging on the screen.

The next morning, Yan Ci got up late and found that his clothes had been washed when he was getting dressed. There was a little blood stain on the lapel, but now the blood stain was gone. The whole piece of clothes was clean and he could smell a faint scent of soapberry when he got close.

Not only that, the stitches that were originally loose at the armpits of the clothes were also reinforced.

She put on her clothes and shoes, walked around the screen, and saw that the bedding on the bamboo bed had been put away.

There was no sign of Xiao Wang in the room, only a copper kettle on the stove, emitting steam.

Yan Ciwan picked up the copper kettle, poured hot water into the basin, and scooped some cold water from the bucket next to her. After washing, she combed her hair into a single bun in front of the copper mirror.

She walked into the outer hall and just in time saw Xiao Wang walking in from outside with a food box in his hand.

Yan Ciwan asked directly: "Did you help me wash the clothes I'm wearing?"

Xiao Wang opened the food box and took out the steamed buns while saying, "Well, I got up early today and I had nothing to do so I washed your clothes."

Having said that, he couldn't help but look at Yan Ciwan and added softly.

"I was presumptuous to touch your clothes without your consent."

Yan Ciwan estimated in his mind that washing the clothes, drying them, and mending them would take at least two hours. If he wanted to finish all this, it would mean he would have to get up in the middle of the night.

She looked at Xiao Wang's face carefully and saw that he looked pale and a little haggard.

It seems that he didn't get enough rest last night. If you look into the reason carefully, it is probably related to the conversation between the two of them last night.

Xiao Wang noticed that she had been looking at him and asked, "Are you angry?"

Yan Ciwan shook his head: "I'm not angry. I didn't expect that you, a young man from a noble family, would help others wash clothes."

Xiao Wang had indeed never helped anyone wash clothes before. This was the first time in his life that he had done such a thing. He lowered his eyes and looked at the steamed buns in the bowl in front of him and spoke in a low voice.

"It's just a small favor. Just don't blame me for meddling in your affairs."

Whenever Yan Ciwan thought of him staying up late at night and quietly getting up to help her wash clothes, she couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth and smile brightly.

"Really thank you very much."

(End of this chapter)