In the early morning, before the sun rose, the sky had just begun to show a faint light.
On the hillside at the entrance of Yunshui Village, a tall young man rode in silently on a reddish-brown horse with glossy fur.
The young man was dressed in a narrow-sleeved riding suit made of tribute satin.
Although the sky was dim, it couldn't hide the noble aura emanating from him.
Just looking at his powerful physique was enough to spark imagination, making one eager to see the true demeanor of this noble son.
Unfortunately, he wore a veiled hat, with a gauze covering his face.
If anyone could see the face beneath the veil, they would find it as white as jade. A chiseled nose bridge combined with sharp phoenix eyes made his entire face incomparably handsome.
This young man was none other than Xue Fenglin, the heir of the Marquis Xue family in the capital.
Xue Fenglin was already of noble birth, and due to his outstanding appearance and extensive knowledge, he was also a famous scholar in the capital.
Countless young ladies and ger from influential families had fallen for him.
How could such a noble young man appear alone in this small Yunshui Village?
Xue Fenglin rode his horse to the entrance of a somewhat dilapidated old house.
At the gate of this old house were two stone lions, one male and one female.
The small lion in the female lion's embrace had a broken ear, and the stone ball under the male lion's paw was missing.
Above the old house's gate was a large plaque with the characters "Shen Residence" written on it.
The gold paint of the characters was peeling, indicating it hadn't been repaired for many years.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the old Shen family residence, Xue Fenglin felt a bit apprehensive.
He turned his horse around and waited under a nearby crooked old tree.
He thought, he heard that ger from the Shen family had been raised here ever since he returned to his hometown with his wet nurse. He wondered what he had grown up to be like.
It was widely rumored in the capital that this Shen family 'ger' was the individual his deceased mother had betrothed him to in their early childhood.
If he didn't marry him, it would be considered unfilial and unrighteous, even causing the old Marquis to be impeached several times for failing to properly educate his son.
Driven by the prospect of his reputation being ruined, Xue Fenglin steeled his resolve, rushed out of the Marquis's residence alone, and traveled for five days straight from the capital to Yunshui Village.
By this time, the sky had completely brightened, and villagers were waking up, having breakfast, and heading out to work in the fields.
With a creak, the Shen family gate finally opened. Xue Fenglin's eyes instantly widened, fixed intently on the doorway.
First, several farmers carrying hoes came out, their gazes curiously sweeping over him. He wondered if they were Shen family servants.
Xue Fenglin continued to wait. After only a stick of incense's time, a ger with powdered makeup and a pale face, holding a basket, walked out swaying charmingly.
The ger was not tall, wearing a plain light blue fine cloth garment. Although the material was ordinary, pink lotus flowers were embroidered on the collar and waistband.
He had drawn fashionable willow-leaf eyebrows, his lips were stained with reddish rouge, and several flower ornaments were pasted near the birthmark on his forehead.
Even with all this, it was clear that his natural features were quite ordinary.
'Could this be that Shen Xuan?' Xue Fenglin's heart sank, his face growing even darker than before.
The ger stretched, looked around, and then spotted Xue Fenglin waiting under the tree.
"Oh? Which young master is this? You look unfamiliar. Are you looking for someone?"
Although the ger couldn't see Xue Fenglin's face, he noticed his tall figure and the exquisite craftsmanship of his silk robes, indicating he was a young master from a wealthy family.
He approached with a smile and asked, even batting his eyelashes at Xue Fenglin.
Xue Fenglin endured and endured, trying not to turn his horse around and leave immediately.
Instead, he spoke to confirm: "Is this your home? Are you the master of this house?"
The ger was startled, thinking to himself that this young master's voice was also so pleasant.
Then he nodded and said, "Of course, this is my home."
Upon hearing this, Xue Fenglin's mouth twitched violently. He no longer hesitated, spurred his horse, and galloped away from the Shen residence like a fleeing bird.
The ger's age and identity matched, so he must be the Shen Xuan with whom he had an engagement.
Xue Fenglin felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly. He galloped madly towards the mountains, his mind filled with the ger's vulgar and fawning appearance from earlier.
He was only five years old when his birth mother, Lady Ye, arranged the engagement with the Shen family. That ger was even younger, just a baby.
After his birth mother passed away, he was constantly suppressed by his stepmother, Lady Bai, in the Xue family, which was already very difficult.
He only hoped to marry a noble lady in the future, regardless of her appearance or talent, as long as she could become his support and help him contend with Lady Bai in the Marquis's residence. However, even this small wish was ruined by Lady Bai.
If he married such a rustic ger from the countryside, wouldn't he become a laughingstock in the capital? His career in court would also be significantly affected!
Xue Fenglin's mind was in chaos, and he didn't notice some unusual movements in the surrounding mountain forest.
The reddish-brown horse beneath him ran a few more steps, then suddenly stumbled, whinnied, and tripped over a foot-high grass rope.
Xue Fenglin leaped off the horse, rolling twice on the ground using some martial arts skills to stand up.
He then saw dozens of burly men rush out from the surrounding mountain forest in broad daylight, each holding a foot-long broadsword, their gleaming white blades pointed at him.
Yunshui Village was quite close to Lezhou, and local soldiers regularly patrolled it. There were usually no thieves, so where did so many skilled bandits suddenly appear from?
Xue Fenglin inwardly cursed, realizing he had likely fallen into Lady Bai's trap.
Seeing the bandits kill his precious horse with a single strike, it was clear they intended to silence him. He quickly took the opportunity to dive into the forest and hide from them.
***
Three days later...
A blood-covered, muddy figure emerged from the mountain forest and collapsed onto the official road at the entrance of Yunshui Village, scaring the passing villagers into a frenzy.
The villagers of Yunshui Village were accustomed to peaceful lives and had never seen such a tragic sight.
A group of people gathered around, pointing and discussing the bloodied person who had appeared out of nowhere.
Seeing that he had almost no good spots on his body, they all thought this person surely wouldn't survive.
Villagers came and went, many watching the spectacle, but not a single one was willing to take the bloodied person home.
At this moment, a slender, ragged ger carrying a bundle of firewood passed by. He frowned upon seeing the bloodied person lying on the ground. After thinking for a while, he quickly left.
The sky gradually darkened. It wasn't until the middle of the night, when the villagers of Yunshui Village were fast asleep, that the slender ger returned.
He quietly carried the bloodied person on his back and trotted across the fields, returning to his small thatched hut through the back entrance.
He carefully placed the bloodied person on the straw bed, then brought over a bucket of hot water and slowly cleaned the dirt from his body.
The bloodied person was burning hot, running a fever. His clothes were long ruined, so it was impossible to tell what material they were made of or to find anything that could prove his identity.
The ger simply cut off all his clothes. After cleaning the dirt, he changed him into a set of his own patched-up old clothes. These were the only old clothes he had.
Only then did the ger discover that the man seemed to be poisoned.
Although he had many knife wounds, none were fatal. While they looked severe, he could recover after some rest.
However, there seemed to be a snakebite wound on his ankle, which was severely swollen.
Moreover, his face and body were swollen, his features were squeezed together, and his lips were somewhat purplish-blue.
The ger frowned, looking at the man in front of him with some worry.
There was no doctor in the village, and he couldn't afford a doctor from the city. Snake venom was dangerous, and he worried the man would die.
After thinking for a moment, the ger retrieved a small knife from the corner, heated it over an oil lamp, and then cut into the snakebite area.
"Hngh—" The man seemed to have woken up from the pain. His body trembled weakly, letting out a cry of agony.
"Bear with it," the ger told the man, pressing his hand on the wound.
A spurt of black poisonous blood shot out, and the ger quickly squeezed hard several times. Only when the blood flowing out was red did he dare to use a cloth strip to stop the bleeding.
At this point, he looked at the man again and saw that he was motionless. However, his high fever seemed to have subsided a bit compared to before; he didn't know if the temperature had dropped or if he was simply nearing his end.
"Could he be dying?" The ger's heart skipped a beat. He was about to reach out and check his breathing...
"Water..." The man suddenly opened his mouth and said in a very hoarse voice.
The ger then relaxed. He quickly poured a bowl of warm water and, supporting the man's back, fed him the bowl of water.
"Thank you," the man said after drinking the water, seemingly regaining some energy. He looked at the ger with a confused gaze and was even able to thank him.
Seeing that the man seemed to be improving rather than having a final burst of energy before dying, the ger breathed a sigh of relief.
He then brought over a bowl of rice porridge from somewhere and said, "There's nothing much to eat in the middle of the night. I specially saved a bowl of thin porridge; it's a bit watery, but it can fill your stomach."
The man had been hungry for many days. Although it was just a bowl of thin porridge, it was like a lifeline, and he wolfed it down quickly.
"You should rest now. I'll bring you food tomorrow," the ger said to the man, taking the empty bowl.
"Wait." The man suddenly called out to the ger and asked, "May I ask, little brother... what should I call you? I will definitely repay your life-saving kindness in the future."
The ger was startled, then smiled and said, "My surname is Shen, and my given name is Xuan. I'm not a 'brother,' but a 'ger.' You can call me Shen ger."
After saying that, he carried the empty bowl and left, not noticing the man's stunned, stone-like expression upon hearing his words.
"He's actually Shen Xuan?" The man on the straw bed—Xue Fenglin—was filled with mixed emotions.
He stared blankly in the direction Shen Xuan had left, thinking to himself that he had been mistaken that day...
But shouldn't this Shen Xuan be the master of the old Shen family residence?
Why would he be living alone in such a dilapidated small thatched hut?