The Lucky Heiress

They had been trapped for six days, and Wei Ruo and Xiumei had cooked for them each day. The food wasn’t exactly exquisite, but it was all delicious.

“So, why do you just watch and not eat?” Wei Ruo asked.

“No reason.”

Wei Yichen looked into Wei Ruo’s eyes as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t. He lowered his head and began eating his pancake again.

Without a response from him, Wei Ruo didn’t press on, but she and Xiumei sat on the other side, eating their meat pancakes with hot water.

Wei Yichen watched Wei Ruo from the corner of his eye, the light from the fire illuminating her face and adding a touch of tenderness to his stern expression.

Sensing Wei Yichen’s gaze, Wei Ruo looked at him. At that moment, Wei Yichen returned his gaze and his expression reverted to its usual cold demeanor.

Wei Ruo and the others didn’t need to wait in the shelter for long. An hour after dinner, the path was completely cleared.

The three set off back to the city.

Throughout the process of shoveling snow, they had discarded the dried grass and bamboo leaves from the weathered bamboo used to make the shelter. Along with the daily foraging for grass in the nearby snow by Wei Ruo and Xiumei, the horses had enough strength to pull the carriage, albeit at a slower pace than usual.

By the time Wei Ruo and Wei Yichen returned to the General Residence, it was already late at night. As soon as she got word of their arrival, Madame Yun and Wei Qingwan rushed out anxiously to meet them.

Madame Yun had barely eaten or slept for the past several days, worrying about her eldest son, since even before the great snowfall she had received a letter from Wei Yichen stating he would be returning home on the fifth day of the lunar month. Unfortunately, on the fifth day, a heavy snowfall struck and she hadn’t seen her eldest son since.

She didn’t know if her eldest son had set off to return to the city. It would have been better if he hadn’t left the academy at all, rather than getting stranded halfway home due to the heavy snowfall.

Regrettably, with the postal service disrupted, there was no news about him.

When finally received word of her eldest son, Madame Yun wept from sheer relief.

“Yichen, are you okay?” Madame Yun held Wei Yichen’s hand fervently, examining him up and down at the side entrance.

“I’m alright, Mother. You needn’t worry,” Wei Yichen responded.

“As long as you’re okay! My poor boy, you’ve lost weight over these past few days without knowing what has passed!” Madame Yun said, a heartache expression on her face.

Then Wei Ruo stepped down from the carriage. Seeing Wei Ruo’s figure, Madame Yun asked in surprise, “Why have you returned with Yichen?”

Wei Yichen explained on her behalf, “Ruoruo was on her way back from the wasteland and ran into us, and we ended up being trapped halfway together.”

Upon hearing this, Madame Yun’s gaze fell back onto Wei Ruo. “I thought you were enjoying your time in the Yuan Residence, not knowing you were also trapped on the way.”

Wei Yichen defended Wei Ruo, “Ruoruo wasn’t enjoying her time at the Yuan Residence. She had business there in the first place.”

Adding on, Wei Yichen said, “We were very fortunate to meet Ruoruo this time, otherwise, my classmates and I might have lost our lives on the way.”

“Is that so?” Madame Yun was surprised, then her gaze returned to Wei Ruo.

“I and my classmates were trapped by the snow with no food, warmth, or shelter for six days and nights. Without Ruoruo providing food, clothing, and coal, we would have frozen or starved to death on the road.”

Upon hearing Wei Yichen’s words, Madame Yun shivered in fear before sighing in relief.

“Who would’ve thought there’d be such a fortuitous event?” Madame Yun remarked, before addressing Wei Ruo, “You saved your eldest brother again, you are truly his lucky star!”

In that instant, Madame Yun’s dissatisfaction with Wei Ruo vanished, replaced with gratitude.

Whether or not she and Wei Ruo had a mother-daughter relationship, the blessings Wei Ruo brought to their family were undeniable!

Wei Qingwan stepped forward. “Sister, you’ve been with Big Brother and his classmates these past few days. They are all men, and you are the only woman. It must not have been very convenient for you. However, it’s fortunate that you all returned safely.”

Wei Ruo looked at Wei Qingwan coldly. “What are you trying to say?”

Wei Qingwan lowered her head. “I have no other intention… I just thought because of the difference in gender it must have been very uncomfortable…”

Wei Ruo retorted coldly, “From what I see, you don’t mean it’s uncomfortable, but rather, you’re implying that my reputation would be tarnished because I’ve spent six days with so many men?”

Wei Qingwan denied these allegations with a wronged expression, “I didn’t say that, don’t falsely accuse me…”

Wei Ruo sneered. “Falsely accuse you? How am I falsely accusing you?”

Wei Ruo’s strong presence startled Wei Qingwan, causing her to retreat a step and hide behind Madame Yun.

Madame Yun hastily intervened. “Ruoruo, what are you doing? Even though what your sister said may be a bit tough to hear, it is the truth. There are no outsiders here, why can’t she say it as it is?”

“Mother,” Wei Yichen intervened, standing in front of Wei Ruo. “It is indeed possible that the way my younger sister phrased her statement could let others easily have bad intentions. As a family member, instead of caring about whether we were hungry or cold or suffered hardship, her first reaction was to ask about the inconvenience of the past few days. Is this not a problem?”

“Uh…” Madame Yun looked at Wei Yichen’s serious and cold face, not knowing how to defend Wei Qingwan.

Wei Yichen then questioned Wei Qingwan again, “By asking Big Sister such questions, do you not trust me as your elder brother, or do you not trust one of your elder brother’s classmates?”

“Big Brother, you misunderstood. I didn’t mean that.” Wei Qingwan, who had been questioned, had an unhappy expression, and unconsciously clenched her fists.

Wei Yichen continued, “In a life-or-death situation, most people are thinking about how to survive. They don’t have the luxury of contemplating filthy scenarios. Am I right, younger sister?”

Wei Qingwan’s face turned pale; she lowered her head without refuting, but her face appeared wronged and innocent.

Wei Ruo looked at Wei Yichen, thinking to herself: It feels great to have someone help you mock someone else.

Seeing this, Madame Yun quickly intervened. “Alright, alright, the most important thing is that everyone is safe. Ruoruo has been by Yichen’s side all along, so there shouldn’t be any worries.”

Upon finishing, she directed servants to help Wei Yichen and Wei Ruo with their things, leading them into the residence afterward.

Wei Yichen glanced at Wei Qingwan who was still hanging her head, then followed Madame Yun’s intention and stopped bringing up the subject.

Wei Ruo also didn’t continue to quarrel with Wei Qingwan. After being on the road for so many days, she was tired and didn’t have the energy to argue with her.

She also knew that Wei Qingwan would dare not mention the matter again in front of others for fear of tarnishing her reputation.

Since it was already late and Wei Yichen mentioned being very tired, Madame Yun didn’t keep them around for long and directed them to go bathe, change clothes, and rest early.

Wei Ruo smoothly returned to Tingsong Garden. After washing up, she laid down in the soft, warm quilt and slept soundly.