Chapter 058
Chapter 58: Like a Spring Breeze Overnight
As long as she could see the snow, Yun Wan Ning did not mind who carried her. So after Yun Wan Yao spoke, she turned to Yun Wan Ye at once with bright, expectant eyes.
Yun Wan Ye sighed silently: [When she needs me, I am her second brother. When she does not, I am a good-for-nothing. Hmph, what a heartless little thing.] Still, he reached out with long arms, lifted her into his embrace, and strode toward the door.
The moment they stepped outside, a wave of cold air swept in. Yun Wan Ye frowned and stirred his inner power to shield her from the chill.
At once Yun Wan Ning noticed and widened her eyes: [Huh? Second brother is using his inner power to block the cold? Is he afraid I will get too cold? Who said my second brother is cold-hearted and ruthless? He is clearly very thoughtful.]
Yun Wan Ye’s expression stiffened: [So before this, I was just a cold-blooded villain in her mind? Great. Just great.] He clenched his teeth, silently fuming, yet the warmth of his inner power did not waver for even a second. Behind them, Yun Wan Yao glanced over in surprise; she had not expected him to be this considerate.
[Wow, the snow is so beautiful. Second brother, hurry and lift me up. Lying down like this is not comfortable. I want to sit up and look.] Yun Wan Ye muttered inwardly: [Tch, she may be small, but her demands are endless.] He let a faint smile slip, recalled their mother’s instructions, and carefully adjusted her. One strong arm held her steady while the other supported her head. The little one had only just passed her first month. Her bones were still soft. Without help, even lifting her own head would be too much.
[Wow, second brother’s baby-carrying skills are top notch. Once he has kids, he could instantly qualify as a professional nanny. Nanny? What is that supposed to mean? Is that like a nursemaid or something? But he does not even have milk…] Yun Wan Ye was dumbfounded. The thoughts in her tiny head were so strange he could not tell if she praised him or mocked him. He shook it off and said with calm patience: “Let us go. Second brother will carry you to the tree so we can see the snow better.”
They came to a tree laden with snow. The branches were pure white and clean. Below them lay a carpet of glittering crystals. Yun Wan Ning’s eyes shone. [It is so beautiful. Really, really beautiful. Though it does not look exactly like the snowflakes in pictures, it is still stunning. I finally understand that line: like a spring breeze overnight, a thousand pear trees bloom. I want to touch it. I really want to touch it.]
She reached out a tiny hand and brushed a snow-heavy branch. It trembled, and a soft cascade drifted down over the three siblings. Cold nipped her fingertip, but the inner power around her melted it at once. The feeling was not pleasant, yet it did not stop her from playing.
The twins stood still, stunned by her poetic inner voice. “Like a spring breeze overnight, a thousand pear trees bloom.” The words drew a picture in their minds. With one breath of wind, snow fell from the sky and dressed the earth in white, each branch heavy with blossoms of frost like blooming pears. In that moment, snow became poetry.
Moved and shaken, Yun Wan Yao grew more determined to protect Jiang Zi Tang’s name. If a girl like Su Qian Xue could steal even the title of foremost prodigy maiden from someone as gifted as their sister, what hope did Tang have?
Without noticing, Yun Wan Yao had shaped a handful of snow into a pure white lotus. She blinked at the flower, then walked over and held it before Yun Wan Ning: “Little sister, this is for you. Do you like it?”
A lifelike snow lotus filled Yun Wan Ning’s view, and her eyes lit up at once. [Wow, did big sister make this? She made such a pretty lotus in such a short time. Big sister is so talented. I love it, I really love it. Big sister, you should freeze it, turn it into an ice sculpture. It is such a shame to let it melt. Oh wait, I forgot, there is no fridge here. Even if we freeze it into ice, once the sun comes out, it will melt anyway. Sigh, if only I knew some kind of materialization technique… then I could preserve it forever.]
Afternoon came. It was time for Yun Wan Ning to nurse and nap, so the twins carried her back indoors. [Second brother worked hard today. Second brother, I will remember your kindness. When I grow up, I will teach you all my martial arts.] Yun Wan Ye’s lips twitched: [Tch, I will remember you said that. Better not be all talk.] [Forget martial arts, I do not even care about that. Just teach me your spiritual power and we will call it even.]
He turned to Madam Yun and said with restraint: “Mother, I am heading out for a bit. If I am late tonight, do not worry.” Then Yun Wan Yao stepped closer to say goodbye: “Little sister, big sister will visit you again tomorrow.” [Okay. Bye, big sister. But where are you going? It is snowy and the roads are slippery. Be careful, all right?] I will, Yun Wan Yao promised silently, and she gently pinched her sister’s soft cheeks before heading out.
“Yun Wan Yao, stop,” Yun Wan Ye called as she passed the courtyard gate. She turned back with a puzzled look: “What is it? Why are you calling me?” He narrowed his eyes and asked: “Where are you going?” Yun Wan Yao did not hide it and answered at once: “I am going to visit the princess.”
“The princess just came to our house yesterday. Why are you going again so soon?” His gaze sharpened, a glint of suspicion in his eyes. “Well…” Yun Wan Yao frowned, clearly hesitant. “Spit it out,” he said. “Huh? You never cared where I went before. Why are you so strange today? Did you take the wrong medicine or something?” He cut straight through: “Just answer. I heard from Little Tao that last night you rushed to the Princess Manor. You even called for a coachman, but halfway there you turned back. What was that about? Yun Wan Yao, do you know something? How did you know?”
Her eyes went wide: “Wait, how do you know all this? Do not tell me you—” “Speak first,” he snapped, unwilling to indulge her.
She sighed and waved him along: “Fine, come with me.” In a secluded attic she went straight to the point: “I heard the princess would face a bloody disaster yesterday. I was worried, so I wanted to check on her. But halfway there I turned back, afraid that if something really happened, I would be suspected.”
Yun Wan Ye’s brows pressed lower: “And how did you know the princess would face a bloody disaster?” Last night’s attack had clearly been a frame for the Yun family. Could she have stumbled on the truth?
“It was little sister who said it. I have told you everything I know. Now it is your turn.” Yun Wan Ye fell silent. [So it was from our little sister’s heart voice listening. I overestimated her.] He had thought Yun Wan Yao might have found the truth behind the attempt, that she had a real clue. It seemed not.
“I happened to be out with Cang Xuan yesterday,” he said at last. “We happened to run into the princess being attacked, so I stepped in and saved her.” “Ha,” Yun Wan Yao laughed coldly, clearly unconvinced. “You were following her in secret. Just admit it. Saying you happened to be there and stepped in, do you think even a child would believe that?” Yun Wan Ye did not answer. Had he really been that obvious? Even this fool of a sister had seen through him.
“So the princess was attacked yesterday? How is she? Was she hurt?” She grabbed his sleeve, panic rising. He gave her a look that said she was slow: “You just said I was following her. So how could she have come to harm? She was frightened and scratched her face a little, but it is nothing serious.”
“…” He added, face turning grim: “It was a good thing you turned back. If you had gone all the way, we might have been in real trouble.” If she had shown up right after the attempt, it would have looked far too suspicious. Paired with the planted token, who would believe the Yun family was not involved. Even if His Majesty and Prince Qi claimed to believe them, seeds of doubt would still take root.
Yun Wan Yao went pale: “Is it really that serious? Did something else happen?” “Tch. You have gotten smarter,” Yun Wan Ye said with a meaningful look. Then he told her about the token. “What? Something like that?” She was stunned. Someone had tried to kill the princess and had deliberately left a mark pointing at their father. Who could be so vicious. She had always been sheltered, but this was the first time she truly sensed how cruel the world could be.
“Did little sister say anything else? Like who sent the assassins?” A fierce light flashed in Yun Wan Ye’s eyes. If they could catch a hint through their sister, they might lock onto the true hand. Even without hard proof, he could repay the debt in kind.
Yun Wan Yao shook her head slowly: “No. She only said the plot has collapsed. In the original storyline, the princess was not supposed to face an assassination now. She calculated it herself, not something she remembered.” “I see,” Yun Wan Ye said, disappointment plain. They would have to wait for Prince Qi’s investigation.
In Great Wu, iron ore was strictly controlled. All mines belonged to the court. Even farm tools and kitchenware needed approval, and weapons were under tighter watch. Yet the assassins yesterday had carried top quality blades. Such a cache should not be untraceable.
“It is getting late. You had better go to the Princess Manor and come back quickly. And you know what to say when you get there, right?” “Yes,” Yun Wan Yao nodded. “I will say I only learned of it because you told me.” “Good. The Yun family is under close watch. Speak with care. Think twice before every word.” “All right, all right, you are worse than Father right now.” “…”
As the twins whispered in secret, somewhere else, perhaps bound by the thread of sibling intuition, Yun Wan Ning nursed while she quietly analyzed the princess’s case. But she was surrounded only by her nursemaid and a young maid. No one from the Yun family stood close enough to hear her heart voice.
[Wait, wait. I just remembered something. In the original plot, the princess did get attacked once. Although most of her story so far has gone smoothly, aside from Su Qian Xue pushing her into the water, there was a passing mention that she was later ambushed. It happened after she pushed Su Qian Xue into the lake as revenge. There were no witnesses, and with her noble status, Su Jian could do nothing without proof. The matter was buried. But just when everyone thought it was over, the princess was ambushed. She survived only because Yun Wan Ye had been secretly following her and stepped in at the last moment. Afterward, His Majesty was furious and ordered Prince Qi to investigate. All the evidence pointed to the Yun family, especially a black iron token engraved with the name Duke Ning. So the assassins were clearly trying to frame the Yun family. My goodness. Are we back on the original plotline again? Not just this, so many events keep circling back to the original plot. What is going on? My brain is overheating, and I still have not figured it out. Could it be that everyone besides the female lead has been reborn too? Come on, this is too much. It is already outrageous that I transmigrated as a fetus. But now you are telling me everyone else is reborn too? I do not even dare imagine how chaotic the plot will get from here. Wait, right now the most important thing is, has the Yun family been framed just like in the original story? If it really follows the original plot, then we are in big trouble. The assassins disguised themselves as Father’s men. Every flaw they showed after the attack was a trap meant for him. Even their weapons were commissioned from the Armory Directorate under his name. All those weapons are documented. Anyone who checks will trace them right back to Father. And even if His Majesty and Prince Qi know it is a setup, they still will not have evidence to clear our name. Sigh. No matter how anxious I am, it is no use. I cannot even tell Father who the real culprit is~]