Plum blossoms fell beneath the steps, scattered like snow; I brushed them from my clothes, only for more to settle upon me.
The snow outside was chaotic, but Cui Xiaoxin's heart was even more so.
While she was still far away in Jiangnan, she had heard that the Cui and Song families wished to form a marriage alliance. Of course, the news had been vague and intermittent, never confirmed. At the time, Cui Xiaoxin had been studying in Jiangnan, with the skies high and the road long, and she had never taken such matters to heart.
Only occasionally, when she remembered it in the stillness of the deep night, did an indescribable feeling rise within her heart.
Now, her mother had gone out of her way to summon her and was speaking to her about the matter with a solemn expression. That proved the marriage had already been settled.
All the conditions had been agreed upon, and everyone with the authority to nod had already nodded.
The only person in the Cui family qualified to say "I object" was her grandfather, Cui Xichen. Thus, Cui Xiaoxin's first thought was to ask about her grandfather's attitude toward the matter.
If her grandfather had agreed, then there was probably no room left for discussion.
"Song Tingyun." Cui Xiaoxin quietly rolled the name around on her tongue. Will this man be the one I spend my life with?
They lived in Tiandu, even on the same street, one might say, and Cui Xiaoxin had interacted with Song Tingyun before.
Once, when Cui Xiaoxin had encountered danger, Song Tingyun had even saved her life.
That image of the resolute youth standing tall with his sword drawn, using his lean body to shield her behind him, had firmly occupied her dreams for a long time.