Winter gave way to spring, and the ice and snow melted.
The first spring rain arrived without warning.
Yunjian and Sui Yun grew ever closer, and their families had already arranged their engagement.
But Yunjian did not want to marry so soon. She and Sui Yun had agreed that she would not consider marriage before she turned eighteen.
Sui Yun simply listened indulgently to her plans for the future without objecting.
The light rain on the capital's streets was as soft as cream. The hazy drizzle fell like transparent dotted lines, veiling the roadside scenery in mist.
Ever since word spread that Wenren Ruoshui had gone mad, she had been confined to a secluded courtyard in the prince's residence.
At first, she caused a commotion every day. Once she realized no one would pay her any attention, she gradually quieted down.
Somehow, she managed to sneak out of the prince's residence that day.
She wandered aimlessly through the streets in the drizzle.
As she passed the Yamen, she heard a woman's voice from inside.
Liu Yunxi knelt on the floor with her back straight, her expression resolute.
Her family were well-known grain merchants in the Capital, but her father valued his marriage deeply. Since marrying her mother, he had never taken a concubine.
Madam Liu had suffered a difficult childbirth. Unable to bear his wife's suffering, Master Liu had summoned physicians from the Capital and asked them to prescribe medicine that would render him infertile.
Thus, despite its vast wealth and holdings, the Liu Family had only one child: Liu Yunxi.
When Liu Xiyun was fifteen, a penniless scholar traveling to the Capital for the imperial examinations collapsed outside the Liu residence.
After saving him, Master Liu spent some time assessing his character.
Once he determined that this was someone