Huo Ling and Wu Mo did not go far.
They made their way to the other side of the mountain forest. This area was far from the main road, and game was noticeably more abundant—rabbits and pheasants occasionally darted in and out of the bushes.
Wu Mo glanced back in the direction they had come from. "Miss, who were those people?"
They had such an imposing presence that she hadn’t dared to make a sound.
Huo Ling looked down at the rabbit in her hands and replied casually, "That group carried themselves with extraordinary bearing, and each had two horses—clearly prepared for a long journey. If I’m not mistaken, they must have come from the capital, passed through Yong'an County, and are heading to the frontlines."
Wu Mo suddenly understood. "That young master who gave you the rabbit—was he the nobleman Cousin mentioned? Didn’t Cousin say he was leaving for the frontlines tomorrow morning? How did they arrive so quickly?"
Huo Ling wasn’t surprised. She drew a dagger from her waist and slowly pressed it against the rabbit’s neck.
Perhaps sensing the cold steel, the rabbit kicked its hind legs even more frantically.
Huo Ling had anticipated this and held it firmly with both hands.
Wu Mo stared in shock, her voice stammering. "M-Miss, are you going to kill it?"
Huo Ling drove the blade in and out in one swift motion. A dark red line of blood seeped from the rabbit’s neck. She flicked the dagger twice to shake off the blood. "Did you want to keep it as a pet?"
Wu Mo: "…"
Fair enough. Raising a rabbit would be troublesome. Whenever they hunted before, they always killed the rabbits they caught.
But this rabbit…
For some reason, Wu Mo couldn’t shake the feeling that this one was different from the others.
Huo Ling seemed to read her thoughts. She tossed the rabbit, now losing its struggle, into a bamboo basket. "Something casually given by another shouldn’t be taken too seriously."
Wu Mo nodded blankly, then suddenly noticed something. She pointed at Huo Ling’s right hand, still gripping the dagger. "Miss, the hair ribbon you tied around your wrist—did you lose it?"
Unlike hairpins or other ornaments, Huo Ling preferred using ribbons to tie up her hair.
Whenever she had clothes tailored, she would instruct the seamstress to make two extra ribbons from the leftover fabric. Since her given name was "Ling" (meaning "feather"), the ends of her ribbons were embroidered with a delicate feather.
To prepare for emergencies, Huo Ling always tied an extra ribbon around her wrist before going out.
Now, her wrist was bare.
Huo Ling sheathed the dagger. "My first arrow shot was off. I couldn’t find a better substitute in time, so I had to untie it and wrap it around the fletching to add weight."
Wu Mo felt something was odd. Thinking back, between nocking the arrow and firing it, her mistress had indeed been adjusting something.
At the time, Wu Mo had been distracted by the group of strangers and assumed Huo Ling was merely drawing her bow, so she hadn’t paid much attention.
The daylight was fading, so after a brief exchange, the two focused on hunting. Soon, the bamboo baskets hanging from their saddles were full.
Back at the estate, Huo Ling instructed Wu Mo to take the game to the kitchen. She then asked the gatekeeper, "Has Huo Ze returned?"
Before the servant could answer, Huo Ze popped his head out from behind a pillar, dusted with snowflakes as if he, too, had just returned. "Elder Sister, you were looking for me?"
Seeing Huo Ling in her riding attire, Huo Ze clutched his chest in exaggerated dismay. "Cousin came by without telling me—fine, I’ll let that slide. But you went hunting without inviting me?!"
The wind outside was biting. Huo Ling pulled him inside. "Enough complaining. I have a task for you."
Huo Ze pouted, wriggling in his seat. "What is it?"
Huo Ling: "Today, a nobleman from the capital passed through Yong'an County. Since the county has no official courier station, they’ll likely stay overnight at the magistrate’s residence."
"You’re classmates with the magistrate’s son. Tomorrow, go and ask about that nobleman’s identity."
Huo Ze understood. "Should I be discreet?"
Huo Ling shook her head. "No need. Ask openly. That nobleman is an imperial envoy sent to oversee the warfront. His identity isn’t a secret."
Her deliberate inquiry was simply to gather information in advance and prepare accordingly.
Huo Ze was reliable in such matters. By the next evening, he returned with news, whispering mysteriously, "Elder Sister, I found out. That nobleman is actually a prince."
"Which prince?"
"Prince Duan."
Huo Ling’s brows lifted slightly. "Prince Duan?"
Over the past year, this prince had made quite a name for himself—
Emperor Jingyuan was advanced in years but had few heirs.
Last winter, the young prince raised by the empress had died. Then, at the start of the new year, the empress herself passed away.
Heartbroken, Emperor Jingyuan agreed to his ministers’ proposal to select a suitable child from the imperial clan to be raised in the palace.
The chosen child was Prince Duan’s eldest son.
Prince Duan was Emperor Jingyuan’s youngest brother.
Renowned for his literary and military prowess, the prince had long been admired for his virtue. Even after his son was taken into the palace—potentially to be named crown prince—he remained humble, his conduct more restrained than ever.
For the court to send such a man to the frontlines—was this good for Father?
Or even… for her?
Huo Ling pondered this for so long that Huo Ze grew impatient and slipped away. Only then did she recall another detail—
Princess Consort Duan was the eldest daughter of Duke Liu’s heir.
And Princess Consort Duan’s mother was also of noble birth—the beloved daughter of Old Marquis Wuwei.
Coincidentally, Huo Ling’s own mother had also been a daughter of Old Marquis Wuwei.
After her mother married into the Huo family, all ties with the Wuwei Marquisate were severed. When her mother passed away, the connection faded entirely.
Distant relatives who hadn’t exchanged New Year’s greetings in years, no matter how prestigious, held no real relation to the Huo family. Thus, Huo Ling had never considered the Wuwei Marquisate her maternal family.
Yet, the blood connection existed.
If Huo Ling were bold enough, she could even address Princess Consort Duan as "cousin."
Could this tenuous link be exploited?
She didn’t expect Prince Duan to favor her father because of it. But if her father could use it to forge even a slight connection with the prince, the benefits would be immense.
Tonight’s dishes were mostly made from the game Huo Ling had brought back.
Huo Ze had a hearty appetite and ate with gusto. Madame Fang, still unwell, had little taste for food and only nibbled at a few pieces of meat.
Once Huo Ling finished eating, she set down her chopsticks and mentioned her plan to write to Huo Shiming. She asked Madame Fang and Huo Ze if they wanted to add their own letters.
After Huo Ling left, Madame Fang frowned. "What does your elder sister need to discuss with your father?"
Huo Ze smacked his lips, savoring the memory of the rabbit meat. "How should I know?"
Madame Fang smacked him with the blunt end of her chopsticks. "Must you be so careless? Your father is fighting at the frontlines—I worry day and night, while you wander around without a care. No wonder your father scolds you."
Huo Ze sulked.
He wasn’t careless! He’d even helped his sister today!
But this was something he couldn’t explain to his mother.
Not because he was tight-lipped—but because of her temperament. If she grew even more anxious in her already frail state, what then?
After the first snowfall, the temperature in Yanxi plummeted.
A sudden blizzard not only intensified the tensions on the frontlines but also pushed some villages already suffering from the chaos of war to complete collapse.
Caught between natural disasters and human strife, the villagers abandoned their homes and fled as refugees toward the rear.
Prince Duan immediately issued an order, demanding that all counties swiftly resettle the refugees and stabilize public morale. With a major battle imminent, the rear could not afford chaos. If any official failed to manage their territory properly, leading to unrest, they would be charged with treason after the fact.
Within just two days, over five hundred refugees had gathered outside Yong'an County. The local magistrate temporarily housed them near the city gates.
Upon hearing the news, Huo Ling promptly went to see Madame Fang to discuss donating silver and grain.
Madame Fang had already steeled herself, so when she heard Huo Ling's suggestion, she showed no outward reaction.
However, upon hearing the amount Huo Ling intended to donate, she couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, "How much did you say you want to give?!"
Was her stepdaughter planning to empty the family coffers for charity?!
"Absolutely not!" Madame Fang declared firmly.
Even if her husband had urged her before his departure to heed Huo Ling's advice more often, this was not what he had in mind.
Huo Ling gently pressed Madame Fang’s arm, urging her to sit back down, then handed her a cup of hot tea to calm her nerves.
"Mother, don’t be alarmed. I haven’t finished speaking."
Before coming, she had anticipated Madame Fang’s reaction. She also knew that without her father here, persuading Madame Fang to part with such a large sum would be difficult.
So, she didn’t plan for the family to bear the entire cost.
Madame Fang frowned. "If not from the family, where else could you possibly get so much silver and grain?"
Huo Ling replied calmly, "The silver I have on hand is just enough to cover this amount."
The sum she had mentioned was actually the maximum she could personally afford.
Madame Fang was stunned, staring blankly at her stepdaughter. She nearly blurted out, "Have you lost your mind?" But seeing Huo Ling’s composed expression, she wondered if she was the one being irrational.
Otherwise, why would she be hearing things?
Huo Ze had been eavesdropping outside the door and could no longer hold back. He burst in, protesting, "Elder Sister, how can you use your private savings? That’s the dowry your late mother left you, along with the profits from managing the shops and farmland all these years!"
"If Father knew about this, he would never agree!"
Madame Fang snapped out of her daze.
Heaven knew—she had never, ever coveted her stepdaughter’s wealth!
After all, she had always hoped to arrange a marriage between Huo Ling and her nephew. If the match succeeded, a generous dowry would only be beneficial.
Huo Ling smiled faintly, patting Huo Ze’s head before continuing, "Mother, A’Ze, I truly wish to contribute this sum. Let me explain why I’m donating so much." She gestured for Huo Ze to sit beside her.
First, Huo Ling shared her predictions about the war.
After the initial skirmishes, the Qiangrong and Great Yan had reached a stalemate, with victories and losses on both sides. Overall, Great Yan had won more battles than it had lost.
But that wasn’t the full picture. Not long ago, the Qiangrong had been a vassal state under Great Yan’s rule. Now, despite Great Yan’s military campaign to suppress the rebellion, they had failed to swiftly crush the Qiangrong and instead found themselves locked in a standoff.
For Great Yan, this performance was far from impressive.
On the other hand, the Qiangrong couldn’t afford a prolonged war either.
Both sides were eager to break the deadlock, and soon, a much larger battle would erupt on the frontlines.
Prince Duan’s demand for stability in the rear was precisely to ensure no distractions when the decisive battle began.
Huo Ling’s donation was not purely altruistic—her true intention was to gain Prince Duan’s favor through this gesture.
"In matters like this, you either don’t act at all, or you act first."
"And you must do it well—exceptionally well—to leave a lasting impression."
What ultimately swayed Madame Fang was Huo Ling’s final argument: "Father has distinguished himself on the battlefield. We mustn’t hold him back from the rear. If this earns Prince Duan’s goodwill, Father will have more opportunities to distinguish himself further."
When the family’s future was at stake, silver and grain were trivial concerns.
