After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 63 A Romance in Ice and Snow (Part Two)

"Stay close to me. The roads on the snow mountain are difficult to navigate, and it's easy to get lost," Lin Yunche gently reminded the two behind him.

Furong was clearly struggling, but Bai Wanqing calmly replied, "Okay!"

Although it was almost early spring, the wind on the snow-capped mountain was still biting and the temperature was still very low. The three of them walked for quite a while before it got a little dark. They saw the footprints left by the Lin couple along the way, but these footprints were very shallow, just like the traces on the snow-capped mountain, which would disappear without a trace overnight.

Bai Wanqing bent down and carefully examined the footprints on the ground. "It seems that Uncle and Aunt have already found Young Master Du."

Lin Yunche nodded. Furong stood beside Bai Wanqing, her little face turning a little purple from the cold. "Big sister, have you really found Young Master Du?"

Bai Wanqing stood up and nodded slightly. "That's right, Furong. Look at these footprints. Uncle Lin's footprints are obviously deeper than Aunt Lin's. Also, the outside of Aunt Lin's left foot is obviously deeper than the rest of hers. This shows that Uncle Lin was carrying a heavy load on his back, and Aunt Lin was protecting the load on his back."

Furong listened, but didn't understand. However, Bai Wanqing's analysis reached Lin Yunche's ears word by word.

This woman is very thoughtful! He was initially reluctant to bring Bai Wanqing and Furong along, but seeing them gritting their teeth and following behind him changed his opinion of Bai Wanqing and the Bai family's daughter.

Lin Yunche had excellent eyesight; even in the dim light, he could find his way accurately. The three of them quickly circled around to the back of the snow mountain, where the light from a campfire in the distance caught their attention.

The three quickened their pace and ran towards the direction of the firelight.

"Father, Mother? Have you found Brother Du?" Lin Yunche spotted the two people by the fire at a glance, but he didn't see Du Huan.

Cui leaned closer to the fire, stretched out her hands, which were already red from the cold, and said, "Found it, look, it's in the cave."

Lin Feiyun also took off his coat, which was already soaked by the snow, and put it on the fire to dry.

This was the first time Lin Yunche had seen his parents so disheveled. "Are you alright?"

Madam Cui shook her head, "We're tough and thick-skinned, we're used to it, it's just that Young Master Du's condition isn't very good!" Then, Madam Cui turned her gaze to behind Lin Yunche and saw Bai Wanqing and another pretty girl.

Bai Wanqing led Furong and Cui to bow, but Cui waved her hand and said, "We are not a wealthy family here, so we don't need to stand on ceremony. You should go to the cave and check on Du Huan. It's good that you came, otherwise your Uncle Lin and I wouldn't know what to do with him."

Bai Wanqing didn't linger any longer and walked with Lin Yunche and Furong towards the cave behind them. Du Huan inside the cave was wearing a dry, coarse cotton coat, which was obviously changed by Uncle Lin.

However, he was still unconscious, his face was pale and bloodless. Bai Wanqing touched his body and found it to be extremely cold, as if he was still frozen.

"Big sister, is Young Master Du alright?" Furong was afraid of disturbing Bai Wanqing, so she waited until Bai Wanqing finished her series of actions before asking.

"The situation is not good. We need to warm him up as soon as possible." Bai Wanqing frowned. But when she looked at the surrounding environment, Du Huan could not directly warm himself by the fire, and there was no container to boil water. It was really worrying.

"What do you need?" Lin Yunche seemed to know what Bai Wanqing was thinking.

"Hot water!" Bai Wanqing said.

Lin Yunche nodded without saying anything, "I'll go find it right now!"

Bai Wanqing didn't know where Lin Yunche was going to look, but there really wasn't any other way at the moment.

After Lin Yunche left, Bai Wanqing took off her own fur coat and put another layer on Du Huan.

Seeing her older sister do this, Furong also wanted to take off her fur coat, but Bai Wanqing stopped her, saying, "Furong, you are weak, you will catch a cold if you do this."

Furong, however, was somewhat stubborn. "Big sister, I won't."

Bai Wanqing didn't stop her anymore, but simply told her, "If you get cold, come out and warm yourself by the fire. Don't catch a cold, okay?"

Furong readily agreed, but her eyes never left Du Huan.

Bai Wanqing walked out of the cave and came to the fire. She took out a bottle of frostbite ointment from her bosom and took Cui's hand to apply the medicine.

Cui was taken aback at first, then let Bai Wanqing lead her and apply the ointment. She was very happy. This daughter-in-law hadn't even entered the family yet, and she was already enjoying her daughter-in-law's care. She wondered which mother-in-law in the world could be as happy as her.

But she was still worried about Du Huan's condition. "Wanqing, you should go and take care of Young Master Du. These are just minor injuries on my hands, I'm fine," Cui said gently with a smile.

Looking at Cui's face, Bai Wanqing felt for some reason that Cui was not like a typical village woman. Although her hands were rough and she wore coarse cotton clothes, her ingrained upbringing could not be concealed, just like Lin Yunche sometimes showed.

A moment later, Furong ran out of the cave, her voice trembling with tears, "Big sister, big sister, come quick! Young Master Du is shaking all over."

Cui and Lin Feiyun also felt uneasy. They exchanged a glance and followed Bai Wanqing and Furong back to the cave.

Du Huan's face turned purple, and his body, lying flat on the ground, began to convulse. Bai Wanqing helped Du Huan up, trying to pull him close to her. Seeing this, Lin Feiyun volunteered, "Qing'er, you don't need to do that, I'll do it!"

Bai Wanqing touched Lin Feiyun's wrist and shook her head, saying, "Uncle Lin, your body is freezing cold right now. I'm afraid you'll freeze before you can even warm up Young Master Du!"

But Lin Feiyun couldn't just stand by and watch his future daughter-in-law embrace another strange man!

He refused to back down, so Cui gritted her teeth and said, "If it's not going to work, I'll do it. I'm a married woman, and what I'm doing is to save a life. Father, why don't you go outside and warm yourself by the fire?"

After saying this, Cui was about to send Lin Feiyun out, as she didn't want him to feel bad seeing her like this.

Lin Feiyun looked embarrassed. He stared at his wife and cursed Lin Yunche in his heart. This kid was always causing trouble. This time he was going to drag his own mother into it too.
Just as Lin Feiyun looked conflicted, Furong hugged Du Huan tightly, saying, "Big sister, uncle, aunt, Furong has no engagement, Furong has no husband, Furong can..."

Bai Wanqing initially disagreed, but the next second Du Huan reached out and hugged Bai Furong, murmuring Furong's name. Even if Bai Wanqing was unwilling, she probably couldn't persuade Furong now.

Besides, saving lives was the priority, so she told Furong how to warm up Du Huan's body. Furong blushed, but still nodded with her little face upturned, "Furong understands! Furong will definitely make sure Young Master Du warms up."

Since that's the case, there's no need for the others to stay here. Cui pushed Lin Feiyun out of the cave. Bai Wanqing was worried and wanted to stay by their side, but Furong told her to come out with them.

"Alright! Don't worry so much. With Furong here, Du Huan's life can be saved." Cui led Bai Wanqing to the fire to warm herself.

Bai Wanqing knew this, but Furong, as the eldest sister, felt uneasy. Du Huan had gotten away with it, and she needed to find a way to persuade Madam Du.

Time passed second by second, but Lin Yunche still hadn't returned.

Even the most anxious Cui family member was getting worried. "Father, could something have happened to Da Tou? He's usually very quick and efficient. Even if he goes back to the cabin and comes back, it will be about the right time by now."

Lin Feiyun thought it made sense, but he was also a little worried. "Why don't I go out and take a look in a bit? You stay here and keep Qingya company."

Cui looked troubled, so Bai Wanqing said, "No need, I can keep an eye on them here by myself and nothing will go wrong. Aunt and Uncle, you can go without worry."

Bai Wanqing was actually worried. Although Lin Yunche seemed unreliable, he had never broken his promise.

They've been gone for so long and haven't come back yet; something must have happened to them.

Upon hearing Bai Wanqing's words, Cui immediately stood up. "Alright, if anything happens, just extinguish this fire. We'll see it. We'll come back to pick you up once we find Datou."

Bai Wanqing nodded and watched Cui and the other person leave.

As soon as Cui and his group turned a corner, they saw Lin Yunche, who was tied up in another cave.

"Father, Mother, what are you doing!" Lin Yunche never expected that he would be tricked and tied up by his father as soon as he was about to go find hot water.

You can guard against anything, but you can't guard against your parents.

Lin Yunche was already covered in frost. If he hadn't been so thick-skinned, he would have died countless times at the hands of his parents.

"What are you doing! What else could you be doing! Don't think I don't know! You don't really like Wanqing that much!" Cui muttered, then reached out to untie the ropes binding Lin Yunche.

"So what?" Lin Yunche didn't understand why he had to suffer for his crime.

"How is it? Wanqing is such a good wife, I don't want to lose her one day because of you." Cui glanced at her son, then asked Lin Feiyun beside her, "Look at our son, isn't his current state incredibly pitiful?"

Lin Feiyun bent down seriously, looking at the frost crystals on Lin Yunche's body and the frozen tears in the corners of his eyes, "So realistic! Damn, it has to be you."

Cui raised her head triumphantly. Originally, she wasn't very confident about this plan, but seeing that Bai Wanqing was willing to sacrifice herself to save Du Huan, she figured her daughter-in-law wouldn't run away.

"Alright! Make some noise so Wanqing can find you, or you'll really freeze to death here." Cui Shi showed no pity and pulled Lin Feiyun away, disappearing into the snow-covered mountains.

Lin Yunche wanted to look up to the sky and roar, asking the heavens, "What sins did he commit to deserve such a pair of lovable parents?"

Of course, God wouldn't answer him.

So he tried to stand up and get back to the fire to warm himself, but unfortunately, his father's timing was perfect. Now his limbs were very stiff. His mother was right. If he didn't ask for help, he would die.

"Help! Help!" Lin Yunche could only let out a weak cry for help, just loud enough for Bai Wanqing to hear.

This woman will save him, right?
(End of this chapter)