Host! I told you to do a task! I didn't tell you to bbb.

Before we knew it, the second year had arrived.

In April in the mountains, the grass and trees stretch out, and everywhere is a light green with wildflowers scattered about.

Liu Yunshu tidied up the small courtyard in front of the wooden house, planting some easy-to-grow wild vegetables and some unnamed wildflowers transplanted from the roadside.

Liu Yunshu lay on the rocking chair, her belly already bulging into a rounded arc.

The plain dress was altered to be loose, making her face appear even whiter, and adding a touch of gentleness unique to pregnant women to her eyes and brows.

"Big sister, I've calculated it, it should be in the next few days, right?" Little Ba flew around her belly once, her tone full of anticipation.

Liu Yunshu raised her hand and gently placed it on her palm. She felt a strong fetal movement under her palm, like a small fish gently bumping against her.

A gentle smile spread across her eyes as she nodded.

"Yes, the time is almost up. I made arrangements with Granny Wang from Wangjia Village at the foot of the mountain a while ago."

Her fingers unconsciously rubbed her abdomen.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, and Wang the midwife arrived carrying a blue cloth bundle.

"My dear Lady Liu, I figured it would be these next few days. I've been worried about you living alone on the mountain, so I decided to pack some things and come up here to keep you company."

Liu Yunshu felt a warmth in her heart and hurriedly got up: "I can't accept this, it's too much trouble for you to make this special trip."

The midwife, Wang, quickly came over and helped her up: "Please sit down! Don't be so polite with me."

Liu Yunshu slowly moved to the table, poured a glass of warm spring water, and handed it over: "The conditions on the mountain are simple, please bear with us."

The midwife took the water, her gaze falling on the woman's belly, and smiled:

"Judging by your belly, the baby must be strong. You look thin, but you have a healthy complexion."

He then settled down inside the house and waited with her.

Three days later, as Liu Yunshu was watching the sunset, a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly shot through her abdomen.

She instinctively gripped the rocking chair armrests, her knuckles turning white instantly, and cold sweat beading on her forehead.

"Wang Po..." she bit her lip, her voice trembling uncontrollably. The little one inside her seemed to panic as well, moving rapidly and forcefully.

Hearing the noise, the midwife came out of the house. Seeing the woman's face and the dark water stains on her skirt, she immediately said in a low voice:

"She's going into labor! Don't panic, come inside with me!"

She quickly helped Liu Yunshu up, carried her into the house, and settled her on the bed with a clean cloth laid out. She then lit some mugwort to dispel the mountain chill.

"Follow me, inhale—exhale—exhale forcefully!"

Liu Yunshu bit down on the prepared soft cloth, and sweat quickly soaked her hair and clothes.

The pain came like waves, one after another, as if it were tearing a person apart.

But every time she felt delirious from the pain, the warm throbbing in her abdomen, which she pressed her palm against, would pull her back to reality.

She gripped the edge of the bed and used all her strength to push herself down.

Xiao Ba paced anxiously by the bedside, her voice trembling with tears, "Daddy, hang in there! It'll be over soon!"

The mountain fog grew thicker and thicker, and the birds outside fell silent. Only suppressed moans and the midwife's steady instructions echoed in the wooden house.

After struggling for an unknown amount of time, the sky outside the window turned from dark to gray.

As the first rays of dawn gradually appeared, a loud cry of a baby suddenly pierced the silence of the mountains!

"She's a young lady! What a beautiful girl!"

With a smile on her face, Wang the midwife wrapped the baby in soft swaddling clothes and carefully placed him beside Liu Yunshu's pillow.

"Look at those eyebrows and eyes, they're just like yours."

The little one had his eyes closed, his cheeks were rosy, and his little fists were clenched tightly.

Liu Yunshu weakly turned her head to the side and gently touched the warm little face with her finger.

The excruciating pain that had almost overwhelmed her was instantly replaced by an endless softness.

"Niannian..." she murmured hoarsely, the nickname she had thought of long ago slipping out, "From now on, you will be called Niannian."

Wang, the midwife, took care of her on the mountain for a full month until she was out of confinement and felt much better, at which point she asked to come down the mountain.

"Wang Po, I really don't know how to thank you this time."

Liu Yunshu stuffed a heavy cloth bag that she had prepared beforehand into the midwife's hands, "This is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it, it can help supplement your household income."

Unable to refuse, Wang the midwife finally accepted it, and then held her hand, giving her some instructions:

"Be careful, you're all alone on the mountain with the child. If you encounter any difficulties, be sure to come down to Wangjia Village and find me."

She turned and looked back at Niannian sleeping in the cradle, her eyes filled with affection. "This child is good and blessed. Take good care of her."

After Wang the midwife left, the mountains returned to their usual tranquility.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Down the mountain, however, the scene was quite different.

A year has passed, and Xiao Luochen and Xiao Hanxing have traveled to almost every part of the Central Plains.

From bustling capitals to remote villages, from the water towns of Jiangnan to the desolate wilderness of the north, there was never a single piece of news.

They even rushed to find Princess Lingyue, who was far away in the Western Regions.

Both the princess and Shen Run shook their heads, having never seen Liu Yunshu.

Hope has been extinguished once again.

Xiao Hanxing's sword sheath gleamed from being polished over the course of the year.

The blind bandits and remnants of the evil cult along the way became the dust beneath his sword as he vented his anxiety and regret.

He was extremely thin, and the redness in his eyes had never completely disappeared.

Only when someone occasionally mentions the name "Liu" or "Yunshu" will a faint light suddenly appear in his eyes, before he falls into even deeper silence again.

Xiao Luochen entrusted the affairs of state to trusted ministers, took off his dragon robe, and put on a neat black outfit, with a sword at his waist that gleamed coldly.

A year of wind and frost has washed away some of his imperial pride, leaving deeper marks on his brow.

The only thing that kept him searching for her was like a wildfire burning in his heart, which never went out but instead grew stronger and stronger.

That day, a guard rushed in to report, "Your Majesty, a peddler said he had seen Miss Liu."

Xiao Luochen turned around abruptly, his knuckles white as he gripped the sword hilt, his voice slightly distorted by extreme suppression:

"Where is he? Ask him carefully!"

Xiao Hanxing, who was standing next to him, suddenly looked up, and the deep pool in his eyes, which had been lifeless, was suddenly stirred.

He stepped forward, staring intently at the guard, as if trying to etch every word into his heart.

The guard bowed.

"The peddler said he only remembered that the girl paid quickly and spoke gently. She got off the cart at the entrance of Qingfeng Town, and then he didn't know where she went."

The two exchanged a glance, and without even saying a word, their figures flashed out like the wind.

In Qingfeng Town, this is the closest breeze and the most tangible ray of light in a whole year.

They inquired repeatedly in Qingfeng Town, asking every inn, teahouse, and street vendor, but to no avail.

Just as the flame in my heart was about to be extinguished by exhaustion and disappointment, the idle chatter of two women at a street-side tea stall drifted into my ears on the wind.

"Wang Po, you must have made quite a bit of money on this trip up the mountain, right?"

A woman's voice, tinged with obvious envy, said, "Everyone says that Lady Liu is incredibly generous?"

The woman, referred to as Granny Wang, had a gentle, smiling voice:

"Yes, that little girl born to Lady Liu is as pretty as a dumpling; she's a very lucky child."

The woman lowered her voice and asked curiously:

"Old Wang, who is that Lady Liu? How come she's all pregnant and living alone in the deep mountains?"

Granny Wang took a sip of tea and shook her head:

"It's hard to say. They don't seem like ordinary people. They speak softly and quietly, and their eyes are so calm, like they're hiding a lot of things."

Her surname is Liu. She was pregnant. She just gave birth!

Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking their hearts hard.

Xiao Hanxing swayed, veins bulging on the back of his hand as he gripped the sword hilt tightly.

Xiao Luochen had already stepped forward, his black robes billowing in the wind. The urgency surging in his eyes was almost overflowing, but he tried his best to keep his voice steady:

"Excuse me, ma'am, could you tell me which mountain this Lady Liu you mentioned lives in? Could you please tell me the specific route?"

The midwife was startled by his sudden approach and shrank back.

Looking again at the two men, though their faces were haggard and their eyes bloodshot, their expressions were anxious and earnest, not like evil people, and I breathed a sigh of relief:

"You...are you looking for Lady Liu?"

"She is our family."

Xiao Luochen's voice was hoarse, and every word was heavy, "We searched for her for a year, traveling to countless places."

Xiao Hanxing also stepped forward, her throat tight and her voice dry:

"Mother-in-law, please tell us. She's pregnant and alone in the mountains, and we're worried sick day and night..."

Looking at the deep pain and longing in their eyes, the midwife Wang thought of the aloof yet resilient woman in the mountains, her heart softened, and she sighed.

"Go south from the east end of the town, cross three mountain ridges, and there is a very secluded mountain valley. There is an old wooden house in the valley, where Lady Liu lives."

Before she could finish speaking, two figures shot out like arrows, leaving only a hurried "thank you" to be scattered by the wind.

The mountain path was rugged and covered with thorns, but the two men paid no attention to the fact that their clothes were torn and they staggered.

The fire in my heart burned so brightly that it dispelled all fatigue and pain, leaving only one thought: Faster, faster!

When the mountain valley nestled in lush greenery and the quiet wooden house standing in the valley finally came into view, the two of them suddenly stopped in their tracks.

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, making my eardrums buzz and almost suffocating me.

In the small courtyard in front of the wooden house, Liu Yunshu was sitting in a rocking chair.

She held a swaddled baby in her arms, gently patting it with her fingers, and softly humming a lullaby whose words were indistinct.

The April sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering golden light on her, making her white dress glow softly.

She lowered her head slightly, her profile showing an unprecedented gentleness and tranquility, enveloped in a serene halo of new motherhood.

The baby in her arms was fast asleep, its little face rosy, and the corners of its mouth seemed to be slightly upturned.

As Xiao Hanxing gazed at that figure, her eyes suddenly burned with tears, and her vision blurred instantly.

All the arduous journey, regret, fear, and despair of the past year turned into a surge of bitterness that rushed to my throat.

He wanted to call out to her, to rush over, but his feet seemed nailed to the ground, unable to move, as if afraid that the scene before him was an illusion that would shatter at the slightest touch.

Xiao Luochen's fingertips dug deeply into his palm, and his body under his black robes trembled slightly.

He had seen her in many different ways: sometimes spirited, sometimes resilient, sometimes in pain.

But I have never seen anything like this before, so serene as the moonlight in the mountains, so gentle that it could melt even the hardest rock.

And that swaddling clothes... the little life inside, her features vaguely resembled hers.

Yet it also seemed to reflect a glimpse of what he dared not think too deeply about, yet which he tormented and longed for day and night.

Just then, Niannian suddenly pursed her lips, let out a weak sob, and then started to cry.

Liu Yunshu quickly pulled her arms back, gently shook the child, pressed her cheek against the child's forehead, and softly coaxed him:

"Niannian, don't cry, don't cry, Mommy's here."

As the child gradually stopped crying and settled down in her arms, she seemed to sense something and looked up.

Her gaze, without warning, collided with two pairs of eyes that were churning with overwhelming emotions and staring intently at her.

The soft glow on Liu Yunshu's face suddenly froze.

Her pupils contracted slightly, and she instinctively tightened her arms around the child.

The mountain wind stopped, the leaves ceased rustling, the birds stopped singing, and even the sunlight seemed to freeze.

At this moment, time was stretched into an infinitely long and rigid silence.