Last night, the whole family was in a state of confusion, especially on the way to Da Huan Mountain. Song Wei’s mind was completely occupied with thoughts of his father, leaving him no time to ponder anything else. Now, sitting on the ox cart to the county, some details gradually surfaced.
On the road last night, it seemed there were several times when Wanwan asked to change the route.
At the time, he only thought the little girl was tired from walking such a long way and followed her every suggestion.
Now thinking back, that wasn’t the case.
Even though she looked fragile, accompanying the two grown men on such a long journey through the rainy night, she neither stumbled nor lagged behind.
On such muddy and difficult mountain paths, the three of them oddly managed to travel safely and smoothly, with no accidents.
Song Wei recalled how Wanwan pretended to be sick and refused to go when they went to the county to buy return gifts after she first got married. The day before, at the bookstore in the town, she suddenly pulled him out, lying that the pens and ink there were too expensive and insisting on going elsewhere to buy.
Though these matters were small, it was impossible for him not to feel a little suspicious.
Xie Zheng said he hadn’t encountered any bad luck, big or small, since getting engaged.
Song Wei realized this too.
For someone like him who had always encountered misfortunes every other day since childhood, the current smoothness seemed too eerie.
It’s precisely because of this that an answer became apparent—
From the very beginning, she hadn’t lied.
When she said she brought good fortune to her husband, it was true.
She also said she could foresee the dangers he would encounter, and that too was true.
Song Wei turned his head.
The little girl who had accompanied him through the rain and long journey last night, and hadn’t slept a wink, was now quietly leaning on his broad shoulder with her eyes half-closed, breathing lightly, her lips a soft pink, and her small face glowing with a healthy flush. It softened a certain place in his heart, and his thoughts drifted away unconsciously.
When he was fifteen and the little girl was three, her mother Mrs. Lu entrusted her daughter to him before she passed, asking him to take care of her for a lifetime.
The little girl cried and cried, chasing Mrs. Lu’s carriage tirelessly through the snow, unintentionally falling into an ice hole.
By the time he rescued her, the little girl had already lost consciousness with a high fever that wouldn’t subside, damaging her voice and burning away her fragmentary childlike memories.
From when she was three to fifteen, during those twelve years, he feared his misfortunes would affect her, so he never dared to get close, only caring for her in secret.
The extra pigweed in her basket when she went to gather wild herbs was no illusion; it was him sending it over.
When she napped at the foot of a tree while tending cattle on the mountain, he quietly draped vines over her head for shade.
On snowy days when roads were slippery, knowing she would persistently go to the village school to eavesdrop on the teacher’s lectures, he would rise early to clear the snow from the path.
Over these twelve years, he watched her grow from a baby with features like carved jade to a beautiful young lady.
As for when the little girl he regarded as a sister became the one he cherished, even he couldn’t say for sure.
Perhaps it was two or three years ago when he intentionally let Yuanbao approach her, or perhaps even earlier.
And it’s precisely because he kept her in his heart that he wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch her. That’s why, upon hearing news of her being engaged, he chose the right moment to appear before her.
That "first encounter" she thought at the village school wasn’t a coincidence; it was something he had planned long ago.
Even later, when he went out of his way to persuade Father Wen to marry his daughter, it was all premeditated.
On that day at the Wen Family home, he simply said one sentence: Twelve years ago, before Aunt Lu left, I promised her I would take care of Wanwan for a lifetime.
Father Wen had never known about this. After Song Wei explained, he asked him some questions about the past before he was completely assured and agreed to marry his daughter to him.
This was the reason why Wen Wan couldn’t understand why her father was initially reluctant for her to marry Song Wei, but changed his attitude as soon as Song Wei visited the Wen Family.
Song Wei gathered his thoughts. If he had known earlier that the little girl in his family possessed such a shocking ability and wasn’t afraid of being affected by his bad luck, he might not have taken so many detours over the years.
But now is not bad either. At least twelve years later, she willingly fell into his embrace and became his wife.
Wen Wan didn’t dare to sleep too soundly. Just as they entered the county and the bustling sounds around her reached her ears, she awoke.
Opening her eyes and finding herself still leaning on Song Wei’s back, she immediately sat up straight and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
Song Wei said, "We’ve already entered the county. Let me take you to get something to eat first."
Wen Wan shook her head urgently. She didn’t want to eat; with Father-in-law’s case unresolved, she couldn’t swallow a bite.