Chapter 4 — Hidden Strengths
The mornings were brisk, the kind that made breath visible in the cool mountain air. Su Yanyue moved with growing confidence through the small garden she had started behind the hut—her fingers gently brushing over rows of medicinal herbs she carefully tended.
The triplets were chasing each other nearby, their laughter ringing through the crisp air.
Yu Shenli watched from the porch, leaning against the wooden railing, his gaze calm but unreadable.
"Your hands are skilled," he remarked quietly when Su Yanyue approached with a small basket of freshly picked herbs.
She smiled faintly. "I've had years of practice. Healing is a skill anyone can learn—if they want to."
He nodded slowly, considering her words.
"Your 'sons' are sharp. Too sharp for their age," she said, glancing at the boys playing tag near the trees.
"They've had to be," Yu Shenli replied. "Life isn't kind to orphans."
Her heart clenched at the weight behind his words, but she said nothing.
Instead, she straightened and turned back to her herbs. "There's more to this world than hardship," she said softly. "There's hope too. And I intend to find it."
Yu Shenli's eyes flickered with something unreadable before he looked away.
For now, the empire's troubles could wait.
Here, in this small mountain home, a different kind of battle was beginning—the battle to heal, to protect, and to survive.
And neither of them realized how deeply their lives were about to intertwine.