Xiao Yan’s heart softened, thinking perhaps he had accidentally leaked his whereabouts, and it had nothing to do with others.
He gently but firmly pried Alian’s hands away: “I’ll be back soon, don’t be afraid.” Just as he was about to lift himself up and jump out, his chest suddenly tightened, then his legs went weak and he collapsed back into the carriage.
Alian began to cry.
Xiao Yan’s face turned cold as ice, but he didn’t look at Alian even once. He simply stared expressionlessly at the cup of tea he had just drunk, his eyes somewhat dazed yet dim.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Alian covered her face and sobbed aloud.
Xiao Yan didn’t ask why. Betrayal could have many reasons, but his sincere heart was only one. Perhaps this would be the only time in his life he would muster the courage to act impulsively.
The bodyguards outside fell one by one. Xiao Yan picked up his sword once more. Since childhood, he had always believed that if he were to die one day, aside from dying of old age, there was only one way—dying in battle.
Xiao Yan didn’t look at Alian again, not giving her even a glance. He was carefully calculating how many people he could kill in his current condition. Xiao Yan knew he would surely die today, but he wasn’t afraid. As long as he died with his sword still in hand, he would still be a descendant of the Xiao family.
Just as the bodyguards outside could no longer hold their ground and Xiao Yan struggled out of the carriage, supporting himself with his sword, arrows suddenly shot over. Xiao Yan thought the enemy had more ambushes, but then discovered it was the opposing side’s people who had fallen.
Xiao Yan turned his head in surprise to see about a hundred horsemen charging toward them. Their horses’ hooves were wrapped in cloth, making very little noise, but Xiao Yan’s sharp eyes recognized them as elite Yanbei troops.
Though he didn’t know why Yanbei elite soldiers would appear here, Xiao Yan knew he was saved.
After the assassins were killed or fled, Xiao Yan finally saw clearly that the one who had led troops to rescue him was his friend Zhao Ninghe.
Zhao Ninghe’s grandfather had fought alongside the Old Prince. The two had grown up together, trained in the military together, sometimes so close they shared the same pants, and sometimes mocked each other and exposed each other’s shortcomings.
Recently, Zhao Ninghe and Xiao Yan hadn’t been getting along well—he showed no good face whenever he saw him.
Zhao Ninghe’s beloved was Yun Chuxue.
Zhao Ninghe walked over and glanced into the carriage without asking anything, then clenched his fist and punched Xiao Yan hard. He didn’t hit his face but struck his stomach, causing Xiao Yan’s face to pale from pain.
Xiao Yan refused to get back in the carriage. He struggled onto a horse and followed Zhao Ninghe back to Yunyang City.
“How did you come?”
Zhao Ninghe said coldly, “If I hadn’t come, would you still be alive?”
Xiao Yan grinned apologetically: “Many thanks to Lord Zhao for saving my life.”
Zhao Ninghe glanced at Xiao Yan: “Don’t worry, the Prince and others don’t know. These are all my subordinates, who happened to be training nearby recently. After you return, behave yourself and act as if nothing happened.”
Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t afraid of being scolded by his grandfather and father—at worst, he’d get another beating. But he couldn’t afford to lose face. Fortunately, it was Zhao Ninghe who came. The two of them had done all sorts of foolish things together and had seen each other’s most embarrassing moments. If it had been anyone else, he would have rather died.
However, Xiao Yan’s relief was premature. When he entered the city and saw Yun Chuxue’s carriage waiting at the city gate, his expression was beyond description as ugly.
Zhao Ninghe looked at Xiao Yan’s carriage, which had been silent since earlier, then at the Yun family’s carriage. He curved his lips in an ill-intentioned smile and apologized insincerely: “Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you—it was Miss Yun who had someone tip me off.”
Zhao Ninghe waved his hand, leading his horse away without looking back.
Yun Chuxue got out of her carriage, walked to Xiao Yan’s horse, and carefully examined him. Only after seeing he was unharmed did she say: “Good that you’re not injured. I remember I warned you it would be best not to travel far recently.”
Xiao Yan was so choked by her words that he couldn’t catch his breath.
“Why are you here! I mean, why did you come out so late?” Xiao Yan’s legs were no longer weak. He dismounted and said through gritted teeth.
Yun Chuxue’s tone was very calm: “I went to Baiyun Temple today to burn incense.”
And then waited here to watch my embarrassment? Xiao Yan thought bitterly.
The two stood quietly for a while. Yun Chuxue said gently, “You should stay at the Zhao residence tonight. It wouldn’t be good to return so late and disturb the Prince.”
Xiao Yan said angrily: “Where I stay is my business—you don’t need to worry about it!”
Yun Chuxue nodded and said gently, “Oh, then I’ll leave. Take care of yourself.”
“Wait!” Xiao Yan’s face was ugly as he stopped her.
Yun Chuxue turned back questioningly, thought for a moment, then said understandingly: “Don’t worry, cousin. I won’t tell anyone about today’s events.”
Xiao Yan still looked at her with displeasure: “Who knows if your word counts? You women are always scheming!”
Yun Chuxue frowned, then said somewhat puzzledly: “Why does cousin say this? When you were eight, you took advantage of Master Zhao dozing to blacken his beard with ink. When you were ten, you stole the princess’s luminous cup, buried it beside the latrine for half a month, then returned it. When you were eleven, you broke the Prince’s favorite snuff bottle and framed Xiao Heng…”
“Damn!” Xiao Yan roared in grief and indignation, pointing at Yun Chuxue: “How do you know these things! Did that bastard Zhao tell you? No, how would he know!”
Yun Chuxue continued calmly: “I’ve kept all such matters secret for you, never telling anyone. Naturally, I won’t this time either.”
Xiao Yan’s mouth twitched, feeling that if he married a woman like Yun Chuxue, life would be impossible.
After Yun Chuxue finished speaking, she turned to leave. Xiao Yan stopped her again: “Wait!”
Yun Chuxue turned back good-naturedly.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath: “Where are you going? Didn’t you go to Baiyun Temple today?”
Yun Chuxue said amiably, “Cousin needn’t worry about me. I’ve rented a courtyard and made arrangements.”
Xiao Yan really couldn’t see through this woman, Yun Chuxue. Since childhood, she had been well-educated and reasonable, a model of propriety. But which well-educated young lady would dare to lie to her family and stay out all night without changing expression? Which woman could guess her fiancé would encounter danger while eloping with another woman, then quietly arrange rescue without making a fuss?
Yun Chuxue was audacious—or rather, lawless!
Xiao Yan said irritably, “Where? I’ll go with you!”
Upon hearing this, Yun Chuxue just looked at Xiao Yan once and nodded, neither shyly saying it was improper to stay in the same courtyard nor making an issue of her reputation.
Xiao Yan felt another wave of frustration.
Just then, the carriage that had been silent all along made noise. Xiao Yan’s body stiffened. He turned his head to see Alian getting out of the carriage.
Xiao Yan stood there without moving. He had deliberately avoided thinking about Alian, planning to have someone watch her first and interrogate her tomorrow. Today, he was too tired to deal with her.
Yun Chuxue also looked over upon hearing the sound.
Alian was stunned upon first seeing Yun Chuxue, then said in a daze: “It’s you…”
Xiao Yan immediately exploded, glaring at Yun Chuxue suspiciously: “How does she know you?”
Xiao Yan instantly imagined Yun Chuxue approaching Alian with a young lady’s airs, then arrogantly threatening her to leave him.
Yun Chuxue ignored Alian and just glanced at Xiao Yan lightly: “You’re overthinking.”
Xiao Yan felt bitter: You know what I’m thinking again?
Yun Chuxue didn’t need to put on airs or act arrogantly toward Alian. She just stood there casually, and there was already an insurmountable chasm between her and Alian.
Yun Chuxue said in a calm, gentle tone: “You said you had a sweetheart. I was concerned, so I went to observe a few times, but I never approached to disturb.”
Xiao Yan was about to retort that you had no business being concerned about his sweetheart, but thinking of today’s outcome, he couldn’t say those words.
Yun Chuxue said, “I originally thought that if she was truly suitable, I would help my cousin achieve his wish. But I noticed this young lady had some problems.” So today’s arrangements followed.
“So you hid in the shadows, laughing at me for being a fool!” Xiao Yan roared.
Yun Chuxue shook her head and sighed: “Why must cousin think this way? I always want what’s best for you.”
Alian stood three steps away, looking at Yun Chuxue for a long moment, then at Xiao Yan, suddenly walking toward them. Yun Chuxue caught sight of Alian’s hand moving toward her sleeve. Her expression changed, and without thinking, she grabbed Xiao Yan’s arm, wanting to shield him.
But Xiao Yan’s reaction was faster than Yun Chuxue’s. He embraced Yun Chuxue and retreated quickly, then flicked his wrist. Silver light flashed as a willow-leaf blade “thud—” shot toward Alian’s throat, piercing it through.
Alian clutched her neck and fell to the ground, the curve of her mouth somewhat bitter. She said nothing and died.
Xiao Yan only glanced at Alian once before turning his head away. He stood there for a long while without moving, still holding Yun Chuxue in his arms.
Yun Chuxue also didn’t move. After a long while, she asked somewhat curiously: “Cousin, are you crying?”
The bit of sadness Xiao Yan had just mustered was instantly replaced by fury. He pushed Yun Chuxue away: “Look carefully—would a grown man like me cry over a woman?”
Yun Chuxue looked carefully at his eyes, then smiled and nodded: “Mm, not crying.”
Xiao Yan felt frustrated.
Yun Chuxue glanced at Alian lying on the ground: “Won’t you see what’s in her sleeve?”
Xiao Yan paused, then said: “She’s dead—what’s the point of looking?”
Actually, with Xiao Yan’s eyesight, when his defensive willow-leaf blade struck, he had already seen clearly what was in Alian’s sleeve. It wasn’t a weapon or hidden blade, but the jade pendant he had previously given her.
But Xiao Yan didn’t tell Yun Chuxue this.
Xiao Yan thought it was just as well that Alian died by his hand. His aim was precise—Alian shouldn’t have felt pain when she died. Otherwise, regardless of whether he could extract information about her collusion with the assassins, Alian wouldn’t have had an easier time than today.
Spare Alian? That was impossible.
Was he cold-blooded and ruthless? Xiao Yan felt perhaps he was.
He had only been foolish for Alian once—he only acted foolishly for people he liked. After being foolish once, he was still the heir to the Yanbei Prince’s mansion, never hesitating when it was time to be ruthless.
On the way back, Xiao Yan and Yun Chuxue shared a carriage. He was somewhat disheveled today and didn’t want others to see him.
“Hey, am I that bad?” Xiao Yan asked seriously.
Yun Chuxue’s gentle eyes looked at him: “Mm?”
Xiao Yan turned his head away, saying uncomfortably, “I mean, will there never be a woman in this lifetime who likes me just for who I am? One after another, they either value my status or have ulterior motives?”
Yun Chuxue thought for a moment, then said: “I don’t know. Perhaps there are, but even if there were, you wouldn’t know whether she likes you more or your status more.”
Xiao Yan felt melancholy. Then, feeling he hadn’t been hit hard enough, he asked: “What about you? Why are you so desperate to marry me?”
Yun Chuxue glanced at Xiao Yan without arguing with his choice of words, “desperate”: “If you didn’t have the Xiao surname, I wouldn’t marry you. Don’t you think the same way?”
Xiao Yan’s mouth twitched. You know that, too!
But hearing Yun Chuxue say it directly still made him feel somewhat dejected.
“However…” Yun Chuxue continued slowly.
Xiao Yan unconsciously straightened his back and pricked up his ears: “However, what?”
“However, among the marriage partners acceptable to the elders, I still choose a cousin.” Yun Chuxue said these forward words very calmly, and coming from her mouth, they somehow sounded quite proper.
The corners of Xiao Yan’s mouth finally couldn’t help but curve upward. He pretended not to care: “Oh, why? What do I have that’s better than others?”
Yun Chuxue continued calmly: “Cousin once said you didn’t want to marry a woman you didn’t like as your wife, that you’d only marry someone you loved in this lifetime. ‘One life, one love, one couple’ is what all women in the world yearn for. If your cousin truly achieves this, then the woman who marries you will be the happiest in the world. Chuxue is also an ordinary woman and naturally has ordinary women’s yearnings.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan snorted lightly: “Marry one, then marry one. I’m an upstanding man—of course, I can do what I say. It’s only right that you’re desperate to marry me.”
At this moment, Xiao Yan forgot that Yun Chuxue was already his fiancée.
Yun Chuxue lowered her head and smiled slightly: “Mm, I believe, cousin.”
Xiao Yan suddenly felt something was wrong somewhere.
But Yun Chuxue didn’t give Xiao Yan a chance to figure it out. She continued gently: “Tomorrow, could Cousin go with me to the Star-Plucking Tower at Hot Spring Villa?”
Xiao Yan frowned: “What for?”
Yun Chuxue looked at him and sighed, saying with some longing: “I heard there’s a Sanskrit formation in the Star-Plucking Tower, passed down from an ancestor of the Xiao family. Xiao family men can only bring one woman up there in their lifetime. As long as they recite those Sanskrit words in the ancient language, they can receive their ancestors’ blessing. At the same time, this Xiao family man can only have one woman in his life, or else the Xiao family will… be left without descendants.”
Xiao Yan: “…”
Yun Chuxue leaned closer, looking at Xiao Yan with a gentle smile: “Cousin, will you take me there?”
Xiao Yan stared at Yun Chuxue speechlessly. This was the first time Yun Chuxue had spoken to him in such a tone! Why did his heart feel so… so wonderful!
When Xiao Yan came to his senses, he had already turned his head away and spoken coolly: “Mm, then let’s go.”
Yun Chuxue smiled and sat back.
Looking at the distance between them, Xiao Yan suddenly felt he had been tricked and deceived…
But before he could get angry, Yun Chuxue spoke gently: “Being in a cousin’s position, it’s not easy to see through women’s true hearts. I’m the same way. So, rather than trusting other strangers who know faces but not hearts, we should trust each other, support each other, and stay together. At least I trust my cousin’s character, and my cousin grew up with me, so naturally, you know all my faults. Even if I have some purpose, it’s all laid out before you. At least I can guarantee I won’t deceive or trick you.”
Xiao Yan said nothing.
Yun Chuxue took the initiative to hold Xiao Yan’s hand, looking at him: “Thinking this way, isn’t our marriage not so hard to accept?”
Xiao Yan thought about it and felt that Yun Chuxue made sense. Moreover, when Yun Chuxue held his hand, it felt different from when he had held Alian’s hand before. Yun Chuxue’s palm was warm and comfortable—he didn’t dislike it.
But Xiao Yan wondered if he was forgetting something very important.
As for what it was, Xiao Yan’s mind was somewhat chaotic now, and he couldn’t remember for the moment.
It wasn’t until the next day, when Xiao Yan took Yun Chuxue to the Star-Plucking Tower as she wished and had completely sold himself out, that he remembered why he had originally been so unwilling to marry Yun Chuxue—because of a shameful secret.
Glancing at Yun Chuxue smiling quietly beside him, Xiao Yan thought with cold sweat all over his body: Was it too late to regret now?
“Cousin, what’s wrong? Are you hot, or feeling unwell somewhere?”
Xiao Yan shook his head with a deathly pale face: “No.”
Yun Chuxue examined Xiao Yan carefully, then smiled warmly with meaningful implication: “Oh, that’s good. But if your cousin feels unwell anywhere, you must tell me, because no matter what it is, I won’t laugh at you or make you feel embarrassed because of it.”
Xiao Yan’s heart felt chilly, thinking: Do you know again?
This! Was! Absolutely! Impossible!
Xiao Yan never had the chance to know whether Yun Chuxue had long known his secret about the mole. He couldn’t possibly ask now.
When Xiao Yan finally married Yun Chuxue…
Xiao Yan suddenly felt all his previous worries had been in vain, because when they were intimate, he cleverly covered both Yun Chuxue and himself from head to toe with blankets, rustling and puffing under the covers…
Though it was summer, after one night, he had given both himself and Yun Chuxue heat rash.
By the third day, when Xiao Yan was about to cover them with blankets again during intimacy, Yun Chuxue gently but firmly stopped him: “Cousin, we don’t need to light the dragon and phoenix candles today—the candles can be blown out.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan’s eyes lit up. Right! If they didn’t light candles, what was there to worry about?
Xiao Yan happily kissed Yun Chuxue and cheerfully went to blow out the candles.
Of course, this was the young Xiao Yan, whose skin was relatively thin. When he grew into a shameless old rogue, he turned certain private matters he had once been ashamed to show into bedroom pleasures.
Yun Chuxue, through careful planning, cautious maneuvering, and masterful handling, cultivated the legendary male god of Yanbei. Compared to her, the tricks her son Xiao Jingxi later played were nothing.