Her actions were instinctive—Nanyi quickly hid the city defense map back among a pile of scrolls, then turned around nonchalantly. Her heart had already jumped to her throat, yet she still managed to squeeze out a smile on her face.

“Young Master, you’ve returned. I was waiting for you.”

“Is that so?”

Not a single candle was lit in the room, only pale moonlight spread across their figures.

Xie Queshan slowly approached Nanyi, the scent of alcohol wafting from him into her nose. She watched him nervously. In the darkness, his face wasn’t clearly visible, but she vaguely felt his aura remained peaceful, seeming to harbor no particular wariness.

When he was only a step away from Nanyi, Xie Queshan didn’t stop but continued forward another step. Nanyi instinctively retreated until her waist pressed against the desk edge—there was nowhere left to retreat.

He lowered his gaze to her face, taking in without reservation the composure and fear on her features, then suddenly and unexpectedly pinched her mouth while his right hand hidden in his sleeve peeled open some oiled paper, actually stuffing something unknown into her mouth.

Nanyi’s reflex was to spit the thing out, but he was one step ahead, using his other hand to hold her chin shut.

Nanyi was forced to taste what was in her mouth as the sweetness of osmanthus and malt sugar spread across her taste buds—it was candy!

He withdrew his hands and asked her seriously: “Is it delicious?”

Nanyi answered in a daze: “…Delicious.”

Malt sugar was something only royalty and nobles could afford. In the current time of soaring prices, it could even sell for several taels of silver per piece.

Nanyi still remembered encountering a noble young lady on the street as a child. The girl had dropped half a piece of malt sugar on the ground, and because it had gotten slightly dusty, she refused to eat it. After the girl left, Nanyi went over to pick up that half piece of malt sugar to taste. That unprecedented sweetness, carrying an aura of unattainable rarity, remained firmly lodged in her memory.

This was her first time eating a complete, whole piece of malt sugar. She could feel its crystal clarity as it was enveloped in her mouth, bringing unprecedented texture and taste that made her instantly feel both sweet and confused.

Xie Queshan smiled faintly: “It’s osmanthus malt sugar from Huachao Pavilion.”

Nanyi was a bit bewildered—he had gone to Huachao Pavilion for a banquet, and amid the drinking and revelry, he had actually hidden a piece of candy in his sleeve to bring back to her? What deeper meaning did this action hold?

However, not every action needed to have deeper meaning.

Today Xie Queshan had attended Wanyan Jun’s welcoming banquet at Huachao Pavilion. The feast inevitably involved toasting and false pleasantries that were tiresome. The banquet table was laden with expensive delicacies worth a fortune, making this plate of osmanthus malt sugar seem unremarkable.

He had drunk more than usual and casually picked up a piece of this candy to taste. For some reason, his mind recalled the day Nanyi was at Huachao Pavilion, swallowing at the sight of the table full of delicacies. He suddenly felt Nanyi would enjoy eating it, so he hid a piece in his sleeve to bring back.

He was somewhat drunk, which was why he would do such a pointless thing. But this simple intention he didn’t plan to tell her—let her guess.

Xie Queshan still blocked Nanyi’s path without yielding, leaning over to light the candle on the desk. The room’s brightness restored some of his clarity. His gaze swept over the scrolls piled on the desk, then returned to her face.

“What are you waiting here for me to do?”

Nanyi feigned composure: “Young Master, I want to ask you to teach me to read. Concubine Lu told me to copy Buddhist scriptures for the Grand Madam, and I’m afraid I’ll make mistakes since I can’t read.”

“You climbed through the window just to have me teach you to read?”

“I was afraid of being seen by others, who might gossip about my relationship with you, so I secretly came in to wait.”

“Then why are you nervous?”

Xie Queshan looked at her blandly.

“I’m not nervous.” Nanyi argued defensively.

Xie Queshan grabbed her wrist. Her pounding pulse jumped under his fingertips, exposing her guilt and nervousness completely.

Nanyi wanted to cry but had no tears—she truly couldn’t deceive him at all!

But strangely, Xie Queshan didn’t continue dwelling on this issue, instead saying: “I can teach you to read.”

“…Really?”

“However, what one learns from books remains superficial.”

“What do you mean?” Nanyi asked in confusion.

“It means just reading books isn’t enough to make a lasting impression.”

“Then what should…?”

“Come with me somewhere.”

Nanyi didn’t dare question Xie Queshan’s words and could only obediently follow him out of Jingfeng Residence, only to discover the guards outside had been withdrawn at some point. But he didn’t plan to take the main road out. He directly grabbed her clothes and brought her onto the roof.

“Keep up.”

Xie Queshan left this instruction and leaped forward as gracefully as an immortal. Fortunately, Nanyi knew some basic lightness skills for escaping, allowing her to barely keep up with Xie Queshan’s pace.

The two traveled across rooftops and walls out of Wangxue Cottage, landing in a secluded dark alley.

Xie Queshan had been acting too kindly, causing Nanyi to lower her guard slightly. But once they stopped, Nanyi saw that five or six masked figures in black stood in the dark alley, each with fierce gleaming eyes—they came with ill intent.

Nanyi was already feeling guilty and was so frightened her tongue wouldn’t work properly: “You wouldn’t go this far… wha-what do you want with so many people?”

Xie Queshan turned to look at her, his face shrouded in shadow, his voice as cold as an Asura’s: “You still dare steal my things—haven’t you learned your lesson?”

Nanyi’s heart immediately went cold. He must have seen through her intention to steal the city defense maps from the moment he entered the door. Now, on this dark and windy night, being led outside Wangxue Cottage, he probably intended to kill her.

Nanyi dropped to her knees with a thud, tears and snot flowing: “I won’t dare again, Young Master, please don’t kill me.”

“Killing someone is just a nod of the head,” Xie Queshan looked down at her, “that would be too easy on you.”

Nanyi was startled and began trembling: “You won’t even leave a whole corpse?”

“If there’s a next time, I won’t.”

A next time? Then this time…?

Just as Nanyi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the next moment she heard Xie Queshan utter one emotionless word—

“Beat her.”

The black-clad figures immediately swarmed toward Nanyi.

……

This truly was a literal case of giving a sweet candy followed by a hard slap.

Nanyi took several solid punches and relied purely on instinct to roll and crawl away from a few strikes. At this moment she still held a trace of hope, looking pleadingly at Xie Queshan, but he stood outside the crowd with an icy expression.

“Beat her to death.”

With these words, Nanyi no longer dared harbor any hope. She directly took off running. Under the tremendous will to survive, she nimbly dodged past several people and seized a gap to rush out of the alley.

The night watchman’s gong sounded—it was already the third watch. Most residences in the city were silent in the dark night, with not a single pedestrian visible on the streets.

Nanyi didn’t dare run on the main roads either, only daring to dart into small alleys, afraid of encountering patrolling soldiers. After the Qi army entered the city, a curfew had been imposed. Being caught by official soldiers would be impossible to explain.

But no matter how cleverly she shook off her pursuers, they would miraculously catch up, always maintaining a certain distance, as if toying with her, driving her into various corners.

Nanyi was already somewhat exhausted from running. Her mind raced—Xie Queshan bringing her out of Wangxue Cottage to kill her meant he too had concerns. Wangxue Cottage was the safest place!

She had to find a way back home.

With this thought, Nanyi had a direction. She climbed onto a nearby taller building, aimed toward Wangxue Cottage’s direction, wanting to cross directly over the rooftops, but was soon blocked by black-clad figures approaching from ahead.

She was forced to jump back down into the dark alley, continuing her guerrilla warfare with her pursuers.

……

When dawn was breaking, Nanyi finally returned to Wangxue Cottage exhausted.

Covered in stinking sweat, she didn’t dare disturb the maids, heating some water herself to bathe. She actually fell asleep directly in the bathtub.

The next day when the sun was high, the water in the bathtub had gone completely cold. Nanyi drowsily felt the chill beneath her and slowly awakened. Just as she was about to get up, she looked up and was shocked to see Xie Queshan standing right in front of the bathtub.

She quickly submerged herself back down, looking at Xie Queshan in terror.

Xie Queshan’s tone was calm yet sinister: “How dare you come back?”

Nanyi was about to open her mouth to argue, but Xie Queshan had already drawn the dagger from his sleeve.

“Do you think I don’t dare kill you?”

A cold flash passed as the dagger sliced across her neck. Nanyi opened her mouth, the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken. The water in the bathtub was stained bright red with blood…