She stared blankly at the handsome face magnified before her, so close she could almost feel the tremble of his lashes. His hand cupped her chin, his long fingertips unconsciously stroking her smooth, fine-porcelain skin, while his lips… were pressed tightly against hers. They moved ever so slightly, and a strange current instantly struck through her entire body, leaving her frozen there, unable to react for a long time—until the bitter medicinal liquid was poured into her mouth, and she forgot to swallow.
“Cough, cough, cough…” A violent fit of coughing abruptly shattered the gradually thickening ambiguous atmosphere.
Man Yao clutched her chest, her face flushed crimson, and glared in extreme vexation at the culprit beside her. To her surprise, she discovered that Zongzheng Wuyou’s fair face was tinged with the faintest blush. Before she could see it clearly, it had already vanished without a trace.
Zongzheng Wuyou looked at her and smiled. “For someone as clever as you, how did you suddenly become so foolish?”
Man Yao was choked with anger. Seeing his utterly unruffled manner, she could not get a single word out. She reached out and snatched the medicine bowl from his hand, downed the gall-bitter medicine in one breath, and asked, “You… haven’t been possessed, have you?” Otherwise, she could not think why he would suddenly seem like a different person.
Zongzheng Wuyou asked strangely, “What do you mean?”
Man Yao said, “Aren’t you supposed to keep away from women? Why have you suddenly changed your nature and repeatedly taken liberties with me?”
Zongzheng Wuyou laughed, his gaze burning as he looked at her. Slowly, he said, “This prince remembers that day, it was you who first threw yourself into my arms and touched me.”
Man Yao wanted to say that had been an accident, but Zongzheng Wuyou had already taken the porcelain bowl from her hand and set it aside. Then he turned toward her and leaned down, trapping Man Yao in the space between his arms. Zongzheng Wuyou’s eyes were somewhat strange—as if probing, suspicious, yet also expectant and yearning… He fixed his gaze on her, unmoving, as though he meant to look straight into the depths of her heart and soul.
“You ask whether this prince has been possessed by someone? Then what about you? Were you possessed by someone, or… did you possess someone else’s body?” Zongzheng Wuyou stared tightly into her eyes, unwilling to miss even the slightest expression in them.
Man Yao’s heart shook. In that instant, she nearly forgot to breathe. Had he begun to test her?
“The weather is truly fine today.” She suddenly turned her head and looked out the window, changing the subject without the slightest warning.
Zongzheng Wuyou narrowed his phoenix eyes, his thick brows creasing almost imperceptibly. He did not respond to her words, nor did he continue the previous topic. He simply kept looking at her like that. Only after quite a while did he slowly straighten, walk to the window, and open it, making the room grow bright and spacious.
He stood before the window with his back to Man Yao, hands clasped behind him. Man Yao looked at his back. In the sunlight, it carried a touch of coldness, and a hint of loneliness.
He spoke, his voice restored to normal. “Why did you have someone come find this prince? On what basis were you so certain this prince would save you?”
Man Yao replied, “I wasn’t certain whether Your Highness would come. I only knew that the only one who could take me out of prison was Your Highness.”
“Why?” Zongzheng Wuyou still did not turn back.
Outside the window, flowers bloomed in clusters, branches flourished with dense leaves, and blue water reflected the azure sky. Man Yao draped on an outer robe, got out of bed, and slowly walked to his side. Looking at his flawless profile, she smiled lightly and said, “Because you knew I wasn’t the murderer. And also because you are… especially fond of chess.”
When one met a worthy opponent, admiration naturally arose. Besides, there was a secret on her that he wanted to know.
Zongzheng Wuyou cast her a sidelong glance, his eyes deep, his tone unreadable. “When a woman is too foolish, she makes one detest her. But when she is too clever, she makes one wary. You may, at the appropriate times… be a little more foolish.”
Man Yao smiled and said nothing, though in her heart she thought: Dealing with people like you, even the clever have difficulty coping. If I were foolish, I fear I would only be at others’ mercy. Unfortunately, she had no desire to be carved up like fish and meat. And so, looking into Zongzheng Wuyou’s eyes, the more she could not fathom him, the more she reminded herself to remain clearheaded and keep her distance, to be cautious, and not to lightly trust anyone.
The air was utterly still.
They looked at each other. Two pairs of black pupils—one seemingly clear and bright, yet in truth flowing with intelligence; the other reflecting the warmth of sunlight, yet still as cold as a frigid pool. Man Yao wanted to look through Zongzheng Wuyou’s eyes and into the bottom of his heart. Zongzheng Wuyou, however, wanted to look through her body and pierce through to her soul.
Both were silent.
A gust of wind, from some unknown place, swept in a leaf that drifted between their locked gazes. Man Yao raised her hand, and the emerald leaf fell into her jade-white palm. She lowered her eyes and smiled lightly. In a daze, Zongzheng Wuyou felt an impulse to hold that leaf together with that hand. He subconsciously turned his head away, his gaze drifting out the window, unable to settle on any one place.
He said, “You are the most cautious woman this prince has ever met.”
Man Yao said, “I am cautious because Your Highness has never treated me with candor.” Of course, she had never expected someone like him to treat her with candor.
Zongzheng Wuyou looked back, somewhat surprised. Man Yao continued, “Someone once said I was like a mirror. Whatever is reflected in the mirror, that is how I will be.”
“A mirror?” Zongzheng Wuyou repeated, then smiled. “By saying that, does it not become this prince’s fault?”
“I wouldn’t dare. I merely wish to live a few more years.” Man Yao met his gaze calmly. She did not know what he would think, but those were indeed her sincere words.
Zongzheng Wuyou fixed his gaze on her for a long while more, the light in his eyes shifting, deep and uncertain. In the end, he suddenly took her hand and said to her with natural composure, “Your body has only just recovered. Rest more.”
Man Yao instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but he held it tightly. His palm was so strong, his gaze so gentle, that she involuntarily followed him back to the bedside and let him help her lie down. She still could not adapt to his sudden transformation.
“What, still not used to it?” Zongzheng Wuyou still held her hand. Seeing her puzzled, contemplative expression, he smiled and asked.
Man Yao’s gaze wandered over his face. It was not that she was unused to it—it was that she was completely at a loss. His tenderness had come far too strangely!
“Your Highness…” She was still choosing her words when he domineeringly pressed his fingertip against her lips. He said, “When no one is around in the future, you may call this prince by name.”
He spoke seriously, in a tone that allowed no argument. Then his voice softened again as he said, “You’ll grow used to it slowly. Ah Man, you… rest first. I’ll come see you again this afternoon.” He released her hand. Before she could speak again, he had already turned and left the room. After leaving, Zongzheng Wuyou’s lips curved slightly. Where no one could see, he hooked them into a wicked smile. Perhaps becoming accustomed to a woman was not as difficult as he had imagined.
The midday meal was sumptuous, but only Man Yao ate. She had no appetite and merely took a couple of bites at random. She wondered how Ling’er and the others were doing now.
“Master, Master—” Speak of the devil, and the devil arrives. Before she had even set down her chopsticks, Ling’er had already rushed into the room and lunged straight to the front of her bed, asking nervously, “Master, did they bully you?”
Man Yao shook her head. Seeing a swollen, bruised purplish lump on Ling’er’s forehead, she said in alarm, “You’re injured?” It must have happened when Ling’er had tried to follow her as she was taken away, only to be shoved by the jailers and hit the wall.
Ling’er touched her swollen forehead and said without concern, “Seeing that Master is fine, I can rest easy. It’s all because I’m useless. I couldn’t protect Master, and even made Master worry about me.”
Warmth spread through Man Yao’s heart, and she felt somewhat apologetic. In a gentle voice, she said, “I was the one who implicated you…”
Zongzheng Wuyou stood outside the window, quietly watching the mistress and maid inside. The expression in his narrowed phoenix eyes shifted several times, yet remained unreadable. He patiently waited for them to finish speaking before ordering someone to take Ling’er away to have medicine applied and rest. Only then did he enter the room.
“Your people have all been released. For the time being, stay here. As for… lifting the seal on the tea garden, give this prince some time. I will go speak to the emperor.”
It would be false to say she was not grateful. For someone like Zongzheng Wuyou to do this much for her was already not easy.
“Thank you!” Man Yao thanked him sincerely. After a pause, she smiled and added, “Wuyou.”
Zongzheng Wuyou’s eyes suddenly brightened, and his smile was exceedingly beautiful. “Seeing that your complexion is much better, are you interested in… playing a game of chess with me?”
He said “me,” not “this prince,” and he was also asking for her opinion, no longer using that tone from before that permitted no resistance. Man Yao was startled, then gladly agreed. “All right.”
They put on their robes and sat by the window. As before, she took the red pieces and he the black, each side returning to its place. Before making the first move, Zongzheng Wuyou thought for a moment, then said to her in a light, unhurried tone, “Ah Man, let’s play a game.”
Man Yao asked curiously, “What game?”
Zongzheng Wuyou looked into her eyes and said, “Whoever captures one of the other’s pieces may ask a question. No matter what the question is, it must be answered, and no lies are allowed. How about it? Do you dare play?”
The hand with which Man Yao was toying with a chess piece paused slightly before she slowly lifted her head. Across from her, those eyes were as deep as a secluded pool. Calculation still remained in them, yet they were very candid. Man Yao knew his intentions, but she still agreed. Since their chess skills were evenly matched, this way of playing could be considered fair. It was better than the two of them continuing to guess at each other like this. Besides, he had rescued the people in her garden, which could also be counted as having shown sincerity.
In the entire room, there was only the shallow breathing of the two of them. The courtyard was empty, very quiet.
When the first red piece was captured, Zongzheng Wuyou’s gaze burned bright, and he asked his first question. “You… come from another world. What is the era of that world called?”
He asked directly enough. In truth, these were two questions, merely combined into one by him.
Man Yao did not mind. She answered, “The twenty-first century.”
Though he had long since known the answer, hearing it spoken from her own mouth still shook Zongzheng Wuyou’s heart. The light in his eyes changed several times, yet one could not tell whether it was sorrow or joy.
When it was Man Yao’s turn, she thought for a moment before asking, “Your mother was also from the twenty-first century?”
Likewise, one sentence asked more than one question.
“How do you know it wasn’t me?” Zongzheng Wuyou was somewhat curious.
Man Yao gave him a faint look and lowered her eyes as she answered, “If it were you, you would have reacted the moment the second tea menu was delivered into your hands, instead of continuing to test me cautiously all along.”
Zongzheng Wuyou nodded, inwardly sighing at the delicacy of her mind, and asked again, “Then how did you determine it was my mother?”
Man Yao smiled. “The same as you before—by guessing. In fact, you were also not certain whether I was like you, merely someone who knew a person who had crossed over from that world.”
“You are very clever.” Zongzheng Wuyou could not help praising her. When dealing with this woman, rather than exhausting one’s thoughts, it was better to be a little simpler.
“You already praised me with that sentence this morning.” Man Yao picked up a piece and said, “Next question.”
Zongzheng Wuyou asked, “How did you come to this world?”
The hand with which Man Yao held the chess piece trembled slightly. This time, she did not answer so quickly. Zongzheng Wuyou did not hurry her either, only waited quietly. After quite a while, she slowly spoke. “I died, so I came.” An answer that could not have been simpler. Her tone was flat, and it sounded as if there was no fluctuation of emotion, but the length of her silence had already explained everything.
She leaned her head against the window railing. Outside, the wind suddenly rose, blowing in and lifting her silk-like black hair to dance before her eyes, as though dyeing her vision with ink.
Through the fine strands of hair, Zongzheng Wuyou saw the corners of her lips lift, carrying a deep shade of mockery accompanied by an unspeakable sorrow. He raised his hand and brushed aside the long hair blocking her sight. Before her eyes, the world suddenly brightened. Within inches was his flawlessly handsome face.
“How did you die?” He suddenly very much wanted to know the answer. His hand still rested by her cheek, not withdrawn, yet making no other movement.
Man Yao turned her face away, lowered her eyes, and said faintly, “That is another question. It is my turn to ask you. Your mother… how did she pass away in this world?”
As if she had touched a land mine, Zongzheng Wuyou abruptly withdrew his hand, and his originally calm face instantly turned cold and severe. Man Yao frowned slightly, yet still said lightly, “You may choose not to answer this question. Consider it… an exchange for you not asking how I died.”
Everyone had painful matters they did not wish to mention. She had no intention of digging into others’ privacy, nor did she want to be forced to speak of things she did not wish to say.
Zongzheng Wuyou glanced at her, tossed aside his chess piece, and stood up. He faced the window and remained silent for a long time. Man Yao still leaned against the window railing, staring fixedly at the disrupted endgame before her, silent and unmoving.
After who knew how long, Zongzheng Wuyou finally spoke again, his tone low and slow. It seemed plain, yet faint sorrow circled within it. He asked, “How can one go to your world? If someone who came from there dies unexpectedly in this world, can they still go back?”
“I don’t know.” Man Yao answered decisively. So this was the answer Zongzheng Wuyou most wanted to know? Unfortunately, she truly did not know. She had not deliberately searched for a way back. In that world, there was nothing worth lingering over.
Zongzheng Wuyou frowned and looked back at her strangely. He asked, “Have you never thought of returning to your original world? Would you not miss your parents and family? I heard that world is peaceful and beautiful, that everyone can live simply and happily. There is no struggle for imperial power, no schemes and intrigues, nor are three wives and four concubines permitted. Everyone treats each other equally. It can be called perfect.”
Man Yao, however, laughed, and her laughter was extremely mocking. “I thought you did not believe in the word perfect! In my eyes, there is no world that is perfect… Human nature is greedy, chasing fame and profit. That can never be avoided. Although that world has no struggle for imperial power, in the world of commerce… deception, treachery, schemes, and calculations are everywhere! Monogamy is nothing more than a system! Since ancient times, men… have loved the new and tired of the old, been fickle and ungrateful. For their own selfish desires, they disregard others’ feelings and even their lives. Even toward a wife who once shared hardship and comfort with them, at the juncture of life and death, they can abandon her without a care and go enjoy pleasure with a lover… Human nature is simply like this. Whether things are beautiful or not lies only in the human heart.”
She had said so much in one breath, and unexpectedly felt quite relieved. She had not imagined that in this other world, she would still be able to speak with someone about her previous life. Turning around, she leaned her back against the wall, tilted her head slightly back, and looked at the carved beams overhead. Her gaze was desolate and still, her tone cold to the extreme.
Zongzheng Wuyou was slightly surprised. Thinking carefully, her words were not without reason. Human nature was inherently like this; it was the same wherever one went. What differed were people’s thoughts and beliefs. But…
He suddenly moved before her, bent down, and looked into her beautiful yet dimmed eyes. In an incomparably gentle tone, he said to her, “There are exceptions to everything. Not every man is as unbearable as you say!”
His eyes were gentle after their coldness had faded, his voice low and elegant like heavenly music, carrying a bewitching power one could not resist. It made her heart tremble for no reason. Yet she smiled and said, “I once thought that too, but fate gave me a lesson sufficient for me to remember for the rest of my life…” The sudden sorrow emerging in the depths of her clear eyes was like a thorn that had accidentally brushed across his heart, bringing a fine, fragmented pain. Before she could finish speaking, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed her lips. For some reason, he did not want to hear those words.
Different from the wild fierceness in the garden, and different from the deliberate teasing of the morning, this kiss carried a reassuring gentleness, as though he were kissing a wound he hoped would soon heal, making one give rise to the illusion of feeling affection. Man Yao uncontrollably closed her eyes, allowing herself to feel this momentary beauty, even if it was only an illusion.
Zongzheng Wuyou sensed her relaxation. Holding her face in his hands, he kissed her deeper and deeper, unable to stop himself, until he felt she was about to suffocate. Only then did he release her, frowning as he turned his head away, his breathing heavy.
Man Yao turned her head in the opposite direction, drawing in great mouthfuls of air, her breathing hurried, her heart pounding fiercely.
The afternoon sunlight was very warm. A fine breeze blew gently, stirring the strands of their hair until they tangled together. For a moment, neither of them spoke. They simply maintained that posture, unmoving for a very long time.