The corner of Zongzheng Wuyou’s mouth twitched. He narrowed his eyes and looked at him coldly. The Ninth Prince forced a grin and hurriedly said, “Seventh Brother, you… take your time and enjoy. I’ll be going first.” With that, he slipped out like a wisp of smoke, closing the door behind him, and vanished without a trace.
The woman’s eyes curved into smiling crescents, and her heart bloomed with delight. She had been brought in by the Ninth Prince over the wall with her eyes covered. Though she did not know their identities, judging from the furnishings in the room and the extraordinary bearing of the man before her, she could be certain they were no ordinary people. Secretly, she began to make her calculations.
Zongzheng Wuyou looked at the seductive, alluring woman walking toward him, yet what appeared before his eyes was the woman in the pool—her graceful, curving figure, her peerlessly beautiful and otherworldly face, her clear, refined air that was indifferent yet carried a restrained pride… Though she had shown no coquetry, nor made any provocative gesture, she had made him feel an impulse he could not control, made him want to hold her in his arms and never let go…
“My lord…” A coquettish voice tinged with complaint sounded by his ear. The woman had already reached his side, and discovering that he was lost in thought, she could not help feeling rather vexed.
Zongzheng Wuyou came back to himself. Looking at the woman pressing toward him, a sudden irritation rose in his heart.
“My lord… let this servant help you undress.” The woman’s soul-stealing, bone-melting voice sounded beside his ear. Her breath was fragrant as orchids, her eyes languid and seductive, filled with the utmost provocation. One hand came to rest on his broad, solid shoulder, her boneless fingers brushing, now there and now not, against his neck. Her other hand pressed against his firm chest and rubbed lightly, as she was about to sit in his lap.
Zongzheng Wuyou frowned. Disgust instantly surged in his heart. By instinct, he wanted to twist the woman’s neck and throw her out the door, but thinking of his own condition, he could only force down the revulsion in his heart. He caught the woman by the waist and, without the slightest pity, pressed her down onto the floor.
With a thud, the back of the woman’s head struck the ground. She cried out in shock and nearly fainted. Zongzheng Wuyou paid her no heed at all. Suddenly, those cruel images hidden deep within his memories leapt out in his mind, making his breath catch. His movements stopped abruptly, and his body stiffened like iron.
How could the woman beneath him know his state of mind? She only wanted to use her body to quickly conquer this extraordinary man before her. She raised her hand coquettishly, about to slip it inside his clothes. Zongzheng Wuyou’s expression darkened. He seized her wrist, and waves churned in his chest, so violently that he actually felt the urge to vomit.
He hurriedly rose, his movements incomparably swift, and turned his back. To the woman lying on the floor behind him, he coldly spat out a single word: “Scram!”
The woman was stunned by his icy aura and did not recover for a long while. When she finally came back to herself, how could she be willing to leave just like this? Since her debut, no man had ever escaped from the palm of her hand. Unwilling, she knelt and hugged Zongzheng Wuyou’s leg. Zongzheng Wuyou’s thick brows drew together. Without even looking, he kicked her out the door and called outside, “Leng Yan. Take her away. I do not wish to see this woman again.”
Leng Yan appeared and dragged away the still-dazed woman.
Prince Li’s residence once again sank into silence.
Zongzheng Wuyou stood before the window, his face pale, brows tightly knitted, his chest rising and falling without cease. He lifted his head and quietly gazed at the dark sky, wondering why, when they were both women, the feeling they gave him could be so vastly different. Could it be that he… had to have her?
The garden reeked heavily of blood. Corpses lay sprawled everywhere, the place a scene of utter ruin. Manyao stood in the middle of a pool of blood, her wet clothes clinging to her body, water still dripping from her hair. She stared blankly at this place that had once seemed like a paradise beyond the world, now trampled into such a state, and her heart ached terribly. Forget it. She would return to the princess’s residence. This place was no longer safe.
She led a horse out of the tea garden. A cold wind blew over, and her body trembled several times. At once she felt top-heavy and light-footed, her limbs weak, utterly unable to mount. She felt somewhat annoyed. If she had not feared Zongzheng Wuyou suspecting her identity, she would never have sent both Xiao Sha and Ling’er away. A woman disguising herself as a man alone could still be explained, but if he were to see through Xiao Sha’s disguise and Ling’er’s cross-dressing as well, then it would be impossible for him not to grow suspicious.
In the end, Manyao gave up on riding and chose to walk. Fortunately, the princess’s residence was also in the western city and was not too far away. As long as she returned before daybreak, no one should notice.
She sighed and had only walked a short distance forward when she suddenly felt someone following her from behind. Her heart startled, but she did not turn back. She thought to herself: Now this is trouble. I can’t return to the princess’s residence, and I can’t go back to the garden either.
The road she was taking was remote. If anything happened again, she could call to heaven and receive no answer, cry to earth and get no response. What was she to do?
Her head was somewhat dizzy and heavy, her body soft and weak. The wind blew against her face, and the branches on either side swayed and struck one another, giving off rustling sounds that echoed through the silent night sky. It was as if there were footsteps everywhere, very, very light, yet they surrounded her in the center. She raised a hand to her forehead; it was already burning hot. And the person hidden in the dark was slowly drawing closer to her.
The aura of danger filled the dense night and shrouded her heart. She could not help growing tense, the hairs on her body standing on end, her body like a bowstring drawn taut, stretched to the point of snapping.
Suddenly, from the distance came a cry of “Hyah!” A carriage was speeding in this direction. Manyao’s eyes lit up. No longer caring about anything else, she rushed into the middle of the road and blocked the carriage’s path.
“Whoa—!!” The carriage was forced to stop. A coachman in his forties pointed his whip at her and shouted with a fierce expression, “Who are you? How dare you intercept our carriage? Are you tired of living?”
Manyao quickly cupped her hands and said, “Good sir, I was traveling here from the western mountain when I accidentally fell from my horse on the way. I fell into the water and caught a chill, delaying my return home. I hope you might make things convenient for me. If you can give me a ride and let me down ahead where there is a medical clinic, I will be endlessly grateful. In the future, I will surely repay your kindness.”
Her voice was hoarse, with a thick nasal tone. One could tell at once that her claim of catching a chill was no lie, and her tone was extremely sincere. The coachman hesitated for a moment, then shouted impolitely, “We’re hurrying to the eastern city and have no time to bother with you. Besides, in the middle of the night, who knows where there’s a medical clinic? Move aside! If you delay my master’s important business, I’m afraid you won’t be able to bear the consequences!”
Manyao froze. Judging from his tone, this was no ordinary person’s carriage. She wondered what sort of figure was sitting inside. They were going to the eastern city? A sudden idea flashed through her mind, and she smiled. “Good sir, the place I was originally heading to is also in the eastern city. It happens to be on the way. Please help me and take me near Prince Li’s residence.”
Anyone with status would have to give Prince Li some face, wouldn’t they?
The coachman was visibly startled. He looked her up and down, then asked, “You’re from Prince Li’s residence?”
Manyao replied, “Prince Li is a friend of mine.” Having played a game of chess with him, she could be considered a chess friend, right? Even if not, she had to borrow the name first and leave this place.
“A friend? Have you burned yourself stupid with fever? I’ve never heard of anyone daring to claim themselves a friend of Prince Li! Who are you trying to fool?” The coachman looked at her with great suspicion and raised his whip, about to strike the horse. Manyao’s heart tightened with anxiety, and her head grew even dizzier. Just as she was wondering what to do, the person inside the carriage suddenly spoke.
“Old Ma, let her come up.” It was a gentle and refined male voice. Manyao was overjoyed to hear it and was soon helped into the carriage by the coachman, who had received the order.
Inside the carriage, everything was pitch-black, without the slightest light. Manyao sat opposite the man. She could not see his face, yet she could clearly feel his gaze resting on her the entire time. Out of courtesy, she cupped her hands and thanked him, then said apologetically, “I have troubled you greatly today. I hope you will not take offense, my lord.”
The man smiled gently and returned the courtesy. “When traveling away from home, everyone encounters inconvenient moments. Miss, you… need not take it to heart.”
Manyao was startled. Inside this carriage where one could not even see one’s fingers before one’s face, he was actually so certain she was a woman! The man seemed to see her confusion and smiled. “Although you have caught a chill, making your voice low and hoarse, difficult to distinguish as male or female, your breath carries a faint, elegant fragrance, and your figure is slender. Therefore, I made a bold judgment.”
In the darkness, one’s senses became exceptionally sharp. Manyao smiled in relief. “My lord has a remarkably meticulous mind. This humble woman admires it.”
The man smiled faintly and said no more. Manyao’s head grew increasingly heavy and clouded, her whole body burning hot. She could barely sit steadily anymore. Just then, the carriage jolted, and she could not control herself. She toppled headfirst toward the carriage door, about to fall out of the carriage, yet she did not even have the strength to cry out.
At that exact moment, a long, powerful hand caught her arm in time and pulled her back into the carriage. Her whole body rebounded into the man’s chest. The man’s warm breath brushed beside her ear as he said softly, “Careful, miss.”
“Thank you, my lord!” Manyao thanked him awkwardly and struggled to rise. The man supported her by the shoulders and settled her on the inner side of the carriage, lest she fall again. Manyao smiled gratefully. Her consciousness gradually blurred, and in the end she slumped into the man’s arms and fell into a deep sleep.
In the darkness, the man’s gaze was unlike before. Smiling, he raised a hand and stroked her brows and eyes. To the person driving outside, he instructed, “Go to the eastern outskirts inn.”
When Manyao awoke, it was already the evening of the next day. She was in an unfamiliar room. The furnishings were simple, but every object was exquisite and carefully chosen. Even an inconspicuous blue-and-white porcelain vase at the corner of the table was worth no small sum.
The surroundings were very quiet. She vaguely recalled that in her daze, someone had fed her medicine, after which she had slept all the way until now. She touched her forehead with her hand. The fever had already receded, and her body was no longer so uncomfortable. It seemed that bowl of medicine had taken effect. It must have been the man in the carriage who had invited a physician for her! But why had her inner strength still not recovered?
Manyao sat up on the bed with her brows furrowed. At the head of the bed was a clean set of clothes, folded neatly there, the same plain white as what she had worn before. She rose and put them on, discovering they fit perfectly.
The courtyard outside was very large, and not a single figure could be seen. She felt slightly puzzled when she suddenly heard the sound of a zither drifting over, light and pleasant to the ear. She followed the sound.
At the end of a winding cobblestone path was a clear, emerald bamboo grove. In the center of the grove was an open space. Three tiers of stone steps led upward, and the clean ground was smooth as jade. A man sat cross-legged with his back to her, the zither music flowing from beneath his fingertips. The afterglow of the setting sun poured over the entire bamboo grove, its soft orange light accompanied by the faint fragrance of bamboo brought by the breeze, and by the distant, clear yet subtly sorrowful zither melody. It was enough to make one intoxicated, one’s thoughts growing dazed without realizing it.
“You’re awake.” Once the man finished the piece, he rested both hands flat atop the zither strings and raised his eyes to look at her. His gaze was gentle, as though he were greeting an old acquaintance—warm and casual.
His brows were like sword peaks, his bright eyes like stars, his crimson lips thinly carved, his features sharply defined. He was truly extraordinarily handsome, the kind one could never forget after a single glance. And yet, those features should have seemed cold and stern, but because of the warmth in his eyes, they instead gave him an air of refined gentleness and clarity. She looked at the man’s handsome face and suddenly felt it was somewhat familiar, as though she had seen him somewhere before, yet she could not say where.
“Thank you, my lord, for helping me.” Manyao thanked him with great sincerity.
The man smiled. “It was merely a small effort. There is no need for courtesy. Is your health better now, miss?”
Manyao walked forward and sat opposite the man in the same posture. With a faint smile, she said, “I am no longer in serious trouble. Thank you for your concern, my lord. Please forgive me for troubling you.”
The man said, “Seeing you unconscious and unable to wake, I took the liberty of bringing you here. I only hope you will not blame me for acting without permission.” He was so refined, gentle, and modest that looking at him felt like bathing in a spring breeze.
Manyao hurriedly shook her head. “How could you say that, my lord? You acted out of kindness. How could I be so ungrateful as to fail to know good from bad?”
Besides, she had never truly intended to go to Prince Li’s residence in the first place.
The man smiled and gazed at Manyao, who was dressed in men’s attire. Seeing that her beautiful eyes were clear, with wisdom hidden within them, and that her bearing was elegant and otherworldly, possessing an indescribably moving charm, his gaze brightened. He slowly smiled and said, “Since that is the case, there is no need for us to speak such formalities. It only makes us seem distant and vulgar.”
Those words suited her exactly. In truth, she did not like so many empty courtesies. She immediately nodded.
“Might I ask how I should address you, miss?” the man asked.
Manyao was slightly stunned. She had quite a few names, but none of them seemed particularly suitable to say aloud. Seeing her pause without speaking, the man smiled unconcernedly. “If it is inconvenient, you need not answer. I wonder, miss, do you know how to play the zither?”
This person was very skilled at reading expressions and was considerate as well. She had only hesitated slightly, yet he changed the subject, easily avoiding an awkward situation. Manyao smiled and said, “I know a little, but I would not dare show off my meager skill before you.”
The former owner of this body had been proficient in the zither. To avoid revealing a flaw, she had once secretly practiced it, only to find that when she played, it came to her with surprising ease, as if she herself had always known how. That feeling was very strange.
Manyao thought back to the zither melody she had heard on the way here just now. After a brief moment of thought, she said, “What piece were you playing just now, my lord? It sounded distant and light, fresh and pleasing, yet it carried a hidden sense of vicissitude.”
The man was startled and gazed at her with considerable surprise. His starry eyes shone, appreciation in his gaze. “To be able to hear the hidden vicissitude beneath the melody’s lightness, your zither skill must be far from ordinary. This piece is called ‘Past Dust,’ composed by me seven years ago.”
He looked to be only around twenty. Seven years ago, he would have been merely thirteen. For a thirteen-year-old child to compose such an extraordinary piece was truly rare. Manyao could not help praising him. “Your attainment in the zither is admirable, my lord! Only… given your age at the time, how did you come to possess such a profound sense of vicissitude?”
The gentle smile at the corner of the man’s lips suddenly froze. Manyao immediately realized she had misspoken and hurriedly smiled. “I merely asked casually. You need not answer, my lord.” The man was startled again, secretly thinking that this woman’s insight was truly sharp. He had not yet shown any obvious reaction, had not even had time to hesitate, yet she had already seen that he did not wish to delve into that question.
Manyao raised her head and glanced at the darkening sky, then stood and cupped her hands. “I am deeply grateful for your rescue this time, my lord. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will certainly repay you generously. It is already late today, and I should take my leave.”
The man also stood, his expression still gentle. “While you were unconscious, you did not eat for an entire day. I have already had someone prepare dinner. Why not eat before leaving?”
Hearing him say this, Manyao suddenly felt her stomach was empty. But when she thought of how she did not know what had become of the tea garden now, and how Xiao Sha and Ling’er would surely have been shocked when they entered that morning, and might still be looking for her somewhere at this very moment, she lost all appetite. Thus she said, “I appreciate your kindness, my lord, but I still have many matters to attend to. Let us part here today. Until we meet again!”
Seeing the faint worry between her brows, the man did not try to keep her. “Since that is so, it would not be appropriate for me to force you to stay. This is the eastern outskirts inn, still some distance from the bustling city. I will have someone prepare a carriage for you at once.”
Manyao had thought this was the man’s residence, never expecting it to be an inn! It was likely not an ordinary inn, however. Otherwise, how could it have such a spacious and elegant garden, and such exquisite, carefully appointed rooms? Manyao smiled and thanked him, but did not ask for his name. She believed that if it were convenient, he would naturally tell her of his own accord. The man gazed in the direction where the carriage disappeared and smiled softly. “As expected, she is a perceptive woman. We… will meet again very soon!”
Manyao got off the carriage once they reached the eastern city district. After thinking it over, she still decided to first go to the tea garden to take a look. But as soon as she arrived at the entrance of the tea garden, on the originally quiet banks of Tianshui Lake, dozens of government yamen guards suddenly appeared and surrounded her completely.
“Around twenty years old, dressed in white, with features even more beautiful than a woman’s by far… The owner of Longyue Tea Garden, Young Master Liyue, must be him! Seize him.” After sizing her up from head to toe, the leading commander of the yamen guards gave the order.
Manyao’s heart startled. Frowning, she asked, “My lord, what crime have I committed?”
The man replied, “Last night, Prince Li was attacked at Longyue Tea Garden. His Majesty was enraged and ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate the matter thoroughly. Anyone connected to it is to be arrested and brought to the Ministry of Justice for questioning. Take him away!”