Jiang Yunshu’s voice was slightly hoarse: “Lord Xie?”
Xie Lin’s gaze fell on their tightly intertwined hands: “Did Your Ladyship have a nightmare?”
Jiang Yunshu quickly withdrew her hand: “Yes. I dreamed of those palace concubines turning into vengeful ghosts, coming to claim my life.”
Xie Lin smiled: “Does Your Ladyship believe ghosts exist in this world?”
Jiang Yunshu hesitated, unsure how to answer. In her modern life, she had been a staunch materialist. But now that she had transmigrated—since souls truly existed—perhaps people really could become ghosts after death?
Xie Lin: “Even if ghosts do exist in this world, Your Ladyship need not fear them.”
“When they were alive, they were no match for you. How could they possibly surpass you as ghosts?”
Xie Lin was the true one who had crawled out of purgatory.
The dead haunted his dreams as vengeful spirits.
So every night, Xie Lin slaughtered them anew in his dreams.
How utterly… tiresome.
Xie Lin’s words left Jiang Yunshu at a loss again. She didn’t think herself particularly remarkable—unless being adept at clinging to powerful figures counted?
Fortunately, she didn’t have to answer. Xie Lin suddenly lifted the sleeve of her robe, realizing she was wearing his sleeping garments.
Xie Lin’s sleeping robes were far too large for Jiang Yunshu. She had rolled up the pant legs several folds, yet they still swallowed most of her feet, leaving only her toes exposed.
Her nails, meticulously trimmed before entering the palace, were smooth and rounded, their faint pink hue accentuating the delicate fairness of her jade-like feet.
Xie Lin slowly averted his gaze, meeting her face instead: “Who allowed you to wear my sleeping robes?”
Jiang Yunshu immediately apologized: “This humble one begs your forgiveness, Lord Xie.”
In truth, it was Xiazhi and Xiaoman who had insisted she wear Xie Lin’s robes—likely under some misunderstanding about their relationship. But Jiang Yunshu couldn’t possibly shift blame onto two little girls barely seven or eight years old.
She lowered her voice: “I had no sleeping robes of my own, so I borrowed a set you seldom wear…”
Surely she couldn’t sleep naked?
Given Lord Xie’s fastidiousness, he’d surely find that intolerable.
Xie Lin frowned: “Keep this set.”
Then a more pressing realization struck him: “Did you bathe today?”
Jiang Yunshu hurriedly replied: “I bathed twice today.”
Xie Lin’s eyes turned icy: “Where did you bathe?”
Jiang Yunshu: …Why did this feel like another life-or-death question?
Not daring to lie, she whispered: “The bathing chamber.”
Sure enough, Xie Lin’s expression darkened instantly: “Who permitted you to use my bathing chamber?”
Jiang Yunshu nearly wept. Hadn’t it been him?
Last night, Xie Lin himself had carried her into that chamber. That was why she and the maids had assumed it was now accessible to her.
“This humble one will never use it again. If it displeases you, I can scrub the pool clean for you?”
Xie Lin: “No need for you to scrub.”
A pampered noble daughter wouldn’t know the first thing about cleaning. Even if she tried, Xie Lin would only find her efforts inadequate.
After Jiang Yunshu’s bath the previous night, Xie Lin had ordered servants to scour the pool.
But today, unaware she’d used it again, he couldn’t be sure if it had been properly cleaned since.
Though the pool was fed by flowing water, the mere thought of bathing where Jiang Yunshu had been made his skin crawl.
Xie Lin pinched her chin between two fingers: “For what purpose did I spare your life?”
“To eat my food, use my bath, and occupy half my bed?”
Jiang Yunshu inwardly scoffed. The all-powerful Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord actually begrudged her a few bites of food?
And as for the bed—hadn’t he been the one to confine her to his chambers, refusing to allocate even a single room in the vast Weiyang Palace to her?
Of course, these thoughts remained locked in her heart. Outwardly, she demurred: “This humble one is eternally grateful for your mercy. I wish only to serve you, Lord Xie.”
Xie Lin glanced down at his fingers.
“Oh? Yet last night, it was I who served you, was it not?”
Jiang Yunshu’s face burned crimson as memories of the previous night flooded back. He wasn’t wrong.
Stammering, she offered: “Tonight… tonight I’ll serve you instead.”
Her mind blanked. Though she’d read her share of risqué novels in her past life, none had covered how to please a eunuch…
Tentatively, she reached for Xie Lin’s belt.
He abruptly caught her wrist.
“Since Your Ladyship lacks experience, allow me to instruct you.”
Xie Lin refused her touch on his robes, leisurely removing the white jade prayer beads he always wore.
“These beads are my treasured possession. Last night, while attending to you, one cracked.”
His tone was regretful as he handed the strand to Jiang Yunshu.
She carefully accepted it. The eighteen beads, each carved from flawless white jade, were beyond priceless.
She’d long noticed Xie Lin’s fondness for jade—especially white jade.
The jade bed, the red jade daybed, the white jade bathing pool… Even the grandest pieces were exquisite, let alone these beads.
Holding them to the light, she spotted a hairline fracture on one bead.
She recalled how Xie Lin had discarded the strand by the pool’s edge the night before, the clinking of jade against jade…
That must have been when the damage occurred.
Though the beads weren’t hers, the flaw pained her nonetheless.
But why was he telling her this?
Penniless, she could never compensate for such a treasure.
Reading her confusion, Xie Lin murmured: “If Your Ladyship truly wishes to serve me…”
His gaze skimmed over her like a dragonfly skimming water.
Though she’d never heard of such a thing, his look conveyed his meaning instantly.
Had Xie Lin not gripped her hand, she might have flung the beads away!
“N-no… that’s impossible…”
The beads, freshly scrubbed twice by Xie Lin, glistened with droplets. Their first touch against her skin drew a shiver.
So cold!
“Are you cold? These beads are carved from frost jade. Once parted from flesh, they chill to the bone.”
“You’ll have to endure…”
Though his words spoke of hardship, his actions told another story.
Jiang Yunshu’s head pressed against the jade bed’s headboard—nowhere left to retreat.
Outside, spring rain pattered against the window lattice. Damp, flower-scented breezes drifted through the half-open panes…
Later, Jiang Yunshu rose to call for water, but Xie Lin changed his mind: “Your Ladyship may use the bathing chamber… Shall I carry you there?”
Jiang Yunshu: “No need. I can walk.”
Yet in her haste, her legs buckled upon standing. Had Xie Lin not steadied her, she’d have collapsed.
Under his amused gaze, she fled.
As she bathed, her heart pounded, braced for further torment—but this time, her fears proved unfounded.
Jiang Yunshu returned safely to her bedchamber, not daring to look at Xie Lin. She quickly lay down on one side of the bed, wrapping herself tightly from head to toe in the embroidered quilt.
It was a bit hot… but she could endure it!
Closing her eyes, exhaustion soon carried her into slumber.
Unbeknownst to her, after she fell asleep, Xie Lin murmured softly, "Covered like this, she’ll struggle to breathe and have nightmares again."
Then, with his right hand adorned by a white jade prayer bead bracelet, he gently lifted a corner of the quilt away from her face.
