Xie Lin stayed with Jiang Yunshu at the Xie Residence for one night before leaving the next day.
Jiang Yunshu was utterly surprised. She had assumed Xie Lin would stay with her at the Xie Residence for a long time, at least until they weathered this tumultuous period.
Xie Lin wore a helpless expression. "I have meetings and discussions every day. If I were to receive people here daily, how would that be any different from us living together in the palace?"
Soon, everyone would know that Xie Lin and Jiang Yunshu were staying together at the Xie Residence.
Only then did Jiang Yunshu realize that Xie Lin had always intended to hide her away safely, shielding her from danger.
Before arriving at the Xie Residence, Jiang Yunshu had made a detour to the imperial retreat outside the capital. Before returning to the palace, Xie Lin would also secretly leave the Xie Residence to return to the retreat, then make a grand show of his return to the palace.
This created the illusion that Xie Lin and Jiang Yunshu had gone to the retreat together, stayed for a few days, and then Xie Lin returned to the palace while Jiang Yunshu remained there.
This elaborate detour required considerable effort.
Most importantly, the long journey was fraught with potential dangers.
Jiang Yunshu gripped Xie Lin's wrist, unwilling to let go.
"Could I... return to the palace with you?" she asked cautiously.
Xie Lin smirked without warmth. "Then what was the point of all this trouble?"
Jiang Yunshu knew she was being unreasonable and slowly released his wrist.
Xie Lin's voice was cold, but the amusement in his eyes was unmistakable.
Thinking she couldn’t bear to part with him, he sighed and said, "The palace and the Xie Residence are so close. This servant will visit you in secret, my lady."
---
The first day apart from Xie Lin, Jiang Yunshu missed him.
The second day apart from Xie Lin, Jiang Yunshu missed him.
The third day apart from Xie Lin... Living alone was truly liberating, joyful, and exhilarating!
By now, Jiang Yunshu no longer felt the same nervousness around Xie Lin as before. Their hearts were aligned, and their interactions had become much more relaxed and natural.
Yet, the happiness of being together and the joy of having complete freedom were two entirely different things.
Living alone at the Xie Residence felt like a blissful vacation!
First, she indulged in all the foods she couldn’t eat when Xie Lin was around.
Xie Lin avoided all offal, so Jiang Yunshu feasted on hotpot for three straight days—tripe, pork aorta, duck blood, duck intestines... all her favorite hotpot ingredients!
The winter was bitterly cold, with howling winds outside, but inside the warm pavilion, she savored the steaming hotpot.
The broth bubbled and boiled, each bursting bubble releasing an intoxicating aroma.
Even after three days of hotpot, she wasn’t satisfied. Silky liver slices, tender stir-fried kidney flowers, sticky braised chicken feet... and crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside stinky tofu—she ate and ate!
Such unrestrained indulgence was a surefire way to gain weight. Fortunately, living alone at the Xie Residence meant no distractions, and she could dance as long as she pleased every day.
Balancing her feasting with increased exercise kept her from gaining a single pound.
Besides dancing, Jiang Yunshu also spent more time horseback riding. She discovered that riding, like dancing, required daily practice—otherwise, she’d feel the difference immediately.
Galloping freely at the Xie Residence was far more exhilarating than in the palace.
The young eunuch who tended to the horses, having accompanied Jiang Yunshu to the Xie Residence, remarked, "Zaoren seems to know the time. Every day, as your riding hour approaches, he grows restless with excitement. The moment he hears your footsteps, he’s overjoyed."
Jiang Yunshu stroked Zaoren’s head, and the horse happily pawed the ground.
Their bond deepened, and Jiang Yunshu fell more in love with the thrill of riding.
A few days later, Xie Lin found time to visit Jiang Yunshu. He stayed the night, his hands lingering on her waist. "In just a few days, my lady has changed so much..."
Absence makes the heart grow fonder—Jiang Yunshu had heard the saying, but now she truly understood its meaning.
She clutched Xie Lin’s wrist tightly, biting her lip as she gasped.
Xie Lin, breathing heavily, asked, "What does my lady wish of this servant?"
Jiang Yunshu couldn’t articulate her desires—her mind was blank.
But Xie Lin didn’t need her to say it. He knew her better than she knew herself.
By the time they returned from the bath chamber to the bedchamber, Jiang Yunshu could barely keep her eyes open. Yet, she remembered one question she wanted to ask. Eyes still closed, she murmured, "Lord Xie, may I ride outside the Xie Residence? Just around the perimeter... not too far..."
Xie Lin nodded. "Granted."
Empress Dowager Wu finally met with the Prince of Yanbei, allowing Xie Lin to trace the prince’s hideout outside the capital.
He was also close to uncovering the full extent of the Prince of Yanbei’s military strength.
And since no one knew Jiang Yunshu was staying at the Xie Residence—believing instead that she was at the imperial retreat—she remained safe.
Very few even knew the Xie Residence belonged to him. With guards accompanying her, riding around the estate was relatively secure.
Half-asleep, Jiang Yunshu felt Xie Lin’s fingers comb through her hair. "Soon... it’ll all be over..."
His voice was so soft and tender that she barely registered his words before drifting into dreams.
The next morning, Jiang Yunshu awoke to find Xie Lin already gone.
Lying in bed, she recalled the night’s passion—it felt like a fleeting dream.
Xie Lin had been incredibly busy lately, and to avoid prying eyes, he had arrived late at night and left before dawn.
It really did feel like a secret affair...
A faint smile touched her lips.
She lazed in bed until nearly noon before rising. In the afternoon, taking advantage of the clear weather, she went riding.
Remembering Xie Lin’s permission, she took Zaoren outside the Xie Residence for the first time.
Jiang Yunshu rode with exhilarating freedom, and Zaoren seemed just as thrilled.
From then on, she rode outside the estate every day.
The Xie Residence was heavily guarded, with no outsiders allowed near. Jiang Yunshu should have been perfectly safe—but perhaps the heavens envied her happiness too much.
One day, as she rode outside, disaster struck.
A group of assassins suddenly attacked. The guards swiftly engaged them, fighting while ushering Jiang Yunshu back to safety.
Though terrified, Jiang Yunshu remained eerily calm, quickly assessing the situation.
The guards couldn’t eliminate all the assassins, but they could protect her.
Yet, as if she had tempted fate, another wave of attackers appeared!
Jiang Yunshu was thrown over Zaoren’s back, her stomach pressed painfully against the saddle as the horse galloped away.
The violent jolting soon made her retch, and she vomited uncontrollably.
Her abductor, seemingly inexperienced, panicked at the sight.
Once they reached a secluded path, he stopped, bound her hands and feet, and gagged her.
Soon after, a carriage arrived, and Jiang Yunshu was shoved inside.
Jiang Yunshu's heart sank. Earlier, while on horseback, she had secretly dropped a few personal items, unsure if the bandits would notice or if Xie Lin's men would find the trail she left behind.
But now, bound and stuffed inside a carriage, she couldn’t even toss anything out.
The journey on horseback had been brief, but the carriage ride would surely be much longer… Would Xie Lin be able to send someone to find her?
She had memorized the route so far. Though she couldn’t see outside the carriage, she listened carefully to the sounds beyond, sensing every turn the vehicle made.
Silently, Jiang Yunshu kept track—counting each turn, estimating the direction and distance traveled.
As they passed through the city gates, she prayed the guards would notice something amiss. But the bandits had clearly bribed them, as the carriage was waved through without inspection.
After half a day’s travel, the carriage finally halted. Jiang Yunshu was shoved out, greeted by the sight of barren winter mountains.
She must be northwest of the capital, though with multiple mountains in that direction, she couldn’t pinpoint which one this was.
The second group of kidnappers was far smaller than the first. Some hadn’t even left the city—now, only four men surrounded her.
All four were young and strong, dressed in thin, tattered clothing.
The first group, in contrast, had worn fine garments. From this, Jiang Yunshu deduced they weren’t working together.
The first group had been numerous and wealthy, the second few and poor—yet the latter had somehow managed to snatch her from the former.
Had either group acted alone, Jiang Yunshu wouldn’t have been captured. How had two separate bands of kidnappers crossed paths at just the wrong moment?
What wretched luck!
---
At the mountain’s base, Jiang Yunshu was pulled from the carriage. The bandits untied her ankles and removed the gag. The wilderness was silent and deserted—no one to hear her cries, nowhere for her to run.
They shoved her uphill.
Her heart clenched. If they took her deep into the mountains, hiding her in some remote shack, Xie Lin would have even less chance of finding her.
"I—I’m going to be sick!" Jiang Yunshu gasped.
The bandits didn’t question it—she had already retched from the rough horseback ride earlier.
Disgusted, one of them pushed her aside. "Don’t puke on us!"
Her hands still bound, Jiang Yunshu staggered a few steps, nearly falling before catching herself against a bare winter tree.
Bent over, she dry-heaved violently.
Crack!
The branch beneath her weight snapped unexpectedly.
Startled, Jiang Yunshu barely had time to react before the broken wood sliced her arm, drawing blood.
Gritting her teeth, she pressed the wound against the broken branch, smearing blood onto it.
Then, with a frightened cry, she recoiled, pretending to stumble toward another tree—leaving traces of blood there too.
The bandits scowled at her bleeding arm. "What a nuisance!"
These pampered noblewomen were as clumsy as pigs. Who got injured just leaning against a tree?
"Old Third, clean the blood off the tree," one ordered, clearly intent on erasing any traces.
Jiang Yunshu’s stomach tightened. Had her effort been wasted?
Old Third marched to the second tree she’d touched, using a dagger to scrape away the bloodstained bark.
Old One glared at the exposed white wood beneath. "Are you stupid? That stands out even more!"
Old Third shrugged. "It’s just bare bark. The blood’s gone, isn’t it?"
Old One shot a glance at Jiang Yunshu, who was silently weeping in pain, then snapped, "Have you forgotten who we’ve kidnapped?"
"When the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord sends troops after her, they’ll comb every inch. Leave no trace!"
At the mention of the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord, Old One shuddered, his face paling with fear.
Jiang Yunshu noted this silently, piecing together clues about their identities.
All four spoke with the capital’s accent, confirming her earlier suspicion—they were locals.
Only those in the capital, who had witnessed the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord’s cruelty firsthand, would fear him so viscerally.
Yet she still couldn’t guess who they served—or why they’d taken her.
Shouldn’t they have targeted the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord instead?
He paraded openly between palace and residence, yet no one dared touch him. Meanwhile, she’d been quietly hiding in Xie Residence—how had they even found her?
Regret gnawed at her. She should’ve just stayed in the palace with him.
The kidnappers were inexperienced. Old One and Old Third bickered endlessly over the scraped bark, while Jiang Yunshu stayed silent, not daring to interfere.
Finally, Old One dug a pit, burying the bark and broken branches, then smeared dirt over the exposed white wood.
"Untie her hands."
To them, Jiang Yunshu was a helpless noblewoman—too inept to even lean against a tree without injury.
"She can’t climb bound like that. If she falls and dies, our eight hundred taels are gone."
Old Fourth hesitated. "What if she runs?"
Old One scoffed. "Run? Four grown men against one woman?"
Her bonds loosened, Jiang Yunshu was herded uphill, surrounded. She resisted the urge to glance back.
The second tree’s bark had been stripped clean.
But the first tree’s broken branch—still bore her blood.
Overlooked.
