Cui Yunchu held a stone in her hand, scribbling aimlessly on the ground. "You go ahead. I'm not going."
"..." Xing'er curled her lips and also found a stone to sit on. "Miss, you clearly just don't remember the way."
The master and servant simply sat there. When their legs went numb, they shifted their positions.
Xing'er sighed. "Who knows how long the Second Miss will take. If we had known we wouldn't even be able to get through the gates, it would have been better not to come at all."
Cui Yunchu rested her chin on one hand and nodded in agreement. "Exactly. The Cui Manor is so big, isn't there enough space for me to squat there?"
Instead of running all the way to the imperial palace just to squat here, being on edge all the time, not daring to make a sound for fear of breaking some taboo.
Just then, Xing'er suddenly let out a cry of surprise and jumped up, giving Cui Yunchu a fright. "What are you doing? Are you asking for death?"
"Miss, Miss." Xing'er pointed to a spot. "The cat, the cat!"
Cui Yunchu immediately looked in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, in the corner of a nearby palace building, a cat with snow-white fur was nestled there.
If it wasn't Cui Yunfeng's Xiaobai, who else could it be?
Cui Yunchu narrowed her eyes. "I've finally caught you."
She got up and chased after it, but how could her speed match a cat's? Before she could even get close, the cat darted up onto the roof beams in a flash, and then with a few bounds, leaped into the flowers and bushes.
Cui Yunchu immediately changed direction.
Not far away was a palace building. Cui Yunchu didn't dare to speak loudly, so she could only pinch her throat and call out softly, "Xiaobai, oh Xiaobai, where are you? Come out quickly."
The flowers and plants would occasionally rustle, but by the time Cui Yunchu went over, there was nothing there.
She gritted her teeth and muttered a curse. "That little thing, it never liked me back in the manor. Once I catch it, I absolutely have to teach it a good lesson."
"Xiaobai, oh Xiaobai..."
Cui Yunchu was so absorbed in looking for the cat that she completely failed to notice someone approaching.
Xing'er reached out a finger and poked Cui Yunchu's waist...
There was no reaction at all; she was still calling out, "Xiaobai, Xiaobai."
A man in a purple official uniform stood in the sunlight, casting his eyes down at the young woman squatting on the ground. Those repeated calls of "Xiabai" were incredibly gentle, yet they struck the man's heart like bolts of lightning.
The little eunuch at the side stole several glances at Shen Xiabai's expression, a burning fire of gossip in his eyes.
Lord Shen came to the palace to have an audience with the Emperor and even brought his wife, but... he hadn't heard that Lord Shen was married. Could it be a girl he fancied?
Shen Xiabai flushed red to the tips of his ears. Standing with his hands behind his back, he tried hard to maintain his composure. "Stop calling."
The sudden unfamiliar voice gave Cui Yunchu a jump, causing her to fall back on her bottom. She stiffly turned her neck to look.
She was stunned for a few breaths, then blinked.
The person was still there... She blinked again, and he still hadn't disappeared.
It wasn't an illusion. It really was that dog-like bastard.
Cui Yunchu's brain failed to react for a moment, and she sat on the ground motionless.
It was Xing'er who eventually helped her up. She knew very well her lady's fear of this official.
It was hard to tell if Shen Xiabai's face was pale or flushed, but the gaze he directed at Cui Yunchu was somewhat evasive. "Why are you here?"
"Looking for Xiaobai."
"..."
The little eunuch beside Shen Xiabai let out an uncontrollable laugh. Swept by Shen Xiabai's cold glare, he immediately held it in and took a few steps back.
Cui Yunchu was baffled.
What was he laughing at? What was so funny?
Shen Xiabai glanced at Cui Yunchu and quickly looked away. In his mind's eye, the image of that day at the Crown Prince's estate involuntarily surfaced, when the young girl rolled up her sleeve and shoved that half-section of her full, white arm right in front of his face.
She hadn't used scented balm today.
Or perhaps he was too far away from her to smell it.
Seeing him remain silent, Cui Yunchu also stayed quiet. In the palace, she wouldn't start an argument with him; she wouldn't have the upper hand.
The two stood facing each other, silence spreading around them.
After a long while, Shen Xiabai spoke first. He coughed lightly, looking elsewhere. "Is the injury on your arm healed?"
"..."
My, the sun must be rising from the west. Cui Yunchu looked at Shen Xiabai in disbelief.
Shen Xiabai turned his face away, so Cui Yunchu took a few steps forward, tilting her head to chase his gaze. "What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."
Shen Xiabai frowned.
The slyness in the woman's eyes was too obvious.
Just because he didn't speak didn't mean Cui Yunchu would let him off. "Lord Shen, what did you just say? I didn't catch it. Could you say it again?"
Shen Xiabai cast a sidelong glance at the woman, unknowingly curling the corners of his lips. When he realized it, he immediately suppressed the smile.
Cui Yunchu walked a half-circle around him. "Say something. Why aren't you speaking?"
Shen Xiabai coughed lightly. "What are you looking for me for?"
Thinking of how Cui Yunchu had just been squatting on the ground, softly and gently calling his name, Shen Xiabai frowned.
He was clearly still displeased, yet his face felt burning hot.
Now it was Cui Yunchu's turn to be confused. "Looking for you? When was I looking for you?"
Wasn't it him who dropped out of the sky every single time?
Even if he wanted to nitpick and find trouble, there was no need to do it like this, right?
"Weren't you just..." Shen Xiabai stopped himself halfway through.
Cui Yunchu blinked. "What was I just doing?"
Today's Shen Xiabai was somewhat strange, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Nothing," Shen Xiabai said, his face turning cold and stern. "What I mean is, the Eldest Miss Cui and I have no such relationship. In the future, it's best not to use such a form of address."
"Oh." She wasn't even allowed to call him Lord Shen anymore? Then what was she supposed to call him?
Cui Yunchu scratched her head. She couldn't just call him 'Hey' or 'You there', could she?
The two stood there, looking at each other as a sense of awkwardness spread silently. It was a quietness that had never existed between Cui Yunchu and Shen Xiabai before.
Cui Yunchu thought to herself, why isn't he leaving yet?
Shen Xiabai thought to himself, this woman must be hiding some unspeakable trickery in her heart.
She only acted like this when she was plotting something bad.
That call of 'Xiabai'...
It was just like back in the pavilion at the Cui Manor, when she had deliberately disgusted the Prince of An.
Or perhaps it was a scheme by the Cui family? Cui Yunchu was outstanding when it came to pestering and seduction.
(Since you know this, shouldn't you run as far away as possible?)
Yet Shen Xiabai's legs felt as though they had been filled with lead; he couldn't move a single step.
However, Cui Yunchu suddenly noticed that Shen Xiabai's eyes seemed different from usual. Today, they were especially clear.
They lacked the usual disgust, aversion, coldness, and that hint of hatred.
"Why are you here?"
Cui Yunchu blinked. "Catching a cat for the Prince of An."
