"Do your parents know about us calling off the engagement?" Shen Zilan asked.
Chen Miaohe shook her head.
"It was your Younger Uncle. He went to the Prince An's residence for a banquet today..."
She recounted what had happened at the Prince An's residence.
Shen Zilan stared at her blankly for a long moment before saying with a wooden face, "Isn't that what you wanted?"
Hadn't she been clamoring to marry his Younger Uncle?
Chen Miaohe slapped Shen Zilan in exasperation. "How is that the same?"
"Your Younger Uncle even sent his attendant to warn me. Shen Zilan, I'm done for."
Coveting her fiancé's Younger Uncle—her parents would beat her to death. "Come up with something, quick!"
Shen Zilan felt like he was being shaken apart.
"I'm in this mess because of you. If you hadn't wanted to break off the engagement, would I have come up with this harebrained scheme? You have to take responsibility for me. Hurry up and think of something!"
Chen Miaohe was making a scene, driving Shen Zilan to distraction. Ever since she had proposed calling off the engagement, it was as if a little demon had been unleashed from within Chen Miaohe, making her most troublesome.
"My Younger Uncle already heard. What do you expect me to do?"
Chen Miaohe said, "What if we just get married? We can tell your Younger Uncle it was all a misunderstanding. That's better than being beaten to death by my parents."
Having the nerve to think about it was one thing, but getting caught before anything happened—that meant paying a heavy price.
Shen Zilan nearly jumped up. "Chen Miaohe, shut your mouth. Don't talk nonsense!"
He wished he could cover her mouth, but Chen Miaohe was determined to speak.
Just then, a carriage approached from the distance. Shen Zilan grabbed Chen Miaohe and dragged her into a deserted alley.
"My Younger Uncle is back. Don't say a word."
Chen Miaohe immediately clamped her mouth shut, feeling as if she were burning in a fire.
Cui Yunchu curled up in a corner of the carriage, huddled among the supposed "junk" Shen Xiabai had called it. She didn't speak, only occasionally lifting her eyes to steal a glance at Shen Xiabai's expression.
The carriage gradually came to a halt, and the driver's voice drifted in: "Miss, we've arrived at the Shen residence."
Cui Yunchu didn't respond. Her gaze fixed on Shen Xiabai.
Shen Xiabai seemed not to have heard. His eyes met Cui Yunchu's, making her scalp tingle with discomfort.
"You heard the driver. We're at the Shen residence. My mission is done. Give me the night pearl, and you can get off."
Shen Xiabai lowered his gaze, his hand slowly reaching into his chest.
Cui Yunchu said, "Didn't you give your night pearl to that bookish painter just now?"
"I'll wait here for you. Have your people bring the pearl to me. That's fine."
Shen Xiabai paused his movement and looked up at her. "I have a boxful of night pearls in my study. Are you sure you don't want to go take a look?"
"...No," Cui Yunchu said firmly.
She knew exactly what she could and couldn't take.
Shen Xiabai gazed at her for a moment, then suddenly opened his palm to show her. The night pearl, with a bite taken out of it, lay quietly in his hand.
Cui Yunchu was stunned.
So the one he gave to that person just now wasn't this one?
"..." She twitched her mouth but remained stubborn. "Fine. I guess I don't mind that you bit it."
The carriage stopped in the dim light. The red lanterns under the eaves of the Shen residence swayed in the wind, casting flickering shadows inside the carriage.
In the corner, Chen Miaohe stared wide-eyed at the scene.
Beside her, Shen Zilan clenched his fists.
"Shen Zilan, what are they saying?"
Shen Zilan didn't blink. "We're too far away. How should I know?"
They poked only their heads out, four eyes fixed on the silhouettes reflected on the carriage curtain.
Cui Yunchu hesitated. "Are you sure... you're giving this pearl to me?"
Shen Xiabai nodded.
Cui Yunchu smiled, her brows curving brightly. She reached out to grab the pearl.
The moment her fingertips touched it, the man's broad hand suddenly closed, trapping her hand and the pearl together.
Cui Yunchu nearly jumped, instinctively pulling back.
But in the next instant, an opposing force seized her wrist and yanked her forward.
Cui Yunchu lunged forward, only to have her waist seized and pressed backward.
"Ah..."
The one who screamed louder than Cui Yunchu was Chen Miaohe.
Shen Zilan, barely holding back his own shock, clamped his hand over Chen Miaohe's mouth and dragged her deeper into the corner.
Chen Miaohe struggled, muffled sounds escaping. "What are you doing?"
Yu Feng, stationed by the carriage, heard the commotion and rushed into the alley.
He lit a torch, and the scene inside the alley came into full view. The Young Master, like some sort of flower thief, was dragging the Chen girl backward. She was kicking her feet furiously, trying to escape...
But the Young Master wouldn't relent. He locked his arm around her neck, his face turning purple.
"???"
It felt like a torrent of exclamation marks was crashing down on Yu Feng's head.
The master hadn't even told the Young Master about what happened today. So what was the Young Master doing?
Could it be that he had already found out and, unable to bear the humiliation, was about to silence her?
Yu Feng's head ached. Panicked, he rushed forward to pry Chen Miaohe out of Shen Zilan's grip.
"Young Master, let's talk this out. Maybe it's all a misunderstanding."
...
"There are people," Cui Yunchu said, whipping her head around and trying to get up. But Shen Xiabai forced her back down.
His expression darkened.
Was that the important part?
"Don't worry about it. Yu Feng is handling it."
Cui Yunchu said, "Didn't you hear that scream just now? That 'ah' was so loud."
