With that, she abruptly dropped the carriage curtain and said in a steady voice to the driver, "Let's go. We're not staying with someone who's sick."
"..."
Shen Xiabai stood there in a daze, not snapping out of it until the carriage had already driven away.
Beside him, Yu Feng shrank his head, not daring to make a sound.
He had a feeling that the smell of incense was definitely not as pleasant as face powder.
Inside the carriage, Xing'er poured Cui Yunchu a cup of warm water and gently patted her back. "Miss, what just happened? Why did you suddenly get so angry?"
"Did I?" Cui Yunchu frowned. "No, I didn't. When did I ever get angry?"
"..." Wasn't she clearly lying through her teeth?
Xing'er wisely chose not to press further, afraid Cui Yunchu might explode.
"Who would've thought that Lord Shen, who always seems so proper, could be so dissolute, having some unclear business with a nun from the temple."
Cui Yunchu said impatiently, "Did you see them lying in the same bed? How do you know it's 'unclear'?"
"..." Xing'er felt like anything she said was wrong. She murmured quietly, "In such foggy weather, who would come all the way to the outskirts of town unless it was someone important?"
Besides, they had all seen it—Lord Shen was polite and gentlemanly with that woman, completely different from how he treated Miss Cui.
He even shielded her from the wind, and when she stumbled as they parted, he reached out to steady her.
Xing'er analyzed, "That woman, nine times out of ten, has an inseparable relationship with Lord Shen."
Cui Yunchu didn't say a word. She just stared at Xing'er, who couldn't help feeling that her miss's gaze was a little dark and made her deeply uncomfortable.
"What's that got to do with me?" she said, then leaned back against the carriage wall.
Not long after, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.
"Cui Yunchu." A man's voice came from outside.
Cui Yunchu turned over, pretending not to hear.
"Eldest Miss Cui." The voices of the master and servant rang out in turn, while Cui Yunchu just pulled a soft pillow over her head.
Xing'er glanced at Cui Yunchu and didn't dare make a sound.
The two carriages ran side by side on the official road, but not a single sound came from Cui Yunchu's carriage. Yu Feng's voice had gone hoarse from shouting.
"Master," he looked at Shen Xiabai.
Shen Xiabai frowned. "What did you say to her?"
"I said nothing at all, Master." Yu Feng spread his hands, looking completely innocent.
The carriage turned into a narrow path. Cui Yunchu felt the carriage suddenly sink as a shadow quickly slipped in.
The pillow was covering her head, so she couldn't see anything, but she didn't move.
Xing'er, very perceptively, went outside.
Cui Yunchu pretended not to know anything, until someone pressed down on the pillow, muffling her nose and mouth.
The familiar scent came through, but she still didn't move. Sure enough, after just a few seconds, the person let go.
Instead, he started pulling at her hairpins.
"..."
Those were her lifeline.
Cui Yunchu shot up and started beating him fiercely with the pillow.
Anyone who coveted her gold and jewelry wouldn't get away with it, not even if a god himself came down.
Shen Xiabai stuffed a banknote into her hand and pulled her against him by the waist.
At times like this, an ordinary woman would usually put up a token resistance, playing coy and leading things to the next—most delightful—stage.
But Cui Yunchu thrashed all over like a pig about to be butchered, her arms and legs flailing wildly. The carriage crashed and banged loudly.
Shen Xiabai grabbed her hands, holding them down, but he was afraid of hurting her. The two rolled from the wall to the floor. Cui Yunchu gritted her teeth, her face tense, using every last ounce of strength to fight him.
The moment her hands were free, she clawed at his face.
Shen Xiabai pressed one leg down on hers, trying to stop her from kicking him, and also pinned her wrists. Cui Yunchu started screaming, "Let me go, you bastard!"
"Shen Xiabai, you scumbag!" She cursed with everything she had.
Shen Xiabai's face was black as thunder. He'd never had so much trouble getting ahold of a death-row prisoner.
"Ah—" Cui Yunchu arched her body, putting her all into struggling as if shouting a battle cry for herself, but there was still a gap in strength and she couldn't move an inch.
"Have you been bitten by a dog?" Shen Xiabai asked, his face dark.
Cui Yunchu glared at him. "Bitten by a dog like you."
Shen Xiabai looked at the crumpled ten-thousand-tael banknote in her hand. Furious, he almost laughed.
"One bite, ten thousand taels—wasn't that what you said yourself?"
Cui Yunchu said, "I said it. So what?"
"I gave you the money. Why won't you let me bite you?" He said this and started to lean down.
Cui Yunchu arched her body like a caterpillar, her head lifting while she writhed forward on her stomach.
"I won't let you! Even if you gave me a million taels, I wouldn't let you bite me—I'm afraid of catching an STD!"
She was calling him dirty!!
"Then who will you let bite you? Zhou Yuanmo?" He freed one hand and grabbed hold of her jaw.
"Does he have enough money for you?"
"Him? He can kiss me. No money needed." Cui Yunchu stuck out her neck stubbornly.
Shen Xiabai was so furious the veins on his temples bulged.
Without another word, he tried to shut her up.
Cui Yunchu was also a force to be reckoned with. She opened her mouth and spat.
Her spit landed all over Shen Xiabai's face. He grabbed her clothes and wiped it off.
And then Cui Yunchu herself fussed that it was dirty.
The carriage rocked violently the entire way, finally stopping. The driver glanced at it, not daring to make a sound.
It was Yu Feng who cautiously lifted the carriage curtain.
When he saw what was going on inside, he was speechless for a long time.
His master was sitting there, elbows resting casually on his knees. His arms were covered in big and small bite marks and scratches, wrapped in rumpled silk robes.
He was glaring at the floor, staring at Cui Yunchu.
As for her, her hair was a mess, several hairpins fallen out, her clothes completely disheveled. Laid out flat on the ground sprawled, she sat leaning back, her lipstick smeared everywhere. Still panting, she was glaring viciously back at Shen Xiabai.
They were staring at each other, the air stagnant.
Yu Feng snapped out of his daze; even his scalp was tingling.
This didn't look like a couple of lovers—it looked like a full-blown war, a pure wreckage.
Yu Feng lowered his voice and said, "Master, we've arrived."
Shen Xiabai let out a hum. Yu Feng immediately lowered the curtain and stepped out.
Shen Xiabai took a handkerchief and wiped some sweat from his brow. "Get off the carriage," he said to Cui Yunchu.
Cui Yunchu wiped her mouth hard with her sleeve. "I'd rather kiss a dog than you."
"!!!!"
Shen Xiabai ground his teeth.
So damn stubborn. Didn't know who she got it from.
Every single time, he wanted to be good to her. Had secret rendezvous by lamplight, whisper sweet nothings under moonlit flowers and willow trees. But things never worked out.
Dealing with her was as unique as she was.
"Get off," he tried to soften his voice.
Cui Yunchu rolled over and played dead.
"..."
"You don't want the stuff the Crown Prince gave you?"
Cui Yunchu turned her head, looking at him hesitantly, then slowly crawled up.
She would never let the silver get the better of her.
She smoothed out the ten-thousand-tael banknote in her hand, tucked it into her chest, pulled up her skewed hair bun, smoothed down her dress, and prepared to get off.
Just then, Shen Xiabai had already stepped out.
Cui Yunchu got off the carriage, but when she saw the signboard above the mansion's gate—the "Shen Residence" in bold letters—her face turned green. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she turned around and scrambled back inside the carriage.
