She squatted there with her hair in disarray, looking utterly pitiful and helpless.
"A Chu."
A male voice suddenly rang out, laced with concern, joy, and panic—his usual deep timbre.
Cui Yunchu lifted her eyes and followed the direction of the voice to the opposite side.
In the gaps between the surging crowd, on the other side of the street, stood a tall, straight man in a white robe. His brows were furrowed as he stared intently at where she was.
Sunlight fell upon him, making him seem to glow from every angle.
He wove through the crowd, walking quickly toward her.
Cui Yunchu's right eye was obscured by her fallen hair, while her other eye watched Shen Xiabai rush toward her.
She knew she must look a complete mess right now—even her once-prized beauty had been ruined by crying, too hideous to show anyone.
A carriage suddenly drove through the middle of the street, cutting off her view. She could no longer see Shen Xiabai. The one person in the vast crowd who had been running toward her had vanished.
Cui Yunchu's heart tightened. She suddenly stood up and stepped forward.
"A Chu."
The carriage passed, the crowd came to a halt, and his silhouette reappeared. The street that had been packed with people just moments ago suddenly seemed to hold only him.
Cui Yunchu lowered her head, clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands and twisting it hard, letting out another sob.
The man stepped into the dark alley, his tall shadow stretching long and spilling over Cui Yunchu.
Shen Xiabai's gaze traveled from top to bottom, then bottom to top, taking her in several times over.
He reached out and brushed her messy hair back behind her ears.
Cui Yunchu raised her head and said, "There isn't a single good person out there."
Shen Xiabai gazed at her, silent. He stepped forward, bent down, and scooped her up in his arms, then turned and walked toward the carriage across the street.
Cui Yunchu covered her face, curling into his chest like a quail.
"I got robbed. I have no money to pay you for your labor."
Yu Feng, seeing his master carry someone back, hastily pulled open the carriage curtain to let them both board.
Shen Xiabai set Cui Yunchu down and made her sit properly. "You don't have to pay. I'll pay. I just earned ten thousand taels from the Crown Prince at morning court today."
Cui Yunchu looked at him—half-smiling, half-crying—and quickly lowered her head.
"Who bullied you?" Shen Xiabai asked gently. "Was it Cui Qingyuan?"
He crouched in front of Cui Yunchu, and no matter whether she looked up or down, she could see him.
Cui Yunchu shook her head. "My mother's hairpin was snatched by a beggar. An old woman came to comfort me, but she turned out to be a con artist too, and stole my gold hairpin."
Just mentioning it made Cui Yunchu feel terribly wronged, as if no one in the world could be more unlucky than her.
Yu Feng, outside the carriage, heard his future mistress's words and twitched the corner of his mouth. "..."
"Master, this subordinate will go after them immediately."
Shen Xiabai gave a faint nod of acknowledgment.
Cui Yunchu kept her head low, still feeling like she might cry. She rotated her ankle.
Shen Xiabai frowned, and his slender, well-defined hand grasped her ankle. "What's wrong? Not feeling well?"
Cui Yunchu said, "I was running too fast just now. I think I pulled something. It hurts a little."
Shen Xiabai massaged it gently.
Cui Yunchu said, "I'm not pretending to be pitiful this time. I'm not lying to you."
"Mm." Shen Xiabai glanced at her.
Cui Yunchu pursed her lips and suddenly felt a little ridiculous.
The ones who'd been swindled were perfectly calm, while she—the swindler herself—was almost getting traumatized by being cheated.
"Why are you here?" Cui Yunchu asked, her eyes red.
Shen Xiabai didn't lift his gaze. "I heard you crying."
"Where did you hear me crying from?"
"The palace."
Cui Yunchu: "..."
Did her voice really carry that far, or was he blessed with wind-whispering ears?
"Then next time you're on a case, take me with you. I'll bore the criminals to death for you."
Shen Xiabai's gaze swept over the teeth marks on his wrist and said lazily, "I'm afraid you'll bite the criminal instead."
"Hey, am I really that filthy? I'm not a dog—I don't bite just anyone." She was picky about that, anyway. "And it's not like I'd sink my teeth into just anybody."
Shen Xiabai looked at her with a deep, dark gaze, then raised a hand to the nape of her neck, pressed her down, and tilted his head to kiss her.
"Then bite me one more time."
Cui Yunchu turned her face side to side, shaking it faster than a rattle-drum.
Shen Xiabai couldn't help but recall that day in the carriage—the frantic, messy resistance of her. His other hand immediately pinned down her legs to keep her from going wild.
He straightened up a little and leaned in to kiss her again.
Cui Yunchu kept her lips pressed tight, letting out little hums and whines, from which one could barely make out the words: "Lord Shen, do you still remember what you said back then? And how you judged the Cui girl?"
Their breaths were only a hair's breadth apart. Shen Xiabai's voice was very low. "Of course I remember. I said that Cui Yunchu of the Cui family was best at seducing hearts, bewitching me—a thoroughbred enchantress."
Seizing the moment her attention faltered, his lips pressed down, sealing over Cui Yunchu's.
The wind lifted the carriage curtain, and Shen Xiabai immediately used his free hand to press it back down, shielding the scene inside completely.
Out on the street, there was the sound of wind, the calls of street vendors, the soft touch of lips, and a tremor that filled the very heart.
When it ended, he gave her lower lip a light, deliberate nip.
Cui Yunchu kept her eyes open, like some spoiled young heir—not initiating, not refusing, not taking responsibility. When it was over, she licked her lips and held out her hand. "Ten thousand taels."
Shen Xiabai handed her a jade pendant. "Go to the Crown Prince's manor tomorrow to collect it."
Cui Yunchu rubbed the pendant repeatedly between her fingers and was just about to speak when Shen Xiabai immediately cut her off. "This pendant represents the Crown Prince. If you sell it, you'll be beheaded."
"...Oh." Cui Yunchu tucked the pendant away.
"Happy now?" Shen Xiabai brushed her hair back and asked.
Cui Yunchu raised an eyebrow. "And you? Are you happy?"
"Happy. I'd be even happier if you didn't take the silver and let me kiss you one more time."
"..." Cui Yunchu frowned. "Shameless."
After saying that, she stared at Shen Xiabai for a beat, then said, in a deliberately casual tone, "How much silver do you have left? Might as well kiss me enough to make up for it all today, since there probably won't be another chance."
Shen Xiabai frowned. "What do you mean?"
"That old man at my house found out about our affair. He wants me to marry. Looks like your time as my illicit lover is about to end."
She leaned back against the carriage wall, unconcerned, spouting frivolous nonsense.
"After all, I'm about to become someone else's wife, and I'd feel a twinge of guilt cuckolding my husband."
Shen Xiabai's grip on her wrist unconsciously tightened. "Did he give you trouble?"
"Nope." Cui Yunchu shook her head. "Didn't punish me either. Pretty unusual, honestly."
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes and gave a faint "Mm." Then he said, "It doesn't matter. Since he already knows, then next time we'll steal in right under his nose. That old man of yours has a sturdy constitution—he probably won't die from anger."
He raised his hand to touch Cui Yunchu's face. "A Chu, do you even have a conscience left?"
Cui Yunchu curled her lip. "What kind of talk is that? I'm not that old man—my conscience hasn't been eaten by dogs."
Shen Xiabai let out a soft laugh. "Then it's close enough. Yours has probably turned black and withered by now."
Otherwise, how could she, right in front of him, speak so brazenly about marrying someone else?
Cui Yunchu raised an eyebrow. "Sneaking around like this—aren't you afraid of being drowned in a pig cage for adultery? What about the Shen family's century-old reputation? Don't you care anymore?"
"Since when did I care about that?" Shen Xiabai said with amusement, looping a strand of her fallen hair around his finger, winding it round and round. "Even if we make a public spectacle of ourselves, the Cui family will be dragged down with us. We'll go down in flames together—what do I have to fear?"
Cui Yunchu slapped his hand away and cursed, "You worthless dog."
