“Your head…” Shen Zilan stared, pointing at Cui Yunchu’s head in astonishment.
Her head wasn’t particularly large, yet it was covered in hairpins and ornaments—gold, gemstones, coral. They weren’t even made of the same material, but had been stuck in haphazardly until her entire head was a chaotic mess.
She looked like a walking jewelry shop. Just looking at her made one’s eyes ache.
Cui Yunchu held her head. “I won them all just now playing the finger-guessing drinking game.”
“Oh.” Shen Zilan blankly withdrew his gaze.
“So, has Eldest Miss Cui thought it over? As long as you agree, I’ll certainly help your brother secure a post in the Ministry of War.”
At the mention of this, the light in Cui Yunchu’s eyes suddenly dimmed.
“Young Master Shen has only been in the Ministry of Personnel for a few short months, yet you already wield such influence. You’re truly extraordinary.”
Shen Zilan said, “Eldest Miss Cui, you flatter me. In families like ours, ability is merely secondary. Most of it comes from the support of the family.”
So you know that too.
“When I left the Moonview Tower that day, I took three extra jars of wine with me. Young Master Shen doesn’t mind, does he?”
Shen Zilan’s expression stiffened slightly. He tucked his frostbitten hand back into his sleeve and shook his head. “I don’t mind.”
The atmosphere grew somewhat tense.
Just then, quite a few flower petals suddenly began drifting down from the sky.
No—not from the sky, but from the roof. Petals fluttered down in a grand, sweeping cascade over the spot where Cui Yunchu and Shen Zilan stood, as though a shower of flowers had begun to fall.
Romantic. Perfectly atmospheric.
The petals landed on Cui Yunchu’s head and shoulders, adding even more color to her already chaotic hair.
…
Silence spread through the room.
Cui Yunchu had never experienced anything like this, but she had certainly read enough romance stories. According to the usual progression, flower petals weren’t supposed to fall at this point. They should only appear when the two people confessed their feelings to each other, shouldn’t they?
What was this supposed to be? A memorial ceremony for the three jars of wine she had walked off with?
Shen Zilan wore an awkward expression. His hand, hidden behind his back, was waving so frantically that it was nearly about to fall off, desperately signaling the person on the roof beam to stop.
For the first time in his life, he wanted to find a mouse hole and crawl into it.
The petals continued drifting around Cui Yunchu. She raised her head, about to look up.
On the roof beam, Chen Miaohe was frantically gesturing at Shen Zilan. Then, in one careless moment, the entire basket of flowers tipped over.
Cui Yunchu watched helplessly as the petals came crashing down like a waterfall. The next instant, something covered her head and struck her hard enough to make her stagger. With a loud thump, she landed on the floor.
“Eldest Miss Cui!”
“Cui-jie!”
Shen Zilan and Chen Miaohe cried out at the same time. Chen Miaohe’s face went white with guilt.
Cui Yunchu felt as though a ring of stars had appeared around her head, endlessly circling.
That scene was witnessed by someone who happened to arrive just then.
Prince An’s voice was teasing. “I never realized that Lord Shen’s nephew had methods far more… impressive than Lord Shen’s.”
Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind swept past him. By the time Prince An had finished, the man was already inside the room, crouching down to support the person on the floor.
He removed the flower basket from Cui Yunchu’s head. Her head was still spinning as she stared blankly at the exquisitely handsome face before her.
His brow bones were high, his eyes gentle, and his features smooth and well-defined. Every part of him was exactly to her liking.
Cui Yunchu shook her head, thinking she had been struck hard enough to hallucinate. But as soon as she moved, the ornaments in her hair jingled loudly.
Shen Xiabai frowned at her head and pulled out several hairpins.
Cui Yunchu immediately came to her senses. “Don’t pull out my hairpins.”
“I’ll keep them for you. I’ll return them later.”
“L-Little Uncle…” Shen Zilan’s face flushed crimson, and his entire body stiffened.
Chen Miaohe clung to the roof beam, lying flat against it and not daring to move.
She hadn’t meant to do it. She really hadn’t. Her hand had simply slipped.
Chen Miaohe prayed silently: Don’t see me. Don’t see me. Please, don’t see me.
Shen Zilan stood there like a child who had done something wrong, tense and at a loss.
Why did everything always turn out differently from what he had expected and planned?
Shen Xiabai slipped an arm around Cui Yunchu’s waist. His gaze moved from Shen Zilan to the roof beam, then slowly returned.
Making them wash dishes for one night was too lenient. He ought to punish the two of them by putting them in bed for ten days or half a month and see if they could still cause trouble.
“Little Uncle, Eldest Miss Cui, we didn’t do it on purpose.” Shen Zilan’s explanation was pale and powerless, and somehow rather amusing.
He felt that Chen Miaohe might be the greatest obstacle on his road to love.
Shen Xiabai lifted Cui Yunchu into his arms. She didn’t struggle. Instead, she comforted Shen Zilan. “It’s all right. Just consider it payment for those three jars of wine. My concubine mother taught me from a young age that one shouldn’t take advantage of others, so I won’t ask you to pay my medical expenses.”
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes to look at her. “Did your concubine mother really say that?”
“No,” Cui Yunchu said with perfect confidence. “I just made it up on the spot. You can listen and forget about it. Why get hung up on such little details?”
Her concubine mother had only ever taught her that every advantage was worth taking, and that failing to take one was a waste.
Shen Xiabai let out a low laugh. Then he lifted his eyes toward Shen Zilan, his gaze cold and devoid of warmth.
“Shen Zilan, you’ve grown quite bold.”
It was only one sentence, yet to Shen Zilan’s ears, it carried several unspoken meanings: You must be tired of living. Just wait until we get home—I’ll beat you until your skin splits and your flesh is torn.
Shen Zilan stood amid the carpet of flower petals, his expression utterly dejected.
Chen Miaohe spoke guiltily. “Um… could you help me down first?”
Shen Zilan glanced at her, said nothing, and silently moved a ladder over for her. He held it steady while Chen Miaohe climbed down.
Once she was standing on the ground, Chen Miaohe twisted her fingers together. “I… I let my hand slip. I’m sorry. I ruined everything for you again.”
Shen Zilan shook his head without saying anything.
“Don’t just stand there silently. If you must, yell at me.” Chen Miaohe felt terrible. “Both times, it was my idea.”
Shen Zilan remained silent. Only after a long while did he say, “Chen Miaohe, are you my curse?”
“…”
Chen Miaohe pursed her lips. Her gaze fell on the back of Shen Zilan’s frostbitten hand, where the skin had split open. Even after being treated with medicine, it still looked painful.
The two of them crouched amid the flower petals, falling into silence together.
Time passed slowly. At last, Shen Zilan stood up and said, “It’s almost time for my next assessment. I have to go. You should return home too.”
“I’m not leaving,” Chen Miaohe said.
She felt awful. Truly awful. Never in her life had she felt so indebted to anyone—aside from her parents.
Shen Zilan said, “Eldest Miss Cui and I simply aren’t meant to be. I shouldn’t force it, and you don’t need to trouble yourself over this anymore.”
*
The person in his arms was obedient to the point of suspicion. Shen Xiabai lowered his head to look at Cui Yunchu several times.
Whenever he did, the clear, limpid eyes she had been peeking at him with would immediately close. She would then begin groaning, “Lord Shen, my head is so dizzy…”
Cui Yunfeng had been following the two of them like a mouse, but she was suddenly seized around the waist and dragged backward.
“Your Highness, what brings you here?” Cui Yunfeng asked with a smile, her eyes curving into crescents.
“…”
He was such a tall man standing right there, yet she hadn’t noticed him at all. She had been too busy watching the spectacle.
Prince An said, “Come home. Don’t join in on things that aren’t your concern.”
As for Cui Yunchu, she had long since forgotten that her younger sister even existed. Whenever Shen Xiabai wasn’t looking, her eyes remained fixed on his prominent Adam’s apple and the smooth, well-defined line of his jaw.
The officials at the Ministry of Personnel were all busy with today’s appointments, so hardly anyone was wandering around the government office. When they reached a secluded spot, Shen Xiabai bent down and quickly kissed Cui Yunchu on the lips.
“Are you still dizzy?”
Cui Yunchu turned her face away and pointed to her head. “I’ve got a huge bump on it.”
Shen Xiabai led her somewhere no one would find them. He sat down on a stone bench, settled her on his lap, and reached out to feel her head.
“Good girl. When we get back, I’ll make him kneel in the ancestral hall.”
