After washing up, Shen Xiabai went to sit behind the writing desk. Yu Feng thought he was finally going to review the documents and hurried over, only to find that the painting was still lying on the desk.
Holding the documents, he dared not place them on top of it and could only set them back where they had been.
Leaning against the chair, Shen Xiabai still carried the lingering scent of wine. His eyes were fixed intently on the painting, while his fingers rubbed at the lines etched into his palm.
A sudden knock sounded at the study door. Yu Feng set down the documents and went out. Before long, he returned with a grim expression.
“What is it?” Shen Xiabai asked.
Yu Feng held out a letter, but seemed afraid to hand it over. “Master, it was just delivered by the Ministry of Personnel.”
Shen Xiabai raised his eyes slightly.
The Ministry of Personnel was not under his jurisdiction. They would only send something over if it concerned an unusual matter.
“Is there a problem with Cui Yunli’s position?”
Yu Feng shook his head. “No.”
Shen Xiabai frowned. With his eyes squeezed shut, Yu Feng placed the document on the desk, then hurriedly retreated. “You should read it yourself.”
Shen Xiabai opened the document and skimmed it. His brows drew together slightly before his gaze fell on Yu Feng once more.
Yu Feng braced himself and said, “Apparently, it was Prime Minister Cui’s doing. The officials at the Ministry of Personnel didn’t dare offend him, and since they thought it was only a matter of transferring an official out of the capital for an appointment elsewhere, nothing serious, they agreed without much thought.”
Shen Xiabai lowered his eyes to the name Wang written on the document. His expression turned cold.
“The messenger also said he had made some inquiries. Prime Minister Cui was pressing them urgently, and Lord Wang’s departure from the capital has been set for tomorrow.”
Shen Xiabai put down the document, his expression darkening.
Yu Feng continued, “Xing’er said today that Eldest Miss Cui is meeting Lord Wang at Anshan Temple tomorrow. Master, do you think Prime Minister Cui might be trying to prevent you from making a move by having Lord Wang take Eldest Miss Cui and run away with her?”
The more he spoke, the more plausible it sounded. “Prime Minister Cui has always been an old fox. It wouldn’t be beyond him to do something like that. Eldest Miss Cui has a stubborn temperament too. You’ve stayed behind closed doors for three days without sending her a single message. Maybe she really did run off with Lord Wang.”
“Master, at the palace banquet that day, His Highness Prince An even said that Lord Wang was handsome, fair, and delicate.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Feng seemed to remember something else and handed over another dossier. “The Ministry of Personnel also sent Lord Wang’s ancestral records. According to the dossier, Lord Wang isn’t from a poor family at all. He comes from a wealthy merchant household in Jiangnan. Perhaps he isn’t rich enough to rival the entire kingdom, but his fortune is certainly comparable to that of a noble clan.”
His final words were spoken in a low voice. “At any rate, he’s richer than the people in our household who contribute nothing but boast with their mouths.”
Shen Xiabai’s gaze swept toward him. Yu Feng immediately lowered his head and dared not say another word.
He examined the documents. Both bore the seals of the Ministry of Personnel and Prime Minister Cui. They were unquestionably genuine.
“Prime Minister Cui is truly sinister,” Yu Feng muttered. “If we hadn’t had someone in the Ministry of Personnel, we would have been caught completely off guard this time.”
The document crumpled in Shen Xiabai’s hand, its sharp edge cutting into his fingertip. Bright red blood dripped onto the painting beneath it.
It landed over the man’s chest, vivid and glaring.
Shen Xiabai frowned. Then he lifted his bleeding finger and drew it across the painting, leaving a long red streak. The mark lent the image a strange, tragic beauty.
He stared at the painting for a long while before murmuring to himself, “If you’re the one wielding the knife, then I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
Some questions, if left unasked, would never let him rest.
#
Yu Feng looked up at the towering courtyard wall. Sharp shards of porcelain had been embedded all along its top. He silently turned and gazed at his master with pleading eyes.
Clearly, it had all been arranged to keep them out.
Shen Xiabai regarded him calmly. Yu Feng clenched his teeth. For the sake of his master’s happiness, he would risk it.
He sprang onto the wall, avoiding the shards. But after taking only two steps, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He bent over, clutching his foot as he hopped wildly atop the wall.
He forcibly kept himself from making a sound and merely said to Shen Xiabai, “M-Master, there are nails too.”
Shen Xiabai: “…”
Yu Feng hopped down on one foot and sat on the ground, hugging his injured foot. “Master, we can’t get in. If all else fails, we could crawl through the dog hole.”
Shen Xiabai shot him a disdainful glance and said, “Idiot.”
With one leap, he vaulted over the wall and landed steadily inside the courtyard.
“Master, be careful, there’s—”
Before Yu Feng could finish, he heard an extremely faint sound. He immediately fell silent.
#
Cui Qingyuan’s study was pitch-black, yet the door had been quietly pushed open a crack. The steward reported in a low voice, “Prime Minister, the wall has been prepared just as you instructed.”
Cui Qingyuan gave a faint acknowledgment and rose to stand before the window. From the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch sight of something darting swiftly past. In the blink of an eye, it was gone.
He withdrew his gaze. “It’s late. You should go to sleep as well.”
Xing’er, who was keeping watch, suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep past. She immediately opened her eyes. “Nanny Zhang, did you see something just now? Something that flashed past?”
Nanny Zhang twisted her head. “You must have imagined it.”
“Oh.”
The two of them leaned back against the wall once more and closed their eyes.
Cui Yunchu smelled a strong scent of wine. A moment later, her entire body seemed to float into the air. There was just one problem—it was a little drafty.
She tried to burrow beneath the covers in search of warmth, but the farther down she wriggled, the more she was jostled upward. Cui Yunchu frowned and drew her legs in with all her strength, only for her toes to suddenly touch something cold.
“…”
She abruptly opened her eyes.
Before her was a face concealed in the darkness.
She was lying across the man’s lap, with most of her body hanging off the edge of the bed.
His eyes met hers. Then he shifted her body farther up with a gentle lift of his arms.
The corners of Cui Yunchu’s eyes swiftly reddened. Her palm cut through the air with a sharp whistle as she slapped him without mercy.
“What kind of lecher breaks into a young lady’s bedchamber?”
The man neither blocked the blow nor dodged it. The crisp smack echoed through the room.
His head tilted slightly to one side, but the arm holding her remained gentle.
“You still won’t let go? Do you want me to slap your face to pieces?”
Like a centipede, she thrashed and struggled with all her might, twisting her body and kicking wildly with both legs. “Someone come! Quickly, someone come! There’s an assassin!”
At last, the man moved. He raised a hand to cover Cui Yunchu’s mouth, lowered his head, and pressed his cold lips to her forehead.
“Ugh!” Cui Yunchu jerked her head violently. “What kind of bastard are you, daring to kiss me?”
“A Chu.”
The man finally spoke.
“What A Chu? I’m your grandmother!” Cui Yunchu’s voice was shrill, yet for no apparent reason, it carried a hint of a sob.
“I don’t know you. Let me go.” Cui Yunchu twisted in his arms, her voice increasingly choked with tears.
Holding her close, Shen Xiabai spoke softly into her ear.
“A Chu, it hurts.”
