A Hairpin of Snow 86

Huo Xian thought that Ji Yuluo was probably a thorn in Lou Panshun’s side.

Lou Panshun spent his life challenging difficulties. He liked everything that seemed dangerous, difficult, rebellious, and then he would conquer, tame, and engrave his seemingly perfect and sacred principles into your bones. He wanted you to be strong, and also to be good.

But evidently, Lou Panshun had met his match in Ji Yuluo. Lou Panshun tamed him, but he didn’t tame her.

Huo Xian advanced, each step bringing him closer to her.

Nanny Liu came around the corridor, directing a few maids carrying newly arrived flowers. When she saw Huo Xian, she almost screamed, her old bones nearly scattering in fright. “Madam! Madam, be careful!”

Ji Yuluo released her fingers, and the arrow whistled through the air, seemingly on purpose, grazing Huo Xian’s shoulder and striking the birdcage under the tree. The red-feathered bird resting inside screeched and flapped its wings, losing a couple of feathers in its fright.

Huo Xian didn’t pause, striding quickly forward. Ji Yuluo tilted her neck to look at him, about to put away her bow. But suddenly, Huo Xian hoisted her onto his shoulder and walked even faster towards the house.

“Huo—”

Ji Yuluo wasn’t prepared; the bow slipped from her hand as she reached to grab it, but in the blink of an eye, they were already up the steps.

Being hung upside down on someone’s shoulder was an uncomfortable feeling, especially when Huo Xian was walking so fast. Ji Yuluo felt dizzy, her vision blurred, and only Nanny Liu was worried, anxiously instructing people to pick up the bow and arrows from the ground. “Quick, quick, gather them all!”

Then she asked Nanyue, who was slowly following behind, glancing at the figure in the corridor, “Are they having a quarrel?”

Nanyue hesitated and nodded, “Ah, it seems so.”

With a loud “bang,” Huo Xian kicked the door shut, the whole room seemed to shake with it.

Ji Yuluo was thrown onto the bed. Just as she was about to scramble up, she was pressed down again, and Huo Xian turned her over onto her stomach.

Slap—

A crisp, heavy slap landed on her buttocks.

Ji Yuluo stopped moving, the shaking of the bed canopy gradually subsiding.

That slap wasn’t light; in fact, it was quite forceful, holding all the frustration that had been building up in Huo Xian over the past few days.

But the issue wasn’t about the force.

Ji Yuluo stared wide-eyed at the silk pillow, her expression hidden from Huo Xian. If he had seen it, his anger might have dissipated.

After a moment of daze, Ji Yuluo suddenly struggled, furious. “Huo Xian! How dare you!”

Her voice fell with the slap, one after another.

Huo Xian lowered himself, finally seeing her red eyes filled with a shame she had never experienced before. She had probably never been treated like this, not even by Lou Panshun, who would only use knives and sticks if he were to punish her.

He paused for a moment, then said coldly, “Do you still dare to lie to me?”

His hand remained in its usual spot, his thumb even rubbing slightly, indicating that if she didn’t behave, another slap would follow.

Ji Yuluo glared at him. “You’re done for.”

Huo Xian was almost amused by her anger. He could almost feel the steam coming out of Lou Panshun’s head; it was a wonder the old man hadn’t died from exasperation.

He freed a hand and flipped Ji Yuluo over. As soon as he let go, she tried to get up, but Huo Xian grabbed her by the shoulders and neck, bending down to bite her lips.

He kissed her roughly, wanting to devour her.

Under the blazing sun, both of them were sweating from the heat outside, and now their sweaty bodies pressed against each other. When their noses brushed against each other, it was hard to tell whose sweat it was.

When they finally separated, both were breathing heavily.

Huo Xian stared at her intensely. “Why is your mouth so stubborn?”

Ji Yuluo struggled to catch her breath. She felt that if Huo Xian didn’t bite her to death, he would suffocate her. That kiss left no room for breath, and she felt the full force of his anger.

She tried to steady her breathing. “I—”

Huo Xian didn’t let her speak, continuing to bite her as a punishment. He wanted to make Ji Yuluo breathless, her weak hands patting his shoulders, but he wouldn’t let go until they were both out of breath, their hearts aching from the intensity of the kiss.

Whenever Ji Yuluo managed to catch a breath, he would start again, making her suffocate once more.

Tears fell from Ji Yuluo’s eyes, sliding down to her ears.

Huo Xian’s lips seemed to have eyes, following the trail of her tears to her ear, where he stopped.

His whole weight pressed down on her. Ji Yuluo’s chest heaved with difficulty, her eyes glazed over with a layer of mist, unable to make out the patterns on the bed canopy. She felt like Huo Xian was going to torment her to death.

The person on top of her was also breathing heavily, his warm breath spraying into her ear.

After a long time, their breathing steadied. Ji Yuluo spoke hoarsely, “I have something to tell you.”

Huo Xian’s deep voice sounded in her ear. “It’s too late, I don’t want to hear it.”

He spoke sullenly, “Lied to me again.”

Ji Yuluo remained silent, thinking of a way to respond. Just as she was about to speak, she heard even breathing in her ear.

Huo Xian had fallen asleep.

He must have been very tired recently. Liyang had mentioned that he hadn’t dared to rest for several days. The timing was too critical, and the evidence too important.

He didn’t even dare to sleep.

Ji Yuluo, however, wanted to see him. The more she wanted to, the more elusive he seemed.

She touched the side of Huo Xian’s neck, where there were a few scars from wolf claws. He must not have taken good care of them, as they had repeatedly scabbed over and still hadn’t healed.

Huo Xian hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. This sleep was long and deep, and he dreamed of Prince Ning.

Prince Ning was refined and elegant, bearing a striking resemblance to Crown Prince Huaijin. When Huo Xian first saw him, he understood why the old ministers in the Cabinet had rallied around him so fervently after Emperor Chenghe’s death.

Prince Ning was not a greedy man. He had little interest in the throne that everyone else coveted. His life’s desires were simply his wife and his children.

He was the monarch chosen by the Cabinet, and also by Huo Xian.

Just as Zhao Yong shattered the peaceful life of Emperor Shun’an in his fiefdom, Huo Xian disrupted the tranquility of Prince Ning’s household, putting him in the precarious position he now occupied.

In the dream, the Prince Ning’s residence was engulfed in smoke and flames, reminiscent of the Eastern Palace seven or eight years ago. Thick black smoke pressed down, and a great fire reduced the residence to ruins, with bodies being carried out one after another.

Just as Marquis Xuanping had lifted the white cloth back then, Huo Xian lifted the silk covering on the stretcher and saw countless bodies.

He saw Prince Ning, Princess Ning, and their two children.

Huo Xian woke with a start, the twilight deepening outside. He had slept well, a full four hours.

He realized that he had been sleeping on Ji Yuluo for four hours.

His neck felt stiff. Ji Yuluo had dozed off lightly for a while. When she awoke, she had nothing to do and couldn’t wake him, so she started braiding his hair, unbraiding and re-braiding the same strand.

Noticing that he was awake, she looked up and said, “My arms and legs are numb from you lying on them.”

Huo Xian, forgetting his earlier anger, quickly turned her over so she could lie on top of him. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Ji Yuluo still held onto that strand of hair, resting on his chest. “I was afraid you’d wake up and hit me again.”

She spoke pitifully, but Huo Xian knew she was doing it on purpose. She was at it again. He pulled a face and tugged at his lips. “How would I dare? Miss Yuluo has such a temper, taking it out on my people, my birds, and even me. What are you angry about?”

Ji Yuluo opened her mouth, then buried her face in his chest, letting go of his hair to touch the wound on his neck. “Master Huo, now that you’re awake, let’s move on.”

Huo Xian replied, “I’m not moving on. Even in my dreams, I’m angry.”

“I’m not angry anymore,” Ji Yuluo paused. “Brother.”

The person beneath her paused too, then Huo Xian lifted her to face him. “You’ve been thinking for so long, and that’s the best you could come up with to fool me.”

Ji Yuluo, suspended in the air, pretended not to understand. “How am I fooling you? We trained under the same master, so you are my senior brother. If you don’t like it, I won’t call you that anymore.”

Huo Xian stared intently at her.

Ji Yuluo was the best at lying. She looked earnest, but it was when she spoke earnestly that she was least trustworthy. Under that innocent face, she was clever and cunning.

He grasped the back of her neck. “Call me. Call me every day from now on, or I’ll hit you.”

With that, he tilted his head to reach for her lips, but Ji Yuluo, startled, pulled back. That innocent expression cracked for a moment, though she quickly regained her composure. Huo Xian noticed the fleeting change.

He paused, then laughed. “What, so you do know fear?”

“……”

Ji Yuluo stopped playing around. She tried to climb off him, but with a light tug on her hand that was supporting her on the mattress, Huo Xian easily made her fall back down.

Her arms and legs really were numb.

Huo Xian pressed her hair down and kissed her lips, gently and repeatedly, as if to soothe her. After a moment, his hand moved to her hipbone. “Does it hurt?”

Ji Yuluo gave a resentful “mm” and buried her head in his neck. She wanted to bite him but was afraid of hurting his wound. After a while, she remained still.

They held each other for a while before Ji Yuluo finally spoke. “Since things are already like this, if you insist on helping Prince Ning ascend to the throne, he will surely die. If you take a step back, there is still a way out, and it might even be a clear path.”

Huo Xian’s grip on her back tightened, and his drowsy, vacant expression gradually disappeared. As he got up, he lifted Ji Yuluo with him. “Let’s bathe and eat. You can explain everything after we eat.”

TL: Updated 13 chapters!