From the doorway to the bathing room, the floor was streaked with water.
While Huo Xian was bathing, Nanny Liu brought ginger soup. Seeing Ji Yuluo there, she instructed her to make sure Huo Xian drank it.
No matter what reputation Huo Xian had outside, Ji Yuluo noticed that Nanny Liu always treated him like a child, insisting someone watch him drink the ginger soup. Ji Yuluo didn’t say anything, just nodded and replied, “Mm.”
Nanny Liu was used to the young lady’s cold demeanor. She went about tidying the bed, taking the opportunity to replace the bedding with a new, slightly thinner and smaller set while Ji Yuluo wasn’t looking. As she left with the old bedding, a young maid following her asked, “Should we still halve the charcoal tonight?”
Nanny Liu thought for a moment and shook her head. “The master has been busy for several days and might catch a cold. Make sure the charcoal fire is adequate tonight.”
The maid nodded quickly. “Oh, oh.”
Still puzzled, she asked, “Why does Nanny need to do this?”
Nanny Liu said, “I’ve watched the master grow up since he was little. I could be considered half a mother to him. I can tell what he means with just a glance. He’s… quite good to the lady, so you all need to pay attention.”
The maid nodded vigorously.
Nanny Liu sighed silently.
After all, she had never seen the master instruct anyone else to “cook porridge without adding red dates,” nor had she seen him sit calmly in the dining hall to have breakfast slowly. It was quite rare.
She had observed people her whole life and wouldn’t be mistaken.
The ginger soup emitted a strong spicy aroma. Ji Yuluo leaned in to sniff it, then pushed it away with distaste.
She disliked these soupy, watery things the most.
After a while, the curtain of the bathing room rustled softly. Huo Xian came out, still wearing his official robes, his belt tightly fastened, looking as if he was about to go out for work.
Ji Yuluo relayed, “Nanny Liu wants you to drink the ginger soup before resting. It’s getting dark. Are you still going to Qinghe District?”
Huo Xian rubbed his temples and downed the ginger soup in one go. “I’ll sleep for a while before going.”
He was already leaning against the bed, lifting the quilt and lying down. Ji Yuluo followed, watching his tightly closed eyes and weary face. She couldn’t help but pace back and forth by the bedside, her shadow flickering over Huo Xian’s face.
He opened his eyes to look at her, his eyes bloodshot. “If you want to sleep, just come up. Stop pacing.”
He moved inward, making space, then turned over and closed his eyes again.
His breathing was steady, seemingly truly asleep.
Ji Yuluo looked at the outer side of the bed. This was the first time he had willingly moved to the inner side. For a martial artist, the outer side was the best place for escape and defense. It seemed fatigue really did lower one’s intelligence.
She figured that even if she approached him with a knife now, he wouldn’t react.
Ji Yuluo stood for a long time, imagining many possibilities. In the end, she did nothing, and indeed, lay down in the vacant space.
As she draped the corner of the quilt over herself, she suddenly paused. It wasn’t yet time to sleep, so why had she really gotten into bed? But now, it seemed unnecessary to make a fuss and get up. Ji Yuluo thought for a moment and then closed her eyes.
However, she was not at all sleepy.
During these days of the epidemic, occupying this room alone, she had thought about many things. More than the relationship between Xie Subai and the Eastern Palace, she was more surprised by the relationship between Xie Qiao and Lou Panshun.
That old man really didn’t look like a brilliant and mighty general at all. It was too ridiculous, Ji Yuluo thought. But it’s not impossible that her guess could be wrong…
However, thinking back, every time Xie Qiao scolded her, he would often say, “You all, one by one, never give me peace.” Xie Subai was certainly one to worry about, so apart from her, there must be someone else in that “you all.” She just never thought about it carefully.
Thinking about this, Ji Yuluo actually fell asleep.
The sound of the midnight drum echoed from beyond the high walls. When Huo Xian opened his eyes, he saw Ji Yuluo clutching a corner of the quilt, not covering herself, seemingly too lazy to compete with him for it. Her eyelids were lightly closed, and her lips were slightly parted.
He sat up, and Ji Yuluo didn’t wake up.
He moved the quilt aside, and Ji Yuluo still didn’t wake up.
It was so quiet, so quiet that he could only hear her steady breathing.
Huo Xian turned his head and looked at her for a long time. Supporting himself with his elbow, he leaned down and picked off a gold thread that had come loose from the quilt on her eyelash. As he was pulling the thread, Ji Yuluo opened her eyes.
Their gazes met, and both of them looked very composed.
Ji Yuluo calmly looked at the thread in his hand. Huo Xian paused, then also calmly looked back at her, his gaze moving from her eyelashes to her lips.
Her lips were actually very thin, which made her face look cold and unfeeling. Coupled with the aloof charm of her eyes, she really resembled a heartless woman. But her upper lip’s Cupid’s bow was particularly beautiful, appearing very soft.
Ji Yuluo sensed his gaze and saw his Adam’s apple move noticeably.
The hot breath approached, and she could no longer see the glow of the candlelight.
Huo Xian’s prominent nose touched hers, his lips slightly parted. At the critical moment, there was a knock at the door, as if awakening from a dream. He paused, looked at her, then got off the bed in that posture.
The light that was blocked now shone over again.
Ji Yuluo didn’t move, her expression still unwavering. She subconsciously licked her lips. They itched a bit.
The room was heated too warmly, making her a little thirsty.
On the other side, Huo Xian opened the door.
The one knocking was Nanyue. Seeing the master looking at him expressionlessly and listlessly, Nanyue was taken aback and asked cautiously, “Wh-what’s wrong?”
Huo Xian smiled, “What’s wrong with you?”
This smile was somewhat eerie, and Nanyue was even more puzzled. “Didn’t you say to wake you at midnight?”
Huo Xian said nothing more. He brushed past Nanyue, stopping by the night maid, saying, “Tell Nanny Liu that the bedding is too small, change it back to the original.”
The maid’s trick was exposed, and her face turned red with embarrassment as she muttered a muffled acknowledgment.
Ji Yuluo woke up at dawn, clutching the quilt as she sat up. She instinctively glanced at the spot beside her, which was already empty.
Suddenly recalling something, she sat still on the bed, thinking for a while, then touched her lips, feeling inexplicably irritated.
She got out of bed and tidied herself up, unusually deciding to leave the room.
Last night, she had intended to tell Huo Xian that she had already found the Yunyang Sihu1In historical Chinese government and administrative structure, the term “司户” (Sihu) refers to an official position within the bureaucracy. The Sihu was typically responsible for household registration, land taxation, and managing population records., not only found him but also detained him.
Although Huo Xian had discreetly sent people to search, Ji Yuluo was never one to wait for the prey to be brought to her. While Huo Xian deployed the Jinyiwei, she also sent out scouts from Chaolu.
The Jinyiwei’s search capabilities were exceptional, but with Huo Xian being busy recently, his efforts were insufficient. Moreover, since this matter had to be handled secretly, he couldn’t send too many people, reducing the effectiveness of the Jinyiwei. In the end, it was Cuixue Tower who found the person first.
Chaolu rented a yard in the outskirts and hid the person there.
The streets were desolate and grey, with few pedestrians around, making the carriage ride smooth and quick to the concealed yard.
Guards were stationed at the entrance. Seeing Ji Yuluo arrive, they hastily bowed and said, “Miss Yuluo.”
They then opened the door.
Ji Yuluo entered the inner room and saw a man bound to a chair with a rag stuffed in his mouth. His name was Zhou Fu, in his thirties, with a face that looked spineless and easy to interrogate.
Ji Yuluo sat in the chair before him, lifted her veil, revealing her face. Zhou Fu didn’t understand the significance of her revealing her face. As soon as the rag was pulled out, he shouted, “Who are you? I am a high-ranking official from Xuanzhou! How dare you, ah—”
A scream of pain was heard.
Ji Yuluo moved behind Zhou Fu and plunged a dagger heavily into his thigh. She looked at him sideways, her eyes carrying a faint smile, and said gently, “You answer my questions, and I won’t make things difficult for you.”
Zhou Fu’s eyes bulged in pain, sweat dripping down, and he hurriedly nodded, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Chaolu squatted at the door, watching the raindrops fall, counting the ripples in the puddles. She took out some peeled pine nuts from her pocket.
She liked the maid named Biwu very much. When it was time to leave, she would definitely ask the young lady to take Biwu with them. As she listened to the screams inside, she thought about this.
By the time more than half of the bag of pine nuts was gone, the door to the house finally opened. Chaolu, her legs numb from squatting, stood up suddenly, staggering forward a few steps.
She peeked inside and saw Zhou Fu with a hopeful look in his eyes, crying, “I’ve told you everything, please let me go.”
Chaolu tilted her head, watching Ji Yuluo slowly and meticulously clean her fingers, wiping them thoroughly from nails to the spaces between. But Chaolu knew, the young lady was thinking.
When Ji Yuluo finally lifted her head slightly, Chaolu asked, “Miss, how should we handle this man?”
Ji Yuluo discarded the cloth and said, “Don’t make him suffer, give him a quick end.”
Another job to do. Chaolu’s eyes lit up, and she nodded, “Got it!” Soon, there was no more sound from inside.
On the way back in the carriage, the rain grew heavier, and the wind howled. The horse was reluctant to move forward, dragging its feet along the road. Suddenly, with a loud “clank,” the carriage tilted to one side, getting stuck in the muddy path.
Chaolu frowned as she stepped down to inspect the situation. She discovered that the wheel had come loose. There wasn’t a soul in sight for miles around, except for a dilapidated inn that was still open.
Due to the epidemic, the inn hadn’t seen visitors in a long time.
The innkeeper warmly welcomed them, boastfully giving Ji Yuluo an “upper-class” room. However, upon entering, it was quite ordinary. The windows couldn’t close properly, half-broken and letting in the rain with a constant creaking sound.
At least it was clean.
Chaolu paid extra silver for the innkeeper to fix the wheel and feed the horse. However, seeing the heavy rain outside, she said, “Miss, let’s wait until the rain stops before we leave.”
Ji Yuluo glanced outside and responded with a “Hmm,” then stared motionlessly at the rain.
Chaolu wasn’t a sensitive person, but she was particularly attuned to Ji Yuluo’s emotions. Resting her chin in her hand, she said, “Miss is in a bad mood.”
Ji Yuluo looked back at her.
Chaolu pushed the remaining pine nuts towards her. She wasn’t good with words, but her wide eyes looked at Ji Yuluo comfortingly.
Ji Yuluo suddenly smiled and reached out to pinch Chaolu’s cheek, sighing, “It’s good to be like you.”
Carefree.
Neither of them expected the rain to last the entire day. It not only didn’t stop but grew even more intense, with the wind almost threatening to tear the roof off.
On a rainy night, no stars were visible, and even the bright moon was obscured by dark clouds.
Huo Xian sat in the hall, with Biwu kneeling beside him. Feeling deeply wronged, Biwu cried, “I really don’t know where the young lady went. During the day, she only took Chaolu with her and didn’t say where she was going…”
Biwu was panicking too. The young lady was missing, and so were Chaolu and Hongshuang. Could they have just left like this?!
The atmosphere around Huo Xian grew increasingly oppressive. Just then, another maid approached, trembling as she said, “Master, the lady’s clothes are still here.”
What use was it that her clothes were still here? Those things weren’t important to her.
In this residence, only Chaolu and Hongshuang were brought by her, and now both were missing. It wasn’t hard to guess why.
Huo Xian remained silent, but he didn’t seem particularly surprised.
She was only temporarily staying here after all.
As Huo Xian stood up, he saw Hongshuang lift the curtain and come in, not knowing what was going on. She had gone out to Xie Subai’s inn and was delayed by the rain. What happened?
She asked Biwu, who tearfully explained the situation. Hongshuang panicked even more, “The young lady is missing?!”
