The sun was setting in the west, the twilight as red as blood.
It was at this moment that He Sui’an woke up. She turned over, facing the side of the bed, still in a daze from just waking up, her eyes unfocused as they slowly settled on Qi Buyan, who had also fallen asleep.
Qi Buyan had his eyes closed, the corners of his eyes naturally red, as if he were deeply asleep, giving off an inexplicable sense of peaceful tranquility. His fair and slender neck was exposed above the dark blue collar.
A blue butterfly pendant lay against his collarbone, the necklace gleaming silver.
His hand rested casually on his waist, the sleeve robe folded up to his elbow, revealing a portion of his wrist with thin muscles, the bone protruding at the side. A silver butterfly chain hung there, covering a scar.
He Sui’an’s eyes focused, staring at Qi Buyan in a slight daze.
She raised her hand, cautiously touching the silver butterfly chain on his wrist, which now had a gap. Originally a thin chain, it now looked fragile with the break.
Her fingertips, perpetually cool, brushed against Qi Buyan’s sensitive wrist, and he woke up not long after, looking down at He Sui’an who was lying on the bed, her head bowed as she examined his wrist.
The girl pursed her lips, her cheeks puffing up, as if pondering something important.
Qi Buyan used his other hand to press against He Sui’an’s forehead. Her delicate skin under his fingers, the heat from his touch made her lift her head.
Their eyes met, He Sui’an’s hand still touching Qi Buyan’s silver butterfly chain, while her other hand unconsciously twirled his loose black hair on the bed.
He Sui’an hurriedly let go of the silver butterfly chain, “Did I wake you up?”
“No,” he replied.
She sat up, only to find her fingers still tangled in his long hair, pulling Qi Buyan along with her movements. She then tried to untangle it.
As He Sui’an freed the hair wrapped around her fingers, Qi Buyan also got up. He sat on the edge of the bed, putting on his boots, his narrow waist and abdomen forming an outline under his inner clothes, his shoulders broad and legs long.
It was already time for dinner, so they washed up and went downstairs.
The innkeeper was dozing off at the counter.
The waiter was leaning out the window, watching the sunset. As He Sui’an passed by him, she saw a rag fall to the ground, picked it up, and handed it back to him.
“Thank you,” the waiter turned around, taking the rag with both hands.
He Sui’an noticed the bruises on the waiter’s face, and the cut at the corner of his mouth. It was obvious they weren’t accidental injuries, but rather the result of a beating. She casually asked, “What happened to you?”
The waiter touched his wound.
It’s a long story.
He wasn’t originally from Chang’an. His hometown was a small, obscure town. Hearing that one could make big money in Chang’an, he eagerly came.
Whether one could make big money in Chang’an, the waiter didn’t know. He only knew it was quite easy to starve to death. Eventually, he was taken in by the innkeeper of this establishment, and became a waiter, working here for several years.
Chang’an only looked glamorous on the surface, but beneath it, there were countless shady dealings.
To survive here, it took a lot of time and effort. The waiter had already realized clearly that he didn’t have the capability.
Additionally, the emperor of Great Zhou valued “peace above all”. He avoided war whenever possible to spare innocent civilians from the ravages of conflict. For instance, the recent marriage alliance with the Nanliang Kingdom was also to avoid war.
Originally, the Nanliang Kingdom wanted to fight a war with Great Zhou, but the emperor proposed a marriage alliance.
The agreed terms were that after the marriage, the Nanliang Kingdom would continue to pay tribute to Great Zhou as in previous years, and Great Zhou would include two cities in the princess’s dowry. After some consideration, the Nanliang Kingdom agreed.
To show their sincerity, the Nanliang Kingdom even sent their most favored prince to marry Great Zhou’s Princess Luoyan.
Avoiding war was a good thing.
The waiter also disliked war, but he inexplicably felt that Great Zhou was somewhat cowardly.
At some point, Great Zhou had issued a series of regulations favoring foreigners. Although there were occasional disturbances at the borders and fewer wars, sometimes these regulations wronged the citizens of Great Zhou.
Whenever conflicts arose with foreigners, the citizens of Great Zhou invariably suffered losses, as Great Zhou officials would always protect the foreigners.
How infuriating.
They were the citizens of Great Zhou, yet Great Zhou openly and secretly supported those foreigners who had nothing but a bit of money. And being angry was useless, they couldn’t do anything about it.
The waiter didn’t really understand court politics.
But in his anger, he wished Great Zhou would just fight a grand war with those people, so they would no longer dare to act recklessly or be so arrogant while doing business in Chang’an.
This afternoon, the waiter went to the market to buy things as ordered by the innkeeper and got into a dispute with an unreasonable foreigner. Clearly, it was the foreigner who started the fight, yet the waiter was the one taken to the authorities.
It was the innkeeper who personally paid to bail him out, which deeply moved the waiter.
Upon returning to the inn, the innkeeper informed him that the bail money would be deducted from his wages. The waiter’s sense of gratitude was immediately halved. Wouldn’t that mean he wouldn’t have any wages for the next year?
However, the innkeeper was still considered kind. If it were another innkeeper, they wouldn’t bother to help a waiter caught by the authorities, to avoid trouble.
The waiter was still half moved.
The innkeeper added that he was used to the waiter’s service and couldn’t find anyone to replace him.
His sense of gratitude vanished without a trace.
The waiter explained the reason for his injuries to He Sui’an and kindly warned her not to offend those foreigners, or she would suffer even greater losses.
He Sui’an looked at the waiter’s bruised face and said, “Okay, I got it.”
During their conversation, the innkeeper kept his eyes closed. Only when they were almost finished talking did he lazily knock on the counter and say, “Why aren’t you working yet? You’re always slacking off.”
The waiter immediately went to work.
The innkeeper finally opened his eyes and looked at He Sui’an and Qi Buyan, mentioning, perhaps intentionally, “Business has been good these past few days. All the guests who have come are highly skilled in martial arts.”
“Previously, most of the guests who came to my inn were either wealthy young masters and ladies or rich merchants coming to Chang’an for business. They were not short of money and only cared about staying comfortably.”
He stroked his long beard.
He Sui’an waited obediently for the innkeeper to continue.
“Since you young master and young lady came to stay, my inn has seen a steady stream of martial artists. Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?” The innkeeper cracked some sunflower seeds, “Quite a fate, wouldn’t you say?”
He spoke quietly, so only those standing at the counter could hear. After listening to the innkeeper, He Sui’an turned to look at Qi Buyan. Qi Buyan remained indifferent, tapping the bone flute at his waist.
The innkeeper chewed a few seeds, not forgetting to tend to his business, “Would you like to have a meal?”
He Sui’an started to refuse, “No…”
He kindly placed a handful of sunflower seeds in her palm, interrupting her, “Young lady, tell me, is the food at my inn really that bad?”
“Huh?” She was stunned.
The innkeeper glanced at them a few times, slowed down his seed cracking, cleared his throat, and said, “You’ve only eaten once at my inn, so I was wondering if it’s because the food…”
“It’s too expensive,” He Sui’an said, cracking a sunflower seed, finding it quite tasty. She peeled another one and gave it to Qi Buyan, then returned the remaining seeds to the innkeeper, pulling Qi Buyan away.
Leaving behind a stunned innkeeper.
Too expensive?
They could afford to stay at his inn but complained about the food being too expensive? How was that possible? It didn’t make sense. The innkeeper lost his mood for cracking seeds.
There must be another reason. Saying it’s expensive was just an excuse. They didn’t seem like people short on money. The innkeeper decided to have a word with the chef in the kitchen.
He suspected the chef’s food had become too salty lately.
The innkeeper muttered to himself.
The waiter, who was mopping the floor, wanted to stop the innkeeper but saw him dash off to the kitchen. The waiter thought, oh no, the innkeeper is definitely going to offend the chef.
Unaware of what the innkeeper was up to, He Sui’an and Qi Buyan hadn’t found a place to eat when they happened to run into Princess Luoyan’s personal maid, Zhi Mo. It wasn’t a coincidence—Zhi Mo was specifically looking for them.
Princess Luoyan sent Zhi Mo to invite He Sui’an and Qi Buyan to attend a banquet.
Zhi Mo even brought a carriage.
He Sui’an was puzzled.
By openly boarding Princess Luoyan’s carriage, Liu Yan would catch wind of it, and he could use this to confirm their reason for taking the Water Jade Pendant to the auction—Princess Luoyan.
Liu Yan likely suspected Princess Luoyan’s involvement but probably dismissed it himself, believing that she saw him as a father figure and wouldn’t hide her intent to uncover the truth about her brother and sister-in-law’s deaths from him.
Therefore, Liu Yan would lean towards the idea that others who knew the truth survived.
He would likely think they were using this to overthrow him or had other motives, deciding to act preemptively.
However, Princess Luoyan’s move tonight clearly indicated her connection with He Sui’an and Qi Buyan, making everything evident. But He Sui’an believed Princess Luoyan had her reasons.
He Sui’an boarded the carriage.
Qi Buyan followed her into the carriage.
A lamp was lit inside, providing decent illumination. He Sui’an scratched her somewhat messy long hair. They had planned to eat something outside and return to the inn, so they hadn’t tidied up much.
They had slept from daytime until evening again today, unlike their usual routine of grooming and dressing neatly before going out for meals and activities. They had only washed their faces and rinsed their mouths.
Who knew they would be taken away halfway.
Now, He Sui’an looked exactly as she did when she just woke up.
Her poor sleeping posture was to blame. He Sui’an noticed Qi Buyan’s hair was perfectly neat and looked at him with envy.
Since she had fallen asleep on the bed without any preparation, she hadn’t untied the silk ribbon before sleeping, and now it was tightly tangled in her hair, making it difficult to remove.
He Sui’an shifted her position.
She moved closer to Qi Buyan, sitting in front of him.
He Sui’an said, “Help me.”
Qi Buyan’s hands skillfully moved through He Sui’an’s long hair, his fingertips brushing her hair, causing a slight tickle that made her shrink her neck.
He untangled the tightly wrapped silk ribbons, laying them one by one on his lap. The colorful ribbons contrasted sharply with the dark blue robe, yet created a beautiful palette.
He Sui’an felt very comfortable.
If she had tried to untangle the mess, it would have been quite painful.
Her head unconsciously leaned back, drawing closer to Qi Buyan. The fresh scent of her hair filled the carriage, her fragrance blending into his every breath.
Qi Buyan gently stroked He Sui’an’s hair. After seeing that all the ribbons were untangled, she shamelessly asked, “Could you braid my hair too?”
The carriage continued to move forward.
The curtains on both sides swayed occasionally, and the candlelight flickered. The tall young man sat behind the small girl, dividing her long hair into several strands and braiding it from top to bottom.
Since the braid needed to drape diagonally across her chest, He Sui’an turned to face Qi Buyan for his convenience.
Even when seated, the height difference between them was evident.
He Sui’an looked up at him.
