"What are you hiding from?!"
After that, Li Tingyuan barely registered anything else Cui Yueyao said.
That night, she lay in bed, restless and unsettled, replaying every look Cui Zhuo had given her earlier that day at Songyue Ju. The more she thought about it, the less certain she became about whether he remembered what had happened three years ago.
She tossed and turned for most of the night until exhaustion finally pulled her into a fitful sleep.
When she woke the next morning, the sun was already high in the sky.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to rise early to pay her respects today.
When she had visited Mother Cui the day before, Li Tingyuan had already arranged to go to White Horse Temple in the outskirts of the capital to offer Sea Lanterns for her parents.
After washing up, she first went to Cixin Hall to inform Mother Cui of her plans to leave the estate.
Mother Cui looked her up and down, clearly pleased with her modest and appropriate attire, and nodded in approval.
“Zhang Sheng prepared the carriage early this morning. Are you sure you don’t want Yueyao to accompany you?”
Li Tingyuan stepped forward obediently, allowing Mother Cui to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and replied,
“There’s no need. Yueyao has lessons today. I wouldn’t want to trouble her.”
“What trouble could it be?”
Mother Cui patted her shoulder.
“Go ahead, and return early.”
After taking her leave, Li Tingyuan went straight out of the estate, boarded the carriage, and set off for White Horse Temple in the outskirts.
Her younger brother Li Huaishan had an exam today at Mingde Academy, so she would have to go to the temple alone for now. She planned to bring him along on a future visit when he was on break.
The carriage traveled for about an hour before reaching the foot of the mountain.
There weren’t many pilgrims heading up the mountain today, and it was still early, so Li Tingyuan asked the coachman to wait at the base while she made her way up slowly on foot.
The last time Li Tingyuan had visited White Horse Temple was four years ago, when she had come with her mother.
It had been midsummer then, the sun blazing hot. She and her mother had trudged up, sweating profusely, while her brother, seemingly tireless, had darted excitedly back and forth.
By the time they reached the temple, all three of them were flushed and panting, laughing at each other’s disheveled state.
This time, however, she came during the lingering chill of early spring. The mountain wind cut straight to the bone, and she was utterly alone.
Watching the newly sprouted grass by the path swaying helplessly in the wind, Li Tingyuan couldn’t help but quietly wipe her eyes.
When she arrived at White Horse Temple, she found it unusually quiet—not even a single novice monk in sight. Perhaps there was a distinguished guest visiting, or something else was going on.
Guided by memory, Li Tingyuan decided to head toward the main hall first.
Halfway from the entrance to the hall was a garden. As soon as she stepped inside, she sensed someone furtively following her.
She deliberately sat down to rest, but when she glanced back, the figure had vanished.
Surveying the empty surroundings, Li Tingyuan’s heart began to race. She stood up and quickened her pace.
Just as she was about to leave the garden, with the outline of the main hall visible in the distance, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded behind her. Before she could react, a man’s hand clamped tightly around her wrist, and a voice spoke from behind.
“It really is you!”
Li Tingyuan turned and saw that the man was none other than Guo Fan, the second son of Guo Yue, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue.
This man had pestered Li Tingyuan before.
In theory, since Li Tingyuan’s father and Guo Fan’s father both held the fifth rank, Guo Fan shouldn’t have had the nerve.
But Guo Fan’s grandfather was a counselor of the second rank.
Relying on his grandfather's high position, Guo Fan had committed numerous crimes, with many women in his inner residence having been seized by force. Only Li Tingyuan remained beyond his grasp.
When Li Tingyuan's father was alive, Guo Fan had restrained himself somewhat. But now, seeing her alone, that itching desire surged within him once more.
"I thought I saw your figure earlier! Li Tingyuan, you've hidden for three years, yet now I've caught you! If you had the nerve, you should have stayed away forever!"
The sight of his face filled Li Tingyuan with disgust, and she struggled desperately to break free from his grip.
"Let go of me! This is a sacred Buddhist ground—how dare you act so recklessly, Guo Fan!"
"Dare or not, I already have!"
Guo Fan yanked her closer, pinching her cheek, his eyes brimming with greed.
"Who would have thought that after three years, you've grown even more enchanting…"
He glanced around, seemingly noticing movement near the main hall. Frowning, he dragged Li Tingyuan deeper into the garden.
"You're all alone now. Why not come with me? I'll grant you the position of a concubine, and you can also… Ah! Li Tingyuan!"
Li Tingyuan had also spotted the group near the main hall.
Before Guo Fan could finish, she abruptly lowered her head and bit his hand fiercely, breaking free before turning to flee.
Footsteps closed in behind her. Li Tingyuan's breath hitched as she ran desperately toward the group near the main hall.
But just as she emerged from the garden, her steps faltered.
—The man surrounded by the crowd in the main hall—who else could it be but Cui Zhuo?
In her hesitation, the footsteps behind her drew nearer again.
Li Tingyuan glanced back, stamped her foot, and lifted her skirts to run toward the group.
As she drew closer to Cui Zhuo, Li Tingyuan was about to call out to him when suddenly two young monks appeared from nowhere, blocking her path with outstretched arms.
"Please stop, benefactor."
Seeing the two monks appear, Guo Fan did not approach but instead retreated a few steps, pretending to admire the scenery while stealing glances in their direction.
With Guo Fan lingering, Li Tingyuan grew anxious. Stamping her foot, she pleaded urgently with the monks:
"Please allow me to pass. The person inside is my… my…"
Here, Li Tingyuan hesitated.
Yesterday at Songyue Ju, Cui Zhuo's words had been unmistakably clear—only if she could accurately calculate the accounts in the ledger and prove her worth would he acknowledge her status as the Adopted Daughter of the Cui Family.
What identity could she use now to seek his protection? And he certainly would not acknowledge her in front of others.
Watching Cui Zhuo walk farther away, Li Tingyuan grew so frantic that her eyes reddened. She repeatedly begged the monks to let her pass.
The two monks stood unmoving before her, shaking their heads.
"Benefactor, do not persist. Today's visitors are esteemed guests among esteemed guests. This area is under strict security. If we rashly allow you to pass and you disturb the honored guests, we cannot bear the responsibility."
"But I…"
"Please go elsewhere, benefactor."
After speaking, the two monks expressionlessly clasped their hands together, bowed their heads, and fell silent.
Judging by their demeanor, Li Tingyuan concluded that these monks were well aware of Guo Fan's misdeeds and had no intention of intervening.
Steeling her heart, Li Tingyuan raised her voice and shouted:
"Brother, save me! Cui… Mmmph!"
Before she could finish her cry, the two monks seized her, one on each side, and covered her mouth.
Li Tingyuan sobbed and struggled, watching helplessly as Cui Zhuo, surrounded by a crowd of people fawning over him like stars around the moon, entered the grand hall.
The magnificent hall doors rumbled shut behind him.
All he left her in the end was an indifferent back that never once turned to look at her.
Li Tingyuan was both frightened and aggrieved, tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall.
She broke free from the young monk, glanced at Guo Fan chasing after her from behind, and without allowing herself time to grieve, turned and ran.
This hall was already secluded, and aside from the garden, only a narrow passageway led to the crowded front hall.
Li Tingyuan thought that as long as she could rush to the front hall quickly, she would be safe.
But she had underestimated a man’s physical strength.
Even though Guo Fan had fallen far behind her, he finally caught up and blocked her path again just before the passageway.
“Where do you think you’re running to?”
Guo Fan gripped her and pressed her against the tall red wall of the passageway, his smile brimming with smug arrogance:
“Still wasting your energy? You managed to escape from me once—did you really think I’d let you get away a second time?”
Li Tingyuan, like a cornered prey, could only glare at him, panting heavily:
“Guo Fan, I advise you to let me go, or you’ll regret it.”
Guo Fan looked at the forced fierceness on her pale, frightened face, and his heart itched with an even more unbearable restlessness.
In truth, he had once admired Li Tingyuan and had even earnestly pursued her with good intentions. However, she had never appreciated his efforts, and later, she simply disappeared for three years. Now, he had lost his patience.
“Whether I regret it or not, I’ll decide after I’ve had my fill!”
Guo Fan’s eyes turned red as he pulled her into his arms, dragging her toward a nearby abandoned room.
“Your father used to protect you, but now I wonder who can still shield you…”
“Well, well! Young Master Guo!”
Just as Guo Fan finished speaking, a middle-aged man in a red official robe approached, blocking their path.
The man glanced down at Guo Fan’s hand gripping Li Tingyuan’s and smiled, “Has Young Master Guo found another beauty? Congratulations…”
Li Tingyuan’s face flushed red, and she tried several times to pull her hand free from his grasp, but to no avail.
Guo Fan clearly feared the man before him. Upon hearing his words, he became much more restrained and replied:
“Uncle Xue, what brings you here?”
“Naturally, to pay my respects.”
Xue Fangyu turned to look at Li Tingyuan, his tone softening considerably. “And this is… the daughter of the late Lord Li, isn’t it?”
As soon as Xue Fangyu finished speaking, Guo Fan immediately released her hand, behaving properly.
Li Tingyuan took the opportunity to distance herself from Guo Fan, discreetly wiping away her tears. She forced a smile and bowed:
“Is Lord Xue an old acquaintance of my father?”
“Indeed—”
Xue Fangyu smiled. “I happen to have some of your father’s belongings that need to be returned. Would you be willing to accompany me?”
Li Tingyuan looked at the kindly smile on his face and suddenly understood. She nodded immediately:
“In that case, I’ll trouble Lord Xue.”
Xue Fangyu turned back to look at Guo Fan.
Guo Fan still didn’t want to let her go.
However, even his own grandfather had to show some respect to this man surnamed Xue. No matter how resentful he felt inside, he dared not act recklessly. With a dark expression, he nodded:
“I merely happened to run into Miss Li and wanted to catch up. Since Uncle Xue has business with her, please go ahead.”
Xue Fangyu didn’t stand on ceremony either. He glanced at Li Tingyuan and said, “Miss, follow me.”
Li Tingyuan followed Xue Fangyu to a relatively secluded spot.
Seeing that she was completely safe now, she bowed to him and said sincerely:
"Thank you for saving me, Lord Xue."
Xue Fangyu, appreciating her perceptiveness, smiled and waved his hand:
"No need for thanks. I was merely acting on someone's request."
On someone's request?
Li Tingyuan couldn't immediately think of who might have asked him, but his waving gesture just now reminded her of someone.
"Are you perhaps a relative of Great Scholar Xue Qinghong?"
Xue Fangyu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled:
"Xue Qinghong is indeed my elder brother. Do you have business with him, miss?"
Her younger brother Li Huaishan wished to study under Great Scholar Xue Qinghong.
Li Tingyuan opened her mouth to speak, but then reconsidered. Since he had already saved her today, asking for another favor would be presumptuous. She shook her head.
"It's nothing. I was just asking casually."
"In that case, miss, please go ahead—"
Xue Fangyu pointed to a small path at the edge of the garden. "I've already had this area cleared. You can take this path."
Li Tingyuan felt slightly puzzled, but considering Great Scholar Xue Qinghong's reputation, she chose to trust him.
She bowed to Xue Fangyu in thanks, glanced at the desolate path, lifted her skirt, and walked in.
This path was much wider than the depths of the garden she had just been in.
The mountain was cold, and the snow had not yet fully melted. Under a thin layer of snow, a few winter plum blossoms that had not completely withered dotted the scenery. Further to the side, she could hear the sound of melting snow trickling down the rockery.
If one had the leisure to appreciate it, the view would have been quite charming.
But Li Tingyuan was in no mood for that.
She hurried past the rockery and, upon looking up, was surprised to see a tall, elegant figure standing quietly in an octagonal pavilion partially hidden by plum blossoms.
The man had deep-set eyes and was watching her calmly, his expression cold and stern.
Li Tingyuan paused in her steps, her gaze fixed directly on him.
Cui Zhuo was wearing the same purple official robe he had worn on the day she first arrived at Cuifu. His belt was meticulously fastened, his posture dignified, and his face appeared pale and refined amidst the red plum blossoms and thin snow.
It seemed that simply by standing there, without any need for introduction, the man's commanding presence and composed demeanor made others feel inferior.
Li Tingyuan stopped at a distance from him, looked up, and glared. The sting in her nose surged uncontrollably.
When she had seen his back disappearing without hesitation earlier, she had been too preoccupied with avoiding Guo Fan to dwell on it.
But now, seeing him again, standing there so calmly as if enjoying the scenery while waiting for her in the woods, the resentment and grievance in Li Tingyuan's heart surged like a gushing spring, unstoppable.
She glanced at him twice but neither approached to bow nor spoke. Summoning courage from somewhere, she turned around without a word and walked in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?"
Cui Zhuo spoke, his tone so flat it was impossible to discern any emotion.
Li Tingyuan ignored him and quickened her pace.
Footsteps echoed behind her at the same time.
She hadn't taken more than two steps when a cold hand suddenly grasped her wrist.
"What are you hiding from?!"