13: Caught in the act
The night breeze brushed against the dew-laden greenery. Before Qiao Shili could even catch a glimpse of the man who had spoken, the words “secret rendezvous” sent a wave of panic through her.
Oh no. Right now, I’m sharing a horse with Su Zhuoguang—a man and a woman alone together at such an improper hour. This is bound to invite gossip. If this gets out, the Qiao family…
The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt. Memories of her tragic past life flashed repeatedly in her mind, causing her entire body to tense up. Unconsciously, she clenched her legs too tightly, causing discomfort to Yefeng beneath her.
Yefeng immediately grew agitated, rearing up with a furious whinny and violently shaking, trying to throw Qiao Shili off its back.
Seeing Qiao Shili lose her balance and tumble straight toward the ground, Su Zhuoguang quickly released the reins, wrapped his arm around her waist, and rolled off the horse alongside her.
But Yefeng’s frantic thrashing was too forceful. To protect the person in his arms, Su Zhuoguang had no choice but to roll twice across the grassy ground before finally stabilizing himself.
Just then, Ji Chen approached them. Seeing Su Zhuoguang sprawled on the ground, he struggled to hold back his laughter. “You two… there’s really no need to bow so deeply. I’m just a humble supervisory censor. I can’t possibly accept such respect, truly.”
Su Zhuoguang: “…”
I really feel like picking Ji Chen up and throwing him onto Yefeng’s back.
Still buried in Su Zhuoguang’s arms, Qiao Shili felt even more panicked upon hearing these words.
This man is a supervisory censor? That means he has the authority to oversee officials. Does that include disciplining women like her who break decorum and tarnish the reputations of official families? Did she just get caught red-handed?
Qiao Shili knew little about the intricacies of officialdom, so she naturally assumed that Ji Chen, as a supervisory censor, was there to catch her in a compromising situation.
As Su Zhuoguang stood up, she kept her head down, clutching his sleeve, trembling as she hid behind him, too frightened to show herself.
She had completely forgotten about the pain in her legs. All she could think about was how to escape the notice of this supervisory censor and protect her reputation—that was the most important thing.
But if Su Zhuoguang openly revealed her identity, there would be no way to hide.
Still… this famously aloof young general would probably want to protect his own image and pretend he doesn’t know her in front of others, right?
However, contrary to her hopes, Su Zhuoguang simply brushed the dirt from his clothes and faced the newcomer squarely, making no move to leave and offering no explanation.
Qiao Shili’s last shred of hope vanished.
Noticing her trembling behind him, Su Zhuoguang glanced back and saw her pale, terrified expression.
What’s wrong? Was she frightened by Yefeng? But just moments ago, wasn’t she excitedly leaning toward the horse’s face?
Ji Chen observed the two with great interest. He had actually been following Su Zhuoguang into these woods for a while now. Seeing Su Zhuoguang, for once, being so intimate with a woman and even riding a horse with her—how could he not be curious? So, he hid in the shadows, waiting to see what would unfold.
However, due to the hazy forest mist, he couldn’t quite make out the woman in Su Zhuoguang’s arms. Growing restless and itching with curiosity, Ji Chen finally couldn’t resist stepping out.
But it seemed his appearance had frightened the woman terribly. Now, she was timidly hiding behind Su Zhuoguang, refusing to lift her face. Ji Chen still had no idea who she was.
Clearing his throat, he craned his neck subtly to catch a glimpse. “This young lady looks somewhat familiar. May I ask which noble household she belongs to?”
As soon as he spoke, Su Zhuoguang clearly felt Qiao Shili’s grip on his sleeve tighten. Only then did he realize that Qiao Shili wasn’t afraid of Yefeng—she was afraid of Ji Chen.
What’s so scary about Ji Chen? Su Zhuoguang didn’t understand. Everyone in the capital got along with Ji Chen, and many fair maidens secretly admired him. Aside from the wicked souls who had perished under Ji Chen’s interrogations, no one in this world should be afraid of him.
Though puzzled, Su Zhuoguang complied with her wish, subtly shifting his stance to completely shield Qiao Shili, who stood barely up to his shoulder.
Knowing Ji Chen’s penchant for gossip, Su Zhuoguang couldn’t be bothered to engage. “Ji Chen, you sure ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m just curious. Why are you so protective of her?”
Seeing Su Zhuoguang’s deliberate move to block his view, Ji Chen realized Su Zhuoguang was intentionally keeping the woman’s identity hidden. He deliberately slowed his tone, teasing, “After all, I saw you two strolling through the woods at night, sharing intimate moments, like a loving couple…”
Su Zhuoguang cut him off. “Are you done?”
Ji Chen knew Su Zhuoguang’s patience was wearing thin, so he shifted his focus to Qiao Shili. “Why doesn’t this young lady show her face? Let me see who it is that has caught the attention of Young General Su.”
He was determined to get to the bottom of this tonight.
Qiao Shili had initially felt grateful that Su Zhuoguang hadn’t exposed her, but upon hearing the supervisory censor persistently pressing her for answers, her anxiety flared up again. Moreover, his words clearly implied he believed she and Su Zhuoguang were having a secret rendezvous.
Unsure if the man had seen or heard her at the banquet, she pinched her throat and replied in a delicate, high-pitched voice, “I… I’m the young general’s personal maid…”
As she spoke, she tugged lightly on Su Zhuoguang’s sleeve, signaling him to help cover for her.
Su Zhuoguang glanced down just in time to see her tearful, pitiful expression as she looked up at him.
“Is that so…? But I heard that Fubai’s personal maid is around forty years old,” Ji Chen said, his smile reaching his eyes.
Qiao Shili’s heart sank. This supervisory censor wasn’t someone so easily fooled.
“…I have a new one,” Su Zhuoguang replied expressionlessly.
I must have fallen for her tricks again.
“Oh, I see—”
Ji Chen naturally didn’t believe it. For years, the only maid allowed near Su Zhuoguang in the Su household was Lanze, and that was only because of Madam Su’s influence. As for other women, Su Zhuoguang never let them get close.
A meaningful smile played on his lips. This woman behind Fubai is truly interesting—she actually managed to make him so compliant.
However, it was a pity. The one he most admired was Qiao Shili, the second daughter of the Qiao family. Even though he knew the Eastern Palace was determined to win her over, privately, Ji Chen felt that a beauty should be matched with a hero. For a general like Su Zhuoguang, with his illustrious military achievements, only the capital’s greatest beauty, Qiao Shili, would be a fitting match.
Beside them, Qiao Shili breathed a quiet sigh of relief. No matter what, tonight’s incident had been glossed over. In the future, she should keep her distance from this young general. Once the matter of the assassin in the villa was cleared up, she would find another way to repay his kindness.
Maybe when she returns home, she’ll empty her savings and see if she can buy some gifts to send to the General’s estate. That should settle the debt of his help across two lifetimes. Then they could go their separate ways and never meet again.
Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching from behind.
“Shili!”
Zhou Shu’s voice echoed from afar, parting the overlapping shadows. She hurried over, stepping hastily through the grass and foliage, appearing before Qiao Shili in what seemed like a single breath. “I finally found you, Shili! I thought you had gotten lost… I was so worried…”
As she spoke, her eyes swept over Su Zhuoguang standing nearby and Ji Chen, who stood a short distance away, looking utterly stunned. “Isn’t this Young General Su and Lord Ji?”
Qiao Shili stood frozen in place like a statue.
This is it. It’s really over now.
How can she tell Zhou Shu to her face that she’s mistaken, that she’s not Qiao Shili?
“Shili, what’s wrong? You look awful. Could it be because…” Zhou Shu noticed her slightly tilted posture—her legs were likely injured. Combined with the grass and mud clinging to her clothes, and seeing Su Zhuoguang standing so close, she recalled the various rumors circulating in the capital, and her gaze suddenly turned cold.
“Young General Su, forgive me for speaking out of turn.”
Zhou Shu took Qiao Shili’s hand and shielded her behind her. “Shili grew up sheltered in the inner chambers. She doesn’t practice martial arts, and her family dotes on her, afraid she might get the slightest bump or scratch. If Young General Su doesn’t know how to be gentle with women, perhaps you should stay away from Shili in the future.”
Was she implying that he had mistreated Qiao Shili?
Su Zhuoguang’s eyebrow twitched slightly. If he truly didn’t know how to be gentle, Qiao Shili would have broken a leg when she fell from the horse just now, let alone still be standing here.
But he never bothered explaining himself to others, nor did he care about their opinions. Faced with Zhou Shu’s accusatory stance, he simply nodded calmly. “Mm.”
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Qiao Shili was still reeling from the shock of her identity being exposed when Su Zhuoguang had already nodded in admission. She quickly tried to explain to Zhou Shu, “Ah Shu, Young General Su, he…”
How could she let him take the blame for her when she still owe him a debt of gratitude?
Zhou Shu assumed she was just being soft-hearted and didn’t let her finish. “Shili, leave this to me. Don’t worry— Young General Su and my father have some connection. He won’t make things difficult for me.”
“Oh dear, why don’t you two stop going in circles and let an outsider like me have a say?”
Ji Chen had just snapped out of his shock. If he hadn’t pinched himself, he wouldn’t have believed it.
The woman Su Zhuoguang was secretly meeting in the dead of night was actually Qiao Shili! That day at the villa banquet, Su Zhuoguang had been staring at Qiao Shili from afar. They really were up to something!
Ji Chen was naturally delighted to see this unfold. His tone became noticeably more cheerful as he spoke, “At tonight’s banquet, I had a bit too much to drink. So, I came out to clear my head. By chance, I heard the sound of hooves in the woods and came to take a look.”
“Young General Su happened to be teaching Miss Qiao how to ride a horse.”
Seeing Su Zhuoguang’s indifferent expression, Ji Chen deliberately drew out his words, taking the “blame” upon himself. “Because I was startled and couldn’t help but make a noise, I frightened Miss Qiao, who was concentrating on learning to ride. And then… she fell off the horse.”
While Zhou Shu hesitated, Qiao Shili confirmed to her, “Young General Su protected me.”
Zhou Shu breathed a sigh of relief and bowed gracefully to Su Zhuoguang. “In that case, I misunderstood. I apologize to the Young General.”
“No need,” Su Zhuoguang replied, turning slightly away, his demeanor as icy as ever.
However, with Ji Chen’s explanation, Qiao Shili’s earlier worries vanished. According to him, he understood that Su Zhuoguang was simply teaching her how to ride and not engaging in anything improper like a secret rendezvous, so he likely wouldn’t report her.
On the way back to her room with Zhou Shu, Qiao Shili finally realized what kind of misunderstanding she had caused that night. Because she had gone the wrong way, everything that followed had unfolded due to that one mistake.
Exhausted from the night’s events, Qiao Shili collapsed onto the bed, having just applied some medicinal ointment to her legs that Zhou Shu had given her. Her entire body felt as if it had fallen apart, and she didn’t care about maintaining her image, lying sprawled out on the bed.
Riding a horse really wasn’t easy, she thought, but there’s no denying that she loved the feeling of galloping on horseback.
Just then, Zhou Shu, fresh from her bath, leaned in with a teasing smile. “Shili, let me ask you a question in secret.”
Qiao Shili turned her head to look at her.
“Does Young General Su like you?”
“How could that be possible!” Qiao Shili blurted out.
If he doesn’t cause trouble for me because of what happened earlier, I’ll be thanking my lucky stars.
“Miss, a servant from Young General Su’s household has delivered a letter for you,” Qiuying announced from outside the bedroom.
“You just parted ways an hour ago, and he’s already sending love letters!” Zhou Shu grinned, her expression full of meaning.
Qiao Shili: “…”
Even if I jumped into the Yellow River, I wouldn’t be able to wash away this misunderstanding.
**