22: The sachet
A faint, cool fragrance lingered, enveloping her.
Qiao Shilian felt her nose sting from the bump, and the moment she collided with Su Zhuoguang’s chest, losing her balance, she instinctively scrambled to grab onto him for support.
When she regained her senses, she saw a small patch of moisture on the fabric of Su Zhuoguang’s chest—dampened by her tears.
She hastily turned her face away, hurriedly taking out a handkerchief to wipe it clean for him. However, the damp spot had already soaked through, so she had to press a bit harder. She thought to herself that Su Zhuoguang was extremely particular about neatness. Even if this seemed like a futile effort, she still had to make a proper attempt.
Doing this also helped steady her nerves after the incident with Qin Shuo, and she stopped crying over what had just happened.
Su Zhuoguang: “…”
Why did she always seem intent on wrestling with his clothes?
Today, he wasn’t wearing his formal robes but lighter attire, just a thin overgarment. Now, her fingertips, separated only by the handkerchief, palpably touched the firmness beneath the fabric, causing an even deeper glint to appear in the eyes of the otherwise immovable man.
He lowered his gaze, looking at her so close at hand, and suddenly felt that the faint, delicate fragrance about her seemed different from before. It was like an intoxicating smoke, making it hard for him to concentrate.
“Hiss—”
Only when a sharp intake of breath came from behind did Su Zhuoguang snap back to reality.
He turned his head to look and saw Ji Chen shielding his face with a fan, muttering, “I didn’t see anything… One should not look at what is contrary to propriety…”
Although between the gaps of the fan’s ribs, Ji Chen’s mouth was already curved into a wide grin.
Qiao Shilian froze mid-action, looking towards the source of the sound, Ji Chen. Only then did she realize how their current posture must appear to him: as if she were trying to undo Su Zhuoguang’s clothes and… toy with him wantonly.
She slightly curled her fingers and withdrew her hand, hastily trying to explain: “I… I…”
Ji Chen said with a perfectly serious face: “Don’t worry, Miss Qiao, I just arrived. There’s no one else here.”
Qiao Shilian’s ears and neck flushed crimson in an instant. She thought to herself, he had indeed misunderstood her and Su Zhuoguang!
Ji Chen turned and started walking away: “You two carry on. I’ll cover for you.”
This is bad, Qiao Shilian thought to herself, and immediately wanted to chase after him to properly explain: “Lord Ji…”
But she had barely taken one step when Su Zhuoguang grabbed the back collar of her dress and pulled her back: “Why chase after him?”
Qiao Shilian replied sullenly: “To explain, of course.”
Su Zhuoguang was puzzled: “Why explain?”
By now, Qiao Shilian could no longer see Ji Chen’s figure and said anxiously, “Your reputation is about to be ruined by me! How can you not be worried?”
After all, Ji Chen was a good friend of Su Zhuoguang. With such a misunderstanding caused by her, wouldn’t Su Zhuoguang be teased by Ji Chen in the future? The dignified young general, being “stripped of his clothes” right in front of him by a mere woman like her.
Although she wasn’t a stranger to doing such things, being seen by others was a different matter entirely.
Su Zhuoguang: “Let it be ruined then.”
Since when had he ever cared about his reputation?
Qiao Shilian: “?”
Was it because he usually had few friends and already didn’t care about so-called reputation?
Thinking about it this way, Su Zhuoguang, from childhood to adulthood, besides Ji Chen, seemed to have never been heard of having anyone else he could converse with. No wonder he was so cold now; it seemed like he had been accustomed to being alone since he was young.
Qiao Shilian couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for him. Having known Su Zhuoguang for this period of time, she hadn’t found him particularly cold or unfeeling. Those rumors about him in the capital weren’t entirely true.
Su Zhuoguang, standing to the side, caught her gaze and found it odd.
That look in her eyes… what was she fantasizing about now?
After a moment, Su Zhuoguang changed the subject: “Prime Minister Qiao selected a few highly skilled shadow guards from the General’s Manor last night. They will accompany you after we return to the capital.”
Her father actually went and asked the General’s Manor?
Qiao Shilian slowed her pace, a hint of bitterness touching her lips.
Everyone in the capital knew that the shadow guards trained by the General’s Manor were of exceptional martial skill, not something ordinary nobles or officials could obtain. Over the years, her father, holding the high position of Prime Minister, had always carried himself with pride and never stooped to ask anyone for favors. The Qiao family and the General’s Manor had never had much interaction. Yet, for her safety, her father…
For a fleeting moment, she seemed to see her father from childhood, before he had risen to the position of Prime Minister. Though his back was tall and straight, making it hard for her young self to keep up, he would always slow his pace, smiling as he took prepared cube sugar from his sleeve. “I knew Lian’er liked this. Father carries it every day, so Lian’er will chase after Father.”
Later, reaching the age of silk and fine garments, her father gradually became the stern, unsmiling, and serious man he was today. He was wholly devoted to the Qiao family and official power, even willing to sacrifice her life for the Qiao family’s sake.
Qiao Shilian gazed listlessly at a corner of the traveling palace. The glazed green tiles, the floating emeralds and flowing cinnabar, all seemed to transform into a cage as cold and hard as iron. The doting favor she had once received was locked within that cage, shattered to pieces in the face of interests.
Everyone acts for their own benefit; there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Even if showered with ten thousand forms of affection, she would never be anyone’s first priority. Qiao Shilian simply felt that she wanted someone to believe in her, someone who would stand by her side when she encountered trouble. That was all.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day to conclude the Forest Hunt and for the assembled crowd to descend the mountain and return to the capital.
Amidst swaying forest shadows and the clear, bright waters and trees, the carriages of the hundred officials accompanying the imperial entourage rested temporarily at the mountain’s foot.
Qiao Shilian, clutching the newly made sachet in both hands, called out to Su Zhuoguang, “Young General Su.”
Su Zhuoguang was leading Yefeng by a mountain stream, having loosened the reins to let the horse lower its head and drink from the creek.
Nervously, she offered the sachet. The base fabric and the embroidered pattern were both carefully chosen by her. She had chosen a sky-blue color, which happened to complement Su Zhuoguang’s temperament. She added an embroidery of a white horse treading through waves, fitting for a young man’s spirit and aligning with Su Zhuoguang’s position as a general.
But this was the first time she was giving a gift to Su Zhuoguang. Of course, she was apprehensive about it.
“This… I made this myself, for you.”
Su Zhuoguang turned to look at the object in her hand, a flicker of almost imperceptible surprise passing through his eyes. “A sachet?”
Although Ji Chen had given her some pointers, Qiao Shilian still couldn’t quite grasp his intentions. So, seeing Su Zhuoguang accept the sachet, she continued, “Lord Ji said you like these.”
As her words fell, Qiao Shilian looked up. The brilliant golden sunlight fell on his slightly furrowed brow, accentuating a certain coldness. Then, his calm, unrippled eyes gave her a faint glance, making her feel an intangible distance had grown between them.
Qiao Shilian: “?”
He didn’t like it? But Ji Chen had spoken so earnestly; it didn’t seem like he would deceive her.
Was he unhappy because the gift she gave was too trivial? This sachet was just a beginning. She only wanted to test what his reaction would be to a gift from her, to help her prepare for future gifts to repay his kindness.
She forced a smile, trying to salvage the situation: “I’ve owed you so much these past days, Young General. I promised to repay your kindness. This sachet is just a small token. Once I return to the capital, I will definitely prepare generous gifts to send to the General’s Manor.”
Qiao Shilian stole a glance at Su Zhuoguang, who remained silent, and finally added, “Young General, rest assured. In the future, I will no longer come to disturb you.”
She supposed her recent behavior had been too bothersome to him, which was why he was acting so aloof, also subtly reminding her to maintain a distance, right? After all, Su Zhuoguang helping an unrelated woman several times seemed like an unbelievable fantasy in others’ eyes.
Unexpectedly, Su Zhuoguang’s expression grew even more unpleasant. His face seemed covered in frost and snow, exceptionally cold and stern.
Qiao Shilian’s heart clenched, and a sense of foreboding immediately arose.
“No need.”
After uttering these two words, Su Zhuoguang tugged on the reins and headed towards the campsite.
He’s angry?
Qiao Shilian was baffled and also found it utterly bewildering. She hurriedly chased after his broad, retreating back to ask for a reason: “Is it that you don’t like the sachet I made? I can make another one for you? Two… or even five would be fine!”
But she saw Su Zhuoguang’s expression still hadn’t softened; he seemed to ignore her words entirely.
Then she heard his cold voice repeat: “I said, no need.”
Hearing this, Qiao Shilian halted her steps, a sour ache welling up in her heart.
Watching his gradually receding figure, she instinctively broke into a run to catch up.
**