Inside the room, the group continued their revelry.
Su Xiaoyu felt somewhat dizzy from the sip of Pear Blossom White liquor she had consumed, her cheeks flushed pink. Her mind was solely preoccupied with the unfinished plate of Longjing tea-infused shrimp, paying no heed to the crude remarks from Zhao Rui and Sun Wei as they went in one ear and out the other.
Xiao Jingxuan, however, remembered to defend her.
He stepped in front of Su Xiaoyu, laughing and scolding, "Get out of here! Stop teasing my person! If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll lose my temper with you!"
Zhao Rui, intoxicated and growing bolder, scrutinized Su Xiaoyu more closely and found her increasingly peculiar.
Her skin was excessively fair, her neck slender, her earlobes delicately rounded, and especially that demure, downcast expression when she was shy…
With about seventy to eighty percent of his senses drowned in alcohol, he reached out toward Su Xiaoyu, intending to touch her face:
"Oh, so you're protecting her now? Let me see if this is really a boy…"
Xiao Jingxuan’s expression darkened, and he was about to forcefully push Zhao Rui away.
"Bang!"
The door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, letting in a gust of chilly wind. The air inside seemed to freeze instantly.
Everyone turned to look toward the doorway, where, silhouetted against the light, stood a tall and imposing figure. Dressed in a striking crimson official’s robe, he appeared even more handsome, authoritative, and majestic.
What was most startling was the visitor’s cold and stern countenance, his brows and eyes seemingly veiled in a layer of frost. An aura of low pressure radiated from him, as if instantly freezing the room’s drunken atmosphere and clamor.
Who else could it be but Xiao Jingheng?
Xiao Jingxuan recognized his elder brother at a glance. His face turned pale as a sheet, drained of all color, and the wine cup in his hand clattered to the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.
"B-big brother!"
Xiao Jingxuan was so shocked he could barely form the words.
Zhao Rui and Sun Wei were equally terrified, their drunkenness instantly dissipating. Their tongues seemed to tie themselves in knots.
"Young Marquis Xiao…"
Heavens! This Young Marquis Xiao’s presence was truly terrifying—no wonder he had attained the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review at such a young age.
Even Su Xiaoyu, who had been focused solely on eating the fish, was startled by the commotion. When she clearly saw who had arrived, she shuddered, her intoxication fading rapidly. Instinctively, she tried to hide under the table.
And in fact, she did just that.
However, halfway through her attempt to duck under, Xiao Jingxuan stopped her, gripping her collar tightly and refusing to let go.
Xiao Jingheng said nothing.
He didn’t even step inside, merely standing expressionlessly at the doorway. His deep, unfathomable eyes, like frozen pools of icy water, slowly swept over the three of them.
Zhao Rui and Sun Wei trembled so violently their legs shook. Exchanging a terrified glance, they simultaneously abandoned all sense of propriety, hastily cupping their hands in a salute toward Xiao Jingheng, their words stumbling:
"Young Marquis Xiao, w-we have matters at home, w-we must take our leave!"
"Y-yes, indeed! Farewell! Farewell!"
Without waiting for any response, the two scrambled along the edge of the door as if fleeing from ghosts, stumbling and crawling their way out, vanishing in an instant.
Inside the private room, only Xiao Jingxuan—still clutching Su Xiaoyu tightly—Su Xiaoyu, and the "iceberg" emitting a chilling aura at the doorway remained.
Xiao Jingxuan’s scalp tingled, his mind racing at top speed. His will to survive surged to its peak!
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he came up with an idea.
Suddenly, he pulled Su Xiaoyu out and gave her a push forward, speaking rapidly before his elder brother could utter a word:
"Big brother! L-Listen to me! It's not my fault! It's… it's her!"
He pointed at Su Xiaoyu, "It's Su Xiaoyu. She said she's never been outside the mansion and was curious about the excitement outside. She insisted on pestering me to take her out to see the world. I… I had no choice…"
Su Xiaoyu was stunned!
She stared at Xiao Jingxuan in disbelief, her almond-shaped eyes wide with shock and bewilderment.
[What? Second Young Master is actually shifting the blame to me! Clearly, he was the one who wanted to go to the gambling den and dragged me along as his lackey. And now he's pushing all the responsibility onto me! How outrageous!]
Shifting blame so smoothly and effortlessly?
Oh, so you're afraid of Young Marquis? And I, a mere maid, shouldn't be?
[Waa, Second Young Master, how could you spout such nonsense! o(╥﹏╥)o]
Su Xiaoyu was screaming and shouting inside.
But when she met Xiao Jingheng's icy gaze, she was too terrified to utter a single word.
She could only struggle instinctively.
At that moment, Xiao Jingxuan lowered his voice and whispered rapidly into her ear, "Quick! Help me get through this, or we'll both be doomed!"
"Take the fall for me. This month—no, three months! I'll cover all your roast chicken! As much as you want!"
Su Xiaoyu: "…"
Three months?
Unlimited roast chicken?
This…
She looked at Xiao Jingxuan's desperate, anxious eyes and felt the piercing gaze from the doorway that seemed ready to freeze her through. An internal battle raged in her mind.
Reason told her she shouldn't agree to this absurd proposal.
But a voice in her heart whispered:
Three months… roast chicken, ah!
"Gulp!"
Su Xiaoyu swallowed hard with difficulty.
Just then, Xiao Jingheng stepped into the room, his crimson official robe sweeping over the threshold with a faint, cool breeze.
His gaze fell on Su Xiaoyu, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"Su Xiaoyu, is what he said true?"
That question pierced through Su Xiaoyu like a needle, sending a jolt through her entire body.
Perhaps it was the lingering effects of that sip of 'Pear Blossom White,' perhaps the temptation of three months' worth of roast chicken was too great, or perhaps the fear of facing Young Marquis overwhelmed everything else…
In any case, in that split second, Su Xiaoyu's mind went blank, and the thread called "reason" snapped with a sharp "crack!"
Almost instinctively, she dropped to her knees with a "thud" before Xiao Jingheng!
Before Xiao Jingheng could react, her knees slid forward smoothly, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his leg, pressing her face directly against the cool fabric of his official robe.
"Young Marquis! This maid admits her wrongdoing! Waa…"
Using the slight intoxication and her overwhelming fear, she managed to squeeze out a few tears and began wailing loudly.
"It was this maid's fault! It was all this maid's doing! This maid insisted on pestering Second Young Master to take her out to see the world! This maid will never dare again! Please spare this maid and Second Young Master this once! Waa…"
As she cried, tears and even snot smeared onto Xiao Jingheng's priceless, impeccably smooth official robe, as if this would make her appear more pitiful.
Xiao Jingheng froze completely!
He could clearly feel the warmth against his leg and the girl's trembling body as she sobbed.
She held on tightly, as if clutching her only lifeline.
This utterly chaotic, almost shameless way of begging for mercy was something he had never encountered in over twenty years.
He had witnessed too much cunning rhetoric in official circles and desperate wailing in prisons, yet no one had ever dared to act like Su Xiaoyu… clinging to his leg!
Beside them, Xiao Jingxuan was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out of his head.