After patiently enduring the bandaging process, Su Niao could not help urging him: “It’s done now, right? We can leave now, can’t we?”
Pretending not to be afraid was impossible.
She looked around uneasily and asked tentatively: “We haven’t left Jianning County, have we?”
As she spoke, she took a step forward, cried out in pain, and collapsed to the ground. Only then did she realize something was wrong with her ankle. “It hurts so much.”
Chen Yan crouched down in front of her and, without a word, pulled off her shoe and sock.
Su Niao looked down and saw that her left ankle had already swollen up. Everything had happened so quickly and dangerously earlier that she had no idea when she had injured it. In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Subconsciously, she grabbed Xie Chenyan’s arm.
“I’m fine. I can still walk. Don’t leave me behind.”
The young lady, usually so imperious, pressed her lips together and spoke softly. The round, catlike eyes that were normally full of pride now held traces of anxiety and panic.
Chen Yan fell silent for a moment before looking up at her. “If I were going to abandon you, I could have done so back in the mountains.”
What he said was true. Yet Su Niao still felt uneasy. This was, after all, the man who had killed her in her previous life. They were neither family nor friends. She had treated him terribly before. If she had any advantage left, it was her appearance, but he was clearly not the sort of man who could be bewitched by beauty.
So Su Niao was afraid. Even though Xie Chenyan said he would not abandon her, and even though the way he helped her put her shoe and sock back on was surprisingly gentle, she was still afraid.
Unwilling to burden him too much, she struggled to her feet, grabbed a nearby stick to use as a walking cane, and forced out a smile. “See? I can walk.”
She thought of how everyone had turned against her in her previous life.
She thought of that desolate, crumbling courtyard.
She thought of the poisoned wine that had left her in unbearable agony.
Even the elder sister she had grown up with had hated her to the point of wanting her dead. Even the parents who had raised her could cast her aside like worn-out shoes. If that was the case, why would anyone else save her for no reason?
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xie Chenyan reached out, took the stick from her hand, and tossed it aside.
After throwing away the cane, Chen Yan looked at the little peacock.
Her lips were tightly pressed together. Her eyes were full of unease. Yet she stubbornly concealed it, as though refusing to ask him for help or show weakness again.
Chen Yan opened his arms. “Hold on to me.”
Su Niao froze for a moment.
Chen Yan glanced at her, then stepped forward. He wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her into his arms with ease.
“Forgive the impropriety.”
“I have an injury on my back, so I can’t carry you on my back. That arm isn’t in good condition for exerting force either. So I’ll have to trouble Miss Su to hold on to me more tightly.” His tone was calm, his expression as indifferent as ever.
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Niao obeyed immediately and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
Fearing Xie Chenyan might grow tired and throw her down, she held on with all her strength, pressing herself close so his arm wouldn’t have to bear too much of her weight. That made things easier for him. But it also brought them very close together.
By now, however, Su Niao had no mind to care about such things. With her arms locked around his neck, she secretly watched his expression, thinking that if she detected even the slightest trace of impatience, she would immediately get down and walk on her own. Yet after a long while, she realized that although Xie Chenyan had carried her a considerable distance, his expression had not changed in the slightest. Only his face was growing paler and paler.
Su Niao remembered the wound on his back and the poison still lingering within it. She pressed her lips together slightly. A strange feeling stirred deep inside her. Could it be that he really is an upright and honorable gentleman?
In truth, Su Niao knew perfectly well that anyone who could endure the abuse and humiliation she had inflicted in her previous life without yielding even once was no ordinary person. After all, the First Prince who had disappeared for four years had originally been renowned for his self-discipline and noble character.
After entering the Eastern Palace as Crown Prince, he had likewise been praised everywhere as a man of flawless integrity and refinement, the heir apparent favored by all.
But Su Niao had never believed it. If he were truly so noble and virtuous, so frank and upright, then why, back then, had he done nothing when his superior, Ye Linlang, knowingly involved herself with another woman’s man?
Not only had he failed to stop her, but he had also even helped Ye Linlang target and bully Su Niao at every turn.
Because of that, Su Niao had always been convinced that Xie Chenyan was nothing more than a hypocrite. When his status was low, he had devoted himself to currying favor with those above him.
Once he rose to a position of power, however, he simply put on that lofty facade of icy purity and impeccable virtue.
That was also why Su Niao had been worried that Xie Chenyan might abandon her as a burden. After all, not long ago, she had bullied, insulted, and humiliated him. Yet all the way here, he had continued carrying her.
After a long while, dusk began to settle.
The pitch-black mountain forest seemed to conceal countless evil spirits. Unconsciously clutching the front of Xie Chenyan’s robe, Su Niao pressed herself tightly against him.
At this moment, the warmth emanating from the body of the man she had always wanted to kill had become her greatest source of comfort.
“There’s a house ahead.”
Chen Yan looked toward the distance.
At first, Su Niao couldn’t see it. Only after a while did she finally make out a small wooden cabin. She also noticed figures moving outside it.
“Could they be bad people?”
Recalling the group that had chased them earlier, she tightened her grip on his clothing and whispered: “Let’s hide and see how many there are first. If there aren’t many, we’ll kill them and take over the cabin for the night!”
The young lady spoke through gritted teeth in a dark, serious tone, as if she were an experienced outlaw.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yan was reminded of how, earlier, the smell of blood from his wound had made her retch until tears welled up in her eyes. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. He responded with a simple “Mm,” but did not stop walking.
He had already recognized the place. It looked like a hunter’s resting cabin.
Sure enough, as they approached, a hunter and his wife emerged carrying bows and arrows, looking somewhat wary. But when they saw that Xie Chenyan was carrying a slender young woman in his arms, most of their suspicion faded.
Su Niao listened as Xie Chenyan smoothly explained that they were merchants who had encountered river bandits. Their young mistress had fallen into danger, and he had escorted her here after a difficult journey.
With just a few brief sentences, the couple welcomed them inside.
As it happened, the hunter carried medicinal salves for wounds and herbs with detoxifying properties.
Xie Chenyan traded one of Su Niao’s earrings for the supplies.
Su Niao touched her now-bare earlobe. She forced herself not to say anything. After all, she still depended on him.
After a while, the hunter’s wife returned carrying two bowls of food, smiling as she set them down.
After fleeing for their lives, falling into a river, and trekking through the mountains for most of the day, Su Niao was starving despite having been carried the entire way. But the moment she looked into her bowl and saw the dark broth filled with strange green ingredients, she was horrified.
“What kind of disgusting cr—mmph…”
Xie Chenyan’s hand abruptly covered her chattering mouth.
Eyes wide, she heard him warn in a low voice: “If you anger them, we’re deep in the wilderness. They could kill both of us and never bother burying the bodies.”
Su Niao immediately shut her mouth and nodded repeatedly.
Though spoiled and overbearing, the young lady was also rather timid. In some ways, she was surprisingly easy to scare.
Chen Yan picked up his bowl and ate heartily. As long as it was edible, that was enough. What he needed was strength to keep going. Under these circumstances, taste was completely irrelevant.
Across from him, however, Su Niao hadn’t touched her food.
Looking up, Chen Yan saw her pale-faced, staring into the bowl at the green-and-black contents, her eyes reddening as she looked at him pitifully.
“I can’t eat it… I really can’t.”
Even in her previous life, when she had suffered endless torment, no one had deprived her of food. No matter how miserable her circumstances, she had never been forced to eat something like this.
Afraid that Xie Chenyan would find her troublesome and stop helping her, Su Niao sniffed and voiced her suspicion in a small voice: “I think there might be boiled horse dung or cow dung in that bowl… or something.”
The color and texture really looked like it. She absolutely refused to eat it. She would rather starve.
Having just finished an entire bowl himself, Chen Yan’s mouth twitched slightly. Drawing a breath, he explained: “It’s wild vegetables and bran steamed into dumplings. Hunters often carry them into the mountains because they’re filling and keep well.”
Su Niao still shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
Chen Yan: “…”
Suddenly thinking of something, Su Niao hastily removed her remaining pearl earring. She had worn very little jewelry on this hunting trip. Only a pair of pearl earrings.
“Could you use this to trade for some game meat?” She didn’t even dare look at the bowl’s contents anymore.
Chen Yan stood, took the earring, and walked outside. When he returned, he was carrying half a roasted wild rabbit.
Su Niao was shocked. “Only half?”
That pearl was the size of a fingertip and completely flawless. Those two were outrageously greedy!
Then she heard Xie Chenyan explain: “It also paid for us to stay in the cabin tonight.”
There was only one room in the cabin. If they occupied it, the hunter and his wife would have to spend the night outside.
Only then did Su Niao fall silent. She immediately took the roasted rabbit and pushed the large bowl across the table to him.
“If you like that stuff, you can eat my portion too. I’ll eat the rabbit.”
Chen Yan: “…”
Hadn’t they even crossed the river yet? And she was already tearing down the bridge?
Originally, he truly hadn’t cared what he ate. But thanks to the young lady’s description of it as “boiled cow dung,” he no longer felt especially eager to finish it either.
Seeing that Xie Chenyan wasn’t touching the bowl anymore, Su Niao paused in the middle of tearing off a piece of rabbit meat.
Thinking about how they were still trapped in the mountains and how her ankle was still swollen, she bit her lip secretly. Then, with obvious reluctance, she tore off one of the rabbit’s legs and held it out to him.
“You can have this. You’ve been carrying me all day. It was hard on you.”
That was probably the most polite thing the pampered young lady had ever said to a servant.
Chen Yan reached out and accepted it. “Thank you, Miss.”
Determined not to look at the rabbit leg, which clearly had the most meat and looked the tastiest, Su Niao steeled herself.
It’s all for survival. A wise person knows when to bend and when to stand tall!
Fortunately, Su Niao had never eaten much to begin with. Before she even finished half the rabbit, she was already full. After a moment’s thought, she held out the rest to him.
“Do you want any more?”
Chen Yan looked at her. “You’re full?”
She nodded.
Then she watched Xie Chenyan reach out and take the remains of the rabbit she had been eating.
“Wait, I already bit that part…” Before she could finish speaking, he bit the exact spot she had bitten earlier. For some reason, a flicker of irritation rose in her heart.
Earlier, when she had tried to make him drink the water laced with the muscle-weakening powder, he had used “proper boundaries between men and women” as an excuse to refuse. And now, suddenly, he wasn’t being so particular at all. Fortunately, he hadn’t drunk that water earlier.
Otherwise, by now the two of them would probably already be buried somewhere in the mountains.
Since she hadn’t returned that night, the Su Residence was surely in chaos. There would undoubtedly be a huge uproar, and word would likely have been sent back to the capital as well.
While Su Niao’s thoughts were in turmoil, she noticed that Xie Chenyan had, at some point, cleared the table and brought in a basin of brownish water.
The young lady immediately frowned.
Seeing her expression, Xie Chenyan sighed silently and explained: “It’s an herbal soak. It’s good for your foot.”
“Oh. I see.”
Only then was Su Niao willing to stick her foot into it.
By now, Xie Chenyan seemed almost accustomed to helping her put on and take off her shoes and socks. After removing them, he lowered her foot into the basin.
The herbal water was pleasantly warm. Su Niao let out a contented sigh.
Then came a shriek. She instantly jerked her foot back and glared at Xie Chenyan. “What are you doing?”
Chen Yan looked up.
“You sprained your ankle. I was checking whether any bones were injured.”
That single touch had hurt so badly that tears sprang into Su Niao’s eyes.
Furious, she snapped: “Couldn’t you have warned me first?”
The pain instantly made her forget all the meekness and caution she had been showing earlier. Yet with her round eyes wide and glistening with tears, even her anger lacked any real intimidation.
Recoiling backward, she supported herself on the bed with both hands. Looking both indignant and pitiful, she somehow managed to appear especially easy to bully.
Chen Yan paused. Then he reached out, shook out the quilt, and dropped it straight over her head. “If you can’t see it, it won’t hurt.”
Before he had even finished speaking, the quilt was thrown off again.
Miss Peacock was now even angrier. “It stinks!”
Chen Yan: “…”
After letting her soak her foot a little longer, Chen Yan finally spared her further treatment. After pouring out the medicinal water and washing up briefly, he returned to the room. There he found Su Niao sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms folded.
Walking over, he said: “Get some rest early. We still have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Miss Peacock glanced at the dark, dingy blanket. It looked as though she had tried very hard to endure it but ultimately failed.
“That blanket smells awful.”
Chen Yan: “…”
He said, “The mountains get cold at night. You’ll catch a chill if you don’t use it.”
“But it smells so bad I feel like throwing up. There’s no way I can sleep under it.”
Then Su Niao seemed to think of something. After a pause, she looked away awkwardly. “You can sleep beside me.”
The moment the words left her mouth and she saw Xie Chenyan raise his eyes to look at her, she immediately snapped: “Don’t get any strange ideas! It’s only because you’re warm. If I stay next to you, I won’t get cold.”
Chen Yan looked at her and stated a simple fact. “I’m a man.”
“So what if you’re a man?”
Irritated by what she perceived as a threat, Su Niao warned him fiercely, “If you dare entertain any improper thoughts, the moment I get back, I’ll have you castrated and sent to the palace as a eunuch!”
But as soon as she finished speaking, she saw Xie Chenyan glance leisurely toward the wilderness outside and say lightly, “This is deep in the mountains. Getting back won’t be easy…”
With that single sentence, the little peacock who had puffed up all her feathers in outrage was instantly brought back to reality. All her feathers folded right back down.
“I-I was only joking.” Su Niao pressed her lips together.
Then, in an obvious attempt to remind him, she said: “I’ve treated you quite well, you know. I… I gave you the blood ginseng to save your aunt.”
Chen Yan nodded. “Yes. And then you made me work as your servant for three months.”
Su Niao immediately countered: “I also saved your sister.”
Chen Yan nodded. “And then you toyed with my brother’s feelings and used him to make someone else jealous…”
“When did I ever toy with his feelings? He’s the one who fell for a pretty face.”
The retort slipped out before she could stop herself. Realizing it, she quickly suppressed her temper and forced herself to continue: “But I also testified on his behalf and spared him from prison. I made sure he wouldn’t miss the provincial examination. That’s something that affects a person’s entire life.”
Chen Yan looked at her. “Perhaps that was because half an hour earlier, you had sold his elder brother to a male brothel, and your conscience bothered you…”
Su Niao was left speechless. Her patience finally snapped. No longer able to keep humbling herself, she let out a cold snort, turned over, and curled up on the wooden bed. If she said one more nice thing to him, she’d be a pig!
A moment later, the bed shifted slightly.
Xie Chenyan had lain down on the very edge of the bed. He must have been exceptionally healthy and strong. Even wounded, his body still radiated warmth. Su Niao immediately felt as though the air around her wasn’t nearly as cold anymore. Although they had been arguing and bickering, she knew this man was not the sort to be swayed by beauty.
His self-control was beyond even that of Liu Xiahui. Back then, even when pushed to his limits, he had refused to yield or lower his head. How could a man like that possibly do something out of character?
Before long, exhausted by a day of fear and desperate flight, Su Niao drifted into a deep sleep. Not long after she fell asleep, she unconsciously began moving toward the nearest source of warmth.
The instant her soft body leaned against him, Chen Yan’s eyes flew open. Lowering his gaze, he saw that Miss Peacock had not only snuggled closer, but had even wrapped an arm around him. Just how much does she trust me?
Chen Yan could not understand the young lady’s complete lack of caution toward him. He was, after all, an ordinary man.
A grown man, and a healthy one at that.
After a pause, he spoke: “Miss Su…”
“Don’t talk. You’re so warm.”
Chen Yan sighed. “That’s because I’m injured, poisoned, and running a fever.”
Then he heard Miss Peacock’s muffled yet satisfied voice: “Wonderful. Even hotter would be better…”
Chen Yan: …
He had long known Miss Peacock lacked a conscience.