A small portion of the Su Residence had burned down.
With the neighbors’ help, the fire was finally extinguished, and before long the local authorities arrived. Those matters naturally fell to Steward Jing to handle.
Meanwhile, accompanied by Lichun and the household servants, Su Niao had already been moved to the courtyard Li Lingzhen had purchased in the neighboring lane.
Since Li Lingzhen lived alone and the courtyard was quite spacious, accommodating the entire Su household was no difficulty.
Exhausted in both body and mind, Su Niao thanked him listlessly.
Li Lingzhen immediately told her not to be so polite and urged her to get some rest. If she needed anything, she only had to send for him. Then, with rare tact, he departed and did not show himself again.
After he left, the Su Residence physician came to examine Su Niao’s foot. When she had kicked the burning beam aside, the side of her foot had been scorched.
After the examination, the physician handed Lichun some ointment.
Outside the room, Chen Yan was washing soot from his face with water a maid had brought over. Suddenly, from behind the screen separating the inner chamber, he heard a cry of pain.
Lichun’s voice followed immediately as she blew gently on the burn, trying to soothe her mistress. “Just bear with it a little longer, Miss. The doctor said the wound must be cleaned thoroughly before the medicine can be applied…”
Then came another trembling whimper.
Chen Yan frowned. As the weak, shaking sounds grew clearer, he set down the towel and strode inside.
Lichun was startled to see him. “Miss is having her wound cleaned…”
“I’ll do it.” Chen Yan took the supplies from her hands. “I have experience with this.”
Lichun hesitated. After all, men and women should not touch so freely. Yet she also knew that her young mistress treated Chen Yan differently from everyone else. And more importantly, he had only just risked his life to pull her from a burning building.
Just as Lichun wavered, unable to decide what to do, Su Niao raised her foot and kicked Xie Chenyan’s outstretched hand away. “Go away.”
She had been crying from the pain moments earlier. The instant Xie Chenyan entered, she forced herself to stop because she didn’t want to lose face. But the moisture lingering on her eyelashes hadn’t yet dried.
The foot she kicked out, however, was caught effortlessly in one hand around her ankle.
Looking up at her, Chen Yan said: “If I treat it, it won’t leave a scar.”
As expected, the beauty-loving little peacock stopped struggling immediately.
Chen Yan sat down and carefully began cleaning the wound. It was obvious that the pampered young lady had been raised in luxury. Her feet were delicate and fair, as smooth as carved jade, which made the burn all the more shocking. She had probably never endured such suffering in her life.
Watching him work, Lichun was first surprised, then relieved, when she saw how quickly and gently he treated the injury.
Su Niao still felt pain, but his touch was indeed far lighter than Lichun’s had been.
Before long, Chen Yan applied the ointment to the cleaned wound and carefully wrapped her foot. “All done.”
Su Niao pulled her foot back and deliberately avoided looking at him.
“Tonight you saved me, and I saved you. We’re even now.”
“You can go.”
The near-death experience had drained her completely. She had neither the energy to think about anything else nor the spirit to continue playing games with him.
After a brief silence, Chen Yan turned and left.
A maid brought in a calming medicinal soup.
Su Niao then sent Lichun out to check on the injured guards.
Before long, Lichun returned. She still looked badly shaken. The moment she saw Su Niao, anxiety flooded her face. “Miss, I just went to see the guards.”
“They’re badly injured…” Her eyes reddened.
“Who could possibly want to harm you?”
“To be this vicious…”
Su Niao did not tell Lichun much. “I don’t know either,” she said simply.
“Tell Steward Jing to take good care of the injured guards. Don’t be stingy with money or medicine.”
Lichun immediately agreed.
Meanwhile, Chen Yan returned to his own courtyard. He fetched a change of clothes and some water, intending to wash up and rid himself of the soot before changing.
Chen Xu had only just returned from helping the neighbors fight the fire. After declining the gifts of thanks from the Su Residence, he entered the courtyard and noticed his elder brother’s room was still lit. Wanting to ask whether Miss Su was safe, he headed over.
“Big Brother…” Used to entering freely, he pushed open the door without knocking.
Inside, Chen Yan had just finished putting on his trousers and was reaching for his upper garment from a nearby rack.
Chen Xu immediately apologized. “Sorry, I was in a hurry and forgot to knock—”
Before he could finish, his gaze suddenly fixed on a pale strip of fabric hanging beside Chen Yan’s clothes.
If he remembered correctly, it was the bandage wrapped around his brother’s wound after he and Miss Su returned from getting stranded in the mountains. It had been torn from Miss Su’s skirt.
In an instant, another image surfaced in his mind. The scene he had witnessed earlier in the Su Residence. His usually cold, reserved elder brother knelt on one knee, frowning as he examined the injury on Miss Su’s foot. Like a bolt of lightning, realization struck him.
Staring at his brother, Chen Xu asked slowly: “Brother…”
“When you stopped me from confessing my feelings to Miss Su…”
“Was it because you like her?”
Chen Yan paused while adjusting his clothing. Then he looked up. “No.”
Chen Xu pressed his lips together. “Then can you honestly say you don’t like her?”
Hearing the anger hidden within his younger brother’s voice, Chen Yan fell silent for a moment. Then he answered: “I stopped you because I know she doesn’t like you.”
“If you went to her, you’d only end up hurt.”
“If that upsets you, then go find her now.”
“I won’t stop you again.”
Chen Xu clenched his fists. Without another word, he turned and walked out the door. Even this late, Ping’an Lane was still awake because of the fire at the Su Residence.
People were still moving about outside.
Driven by a surge of courage, Chen Xu went straight to the courtyard where Li Lingzhen lived.
“I’d like to see Miss Su.”
Lichun frowned, wanting to send this tactless fellow away. But remembering that his elder brother had just saved her young mistress, she reluctantly went inside to ask.
Su Niao allowed him in. The moment Chen Xu saw her, much of the passionate determination that had brought him here abruptly cooled. Even the confidence he had gained from becoming Jieyuan faded considerably. But he had already come this far. Stepping forward, he gathered his courage.
“Miss Su, I have something I’d like to—”
Immediately, Su Niao realized why he was there. Impatiently, she interrupted him: “I have no interest in you whatsoever. There’s no need to say anything more. Go home.”
Chen Xu froze. “I… I…”
He never imagined Su Niao wouldn’t even give him a chance to confess. But what followed shocked him even more. The heavenly beautiful young lady reclining before him glanced at him disdainfully.
“You waited until the examination results were released to come see me.”
“Do you think that because you became Jieyuan, you can finally hold your head high and believe you’ve gained some tiny chance with me?”
Exhausted by the night’s dangers, Su Niao no longer had the energy to restrain her sharp-tempered nature. Looking at Chen Xu, she spoke coldly: “So what if you became Jieyuan?”
“No one can predict what will happen in next spring’s examinations.”
“And even if you become a jinshi, even if you become the top scholar, so what?”
“Would that make you stand high enough?”
“I wouldn’t even marry a prince. Do you think you could ever stand higher than a prince?”
Chen Xu’s voice turned strained. “I never meant that…”
Su Niao let out a contemptuous laugh. “Whether you meant it or not, you know the truth yourself.”
Embarrassment appeared on Chen Xu’s face. With difficulty, he said, “I know my feelings are presumptuous. But even so, they are sincere.”
“Even if you don’t return them, there is no need to treat them as though they were worthless.”
Su Niao blinked and smiled. “But they are worthless.” Then she continued lazily: “Chen Xu, you claimed you weren’t interested in Jin Mingzhu.”
“But when she came asking for paintings so she could secretly support your family, you never refused her, did you?”
“Did it really never occur to you that doing so was the same as giving her hope?”
Chen Xu’s eyes tightened. At that time, his family had been desperately poor, his mother seriously ill. Even his normally aloof and self-disciplined elder brother had gone to work as a servant in the Su Residence to earn money for medicine.
In a moment of weakness, Chen Xu had chosen to play dumb.
Su Niao continued: “When Jin Mingzhu openly argued with me and accused me of having something special with you, you never stepped forward to clarify things.”
“You never bothered to make the situation clear.”
“Wasn’t that because part of you wanted other people to think I was somehow different from everyone else?”
The secret thoughts he had hidden deep inside himself were ruthlessly dragged into the open.
Chen Xu’s face turned pale. For a long moment, he couldn’t say a single word.
“So, Chen Xu, you’re not some pure and noble gentleman untouched by worldly desires either.” Su Niao looked at him. “Then why do you think I should treat your feelings as something precious?”
By the time she finished speaking, Chen Xu’s face had already gone deathly pale. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed bitterly. “So the secret thoughts I kept hidden really were things that couldn’t bear the light of day.”
“I nearly fooled even myself into believing I was some gentleman of spotless integrity.” He bowed deeply toward Su Niao. “It was I who was despicable.”
“Please rest assured, Miss. From this day forward, I will correct myself and conduct myself honestly and openly.”
Su Niao raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bit excessive. It’s not as if you need to ‘turn over a new leaf.’”
“We’re all ordinary people. Having a few embarrassing thoughts is perfectly normal.”
“If someone were truly pure as driven snow, they wouldn’t be human. They’d be a saint.”
Chen Xu found himself unable to say another word. Looking at the noble young lady seated before him, the blazing infatuation that had once consumed him gradually settled into something far more complex.
“I’ve learned much today.” Letting out a long breath, he bowed once more. Just as he was about to leave, something occurred to him. A moment ago, he had suspected his own elder brother, and now he felt ashamed and guilty. Perhaps he could do something to make up for it.
Looking at Su Niao, he cautiously asked: “Since I’ve already humiliated myself enough tonight, allow me one more impertinent question.”
“What do you think of my brother?”
Su Niao was already annoyed. The moment Chen Yan’s name came up, her irritation only deepened. She was about to answer when the movement of a figure approaching outside the doorway caught her eye.
It was Xie Chenyan. Immediately, she let out a cold laugh.
“So if it isn’t you, it must be your brother?”
“What, are the two of you the only men left in the world?”
At that point, Chen Xu had seen his brother too. Realizing he shouldn’t press further, he respectfully bowed to Su Niao in farewell and turned to leave. When he arrived, his heart burned with love and anxiety, but after being rejected and thoroughly humbled, something suddenly clicked into place. As he walked away, head held high, a newfound openness and composure settled into his bearing.
It was already well past midnight. In less than two hours, dawn would break.
Su Niao was exhausted. The moment she saw Xie Chenyan, she snapped irritably: “What are you doing here again?”
Chen Yan walked straight over. “The assassins earlier were no ordinary opponents. I’m worried they may return.”
Su Niao turned her head away. “What does that have to do with you?”
Lichun had been secretly delighted that Chen Yan had come of his own accord to protect her mistress, but seeing Su Niao refuse to appreciate it, she could not help interjecting anxiously: “Miss, Chen Yan means well…”
“Be quiet.”
Lichun immediately fell silent. Then she cast a pleading look toward Chen Yan.
Chen Yan knew he had offended Su Niao badly earlier that day. Now that she refused to accept his goodwill, he paused before saying: “Earlier, Miss risked her life to save mine and was injured because of it. A life-saving debt cannot go unpaid.”
“Haven’t I already said we’re even? Why are you trying to get close to me again?” Su Niao sneered. “If you’re so determined to repay me, then fine. Stay by my side and personally protect me until I return to the capital.”
She was exhausted, frightened, and irritable. The demand was made casually, on the assumption that he would never agree.
Yet the very next moment, the hypocrite replied: “Very well.”
Su Niao had no idea what was wrong with him. But remembering the swords and flames from earlier, she still felt shaken.
“Fine then.”
“Since you’re here to repay a debt, sleep on the footstool and protect this young lady properly.”
Part of Lichun felt that such an arrangement violated propriety. But then she thought that nothing mattered more than her mistress’s safety. Besides, Chen Yan had been difficult enough to persuade to stay. So she said nothing.
After offering several polite reminders and indirect warnings that he must not overstep himself, Lichun returned to the small couch outside the screen.
Without a word, Chen Yan lay down beside the footstool.
After a brief rustling of blankets and bedding, steady breathing soon drifted from the bed.
Su Niao was simply too tired. Before long, she had fallen fast asleep. Yet whether it was because of the life-and-death danger she had faced that night or because of Xie Chenyan’s presence on the footstool beside her bed, Su Niao found herself dreaming of her previous life once more. She was back in that secluded courtyard where she had been confined. Before her stood several sturdy palace women. A wine cup slipped from her hand and shattered on the ground. A violent pain twisted through her abdomen. “It hurts…”
A muffled whimper made Chen Yan’s eyes snap open. He heard soft sobs coming from the bed where Su Niao had been sleeping soundly.
“Don’t kill me… don’t kill me! It hurts so much… it hurts…”
Outside the room, Lichun slept deeply.
After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Yan sat up and looked toward the bed. Through the gauzy bed curtains, he could vaguely make out the slender figure trembling. After a brief pause, he called softly, “Su Niao?”
The only response was a choking sob.
Remembering that she had been crying in pain, Chen Yan finally could not put his mind at ease.
“Forgive the offense.” He lifted the curtains. In the cold moonlight, he saw her eyes suddenly fly open.
“Xie Chenyan…” Su Niao murmured indistinctly.
Chen Yan did not hear clearly. Thinking she was calling his name, he answered softly, “I’m here.”
The instant the words fell, Su Niao abruptly pushed herself upright and grabbed his lapel.
“It hurts so much. It really hurts so much…”
“I won’t do that to you again. I’m sorry. Please don’t kill me, all right?”
“It hurts so much…”
“Wuwu…”
Chen Yan had no idea what sort of nightmare could have frightened the pampered young lady to this extent. Tears covered her face. She looked more vulnerable and pitiful than he had ever seen.
The dim moonlight seemed to possess a strange allure. All the feelings he had been forcibly suppressing seized the opportunity to emerge, difficult to resist.
After a pause, his voice grew low and gentle. “Don’t be afraid. No one is going to hurt you.”
Su Niao kept shaking her head.
“But you hate me…”
“You resent me…”
Her fear of him was so intense it hurt to look at.
Chen Yan suddenly regretted whether what he had said to her earlier that day had been too cruel. Finally, he couldn’t resist. His hand reached out, gently drawing the trembling, slender figure into his arms. In a low voice, he soothed her, “I don’t hate you.”
“Really?” Su Niao clutched at the words like a drowning soul grasping a lifeline. “After all the ways I bullied you, you truly don’t hate me, don’t resent me?”
Her lashes were still wet with tears as she lifted her gaze to him, eyes wide with panic yet brimming with desperate hope.
Chen Yan looked at her steadily. “Mm. I don’t hate you.”
Her eyes lit up. “You’re not lying to me?”
But in the next instant, that brightness collapsed into terror. She shook her head again and again. “No, no, you do hate me, you do resent me. I know you—you’re deceiving me, you’re lying to me.”
He said he bore no grudge, yet someone had poisoned her to death.
As Su Niao’s expression twisted with resistance and fear, struggling to pull away from him, Chen Yan finally lost control and bent down to kiss her.
The delicate young lady, carved like jade and porcelain, always carried herself with haughty pride—yet her lips were so soft.
Chen Yan knew that taking advantage of her vulnerability was shameful, but his self‑control had its limits. When he saw the girl in his arms startle at his boldness, he paused and gazed at her. “Now… can you believe me?”
With those words, his calloused hand pressed the dazed young lady closer against his chest, deepening the kiss. Beneath his cool, restrained exterior flowed a hunger for possession. He had tried again and again to keep his distance, yet she, unaware of the dangers of the human heart, left herself utterly unguarded before him.
A moment later, the young girl let out a soft whimper and leaned weakly into his embrace, her body burning hot.
So it was a fever, muddled by the heat; no wonder she looked so fragile and pitiable, stirring dark thoughts in the heart.
But he was no petty thief who only sought stolen kisses. Chen Yan forced himself to push her away, turning his head to call out: “Someone—come here…”