The soldiers rushed out through the side gate in hot pursuit, but men on foot were no match for a horse-drawn carriage. Xie Zhi drove the blue-canopied carriage, turning down winding alleys and cutting through several lanes until he had completely shaken off the soldiers behind them.
Gripping the reins, he steered the blue-canopied carriage straight for the city gate.
After their escape, those soldiers would surely report what had happened. The city gates might be sealed at any moment. Xie Zhi needed to exploit this window of time and get Yuan Yingti out.
The carriage picked up speed. Yuan Yingti's slender knuckles went white. Amidst the jolting, her forehead struck the carriage wall several times, but she bit down on her lip and made not a sound.
More than the pain, she feared being caught.
Soon, their carriage reached the city gate.
As they passed through, Xie Zhi deliberately slowed down. The guards at the gate had not yet received the order to seal it. One of them gave the carriage a lazy glance, then waved them through.
The sound of hooves echoed through the gate tunnel—clop, clop, clop—and they passed through smoothly.
Once fully outside the city, Xie Zhi urged the horse into a gallop once more.
Inside the carriage, Yuan Yingti's hands, gripping the window frame, had gone numb and painful. The jolting nearly sent her flying.
She wanted to ask A-Nu to slow down, but then she remembered she was fleeing for her life—how could she afford to be picky? So she did her best to endure it obediently.
The capital was soon left far behind. Night fell, and the road of escape seemed endless.
After what felt like an eternity—perhaps they had run far enough—the carriage finally began to slow.
Yuan Yingti felt as though her whole body had come apart. She could hold on no longer. Her eyes closed, and she fell into a deep sleep in the carriage.
To cover their tracks, Xie Zhi stopped at a post station along the way and sold the marquis estate's blue-canopied carriage, horse and all, trading it for two bundles of silver.
He then hired a new carriage. As he switched them, he lifted the carriage curtain and saw Yuan Yingti slumped inside.
Her eyes were closed, tear tracks still wet beneath them. Her hair was disheveled, her thin body curled up—a wretched and pitiful sight.
Xie Zhi leaned in and placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently.
No response.
She must have truly fainted this time.
He found a gray cloak at the post station and draped it over her from head to toe. Then he scooped her up and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
He had barely taken two steps when the person on his shoulder stirred. A soft, panicked voice came: "A-Nu?"
So she hadn't fainted—she had been asleep.
Xie Zhi chuckled softly and continued walking with her on his shoulder. "Miss, it's me."
Hearing it was him, she seemed to relax. She slumped softly against his shoulder, her voice no longer panicked.
"A-Nu, where are we now?"
"A post station." Xie Zhi did not stop walking. "We're switching carriages."
"Where are we going?"
"Just follow me, Miss."
"Mm." She asked no more.
Xie Zhi chuckled again. She truly had no guard up against him at all. He thought of his "mother," the one who worked as a matron. It seemed this young lady and his "mother" shared an extraordinary bond—otherwise, how could she trust him, the matron's "son," so easily?
The person on his shoulder went still again. The faint, steady sound of breathing drifted over.
She seemed to have fallen asleep once more.
Xie Zhi wrapped his arm around the crook of her knees, carried her onto the newly hired carriage, and continued their flight into the deep of night.
Along the way, Xie Zhi deliberately took detours, switching carriages three times in a row. Yuan Yingti drifted in and out of sleep, her only impression being that whenever they changed carriages, she would be slung over someone's shoulder and swayed back and forth.
She lay sprawled over a hard shoulder blade, arms dangling, body jostling and swinging.
It was like a dream—dizzy, floating, and hazy.
After a night of such turmoil, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, her feet finally touched solid ground.
"Miss, we've arrived."
Before the two of them stood a modest little courtyard. The walls were built of gray brick, with a few tufts of wild grass dancing atop them. A rusty iron lock hung on the heavy wooden door.
"Where is this?" Yuan Yingti asked in confusion.
"Peach Blossom Town. I have a courtyard here."
This courtyard was a house someone had given Xie Zhi in lieu of a debt he'd collected in the past, but he had never once come here.
Xie Zhi bent down, picked up a brick from the base of the wall, weighed it in his palm, walked to the door, and smashed it against the iron lock.
Bang! The lock snapped apart. Yuan Yingti blinked, startled by the sudden noise.
Xie Zhi explained with a half-smile: "Left in a hurry, didn't bring the key."
The door swung open. He walked forward two steps, then turned back to see Yuan Yingti still standing where she was.
"Miss, shall I carry you in again?" he asked, tilting his head.
"N-no, no need…" Yuan Yingti quickly shook her head. "I'll lean on you as I walk."
Xie Zhi extended his hand to her.
Now that her feet were on solid ground, her demeanor instinctively became more proper. Yuan Yingti placed her hand on his arm, pinching his sleeve with just two fingers.
Xie Zhi glanced at her pinky finger raised high in a dainty gesture, as if she found him distasteful. Without a word, he guided her across the threshold.
The inside of the courtyard looked a bit newer than the outside. It was paved with gray flagstones, with three tiled rooms directly ahead, two low side rooms to the west, and a well with a windlass to the east, beside which stood a bare grape trellis.
Yuan Yingti couldn't see anything, only smelled the cool air. In the marquis's residence, her courtyard was filled with flowers, always fragrant—but here, there was no scent at all.
Xie Zhi led her onward. The flagstone-paved courtyard, long neglected, had many chipped and missing corners.
Yuan Yingti stumbled several times, tripping along the whole way. Xie Zhi said nothing and didn't steady her, watching as her dainty two-finger grip gradually turned into her whole hand clutching tightly at his arm.
The corner of Xie Zhi's mouth curved upward.
He pushed open the door to the main house, and a wave of dust hit them.
"Ah-choo!" Yuan Yingti covered her nose tightly, so Xie Zhi didn't let her go any further and went in alone.
The room was thick with dust; every step left a clear imprint.
The central hall was fairly spacious. Against the eastern wall stood a simple stove built of brick and stone, and the doors to the bedrooms on the east and west sides were both ajar. He pushed each one open and couldn't help frowning in distaste.
How could there be nothing here?
No cabinets, no tables, no chairs—not even a bed.
Empty and bare, four walls and nothing else. How could anyone live here?
Xie Zhi very much wanted to turn around and head to an inn, but he glanced back at Yuan Yingti, who stood obediently at the doorway.
In this dusty, gray place, she was like a luminous pearl. He had snatched her up through immense hardship—she was too eye-catching. If they went to an inn, they'd be spotted too easily.
He needed to hide her well, not take her out to flaunt.
It seemed they'd have to stay here after all.
Xie Zhi mulled this over unhurriedly, slowly rolling up his sleeves.
He walked out of the house, picked up two grey bricks from the corner and stacked them under the grape trellis, then led Yuan Yingti over to sit on them.
"Miss, wait here. I'll go tidy up."
Yuan Yingti nodded dully.
The early spring morning wind carried a chill. Xie Zhi looked at her thin, frail figure and took off the servant's uniform he had stripped from someone, draping it over her.
Yuan Yingti did not refuse, silently pulling the clothes tighter.
Xie Zhi studied her. The panic and terror from yesterday were gone from her expression. After a night of running, she seemed much calmer.
As expected of a noble young lady from a marquis's household—to have fallen so low so suddenly and still compose herself this quickly was truly beyond his expectations.
Xie Zhi drew a bucket of water from the pulley well and went back inside to clean.
Little did he know, at this very moment, Yuan Yingti felt as though—the sky, had, fallen…
How had it come to this? At this time yesterday, she was still living in luxury in the marquis's estate. How had she ended up homeless today?
Where was she—
Oh, A-Nu said this was Peach Blossom Town.
But where was Peach Blossom Town?
Prince Qi probably wouldn't find her now, would he…
How had the marquis's estate offended Prince Qi anyway?
Her father was far away in Yizhou. Did he know about this?
Would he come looking for her?
A string of questions flooded Yuan Yingti's mind, and her heart felt like it was collapsing.
Yesterday's flashing blades and being hunted down—it was like a nightmare that left her dazed and disbelieving.
Could she be dreaming?
Yuan Yingti lowered her head and touched her arm. She had fallen who knew how many times yesterday; every spot she touched ached.
She wasn't dreaming.
So her sky… really had fallen.
Yuan Yingti sat there blankly, replaying everything that had happened from yesterday to now, over and over. The biting spring wind blew against her in gusts. She felt cold on the outside, and cold inside too.
She didn't know how much time had passed. The sun gradually rose higher, and bright daylight pierced through the old, broken grape trellis, falling on her face.
Sounds of busy cleaning reached her ears—a bucket dropping into the well with a splash, the pulley well creaking and groaning, steady footsteps pacing back and forth in the courtyard.
These sounds pulled Yuan Yingti out of her chaotic thoughts, and she finally had to accept reality.
Things had come to this point. No amount of replaying would change anything.
Better to think about what to do next.
She was just a little blind girl who couldn't do anything. It seemed she could only wait for someone to rescue her.
Her father would come save her… wouldn't he?
Yuan Yingti thought of her father, Yuan Zhen.
Their father-daughter relationship was not close. The last time they met was during the Lantern Festival.
That day, she and Mama Fang had gone to Ci'an Temple to burn incense. On the mountain path, they encountered wind that blew off her veil. During the Lantern Festival, Ci'an Temple was crowded with people, and who knew how many had seen her face. Soon, rumors about her spread—people said she was beautiful, and they called her the most beautiful woman in the capital…
These rumors reached her father's ears. He was furious, scolding her for going out and drawing attention, berating her for being a disgrace.
Yuan Yingti still remembered the sound of her father's rage and disgust.
That day, she obediently admitted her fault and said she would never go out again, but her father stormed off without forgiving her.
Her father was still angry with her. Would he come looking for her?
Yuan Yingti twisted her hands anxiously. If her father wouldn't bother with her, who else would come looking?
…Would Brother Pei?
Yuan Yingti recalled the few times she had spent with Pei Shuyu. He seemed like a very gentle person—steady in speech, kind to her, and often sending her gifts. He… would come looking for her, wouldn't he?
Thinking of Pei Shuyu, she gradually regained a little confidence.
After all, she was Pei Shuyu's fiancée. He would surely take care of her.
So all she needed to do was wait quietly here.
Yuan Yingti's heart slowly settled. With that reassurance, her spirits recovered considerably.
She raised her cold hands and fumbled through the servant's clothes she was wearing, eventually finding a wooden token. Carved on it were the characters "A-Nu." Her fingers traced carefully over the name.
No matter what, the situation wasn't so dire—she hadn't been caught by Prince Qi, and she still had A-Nu by her side.
A-Nu had rescued her from the marquis's estate and brought her to a place to stay.
He truly was, just like Mama Fang, a very dependable person.
…
By the time Xie Zhi finished cleaning the place inside and out, the sun had already risen high.
He glanced at Yuan Yingti, who was still sitting quietly on the blue bricks, her head slightly lowered, both hands resting on her knees.
Like a pretty little wooden doll.
He walked over to her side and bent down to ask.
"Miss, are you hungry?"
Yuan Yingti considered for a moment, then nodded.
She hadn't eaten for two meals now.
"Would Miss like to go to the market with me?" Xie Zhi asked again.
Yuan Yingti quickly shook her head. She wasn't going out. The marquis's estate was gone—she might even be a wanted fugitive by now. She needed to hide here obediently. Why would she go out and draw attention?
Xie Zhi smiled slightly. Good—he didn't want her going out either.
"Then wait here for me, Miss. I'll go buy some food."
Leaving Yuan Yingti alone, Xie Zhi walked out of the courtyard and closed the gate behind him.
The old, weathered wooden door didn't close properly. He glanced at the broken lock he had smashed on the ground.
Xie Zhi frowned, then turned and left.
After a few steps, he looked back uneasily.
A few more steps, and he looked back again.
Then he quickened his pace toward the market.
The small courtyard sat at the edge of Peach Blossom Town, and the walk to the market was not short. But Xie Zhi walked quickly and arrived before long.
After buying food, he first stopped at a blacksmith's shop and picked out a new door lock.
With the lock purchased, he headed straight back.
His pace was still quick.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, he saw Yuan Yingti still sitting there obediently, exactly as she had been when he left. Xie Zhi's back relaxed slightly, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward involuntarily.
He handed her the flatbread he had bought, along with a pot of hot water.
"Miss, I'm back."
Yuan Yingti took the flatbread and looked up. "A-Nu has worked hard."
"Not at all." Xie Zhi watched her, seeing her part her soft pink lips and take a gentle bite of the bread.
He held the brass lock in his hand, watching her chew and swallow.
He smiled.
"Miss, eat first. I'll go get a few more things. There's nothing here—we need to stock up on a lot."
Yuan Yingti nodded with the bread still in her mouth.
Xie Zhi left the courtyard again.
Outside the door, he locked it with the new lock.
The brass lock was heavy, sturdy, and solid. The bolt clicked into the keyhole with a pleasant sound.
Now, there was no escaping even if she wanted to.
Xie Zhi pocketed the key, turned, and this time strolled leisurely toward the market.