“I don’t touch my brother’s woman.”…
Nan Liujing had just steadied herself when that arm mercilessly pulled away from her.
The way he avoided her was as if she were a venomous snake, as if even a moment’s delay would mean losing the entire arm.
“Stand properly.”
Xiao Lingguang snapped coldly.
Nan Liujing withdrew her hand, leaning against the stone wall to steady herself.
Xiao Lingguang sheathed his blade with a backhand motion, then turned his gaze toward the thugs chasing up the stone steps.
The moment they met Xiao Lingguang’s eyes, they all halted in unison, exchanged glances, and quickly turned to flee.
Xiao Lingguang recognized at a glance that they were well-trained assassins. His brow furrowed as he turned back.
Moonlight flowed like water, and a cool breeze swept through the alley. Nan Liujing stood leaning against the stone wall, still looking as fragile and pitiful as ever, yet not entirely the same as when they had met on the painted boat that day.
She had left in a hurry today, wearing a plain dress without any makeup, her hair adorned only with the wooden hairpin Jiang Ziliu had given her. From the earlier running, mud had splattered onto her plain dress, the wooden hairpin was askew, and several strands of hair had come loose, hanging messily over her shoulders…
Like a flawless white porcelain piece now cracked, she appeared disheveled and rough, grating on one’s nerves.
Xiao Lingguang sheathed his blade, his voice cold and stern, “Nan Wu Niang.”
Her breathing still uneven, Nan Liujing’s chest rose and fell, the veins in her neck faintly pulsing. “It’s me. Thank you, Lord Xiao, for saving me…”
“Who have you offended?”
“It wasn’t me…”
Under Xiao Lingguang’s scrutinizing gaze, she offered a feeble explanation, “If I said I was also trying to save someone and actually know nothing about this, would Lord Xiao believe me?”
Xiao Lingguang coldly averted his gaze and was about to leave.
Nan Liujing quickly called out to him, tentatively asking, “My family’s carriage is parked quite far away. I wonder if you’d be willing to escort me? In case those people come back…”
Xiao Lingguang’s face remained stern, and he said nothing.
Nan Liujing’s voice grew even softer, “Just for Liuyu’s sake.”
“Walk.”
Xiao Lingguang still didn’t look at her, uttering only a single, sparing word.
“…”
Nan Liujing straightened up against the stone wall but didn’t dare put weight on her right foot, gingerly touching the ground with it.
This movement caught Xiao Lingguang’s attention.
She hesitated, finding it difficult to speak, “My foot… it’s sprained.”
Xiao Lingguang sized her up, his brow furrowing even tighter, his entire demeanor radiating impatience.
“I don’t touch my brother’s woman.”
He stated resolutely.
Nan Liujing was taken aback, about to explain something, when the sheathed straight blade abruptly appeared before her eyes.
In the silent, deserted alley, two shadows fell upon the stone steps, nearly overlapping.
The tall, long-legged man walked ahead without looking back, his strides large but pausing with each step. Behind him to the right, the woman dragged her injured ankle, keeping a straight blade’s distance between them, slowly following him, her hands tightly gripping the scabbard.
The two walked one in front of the other.
Daunted by the chilling aura of aloofness surrounding Xiao Lingguang, Nan Liujing dared not speak to him, focusing solely on her steps.
Unexpectedly, halfway through, it was Xiao Lingguang who spoke first.
“Your name is Nan Zhao?”
He asked abruptly, and Nan Liujing took a moment to react. “…My name is Nan Liujing. ‘Wish to be Nan Liujing, galloping light to see my lord’—that Nan Liujing.”
“Then why does Pei Liuyu call you Zhaozhao?”
“It’s a childhood name.”
“Zhao as in ‘notorious’?”
“…”
Nan Liujing felt he was doing it on purpose. Who, upon hearing “Zhao,” would first think of “notorious”?
She glared at the back of his head, her voice still soft and weak. “Not that Zhao. It’s the one with the female radical, Zhāo.”
Xiao Lingguang abruptly stopped and turned to look at her, his expression shifting. Before, it had merely been cold and sharp, but now it turned sinister, carrying a hint of ruthlessness, as if he wanted to skin her alive…
A sudden chill shot up her spine, and Nan Liujing’s grip on the scabbard loosened.
However, Xiao Lingguang’s gaze only darkened for a moment. By the time she tried to discern it further, he had already turned away without a word, and that overwhelming killing intent dissipated along with it.
Nan Liujing’s heart still raced with lingering fear. She tightened her grip on the scabbard again, not daring to ask what she had done to provoke this young master Xiao.
Neither of them spoke another word. In utter silence, they passed through the alley and finally reached an open area.
The Nan family carriage was nowhere to be seen. Instead, another carriage was parked there. As they arrived, a group of people holding torches was about to charge into the southern city to search for someone. And the person surrounded in the center was none other than Pei Liuyu!
“Lingguang?”
Pei Liuyu spotted Xiao Lingguang first, then immediately noticed Nan Liujing behind him, his expression shifting from surprise to joy. “Zhāozhāo!”
He rushed over, his steps somehow unsteady. “I came as soon as I got Nurse Fu’s message. Are you alright?”
“I just sprained my ankle… What about Physician Jiang and the others?”
“I’ve already sent them back to Zhaoyun Court.”
Nan Liujing breathed a sigh of relief, only then noticing that Pei Liuyu’s complexion wasn’t much better than hers. She couldn’t help but pause. “Why do you look so pale?”
“…”
Pei Liuyu’s eyes darted away, but before he could come up with an excuse, Xiao Lingguang exposed him from the side.
“You just received a family punishment yesterday, yet you still have the energy to run here today. It seems your elder brother went too easy on you.”
Family punishment…
Nan Liujing’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Pei Liuyu.
Pei Liuyu, embarrassed, shot back at Xiao Lingguang, “What are you doing here?”
Even when facing Pei Liuyu, Xiao Lingguang was sparing with his words, tossing out just two. “Official duty.”
Nan Liujing tugged at Pei Liuyu’s sleeve. “Thanks to Young Master Xiao today, otherwise those people wouldn’t have let me off so easily…”
Only then did Pei Liuyu’s expression soften. He solemnly thanked Xiao Lingguang before leading Nan Liujing into the carriage.
Xiao Lingguang’s horse was tethered not far away. He untied the rope, mounted the horse, and followed Pei Liuyu’s carriage. Slowing his pace, he kept a steady distance, escorting them on their way back.
The road was quiet. Amid the creaking of the carriage wheels, the intimate whispers of the two inside could be heard.
“Be careful with your foot…”
“And you, are your injuries serious?”
“Not serious.”
“Where are you hurt? Does it hurt?”
Like two monkey-slaves who had been beaten but still huddled together to groom each other’s fur.
One of them, battered and bruised, still lifted his head to boast. “A mere beating with a plank, how could that possibly break me… Don’t listen to Lingguang’s nonsense.”
Xiao Lingguang parted his lips, his voice cool and detached. “I can hear you.”
Pei Liuyu lifted the carriage curtain to look at him. “Then pretend you can’t hear.”
After tossing out that remark, he ducked his head back inside, gently taking Nan Liujing’s hand and lowering his voice.
“After all, elder brother is the head of the family. The first time I defy him, I’m bound to suffer some hardship… But times have changed, Shaoshao. You just need to know that elder brother has been away on campaign for two years. In these two years, circumstances have shifted. Even though elder brother remains the head of the family, it’s no longer easy for him to have the final say in clan matters…”
Before the words could fully settle, Xiao Lingguang’s cold sneer drifted in from outside the carriage.
“For the sake of a girl, you’d betray your own brother. If I were Pei Songjun, breaking your legs would be letting you off lightly.”
“…”
Pei Liuyu frowned, his face subtly paling. When he spoke again, he even raised his voice, “Don’t project your own misfortune in love onto others, begrudging them their mutual affection and lasting happiness!”
Outside, silence fell instantly.
Nan Liujing was somewhat surprised. She pointed outside the carriage and mouthed to Pei Liuyu, “Misfortune in love?”
Pei Liuyu’s volume didn’t drop, “He had a childhood sweetheart he grew up with…”
Crack!
A violent whip crack accompanied by a horse’s sudden neigh abruptly drowned out Pei Liuyu’s voice.
Nan Liujing gave a slight start.
Pei Liuyu soothingly tightened his grip on her hand, then lifted a corner of the carriage curtain.
Sure enough, that figure in dark black had already spurred his horse away, vanishing into the night in an instant.
“I shouldn’t have said that… This time I really struck a nerve…”
Pei Liuyu felt some regret, “Never mind, I’ll find another opportunity to apologize to him another day.”
Recalling Xiao Lingguang’s reaction just now upon hearing the name “Shaoshao,” a suspicion formed in Nan Liujing’s mind. Curious, she wanted to inquire further, but regarding that part of Xiao Lingguang’s past, Pei Liuyu refused to say another word.
“Shaoshao, my standoff with elder brother will likely continue for some time. From now on, I’m afraid I won’t be able to visit Chaoyun Courtyard anymore, and I might even be confined from leaving the Pei residence…”
Pei Liuyu said earnestly, “If you encounter any dangerous situations again and I can’t arrive in time, go to the Xiao family and seek out Lingguang. He will help you.”
Nan Liujing was half-convinced, half-doubting.
Xiao Lingguang had saved her today, but she didn’t believe he would help her a second or third time…
“Lingguang is different from other scions of noble families. He merely holds prejudices against women, but he won’t look down on your background.”
After a pause, Pei Liuyu added with great seriousness, “Absolutely not.”
Jiang Ziliu was settled in a side room of Chaoyun Courtyard.
By the time Nan Liujing returned, she had already personally instructed the maidservant to change her dressing and bandage her wounds, and was lying exhausted on the bed.
Nan Liujing dismissed the maidservant and sat down by the bedside, “Are you alright?”
“I won’t be dying…”
Jiang Ziliu moved her lips, glancing sideways at her, “You risking your life to save me tonight did move me somewhat.”
“Save it.”
Nan Liujing smiled, tucking in the corner of her blanket, “If you weren’t the only one who could ensure my survival, I wouldn’t have even gone to Yongfu Lane tonight. Jiang Ziliu, not everyone is a living bodhisattva like you. I’m the most afraid of death, you know.”
Jiang Ziliu fell silent for a long moment, then turned her face away, “I’m not as good as you think either.”
Her voice was so low that Nan Liujing didn’t even catch it clearly.
“What?”
“I said, I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”
Jiang Ziliu said, “I failed to obtain the Jade Marrow Grass.”
Although she had already guessed as much, hearing these words firsthand still made Nan Liujing’s heart sink.
“So where exactly is the Jade Marrow Grass?”
“The Imperial Medical Bureau.”
Two years ago, the head of the Xi family, for reasons unknown, suddenly resigned from the position of State Preceptor and returned to Yuyao with all his clansmen. Since then, all medical and pharmaceutical affairs in the empire have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Medical Bureau and the Bureau of Rare Medicines, with the rare and precious drugs from the Bureau of Rare Medicines reserved exclusively for the imperial family.
Jiang Ziliu rubbed her temples, also feeling somewhat frustrated. “But the information was inaccurate, and we ended up with nothing. Because of this, I accidentally stumbled upon a noble’s secret…”
“What secret?”
Jiang Ziliu hesitated for a moment, pointing to the wound on her abdomen. “Are you sure you want to hear it?”
Nan Liujing’s eyelids twitched, and she raised a hand to stop her. “At least tell me whose secret it is.”
Jiang Ziliu struggled to sit up, leaned close to her ear, and whispered four words.
“Princess Shou’an.”
The room instantly fell into a deathly silence.