“Are you also here to warm my bed?”
The man’s voice was deep and chilling.
The sentence was extremely ambiguous, yet it was filled with anger.
In the dimly lit room, the girl’s white dress accentuated her delicate, boneless frame. She held a food box, her bright eyes fixed in a daze on the man sitting on the bed. Her small face, free of any makeup, was filled with bewilderment.
Today was Zishu Sui’s first day entering the Wuning Marquis Manor as a cousin.
Having not seen this cousin-brother who was the heir apparent during the day, she used the excuse of delivering pastries to come and take a look in the evening, just to attract his attention.
Unexpectedly, the moment she entered, he mistook her for someone trying to climb into his bed.
She didn’t speak for a long time, and the man’s expression darkened as he spoke again, “Mute?”
Hearing the man’s assertive words, Zishu Sui kept in mind her image as a weak, innocent rabbit.
In order to play the white lotus to the extreme, her small face turned pale, as if she had been insulted, and she seemed about to collapse. “Cousin, I, I’m not here to warm your bed.”
She raised her head and saw the man’s chiseled, profound features. His brow was marked with the ruthlessness of a leopard, and his eyes were like a dark abyss, cold and direct, making them hard to look at.
Zishu Sui lowered her head with a “whoosh,” not daring to look at him like a startled rabbit. She lifted the food box in her hand and added, “I’m here to bring you pastries.”
Hearing the address, the man chuckled, “Cousin? How come I don’t know I have a cousin like you?”
Zishu Sui endured the oppressive gaze and slowly raised her eyes. “My mother is the Wuning Marquis’s cousin. My name is Qi Sui, and I grew up in Pingting. Cousin hasn’t met me, but should have heard my name.”
As she spoke, her lips trembled slightly, as if she was a little scared, but she tried her best to explain her identity.
There was no other reason, only because the most suspicious person in the Wuning Marquis Manor was the heir apparent of the Wuning Marquis Manor, Xiao Bian.
Zishu Sui wanted to completely replace Qi Sui’s identity and take the opportunity to get close to Xiao Bian, so she had to get Xiao Bian to acknowledge her identity.
But as soon as she spoke, she heard the rustling of clothes from the bed, and then she saw the man get up and walk towards her.
She lowered her head as if afraid, listening to the approaching footsteps.
His black boots and dark robe hem appeared in her vision, and she seemed to smell the fresh scent of evening dew, surrounded by the chill of autumn.
The voice that rang in her ears was even colder and more piercing than the chill.
“So you’re the cousin from the Qi family. But I remember a month ago, Pingting was captured by the Xie rebel army. Aunt and uncle both died for their country. How did cousin survive?”
Zishu Sui seemed not to have heard his suspicion, and answered honestly, “Before the rebel army entered the city, my parents hid me in a secret room and told me not to come out. Later, when the dust settled, I escaped.”
Since Qi Sui’s father was demoted to the magistrate of Pingting, he had not returned to the capital. The people in the Wuning Marquis Manor had never met Qi Sui, which gave Zishu Sui an opportunity.
So as long as Zishu Sui insisted, no one could correct her.
Unexpectedly, the uninterrupted explanation deepened Xiao Bian’s suspicion even more. “That Xie thief has old grudges with my Wuning Marquis Manor. If the Xie thief can’t find you, would he give up?”
Listening to his cold voice, Zishu Sui’s thin shoulders trembled slightly.
It was hard to tell whether she was scared or cold.
She lowered her eyes, as if she had only just heard the suspicion in his tone, and said sadly and indignantly, “So cousin is suspicious of me. I came to Yanjing from thousands of miles away, suffering all kinds of hardships along the way. I thought I wouldn’t have to worry anymore when I came to Yanjing, but I didn’t expect to be suspected by my own cousin.”
Seeing her innocent appearance, Xiao Bian remained unmoved and sneered—
“Who gave you the courage to impersonate my cousin?”
Hearing this, Zishu Sui raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, weak yet with a hint of stubbornness. “Could it be that only if I die too, will cousin believe me?”
Her eyes were wide, filled with sadness and humiliation, and the tears in her eyes were about to fall.
Her seemingly frail body swayed slightly, and the food box in Zishu Sui’s hand fell to the ground with a “clang,” making a harsh sound.
Seeing her in such a humiliated state, Xiao Bian became a little impatient—
“Speak properly, what are you crying for!”
She wasn’t even allowed to cry.
The girl glanced at him with tearful eyes, tears streaming down uncontrollably. She tried not to make a sound, but couldn’t help sobbing, her shoulders twitching.
“Cousin is really unreasonable!”
Xiao Bian asked slowly, “Could it be that cousin relied on this weak body and delicate tears to move the Xie thief to compassion, and only let cousin go?”
What weak body and delicate tears?
Zishu Sui really suspected that he was humiliating her.
She looked at him, “My father has a private relationship with the (security escort agency) in the city. I asked them to hide me in the escorted boxes, and that’s how I got out.”
After she finished speaking, she heard Xiao Bian suddenly chuckle.
The laughter sent a chill down her spine.
“Since it’s so simple, why did cousin come to the capital? Could it be that you forgot that the Longchuan Xiao family is your maternal uncle’s family? Cousin didn’t rely on her own uncle, but came to rely on her maternal uncle. What’s the reason?”
Qi Sui’s uncle was in Longchuan. What reason did Qi Sui have to rely on the Wuning Marquis, who was her maternal uncle?
Wasn’t this impersonation?
Xiao Bian was even more certain that her identity was fake, and his eyes showed no warmth, as if he were looking at a dead person. “Could it be that you are a spy sent by the Xie thief?”
Although this was not a prison, Zishu Sui, who was being questioned, felt as if she were in one.
However, when she heard Xiao Bian’s cold questioning, she did not show any guilt or fear. Instead, a suspicious blush appeared on her cheeks.
It looked like shyness.
Zishu Sui raised her head slightly, glanced at Xiao Bian, who was frowning in anger, and suddenly became coy. “I, I’m already seventeen this year…”
She stopped shyly at this point.
Xiao Bian didn’t know why she was so coy, but then he saw her lower her head shyly and say—
“Half a year ago, my mother wrote to ask my aunt to find a good family in the capital for me…”
As soon as she said this, the room suddenly fell silent.
Xiao Bian sneered.
“Clean yourself up and go back to your courtyard,” Xiao Bian said in a deep voice, without any pity. “If you enter my room again, I’ll break your legs!”
Zishu Sui understood that he was afraid that she would run out crying, causing more misunderstandings.
Since he was willing to let her go, he must have dispelled his suspicions.
Just as Zishu Sui breathed a sigh of relief and turned to open the door, she heard the voice behind her become indifferent and distant—
“It just so happens that a letter came from Longchuan a few days ago, saying that Xiao Erlang from Longchuan will be coming to the capital soon. Presumably, cousin’s own cousin will be able to prove cousin’s identity.”
After saying this, Zishu Sui felt as if she had been struck by lightning. The hand hidden in her sleeve clenched into a fist, and the surprise and coldness in her eyes flashed away when she lowered her eyes.
Xiao Bian still didn’t believe her.
But no matter which cousin of Qi Sui came, her identity must not be exposed.
Zishu Sui wanted to live in the Wuning Marquis Manor for a long time, so that she could justifiably—
Get close to Xiao Bian.
Under Xiao Bian’s gaze, Zishu Sui turned back hesitantly.
“Cousin, can you not hate me?”
As if she were explaining something very important, her face was solemn and expectant.