The carriage was parked at the alley entrance. Su Yu followed behind Zhao Li, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
A few more people were on the street now than before, but they were all women or elderly matrons. How could they possibly stand against these burly attendants? At this point, her only option seemed to be seeking help from the nearby shops.
Pretending to board the carriage, Su Yu waited for the brief moment when Zhao Li’s guard slipped up. As soon as he relaxed, she spun around and dashed to the nearest grain shop.
“Shopkeeper!”
“Please help me! Those people are trying to take me away for no reason. I don’t know them. Please, help me!”
The grain merchant was a middle-aged man. Her sudden cry startled him. But when he saw the luxurious carriage not far away and recognized Young Master Zhao standing beside it, panic immediately flashed across his face.
“Miss, go, go quickly! That’s Young Master Zhao. Don’t drag me into this.”
Su Yu froze where she stood. Unwilling to give up, she turned hopefully toward a young shop assistant inside the store. Yet he didn’t dare meet her gaze. He hurriedly looked away.
By then, the attendants had recovered from their surprise and were already rushing after her.
“Why go to all this trouble, Miss?” Zhao Li called out leisurely, though irritation colored his voice. “I merely invited you to my residence for a cup of tea. It’s not as if I’m going to eat you.”
“Now be a good girl and get in the carriage. My attendants are rather rough-handed. If they have to lay hands on you, I’m afraid they might hurt you.”
Su Yu slowly turned around, trembling, and cast a pleading look toward several shopkeepers who had come out to see what the commotion was about. But the moment they recognized Zhao Li, they all retreated into their shops.
Under such circumstances, what was left for her not to understand?
The Zhao family’s influence in Qingyang County had grown so great that they could openly seize women off the street without fear of consequence.
Instinctively, Su Yu stepped back. Her entire body shook uncontrollably.
Zhao Li fixed his gaze on the faint redness at the corners of her eyes, still damp with tears. Then a smile suddenly returned to his face as he coaxed her gently, “If you come with me, you’ll have all the silks and satins, jewels and ornaments you could ever want. Why live such a hard life?”
He paused, his eyes drifting down to her slightly trembling lips. “Besides, you look so beautiful when you cry. How could I bear to treat you poorly?”
As he spoke, Zhao Li moved closer and closer, extending a hand toward her, palm up. “Come.”
Lowering her eyes, Su Yu remained silent for a moment before cautiously placing her trembling hand in his.
A satisfied smile spread across Zhao Li’s face. Still wary she might try to run, he signaled a servant to take the herb basket from her back, then gripped her hand tightly and pulled her into the carriage.
The curtain fell, shutting out all light and sound from outside.
Su Yu was pushed into the carriage’s deepest corner. Her back pressed against the cold wall, while Zhao Li sat opposite her. One arm braced against the carriage wall, effectively caging her in a small patch of shadow and cutting off every escape route.
Raising his voice, he called to the men outside in a teasing tone, “Take it slow. Drive around a few extra rounds.”
The servants immediately understood his meaning.
The horses’ hooves clopped softly, and the carriage began to sway forward at an unhurried pace.
Zhao Li could not wait any longer. When had the Zhao family’s young master ever gone to such lengths for a woman?
Su Yu was certainly attractive, but he had seen women more beautiful than her. Yet now…
The fair-skinned young woman huddled in the corner of the carriage. Her clothes were disheveled, loose strands of hair framed her pale face, and her eyes lifted to meet his timidly. That single glance tightened his throat. He leaned forward and reached out.
“Be good. Listen to me. Let this young master have a feel first…”
Just as Zhao Li imagined what she would feel beneath his touch, a cold flash suddenly streaked before his eyes. Warm blood splattered across his face.
For a brief moment, his expression froze in shock. Then the pain arrived, spreading through his arm a heartbeat later.
A piercing scream rang out.
The carriage lurched to a sudden stop, and one of the attendants threw open the curtain.
“Young Master!!!” The servant’s furious shout died in his throat the instant he saw what was inside.
More than half of his young master’s luxurious robe was soaked with blood. His entire arm was stained a deep crimson.
The pale-faced herb-gathering girl was holding a dagger tightly against Zhao Li’s throat.
The hand gripping the weapon still trembled. It looked as though the slightest slip could slice straight through their young master’s throat.
Zhao Li tilted his head back, one hand clamped over the wound on his arm that was still bleeding. He didn’t even dare swallow.
Su Yu’s hand was trembling. She hadn’t wanted things to come to this. She wasn’t even brave enough to kill a chicken, let alone a person. But given the way Zhao Li had been looking at her, how could she not know what was about to happen? She only wanted to protect herself, to scare him into backing off, to make him let her go home.
“…Go… go east.” She could hear the tremor in her own voice. “And don’t let anyone else follow. Only… only the driver…”
“Young Master!” one of the attendants shouted from outside the carriage, his face flushed with panic.
“Do as she says!” Zhao Li barked, his neck still rigidly stretched upward, his voice sharp and hoarse. “All of you, stay back! No one follows!”
The carriage curtain fell once more.
With shaking hands, the driver flicked the reins, and the carriage slowly pulled away, heading toward the eastern side of town.
The cramped interior reeked of blood.
“Miss Su Yu,” Zhao Li said, cold sweat covering his forehead, all traces of his earlier composure gone. “Put the knife down first. What happened earlier was my fault. I lost my head…”
Su Yu bit her lip, gripping the dagger as tightly as she could.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Li continued in a quavering voice. “This injury is nothing. I can overlook it. But if you really kill me, my father won’t let you off…”
“You still have a grandmother, don’t you? You might be able to run, but she’s bedridden and can’t escape. Do you really want to drag your elderly grandmother into this and have her thrown into prison in her old age?”
Grandmother…
Su Yu’s heart wavered.
“I swear, I swear!” Zhao Li hurried on. “Put the knife away and I won’t touch you. I’ll have the driver take you straight home. We’ll pretend none of this ever happened. All right?”
Su Yu’s resolve faltered. Her grandmother was still waiting for her at home.
“I swear I won’t take revenge. I won’t make trouble for you or your grandmother…”
“Miss Su Yu… don’t act rashly…”
The dagger remained pressed against Zhao Li’s throat, but the moment those words sank in, the pressure at its tip eased ever so slightly.
In that instant, Zhao Li struck. He shot out a hand, seized Su Yu’s wrist, and twisted it viciously. His pleading, apologetic expression vanished.
The sudden agony forced Su Yu’s fingers open. The dagger clattered onto the carriage floor.
The next moment, the world spun. A powerful force hurled her aside. The back of her head slammed into the carriage wall before she was dragged down and pinned against the floorboards.
In the chaos, the dagger lying on the floor sliced across her cheek. A few beads of blood welled up, and as a breeze drifted through the carriage, the scent of fresh blood spread through the air.
“You ungrateful little thing.” Breathing heavily, Zhao Li pushed himself upright and shouted through the carriage curtain: “Back to the residence!”
A wad of cloth had been stuffed into Su Yu’s mouth. Her hands were bound, and she was curled up in the corner of the carriage in a thoroughly miserable state. Beside her sat Zhao Li. A strip of cloth had been hastily wrapped around his injured arm and shoulder. His face was dark with fury, and he said nothing.
The carriage stopped in front of the Zhao residence.
With a cold sneer, Zhao Li grabbed Su Yu’s chin and forced her face toward him. His fingers dug into the soft flesh of her cheeks, squeezing so hard that her jaw throbbed with pain.
“You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Wouldn’t it have been better if we’d both gone along willingly? Why insist on making such an ugly scene of it?” he snorted before flinging her aside.
Her head snapped to one side.
Lifting the curtain, Zhao Li climbed out of the carriage and called to the steward and attendants who hurried up to greet him.
“Wash her up and tie her securely in my room…” Halfway through the order, he abruptly stopped.
Another carriage, which had been trailing the Zhao family’s carriage from a distance, had just halted directly in front of the Zhao residence.
The carriage looked entirely ordinary, its curtains hanging low and concealing whoever was inside.
Frowning, Zhao Li was about to vent his anger when a slender hand emerged from within and lifted one corner of the curtain. The hand was elegant and well-defined, its pale fingers stark against the dark fabric, as cold and flawless as jade freshly lifted from snowmelt.
When the curtain was fully raised, a tall figure stepped calmly down from the carriage. His moon-white brocade robe was immaculate, untouched by the slightest speck of dust. His hair was bound beneath a jade crown, and his refined features carried an air of effortless nobility and grace.
The arrogance Zhao Li had displayed moments ago vanished instantly when he recognized that face. “Young Master Ji? What brings you here?”
Ji Xuanyue did not look at him. His gaze went directly to the curtained carriage.
A familiar scent gradually seeped out, mixed with fear, despair, and other negative emotions. Not a trace of sweetness remained. How could the scent of his medicine spirit be like this?
Ji Xuanyue’s pupils contracted for an instant, then returned to normal. “I was merely passing by,” he said. “Quite an impressive scene you’ve put together, Young Master Zhao. From where have you invited such an honored guest?”
Zhao Li’s smile stiffened.
This street was a private lane belonging to the Zhao family. Anyone who came here must have come specifically for the Zhao family. Ji Xuanyue was not simply passing by.
But Zhao Li did not dare question him further.
The Ji family’s trading houses were spread throughout the three surrounding counties. Even the magistrate of Qingyang County addressed Ji Xuanyue respectfully as “Young Master Ji” when they met. Zhao Li’s father, meanwhile, had spared no effort in currying favor with him, treating Ji Xuanyue as the most important person to cultivate relations with.
Ji Xuanyue was someone Zhao Li could not afford to offend.
“It’s no honored guest,” Zhao Li replied with an awkward laugh, utterly unable to guess why this great figure had come. “Just a minor family matter. You have no need to concern yourself with it. Since you’re here, why not come in for a cup of tea?”
His attitude was exceedingly humble. Yet after he finished speaking, Ji Xuanyue didn’t even acknowledge him. Instead, he walked straight toward the carriage.
The Zhao family’s attendants exchanged bewildered glances. Zhao Li instinctively reached out to stop him, but a single cold glance from Ji Xuanyue froze him in place.
For that brief instant, Zhao Li felt as though some cold-blooded creature had fixed its eyes upon him. Unable to move, he could only watch helplessly as Ji Xuanyue lifted the carriage curtain for everyone to see.