Chapter 5

I had planned to speak openly and honestly with Chen Huaiyu during our outing, but my sister had ruined my mood.

I remained silent throughout the journey, simmering with irritation. He did not disturb me. Instead, he took out a volume of Miscellaneous Records and leaned against the cabin wall, reading with relish.

From time to time, he glanced at me, peeled me a piece of fruit, or refilled my tea.

There I was, stewing in anger, while he calmly read his book without offering so much as a word of comfort. What a strange man.

Yet his silence put me wonderfully at ease.

Feeling that I had treated Chen Huaiyu rather unfairly, I suppressed the resentment churning inside me and waved my handkerchief at a pair of birds on the lake. He followed me out of the cabin to admire the view.

I had heard that he enjoyed making friends through poetry, so I cleared my throat and recited a verse.

“The fisherman wakes from wine and sets his oar; the mandarin ducks take flight, then turn once more.”

Chen Huaiyu bit his lip and turned his back without a word. I saw his shoulders shaking. He must have been laughing at me.

How rude.

Annoyed, I demanded, “What are you laughing at?”

Making no attempt to hide his amusement, he waved a hand in apology. “Lady Luo is highly accomplished, and it is an excellent verse. But those two birds aren’t mandarin ducks. They’re wild ducks.”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and I let out two awkward laughs. Seeing me like that only made him laugh harder. Looking at him, I could not help joining in until we were both overcome with laughter.

The boatman must have been too busy watching us, because our little boat gradually veered off course and collided with another.

Ours was small, with a low railing. The sudden impact nearly tossed me into the lake, but someone on the bow of the other boat caught me in time.

I regained my balance and tried to pull away so I could thank him, but the man kept a tight grip on my arm.

I looked up. Wanyan Shu again!

He crouched on the bow of his magnificent pleasure boat, bringing our eyes almost level.

He watched me darkly, as though staring upward from the depths of an abyss.

Despite the sweltering heat, cold sweat broke out across my body.

“You look beautiful when you laugh. What is your name?”

I kept my lips firmly closed. His face visibly darkened.

Chen Huaiyu stepped forward to rescue me. He bowed to Wanyan Shu and said, “Many thanks for Your Highness’s assistance. Our foolish boatman disturbed your vessel. I hope Your Highness will be magnanimous.”

Wanyan Shu barely glanced at him before returning his attention to me.

“Could this beauty be a mute?”

Without warning, he seized my chin and forced my mouth open. After peering inside with narrowed eyes, he laughed. “If you are mute, such a pretty tongue is wasted on you. Why not pull it out and give it to me?”

My scalp prickled. I forced myself to remain calm.

Chen Huaiyu pulled me back and placed himself between us.

Wanyan Shu was so overbearing that even princes and nobles yielded to him. I had never expected Chen Huaiyu to show such courage.

But he did not know that the man before him was a heartless bandit wrapped in a splendid exterior.

I could not anger Wanyan Shu. I could not drag Chen Huaiyu into this.

“Your Highness, I am Luo Yufu, the second daughter of the Censor’s household.”

I gave Wanyan Shu a deep and proper curtsy.

At last, his murderous gaze shifted away from Chen Huaiyu.

“You were the girl I frightened with my archery in the imperial gardens, weren’t you?”

I nodded.

He abruptly held out a hand. “Come here. I will make amends.”

Make amends? I would never dare ask that of him. All I wanted was to stay far, far away.

But the decision was not mine to make.

Chen Huaiyu frowned. I tugged at his sleeve to show him there was no need to defend me.

Suppressing my trembling, I reached toward Wanyan Shu. He took my forearm and gave a gentle pull, helping me leap onto his boat.