Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Earlier, I had been in such a panic wiping him down that I hadn’t paid attention to what he looked like with his clothes off. Only now did I realize his waist was lean, his legs long, and his muscles hard. Lying on top of him felt like pressing against a scalding-hot stone.
I was still hesitating over where to start when he raised a brow and smiled. Then came several sharp, spine-chilling sounds of fabric tearing.
“Next time you tie someone up, my lady, do remember to tie them tighter!”
Before I could even register my horror, he had already turned the tables on me.
Shadows flickered outside the window. The next instant, the door was kicked open from outside.
Seeing the man and woman on the bed tangled together as if they could not bear to part, the palace-robed attendants exchanged startled looks and hurriedly withdrew beyond the threshold, where they immediately began cursing.
“What is going on? This woman is already promised to a man, so why was she registered on the list?”
“This lowly one doesn’t know…”
“Useless thing! The Red Elixir is refined with virgin blood. If anything goes wrong, both our heads will roll!”
At that moment, the man stilled, as though listening carefully. I quickly shoved him away, climbed out of bed, and threw on my clothes. Then I pinched myself hard several times, forcing tears to spill down my face.
“Who are you people? How dare you break into my home in the middle of the night?”
Perhaps the way I looked fierce on the outside but timid within was rather amusing. The eunuchs at the front sized me up, and the corners of their mouths lifted in unison.
“Look at that jade-white skin and that soft, pretty face. Such an alluring little wife. What a pity she won’t be entering the palace to attend His Majesty.”
I quickly dropped to my knees and kowtowed. “This humble woman has long been bound in marriage to her husband. With a frail and common body like mine, how would I dare enter the palace and sully the Sovereign’s eyes?”
The eunuch looked thoughtful. Another man said coldly, “Where is your marriage contract?”
“If there is no contract, whether it is true or false… we will know once we drag you to the palace gates and inspect you.”
I hurried back into the room to fetch the document, only to see the man on the bed sitting there, watching me with eyes that seemed to smile and not smile. I pretended not to notice.
After that, the men held the inked papers in their hands and examined them carefully by the light of the palace lanterns.
“Ding Chui?”
Kneeling on the ground, I lowered my eyes. “Yes. My husband fled here from the north. His name is Ding Chui.”
Ding was not a local surname in Chuzhou. They certainly would not be able to investigate it in so short a time.
To support my story, I untied the jade pendant from my waist and handed it to the leading eunuch. He rubbed the jade between his fingers, his brows drawn tight, as though he wanted to say something but held back.
Seeing him hesitate, I kowtowed again and again. “If my lord does not disdain it, this humble woman is willing to redeem herself. I only beg to stay with my husband for the rest of our lives!”
Fortunately, the basket of cast coins Qu Huang had sent was still under the bed.
I carried the money outside. At the sight of it, the men were clearly tempted. Their gazes flickered as they murmured among themselves.
“Who knows who made the register? Perhaps it really was a clerical error.”
“In any case, one more woman won’t make a difference, and one fewer won’t matter either…”
“Exactly, exactly!”
The eunuchs discussed it for quite a while. When they turned back to look at me, their gazes had become much kinder.
“Since it was an error, we will remove the young lady’s name and pretend we were never here.”
At those words, my heart loosened. I nearly wept with joy.
Seeing them about to leave with the basket of money, I suddenly remembered the jade and asked softly, “My lord, my jade pendant…”
“Hm?”
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I could only try to salvage it in a small voice. “Th-that was my husband’s betrothal gift.”
The leading eunuch curled his lip, took out the jade pendant, and stared at it for a long while, but showed no intention of returning it. “This thing… I feel as if I’ve seen it somewhere before…”
Someone beside him scoffed. “In a poor backwater like this? What important person could there be?”
“True enough.”
The man nodded, yet still tucked the jade back into his robes. Before he left, he turned around and cast me a meaningful glance.
“Little lady, you are truly blessed with good fortune.”