Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Seeing Cheng Xiu fall silent with an unreadable expression, I offered him some comfort. “It’s alright. It’s enough that you know you’re in the wrong.”

“The hell I am!” At my words, Cheng Xiu bristled again, looking like he was about to die of rage. “Your Elder Brother pointed at my nose and called me a treacherous villain who harms the world. I would have a defense for those words even before the Emperor! I have exhausted myself in service to the sovereign and the country, yet in your Liang Family…”

Before he could finish, I leaned in and covered his mouth, my tears falling in heavy drops. Before he could explode, I followed the flow and collapsed into his arms, murmuring, “Director, I didn’t know you had suffered such great grievances. What should we do?”

“Heh, Liang Yinliu, stop acting. Get off me,” he mocked openly, yet he remained motionless, letting me lean against him.

I shifted my weight and sat on his lap. Cheng Xiu’s body stiffened, and his voice suddenly dropped. “Get lost.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and began to cry again. This time, my tears fell directly onto his collar. I made sure he saw them, saying blankly, “Why are you shouting at me?”

I lowered my eyes and stopped talking, focusing entirely on my weeping.

Someone once curiously asked how I managed to cry every single time. I only smiled and said nothing. For that, I had to thank my Second Elder Sister; whenever I thought of her, my tears would fall incessantly, like pearls from a broken string.

“…Fine, what are you crying for?”

After a long silence, Cheng Xiu spoke coldly. He pinched my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I said stop crying.”

I gave him a look with my red, swollen eyes, then quickly turned my face away with a huff. “The Director doesn’t want me anymore, so what’s wrong with me crying?”

Cheng Xiu looked like he had a massive headache. “When did I ever say I didn’t want you?”

I glanced at him, and more tears fell. I made sure they fell beautifully; most men wouldn’t be able to withstand it, and even a eunuch would find it difficult.

Cheng Xiu frowned, looking quite fierce. “Why are you crying harder? Fine, fine. If you keep crying, I’ll…”

I gave him a resentful look, and he suddenly fell silent.

The carriage jolted unexpectedly. I instinctively hugged him tighter, but he thought I was startled. He pulled me into his arms, patting my back while barking at the person outside, “How are you driving?”

I wasn’t actually scared; I was just afraid of falling. And if I fell, I was going to take someone down as a cushion with me.

Outside, the Coachman apologized in fear and trepidation.

I whispered, “Let it go.”

Cheng Xiu gave a cold snort, but in the end, he didn’t say anything more.

He continued to stroke my back, seemingly no longer so repulsed by me sitting on his lap. I looked up at him.

Noticing my gaze, Cheng Xiu’s expression turned somber. “Liang Yinliu, if you are well-behaved, I will ensure your Liang Family remains safe and sound. Otherwise, I can make the Liang Family vanish without a sound.”

I ignored him. I didn’t take any of his current threats to heart. Instead, I asked on my own accord, “Does the Director still want me to get lost?”

He looked down at me, gritting his teeth with a cold laugh. “If you provoke me again, I’ll… lock you in the manor and never let you out for the rest of your life!”

That’s it?

I thought he was going to have me drawn and quartered.

At the very least, I expected a public beheading, but it turned out he just wanted to lock me up.

He really was bored. A lifetime is so long; I could easily find a gap and slip away whenever I wanted.

But I didn’t show any of that on my face. I hugged him tightly, looking deeply aggrieved. “Then will I still be able to see the Director? I want to see the Director every day.”

“Heh, you’d wish for nothing more than to never see me.” His words were full of mockery, yet his hands never let go, nor did he push me away.

He carried a faint scent of sandalwood. I didn’t like the smell, but I couldn’t avoid it. I clutched his collar and whispered, “Thank you for today, Director.”

Cheng Xiu seemed incapable of speaking like a normal person. I thanked him out of the goodness of my heart, yet he responded with nothing but disdain. “What are you thanking me for?”

“Thank you for accompanying me back to my family home, and thank you for not starting a fight with my Elder Brother. You are a magnanimous man, so please don’t hold it against him. He’s just a soldier; he hears a few things from others and his head goes straight. But he truly treats you as family, otherwise he wouldn’t have let you into the house. I know him-he says those things because he wants you to change. But if anyone else spoke ill of you, I guarantee he’d charge at them with a blade.”

He listened for a moment before flying into another small fit of temper. He pinched my waist and asked with a cold laugh, “Tell me then, what do I need to change?”

“Too many things!” I whimpered, which only emboldened him. His hand moved upward, and my face flushed crimson. “You’re always mean to me, you never let me hug you, and you didn’t come to see me for several days! I missed you so much I couldn’t even eat! And you don’t even care!”

He seemed to see right through my lies, but he didn’t call me out. Instead, he pinched my cheek with great interest. “So you can actually blush?”

Why wouldn’t I be able to?

Dead eunuch, you’re the only one who cares about appearances!

I kept my mouth shut. He looked extremely smug. “Liang Fourth, since you are now this one’s person, this one naturally won’t mistreat you. Behave yourself and stop thinking about that Little Lover of yours. If you can’t forget him, this one doesn’t mind giving you a hand.”
Go ahead, gloat while you can. There will come a time when you’re the one suffering.

“What ‘Little Lover’? He’s my sworn brother. We grew up together. If he hadn’t made a bet with me to kick the Prince of Zhao’s backside, I never would have run into you,” I said softly, snuggling into his arms.

He froze. “Whose backside did you kick?”

“The Prince of Zhao’s. He was being a prick, insisting that my father was old and that Great Qi had no talent left. That Foolish Monarch just sat there smiling and listening to him. I couldn’t stomach it, so I made a bet with Zhao Wangjian. I waited for the Prince of Zhao to sneak out and then gave him a good kick.”

If I hadn’t been afraid of causing a major incident, I would have given him a full beating.

Hearing this, he gripped my chin, his teeth gritted. “You… you really are something.”

I stared at him, confused. This time, I was truly innocent.

Cheng Xiu had a fair, handsome face. The corners of his eyes tilted up slightly, and his pitch-black eyes were devoid of light. His lips were a faint red that deepened toward the center, making him look like a figure carved from fine jade.

He looked at me and sighed. His thin lips parted as he pinched the tip of my nose. “Forget it. Don’t tell anyone else about this. Don’t mention it to a soul.”

With that, the carriage arrived at Cheng Manor. I immediately let go of him and bolted into the manor like a streak of smoke.

Zhuling asked me, “Miss, why are you running so fast?”

If you must know, it’s because a ghost is chasing me!

I ran into my room and plunged my face directly into a basin of cold water.

Mother, how could I think that lunatic Cheng Xiu is good-looking?!

Maybe it was a hallucination.

But the fact that he’s handsome isn’t a hallucination.

Those dark eyes, those double eyelids, those thin lips, that high bridge of his nose-how could that be a hallucination?

I just hope I’m not the one who ends up suffering.

In the dead of night, I wondered if I should go find Cheng Xiu.

On second thought, forget it. I’d had an exhausting day and just wanted a good night’s sleep.

With that thought, I drifted off as soon as my head hit the pillow.

***

Cheng Xiu had been looking for evidence of the Regent Prince’s collusion with the Zhao State.

That day should have been foolproof. He had been waiting at the location where the people from Zhao were supposed to trade with the Regent Prince’s subordinates. Who could have known that someone would suddenly shout that the Prince of Zhao had been attacked?

He had cursed under his breath. Hoping to snatch some credit for himself, he had hurried forward, only to be caught off guard and drugged by his own people.

When he woke up, a stunningly beautiful woman with a graceful figure was lying naked beside him.

Cheng Xiu had frowned, originally intending to strangle her, but she had rolled over and pinned him down.

It was then that Cheng Xiu realized his pants had been removed.

One of her legs was draped right between his.

His face darkened as he pushed her away and hid under the covers to pull his pants back on.

Just as he finished, the person beside him sat up abruptly.

She opened her eyes, which looked like they were shrouded in mist.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, looking pitiful and helpless.

He thought she would scream.

He thought she would cry.

But she did neither. She looked at him, perfectly calm.

It had been a long time since he had seen someone so serene and beautiful.

He had assumed she was some refined lady of a great house, as gentle as water and as indifferent as a chrysanthemum. Who could have guessed that the first thing out of her mouth would be that she wanted a drink of water?

What a fool.

Now that Cheng Xiu knew this fool was the one who had ruined his plans, what was there to be done?

That night, Cheng Xiu couldn’t sleep. He was prone to overthinking, and now his mind was filled with Liang Yinliu’s bright, warm eyes, her pearl-like tears, and the arrogance she showed when talking back to him.

She was simply spoiled by him. A few rounds of the board or a bit of torture would fix her right up.

Cheng Xiu thought sinisterly.

After a moment, he felt that wasn’t quite right.

Forget it.

If he hit her with a board once, she’d probably cry herself to death. She’d wail about how the Director didn’t want her anymore and how heartbroken she was.

All that sobbing and sniveling would be incredibly annoying.

What if he starved her for a couple of meals? That fool wouldn’t realize she was in the wrong; she’d just say the Director was stingy for not even giving her food.

Besides, what if she starved to death after two missed meals?

In his twenty-four years of life, this was the first time Cheng Xiu felt truly helpless.

Agitated, he turned over and a new thought struck him: Could she be a spy sent by the Imperial Guard or the Regent Prince?

He couldn’t sleep anymore. He got up and headed toward Mingxuan Hall, where she was staying.

He had to confirm for himself whether she was a spy.

Liang Yinliu was fast asleep.

Looking at her defenseless sleeping posture and her exposed, delicate arms, he suddenly felt like he was the one who was sick.

Could someone like this really be a spy?

He gave her a look of disdain and irritably pulled the covers over her.

She claimed she was so sad she couldn’t sleep, yet here she was, sleeping like a log!

Ultimately, he couldn’t resist pinching her cheek once before turning to leave.