Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Something strange was happening.

It felt like someone was pinching my cheek.

I startled awake from my dream, only to find that there was absolutely no one in the room.

Oh, so it was just a ghost. And here I thought someone was trying to harm me.

I muttered toward the empty air, “Second Sister, if you miss me, just visit me in a dream. Don’t go around pinching me.”

My Second Elder Sister never visited my dreams.

She was still angry with me.

The next day, Cheng Xiu finally went to court. He became quite busy after that and didn’t have time to worry about me. I sent someone back home to fetch Galloping Wind; I wanted to take him for a ride outside the city. I hadn’t been on a horse for several days, and the restlessness was stifling.

Just as I was about to head out, Santong and Sitiao caught up with me. They hurriedly claimed that going outside the city was dangerous, that riding was dangerous, and that I could easily break a leg.

I scoffed. “You really don’t know who you’re talking to. Do you know who the best horsewoman in the capital is?”

Santong looked at me with a blank expression. “It’s Princess Gaoyang.”

I nodded calmly. “That’s true. I’ve played polo with her, and she praised my skills.”

If he hadn’t known, I would have claimed the title for myself. Since he did, I’d just let it slide.

Without waiting for his reply, I turned and left. Zhuling followed closely behind, leading the horse.

“We have to report this to the Director,” Sitiao called out, rushing to catch up.

I had already flipped myself onto the saddle. I gave them a kind smile. “You go report, and I’ll go ride. How does that sound?”

With that, I spurred the horse and took off, leaving them in the dust.

Once outside the city, I took a deep breath and let the horse trot forward slowly.

“Liu Niang!” I suddenly heard Zhao Wangjian’s voice.

The sound of galloping hooves drew closer.

I slapped my forehead, really wanting to give him a beating.

I reined in my horse and turned to look at him. “What now?”

Zhao Wangjian stared at me as if he had a thousand words to say, but in the end, they coalesced into a single sentence: “I will definitely rescue you!”

Huh?

It wasn’t like I’d been kidnapped by human traffickers and sold into a brothel, begging for him to save me. What kind of drama was he acting out now?

I was both annoyed and amused. “Zhao Wangjian, have you lost your mind? Since when am I ‘trapped’ and in need of your rescue? I got married; I didn’t enter a bordello. What are you shouting about?”

His eyes turned red. “It’s not the same! You didn’t get married! He… he isn’t even a man!”

I lost my temper and pointed my riding crop at him. “I didn’t expect you to be that kind of person too! You tell me, what defines a man? Is it those who abuse their wives and children and take pleasure in violating women? Or is it those who fear death and sell out their country for glory? To me, those people would be better off not being men at all!”

He froze, speechless for a moment.

Seeing his dazed expression, I knew he hadn’t fully processed my words, so I slowed my pace. “Let me tell you, a man isn’t defined by what’s between his legs. It’s about character, ability, and competence. I married him willingly because he is capable, he has the means to get things done, and he can solve problems. He is far better than most. In my eyes, that is a real man.”

“So, Wangjian, I don’t need you to rescue me.”

Having said my piece, I rode past him.

Suddenly, he shouted from behind me, “Liu Niang, I truly love you!”

I didn’t look back, answering lazily, “I’ll tell you one last time: I don’t love you. I only love my husband.”

Actually, I wanted to say ‘none of my damn business,’ but since we’d been friends for years, I didn’t want to break his heart too badly.

I sighed softly.

I really am a saint.

After riding all morning and grabbing a bite to eat at noon, I was exhausted and fell asleep. In the afternoon, having nothing better to do, I sharpened my blade.

I performed a sword dance for a few of the maidservants. Seeing their beaming faces, I sheathed my blade with satisfaction and went to bathe.

After my bath, my hair was still damp. I let it hang loose and lay down on the daybed by the window to read a novel.

“Sitting here in the draft-aren’t you afraid of freezing to death?” A man’s voice sounded gloomily from above. I instinctively looked up to see Cheng Xiu standing by the window with a look of displeasure on his face.

I quickly sat up and wrapped my arms around his waist, saying with pleasant surprise, “The Director is back? I missed you so much.”

He pushed my arms away and looked down at me grimly. “Go inside and close the window.”

I gave an “oh” and obediently closed the window before heading into the inner room.

“How have you all been serving the Madam? Letting her sit by the window in this cold? What if she catches a chill?” He was outside scolding Duruo and Zhuling. He was in a bad mood, and the servants were suffering for it. Fearing he would punish them, I quickly called out from the room, “Director, why haven’t you come in yet? I miss you.”

I wouldn’t catch a chill. I’d practiced martial arts since I was a child; my constitution was much stronger than most.

“Dismissed,” he said irritably.

Cheng Xiu stepped into the room, his face still so dark it looked like it might drip ink.
I pretended not to notice his dark expression and went over to take his arm. “Is the Director off duty so early today?”

He looked down at me, his lips curling into a silent, cold sneer. “Where did you go today?”

I brightened my smile and said in a pleasant tone, “I went horse riding outside the city. I even ran into Brother Wangjian.”

“Heh.” Seeing my nonchalant attitude, he pinched my cheek with a sinister air, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Are you sure it wasn’t a planned rendezvous?”

I winced from the pain and let out a small cry, my eyes instantly welling up with tears. “What are you saying, Director!”

I let go of his arm and sat down huffily in front of the bronze mirror. He stood silently behind me, picking up a comb and slowly, methodically beginning to brush my hair. His movements were gentle, and in the mirror, his features seemed to be softened by a layer of warm light. “Fourth Miss Liang knows very well what this one means.”

I stared at my reflection. He had pinched my cheek hard enough to leave a red mark, yet he acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He continued leisurely, “If Fourth Miss Liang doesn’t understand this one’s meaning, it doesn’t matter. He is merely the son of a Vice Minister; killing him is as easy as breathing. To this one, exterminating an entire clan is no difficult task.”

Cheng Xiu finished combing my hair. His icy fingers brushed lightly against my neck as he leaned down, his breath close to my ear. “Fourth Miss Liang, don’t even think about running away. With so many people you know in the capital, would you really have the heart to leave them behind?”

“Does the Director really distrust me that much?” With tears brimming in my eyes, I stubbornly straightened my back, refusing to look back at him. “Fine. If you don’t believe me, then don’t. I’m tired. Please leave, Director.”

Cheng Xiu let out a cold laugh. He reached out from behind and pinched my chin. “Behave yourself. From today onward, you are not to leave without this one’s command.”

I pursed my lips and remained silent. A tear fell onto the back of his hand. He withdrew his hand with a look of disgust, shot me a glance, and turned to leave.

As soon as he was gone, I wiped away my tears and looked at myself in the mirror.

As expected of me, I even look beautiful when I cry.

Could Cheng Xiu be jealous?

Duruo approached me cautiously. “Madam, it is time for dinner.”

I waved her off. “I’m not eating.”

“Weren’t you just clamoring about being hungry earlier? You should eat a little,” she coaxed gently.

I waved my hand with an air of profound mystery. “I have no appetite. You all may leave; I wish to rest.”

In a little while, someone should be coming to beg me to eat.

***

“This subordinate heard it with his own ears, there is absolutely no falsehood in it.” Lu Daoyuan’s heart was thumping. Since being assigned as the Madam’s Shadow Guard, he often felt like his life was hanging by a thread.

Cheng Xiu’s face was grim. He had only heard Santong and Sitiao mention that she wanted to go riding, but after seeing the Zhao family’s people say they saw Zhao Wangjian outside the city as well, a surge of fury had rushed to his heart. Thinking she had gone to meet a lover, he had returned in a rage to confront her.

He had thought of a thousand ways to punish her, but the moment he saw that nonchalant little face of hers, he couldn’t bring himself to say any of it.

Thinking of Liang Fourth’s aggrieved tears, Cheng Xiu felt a headache coming on.

But that was only because she insisted on going out riding in the first place.

If he had misunderstood, couldn’t she have just explained? She was so stubborn; he wondered what she was made of.

All she knew how to do was cry.

If this were the palace, she would have been thrown into the Cold Palace long ago.

Cheng Xiu thought of that tear that had fallen on the back of his hand again, and his mood grew incredibly restless.

She was so stupid; she deserved to be scolded.

Cheng Xiu turned and went back into the palace.

***

Under the bright moonlight, Cheng Xiu returned to the Cheng Manor and casually summoned Santong. “What is the Madam doing?”

“Madam didn’t have dinner today. She went straight to sleep,” Santong replied respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiu remained silent for a long while before letting out a few cold laughs. “Fine. Good. She dares to throw a tantrum with this one now? If she won’t eat, then she won’t eat. Let her starve to death for all I care.”

Santong knelt on the ground, unsure whether to stay or leave.

A moment later, Cheng Xiu suddenly stood up. “What do I even keep you lot for! If the Madam won’t eat, can’t you force her to?”

Santong kept his eyes lowered, but he couldn’t help grumbling in his heart: *Didn’t you just say to let her starve to death?*

Cheng Xiu stormed off toward Mingxuan Hall where she resided.

He didn’t even know who he was angry at. It might be Liang Yinliu, who didn’t know the heights of heaven or the depths of the earth and had called him a real man. Or it might be Zhao Wangjian, who remained unrepentant and still pined for Liang Yinliu.

When he pushed open the door to Mingxuan Hall, the moonlight streamed through the window, falling coldly upon the woman sitting before the bronze mirror. Her long hair hung loose, its dark tresses shimmering like silk. She was thin, her face only the size of a palm. Hearing the sound, she looked over gently.

Her clear, dark eyes gazed at him, shimmering with unshed tears.

His tongue felt bitter.

Cheng Xiu finally knew.

He was angry at himself.