Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I felt much better when I woke up.

It wasn’t yet dawn, and I quietly watched the person beside me. It had been many years since anyone had noticed I was sick and stayed up all night to look after me.

I truly didn’t need anyone to take care of me, but if such a person actually existed, I didn’t mind it.

I wanted to pull the covers over Cheng Xiu, only to suddenly realize I had been changed into my sleeping robes.

He probably wasn’t the one who changed me; he wasn’t that kind-hearted. It must have been Zhuling and Duruo. It had to be.

As I was pulling the blanket over him, Cheng Xiu suddenly opened his eyes.

We stared at each other for a while. Then, I reached out and hugged him. I didn’t say anything, just leaned quietly against his chest.

Listening to his breathing and steady heartbeat, I felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

He didn’t push me away. After a moment of silence, he deliberately put on a stern face and scolded me in a low voice, “Do you still dare to dress so thinly? Don’t go running around outside today. Rest well and recover, do you hear me?”

“…You’re being mean to me,” I accused him in a small, aggrieved voice.

Cheng Xiu reached out and tucked the blanket tightly around me, bundling me up completely. He let out a cold snort at my words, but his voice softened. “So delicate. I’ve never seen anyone as difficult to serve as you.”

He sat up and glanced at me. I blinked, looking back at him. “Will the Director come to see me tonight?”

Cheng Xiu ignored me and stood up to leave. As he neared the door, he instructed the young eunuch on night watch, “Once the medicine is brewed, watch her and make sure she drinks it.”

After Cheng Xiu left, I lay in bed for a while longer. Unable to fall back asleep, I eventually got up to dress, wash my face, do my hair, and read storybooks.

After reading for a bit, I felt annoyed again.

Who wrote this trash? It’s terrible.

Does a snake demon have to marry a man just to repay a debt of gratitude? Once stripped of the snake demon’s magic, this scholar is nothing but a useless waste, yet he dares to be unfaithful? He really has some nerve.

If I were the snake demon and possessed her uncontrollable powers, I would have enlightened that scholar’s mind so he could study hard and rank first in the imperial examinations. Then I’d transform into human form and enter the court as an official myself. The two of us could join forces to dominate the court and rule the world-now that would be a proper way to repay a debt.

A bunch of spineless hacks; they don’t even dare to dream big when writing stories. To put it bluntly, they aren’t even as good as a eunuch.

Unwittingly, my thoughts drifted back to Cheng Xiu.

“Madam, please eat something first.” Duruo and Zhuling entered carrying a small dining table. Both of their eyes were rimmed with red, as if they had been crying.

I finished a bowl of snow vegetable porridge and ate two small dumplings. Once the servants cleared the meal, Zhuling and Duruo scrambled to help me rinse my mouth. The moment I lay down, they rushed to tuck me in, though their expressions remained grim.

I looked at them strangely. “What’s wrong? Both of you look so miserable, as if I don’t have long to live.”

“Ah! Madam, don’t say such things!” Zhuling was startled and quickly spat out a few ‘peis’ to ward off the bad luck. Duruo covered Zhuling’s mouth to stop her from making a scene. Blushing, Duruo explained, “The two of us were careless and failed to look after you properly. We feel terrible about it.”

Duruo lowered her head even further, her voice tiny. “If it weren’t for the Director, we wouldn’t have even known you had caught a cold. You’ve always doted on us; back at the manor years ago, we were the most idle ones. We didn’t even know when you caught a chill. It’s all our fault for not being attentive enough.”

I didn’t think much of it. They were around the same age as me; when I was a child, they were naturally children too. How could they have been perfectly thorough?

I was competitive in everything and never wanted anyone to know when I was sick or suffering. It was normal that they didn’t know. I coaxed them gently, “What does this matter? Is it really worth a crying fit from the both of you? I’m better today. It’s fine. We’ll go browse the shops this afternoon to shake off this bad luck.”

Duruo lowered her gaze. “The Director gave orders. You cannot leave the house today. You absolutely cannot be exposed to the wind again.”

I glanced at Zhuling, but she also avoided the subject. Just then, Santong came in carrying a bowl of medicine. Zhuling looked as if she had been granted a reprieve. “The medicine is ready. Madam, if you finish it, I’ll sing a little tune for you, alright?”

I quickly turned my back to them. “No. I’m already better. There’s no need for medicine. Just go dump it out secretly.”

“That won’t do,” Zhuling came over to coax me. “Good mistress, it’s just a few gulps.”

I moved further away. “I don’t want to drink it. Pour it out.”

It was too bitter-so bitter my tongue ached just thinking about it. Besides, I didn’t feel unwell anymore, so why torture myself with medicine?

Santong whispered, “If the Director finds out…”
I interrupted him. “Are you stupid? Just don’t let him know. Don’t bother trying to persuade me; I’m simply not drinking it. I’m going to sleep now. You may all leave.”

Zhuling and the others had no choice but to withdraw.

After lying in bed with nothing to do until noon, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I got up and headed toward the door.

Santong and Sitiao were guarding the entrance. It seemed they had been ordered to keep watch over me and prevent me from going out.

Santong saw me first and lowered his eyes. “Madam, the wind is strong outside. It would be better to stay indoors.”

I stood at the doorway and asked them softly, “Where does the Director usually have his midday meal?”

“This…” The two exchanged a look before Santong spoke up. “This lowly one does not know.”

I gave a light laugh, not bothering to expose his lie. Instead, I furrowed my brows and asked, “I wonder if the Director has eaten yet? I miss him so much it hurts. Perhaps one of you eunuchs could do me a favor and run an errand to deliver some pastries to him?”

Without waiting for them to object, I beckoned to Duruo. “Pack up the pastries I made yesterday and give them to Eunuch Santong so he can deliver them.”

Duruo was quick to react. She gave an affirmative response, went inside to pack the osmanthus cakes I had bought yesterday into a brocade box, placed that inside a food basket, and hurried back over.

Sitiao looked like he wanted to say something, but I sighed with a frown. “If you don’t deliver them, who knows when my illness will get better? What will happen if the Director gets angry then?”

Seeing the situation, Santong nodded in agreement.

While Santong was off on the errand, I sat by the door and asked Sitiao casually, “Have you ever seen the Director bring other girls back?”

Sitiao was timid. At my question, his face turned pale, and he hurriedly claimed he knew nothing.

I gave a kind smile. “It’s fine, I’m just asking. What does he usually do on his days off? My father and eldest brother usually host banquets for friends or go out drinking with colleagues from the court. What about the Director? Does he have any close friends?”

I figured this was a pointless question. With Cheng Xiu’s foul mouth and petty temperament, it would be truly strange if he actually had friends.

However, I had to let Cheng Xiu know that I was curious about him and wanted to understand him.

Sitiao kept pleading with me to go back inside and rest. Seeing his distress, I had no choice but to return to my room in disappointment.

Would Cheng Xiu come by tonight?

***

Cheng Xiu slowly washed the bloodstains from his hands. The stench of blood in the dungeon was overpowering enough to make one dizzy, yet he seemed not to smell it at all as he leisurely dried his hands.

Cheng Xiu had entered the palace at the age of seven. He had spent years fighting his way up to his current position. The dangers he had survived went without saying, and the number of people he had killed was countless. At his most ruthless, he had killed over eighty people in a single night, earning himself the reputation of a treacherous villain who plagued the world.

He didn’t care.

The Imperial Guard had originally been under his control, but now a man named Ling Jue had risen-a man of considerable means and upright character. Gradually, the Imperial Guard was slipping from his grasp.

Cheng Xiu was in no hurry.

One cannot rush these things.

The people in court had seen his recent decline in momentum, and their ambitions were stirring again. Consequently, there were always those who didn’t fear death and sought to bring him down.

The Emperor hadn’t reached a state of complete senility yet; he wanted to use Cheng Xiu as a blade but also feared him. Thus, the Emperor supported Ling Jue and appointed his own brother as the Regent Prince to act as a counterweight.

Cheng Xiu allowed the Emperor to set his board.

Entangling the prey in a web, letting it struggle, letting it resist… only when the prey was completely exhausted would he slowly bite through its throat to drain the blood. That was where the fun was.

Everyone else recognized Santong and led him all the way to the interrogation room in the deepest part of the dungeon.

An interrogation had just concluded. Two eunuchs were taking the prisoner away, leaving only the two of them in the room.

When Cheng Xiu heard Santong say that Madam missed him, the corners of his lips curled up imperceptibly. That trace of a smile vanished in an instant. He turned around and scolded Santong with a cold face, “She’s being ridiculous, and you’re following suit? Tell her to recover from her illness properly and stop talking nonsense.”

Santong didn’t dare raise his head. “This servant deserves death. It’s just that Madam is so worried she hasn’t even taken her medicine.”

Cheng Xiu let out a cold laugh at that. “She’s just refusing to drink it because she finds it bitter. How could it be because she misses this one?”

Santong hurriedly denied it and added, “Madam is thinking of you. She was worried your busy schedule would take a toll on your health, so she specifically sent this servant to bring you these pastries. Madam said she made them herself yesterday.”

Cheng Xiu walked up to Santong and glanced at the food basket in his hand. “This one isn’t lacking for a bite to eat. Go back and tell her to drink her medicine, lest she dies of illness in this one’s manor.”

Having received his orders, Santong took the basket and turned to leave.

“Wait.” Cheng Xiu suddenly spoke to stop him. His face remained expressionless as he said indifferently, “Leave the things.”

Otherwise, she would probably start acting up again.