Chapter 13

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Jiang Yunchan bit down hard on her lip until blood seeped from the tips of her teeth, using the pain to steady herself.

Back then, her parents had sacrificed their lives to buy enough time for her and Xiazhu to escape the bandits.

There was no time now for grief and self-pity. She had to find a way to survive—and to live well.

After making sure no one was around, Jiang Yunchan lowered her head and hurried through the night toward Leisure Cloud Court.

At that moment, the marquis’s residence was filled with guests, distinguished visitors arriving at the gate.

“Why hasn’t Lord Xie performed the wedding rites yet? Does he mean to keep us all waiting?”

“Exactly! The auspicious hour is nearly over. What on earth is going on?”

Several young masters from prominent families, already drunk, began shouting impatiently.

The wedding ceremony had been set for the hour of Wu. It was nearly the hour of Hai, yet neither bride nor groom had appeared. Small wonder the guests were growing resentful.

Taking advantage of the disorder in the front hall, Jiang Yunchan passed through with her head bowed and made her way to the entrance of Xie Yan’s bedchamber.

The room was brightly lit. Against the window paper, decorated with large red characters of good fortune, a tall and graceful profile was cast in silhouette.

A gentleman’s every movement was proper and restrained. Even his upright back inspired awe.

Jiang Yunchan lingered outside the door for a long while before saying in a timid voice, “Yunchan… requests an audience with the heir.”

The figure inside stiffened for a brief moment, but no reply came.

Jiang Yunchan could not tell whether her voice had been too soft to hear, or whether appearing before the heir on his wedding night was simply too presumptuous, and had displeased him.

She twisted the edge of her sleeve tightly, carefully considering how to phrase her request.

In the bamboo grove not far away, a string of torches suddenly appeared, rushing toward Leisure Cloud Court.

“The Jizhou garrison has lost a thousand taels of military pay! By order of the authorities, we are searching every household for the thief!” a rough voice shouted.

Panic seized Jiang Yunchan. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

Unexpectedly, the door had been left ajar. Jiang Yunchan nearly stumbled headlong into the room.

She caught herself just inside the threshold and looked up.

Only five paces away, Xie Yan was putting on his wedding robes.

His inner garment hung loosely, revealing, beneath his collarbone, the firm contours of his chest.

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Jiang Yunchan’s cheeks flushed crimson. She lowered her head in embarrassment. “Forgive me, Cousin. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

It seemed only then that Xie Yan noticed her. He stared for a moment, then calmly straightened his collar as he asked, “Little Sister, what brings you here?”

He added, “To my bridal chamber, of all places?”

Those words made Jiang Yunchan even more mortified. She had truly chosen the worst possible moment to disturb someone’s wedding night.

Overcome with embarrassment and guilt, she knelt on the floor, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Cousin, I couldn’t find Huai Lang at the Gu residence. No one knows where he has gone. Could it be… could it be that he already…”

Her sobs broke her words apart.

Xie Yan finished arranging his attire and looked over at her with tranquil eyes.

The young woman’s vivid wedding gown was soaked through and spread across the floor. Her long black hair was covered in glittering raindrops, while her limpid eyes swam with mist.

Tearstains wound down her powdered cheeks to the scar on the left side of her face. Bruises covered her neck and slender wrists.

She resembled a fresh peach blossom drenched by rain—just as it was about to bloom, it was already on the verge of withering.

From those delicate lips came only the repeated words, “Cousin,” spoken softly and tenderly.

She did not sound like her usual self, always addressing him in that cold, rigid manner as “the heir.”

Xie Yan’s gaze deepened. “Rise first, Little Sister. Tell me everything slowly.”

His warm, gentle voice was the only sound in that shattered, rainy night that brought her any comfort, like a soothing Buddhist chant.

Emotion surged through her. She crawled forward several steps on her knees, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Cousin, please help me. Eldest Master… Eldest Master is going to have me locked away!”

A clear tear fell precisely onto Xie Yan’s shoe.

The dampness spread, and its warmth slowly seeped into his body.

After a long silence, he sighed. “I never imagined my elder brother would refuse to heed my advice. I have also been too occupied these past few days and failed to take sufficient precautions.”

“What does this have to do with you, my lord?”

Jiang Yunchan knew perfectly well that the two brothers were as far apart as heaven and earth. She could blame anyone, but never the heir.

She bowed deeply until her forehead touched the floor. “I only ask that Cousin shelter me for a few days. Once I find Huai Lang, I swear I will never trouble you again!”

Xie Yan bent down to help her up. Through the fabric of her sleeve, he could clearly feel the delicate wrist that could be encircled by barely one and a half fingers, trembling with cold.

It was easy to imagine how fragile the petite body wrapped in that elaborate wedding gown must be at that moment—so delicate it seemed it might break at the slightest touch.

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Xie Yan let out a soft sigh, his voice growing gentler still. “Get up and have some hot tea first. Be a good girl.”

How could Jiang Yunchan agree?

The torches outside were growing brighter by the moment. Xie Jin would soon be searching this place.

Xie Yan was her only chance to escape the demon’s grasp. If he would not give his consent, Jiang Yunchan did not dare rise.

“Cousin, please rest assured. I only ask for a place to sleep. A servants’ room would do, even a woodshed! I would never dare interfere with the bond between you and Cousin-in-law!”

Now that someone occupied Xie Yan’s residence, and since he seemed to cherish that Loulan woman so deeply, perhaps he intended to place her in charge of the inner household.

Jiang Yunchan guessed that Xie Yan refused to shelter her only because he feared displeasing the woman he loved. She raised a hand and swore, “If I ever cause Cousin-in-law even the slightest unhappiness, I will submit to whatever punishment you choose, without a word of complaint!”

“Cousin-in-law…” Xie Yan savored the two words between his teeth. A mysterious smile touched his brows. “You misunderstand, Little Sister. Your cousin-in-law spends all her years praying to Buddha and reciting sutras. How would she have the time to concern herself with my affairs? The real question is this: in what capacity do you intend to remain by my side?”

The words struck Jiang Yunchan like a blow to the head, leaving her mind ringing.

She had already been married out of the marquis’s residence. Whether Gu Huaizhou was alive or dead, she ought to remain with the Gu family.

If she returned to the marquis’s residence on the very first night of her wedding, what would outsiders say? How could the members of the marquis’s clan possibly tolerate her?

In her current position, she was worse off than when she had still been unmarried, when she could at least seek shelter with some relative.

She had neither money nor anywhere to go. Even her sole identity as a cousin from her mother’s side could no longer serve her.

Half of Jiang Yunchan’s heart went cold. She knew that pressing Xie Yan to shelter her now would be asking too much.

But…

If she did not ask the impossible, death was her only path.

Jiang Yunchan steeled herself. Endless spring water welled in her eyes.

Through the soaked fabric, she reached back and clasped Xie Yan’s thumb, gripping the final strand of hope that might save her life.

“Cousin, for the sake of the affection we shared in childhood, please help me this once.”