Chapter 50: Counting?

How long had passed, Yan Xi only regained consciousness once more.

She felt as if she were dreaming—a dream filled with bright sunshine and warmth.

There were her father, mother, elder sister, uncle, Lord Sheng, the princess, and Li Qianjin...

Beneath the warm sun, they seemed to be listening as she rocked her little head, reciting poems.

Her small figure was tiny, barely four or five years old.

Praises and laughter echoed around her ears...

Gradually, the sounds became ethereal, the scenes blurred until she could neither hear nor see anything...

**********

The bedding was silky smooth, the room warm, and a pleasant scent of incense lingered in the air.

Yan Xi slowly woke.

She opened her eyes gradually, her thoughts somewhat muddled. The first thing that met her gaze was the cloud patterns on the ceiling, followed by the pink-and-white gauze curtains.

In an instant, she realized this was her room—the military governor’s residence, her own room.

Her pupils dilated sharply, and almost simultaneously, her full consciousness and memories rushed back. Recalling everything before her fainting, the little girl abruptly sat up on the bed.

Her movements and noise were naturally quite noticeable.

The four maids attending her immediately hurried over.

"Young Mistress!"

No matter what they said, Yan Xi’s feet had already touched the ground. With delicate hands, she grasped the curtain and pulled it aside to step out.

"Young Mistress..."

The four maids inside the room were frightened and flustered.

Yan Xi’s gaze fell first on their faces.

Qinglian and Taohong were nowhere to be seen.

Sure enough, Qinglian and Taohong were not there.

Without any words, she ignored their attempts to stop her and headed straight for the bedroom door.

"Young Mistress!"

"Get out of the way! Qinglian! Taohong!"

"Please calm down, Young Mistress. Miss Qinglian and Miss Taohong are not here."

Yan Xi suddenly halted, turned around gently but firmly gripped the collar of the maid following behind, staring straight at her.

"Where are those two? Where are they?"

"I do not know, Young Mistress. You were carried back by the Master alone. I did not see Miss Qinglian or Miss Taohong."

"Where is Lu Zhi? I want to see Lu Zhi."

"I do not know where the Master is. Please calm down, Young Mistress."

Calm down?

After all her efforts to escape, now captured and brought back, with Qinglian and Taohong’s lives unknown, their whereabouts a mystery—how could she calm down?

Yan Xi released the maid’s collar and dashed toward the door.

She pushed aside the beaded curtain into the warm chamber, where more maids were stationed. Seeing her come out, they all stepped forward to comfort her.

"Young Mistress, please calm down. It’s raining outside. Your body is weak, and you’re dressed like this—you must not go out."

"I told you to get out of my way!"

In an instant, more than a dozen maids surrounded Yan Xi to block her.

One said, "Even if you go out, Young Mistress, it’s useless. The Master is probably not in the residence now. Before leaving this morning, he instructed us strictly not to let you go out. He said if you want Miss Qinglian and Miss Taohong to be safe, you must behave..."

When the maid finished speaking—more precisely, when Yan Xi heard the last sentence—she suddenly stopped.

**********

Her chest rose and fell in turmoil; her bright, clear eyes did not look at anyone nor speak a word. She bit her lip slowly and clenched her fists.

It seemed she had anticipated this.

Anticipated that that villain would use Qinglian and Taohong to threaten her.

Yet at least she had a shred of news about the two.

They were still alive—not dead—so perhaps they were still safe?

**********

In Yangzhou city, at the market.

Rain had started around noon and still had not ceased near dusk; not only that, it seemed to be growing heavier.

Meng Wenhui and Lin Yaor sat inside a carriage, passing by a bulletin board when Meng Wenhui suddenly called the driver to stop.

Because of the rain, there were few pedestrians on the road, and no one was near the bulletin board at that moment.

Meng Wenhui raised her voice to the coachman outside, "Come closer."

Lin Yaor inside the carriage said, "Haven’t we already seen it?"

Meng Wenhui did not reply. As the carriage approached, she once again looked at the wanted poster posted on the board.

Names and portraits were displayed; it was clearly a pair of siblings.

Meng Wenhui’s gaze lingered on the poster for a long time before she spoke to the coachman again, urging the carriage to move on.

But her voice was somewhat lower than before.

Lin Yaor asked, "Sister Hui, what are you thinking about?"

Meng Wenhui first shook her head, then replied,

"What kind of girl could she be?"

Lin Yaor understood immediately.

She had guessed.

Yesterday, with the whole of Yangzhou stirred up, how could they not have heard?

Though the wanted were a pair of siblings, their cousin had personally gone.

The two had been here for three days already. With a little inquiry, they learned that there was a woman in the military governor’s residence. Their cousin kept a beautiful woman hidden there.

They were not allowed to stay there, likely because of that beauty.

Perhaps their cousin did not want them to disturb her.

For three consecutive days, they had taken many rides toward the direction of the governor’s residence, even passed its gates from afar repeatedly, hoping for a chance to see that beauty by coincidence.

Yet, for three days, no luck.

But this morning was different.

They had sent a servant early to watch the situation, who reported at dawn that their cousin had come back carrying a woman.

That made the matter clear—was that woman snatched by the servant siblings?

No one had ever thought their cousin would keep a woman outside...

**********

Dusk arrived swiftly.

Because of the rain, the sky outside was heavily overcast, and candles had long been lit inside, brightening the room.

Yan Xi was in the bathing chamber.

She had soaked in the water for quite some time.

The maids had refilled her hot water three times, but she still showed no intention of coming out.

Her thoughts were already scattered, all revolving around that man.

Yan Xi was filled with rage, her fists clenched tightly. The more she thought, the more tears welled in her eyes—fragile yet unyielding.

**********

She had failed, utterly failed.

He had taken Qinglian and Taohong hostage.

At present, A Tai and the Yun siblings were on the run; their safety was unknown, whether they could escape his clutches was uncertain. Yet he had already captured Qinglian and Taohong.

Not a single loyal soul remained by her side!

Worse, he had essentially imprisoned her.

She could not even leave the Tinglan Pavilion!

How could he be so heartless, so shameless, so...

Just as she thought this, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a familiar, low voice.

"Where?"

"Master, Young Mistress is in the bathing chamber..."

Her heart pounded wildly. Yan Xi immediately looked toward the chamber door, and soon his figure appeared before her.

He had long returned to his usual form, dressed in dark official robes with a cloak, hands behind his back. His brows were stern, yet it was easy to see a faint, unreadable smile in his eyes.

He gave her a cold but subtle glance in that guise.

The chamber’s light was dim, but it did not prevent her from seeing him clearly, nor hearing his words.

He stood at the doorway without entering, speaking softly with a hint of feigned concern.

"Ranran, how are you resting? You must be tired after the whole day’s running yesterday..."

Yan Xi’s lips trembled with anger, her breath already quickened. Seeing him slightly furrow his brow, he continued,

"How are the maids attending you? Are you comfortable? Do you like them? If not, tomorrow I will replace them all until you find ones you like and are satisfied with. For my Ranran, I would do anything, I am willing to do anything... As long as you are happy and content... I would gladly walk through fire and water, serve as your beast of burden..."

"Scoundrel! Rogue! Villain! You, you damn official! Beast! You bastard! Get lost!"

Yan Xi would not let him continue to anger her. Whatever she had said or not said, whatever she had read or heard, she spat all the curses she knew at him.

The man’s face showed no change—neither flushed nor pale—still wore that faint, ambiguous smile. Then, with hands behind his back, he leisurely took one off and went to his collar, undoing his cloak and tossing it to a maid. Next, he loosened the collar beneath and moved toward her...

Yan Xi’s eyes suddenly widened, pupils dilated; she stared as he raised his hand, dismissed everyone present, realizing the worst was about to happen.

"What are you going to do?"

Her voice quivered with tears; her delicate body in the water visibly recoiled.

But in such a confined space, where could she run?

Before she could move much, the man approached and reached into the tub, lifting her out with a large hand.

Yan Xi immediately burst into tears, tightly closing her eyes, her face flushing deeply.

With nothing on her, how could she endure this? Her slender legs and arms flailed wildly, struggling fiercely.

"Let me go, let me go! You’re a scoundrel! I hate you."

But no matter how she struggled, it was useless; her punches seemed to have no effect.

In an instant, Yan Xi was carried to the bed.

The little girl’s tender body was wet, her skin porcelain and cold. She opened her eyes wide, watching him stand at the bedside, completely undressing and throwing his clothes onto the floor. He pressed down on her, pinning her beneath him.

His upper body was bare, revealing strong arms. His large hands seized her flailing hands and bound them tightly together with a handkerchief, pinning her wrists above her head as his handsome face pressed down.

"Scold me a few more times. If it were anyone else, I might kill them. But you’re different. Whatever you say, I love to hear it. Whatever you curse, I like it. But running away? That’s impossible..."

Yan Xi tightly shut her eyes, sobbing quietly...

"Scoundrel, villain, villain..."

Unexpectedly, he chuckled.

"That day at the temple, didn’t you say that after coming back, I could do anything? Does that promise still hold? If it does, then brother will begin now..."