After a few moments, Xie Zheng straightened up, his face as cold and unreadable as jade, as if the vulnerability from moments ago had truly been Changyu's imagination.
He reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Fan Changyu's ear, simply saying, "Go change."
Despite her many questions, Changyu had no choice but to set them aside for now.
The Office of Presentations was a place with many eyes and ears. If she let him wait outside, having a guard from the Office of Presentations leaving her room would surely invite gossip if seen by others.
To avoid unnecessary complications, it was best not to let him step beyond this door.
She picked up the fallen guard uniform, hesitated briefly, then walked behind the screen.
As she untied the soft armor she was wearing, Changyu peeked out again at the man standing with his back to her in the room.
Except for the night before he left for the capital, even when they had shared a bed, they had always slept fully clothed. She had never undressed in broad daylight in front of him before.
Changyu felt extremely uncomfortable.
Unexpectedly, though Xie Zheng had his back to her, it was as if he had eyes on the back of his head. "Don't worry, I won't look," he said.
Changyu suddenly felt awkward, as if she had misjudged his noble intentions with her petty suspicions. She withdrew her head and began rustling as she removed her clothes.
But from beyond the screen came Xie Zheng's calm addition: "Haven't I already seen everything there is to see?"
Changyu's hands paused on her sash. A fierce glint flashed in her eyes as she gripped the wooden screen behind her. With a loud crack from the splintering wood, she enunciated each word: "Xie. Zheng!"
A soft chuckle came from outside. "Just teasing you. Hurry up and change."
When Changyu pulled on the guard uniform, her gaze unconsciously flickered toward the screen again, and she frowned.
Xie Zheng had done it on purpose.
It seemed he didn't want her to ask more questions, so he deliberately changed the subject.
After changing, Changyu stepped out without pressing further. Fastening the vambraces at her sleeves, she asked, "Who are you taking me to see?"
The guard uniform was dark cyan. She had tied all her hair up into a small bun at the crown of her head, revealing her long, fair neck. Her bold features carried a distinct heroic air.
But with the leather belt cinched tightly around her waist, she appeared too slender—unlike a man.
Xie Zheng leaned against the carved moon gate separating the inner and outer rooms, watching Changyu quietly. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, like an ancient well untouched by sunlight. "You'll know when we get there."
As Changyu approached, he raised his veined hand and suddenly began untying the collar she had just fastened.
Startled, Changyu sidestepped, the delicate skin of her neck brushing against his cool fingertips. Half her neck instantly tingled with numbness.
"What are you doing?" she hissed.
Xie Zheng looked down at her. The tightly shut doors and windows left the room dim, accentuating the sharp, handsome lines of his face.
"Your waist is too slender. You'll be recognized. Add two layers of cotton armor."
His voice was calm as his fingers moved right, hooking and pulling, this time effortlessly loosening the collar Changyu had secured.
With such a plausible excuse, Changyu couldn't scold him further. But he stood too close—every breath filled her with the cold, clean scent of northern winds and soap mingled on him. Combined with the fleeting touch of his fingertips, fine beads of sweat formed on her nose from the heat.
When he reached for the leather belt at her waist, Changyu stepped back and deftly unfastened it herself. "I'll do it."Without the leather belt to hold it in place, the outer robe fell open, revealing the loose white undergarment beneath, secured only by two ties at the front. The delicate curve of her collarbone was already visible.
The bite mark on her left collarbone had faded almost completely, leaving only two faint, grain-sized imprints.
As she bent her head to fasten two pieces of cotton armor around her waist, a loose strand of hair slipped free and draped over her shoulder and neck.
Xie Zheng reached out to brush it aside. The sensation of his fingers skimming over her skin sent an inexplicable shiver down her spine. Fan Changyu instinctively hunched her shoulders and frowned up at him, only to feel the rough pad of his thumb settle over the faint bite marks.
Her shoulders tensed again—his fingertips were cold.
Xie Zheng made no further move to overstep, but as his gaze swept over the noticeably flattened curve of her chest, he asked, "Binding again?"
Though only two fingers rested on her collarbone, Changyu felt as if a blade were pressed to her throat, all her strength draining away beneath his touch.
She forced herself to remain composed. "It's more convenient when wearing armor."
Xie Zheng hummed faintly in response, his thumb idly tracing the bite marks on her collarbone. Then, with a sudden burst of strength in his right arm, he wrapped it around her waist and lifted her onto the round table.
Changyu tipped backward, caught off guard, and only steadied herself by bracing her hands against the table. By the time she regained her bearings, Xie Zheng had already cupped her chin and captured her lips in a kiss.
The position left her no choice but to submit, making it easy for him to deepen the kiss, his tongue claiming hers.
Even as he kissed her, he managed to free a hand to tighten the loosened cotton armor around her waist. When he pulled her robe closed and fastened the leather belt, his gaze flicked down to her. Then, with his teeth, he tugged the collar of her left shoulder downward and pressed a fresh mark over the fading bite imprints before adjusting her robe properly again.
Changyu’s breathing was uneven. Though her robes were now neatly arranged, her cheeks were flushed, and her fingers, gripping the edge of the table, had turned white from the strain.
Xie Zheng lifted his head and pressed two more fleeting kisses to her slightly swollen lips before murmuring, "Keep looking at me like that, and we won’t be leaving today."
His voice was deeper than usual, husky with a magnetic roughness, as if he’d been drinking.
Changyu’s gaze gradually cleared. Still seated on the table, she abruptly grabbed his collar and yanked him down to her level, then sank her teeth into his shoulder and neck with equal force.
Xie Zheng hissed softly, but before he could react, she had already released him and jumped off the table.
She took several steps away before turning back to look at him, her eyes gleaming with the wild defiance of a leopard. "Let’s go."
Xie Zheng tugged his collar up to cover the fresh bite mark, his thumb brushing over it once before he leisurely followed after her.
Since Xie Zheng had mentioned that someone would inform Xie Qi and the others of her whereabouts, Changyu didn’t bother seeking him out to explain again.
Using the excuse of running errands, they left the Office of Presentations and entered a shop selling calligraphy and paintings. After being led upstairs, a servant brought them fresh clothes to change into.
Standing by the window of the private room, Changyu cracked it open slightly and watched as two members of the Blood-Clad Cavalry, dressed in their former guard uniforms, walked away. Several plainclothes figures on the street immediately began tailing them discreetly. Startled, she turned to Xie Zheng and asked, "You knew we were being followed all along?"Xie Zheng sat at the table, his long fingers—still bearing faint scabs—holding a cup of clear tea. He lifted his eyelids slightly and said, "Whenever guards or servants from the Office of Presentations go out, they are followed."
Fan Changyu understood his implication—those people were the eyes of the palace.
Even when dispatching servants or guards to run errands outside, the emperor kept a covert watch.
She returned to sit at the round table draped with exquisite embroidered silk and asked, "Then where do we go next?"
No sooner had she spoken than the sound of a carriage stopping and horses neighing came from downstairs.
Xie Zheng set down his teacup. "The carriage is here."
Seeing him rise, Fan Changyu picked up the veil hat delivered by the attendant and followed.
This veil hat was worn by noblewomen or young ladies in the capital to conceal their faces when going out. With it, Fan Changyu no longer needed to smear her face with disguise paste.
As they stepped out, a "married couple" from the carriage happened to be led upstairs by the shop attendant. Fan Changyu noticed their clothing was identical to what she and Xie Zheng were wearing.
When she saw the attendant give Xie Zheng an almost imperceptible nod and the "couple" enter the private room they had just vacated, she guessed they were also Xie Zheng's people.
Now wasn’t the time to talk, so she remained silent. After following Xie Zheng downstairs, he paid for two scrolls of calligraphy and paintings before leading her to the carriage parked by the roadside.
Once the driver cracked his whip and the carriage had moved some distance through the bustling streets, Fan Changyu lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to check behind them. Confirming no one was following, she lowered it and asked Xie Zheng, "Are those people in the shop yours?"
Xie Zheng leaned against the carriage wall. The wind fluttered the window curtain, casting shifting light and shadow over his disguised face, yet it couldn’t obscure the nobility of his bone structure.
He replied, "That’s a Zhao Family business."
Fan Changyu still remembered the Zhao Family Bookstore that had once opened in Qingping County. She just hadn’t expected the Zhao Family to have establishments in the capital as well.
Once Xie Zheng closed his eyes to rest, Fan Changyu lifted the curtain slightly to observe the streets along the way.
The capital was indeed more prosperous than any place she had visited. No wonder Changning had been so thrilled after her outing.
Fan Changyu propped her elbow and watched for a while before turning her gaze to Xie Zheng, whose eyes were lightly shut.
He was troubled by something—he just didn’t want to share it with her.
She pressed her lips together slightly, disliking the despondency rising in her heart over this.
Just as she was staring at him distractedly, the man who had been resting his eyes suddenly opened them. "Why are you looking at me?"
Caught red-handed, Fan Changyu felt both guilty and awkward. She quickly straightened up and coughed lightly. "I was curious about what material your mask is made of."
Crafting a human-skin mask wasn’t easy. When leaving the Office of Presentations, Xie Zheng had worn one molded to his facial contours, while Fan Changyu had applied some disguise paste.
By the time they changed outfits at the bookstore, the paste on her face had been washed off.
Hearing her question, Xie Zheng reached up, peeled off the scarred face mask, and handed it to her.
Fan Changyu took it and rubbed it between her fingers, frowning. "I can’t tell by touch."
Xie Zheng said, "I thought you’d guess it was human skin."
Fan Changyu’s expression changed instantly. Her almond eyes widened, pupils contracting as if she were truly a startled cat.Seeing her like this, Xie Zheng lowered his gaze to conceal the amusement in his eyes, and the pent-up frustration in his chest seemed to dissipate slightly.
Fan Changyu wore an indescribable expression on her face, gingerly holding the mask by the tips of her thumbs and handing it back to Xie Zheng. She said with a conflicted look, "They say debts are cleared upon death. Skinning a dead person to make a mask is truly inhumane. You really shouldn’t use this anymore."
Xie Zheng propped his chin on one hand, staring at her deliberately as he said, "But there’s no material more suitable than human skin—excellent elasticity and perfect fit..."
As he spoke, he pushed the mask she had returned even closer to her. "If you don’t believe me, try it on."
Changyu’s face turned almost green. She regarded the mask within arm’s reach as if facing a mortal enemy, stiffening her neck as she declared, "I won’t!"
She looked like a bristling wildcat.
Xie Zheng let out a few muffled chuckles. "You actually believed it?"
Realizing she’d been tricked, Changyu glared at him without a word.
Xie Zheng laughed outright. "It’s made from donkey glue by a magician."
Occasionally, the carriage curtain fluttered in the wind, revealing glimpses of the countryside outside.
Changyu clutched the mask in one hand while the other clenched into a fist. When the coachman reined in the horses, she hurled the mask at Xie Zheng and followed up with several loud, solid punches.
When Xie Zhong heard the horses neighing and stepped out of the manor, he was met with a cacophony of banging and clattering from the carriage parked at the gate.
Moments later, a young woman in a pale lilac silk dress leaped down first. Bright-eyed and fair-skinned, she was undeniably beautiful—though she looked rather fierce. Yet her clear, guileless eyes gave her an air of someone easily fooled, making her a spirited girl.
Xie Zhong didn’t recognize Fan Changyu, but since she had been escorted by the Blood-Clad Cavalry, she couldn’t be an outsider.
Shortly after, Xie Zheng emerged from the carriage—though for some reason, he had donned the scarred face mask again.
Spotting him, Xie Zhong quickly clasped his fists in salute. "Marquis."
Xie Zheng gave a faint nod, his voice betraying nothing. "How is General Zhu’s recovery?"
Xie Zhong replied, "Everything else is fine, but his legs can’t be healed."
This was something the physicians had warned about from the start.
Xie Zheng turned his head toward Changyu, whose anger hadn’t fully subsided, and said gently, "The person I wanted you to meet is inside."
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