The suddenness of the situation had initially left Chu Chu bewildered, but now she understood perfectly. All that talk about danger here and danger there—what danger? Clearly, he had planned it all along!
She had no idea what he and his companion were up to or what they hoped to gain, but she knew one thing: she had been inexplicably and foolishly deceived by Xiao Jin Yu.
And that nonsense about hiring her as a maid to uphold etiquette and protocol? She had only ever heard of overstepping one’s bounds being a crime—since when was traveling light and simple also an offense?
And to think she had been so genuinely concerned for him! The man could lie without even batting an eye!
Chu Chu didn’t care whether he was the first prince or the tenth—this wasn’t the first time he had deceived her. This time, he had even tricked her into helping him deceive others. No matter how much reward money he offered, she refused to work for someone like him.
Chu Chu retrieved the two money pouches from under her pillow and, without hesitation, knocked on Xiao Jin Yu’s door. Before the guard who answered could speak, she thrust the pouches toward him. “I’m returning this money to Wang Ye. I don’t want it.”
The guard froze for a moment but did not reach for the pouches. “Miss Chu, please wait a moment.”
As the guard turned to enter the inner room, Chu Chu was no longer at the door. The two money pouches lay discarded by the threshold.
She had come to return the money, and now that every last coin was accounted for and returned, she could leave with a clear conscience.
There were plenty of good people in the world—she refused to believe she couldn’t make it back to Chu Shui Town without money!
Chu Chu still remembered the route from the main gate to this small courtyard. Braving the wind and snow, she dashed out, brushing past several people adorned in gold and silver. No one paid her any mind, and she smoothly exited As Returning Pavilion.
She didn’t know where she was, but she knew the direction from the capital back to Suzhou. All she had to do was return to the capital from here.
Following the winding mountain path the carriage had taken earlier, Chu Chu descended the cliff in the darkness. The harsh winter mountain winds of the north lacked the soft moisture of the Jiangnan region; the biting wind and snow stung her face. Halfway down, she couldn’t help but pause to tighten her collar, blowing warm breath onto her reddened hands. She glanced up at As Returning Pavilion, now just a small patch of light in the distance.
So this was the capital’s most luxurious restaurant—nothing special after all!
Just as she was about to lower her gaze and continue her journey, she suddenly spotted a flash of red plummeting straight down from the direction of As Returning Pavilion through the swirling snow.
The crimson figure fell past the cliff, sweeping directly in front of her. There was no time to see clearly, but it was enough to discern that it was a person—someone dressed in red—falling from As Returning Pavilion.
This… someone had fallen off the cliff!
Without a second thought, Chu Chu snapped out of her daze and sprinted downward.
The cliff wasn’t too high. If she hurried, there might still be a chance to save them.
Panting heavily from the run, she spotted the red figure lying on the ground in the distance, seemingly still moving. Her heart leaped with hope, and she mustered her strength to rush forward, only to halt abruptly just a few steps away from the crimson form.From this distance, it was clear that the red figure was a man—a man with an exquisitely beautiful profile. Not the kind of beauty typical of men, yet not like the delicate, affected charm of opera performers who flutter their fingers like orchid petals. In the snowy night, this man, dressed in fiery red robes, was gently caressing the person beneath him with a tenderness as soft as water. He murmured in a voice so gentle it seemed to melt into the mountain wind and swirling snowflakes. Chu Chu couldn't make out his words, but she had a strong sense that he was speaking of something beautiful.
Chu Chu let out a long sigh of relief. Whatever these two were doing, jumping down from the cliff in the middle of the night, as long as no one had died, it was fine.
Before she could clearly see the person beneath the red-robed man, Chu Chu had intended to slip quietly along the roadside, passing by as quickly as possible without disturbing them. But curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't resist glancing down as she passed. With one look, she realized the person lying beneath the red-robed man was a man. Startled, she took another look and noticed that the man below was actually lying naked on the snow-covered ground. She halted her steps for a closer look, and the man's face and expression came clearly into view. Chu Chu couldn't suppress a gasp of shock.
The man in red, with his gentle caresses, soft kisses, and murmured words, was actually addressing a naked male corpse—one with eyes wide open, unclosed in death!
At Chu Chu's cry, the red-robed man seemed to realize for the first time that he wasn't the only living person there. He abruptly lifted his head.
Jing Yi hadn't planned on knocking on Xiao Jin Yu's door in the middle of the night. According to reason, Xiao Jin Yu should have been sleeping deeply under the influence of the drug. But the sounds coming from Xiao Jin Yu's room told a different story.
Leaping through the window, Jing Yi found the guards absent from the room. Only Xiao Jin Yu was there, hunched over the edge of the bed, retching painfully into a spittoon beneath it. The spittoon held no traces of vomit; all his efforts produced only a small amount of water.
Startled, Jing Yi hurried over and steadied Xiao Jin Yu, who was on the verge of falling off the bed. "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to take two doses of the antidote, both before and after? You haven't taken it yet?"
Xiao Jin Yu shook his head slightly, managing to speak between ragged breaths. "The medicine isn't on me..."
Jing Yi froze, suddenly remembering that Chu Chu had earlier taken the medicine from her own person to give to Xiao Jin Yu. "Where's Chu Chu?"
"I don't know... I've already sent people to look for her..."
A spasm wracked his stomach, and Xiao Jin Yu bent over again, retching painfully. His already frail body trembled like a withered leaf in the wind.
Jing Yi helped him lean back against the headboard. "Wait here. I'll go back to the Royal Mansion to get medicine from Ye Qian Qiu."
Xiao Jin Yu waved a hand dismissively, weakly grabbing a handkerchief to wipe the remnants from his lips. He took a few deep breaths to suppress the hollow churning in his stomach, his voice hoarse as he said, "He's handling matters for me. Don't distract him... It's the bewitching drug triggering my stomach illness. Taking the antidote or not makes no difference—it'll pass soon... Tell me about Xu Ru Gui."
Right now, the only thing that could divert his attention from the physical pain was the case. Jing Yi had no choice but to reveal what he had planned to say the next morning. "I dragged him outside, doused him with a bucket of cold water to wake him up, and told him that both of you had passed out together. I also said that room is now a crime scene, taken over by Prince An Manor, and no one is allowed near it. I doubt he'll figure anything out for a while."
Xiao Jin Yu closed his eyes and nodded faintly.
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