Li Mianyu slept soundly last night.
As she opened her eyes to the morning birdsong, she noticed Yan Shi beside her still not awake.
She was momentarily stunned but could not hide her happiness.
She smiled at him, “Yan Shi, why are you still not up today?”
Her voice was soft and husky from just waking, light and gentle.
Yan Shi turned his head to look at her.
The youthful jade-like face was so close that she could see the tangle of her own cloud-black hair around it reflected in his dark pupils.
Their breaths mingled in the quiet morning.
Li Mianyu froze for a moment, then belatedly realized that every day they slept this intimately, this close together.
She gazed at her handsome Dark Guard’s face, cheeks flushing slowly.
The bold commands she had given the night before suddenly felt a little excessive now.
She finally understood that she was someone’s fiancée—how could she be so intimate with anyone else?
Even if it was her Dark Guard.
But then Li Mianyu quickly reasoned that Yan Shi was a Dark Guard assigned to her by Imperial Grandfather.
Wasn’t the purpose of having a Dark Guard so that he could do whatever she wanted?
“Too numb,” Yan Shi’s low voice came as his eyes shifted away.
Li Mianyu pulled back her thoughts, realizing she had nearly pressed her whole body against Yan Shi.
Blushing, she withdrew her limbs from him and sat up on the kang, looking embarrassed.
Yan Shi remained motionless for a long time, lying there with his eyes lowered.
Her gaze naturally drifted to the broad chest of her Dark Guard.
Perhaps because of her awkward sleeping position, his collar was slightly open, revealing a strong, sculpted chest.
The collarbone was a straight line embedded in the shoulder, muscles well-defined. His usually bound hair was now disheveled, messy around his neck in shades of black, white, and red.
For some reason, she couldn’t help but stare blankly.
When she finally came to, Yan Shi opened his eyes just as she looked at him.
Li Mianyu’s cheeks burned red instantly, her breath caught.
She hadn’t meant to peek, only glanced casually, but suddenly she felt the guilty, nervous tension of being caught spying.
She stammered, “Um…how are your wounds doing?”
Yan Shi looked at her and sat up, his ink-black hair falling loosely down his back.
Li Mianyu had never seen him like this before.
Her Dark Guard always tied his hair high; she had never seen it loose like this.
His already handsome face looked even more delicate.
Yan Shi lowered his head, unbuttoned his collar, and began to remove his clothes, then looked back at her.
Li Mianyu’s cheeks flared with color, her voice trembling, “Why are you taking off your clothes?”
“You asked about my wounds, didn’t you?”
Yan Shi’s dark eyes were calm, his voice even.
…True, but still, there was no need to strip!
“Just tell me if they’re healed or not!”
Li Mianyu stammered, “We’re lying on the same bed…kang, and you’re taking off your clothes? It’s not proper if someone sees!”
The boy was silent for a moment, then whispered, “So, do you want to see my wounds or not?”
Li Mianyu: She opened her mouth, her mind in a whirl.
Hearing the word “wound” reminded her of her earlier question, and her drifting gaze returned to him.
The young Dark Guard was tall and imposing, broad shoulders, lean waist and abdomen, with several crisscrossing scars on his skin…right, she was here to check on his wounds!
Li Mianyu steadied herself and focused her eyes on the scars.
Many were old; the fresh wounds from their escape were still scabbed, not fully healed.
She couldn’t help but lean closer, gently pressing her fingertip on the deepest, longest scar on his shoulder.
She recalled that night’s perilous situation, her eyes growing moist, “Why hasn’t it healed yet? It must hurt a lot.”
Yan Shi watched her, his muscles tensing slightly.
After a moment, he quietly said, “I can endure it.”
Li Mianyu lowered her eyelashes, her mood sinking.
“I didn’t even know your wounds hadn’t healed. Do you still have any medicine left?”
After she spoke, she lifted her head and felt a soft touch brush across her forehead.
She froze, her gaze first falling on Yan Shi’s flushed lips, then meeting his jet-black eyes.
“Knock knock—”
A knock sounded at the door, followed by Chen Xiue’s voice, “Xiao Yu, are you both awake?”
Li Mianyu jolted awake as if startled, leaping up from the kang and about to jump down.
But when her eyes caught the dark floor, she hurriedly pulled her feet back, hastily slipping on her shoes before running to open the door.
The countryside house was a simple square room, the door facing the kang.
When Chen Xiue saw the door open, she noticed Li Mianyu’s flushed, nervous cheeks.
Her eyes then swept to Yan Shi sitting on the kang, head bowed, quietly dressing, his bare chest faintly visible.
Chen Xiue, a woman who had borne two children, blushed slightly, wondering if she had come at an awkward time.
Li Mianyu quickly blocked her gaze and raised her voice, “Madam Chen, what brings you so early to look for us?”
Chen Xiue remembered her role and said with reddened eyes, “I went to the Village Head. My second brother is no longer in the village. Now, only two houses are unoccupied here. Da Cheng and I plan to repair one and move in. I came to ask about your plans.”
She explained the situation in detail.
After Chen Xiue left home, Chen Gaozhu’s wife, Qián Zhāodì, grew resentful of Chen You Shu occupying land and found fault with him.
Later, while pregnant, she drove him out to set up her own household.
The Chen family were simple farmers, and because Chen Xiue’s mother was ill, they lacked the strength to oppose the pregnant new daughter-in-law.
Chen You Shu left home and was never heard from again.
After the youngest son left, the in-laws were mistreated by the new daughter-in-law and passed away within two years, buried without even a thin coffin, wrapped in a straw mat.
Li Mianyu clenched her fists in fury.
“Chen Gaozhu is truly…not even livestock deserve to be compared to him! A disgrace beyond words, shameful to heaven and earth! Yan Shi, when you go to Chen Gaozhu’s house later, if you don’t beat him badly, I won’t feel relieved!”
Chen Xiue said, “…That’s unnecessary. Just cutting ties is enough. Besides, Chen Gaozhu already has broken ribs and is bedridden, constantly groaning.”
Li Mianyu turned around.
Yan Shi had tied his hair and dressed.
He came from behind her, his calm eyes sweeping over Chen Xiue.
Chen Xiue felt nervous under Yan Shi’s dark, arched gaze…could it be that he blamed her for coming at a bad time?
Yan Shi went out to fetch water from the well.
Li Mianyu spoke a little more with Chen Xiue.
Chen Xiue’s eyes were red, filled with apology.
“I wanted you to have land in the village, but I didn’t expect things to turn out this way.”
“No problem. My brother can repair the house,” Li Mianyu said, her anger toward such unscrupulous people subsiding into a quieter tone.
“We have nowhere else to go either. But…I wonder if the Village Head might allow us to stay temporarily?”
Chen Xiue wiped her eyes and said, “The Village Head is old and kindhearted. It should be fine. Da Cheng will soon go to town to buy rice, flour, and daily necessities. Xiao Yan, do you want to come along?”
Li Mianyu blinked and immediately nodded, “Yes, I want to go!”
“Da Cheng will leave soon. We’ll borrow the Village Head’s ox cart. It can carry a heavier load,” Chen Xiue added.
Li Mianyu had no objections and nodded, “I’ll have my brother come over later.”
Chen Xiue spoke briefly and left.
Once Chen Xiue was gone, Li Mianyu walked over to Yan Shi’s side, naturally crouching down and dipping her hands into his bucket of clean water to wash her face.
She rinsed her mouth with saliva and took the willow twig Yan Shi had soaked somewhere along the way to clean her teeth.
When Li Mianyu lifted her face—still wet—she scolded Chen Gaozhu again, then brightened her eyes to look at Yan Shi, saying, “Yan Shi, when you and Zhu Dacheng go to town later, there are many things I want you to buy. First, I want paper, ink, brush, and inkstone—I want to write a letter to Cui Yunqi!”
Yan Shi was still crouched waiting for her to finish washing.
Hearing this, his expression remained unchanged.
He looked at Li Mianyu and lowered his eyes, washing his face with the water she had used.
Li Mianyu started the usual phrase she said every day: “I really miss Imperial Grandfather.”
For the first time, Yan Shi lifted his head to ask, “Then why don’t you write to the Emperor?”
The boy’s handsome, sharp face was also wet, droplets running from his brow down his cheek.
The morning light shimmered in the water, sparkling like tiny lights in his eyes.
Li Mianyu pursed her lips and smiled proudly, “Are you stupid or what? Imperial Grandfather’s whereabouts are naturally secret, nowhere to be found, not even by me. Only Imperial Grandfather can seek me out. But Cui Yunqi is different. He doesn’t have to hide from the world.”
“I can guess where he might be. Writing a letter might give me a chance to find him. Besides, if I find Cui Yunqi, he can arrange everything for me—even finding Imperial Grandfather. He’s very capable.”
Yan Shi looked at her, then shook the water off his face.
Li Mianyu got splashed and stopped praising Cui Yunqi mid-sentence.
She gasped, “Yan Shi, are you a puppy? Shaking your fur and splashing water!”