Chapter 21
The Forbidden City
He didn’t really carry her back into the bamboo house, instead he carries her up a small pathway next to the building. After they walk up the path, they are exactly halfway up the hill.
At that very moment, they can hear the sound of people yelling from the peak. He let go of her, saying, “They will find you soon.” Each and every one of his words are concise.
He spoke very little for the past years. The things he said to her this day can already be considered a lot.
“Remember, you didn’t see anyone. Including the snake.”
She nods gently, “Chenqie understand.”
She hands over the umbrella to him. He hesitates for a while, but accepted it in the end anyway. If she didn’t meet anyone, there shouldn’t be any umbrella. She didn’t say anything, merely turning around. There is a flat rock behind her so she wipes the snow away and then naturally sits on it in silence, her head looking down like usual.
Xuan Yuan Yu’s behaviour is so weird today, so peculiar that she cannot put him in the same light as the man from last night.
But, he is the emperor, the master of the Forbidden City.
Everyone has their own secret. Perhaps she had accidentally stumbled into his. She should be thankful he isn’t killing her.
For a cold-blooded emperor like him, killing a consort is a decision he can make within seconds.
And her being alive and managing to send her father’s coffin off is all because of him too. She is not an ungrateful person. In fact, she is someone who appreciate the little things.
He squints his eyes at her, she is really pretty but what he remembers even more is the personality behind that beautiful face.
He lowers his gaze, turns out he is still carrying her shoe in one hand. When her eyes fell on the shoe, she frowns a little, prompting him to take a second look at the shoe. At first, he thought she was scared of the snake’s bloodstain on the shoe. But upon a closer look at the shoe that seemed nothing unusual, he finally understands what the problem is.
His lips curve upon inspecting the faint arc, he takes back the shoe, simply saying, “It’s dirty.”
On the road of the hill, the sound of footsteps gradually gets closer to them. Those servants did not find her in the pit, so perhaps they are turning back to look for her.
Then, this shoe is no longer of any use, so him taking it back didn’t seem like an excessive action. Besides, he did something else as well didn’t he?
Not sparing her a glance, he turns around and disappears deep in the trail. From above the mountain, a sharp-eyed eunuch’s high voice pierce through the silence, “Her Ladyship is here!”
Li Qiu rushes down and sees Xi Yan sitting over there, snow falling on her dress and hair, making her look like a fairy inside a painting.
Even though the scene was beautiful, Li Qiu did not fail from noticing traces of blood on Her Ladyship’s dress. Her heart races for a moment, but she forces herself to calm down and runs down to where Xi Yan is at, “Your Ladyship, this servant searched for you in the wrong place. Please forgive this servant!”
Xi Yan looks up and stares at her, simply saying, “It’s okay. Bengong only fell and lost a shoe, that’s all.”
She did not dare to brings up the shoe’s peculiarity, she also hope Xuan Yuan Yu did not notice it. Or else, things might get bigger, even if she is just an unfavored Zui Fei.
She is unharmed anyway, might as well forgive and forget. Of course, this is only for first offense. Everyone will make a mistake, as long as they don’t repeat their mistakes, Xi Yan can tolerate them.