Chapter 58

Both of them froze slightly after their bodies touched. Pei Muci smiled gently, his eyes full of indulgence and pampering.

Qingwu was scorched by this clear and affectionate gaze, feeling a wave of heat wash over her heart. As she pulled her eyes away, she also lowered her flailing arms.

Pei Muci raised an eyebrow, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly. The moment she let go, he traced the center of her palm with the tip of his tongue.

The bizarre tickling sensation gave Qingwu goosebumps all over. Under his intense gaze, she managed to decipher a different meaning.

She blurted out, "You scoundrel!"

Pei Muci lowered his head, capturing the air in her mouth with a fierce, demanding kiss, blocking the rest of her angry curses.

Lately, he had noticed that Qingwu's vocabulary had acquired quite a few common market curses. He had no idea where she had picked them up—perhaps she had caught them while staying in Peach Blossom Village—so he temporarily blamed all of it on Du Jin, intending to settle accounts with him slowly later on.

"Say that again?" His eyes were cool and detached.

"I said you're a scoundrel—Mmph!" Qingwu clenched her hands into fists.

The back of her head was restrained, and the scorching breath swept over her again.

An Qi sat on the horizontal wooden board in front of the carriage, constantly trying to curl into a ball to minimize his presence.

He didn't want to listen to the commotion inside the carriage, but they were simply too close; it was impossible not to hear. Those sounds, akin to a fierce scuffle, drilled straight into his ears.

Looking around at the people by the Lord's side now, even Military Strategist Gu had restrained himself significantly. The only one in the world who dared to curse the Lord like this was probably just this young lady alone.

An Qi considered himself the most loyal, which was why the Lord trusted him to drive the carriage and accompany them. Back when he was hiding in the Princess's Mansion, he had heard plenty of similar noises outside the Green Pine Pavilion, so logically, he should have been used to it by now.

He muttered under his breath, cursing Xizhi and Xixing, those two ungrateful wretches, for not showing up to share the suffering with him right now, choosing instead to conceal their presence and hide far away just to save their own skins.

An Qi began to meditate like an old monk, sitting rigidly on the carriage shaft in an attempt to distract himself.

Deprived of urging and whipping, the horses naturally slowed their pace.

At some point, the reckless and desperate deep kiss finally ended, and the thin air inside the carriage became soft and sweet.

Pei Muci pressed his thumb against her lower lip, preventing her from making any sound while tasting her as if she were a pink and white pastry.

"It's a bit swollen."

Qingwu glared at him. The reddened rims of her eyes made her look all the more helpless and vulnerable under Pei Muci's gaze.

Just as she was about to counterattack, a few muffled coughs sounded from outside.

An Qi tremblingly spoke up, "My Lord, we... we've arrived. Would you like to get out of the carriage?"

The hour Pei Muci had requested had already passed, and he had no choice but to speak out and remind him.

"Mm."

Pei Muci placed the hood over Qingwu's head and, ignoring her resistance, insisted on taking her out of the carriage.

In truth, it was merely to get her something to eat.

"If the pastries I bought weren't to your liking, you can choose whatever you'd like to eat yourself."

Pei Muci was observant and had been keeping track of the fact that she hadn't touched the pastries he had brought back earlier.

Qingwu originally didn't want to pay him any mind, but the journey had been exhausting. In the carriage, she had only dozed off and eaten some thin soup that hardly filled her stomach, and she hadn't touched her favorite pastries out of spite toward Pei Muci.

Adhering to the principle that one should throw tantrums only after a full meal—and feeling that not even the greatest matter in the world should override starving oneself—she chose a popular restaurant on the street and went inside.

Pei Muci ate very little as usual. Watching Qingwu eat with gusto, a trace of loss was hard to conceal in his eyes.

In the past, whenever she saw him lacking appetite, she would always try various ways to coax him into eating a few more bites.

Now, she treated him like transparent air, caring only for her own meal.

Although she still retained the refined and noble airs of the royal palace in everything she did, perhaps due to being extremely hungry, her gaze never once moved away from the dishes on the table.

Pei Muci picked up his chopsticks and placed another serving in Qingwu's bowl.

After she had finished eating and wiped her mouth, he took off the heavy cloak he was wearing and draped it around her slender neck. "I'm going out to arrange some matters. Wait for me here, and I'll take you out on the street later."

"I want to return to the inn."

Whenever Pei Muci faced Qingwu, he was unusually talkative compared to his usual self, but the only response he received was a short, toneless reply.

He didn't seem to mind, nor did he agree to her suggestion. "Be a good girl and stay here. I'll be right back."

Xizhi consciously stayed behind to keep watch over Qingwu.

The restaurant was playing storytelling theatricals, so time passed quite quickly. By the time Pei Muci's figure reappeared, the edge of the sky was already draped in a layer of mist, slowly turning dark.

"Let's go." Pei Muci took her hand and led her to the top of a high earthen mound, buying a sky lantern from a bamboo-house vendor.

"Why did you only buy one?" Qingwu frowned.

The vendor chimed in before Pei Muci could speak, "If the two of you are praying for marriage, writing your wishes on both the front and back is the only way it will come true. What would be the point of splitting them into two lanterns?"

Pei Muci turned around with a smile, his other hand still holding hers tightly, as if he were constantly worried she might wander off.

His tall, slender figure leaned over a small table, blocking her view as he hastily wrote a few words, then flipped it over for Qingwu to write.

Many townsfolk were standing around releasing lanterns, every single one of them wearing a devout expression on their faces.

Qingwu picked up the brush, holding the tip near her nose. "You aren't allowed to look either."

She hoped to stay far away from the imperial palace, bring along her former little maids, as well as Du Jin and Huo Xun, and find an isolated place away from the world to spend the rest of her days.

Pei Muci smiled and stepped away, standing with his back to her. Countless sky lanterns rose slowly behind him, their warm glow reflecting in his gentle smile, radiating an ethereal and proud elegance.

"Done." Qingwu puffed out her cheeks and blew on the ink to dry it on the oiled paper.

The vendor helped light the candle inside and held the two bottom corners, letting the two of them grasp it together.

Guarding their respective written wishes without letting the other peek, they released their holds simultaneously with a tacit understanding.

The bright lantern drifted away bit by bit. Qingwu's gaze chased after the drifting point of light, her eyes shimmering with watery brilliance.

Pei Muci lifted her chin and delivered a holy, tender kiss.

Qingwu kept her eyes open the entire time.

A mountain wind swept past, and the sky lantern shifted direction under her gaze.

She caught sight of a few vigorously and neatly written characters:

"May my Qingwu enjoy peace and tranquility year after year."

She wanted to distance herself from him, yet he was praying for her safety.

Qingwu lowered her eyelashes.

After the kiss, Pei Muci made no further moves. Instead, uncharacteristically, he stepped back a few paces and calmed his emotions by himself.

His face still bore the pallor of someone recovering from illness. The slight breeze on the gentle slope swept into his cloak, causing the fox-fur trim to dance in the wind, making him look like an immortal white crane of extraordinary grace.

After a long while, it became impossible to distinguish in the sky which of the lanterns was the one they had released.

Pei Muci took an object from his robe, crouched down, and knelt on one knee before Qingwu.

Just as she was feeling puzzled, she heard a crisp "click."

"What is this?"

Pei Muci fastened a gold bracelet around her slender ankle.

As she pulled her foot back, the small bells embedded along the gold bracelet emitted a crisp, pleasant jingle.

"To keep Your Highness from getting lost."

His icy fingertips brushed across the small protrusion near her ankle, sending a wave of tingling numbness coursing through her entire body.

Qingwu shivered slightly in response.

Pei Muci looked with tender affection at the fair skin beneath his palm, wishing all the more to make her tremble even more intensely.

With the gold bracelet resting on his shoulder, the sound of the bells ought to be even livelier and sweeter than it was now.

"Let's go back." Pei Muci pulled the hood over her head and took her hand.

It wasn't far from where they were staying, but the bustling streets were too crowded for a carriage to pass through easily.

An Qi chose a slightly wider road that took a detour, adding half an hour to the journey.

Pei Muci placed Qingwu on the soft couch and leaned over, pressing her into his arms. "What did you wish for just now?"

"Why should I tell you what I wished for?" With their breaths mingling, Qingwu still stubbornly kept up her facade.

Impatiently, she pulled off her hood, revealing a flushed face. "Anyway, it wasn't anything to do with you, so don't ask."

Pei Muci stared at her intently, kneeling with his knees on either side of her.

The carriage wheels ground forward. No matter how much An Qi wanted to stall for time, they eventually stopped in front of the inn.

Several people in official attire were standing outside, whispering to one another.

Unsure whether he should approach and lacking any decision, An Qi anxiously muttered, "My Lord, the prefectural officials are waiting for us over there."

No one answered from inside the carriage.

An Qi lifted a tiny corner of the carriage curtain, then snapped it shut instantly.

He had caught sight of the young lady's ink-black, smooth hair trailing all over the floor of the carriage. The scattered locks looked like a rushing river under the sunlight, shimmering with sparkling ripples as they moved.

The gold bracelet and gold bells chimed, constantly clattering against the soft couch.

Further up, he didn't dare look.

Yet the "jingling" sound echoed persistently in his ears.

The curtain was suddenly pushed down by a heavy force, and a blade-like, piercing gaze shot out from behind it. An Qi instantly lost all strength in his limbs and dropped to his knees, prostrating himself on the ground.

"My Lord, I only..." He trembled like a leaf in the wind. Xizhi and Xixing also materialized beside him with uneasy expressions.

Pei Muci straightened the limp, jade-like body beneath him and said in a deep, chilling voice, "Let this be the first and last time."

With that, ignoring the drained, pale faces of the people outside, he let the curtain fall, carefully wiped away the dense beads of sweat seeping from Qingwu's forehead, and still managed to spare the attention to catch the jade wrist she swung at him.

Qingwu scolded, "Get lost!"

Her voice lacked vigor, but her complexion was exceptionally vibrant, resembling a peony blooming after drinking its fill of water.

Pei Muci rubbed his cheek against her palm. "Your Highness's expression just now clearly wasn't saying that."

Regulating his breathing, he lifted the curtain and gave a few instructions.

Xizhi and Xixing went to negotiate with the men guarding outside the inn, returning to report, "The Prefect of Quanzhou invites the Young Master to the gubernatorial residence for a chat."

Pei Muci straightened his robes, his long fingers tucking Qingwu's disheveled hair behind her ears. "Where is your hairpin?"

An Qi weakly offered, "My Lord, Military Strategist Gu gave strict instructions not to bring sharp objects into the carriage."
With that, his eyes drifted evasively toward Qingwu.

Qingwu seemed to completely agree with his words and let out a forceful "Hmph!"

Pei Muci's gaze turned slightly sharp, his long eyelashes drooping, prompting An Qi to hastily hand over the items he had collected along the way.

The interior of the carriage was spacious. Extremely reluctant, Qingwu sat sideways on the edge of the soft couch while Pei Muci patiently combed out the hair strands that had been tangled during their time on the couch.

His gaze was as gentle as water, skillfully gathering the mass of dark silk into the high bun of a married woman. His jade-like fingertips hovered over the vanity case for a long time before picking up a gold-gilded cloud-patterned hair tassel and pinning it into her hair.

His cool eyes grew increasingly tender, and a very faint, light smile touched the corners of his lips, radiating a lingering, infatuated obsession.

"Something's still missing."

After tracing her eyebrows and painting her lips, Pei Muci picked up a writing brush from the side, dipped it in red rouge, and intended to paint a floral mark right between her brows.

"That's enough out of you." Qingwu brushed his hand away.

Pei Muci persisted.

Unable to win against him, Qingwu reached out, pulled open the collar of his robe near his neck, and sank her teeth directly into a smooth spot.

Her sharp canines broke through the thin skin. She didn't hold back at all, as if she meant to embed herself into his very bones.

Only after tasting the iron taste of blood did her delicate cheeks relax slightly from soreness and fatigue.

Allowing her to vent, Pei Muci then casually pulled his collar back up, pressed her into his arms, and stroked the waterfall of hair cascading down her back, soothing her just like a ruffled little cat.

"Did that let off the steam?"