Volume 1, Chapter 48: What If She Were Not the Heir's Consort?

"Mmph—"

Just as Xie Shu, dressed entirely in black, was on the verge of being discovered, a large hand clamped over her mouth. Her lips pressed directly against the man's palm, her breath coming in warm, enticing gasps.

Xie Shu did not dare to move in the slightest. She had timed it all precisely, sneaking into the storehouse right behind little Jiu.

Taking the painting from Ning Rongsheng's room was merely a diversion. She remembered that in her past life, while preparing dowry items for Ning Rongyue on behalf of Lady Li, she had once stumbled upon a dust-covered box tucked away in the corner of this very storehouse.

Curious at the time, she had opened it for a brief look and found it to be a landscape painting of pines and rocks. If her memory served her right, the signature on the painting was the former emperor's personal childhood name, "Xihe."

"Mmph mph—"

Hiding behind two large chests, Xie Shu was held tightly around the waist, utterly immobilized. Her original plan had been to grab the object quickly and, while little Jiu was not paying attention, make her escape first.

Yet now, she found herself trapped here, forced to watch helplessly as little Jiu hauled items back and forth before finally slamming the heavy lock into place.

"Clang—"

The iron lock dropped, striking the wooden door with a soft, resonant thud.

Only when absolute silence had returned did the large hand, which had nearly smothered Xie Shu to death, finally loosen its grip.

With a slight flick of her palm, a short arrow hidden within her sleeve shot straight toward the person behind her.

In the next fraction of a second, however, Xie Shu was yanked violently by her belt, tumbling over and rolling onto the floor. After spinning through several turns, the figure pressed directly down upon her, seizing her wrists and pinning them high above her head.

"Let go!" Xie Shu hissed in a low, reprimanding whisper, seizing the moment of vulnerability to drive her knee upward in a sharp strike.

Yet before any force could be put behind the blow, a muffled groan sounded from above. "It's me."

"Lord Zhou?" Xie Shu's struggling movements came to an abrupt halt. The familiar scent of osmanthus once again invaded the tip of her nose, though this time laced with the faint tang of blood. Only then did she realize in alarm, "You're injured?"

"A minor wound. It's nothing." Zhou Xunli pressed close against the woman's waist, his arms seemingly lacking the strength to support him as he leaned heavily upon Xie Shu.

Fortunately, the storehouse was pitch black; otherwise, Zhou Xunli would undoubtedly have caught sight of Xie Shu's crimson cheeks.

Why on earth did he have to press so close?

Just as Xie Shu was at a loss for what to do, Zhou Xunli suddenly released his grip on her, using his left hand to push himself up and lean back against a support.

Retrieving a luminous pearl from her sleeve, Xie Shu used its faint glow to catch sight of the sweat beading on Zhou Xunli's forehead. His furrowed brows suggested he was enduring sharp pain. She immediately raised the pearl closer to his chest, examining him intently. "Where are you hurt?"

On his upper right arm, the night-attire had been slashed open—a wound inflicted by a blade. Zhou Xunli casually tore a strip of fabric from the hem of his trousers and tightly bound the injury in several overlapping layers. "Just an arm."

***

While the two were speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

"Search! Quickly! Go through every single place thoroughly!" Guards holding high torches were combing the courtyard in meticulous detail.

Moving with swift dexterity, Xie Shu shoved the luminous pearl back into the pouch in her sleeve. "Make no sound. Follow me."

When Xie Shu turned back, however, she realized Zhou Xunli had not kept pace. Because the storehouse was utterly devoid of light, a hurried glance nearly failed to locate him altogether.

"Let's go." Xie Shu grabbed Zhou Xunli's left hand, their palms pressing together.

Zhou Xunli experienced a momentary daze at the sudden intimacy of her hand-holding. But with the rustling sounds of the search party drawing closer, he quickly tightened his grip around her hand and hurried to keep pace.

Though the doors of the storehouse were firmly bolted, a hidden passage could fortunately be accessed from within.

This secret route was another discovery Xie Shu had made by chance in her previous life. Aristocratic households frequently maintained alternate escape routes, so she found nothing strange about it.

Still, it was a blessing that this passage existed to save them today.

She had found it!

A wave of joyous relief washed over Xie Shu. Her memory had not failed her! Moving stealthily along the wall and skirting around a sandalwood table, her fingers finally brushed against the box containing the painting atop a wooden rack at the rear!

Utilizing the dim light filtering through the high windows, Zhou Xunli glanced at the object in Xie Shu's hands without uttering a word.

"We were just inside this storehouse a moment ago, and there's nothing in there at all," little Jiu argued, standing outside with the keys to address the guards.

"Open the door! These are the Marquis's orders!" Acting under the command of the Marquis of Cheng'en to search every nook and cranny, the guards paid little heed to little Jiu's protests.

Left with no alternative, little Jiu unlocked the door. He was in a rush to deliver items to the Heir anyway!

Just as the storehouse doors began to part, Xie Shu triggered a concealed mechanism and pulled Zhou Xunli into the secret passage.

The dim, dusty confines of the tunnel immediately threatened to make Xie Shu cough, but Zhou Xunli's hand clamped over her mouth just in time.

The man's chest pressed flush against her back, his low voice murmuring directly beside her ear. "Not a sound."

They had only just entered the tunnel; any noise now would surely alert those outside.

With no other choice, Xie Shu suppressed even the urge to cough, enduring the maddening tickle in her throat. Yet the heat radiating from his back made her heart itch even more, involuntarily summoning memories of the fantasies she had harbored that day in Zhilan Courtyard...

No.

They were running for their lives!

***

Xie Shu shook her head, gently moving Zhou Xunli's hand away. Clasping the box tightly to her chest, she swallowed hard to soothe her throat before pressing forward in haste.

Zhou Xunli's fingers uncurled slightly. The palm that had just held hers had already lost its warmth, yet the delicate sensation of their entwined fingertips lingered persistently, impossible to forget.

His fingertips reached forward—falling short by the merest fraction of an inch from grasping that hand once more. But as they drew close, he ultimately let his arm fall back to his side.

The woman before him was not someone he could touch at will.

At that moment, a stray thought flashed through Zhou Xunli's mind: What if she were not the Heir's wife?

After navigating several sharp turns, a sliver of light finally filtered through. Xie Shu pushed against the wall, causing the stone panel to pivot.

A moment later, Xie Shu poked her head out first, scanned the surroundings twice, and whispered to Zhou Xunli behind her, "All clear."

This particular hidden passage led directly to a woodshed at the rear of the Marquis of Cheng'en's estate.

In the dead of night, it was entirely deserted.

Emerging from the secret passage, the two stood in the woodshed without speaking, neither wishing to reveal to the other why they had truly sneaked into the Marquis's storehouse.

"Should I... head off first?" Xie Shu pointed awkwardly toward the doorway.

A chilly gust of wind blew in through the window.

Clad only in thin night-attire, Xie Shu could not help but shiver and draw her shoulders inward.

"Mn," Zhou Xunli nodded. "Go back and put on more layers."

"Oh. Right." He was actually showing concern for her. Though Xie Shu found it somewhat inexplicable, a flicker of lightness bloomed in her chest. "Make sure you bandage your wound properly when you get back."

Both tacitly refrained from asking why the other had been skulking about the storehouse in the middle of the night.

Yet as Xie Shu lifted her foot to leave, Zhou Xunli looked at her and said, "The fabricated evidence of the Xie family's treason was presented to the Emperor by Ning Rongsheng."

Upon hearing this, Xie Shu merely glanced back indifferently, offered a casual "Oh," and walked away.

She had known about that all along, after all.

Left behind in the dimness, Zhou Xunli frowned in quiet displeasure: Why didn't she care at all?