The Peach Blossom Spring - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In the carriage.

I glanced at Liu Feng’er and asked in a low voice, “Sister Liu, do you know what kind of man this Grand Governor is?”

After spending this time together, Liu Feng’er and I had gotten along fairly well.

She looked at me. “Grand Governor Xiao An is known to everyone these days, and you actually haven’t heard of him?”

Xiao An? I really hadn’t.

I had never heard of anyone by that name before.

“Xiao An is ruthless and vicious. He’s always been called the Living Yama. You…” Liu Feng’er looked at the cinnabar mole between my brows, then suddenly took out the little perfume box she kept close to her body and used white powder to cover it for me. “If you want to stay alive, don’t go anywhere near him.”

Liu Feng’er had once seen a girl who, relying on the fact that her features resembled Commandery Princess Yongning’s, tried to seduce Xiao An.

But the very next day, that girl vanished without a sound.

There had been no news of her ever since.

I was silent for a while, then asked, “Then when did the Grand Governor and Commandery Princess Yongning… get married?”

“I came to the capital from the countryside, so there are many things I don’t know. Sister Feng’er, tell me about it.” I tugged at her sleeve and wheedled, “I’m afraid I’ll offend some noble at the banquet later.”

Liu Feng’er had no choice. She lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, “Commandery Princess Yongning fell into the water seven years ago and disappeared. Most likely, something happened to her. The following year, Prince Chun rebelled, and the prince’s estate was confiscated. That same year, Xiao An entered the Black Armor Camp. In just five short years, he repeatedly rendered outstanding service and received reward after reward. Last year, he took the position of Grand Governor.”

“The first thing he did after taking that position was request a favor from His Majesty. He said he wanted to marry Commandery Princess Yongning.”

Liu Feng’er frowned slightly. “Logically speaking, Commandery Princess Yongning was the descendant of a criminal, and she had been dead for so long. His Majesty definitely shouldn’t have agreed.”

I nodded too. Exactly. How could His Majesty possibly have agreed?

“But somehow, Xiao An really managed to make it happen!”

Liu Feng’er lowered her voice. “In any case, the Grand Governor treasures and protects that late wife of his more than anything. Don’t provoke him.”

I was horrified, but my face remained calm as I nodded.

I also thought this man sounded terrifying.

If he could even marry a dead woman and bring her home, what else was there that he couldn’t do?

I wouldn’t go anywhere near him either. Once I found a chance to escape Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, I would go look for that mute guard of mine.

He probably hadn’t been implicated by what happened to the prince’s estate, right…

He valued his life so much. He must have run away.

I had to find him. He still owed me dozens of taels of silver.

That mute guard of mine had been someone the masters of the estate had picked over and left behind.

Back then, Yong’an had assigned him to me. “A mute with an idiot. What a perfect match! Hahahahaha!”

That mute guard was someone they had used to humiliate me.

But he stayed by my side just like that, and little by little, I came to see him as my only friend.

Later, when his mother fell gravely ill and he had no money for medicine, I gave him the silver I had secretly saved for more than ten years.

That was so much silver. Dozens of taels! Thinking about it now still makes my heart ache a little…

The carriage swayed along until we reached our destination. Drunken Fragrance Pavilion’s carriage could not stop at the main gate, so we could only enter through the back door.

A maid came to lead us to a private room, and Liu Feng’er held her guqin and began tuning it.

The noise from the front hall grew louder and louder. There must have been a great many people there today.

Bored out of my mind, I lay sprawled on the table. Before long, someone came to call Liu Feng’er to the front courtyard.

I thought all I had to do was quietly wait in the private room, and once Liu Feng’er returned, we could take the silver and leave.

But I waited and waited. Even after the sound of the qin in the front courtyard stopped, there was still no sign of Liu Feng’er.

After thinking it over, I went out to look for her.

I asked a few maids and followed the way to a secluded rockery in the rear courtyard. From a distance, I saw Liu Feng’er pinned against the rockery by a man. Her guqin had fallen to the ground, and several of its strings had snapped.

I suddenly remembered what Madam had said to Liu Feng’er before we set out.

“Tonight, the Grand Governor’s Mansion is holding a banquet, and many high officials and nobles will be attending. Being able to go and play the qin to liven things up is a tremendous opportunity. You must seize it.”

Was this the opportunity Liu Feng’er had found for herself?

Then should I still go over…

As I was hesitating, Liu Feng’er suddenly let out a scream.

I quickly looked up and saw Liu Feng’er clutching her neck as she used all her strength to shove the man to the ground. She lost her footing too and collapsed.

Blood was still pouring out of her neck.

!

This thing bites!

I jumped in fright and hurried over to help Liu Feng’er up.

When she looked up and saw me, her hands were trembling. “Go… Hurry, go.”

“Oh, okay.” I supported her as we fled blindly toward the rear courtyard. The man got back to his feet almost at once.

I glanced back, and my scalp went numb.

His mouth was smeared with dark red blood, and his eyes were so sinister they sent a chill down my spine.

Liu Feng’er said, “That’s Jiang Yinchao, the Bat Envoy of the Bat Army. He likes drinking women’s blood to increase his power.”

When Liu Feng’er came back from the front courtyard, she had accidentally run into him, and he had set his sights on her.

But with me supporting her, we couldn’t run fast. The man caught up in no time. I felt a hand seize a fistful of my hair, and my whole body was yanked backward.

Jiang Yinchao clamped a hand around my throat and sniffed lightly beside my neck. “You smell even sweeter.”

Ahhhhhhh! Goose bumps broke out all over me.

Just as his lips were about to touch my neck, the door to a room behind us was suddenly pulled open.

Jiang Yinchao turned to look, and his body stiffened for an instant.

I felt his entire presence weaken.

“I did not mean to disturb the Grand Governor. This subordinate will take them elsewhere at once.”

Xiao An?

I instinctively wanted to turn and look, but my throat was held so tightly that I couldn’t move.

Jiang Yinchao grabbed Liu Feng’er up from the ground as well and shoved us toward the courtyard exit.

“Wait.”

The Grand Governor spoke.

His voice was low and hoarse, as if he had been injured in the past. It wasn’t pleasant to listen to.

Jiang Yinchao stopped.

The footsteps behind us drew closer and closer. Soon, a tall figure appeared in my line of sight.

He wore black robes, his hair bound meticulously atop his head. A black half-mask covered the left side of his face. The eye he revealed was sharp as a hawk’s, fierce and piercing, and there was a scar at the corner of his left eye. His entire presence made people afraid to approach him-afraid even to meet his gaze.

But I stared at him with wide eyes.

To be precise, I was staring at the scar at the corner of his eye.

My mute guard had a scar just like that at the corner of his left eye…

Xiao An’s gaze moved from Jiang Yinchao’s face to mine.

Our eyes met, and time seemed to stretch on.

Perhaps he was used to giving nothing away. His face showed no reaction, but his eyes changed slightly.

They were dark and deep, emotions surging beneath the surface.

“Grand Governor…” Jiang Yinchao gave an awkward laugh. “They’re just two little girls from Drunken Fragrance Pavilion. They aren’t worth Your Excellency’s trouble. This subordinate will take them away now.”

His hand tightened, pain lancing through my neck. I instinctively sucked in a sharp breath.

The next second, the grip around my throat abruptly loosened.

Xiao An, who was a full head taller than Jiang Yinchao, had seized him by the neck and slammed him hard against the wall.

“I couldn’t care less about the filthy things you do in private. But today, the banquet is being held at my Grand Governor’s Mansion…”

Terror spread across Jiang Yinchao’s face. He grabbed at the hand around his throat. “Grand Governor… spare me.”

I crawled over to Liu Feng’er, and the two of us huddled together for warmth.

This man was terrifying.

And for one fleeting instant, I had actually associated him with my mute guard?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Right now, the best thing to do was run.

“Sister Feng’er, let’s run,” I whispered.

Liu Feng’er’s face was deathly pale. She must have been badly frightened too.

At my words, she nodded.

Both of our legs had gone weak. Since we couldn’t stand, we could only crawl outward little by little.

We had just reached the courtyard gate when a stone-dead corpse flew straight over us and was thrown outside.

It was Jiang Yinchao, who had been alive just moments ago.

My arms went weak, and I collapsed flat onto the ground.

Liu Feng’er screamed in fright.

The footsteps behind us came closer and closer. I didn’t dare look back.

Then I heard a voice above my head.

“You may go.”

I was just about to crawl up when I heard him say again, “You stay.”

The look Liu Feng’er gave me before she left made a deep impression on me.

It told me to fend for myself.

After Liu Feng’er left, Xiao An crouched down in front of me.

He looked at my face, then reached out and lifted my chin.

His fingers moved upward inch by inch, as if checking whether someone had tampered with my face.

Soon, his rough, burning fingers reached the spot between my brows…