Chapter 164 Are you Yu Qingyan?

Yu Qingci blew out the candle and lay on the bed, tossing and turning, but still couldn't fall asleep. The night was deep, and through a half-open window, she could vaguely see the dappled shadows of trees and the faint chirping of insects outside. Everything was quiet.

When I can't sleep, I tend to overthink, and many things from the past float into my mind: scenes of my childhood living with my parents and younger brother in our hometown of Youyang, the events that happened at the Nanping Earl's Mansion after I returned to the capital, and some unpleasant memories from my past life.

The more I think about it, the harder it is to fall asleep.

Suddenly she heard a faint sound outside the window. She thought she had misheard, but in her daze she saw a huge silhouette push open the window and jump in silently.

Before she could react, the enormous silhouette had already reached her bedside.

Yu Qingci finally saw clearly that there was a person in front of her, specifically a man dressed in black.

The man's back was to the window, blocking the light, so Yu Qingci couldn't see his face. She was so shocked that the hairs on her body stood on end, and she was so nervous that she forgot to scream.

The man was stunned. The moonlight shining in through the window allowed him to see that there was a young woman on the bed. She was not asleep at all; instead, she was staring at him with wide eyes, her face filled with terror.

Just as the woman was about to cry out, the man swiftly covered her mouth and leaned down to whisper in her ear:

"Don't make a sound, I won't hurt you."

Just then, more noise came from outside, seemingly from a large group of people, interspersed with men's shouts:

"Capture the enemy spy! Everyone, come out!"

Then someone shouted, "Don't be reckless! These courtyards are inhabited by important people. Knock on the door first."

Soon, commotion came from both houses, and Granny Pei went out to negotiate with the soldiers.

The man quickly looked around the room and found that the room was simply furnished, with almost no place to hide. If the soldiers broke in and searched the room, they would find him.

In a moment of desperation, the man reached out and untied the bed curtains, then climbed onto the bed and unceremoniously covered himself with half of the blanket that was covering her.

As soon as the bed curtains were drawn, it was pitch black inside and nothing could be seen. Yu Qingci could clearly feel a cold, metallic object pressed against her delicate neck; it must have been a knife. She could also clearly hear the man's soft breathing.

"I had no choice, and I apologize for my abruptness."

She spoke very politely, but the cold, sharp point on her neck didn't relax at all. Yu Qingci's whole body was tense, and she dared not move.

Although she couldn't see the man's face, she could tell he was a very skilled young man.

Soldiers had already entered the courtyard and begun searching everywhere. Granny Pei's voice was loud:

“We are the family members of General Ningyuan’s mansion. This room is for our young mistress. She is the widow of the late young general. You must not be so presumptuous!”

"Then please ask this old woman to invite your young mistress out, or we can go in. We are just rough men, and we only know how to do things impartially!"

Yu Qingci suddenly felt the breathing beside her stop, and the man seemed to move, and the sharp point on his neck was not as tight as before.

"Are you Yu Qingyan?"

The sound beside her ear made Yu Qingci tremble again.

What's going on? So this person knows her cheap second sister?

"you……"

Before she could finish speaking, the door was pushed open, and Granny Pei and Tong'er walked in.

"Young mistress, don't be afraid. If the soldiers come in to search, this old servant and the two maids will block you."

Yu Qingci's voice came from inside the bed curtains, sounding confused: "What happened?"

Before Granny Pei could say anything, several soldiers burst in, two of them carrying torches.

"search!"

The group quickly searched the small room thoroughly, even looking under the bed.

But they were still polite enough not to lift the bed curtains.

Granny Pei stared nervously at the soldiers and said, "My young mistress is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Nanping. If you dare to offend her today, my master will not let you off!"

The officer in charge said impatiently, "Stop nagging, old lady. We are just doing our job and have no intention of offending you. Please have your young mistress get dressed and come out. We will leave after we have finished searching."

Just then, the bed curtains moved slightly, and a slender hand lifted a corner of the curtains, revealing half of a young woman's face inside.

The room fell silent immediately.

By the light of the torch, one could clearly see that the woman's eyes, like smoke and mist, were shimmering with light. Although it was only half of her profile, it was clear that she was an extremely beautiful woman.

Seeing that no one spoke for a while, the woman turned her gaze to Granny Pei and said softly:

"Granny Pei, help me up. Don't delay the soldier's mission."

He lowered his head and coughed as soon as he finished speaking, clearly looking like he was sick.

Granny Pei asked with concern, "Young Madam, are you alright?"

"I'm fine..."

The voice grew weaker and weaker.

Granny Pei instructed Tong'er, "Quickly go and bring the young mistress's lung-nourishing ointment."

Seeing this, the soldiers knew they couldn't bring themselves to ask for an inspection, nor did they dare to rashly pull back the bed curtains for fear of offending the beautiful woman. They could all see that inside the bed curtains was a delicate and frail woman who was also ill.

"Alright, alright, considering you're women from the General's household, we've finished our inspection and are leaving!"

Several soldiers left the house, and soon the yard was also inspected. The sounds outside gradually faded into the distance.

Yu Qingci reminded her, "Granny, you should go out and take a look."

As if waking from a dream, Granny Pei ordered Tong'er and Lianqiao to accompany the young mistress, and then quickly went out. She listened to the commotion in the courtyard for a while before locking the gate again.

Granny Pei hurried into Yu Qingci's room, where she saw Yu Qingci already standing up, wearing an outer robe.

"I'm fine. I was just startled and coughed a few times. I'm sorry to have worried you. Have they all left?"

Seeing that the young mistress was standing safely in front of her, Granny Pei breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward, took her arm, and walked towards the bed.

"It's alright, they've gone to search elsewhere. Why are you up, young mistress? Go back to bed."

As she spoke, she was about to lift the bed curtains.

Yu Qingci casually raised her hand to block him, saying, "Will you come back? Is the courtyard gate locked?"

Granny Pei stopped in her tracks: "I saw that Zhenzhen has left. Don't worry, young mistress. These people are quite polite. If we had encountered a group of unreasonable people, things would have been terrible."

Yu Qingci: "Since everything is alright, you can all go back to sleep."

At this point, not only Pei Mama, but also Tong'er and Lian Qiao were unwilling to go back to their rooms.

Tong'er: "Young Madam, let me stay here with you. What if those soldiers come again?"

Lian Qiao also stepped forward and said, "Yes, young mistress, this servant will also stay to keep watch at night."

Granny Pei also joined in the persuasion, and Yu Qingci said:

"Since the soldiers have already searched this place, they shouldn't be coming back. I can't sleep here. You should go back to sleep."

She finally managed to persuade the three of them to leave and closed the door again. This time, she locked the door from the inside before turning around and going back into the house.

The man had already crawled out from under the bed curtains and stood by the bed, staring intently at the woman before him. His deep, dark eyes revealed a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.