Stalemate
Zhou Weikan stood at the alley entrance, his smoky blue robe appearing even more flawless under the light behind him. His handsome face was filled with deep worry, his sword-like eyebrows shooting straight up to his temples. His composure was tinged with an undeniable aura.
Even though Dou Yanxun was the closest to him, he leaned forward slightly, looking at Lin Xu with concern as he was almost completely hidden by Dou Yanxun's large body.
She stood in the shadows not far behind Dou Yanxun, unconsciously becoming nervous.
Dou Yanxun had his back to her, so her expression was impossible to discern, but his words were uttered with a lazy, calm, and leisurely air:
"I never knew that someone as distinguished and refined as Young Master Zhou would have such courage and determination to step forward. I truly admire him."
Zhou Weikan smiled slightly, her expression gentle, and returned the smile with a calm, serene one.
“I, Zhou, have never met you before and do not even know your name. This is truly my apologies. However, since I have happened to pass by today and have seen a bit of this secluded alley, and it is a dark and windy night, and it happens to be the Jiaqing Emperor's reign, if anything happens, I, Zhou, will certainly not stand idly by.”
He faced Dou Yanxun without flinching, but these words were clearly meant for her, who was hiding in the shadows.
Before he finished speaking, Dou Yanxun chuckled softly, his back trembling slightly. He then bent down slightly to straighten his somewhat disheveled clothes before slowly straightening up again.
"The Zhou family is a century-old silk weaving family in Dayu, as wealthy as princes and nobles. Brother Zhou is also known for his beauty and talent, which is well known in Mujing. Today, I, Dou, am fortunate to meet him, and he truly has the imposing presence of a nobleman."
After saying that, he casually brushed the dust off his shoulder, lowered his eyes, and remained as lazy and relaxed as ever.
"However, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Brother Zhou, who is so eager to help. Miss Lin and I were merely avoiding the crowds and chatting in this alley. If you don't believe me, Brother Zhou, you can always ask Miss Lin—"
Their eyes followed her voice and looked directly at her.
Lin Xu had never felt so embarrassed and nervous. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she opened her mouth, but her throat was dry and she could not utter a coherent sentence. She pointed to her throat with some embarrassment.
Zhou Weikan's face changed color in an instant.
She looked down and realized that her neck, which Dou Yanxun had been gripping tightly, was now covered in purple and blue bruises. No wonder she had been unable to speak earlier.
In her past life, when Zhou Weikan was with her, he was the most gentle and considerate. The worst injury she had ever suffered was nothing more than knees covered in debris and bruises from kneeling for too long. She would never forget that moment when Zhou Weikan finally broke through the crowd and found her. His usually clear and gentle eyes were now bloodshot, his voice trembled, and his face was pale with fright but filled with the joy of having found her again.
That same day, he gently caressed her wounds with his fingertips, looking up at her with heartache. Her eyes were glistening with tiny tears, and his soft sigh faded with the wind. But in that instant, he finally made up his mind that he would never let her suffer any more injustice for the rest of his life.
If this were in his past life, Zhou Weikan would have fought Dou Yanxun to the death if he saw the wounds on her neck.
She has such certainty and confidence.
But not in this life.
She could no longer, and would no longer, expect him to always be there to save her in times of crisis. The road to revenge was long and fraught with peril, and she was all alone now.
Lin Xu slowly walked from the darkness towards the alleyway where the light was gradually brightening. She mustered all her courage and finally forced herself to raise her head and face those eyes full of doubt and inquiry. She tried her best to suppress all the throbbing and turmoil in her heart.
"...Thank you for your concern, young master. Lin Xu was merely chatting and catching up with Young Master Dou, nothing more."
Zhou Weikan still looked doubtful, his eyes filled with concern as he gazed at her. After a moment's thought, he pondered and said:
"Miss, is there something you're having trouble telling us? Don't be afraid. The soldiers of my Zhou family are all highly skilled, and they're waiting at the alley entrance right now. You can rest assured."
A mocking glint spread across Dou Yanxun's eyes as he lazily yawned, his mischievous intent growing even stronger.
"It seems Brother Zhou is determined to be a chivalrous hero today. However, whether the beauty will appreciate your eagerness to save her remains to be seen."
After speaking, he shifted slightly to Lin Xu's side. A very faint fragrance wafted over in an instant. He twirled and played with the strands of hair that fell over her shoulders with his index finger. The smooth black hair wrapped around his fingertip, contrasting sharply with his fair and slender fingers.
Everything was excessively intimate—
It's as if a closely guarded secret is being slowly revealed.
Zhou Weikan's eyes darkened, and he gently shifted his gaze, seemingly unable to bear looking at her any longer. After a long while, he thought for a moment, then lowered his head and took the largest piece of green jade from the three jade pendants at his waist. He reached out and handed it to her, his expression gentle as he said:
“In that case, I, Zhou, will not bother you any longer. However, if you change your mind in the future, you may come to the Zhou residence in the south of the city. Just bring this jade pendant to find me, Zhou Weikan.”
She glanced down at the jade pendant. Its smooth, delicate texture revealed its immense value even in the dim light; he used to always wear it, never letting it out of his sight. Dou Yanxun glanced at the pendant, seemingly casually.
Zhou Weikan's hand remained frozen in the air, not lowering it for a long time.
She was filled with conflicting emotions, yet inexplicably reached out and gently took the jade pendant. It was warm to the touch, solid in texture, and still carried the warmth of his fingertips.
Zhou Weikan's expression relaxed slightly. He glanced at Lin Xu and Dou Yanxun's fingers that were playing with Lin Xu's hair, frowned, remained silent, and then turned and left with a cold expression.
Lin Xu stared blankly at the handsome figure walking as usual at the head of the group of servants in the distance. Before he could recover, the jade pendant in his hand was snatched away.
Dou Yanxun examined the jade pendant in his hand with clear eyes. In the light, he could see that the jade had delicate patterns, making it a fine piece. His gaze swept over a faint, flickering figure by the alley entrance, and a slight smile curved his lips.
He casually tossed the jade pendant into the air, where it fell straight towards the figure. In a moment, the dark figure instinctively reached out and caught the jade pendant.
Dou Yanxun left without looking back, his extremely lazy and nonchalant voice echoing in the air.
"Tell your young master to come to Muchunlou whenever he has free time, and I, Dou, will treat him to a drink."
A faint sound came from behind her. Lin Xu hurriedly ran back into the alley. Sure enough, just as Dou Yanxun had said, Zhu Ling had already woken up. She had been unconscious for a while, and now, opening her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness and decay, filled with shock and fear. Seeing Lin Xu standing beside her, her neck covered in scarlet and purple bruises, she couldn't help but kneel down and cry out:
"This servant is useless. I was queuing to buy lanterns when I was somehow drugged... Miss, did you suffer any injustice just now?"
She gently shook her head. There was no grievance involved; it was all earned through her own hard work and dedication.
The faint light overhead was finally getting a little closer.
.
It was already late at night when they returned to the Lin residence. Lin Xu's whole body ached, and now, with her neck injured, she would need to rest and recuperate for some time. Granny Qin ordered several maids to prepare warm bathwater, and she immersed herself in the steaming mahogany tub. Surrounded by water vapor, she was covered in sweat, which washed away all the dirt and chill, finally making her feel much better.
Fortunately, Zhu Ling was not injured. After changing her clothes and resting briefly, she quietly returned to the palace and brought a pot of delicate, pale yellow hollyhocks.
The flowering season of the hollyhock is in summer. Usually, each flower only blooms once, and then quietly fades away in two or three days. Fortunately, as soon as one flower withers, another flower stands proudly, and so on, thus extending the flowering period. In the height of summer, the hollyhock is bright and vibrant, with a rich fragrance, and is planted by everyone in Beijing. However, to cultivate a complex floral display with a long and unobtrusive flowering period, careful cultivation at a constant temperature is essential.
Lin Xu lowered her eyes to watch the delicate rose petals bobbing in the water, her pale face appearing much softer in the rising steam. Granny Qin smiled and said, "These hollyhocks are truly a rare sight, showing how much effort the people in the flower shop have put into them."
Counting the days, the gardenia has been moved to the greenhouse for half a month now. Every day, fresh flowers are planted in the elegant room, from gardenias to roses, from peonies to hollyhocks, all in different shades of beautiful color.
She dismissed the unnecessary maids in the palace, stepped barefoot out onto the soft, clean linen cloth, and let Zhu Ling change her into a clean and soft nightgown before lying down on the ebony elephant-patterned bed. Soon after, a maidservant bowed and brought over a prepared ointment to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.
She held up the bronze mirror to examine her face. Her once snow-white neck had turned bluish-purple, covered with large bruises, a truly horrifying sight. The maidservant lowered her head and carefully raised the jade spoon, which was covered in ointment, but her hands trembled as she was about to touch the wound.
"Miss...does it still hurt?"
Dressed as an ordinary maid, Zhiyuan's eyes were full of heartache as she carefully applied the ointment to her.
Lin Xu slowly curved her lips into a smile, her eyes serene.
“You’ve done very well. Yao Niang is cunning; sending flowers there every day was bound to alert her eventually. Luckily, Dou Yanxun discovered it, which is already a blessing.” She took a breath; the ointment was so cold that it made her skin tremble. “After you were sent to the flower room, you worked hard every day and had to endure the cold words in the mansion. Have you suffered any grievances?”
Upon hearing this, Zhiyuan shook her head and said in a clear voice:
"Don't worry, Miss, I can handle it."
Zhu Ling stood guard behind the screen to the side, keeping a careful eye on the outside of the hall, and couldn't help but laugh, "I haven't seen Sister Zhiyuan for several days, and she's become much more composed than before."
After the previous feigned punishment of Zhiyuan, she was transferred away from Zhiyuan's side. Ostensibly, she was demoted to a lowly servant in the flower room, but secretly, Zhiyuan could come and go freely during her daily trips out of the mansion to fetch goods. This served two purposes: firstly, to secretly gather clues for her, and secondly, for the two of them to stage a self-inflicted injury ruse, with the aim of exposing the spies with ulterior motives hidden in the mansion as soon as possible.
When she inquired about Sun Biying's affairs, she felt that everything was strange and couldn't help but become suspicious.
How could a once wildly popular actor suddenly disappear without a trace? He was clearly the face of Bihua Tower, attracting customers, but suddenly he vanished without a trace.
And in the past, the person closest to her happened to be her greatest patron at that time—
Dou Yanxun, who spent a fortune just to buy out her night of passion.
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