The blow came with a whooshing sound. Although Li Qingchen didn't have eyes in the back of his head, he could hear it with his hearing. He immediately turned around to avoid the attack and faced Wei Shuwan. His eyes were dark and unfathomable, as if he didn't understand her inexplicable action.
Wei Shuwan finally saw the other person's face clearly and was surprised, "How come it's you?"
Who do you think it is?
"I thought it was—" The two words were on the tip of her tongue, but Wei Shuwan suddenly closed her mouth again and didn't say them.
To mistake the dignified Prince Qiaochuan for a petty villain is truly offensive.
So she changed her story with a more ambiguous tone, her eyes flickering: "I, I suddenly woke up and saw someone standing in front of me, and I was a little scared, so... Don't overthink it, I didn't mean to assassinate you."
Li Qingchen swept his robe aside and sat down on the bench, his brows furrowed. He simply smiled at her explanation, "You're overthinking it. With your meager skills, who could you possibly assassinate?"
Wei Shuwan pursed her lips, speechless at the teasing, and changed the subject, asking instead, "Why are you here? Your injuries haven't healed yet, so why are you running around like this?"
"Either the doctor you found was highly skilled, or the incense you brewed worked. My injury is already half healed, so I don't have to stay in bed all day anymore."
As he said this, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Li Qingchen shook his wide sleeves, and a faint fragrance slowly wafted out, lingering around Wei Shuwan's nose.
It was the incense she had prepared before leaving Fuquxuan. But the incense sticks were clearly cracked and broken when they were first lit; how could he have used them?
Wei Shuwan was too embarrassed to ask further, and Li Qingchen didn't explain in detail either. He simply thanked her casually, then his gaze fell on the oil paper package on the table. He wanted to remind her that if she was hungry, she could eat a few bites to fill her stomach.
Before he could speak, Wei Shuwan followed his gaze and saw the oil paper package, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is this a thank-you gift from you?"
It was just a steamed bun; the word "thank you" was clearly not enough. Li Qingchen didn't say anything, and Wei Shuwan opened the paper package. When she saw that there was only a steamed bun inside, she also showed some disappointment.
"Steamed buns?" She thought he would at least bring her two side dishes; how could she possibly swallow just one steamed bun?
When Wei Shuwan shifted her questioning gaze to Li Qingchen's face, she clearly noticed a hint of shame on his face. She had no choice but to change her tune: "Although it is not a feast of delicacies, it is still a token of our gratitude in times of need. Steamed buns will do. I will accept this gift."
After saying that, she picked him up and took a bite.
She was truly hungry. She had tried to convince herself to sleep so that she could forget about the hunger once she fell asleep, but now that she was awake, the hunger that had been temporarily forgotten surged back like a flood!
Perhaps because she ate too quickly, and because the steamed bun was dry and hard to swallow, Wei Shuwan couldn't swallow it properly after taking a bite. Instead, she coughed and patted her chest.
Seeing her in great pain, Li Qingchen softened and asked, "Do you want to eat delicacies from land and sea, a feast fit for an emperor?"
After coughing a dozen times, Wei Shuwan, her face flushed and veins bulging, struggled to raise her eyes to look at him. Unable to speak, she tilted her head as if asking him what he wanted to do.
Li Qingchen reached out and snatched the half-eaten steamed bun from her hands, tossing it onto the table: "It's not like there's no way."
Before Wei Shuwan could even process what was going on, Li Qingchen led her out of the room of reflection. Just as she was about to ask him where he was going, he grabbed her shoulders and then used his feet to lift her into the air!
Before Wei Shuwan could even cry out in surprise, her feet left the ground for the first time, and she landed on the two-zhang-high courtyard wall.
Looking down at her feet, she felt her mind go blank and she was dizzy. With difficulty, she turned her head to look at Li Qingchen and finally asked, "Where are we going?"
"Let's go eat delicacies from land and sea, a feast fit for an emperor." With just these words, Li Qingchen once again took her by the hand and leaped out of the Wei family mansion.
This time, he owed her half his life. He felt it was his duty to help her fulfill such a simple wish.
The wind whistled past her ears, ruffling Wei Shuwan's hair, and she instinctively leaned against the tall figure beside her. Li Qingchen covered her with his cloak and let her bury herself in his chest.
"Didn't you say last night that you had made many enemies? Now that your injuries are only half healed, aren't you afraid of running into your rivals by showing yourself in public?"
Wei Shuwan spoke against the wind, her voice mostly swallowed by the howling, but Li Qingchen still understood what she meant.
"If it's even half as good, then it has no rivals."
These words were arrogant, but surprisingly Wei Shuwan didn't find them offensive. She just thought to herself: How did he take that arrow back then?
Her chest trembled slightly, and Li Qingchen sensed her laughter. Realizing what she meant, he quickly added, "Within Shengjing."
Those who could hurt him were not from the Imperial City Guard. He had noticed this during their fight yesterday. Although the swords and arrows they used were made in Daye, their techniques came from his former motherland, Qiao.
The sky was dark and gloomy, carrying a hint of autumn chill and a faint fragrance. Two figures worked together, moving like ghosts through the streets and alleys.
Li Qingchen passed by several of the most famous restaurants in Shengjing City, but they were all closed because it was too late. In the end, he had no choice but to take Wei Shuwan to stay on the eaves of a shop.
"It's past midnight." It was indeed too late, and a look of difficulty flashed across his face.
Wei Shuwan was understanding: "Then let's go back. I can last until dawn on just one steamed bun."
Looking into the young woman's clear, bright eyes, Li Qingchen still felt a pang of resentment. It wasn't that he absolutely had to eat at this meal, but rather that he rarely felt the helplessness of having to abandon something halfway through. Especially something so insignificant.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Actually, there is one place that will never close, but I'll have to trouble you a little."
He didn't ask Wei Shuwan's opinion when he said this, because after he finished speaking, Li Qingchen jumped to the ground and hired a carriage.
After a stick of incense had burned, the carriage stopped in front of a shop. Li Qingchen jumped down first, but told Wei Shuwan to change her clothes before getting down.
Wei Shuwan held the men's clothes he had stuffed into her hands, not knowing what they were or which courtyard he had just passed by and swiped them. They looked brand new, but she didn't understand why she had to change clothes just to eat.
After changing her clothes and getting off the carriage, Wei Shuwan immediately understood. When she looked up, she saw a golden plaque with the three large characters "Xunfang Pavilion" on it, and several young girls dressed in cool and bright makeup were laughing and joking as they welcomed and saw off guests.
"This is... a brothel?"
Wei Shuwan looked stunned.
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