This scene opens with two figures tumbling together as if in a brawl. Amidst their struggle, his prominent nose brushes against hers. Wei Qingge, breathless, fails to notice how intimately they are positioned, nor does she register the changes in the man beneath her. She rolls over, collapsing beside him, exhausted.
“You’ve got some nerve,” she says.
Li Qiongyu smiles faintly, holding a snowball above himself. He tilts his head, looking at her teasingly, “You lost. Pay up.”
“On what grounds? We didn’t even bet,” she retorts.
He twists his neck, “My bone was hit by you.”
Wei Qingge grits her teeth, “Are you even a man? A snowball hit your bone?”
Li Qiongyu laughs, holding the snowball in the air, “Don’t you see how fat it is?”
The snowball, silently, is addressed.
“Besides, you were riding on my waist and hitting me. I feel pain everywhere now. I’ll have to hire an imperial physician when we get back, which is no small expense.”
“No money.”
“Oh, the dignified eldest daughter of the Wei family is going to renege?”
At his words, Wei Qingge immediately bristles. She can tolerate anything said about her, but not accusations of reneging.
“When have I ever reneged? Don’t you slander me.”
She adheres to her father’s teachings, never to be untrustworthy. She aims to be a strong woman, like her father, who conquers battlefields and brings glory to the nation.
“Oh, if the eldest daughter Wei is not reneging, then pay me ten thousand taels.”
Upon hearing the sum, Wei Qingge springs to her feet, hands on her hips, glaring down at him.
“Are you extorting me? What illness costs that much?”
“Is it a lot?” Li Qiongyu spreads his hands, his smile radiant, “Me? If I’m injured, I must eat the best food and use the best medicine. I’m even afraid it won’t be enough.”
“You—” Wei Qingge stamps her foot in anger, “I hope you choke!”
Li Qiongyu slightly hooks his lips, his gaze filled with amusement.
“Well? Pay up or renege?”
Wei Qingge glances away, puffing out her cheeks.
Where would she get ten thousand taels? If she went back to draw money from the treasury, her father would skin her alive for being so extravagant.
“Oh, so someone intends to renege.”
Hearing his teasing remark, Wei Qingge’s face flushes with anger. “Old rule. When we return to the capital, I’ll help out at your shop for a month, okay?”
In the past, she was often tricked by him. When she couldn’t repay, she would work off her debt at his shop through manual labor.
It infuriated her that he would always exploit her.
He seemed to have been waiting for her words. As soon as she conceded, he snapped his fingers.
“Fine, it’s settled then.”
She glares fiercely at him, questioning, “Weren’t your bones injured? How come you look completely fine?”
Li Qiongyu immediately clutches his chest and looks up at her, “Yes, I feel pain everywhere. I’m afraid even ten thousand taels won’t be enough.”
Hearing this, Wei Qingge picks up the snowball and turns to leave.
She fears that if she says another word, she’ll end up selling herself to work at his shop for life.
That damned profiteer! Richer than the national treasury, he owned most of the shops, banks, and restaurants in the capital, making a fortune.
Moreover, he had numerous shops not only in Da Liang but also in other provinces. He was not short of money, yet he always haggled with her and swindled her money.
She suspected that this fellow, who could earn more than the national treasury, must have used unscrupulous means to cheat people.
‘Don’t forget when we get back.’
“I know, I know. Annoying.”
Inside the carriage, Ye Luan is awakened by their commotion. She slightly opens her eyes, her gaze hazy and unfocused as she surveys her surroundings. Only then does she realize she is lying in Xiao Chizhan’s arms.
“Awake?”
A lazy, husky voice emanates from above her, tinged with a hint of indifference.
Ye Luan’s face flushes slightly. She pretends to be composed and withdraws from his embrace. Saying nothing, she sits opposite him.
“You slept well, and now you’re turning your back on me?”
What is he implying?
Seeing her cold expression and her refusal to engage, Xiao Chizhan stretches his legs and continues, “I’ve been sleeping with you pressing on me for so long, my limbs are numb. Come help me rub them.”
Ye Luan pours him a cup of tea and offers it to him, “You’ll be fine if you get out and walk around.”
“No, I can’t even stand up. My legs have no feeling.”
“Then why didn’t you wake me up earlier? I let you sleep until your limbs were numb?”
Xiao Chizhan looks at her with mock seriousness, “How could I? How could I bear to?”
Ye Luan doesn’t want to entertain his ambiguous words, and she also suspects he’s faking. She turns her head away.
“If you don’t want to rub my legs, then tell me, what did you do that night?”
Hearing him suddenly mention events that transpired before leaving the dark domain, Ye Luan’s heart skips a beat.
Could Xie Beihan have spoken nonsense in front of him? Is he here to question her?
She immediately pretends to be unconcerned, turns her head, and lifts the carriage curtain to look outside.
“What could we do? He broke in, wanting to take me away and threaten you. Seeing you return, he couldn’t leave, so he hid in the cabinet.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Xiao Chizhan lets out a cold laugh, “Why does that sound different from other people’s versions?”
In an instant, the atmosphere inside the carriage becomes eerily silent, so quiet that the only sounds are the chirping of insects and the calls of vultures.
Ye Luan’s cheeks burn. She’s unsure if it’s the heat, but fine beads of sweat appear on her brow.
After a moment, she says calmly, “This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Your Highness. On what grounds are you questioning me?”
Xiao Chizhan desperately wants to reply, “As your man.”
But seeing her indifferent profile, he holds back and says instead, “You are my betrothed princess. Isn’t it alright for me to ask?”
“Your Highness, please don’t say such misleading things. We have no relationship whatsoever.”
Ever since he found her, she has consistently denied everything between them.
She treats him like a stranger, completely ignoring him. No matter what he says or does, she refuses to look back.
Xiao Chizhan watches her, feeling as if his heart is being cruelly sawed open by a blunt file, bleeding profusely.
He suppresses the urge to forcibly pull her to him. He glances away, picks up the tea cup on the low table, and lowers his gaze to drink.
Ye Luan feels eyes on her back and shifts uncomfortably, turning her body to avoid his gaze.
Silence descends for a spell.
Suddenly, Xiao Chizhan bangs on the carriage door and calls out,
“Go to the horses and bring me the Yu Jia.”
Yu Jia (玉斝) is a type of vessel specifically used for holding wine.
“Yes.”
Ye Luan sees him reaching for wine again and purses her lips slightly, about to get out of the carriage.
She doesn’t want to smell of alcohol.
“We are about to depart, and there are no horses for you to ride,” his calm voice echoes from behind. Ye Luan lifts the carriage curtain and glances out a few times, noticing that even Wei Qingge has gone to ride a horse.
Originally, Tantai Ye and Lan Murou were sitting on Xiao Chizhan’s horse.
Good heavens, it seems no one wants to share a carriage with Xiao Chizhan.
She turns back to him and says, “You’re a grown man, not getting down to ride a horse and lounging in the carriage. Do you have any shame?”
“You made me numb from sleeping, I can’t ride a horse.”
“Can you find a better excuse?”
Xiao Chizhan adds, “Oh, I just want to ride in the same carriage as you.”
Ye Luan, speechless.