After the new year, Qi Jingqing would be twenty-two. For an ordinary man of that age, he might already have several children, yet he—he hadn’t even had that kind of dream? Feng Lezhen looked at his clear, innocent eyes and was momentarily speechless.
“…Is there something wrong with that?” Qi Jingqing, always sharp, quickly read something from her expression.
Feng Lezhen snapped back to herself. “N-No, nothing.”
“If there’s something to say, just say it.” Qi Jingqing’s voice was always cool, but when he spoke to her, there was always a hint of warmth. “I was raised in deep seclusion since childhood—there’s a lot I don’t know. If Your Highness thinks something is inappropriate, just say it. That way I won’t be so clueless all the time.”
There was no lamp lit in the room. Only the pale snowlight from the window barely illuminated the space. Listening to him say something so unintentionally suggestive, Feng Lezhen nearly laughed—and grew even more curious.
“Do you… grow a beard?” she asked.
Qi Jingqing was just about to answer when he met her gaze. The words on the tip of his tongue turned into, “Your Highness may check for yourself.”
Check? How?
Her heart stirred. Feng Lezhen reached out and placed her fingers on his jaw.
Her hands were still icy from staying outside earlier, but when they touched his skin, it felt like fire. Qi Jingqing’s Adam’s apple trembled violently, and his back began to stiffen.
Feng Lezhen touched his fairly smooth skin, and her fingers froze. “…Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Then I must have shaved cleanly before leaving the house,” Qi Jingqing said, his voice now a little hoarse. He looked away and cleared his throat, pretending to be unaffected.
Feng Lezhen chuckled and withdrew her hand. “So you shaved. You could’ve just told me that—why have me check myself?”
“So Your Highness wouldn’t think I was lying,” Qi Jingqing said. The lingering chill of her fingers still lingered on his jaw, but inside, it felt like fire. Still, his voice was as steady as ever.
The noise in the neighboring room continued. Feng Lezhen, worried about “corrupting the youth,” quickly helped Qi Jingqing back to the table.
“No need to call someone for help?” he asked.
“…Help with what? They’re clearly fine. Just worry about yourself,” Feng Lezhen said, exasperated.
Qi Jingqing paused. He couldn’t quite understand how a woman could be calling out that loudly and still be considered “fine”—but he always listened to Feng Lezhen. If she said it was nothing, then it was nothing.
Outside, snow had started falling at some point. The flakes landed on the eaves and the ground with a soft rustling. Though this room was unoccupied, the underfloor heating was still running. The two of them sat in the warm chamber, quietly listening to the wind and snow outside.
For a moment, Qi Jingqing felt that even if he were to die now, he would have no regrets left in this life.
“Why is it still so quiet?” Feng Lezhen suddenly asked.
Qi Jingqing came back to himself. “Did Your Highness not say Jingren could handle it?”
“I did say that, but I’m also worried something else might happen,” Feng Lezhen admitted, uneasy for reasons she couldn’t name.
Qi Jingqing reassured her, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Qi An is stationed outside to assist. If your people made it to the back gate, they should’ve already run into him.”
Feng Lezhen nodded. “Ah Ye is always quick-witted. If she saw your man, she would know I’m with you and that there’s no danger for now.”
—
In the main hall just across a small courtyard from them, Qi Zhen had dismissed the others. He sat with a dark expression, glaring at Qi Jingren.
But Qi Jingren remained calm. “Father, you’ve finally come.”
“You make it sound like you’ve been waiting for me?” Qi Zhen asked coldly.
It was meant as sarcasm, but to his surprise, Qi Jingren nodded. “Exactly.”
“Qi Jingren! And here I thought you’d changed these past few months—turns out you’re just as thoughtless as before!” Qi Zhen snapped. “In all the years of our Qi family, not a single person has ever been caught frequenting brothels. You’ve really done me proud!”
“Please don’t get worked up, Father. While Xunfang Pavilion may be a place of pleasure, it doesn’t deal in carnal trade. Those who stay overnight are all here for their own sweethearts—there’s no money or power involved,” Qi Jingren explained, trying to ease him.
Qi Zhen grew even angrier. “So you think you were right to come? If I hadn’t shown up today, would you be bringing one of them home soon?!”
“I said, calm down,” Qi Jingren sighed, stepping forward to press him into a chair. “I came here for official business, not for drinking or whoring. If you don’t believe me, call someone in to ask around. The moment I arrived, I had all the performers sent away.”
As she spoke, she poured him a cup of hot tea.
Her composure and calm demeanor made her seem unshakable. No matter how he scolded her, she didn’t lose her temper. Qi Zhen felt like he had punched a pillow—he couldn’t vent his anger. When he met her eyes, even he began to waver a little. “Don’t try to fool me. What official business could there be in a place like this?”
Qi Jingren’s tone stayed level. “That’s something I should ask you instead. Who tattled to you and got you to come drag me out of here?”
Qi Zhen frowned. “Why does that matter?”
“Perhaps Father doesn’t know, but ever since I was promoted to Deputy Commander, the camp’s been far from peaceful. Every time I issue an order, it feels like there’s resistance from the shadows. I lack the seniority to track it down, and I haven’t been able to identify who’s making trouble for me,” Qi Jingren said slowly. “What’s more troubling is the constant feeling that someone is following me. But I’ve never been able to confirm who.”
Qi Zhen’s first instinct was that she was making excuses. But meeting her steady gaze, something didn’t sit right.
“So you deliberately came to Xunfang Pavilion hoping to bait out whoever couldn’t hold their tongue and would report you? But you just said it’s only a feeling that someone’s following you. No actual proof. Maybe you’re imagining things—maybe your failures are simply due to your own incompetence. Maybe someone just happened to see you today and it got reported by accident.”
If this had been before, Qi Jingren would’ve lost her temper hearing such accusations from him. But tonight, after witnessing how composed Feng Lezhen could be, she had learned a thing or two.
“Father, before I entered Xunfang Pavilion, I deliberately took a detour down three streets. Judging by the time, you received word barely half an hour after I stepped inside. And even if someone had seen me, it would still take at least a quarter-hour for news to travel from here to the marquis’s manor,” she explained, using facts.
Qi Zhen went silent.
Seeing his face grow darker, Qi Jingren sighed. “Whoever it is must have considerable rank to pull this off. I won’t dig deeper—not if it means souring relations with the other commanders.”
Qi Zhen froze. He looked at her with surprise in his eyes.
The military, like the court, could not be governed by simple black-and-white principles. In the silence, Qi Zhen had already decided not to pursue this too deeply. He had also considered that if he tried to smooth it over too easily, his daughter would resent him.
But he hadn’t expected her to be the one to compromise.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Jingren asked, feigning confusion.
“N-Nothing…” Qi Zhen was dazed. “You’ve… grown more sensible, that’s all.”
“I’ve always been growing more sensible. It’s just that Father never seems to think so. You always assume I haven’t improved at all,” Qi Jingren said, eyes reddening. “But as you said—if I’ve failed at my duties, it’s because I’m incompetent. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
The people bold enough to target the daughter of Qi Zhen were no ordinary soldiers—they were all high-ranking officers, pillars of the Qi family army. Even if she were more capable, she was still easily crushed by them. Qi Zhen felt more and more guilty, but having been used to being strict with his daughter, he couldn’t bring himself to soften just yet. He simply cleared his throat and said, “It’s been a while since I’ve visited the camp. When you’re on duty tomorrow, don’t forget to call me along.”
That was his way of saying he would support her.
In the past, Qi Jingren might’ve scoffed at such a gesture. But after hearing Feng Lezhen’s views, she’d come to understand—those who achieve great things must set aside pride. A good backer should be used when needed. There’s no reason to make things hard on oneself.
“Many thanks, Father.” She smiled and dipped into a curtsy.
Qi Zhen rubbed his nose. Whatever anger he’d had had long since dissipated, though he still kept a stern face. “Let’s go. Lurking around here—what does that look like!”
“Yes, sir!”
The two exchanged a glance, then walked toward the exit with relative harmony. But before they could reach the door, the proprietor of Xunfang Pavilion rushed in. The moment he saw them, he dropped to his knees with a loud thump.
“What are you doing?” Qi Zhen frowned.
His second most-hated thing in the world was shady business dealings, so he didn’t bother to be polite.
The proprietor wasn’t offended. Instead, he wailed, “A thief must’ve gotten in just now! My pearl hairpiece is missing—it’s worth a full thousand taels! There are soldiers guarding the garden, so the thief must still be inside! Marquis, Young Miss, I beg you to help me seek justice!”
How coincidental—Qi Zhen’s most-hated thing in the world was petty theft. Now his second most-hated had collided with his first—naturally, the worst of the two had to be dealt with first.
Qi Jingren saw his expression and knew they weren’t leaving anytime soon. But the princess had already departed, so there was no fear of him searching the wrong place… Well, let him do as he pleases.
The snow was falling harder now. In a blink, the world outside was a sheet of white.
Feng Lezhen, slumped lazily against the back of a chair, was dozing off. A cloak was suddenly draped over her shoulders. She gave a faint grunt and opened her eyes groggily. “They’ve all left?”
“They’re just now leaving,” Qi Jingqing replied.
She pinched her brow, and sure enough, she heard sounds outside amid the snow and wind.
With such a commotion, they must be wrapping up. She quietly exhaled in relief and was about to call for Qi Jingqing to leave when the noise outside began to swell again.
“This sounds… like they’re searching for someone,” Qi Jingqing looked at her.
Feng Lezhen tugged her lips into a faint smile. “I noticed.”
Before her words finished, a loud voice echoed from outside: “All persons inside Xunfang Pavilion, hear this! A thief is believed to be hiding within the premises. We are acting under official orders to search the building. All individuals must gather in the courtyard within the next fifteen minutes. Do not interfere with official duties!”
Feng Lezhen: “…”
In the still silence of a snowy night, the shout carried far. Soon, everyone began filing out—except Feng Lezhen and Qi Jingqing.
Once the others were gone, the search began. Feng Lezhen heard doors being pushed open in the distance. And yet, oddly, a sense of calm fell over her—
She wondered, if Qi Zhen were to walk in and see her in a room with his precious son, would he be so furious that he’d want her dead?
As her mind wandered aimlessly, Qi Jingqing grew restless.
“Do not be afraid, Your Highness. I’ll go out,” he offered.
Feng Lezhen gave him a sidelong look. “And what will you say when they ask?”
Qi Jingqing: “…Seeking… pleasure?”
Feng Lezhen: “…” Thank you for at least pausing before you said that.
She sighed, just about to speak, when footsteps started heading toward them.
With a loud kick, the door was flung open, and the two inside gasped in unison, reflexively clinging to each other in panic. The soldier who stormed in saw the scene and immediately turned red and cursed, “Didn’t we tell you to all get outside?!”
The “illicit lovers” looked dumbfounded. The youth hurriedly wrapped the girl in the blanket. The soldier was here to catch thieves, not break up lovers. He turned his back and scolded as he left, “Hurry up and get out there—who knows, maybe the thief’s hiding under your d*mn bed!”
Muttering, he went to open the door of the next room.
It was locked—from the inside.
He had already searched five or six rooms, including some locked ones, but those had been locked from the outside. This was the first locked from within. Suspicion flared. He turned to call for backup, but the others were all occupied. Gritting his teeth, he kicked the door open himself.
“Official search—” The words cut off.
Right in front of him was a bed, draped in gauzy curtains that concealed most of what lay within. Only a narrow slit showed through the middle, where a slender, trembling hand gripped a blanket.
The room was unlit, but the white snow outside provided just enough illumination for the soldier to see that the hand was pale and exquisite—its beauty almost unreal, its gender indiscernible.
Then, another hand reached out.
It was clearly pampered, smaller and daintier, with fingernails stained delicately red. Compared to the first hand, it made that ambiguous hand’s gender instantly obvious.
That second hand gently slid over the first, and without hesitation, laced its fingers through the other’s.
Such a simple gesture—yet with the falling snow, the dim interior, and the suggestive concealment of the bed curtains—it seemed intimate, forbidden, and impossible to look away from.
The soldier stared, blushing harder than when he’d seen the couple clinging together in the previous room.
Inside the bed curtains, Qi Jingqing lay rigidly on his back, while Feng Lezhen hovered over him, doing… strange things. He had no idea what she was trying to do, nor how she thought this would help them evade detection. He only knew that as her fingers slid in and out of his palm, his body began reacting in odd, unfamiliar ways.
She felt like a knife—sharp, deliberate—cutting slowly, inch by inch, into him while he remained painfully aware of every motion.
“Your Grace, maybe you should cry out a little,” Feng Lezhen teased softly.
Qi Jingqing’s throat was tight with tension. After a long struggle, he managed to croak, “…What do you mean?”
Before she could answer, her other hand slipped inside his robe. He flinched slightly—then felt her pinch his waist hard.
She didn’t hold back. The pain hit him unprepared, and a muffled groan escaped his throat.
That groan of his startled the soldier and also drew an extra glance from Feng Lezhen.
Though the bed curtains obscured much of the view and the lighting was dimmer than outside, Qi Jingqing still caught that glance. His face flushed immediately. “W-what is it?”
“Nothing,” Feng Lezhen replied with a smile.
If she didn’t know him so well, she might really have thought that groan of his was a deliberate tease.
The soldier at the door had finally come to his senses and turned his back, his face beet red. “What’s wrong with you people?! Didn’t you hear the orders just now?! Get up, don’t hold things—”
Before he could finish, Qi Jingren came hurrying over. The moment she saw the two hands sticking out from the gap in the bed curtains, her face instantly darkened. “This room—was it searched?”
The second she heard her voice, Feng Lezhen immediately pulled her hand back and sat upright, practically leaping eight feet away from Qi Jingqing. The warmth in his palm vanished in an instant, leaving Qi Jingqing with a strange hollowness in his chest. His lashes trembled before he slowly sat up.
“Deputy General, not yet.”
“Leave. I’ll search it myself.”
“But inside—” the soldier hesitated, but upon seeing Qi Jingren’s expression, quickly obeyed and left.
As soon as he stepped out, Qi Jingren slammed the door shut behind her and strode straight to the bed, yanking the curtains open with a sharp swish.
“We only held hands. Absolutely nothing else happened,” Feng Lezhen said seriously, sitting at the head of the bed while Qi Jingqing sat at the foot.
Qi Jingren took a deep breath. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
“There was a minor situation,” Feng Lezhen replied.
Qi Jingren then turned to her older brother, who had clearly been taken advantage of. “And why are you here?”
“Looking for you,” Qi Jingqing answered.
Qi Jingren sneered, “Looking for Her Highness, you mean.”
Feng Lezhen paused and looked up at Qi Jingqing.
“What would I look for Her Highness for?” Qi Jingqing said calmly. “I came to find you.”
Qi Jingren was about to mock him again but stopped short when he met Qi Jingqing’s warning gaze. The words stuck in her throat. “…You’re alright?”
“What could possibly be wrong?” Qi Jingqing replied.
Qi Jingren choked on that and turned back to Feng Lezhen.
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything,” Feng Lezhen said, raising her hands innocently.
…Forget it. Now wasn’t the time to start assigning blame. Head pounding, Qi Jingren simply warned them not to run around and turned to leave.
“Your sister sure is protective of you,” Feng Lezhen remarked.
Qi Jingqing, still somewhat distracted, simply smiled. “She always talks tough but has a soft heart.”
Feng Lezhen arched a brow but said no more.
Qi Jingren managed to keep a straight face and suppress her reaction. By the time she had composed herself, the soldiers had begun to withdraw.
She stopped one. “Why is everyone leaving? Was the thief caught?”
“There was no thief at all!” the soldier said angrily. “The proprietor was just confused and left the hair ornament in the hall. It’s been found now.”
Qi Jingren: “…”
After a night of chaos, the farce was finally ending. Qi Jingqing listened as the commotion outside gradually died down. When he looked at Feng Lezhen again, the earlier fluster in his heart had already settled.
“How did Your Highness know Jingren would come?” he asked.
Feng Lezhen leaned against the bed, clearly drowsy. “Ah Ye was outside. With so much noise, she’d definitely find a way to sneak in and ask for help.”
So that was it. Qi Jingqing nodded.
They chatted a little longer, but Feng Lezhen was already too sleepy. She simply lay down. “Forget it. You go. I’ll sleep here tonight.”
Qi Jingqing: “…”
There was absolutely no way he could allow that. Who knew how many people had lain in that bed? Who knew when the sheets were last changed? What germs or filth might be on them? He refused to let her sleep there.
After much coaxing, he finally persuaded Feng Lezhen to leave with him. The two slipped out into the night. The blast of cold wind and snow cleared one’s mind instantly—and sent the other into a coughing fit.
Qi Jingqing was weak-bodied, and Feng Lezhen feared he’d catch a chill. She quickly bade him farewell and hurried off. He hadn’t even gotten to say much more before she vanished into the snowy night.
“Your Grace, shall we return?” his page Qi An asked gently.
Qi Jingqing responded with a quiet “Mm,” and cast one final glance in Feng Lezhen’s direction before boarding the carriage.
By the time they returned to the marquis’ manor, it was well past midnight. The page had just helped Qi Jingqing lie down and was about to leave when he was called back.
“Qi An.”
“Here, sir,” the page answered quickly.
Qi Jingqing: “When a man and a woman are making loud noises and rummaging through things… what are they doing?”
Page: “?”
Page: “!!!”
