After she said that and Wenge stayed frozen for a while, Feng Lezhen glanced at him again. “What? You don’t want to go?”
They’d been near death and hadn’t eaten or drunk for days, so not needing the toilet made sense before. But just now, they’d both had something to eat — especially Wenge, who drank two whole bowls of porridge. She didn’t believe he didn’t need to go.
Wenge hadn’t intended to go, but after her remark, his expression shifted subtly. Feng Lezhen extended her hand toward him with elegant poise, and instinctively, like a eunuch in the palace, he reached out to support her. Only when he realized what he was doing did his face darken.
“The latrine is in the courtyard,” Feng Lezhen reminded him gracefully.
Expression blank, Wenge helped her outside.
When they reached the latrine door, Wenge suddenly stopped walking. Feng Lezhen took a few more steps, only to be yanked back by the chain and forced to stop.
“Not going any farther?” she asked.
Wenge frowned. “You expect me to go in with you?”
“Who else if not you?” Feng Lezhen raised her hand and gave it a shake. The bright, gleaming chain on her wrist shone like a piece of fine jewelry, so dazzling it was hard to look at.
The little bell on it jingled nonstop. Wenge’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter until he suddenly reached out and touched her face. A flicker of wariness flashed in Feng Lezhen’s eyes, but when his fingers brushed past her cheek and landed on her earlobe, she paused—then that flicker of caution vanished beneath a smile. “You like this kind of place? No wonder—you’re young after all. Your tastes are quite… bold.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Wenge instinctively sensed it wasn’t something good. After removing her earring, he twisted it a few times into a makeshift tool, unlocked his side of the chain in three or five quick moves, then destroyed the earring with a few more.
The chain slipped off his wrist, though Feng Lezhen’s side remained locked. He didn’t seem to plan on unlocking hers. Feng Lezhen didn’t mind. She just looked at him with curiosity. “No wonder we couldn’t find a key on you. So this is how you handled it.”
“I’ll give you fifteen minutes,” Wenge said expressionlessly. “You’d best not try anything, or else…”
“Why do you have to threaten me every time you do something? Don’t you get tired of it?” Feng Lezhen said as she gracefully walked into the latrine.
Wenge gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and kept a wary eye on the surroundings.
A while later, Feng Lezhen came out, and Wenge immediately locked her end of the chain to a nearby railing, then went into the latrine himself.
When he came back out, Feng Lezhen was leaning lazily against the railing, basking in the sunlight. The light fell gently on her thick eyelashes, casting two tiny fan-shaped shadows on her face, fluttering like butterflies.
Though clearly restrained, she looked utterly at ease, as if nothing in the world could shake her. Wenge still remembered his comrade dying because of her, yet at this moment, her confident and unwavering aura left him momentarily dazed.
“You’re done?” Feng Lezhen raised an eyebrow. “You’re so young—why did it take you so long?”
This time he understood and his face darkened instantly. “I had to check the place, to make sure you didn’t leave any clues behind my back.”
“I didn’t say a word, did I?” Feng Lezhen said innocently.
Wenge, face stiff, walked over and removed her other earring.
Watching him twist it again into a makeshift key and unlock her chain from the railing, then reattach it to his own wrist, and destroy the earring just as quickly, Feng Lezhen chuckled. “Too bad I don’t have a third earring for you to use.”
Wenge didn’t care. He tugged her along and headed back.
Meanwhile, Ah Ye had led her men all the way to the base of Yue City’s outer wall but still found no trace. In her anxiety, two painful blisters had formed on her lips.
“Miss Ah Ye,” a soldier said respectfully, “I still believe Her Highness might be in Yingguan. Why don’t we go back and search again?”
“No,” Ah Ye rejected immediately. “She definitely left Yingguan. Did you forget the sign we saw on the way here?”
That sign was a tiny drawing of a leaf, marked on the official road about an hour from Yue City. When she first entered the palace as a child, she was often bullied by the older maids and went hungry frequently. The princess had noticed and often gave her food, each time drawing a small leaf on the seal as a sign it was just for her. Though it had been years since she’d seen that symbol, she could never mistake it.
“That sign isn’t far from Yue City. If Her Highness left it, she must be nearby… Should I return to gather more men?” the soldier asked.
Ah Ye still refused. “The fewer people who know she’s missing, the better. Though we don’t know exactly where she is, her life should be safe for now. We’ll sneak into the city and search slowly.”
Once her men entered the city in groups, Ah Ye followed. But just before she reached the gate, she paused and frowned, looking back in the direction of the village they’d searched earlier, for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.
Back in that village, ever since Feng Lezhen and Wenge returned to their room, they barely came out except to eat. One lay on the bed, the other sat on the floor. Neither spoke to the other.
They waited and waited until evening came. Feng Lezhen lazily poked the exposed part of Wenge’s head. “Didn’t Yingzi’s father say there was hot water earlier?”
“You misheard.” Expecting she’d make him do something, Wenge rejected her without thinking.
Feng Lezhen fell silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted her pillow.
Wenge, hearing movement behind him, turned around—and instantly shot to his feet.
She had pulled out an axe from beneath her pillow and was now holding it, her expression unreadable.
“When did you hide that?” Wenge asked cautiously.
“Last night, when you passed out,” she replied flatly.
She had borrowed a bunch of tools trying to break the chain, but none worked. She’d returned most of them—except this axe, which she hid under the pillow.
Seeing her holding the axe, Wenge silently took a step back. “You don’t seriously think having a weapon means you can beat me?”
Feng Lezhen stared at him for a while, then calmly lifted the axe to her own neck.
Wenge: “?”
“If you won’t fetch me hot water for a bath, I’ll just kill myself,” she said.
Wenge: “…”
A short while later, Wenge stormed out to fetch water, face full of gloom. Feng Lezhen followed slowly behind, their chain clinking with a faintly cheerful rhythm.
It was only evening, and Yingzi and her father hadn’t gone to bed yet. They were playing Chinese chess in the courtyard. Watching the two go back and forth several times, both couldn’t help but laugh.
“Big Brother’s amazing! He can carry so much water with one hand—my dad can’t even do that!” Yingzi praised him enthusiastically.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” her father said, embarrassed that he’d been called out. He quickly changed the subject. “Say, is that thing on your hands really unbreakable? It must be such a hassle to live like that.”
“I really can’t break it. If only I could, right, Little Bell?” Feng Lezhen asked with feigned sorrow, directing the question at the person still fetching water.
Wenge acted as if he hadn’t heard her and continued his work with a grim expression.
His cold attitude was so obvious that even Yingzi noticed. After the two returned inside, she quietly asked her father, “Since Sister already decided to elope, why didn’t she pick a better husband?”
“Isn’t Little Bell good enough?” Yingzi’s father didn’t know Wenge’s name, so he simply used Feng Lezhen’s nickname for him. “Look at him—running back and forth doing all the work, and he hasn’t made your sister help at all.”
Yingzi thought for a moment and realized that was indeed true, but she had to admit—
“Even if he wanted her to help, I doubt she’d be willing.” She hit the nail on the head.
Her father considered it and realized… that might actually be the case.
After four trips, the tub in the room was finally full. Wenge rubbed his lower back and was about to take the bucket outside when Feng Lezhen, right in front of him, started undoing her belt.
Her robes came loose, revealing a thin undergarment tied with delicate cords, barely covering the soft curves of her chest. Wenge froze, then suddenly turned away, but the shock of that unexpected sight seemed to burn itself into his memory, making his breath quicken.
“You…” he finally choked out, “Do you have no sense of shame?!”
“What did I do?” Feng Lezhen looked puzzled by his scolding.
Wenge’s face darkened. “What do you mean, ‘what’? I hadn’t even left yet, and you started undressing!”
“You were going to leave?” Feng Lezhen was surprised.
Wenge: “Obviously!”
“Oh, then go ahead.” Feng Lezhen calmly gathered her robes again.
Wenge kept his head down as he undid the chain on his wrist and threw out, “The bell’s still on you. If you try to run, the sound will betray you. So… behave yourself.”
With that, he hurried out the door.
Feng Lezhen saw the redness creeping up his ears and couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not like you haven’t seen it before. What’s the rush?”
Then she remembered—this version of him really hadn’t seen it before.
After two days of travel, she could finally bathe. The moment she sank into the hot water, Feng Lezhen let out a genuine sigh of relief. The bell soaked in the water no longer made its crisp jingling sound, but it still echoed faintly amidst the splashes—impossible to ignore.
The father and daughter had already gone to bed. Wenge stood alone outside the door, quietly watching the moon rise in the sky.
At some point, the sound of water stopped, followed shortly by the bell going silent. Wenge paused—then suddenly kicked open the door.
Inside, there was only a dim candle. Under the soft, flickering light, Feng Lezhen was asleep, wearing a fairly clean inner robe, her long black hair loose across the pillow.
Wenge was momentarily stunned. Once he realized what he was seeing, he finally relaxed.
“Did you break the door?” came her voice from the bed. Her eyes stayed closed, but she spoke clearly.
Wenge paused for a moment. “No.”
“You’d better not have,” Feng Lezhen murmured, turning over to sleep. “Or we’ll have to pay for it.”
Wenge pressed his lips together and quietly closed the door.
This time, the door made hardly a sound.
They stayed one more night at Yingzi’s house. The next morning, Wenge suddenly said he wanted to enter the city.
“Now?” Feng Lezhen was clearly surprised.
Wenge replied, “Mm. We shouldn’t linger here.”
Feng Lezhen fell silent.
Of course he couldn’t stay here long. It wouldn’t be long before Ah Ye pieced things together and circled back for a second search. Feng Lezhen had planned to wait here longer, but the boy was more alert than she’d thought. Just yesterday, he’d said he wanted to stay another couple of days. Now he wanted to leave.
“Medicine?” Wenge suddenly asked.
Feng Lezhen paused before realizing he meant her wound ointment. She gave a cold laugh and tossed it to him. “You’re really not shy about asking.”
“This stuff works well. Where did you get it?” Wenge took it without hesitation and sprinkled some on the wound at his waist.
Feng Lezhen gave him a lazy glance. “You couldn’t afford it.”
“Name a price,” Wenge said. He didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t afford.
Feng Lezhen curled her lips. “No price. But I want something in return.”
“What kind of thing?” Wenge asked.
Feng Lezhen: “Virgin body.”
Wenge’s brow furrowed deeper. “Where would I go find a girl for you?”
“Who said I want a girl?” Feng Lezhen countered.
Wenge froze. After meeting her leisurely, unbothered gaze, his face darkened. “Sorry. I don’t have that.”
Feng Lezhen burst out laughing. “So you’re not?”
“I’m not.” Wenge replied with a cold face.
Feng Lezhen looked regretful. “Well then, sorry—I can’t sell it to you.”
Wenge instantly regretted speaking to her at all.
He was decisive by nature. Once he made up his mind to leave, he didn’t even bother with breakfast. By the time Yingzi came calling them to eat, the room was already empty.
An hour later, Ah Ye arrived with her men. After thoroughly searching the place, she found a familiar mark on the axe by the guestroom bed.
Her expression turned grim, and she immediately summoned Yingzi’s father for questioning. When she realized she’d been only a step away from the princess, she was so angry her teeth nearly cracked.
Yingzi’s father was terrified by her presence, convinced something terrible was about to happen. But instead, she suddenly took out a gold ingot and slammed it on the table.
“This is payment for my master’s lodging. You’d best keep everything that happened these past two days to yourself. If I hear a word…” she made her threat and quietly left two guards behind to keep watch on the village, then departed.
Staring at the gold on the table, Yingzi’s father finally realized the two people who had stayed in his house weren’t ordinary at all.
Feng Lezhen had no idea that just half an hour after they left, Ah Ye had arrived. She only knew that sitting in a slow-moving ox cart on the way into the city… felt surprisingly pleasant.
Wenge said he was leaving and left—dragging her along without bringing anything. She thought they’d have to walk all the way to Yue City on foot, but just as they exited the village, they happened to run into a neighbor driving an ox cart into the city to sell vegetables. When asked if they wanted to ride along, neither of them refused.
The ox cart was slow, but still far more convenient than walking. Before long, they reached Yue City.
If Yingguan served as a defense line against Tayuan and Mori, then Yue City was a checkpoint guarding Yingguan. So within the city, most officials with slightly higher rank were relatives of Feng Ji. And Feng Ji’s relatives naturally belonged to the faction opposed to Feng Lezhen. That was why, when she passed through Yue City on her first trip to Yingguan, she had hidden her identity and traveled in secret—coming and going quietly without even stepping out of her carriage. In the years since, she had never returned.
She never expected that her second visit would be in the form of a kidnapping.
“What are you standing around for? Time to enter the city,” Wenge reminded her.
A while ago, they had already gotten off the ox cart and parted ways with the neighbor. Now standing side by side, Wenge removed and pocketed the chain.
“Behave yourself. Otherwise, I don’t mind making a scene in public—”
“If you threaten this princess again, I’ll scream,” Feng Lezhen said faintly.
Wenge’s gaze darkened. “You wouldn’t dare—”
Before he finished speaking, Feng Lezhen suddenly cried out: “Ah—!”
Wenge hadn’t expected her to actually do it. He rushed to cover her mouth. Though he acted quickly, their scuffle still drew attention from a few passersby, including two guards at the city gate. Fortunately, Feng Lezhen stopped in time, and Wenge remained composed. The guards looked suspicious for a moment but didn’t pursue it further.
Feng Lezhen poked his hand. Wenge let go of her, red-faced and gritting his teeth. “How dare you…”
“I’ve screamed. Your turn now,” Feng Lezhen said calmly.
Wenge: “…What do you mean?”
“You bark,” she said, arching an eyebrow. “Like a little dog.”
Wenge took a deep breath, about to angrily ask what she meant, when Feng Lezhen slowly said, “This is the city gate. Everything you do is in the guards’ line of sight. I advise you to behave. Otherwise, you won’t make it through the gate—nor will you be taking me in.”
Wenge: “…”
Feng Lezhen added, “Don’t want to? Fine.”
She turned to leave immediately, and Wenge grabbed her at once.
Feng Lezhen looked at him with leisure.
“…Woof.”
Feng Lezhen heard what she wanted and curled her lips in delight.
