Shen Xuejin had grown up on a rural estate. As a mischievous child, she would go to the river to catch fish and make fish soup for Pei Lian. Once, after nearly drowning, Pei Lian had a farm woman who knew how to swim teach her.
Shen Xuejin swam to the furthest edge of the lake, found a quiet spot, and stealthily climbed ashore. Dragging her soaked clothes, she hid behind some bushes, intending to rest for a moment before returning to her quarters.
"My lord, those pieces of evidence have been moved again."
"Keep investigating."
That voice...
The voice that followed was none other than Huo Nanchi's.
Just then, a breeze swept through, and Shen Xuejin couldn't help but sneeze.
She covered her mouth, her face filled with chagrin.
"Who's there?" Huo Dao’s voice was sharp and lethal, and he began walking toward her hiding spot.
Huo Nanchi tapped him on the shoulder, signaling for him not to follow.
Huo Dao stepped back.
The footsteps did not draw any closer. Just as Shen Xuejin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had avoided detection, a pair of boots suddenly appeared before her eyes.
The man’s deep, phoenix-like eyes stared at the person before him. Seeing her clothes were completely soaked, Huo Nanchi frowned, turned away, and unfastened his own cloak.
Shen Xuejin’s cheeks flushed. She quickly took the cloak, tied it, and wrapped herself up. She rose quickly and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Second Young Master."
The scent of cold incense on the cloak enveloped Shen Xuejin so completely that it felt airtight, and she suddenly felt a parched dryness in her throat.
However, before she could take a few steps, a jumble of footsteps sounded outside, accompanied by the faint noise of conversation.
"I just saw someone climb ashore. Could they be in here?"
"How could someone fall into the water for no reason? You all need to look carefully."
Judging by the voices, it was a few of the young ladies who had come as guests today. Shen Xuejin suddenly grabbed Huo Nanchi’s hand, pushed open the door to a nearby room, and pulled him inside.
Even Shen Xuejin herself did not understand why, in that moment, she had pulled Huo Nanchi in with her.
He was the Second Young Master of the Marquis Manor; even if he were seen in this remote courtyard, no one would dare question him.
But now that they were inside together—a man and a woman alone in a room—it was even harder to explain.
She bit her lip in annoyance. What was she to do?
Whether from nerves or the fact that she was soaked to the bone, Shen Xuejin shivered.
By the light filtering through the window paper, the girl before him had eyes shimmering with moisture, and wet strands of hair clung to her face.
The sandalwood scent on the man aggressively invaded her senses. Shen Xuejin quietly stepped back, but she accidentally stepped on a wooden stick on the floor and lost her balance, toppling backward.
Huo Nanchi reached out with a long arm, hooked her waist, and pulled her back.
Shen Xuejin was crimson with embarrassment. "Second Young Master, let go."
Huo Nanchi released her.
The moment he let go, Shen Xuejin slumped to the floor. She looked up at him with eyes that seemed both misty and furious, like an angry kitten that had unsheathed its claws, only to retract them quickly upon realizing its opponent was someone it could not afford to provoke.
But the commotion had already alerted the people outside. Those ladies were already walking toward the room.
"I heard a sound inside just now. Could they be in there?"
"Second Miss Shen, your elder sister fell into the water; she must have gone back to change. Why would she be in such a remote place?"
Shen Wanya said deliberately, "I’ve checked the courtyard where she stays; she isn’t there. My elder sister has always acted according to her own whims. That was fine when she was at the Shen Residence, but now that we are guests at the Marquis Manor, I am worried she might do something inappropriate, disgracing the Shen family and offending the Marquis Manor."
She might as well have been accusing Shen Xuejin of meeting a secret lover.
Shen Xuejin’s heart leaped into her throat.
The ladies outside had already reached the door, and the next moment, they pushed it open.
Shen Xuejin’s fingertips trembled. If they saw her and Huo Nanchi like this, it would be impossible to explain.
More importantly, this would certainly infuriate Madam Huo, which would put both her and her mother in danger.
Shen Xuejin clenched her hands and looked up at Huo Nanchi, her clear eyes filled with a sliver of entreaty.
Huo Nanchi stood still.
Shen Xuejin’s eyes reddened, brimming with tears.
"I think my elder sister is in there. Let’s go in and see." Shen Wanya placed her hand on the door, but before she could push it open, it was pulled wide from the inside.
Seeing that it was Huo Nanchi who opened the door, Shen Wanya was surprised. "Second Young Master Huo, why are you here?"
Huo Nanchi’s tall frame blocked the view, and with Shen Xuejin huddled in the corner, the interior could not be seen.
"Huo Dao," Huo Nanchi called out coldly.
Huo Dao, who had been eating a tangerine outside the courtyard wall, shoved the rest of the fruit into his mouth, swallowed it whole, and leaped over the wall.
He grabbed Shen Wanya’s wrist and gave it a fierce shove; Shen Wanya nearly crashed to the ground.
Huo Dao clapped his hands. "Last time you tried to assassinate our young master, and now you’re causing trouble in the Marquis Manor. The people of the Shen family truly have no class."
The ladies gasped and scrambled back.
Huo Nanchi closed the door behind him. Dressed in jade-colored brocade, he walked toward Shen Wanya with his hands behind his back, while Huo Dao retreated a short distance away.
Shen Wanya had not intended for the man she dreamed of to see her in such a disheveled state, and she was both angry and anxious.
She hurried to stand up, twisting her painful wrist and acting aggrieved. "Second Young Master Huo, you misunderstood. I’m not causing trouble; I was looking for my elder sister. I’m just afraid she might do something untoward in the Marquis Manor."
"Second Young Master, you mustn’t be fooled by her delicate appearance. She is the best at knowing how to seduce men."
Inside the room, Shen Xuejin recalled those lush and absurd dreams, and overcome with shame and anger, the redness at the corners of her eyes deepened.
Shen Wanya must have assumed she had drowned and returned to the lake to check, but when she didn't see a floating corpse, she realized that whether Shen Xuejin had been rescued or crawled out on her own, if she were seen soaking wet, her reputation would be utterly ruined!
That was why Shen Wanya had rushed to round up some of the guests and hunted her down.
She hadn't expected that not only would Shen Xuejin not lose face, but she would be the one to lose hers.
"Regardless of how the eldest Miss Shen is doing, you as a person..." Huo Nanchi didn't finish his sentence, but the disdain and mockery on his face were more biting than any words.
Shen Wanya was left speechless. She had a hunch that something was wrong with that room, but with the grim-faced Huo Nanchi standing there, she didn't dare to barge in. She could only stomp her foot and leave.
The other ladies, seeing this, quickly followed. They worried that because of this, they had left a bad impression on the Second Young Master and Madam Huo, and they all began to resent Shen Wanya.
The courtyard fell silent. With a "creak," the door opened slowly. Shen Xuejin, wearing the cloak with the hood pulled up, walked out. She gave a slight curtsy to Huo Nanchi, who stood not far away, and hurried off, without the slightest intention of speaking to him.
Huo Nanchi’s eyes darkened.