The blue stone slabs in the back alley of the inn were slick with night dew. Ye Fan supported Qín Wǎnshuāng by the elbow as they stepped over a puddle, the half-sheet of cipher paper hidden in his sleeve warmed to a fever pitch by his body heat.
"Is Ah-Ye thinking of True Lord Shigu?" Qín Wǎnshuāng stopped abruptly, the shoulder lines under her male attire straight and rigid. "The confidential report from Hanmei Pavilion cannot be wrong. To seize our Great Chu's founding state tripod, that old wretch massacred the entire city of Yunzhou back then."
Ye Fan lowered his gaze to the silver hairpin askew by half an inch in her hair—the one she used to secure her wig when disguised as a man. She must have forgotten to straighten it in her haste to chase after him from the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Reaching out, he adjusted it for her, his fingertips brushing against the thin sweat behind her ear. "Let's return to the room first."
Chapter 133