Chapter 10: Who Are You, Really?

“I… I…”

Liu Fuying looked as if she were about to cry, her head lowered and her brows tightly furrowed.

“I know I shouldn’t have come again. Coming only upsets you, and I know it’s not right, but I just couldn’t help wanting to see you. I’ll leave now.”

With that, she indeed took a step, preparing to pass by Pei Zhouwu’s side.

But just as she had expected, Pei Zhouwu didn’t let her leave so easily. He reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Miss Yueying, last time was my fault.”

Though he didn’t want to admit it, the deepest voice in his heart constantly reminded him that while he disliked seeing pity from others, he also feared this boundless solitude.

Even when a bird that occasionally perched by his window flew away, he would feel lost and dazed for a long time.

In the past, surrounded by thousands of troops, with family and friends always by his side, he had never known what loneliness was. Yet in just these short six months, he had been tormented by this kind of loneliness—where even crying out to the heavens brought no response—to the brink of madness.

He needed companionship.

Even if it was just a bird, or a glowing firefly.

“Marquis Pei?”

Liu Fuying looked up at him, feigning surprise.

In truth, her heart was already filled with joy. She loved this feeling of being able to control the situation in her hands.

Pei Zhouwu offered no explanation. He simply released her wrist and handed her the iron chain hanging between his hands, gesturing for her to follow him.

Grasping this chain again, Liu Fuying’s state of mind was already different from the last time.

Back then, she was still filled with hesitation.

This time, she could face her ambitions with complete composure.

Once inside the room, Liu Fuying let go of the chain.

She watched as Pei Zhouwu went to the shelf by the bed, took a towel, and handed it to her, saying, “There’s nothing else, but it’s clean.”

“Alright, thank you, Marquis Pei.”

Liu Fuying showed no trace of disdain and quickly accepted it. Though the towel wasn’t particularly soft, it was clean and stiff, likely from frequent washing and sun exposure.

She turned to dry her hair, but her mind began to wander elsewhere.

Pei Zhouwu wore chains year-round, with the chain connecting both hands. Without removing them, he could neither put on nor take off his clothes. Yet he never carried any unpleasant odor. She wondered how he managed to bathe daily.

A thought suddenly crossed her mind, and she glanced inadvertently out the window.

Immediately, she understood.

There was a pond out there. He could simply soak in it, washing both his clothes and his body at once—quite convenient.

With this thought, an image inexplicably appeared in her mind: a handsome man undressing, revealing his chest as he entered the water.

What a sight that would be to witness firsthand.

Turning back, she had already suppressed her thoughts, leaving no trace visible.

“Thank you, Marquis.”

She handed the towel back but then withdrew it again.

“How about I go wash this for you?”

“No need.” Pei Zhouwu’s eyelids flickered slightly as he took the towel from her hand. “Just leave it. It’s fine.”

“Then…”

Liu Fuying glanced at the bed, walked over, and bent down.

“Let me wash these bedsheets for you. The sun is good today; they’ll dry quickly.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Pei Zhouwu set the towel down and turned to snatch the bedsheets from her hands. “I am a criminal. There’s no need for you to serve me like this. You really shouldn’t—”

“It’s alright. I’m used to doing these things.”

“Miss Su!”

Pei Zhouwu then grabbed Liu Fuying’s wrist, firmly stopping her.

Although he deliberately avoided speculating about her identity, her attire today still made him suspicious. She wore a green dress with gauze, the kind of fabric likely only affordable by high-ranking officials and noble families—even finer than what she had worn the two previous times they met.

To say she was just an ordinary maid…

He truly couldn’t believe it.

But if she were a young lady from a wealthy family, he couldn’t possibly let her do these chores for him. She lived a life of comfort and luxury at home—why would she endure such hardships here?

“Miss Su, if you continue like this, I really won’t allow you to come again.”

“I… I just wanted to help you.”

“These tasks are…”

Pei Zhouwu suddenly choked on his words, his gaze falling on the hand whose wrist he was holding.

Her palms and fingers bore calluses of varying degrees.

Such calluses could only be left by frequent, hard labor—and years of it at that.

How could a pampered young lady from a noble family have these?

Could it be that she really was…

Liu Fuying exerted some force to pull her hand back. Though her expression remained unchanged, she had intentionally let Pei Zhouwu notice the calluses on her hands.

After living like dirt in the Liu Family for so many years, washing clothes and chopping firewood were routine tasks.

Those hands had to soak in water even in the bitter cold of winter. With frostbite healing only to return, how could they not be rough? It was only in the past two years at the Shen Family that they had improved slightly.

“Please forgive my unsightly hands, esteemed uncle of the empress. A servant’s hands are indeed unpleasant to look at.”

Worried she might misunderstand him as looking down on her, Pei Zhouwu quickly tried to explain, “That’s not what I meant, I was saying…”

In the past, when he commanded thousands of troops, he considered himself quite eloquent.

But today, it seemed as if he couldn’t even speak properly.

His feelings were as conflicted as the identity of the person before him.

Just as he was about to speak again, a sudden commotion erupted outside.

Before Liu Fuying could even register what was happening, she saw Pei Zhouwu pick up a bamboo leaf that had fallen on the bed, pinch it between his fingers, and flick it toward the door.

Soon, an angry shout came from outside.

“My hair!”

“Pei Zhouwu, you bastard! How dare you act so arrogantly in this situation? I’ll see how long you last.”

It was likely a guard who had come to check.

Pei Zhouwu had mentioned that the guards would come in several times a day.

Not just the guards, even Liu Fuying was startled by Pei Zhouwu’s swift move. She knew he was highly skilled in martial arts, but she hadn’t expected such mastery—not only could he pinpoint the location by sound, but it also required profound internal energy to turn a bamboo leaf into a weapon.

It seemed he truly had no intention of leaving this place.

Otherwise, with his abilities, the guards outside probably couldn’t stop him at all.

“Did I… cause trouble for you?”

Suppressing the complex emotions in her heart, Liu Fuying played her role to the end.

“It’s fine.” Pei Zhouwu shook his head and explained, “They’re already used to it. Otherwise, they would have barged in by now.”

In the past, they might have stormed in, but they could never do anything to Pei Zhouwu. Instead, they suffered losses. Over time, they probably grew fearful, so they only dared to make threats from outside, not enter.

As long as they confirmed Pei Zhouwu was still alive and inside, that was enough.

Turning back, Pei Zhouwu looked at Liu Fuying. The words he had originally intended to say were interrupted, and now he couldn’t bring himself to say them. He simply looked at her, drenched from head to toe, and felt it was inappropriate.

“It’s fine, I’ll just dry off in the sun.”

Liu Fuying put on a considerate expression and moved to stand by the window where the sunlight could reach.

Pei Zhouwu was a prisoner, shackled year-round and unable to change clothes, so there were likely no spare garments in his room for her to change into and replace her wet attire.

“Whose maid are you?”