Chapter 16: Bare from the Waist Up

“Old Consort Dowager Qi has granted me a few days’ rest from duty, so I don’t need to return until the day after tomorrow.”

Pei Zhouwu did not reply, growing increasingly curious about what had happened to her.

But fearing it might upset her, he dared not ask.

“Or… if Marquis Pei does not wish for me to stay here, I can leave.”

Hearing her words, Pei Zhouwu let out a soft sigh and replied, “See, you always belittle yourself like this. If I had any disdain for you, I would have long since thrown you into the pond and left you to fend for yourself.”

“Yes.”

Liu Fuying seemed to smile through her tears, her tone much lighter now.

“Marquis Pei is a good person.”

Her relaxation also eased Pei Zhouwu’s tension, and the movements of him holding and swaying the clothes became much more natural.

“In this world, I’m afraid you’re the only one who thinks I’m a good person,” he said.

“How could that be? Your family and loved ones must believe in you too.”

“Believing is one thing; whether they blame me is another.”

“Then…” Liu Fuying hesitated, asking a question she had long wanted to know, “Are you unwilling to escape from here because of your family?”

Pei Zhouwu did not answer immediately. Lowering his gaze, he appeared to focus intently on the clothes in his hands, afraid they might fall into the fire.

In reality, his thoughts had likely drifted far away.

“You should know as well,” he said quietly, continuing his response, “I am imprisoned here awaiting the results of a thorough investigation. If I escape, it would imply guilt and confirm my rebellious intentions. By then…”

By then, his family and parents, as well as the Empress and the Crown Prince, would all be implicated.

Liu Fuying thought to herself, just as she had guessed.

He would rather suffer himself than let his family endure hardship.

“I don’t believe you would rebel. Someone must have wrongfully accused you.”

Liu Fuying’s words were resolute, as if she had already seen the truth. While other words might have been part of an act for his sake, this one came from sincerity—she genuinely believed that someone like Pei Zhouwu would never betray his sovereign or country.

“You’re so certain?”

Though he asked this, Pei Zhouwu’s sidelong glance held a hint of anticipation.

“Of course,” Liu Fuying replied without hesitation, steadfast in her trust. “If you were a vicious, treasonous rebel, why would you go out of your way to save me? What good would it do you? If someone discovered I was here, it would only bring you trouble. Not only did you save my life, but you also sent me away safely and honorably.”

“I don’t believe a word of what they say.”

Pei Zhouwu’s eyes sparkled like stars. He did not respond, only saying, “You’re still weak and need to rest properly.”

“Alright, alright.”

Liu Fuying agreed repeatedly, her face turned away as a triumphant smile slowly curved her lips.

Though he said nothing, she could feel the closeness between them growing.

With things progressing like this, a child would soon be on the way.

When Pei Zhouwu finished drying the clothes and cautiously glanced back, he saw that Liu Fuying had already pulled the quilt over herself.

Upon closer look, only gentleness remained in his eyes.

He had already seen enough of her bare from the waist up. Any more might have the opposite effect.

So, she had very timely pulled the quilt over herself.

The clothes were dried, and Pei Zhouwu’s face was soaked with sweat. Baking by the fire in such heat, even at night, was unbearably stifling. Yet, from start to finish, he never uttered a single word of complaint or sought credit, silently completing the task.

On the surface, Liu Fuying appeared to have already fallen asleep.

In reality, her heart was filled with constant sighs.

It was the same sigh as before: if Pei Zhouwu were Shen Xiunian, how much happier she would be.

Not long after, Pei Zhouwu left, carrying the charcoal brazier.

The candle was blown out, the door was closed, leaving only the rustling of bamboo leaves stirred by the night wind outside the window.

Liu Fuying found a comfortable position and fell into a deep sleep.

This sleep turned out to be exceptionally restful.

When she rose in the morning, she didn’t see Pei Zhouwu in the courtyard, nor by the pool in the backyard. Guessing he was likely in the large house at the front, this gave her the perfect opportunity to leave.

Entering the water, the clothes Pei Zhouwu had painstakingly dried the night before were soaked through once again.

She returned to Changmingguan.

By the time Pei Zhouwu stood before the bedroom door with a bowl in hand, the room was already empty.

He knocked on the door several times, but there was no response.

He wondered to himself: Could she have truly caught a chill last night?

He knocked twice more, deliberately louder, but still received no reply. Convinced she must be ill, he pushed the door open only to find the bed empty. Setting the bowl down, he immediately turned and went out to search.

Having already noticed the courtyard was empty when he arrived earlier, he first headed to the Deep Pool.

The pool was still, and the shore was deserted.

He checked the bamboo grove behind the house as well. The area was only so large, with nowhere else to hide.

The only possibility was that she had gone out.

Again… leaving so abruptly.

But then, a thought suddenly struck him. Last night, she had mentioned setting traps in the forest. Perhaps she had gone to check on them. Moreover, she had said she had several days of rest and wouldn’t be leaving the mountain or the city until the day after tomorrow.

If that were the case, she would surely return.

He returned to the bedroom and sat by the window as he had done countless times in the quiet days of the past, yet his state of mind alone had changed.

When there was someone to wait for, the days didn’t feel as unbearable.

The bowl of porridge on the table went from steaming hot to cold at the bottom. He waited until the sun shifted to noon, until the guards delivered lunch, and even past noon, but she still hadn’t returned.

Pei Zhouwu didn’t touch any of the food.

So much time had passed—enough to cross a mountain. Why hadn’t she returned yet?

Pei Zhouwu’s reflection shimmered in the water before the pool, with steam rising from the surface, a testament to the intensity of the afternoon sun. Yet he stood there motionless for a long time.

Had something happened while she was checking the traps? Had she fallen off another cliff like last time?

Or had she been taken back by the Prince’s Mansion?

An intense unease drove Pei Zhouwu to unbearable anxiety. In the end, he took a step forward, but paused abruptly as his foot touched the water.

He turned back, gazing toward the front of the courtyard.

Outside, a large pendulum clock hung in front of the guard camp. The moment he was discovered missing, that clock would be struck. Its sound could travel down the mountain, echoing throughout all of Shangjing City, and soon the imperial guards would likely surround the entire Pei family.

Thinking of this, he silently withdrew the foot he had stepped out.

Yet his expression showed no sign of relief or ease.

“Su Yueying.”

“What exactly is going on with you?”

“You make me pity you, think of you, yet time and again, you leave me restless.”

He raised his head, squinted at the sun, then, as if having made up his mind, stepped back into the water.

This was the third time he had left the pool.

The first was when he had quietly discovered it and taken a look; the second was when he had sent her out last time; and this was the third.

Fortunately, the iron chains on his hands were not as short as those on his feet, giving him more room to maneuver. It was also fortunate that he was a strong swimmer, or he would never have been able to navigate the long, deep passage underwater.

Finally emerging from the water again, his first reaction was not to gasp for breath.