Chapter 43: A Night at the Inn

In her heart, of course, Shen Ji was more important.

…

As the group departed from the capital today, they were not as gloomy and downcast as others might have imagined. On the contrary, everyone was in a rather good mood.

Even the ever-composed Nanxing was uncharacteristically excited.

Nanxing rarely left the estate or met strangers. Today, she had suddenly met two newly-minted scholars, one of whom was even the Tanhua. Curious, she couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, I heard that the Tanhualang is the most handsome of all the new scholars. Is that true?”

“I’m not too sure,” Su Zhenyue said, shaking her head. “But I’ve heard that said as well.”

Ping An, who was driving the carriage up front, vaguely overheard their conversation. In disbelief, he turned his head and asked, “Are you talking about that Young Master Xie from earlier? Do you really think he’s better-looking than my young master?”

Nanxing quickly said, “That’s not what I meant. I was just asking out of curiosity.”

In her eyes, both men were handsome in their own way. She had only asked because she had once heard someone say that only the best-looking man would be chosen as the Tanhua.

“I think my young master is the truly handsome one. While that Young Master Xie is also good-looking, he’s a bit effeminate…”

At that moment, Shen Ji was riding ahead on his horse. Unaware of the preceding conversation, he suddenly heard Ping An’s comment and couldn’t help but frown. In a deep voice, he said, “Ping An, don’t speak nonsense. One’s appearance is a gift from one’s parents. How can you judge it so casually? What have I usually taught you? A gentleman judges by virtue, not by looks. Do not speak of others behind their backs.”

“Yes.” A chill went through Ping An’s heart. “I was wrong.”

His young master was absolutely right. They were leaving the capital today, and that Young Master Xie had even come specially to see them off. Yet he had privately called the man effeminate. It was indeed far too disrespectful.

Nanxing also felt a little abashed, her cheeks flushing red. After all, she had been the one to start the topic.

Su Zhenyue said nothing, merely recalling the face of the new Tanhua she had just seen. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt as if she had seen him somewhere before.

But she had known only a limited number of people in her life. No matter how she racked her brain, she couldn’t remember where she might have seen him.

Besides, for a personage like Tanhua Xie, if she had truly met him, she should have had an impression.

Perhaps she was mistaken.

Su Zhenyue stopped dwelling on it.

…

The carriage and horses traveled on. At dusk, the group passed through a small town and found an inn to stay for the night.

The inn was a two-story building of considerable size. The ground floor was for guests to have a quick meal, while the second floor was for lodging.

Seeing the group enter, a waiter hurried over to greet them, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. “Esteemed guests, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?”

“To stay. Two guest rooms, preferably next to each other,” Shen Ji said, then added, “We have a carriage and horses. Please trouble yourself to feed them some water and fodder. We can pay for it separately.”

“Right away,” the waiter readily agreed. “Two superior rooms—”

Ping An’s eyes widened, and he looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. Wait, only two rooms? How are we supposed to sleep in two rooms?

Shen Ji didn’t pay much attention to his expression and just told him to follow the waiter to stable the horses.

It was dusk, and the inn’s ground-floor hall was bustling with several tables of diners.

The moment Su Zhenyue stepped into the inn, many people looked over at her. For a time, all sorts of gazes, both overt and subtle, fell upon her.

She froze for a moment, subconsciously hiding behind Shen Ji.

Shen Ji moved with extreme speed, stepping in front of her. He gave her arm a light, reassuring pat while turning to face the crowd, his expression impassive.

He was very tall and wore a longsword at his waist. At this moment, his gaze was heavy and quite intimidating.

Realizing their impoliteness, the men quickly averted their gazes, lowered their heads, and continued eating, pretending nothing had happened.

Only then did Shen Ji look away. In a gentle voice, he said, “Don’t be afraid. We’re near the capital region, so it’s still relatively peaceful.”

Su Zhenyue nodded. “I know.”

She wasn’t scared; she was just a little uncomfortable being stared at by several strangers all of a sudden.

The waiter led them to their guest rooms.

Nanxing was a little annoyed with herself. “It was my oversight. I should have brought a veiled hat for you, Miss.”

Those men were so rude. Didn’t they know not to stare at what is improper? How could they keep gawking at a young lady?

Shen Ji lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Su Zhenyue’s beautiful and gentle face. A thought stirred in his heart, and he said, “Covering up with a veiled hat is not as good as wearing men’s clothing.”

With her figure and features, even with a veiled hat, others could tell at a glance that she was a beautiful woman.

“Men’s clothing?” Su Zhenyue recalled the time she and Shen Ji had secretly gone to pay respects to her father, and her eyes lit up. “That might just work.”

Thus, as soon as Ping An finished feeding the horses, he was given a new task: to go to the ready-made clothing shop across the street and purchase a few sets of men’s attire.

“Just buy a few sets in your size.”

Ping An waved his hand. “Young Master, I have enough clothes to wear.”

Shen Ji glanced at him. “They’re not for you.”

Ping An froze, then it dawned on him. “Oh, oh, I get it, I get it. I’ll go right now.”

There was that one time before when she had borrowed his new clothes. He understood, he understood.

The clothing shop was just opposite the inn and hadn’t closed for the day yet. Ping An was efficient, and before long, he returned to the inn with a parcel of clothes on his back.

Although they had booked two rooms, the four of them had dinner together in one room.

Being away from home, they didn’t distinguish between master and servant and simply ate at the same table.

The food outside couldn’t compare to that of the Jing An Marquis Estate. However, this inn did good business and had its own merits.

After dinner, Shen Ji took Ping An to the room next door.

Once the door was closed, Ping An wore a strange expression, looking as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating.

“What is it? If you have something to say, just say it.”

Ping An hesitated, but finally couldn’t hold back his question. “Young Master, aren’t you going to sleep in the same room as Miss Su?”

Shen Ji’s brow twitched. “What?”

“Didn’t you two perform the wedding ceremony today?” Ping An was confused. “Since you’ve performed the ceremony, you’re husband and wife. What kind of newlyweds sleep in separate rooms?”

When he heard his young master book only two rooms, Ping An had already prepared himself to make do in the hallway outside for the night.

He had thought, men and women should keep their distance. He couldn’t possibly share a room with Nanxing, could he?

Shen Ji pressed his temples and took a deep breath to calm himself, then explained patiently, “Today’s ceremony was due to circumstances and was mainly for others to see. It was too simple and too perfunctory. Once we’re settled, I will choose another wedding date and hold a proper wedding.”

“Ah?” Ping An was stunned. “So today’s doesn’t count?”

“It doesn’t count.”

—Back in the Jing An Marquis Estate today, Shen Ji had already made his decision: he would choose another wedding date in the future. Otherwise, he could have easily written out ancestral tablets for their parents on the spot before the ceremony.

How could a wedding that hadn’t been announced to both sets of parents be considered a wedding?

It would be too unfair to her.

“Alright.” Ping An’s head drooped, but he quickly adjusted his attitude and became enthusiastic again. “That works too. When we get to Anle County, we’ll invite lots of guests, hire more drummers, and rent a huge, huge bridal sedan. We’ll have the sedan circle the city several times.”

Shen Ji imagined the scene and nodded lightly. “Mm.”

…

Su Zhenyue, just a wall away, was not at all surprised by Shen Ji’s room arrangements.

Back in Chunhui Hall today, she could tell from his expression that he was not satisfied with this and would definitely hold another wedding in the future.

But Su Zhenyue truly didn’t care much about these things.

For her, today’s hasty ceremony meant, one, she could legitimately leave the capital with Shen Ji, and two, she was now a married woman in the eyes of others.

The thought that from now on, she would no longer have to worry about being betrothed to that tyrannical Yuan Ye filled her with joy. In high spirits, she opened the parcel and examined the newly bought men’s clothes with Nanxing.

Neither of them was particularly short, but having lived in the inner courtyards their whole lives, their skin was fair and their features beautiful. Suddenly changing into men’s attire, they didn’t quite look the part.

“We can apply some dark or yellow powder to our faces, and we’ll have to cover our ear piercings,” Su Zhenyue said, speaking like an expert from her past experience with men’s clothing. “If that’s still not enough, we can stick on a beard.”

As she spoke, Su Zhenyue even stroked her chin, mimicking a full beard.

Nanxing suppressed a laugh and nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Miss.”

The two of them gestured and posed for quite a while.

Su Zhenyue’s eyes curved into crescents, filled with mirth.

Seeing her so happy, Nanxing was both pleased for her and secretly amazed.

It seemed the young miss was genuinely happy.

Suddenly, a “knock, knock, knock” sounded at the door. The waiter had brought hot water.

After washing up, they saw it was getting late and went to rest.

Perhaps because so much had happened today, Su Zhenyue felt tired, but when she actually lay down on the bed, she wasn’t very sleepy. Moreover, she was used to sleeping alone and rarely shared a bed with anyone.

Sleeping with Nanxing tonight felt quite novel to her.

Seeing that Nanxing was also still awake, Su Zhenyue decided to whisper with her. “Nanxing, are you afraid to go to Anle County with me?”

“I’m not afraid,” Nanxing said, shaking her head.

To her, this was no different from accompanying her mistress to the Gu family. In any case, it was just going to a new place.

“But I’m a little bit afraid,” Su Zhenyue said in a small voice.

Nanxing was curious. “What are you afraid of, Miss?”

“I can’t quite put my finger on it right now,” Su Zhenyue smiled, then added, “But maybe I’m not that afraid.”

The hardest part was already over. How much harder could the future be?

Nanxing was even more confused by her cryptic words. But seeing that her mistress seemed to be in a very good mood, she smiled along with her.

…

Before ten o’clock, the inn gradually quieted down.

The walls of the inn were thin. During the day, when it was noisy outside, it wasn’t noticeable. But at night, when all was silent, every sense was magnified.

Shen Ji had practiced martial arts since childhood and had excellent hearing. Lying in bed, he could almost hear all the sounds from the next room.

Especially the soft, murmuring voices of the women. He could vaguely tell who was speaking, but he couldn’t make out the specific content.

In the darkness, Shen Ji’s eyes were slightly closed as he couldn’t help but guess what she was saying.

After a moment, he felt it was improper and deliberately let out a cough as a warning.

Sure enough, in the next instant, he heard a short, soft cry from the woman next door.

—The sudden sound of a cough had startled Su Zhenyue. She pointed at the wall, then at her ear.

Nanxing was also taken aback.

Neither of them had expected the walls to be so thin that they could hear sounds from the next room. They were both embarrassed and amused at the same time.

Fortunately, they hadn’t said anything incriminating, but they didn’t dare to make another sound.

Lying there quietly, it wasn’t long before drowsiness crept in, and Su Zhenyue gradually fell asleep.

In a daze, she seemed to be dreaming again.

The dream was set after she had fallen off the cliff and been rescued by that mysterious masked man. The mysterious man was a loner and seemed to have no friends. During the time he was treating her injuries, only one person had come to see him.

That person was not old, but he wore a large beard.

In a flash, a thought seemed to flicker through her mind, but she was too drowsy and couldn’t quite grasp it.

The next morning, when Su Zhenyue got up, she happened to see the men’s clothes Ping An had bought yesterday. As her thoughts turned, she couldn’t help but recall the scene from last night when she and Nanxing were trying on the men’s attire.

A few disjointed images flashed rapidly before her eyes.

Su Zhenyue’s body trembled uncontrollably.

She thought she might know why Xie Lanxiu had looked somewhat familiar.

It wasn’t her imagination yesterday.

If that young Tanhualang were a few years older and also had a large beard, then… then he would look exactly like the mysterious man’s friend from her dream.

And the mysterious man had even called that bearded man “Third Xie.”

Both had the surname Xie.

Heavens, why hadn’t she thought of it yesterday?

Su Zhenyue thought it was probably because the Tanhualang had red lips and white teeth, with a beauty like a fair maiden, making him so different from the bearded man that it was hard to connect the two.

Wait, if Tanhua Xie was “Third Xie,” then who was the mysterious man?

“Miss? Miss?” Seeing her in a daze, Nanxing called out softly, “What’s wrong?”

Su Zhenyue came back to her senses. “It’s nothing.”

She had just suddenly thought of an old acquaintance who might not even be an acquaintance.

After breakfast, the group continued on their journey.

Sitting in the carriage, Su Zhenyue was a little absent-minded.

It was one thing when she didn’t know anything. But now that she had suddenly realized Tanhua Xie might know that mysterious man, her curiosity was instantly piqued.

In that long dream, the mysterious man had saved her when she was on the verge of death, given her food, and treated her injuries. At that time, knowing her days were numbered and bent on revenge, she had seen that he had many hidden weapons. She had gone to great lengths to take some sleeve arrows from him and had left without a word.

She had wronged him somewhat.

But she didn’t even know what he looked like or what his name was.

Lifting the carriage curtain, Su Zhenyue saw Shen Ji on horseback and composed herself. “Cousin.”

“Hm?” Shen Ji urged his horse closer.

Su Zhenyue asked tentatively, “That Young Master Xie from yesterday, is he the third-ranked son in his family?”

Shen Ji’s brow twitched slightly, and he spoke very slowly. “You’re asking about Xie Lanxiu?”

“Xie Lanxiu? Mm, yes.” Su Zhenyue didn’t know the Tanhualang’s full name.

Shen Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and tightened his grip on the reins. “I don’t know. I’m not familiar with him.”

“Oh.” Su Zhenyue lowered her eyes.

Fine, if he didn’t know, he didn’t know.

Shen Ji glanced at her and asked, seemingly nonchalantly, “You’re very curious about him?”

Her absent-mindedness today, could it be because she was thinking about this?

“Not at all.” Su Zhenyue thought to herself that the person she was truly curious about was someone else. But when she turned her gaze and saw Shen Ji’s strange expression, she blinked, and a sudden insight struck her.

Shen Ji seemed to mind her asking about that Tanhua Xie.

Recalling Nanxing’s question and Ping An’s comparison from yesterday, Su Zhenyue belatedly realized that her inquiry just now might have been inappropriate.

With a small smile, she explained gently, “I was just idle and asked casually. If he weren’t a friend of yours, Cousin, I wouldn’t have asked at all.”

In her heart, of course, Shen Ji was more important.

As for “Third Xie” and the mysterious man, she could think about them later. In any case, they were now on their way to Anle County, while that Tanhua Xie remained in the capital. It was impossible for her to turn back to ask him about it.

Besides, even if she did find out, so what?

She was now on a completely different path from the one in her dream. She would not be thrown off a cliff, nor would she be rescued by anyone. She and that mysterious man would have no intersection in this life.

Rather than exploring a nebulous dream, it was better to live her current life well.

Having thought this through, Su Zhenyue smiled again. “Cousin, would you like something to eat? I have some cherries here. They’ve been washed.”

As she spoke, she took out a small dish from a hidden compartment in the carriage. On the dish were more than a dozen washed cherries.

Their color was a vibrant red, exquisite and translucent.

She carefully held up the entire dish of cherries toward Shen Ji.

These were a gift from the eldest young lady, Gu Yuanzhen, who had stuffed them into her hands as they were leaving the Jing An Marquis Estate, telling her to eat them on the road.

Shen Ji’s gaze shifted slightly. “Just one is fine.”

“Mm.” Su Zhenyue was also worried that the cherries on the dish would be jolted out as the carriage moved. Hearing him say that, she simply put the dish back in the carriage and picked out one large, red cherry to hand over. “Hurry and try it. It’s very sweet.”

Ping An, driving the carriage, heard the commotion and quickly pulled on the reins.

The carriage came to a temporary halt.

Shen Ji didn’t reach out to take it. Instead, he remained on his horse, level with the carriage curtain, and leaned down, lowering his head.

Su Zhenyue only felt a warmth on her fingertip, and the cherry in her hand was gone.

And Shen Ji had already straightened up again, his gaze profound. “Mm, it is very sweet.”

Su Zhenyue was stunned for a moment. She lowered her eyes to look at her fingers, which were clean and fair.

But it was as if the warm touch still lingered on her fingertip.

Her eyelashes trembled, and her face slowly turned red.