Since the thief did not even take the painting from the Golden Scale Pavilion, it was natural to assume he would not leave either. It would be too obvious to use lightness skills to climb over the wall and escape; they could only sneak out the back door.
While examining the palms of everyone in the Golden Scale Pavilion, Chu Xinian carefully observed each maid in the room. Finally, he spotted one that stood out.
No, it should not be said that she stood out; it would be more accurate to say that she was ordinary. Her facial features were remarkably plain, so no matter how many times you looked at her, you couldn’t remember her.
Dim eyebrows, eyes that were neither large nor small, a nose that was neither high nor straight, lips that were neither thick nor thin… she was like a colorless ink painting, with only a faint, indistinct shade, impossible to discern.
Chu Xinian still remembered that Prince Guangping had mentioned the Thief of a Thousand Faces’ exceptional ability to camouflage himself. And this kind of ordinary face was like a natural canvas, possessing excellent conditions for disguise.
He slyly watched the servant and inadvertently overheard her conversation with the butler, mentioning that she was going out to buy embroidered silk. Hence, he had the coachman drive the carriage to the back door, waiting for the opportunity to catch her.
Xie Jingyuan could not understand why Chu Xinian insisted on catching a petty thief, and because of the sachet incident, he spoke with a hint of coldness, “Is it worth your while to chase a petty thief?”
Chu Xinian replied, “General, don’t you know the saying ‘use the talent without using the person’? Although she is a thief, she possesses skills that ordinary people cannot match. We could use her.”
His words had a deeper meaning, but before Xie Jingyuan could comprehend them, he saw a maid in a pink dress cautiously peek out from the back door of Prince Guangping’s residence. She had plain features, a round white face, and the only touch of color was her coal-black eyes. She looked to be about fifteen years old.
Xie Jingyuan frowned and noticed that the woman walked silently, showing light and elegant footwork. She was an expert in lightness techniques.
Chu Xinian smiled and said, “General, the fish is out. Can you catch it?”
Hearing this, Xie Jingyuan narrowed his long eyes slightly and replied irritably, “Do you want this General to catch a woman for you?”
He realized that Chu Xinian had been somewhat restless lately, with an excessive number of romantic entanglements. But now, it was too far to ask him to catch a woman.
Chu Xinian took his hand and persuaded him in a soft voice, “This person is of great use. General, please help me this time.”
Xie Jingyuan remained silent.
Qian Qian, a petty thief who had recently made a name for herself in the Capital, felt that she had been unlucky today. Not only had she failed to steal the famous painting she had targeted, but she had also inexplicably witnessed a murder.
Her thinking process can be broadly divided into the following two stages:
#Damn it, my stolen painting has been discovered!#
#Damn it, the maid next to me has murdered someone!#
In conclusion, Qianqian felt that Prince Guangping’s residence was not a good place at all. Her instincts and experience from years of thievery told her that leaving was the best option, as staying would only bring trouble.
Because of the murder that had taken place, Prince Guangping’s residence was now in chaos, with everyone minding their own business. Qianqian secretly slipped out the back door, intending to leave. However, before she reached the street corner, a sudden numbness struck her lower back and she was paralyzed through an acupuncture attack. Subsequently, she was thrown into a carriage in a dazed state.
“Here is the person you were looking for.”
Xie Jingyuan tossed the maid in the pink dress in front of Chu Xinian, frowning and wiping his hands with a handkerchief. She was nothing more than a petty thief, skilled in light techniques perhaps, but not much of a fighter. She was quickly handicapped with a single move aimed at her vital point.
Chu Xinian had not expected Xie Jingyuan to act so quickly, and he raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. He ordered the coachman to drive the carriage back to the mansion and then reverted his gaze to the servant in front of him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Qian Qian was deeply impressed by Chu Xinian – wasn’t he the person who had discovered the painting today! A sense of wariness silently arose within her, and she secretly regretted that even after walking along the riverbank for so many years, she still sometimes had wet shoes.
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Chu Xinian remained as serene as a gentle breeze and a bright moon. He watched her carefully, neither annoyed nor angry, but simply smiled and said, “A beauty like you, why resort to theft?”
Qian Qian’s heart skipped a beat at his words, “What are you talking about Lord Chu? I don’t understand.”
Chu Xinian pointed to the puffy sleeves of her clothes, “Miss, you must hide many valuable things in your clothes. If I were to take them to the Prince, what do you think would happen?”
A thief does not go away empty-handed. Since she had failed to steal the painting, she naturally needed to make up for it by stealing other things, such as jewelry.
Qian Qian instinctively covered her sleeves at his words, realizing that she had found herself in a difficult situation. She wanted to escape, but the man in the mask had been watching her all this time with a chilling gaze, making her tremble from head to toe.
Gritting her teeth, Qia Qian said, “Lord Chu, capturing me can’t be to deliver me to the Prince, can it? If you have something to say, say it.”
However, Chu Xinian did not reply, saying, “Let’s talk when we get to the mansion.”
Xie Jingyuan’s deep gaze calmly swept over Qian Qian, causing her spine to shiver under his intense scrutiny. He then curved his lips and let out a chuckle, “He wants to take you back as his thirteenth concubine.”
Chu Xinian immediately looked over, saying, “General, please stop making groundless remarks.”
Xie Jingyuan raised an eyebrow and asked, “Isn’t that right?”
Chu Xinian, “Of course not.”
“No? Well, that makes things easier.”
Xie Jingyuan’s gaze finally softened, no longer as sharp as a knife. However, Qianqian still didn’t feel the least bit comfortable. When the carriage arrived at the mansion, she was taken directly to a guest room.
The surrounding furniture was neither extravagant nor shabby, but it was better than a cell. Several highly skilled guards stood outside, making escape almost impossible.
Chu Xinian was in no hurry to interrogate her. He decided to make her wait overnight and see how she reacted. A maid attended to her, changing her clothes, and Qianqian lay down on the bed with her eyes closed to rest. After all, too much had happened today, and it had taken its toll on her mental energy.
Thinking that Chu Xinian seemed to have fallen asleep, Xie Jingyuan walked behind a screen and casually searched through the clothes he had changed into. However, no matter where he looked, he could not find what he wanted, leaving him somewhat frustrated.
“General, are you looking for this?”
Chu Xinian seemed to have his eyes on his back. He rested a hand behind his head and held a delicate sachet between his fingers. He waved it in front of Xie Jingyuan, not even bothering to open his eyes, but his voice carried a hint of amusement.
Caught red-handed, Xie Jingyuan couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Seeing that Chu Xinian was still clutching the sachet, he gritted his teeth silently and went straight to sit on the edge of the bed, “What, Lord Chu is infatuated and wants to marry a pretty girl?”
His narrow eyes stared at Chu Xinian, no trace of expression escaping his face.
Chu Xinian corrected him without directly answering his question, “General, in my family, I am the second son.”
Ignoring his words, Xie Jingyuan directly grabbed the bag, but Chu Xinian did not let go. They both clung to it, silently exerting force against each other.
Chu Xinian opened his eyes, his smile turned ambiguous. He spoke softly, “General, have you forgotten? I said if you wanted the sachet, you should offer something in return.”
Xie Jingyuan could snatch it from him since Chu Xinian was physically weaker than him. However, for some reason, he felt that snatching it from him would not be interesting, and exchanging it would not be interesting either. It would be better if Chu Xinian gave it to him willingly.
Coldly raising an eyebrow, Xie Jingyuan felt even more annoyed, “If I don’t exchange, what will you do?”
Chu Xinian’s smile deepened, “If the General doesn’t exchange, then the sachet naturally belongs to me.”
As he spoke, he exerted a little force and took the sachet, opening it in front of Xie Jingyuan with interest, “I wonder if the General thinks there might be a letter hidden inside.”
A woman who used a sachet to express her affection would surely have letters to communicate inside.
Xie Jingyuan felt a sudden tightness in his heart when he saw Chu Xinian open the sachet, but he couldn’t help a sneer, “So what if there is a letter inside? A tattered sachet, a piece of scrap paper, and it makes your heart flutter?”
“General, you are unaware that this precious object represents more than its physical value; it holds sentimental significance.”
To Chu Xinian’s surprise, he pulled a letter from the sachet. However, before he could open it, something small struck his chest. Without having a chance to examine it closely, he saw Xie Jingyuan reach out his hand and coldly say, “Hand over the sachet. I’ll exchange it for my jade pendant. You should be satisfied now, right?”
Chu Xinian instinctively handed him the sachet.
Xie Jingyuan took the sachet and originally intended to throw it into the furnace to burn it. But looking at it, he felt that doing so would be extremely useless. Without a word, he entered the inner room, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes to sleep.
The curtains fell, hiding his figure.
Only now did Chu Xinian have a clear view of what he held in his hands. It was the jade pendant that Xie Jingyuan always wore, engraved with the character “Lan Ting”. He still remembered the last time he looked at it a little longer, causing the other person’s displeasure. Xie Jingyuan had ominously uttered a series of threatening words.
Chu Xinian did not know what secrets lay behind this piece of jade or what it represented, but he could vaguely speculate that it was of great importance to Xie Jingyuan.
And yet, Xie Jingyuan just gave it to him just like that?
All for exchanging it for an insignificant sachet?
Chu Xinian held the jade pendant that still retained warmth, stunned for a long while. Then he looked at the person lying in the inner room, pondering something in his heart. He rose silently and approached.
“General?” Chu Xinian’s voice was deep and soft, like his demeanor: neither hurried nor impatient. He sat down beside the bed and saw Xie Jingyuan with his back to him. He asked, “General, are you asleep?”
“…”
Xie Jingyuan kept his eyes closed and remained silent. The sachet was lying casually near the pillow, looking lonely.
Seeing that Xie Jingyuan was ignoring him, Chu Xinian smiled. He removed his outer garment, as usual, and slipped under the sheet, drawing the person into his arms from behind to keep warm.
Xie Jingyuan frowned, about to push him away, but Chu Xinian held out a hand before him. With slender fingertips tracing several circles around a red thread, the end of the thread held a beautifully colored jade pendant, neatly engraved with the characters “Lan Ting.”
“Lan… Ting…”
Chu Xinian, behind him, suddenly recited these two characters slowly, causing Xie Jingyuan’s body to go rigid.
“This item is probably important to the General. Take it back. I was just casually talking earlier, there’s no need to take it seriously.”
Xie Jingyuan did not move.
Thinking that he was still angry, Chu Xinian took the sachet from the pillow and gently tossed it toward the heater in the nearby room that was used for warmth. A cloud of smoke rose and the object was instantly burnt beyond recognition.
Chu Xinian explained, “Actually, I didn’t want it. I just felt it was wrong to casually throw away someone else’s belongings.”
Xie Jingyuan finally spoke up and looked at him, “Then why did you throw it away?”
Chu Xinian rested his head on the pillow and smiled at him, “I was afraid you would be unhappy, General.”
After speaking, he extended the jade pendant towards Xie Jingyuan.
“Take it back, General.”
Xie Jingyuan’s back pressed tightly against Chu Xinian’s burning chest, and for a moment, he felt that the temperature was somewhat scorching. He listened to Chu Xinian’s explanation and lowered his gaze, hiding the emotions in his eyes. His tone was harsh as he said, “If I give it to you, keep it. I never take back the things I give away.”
Chu Xinian looked at the jade pendant in his hand, still hesitating, “But…”
“But what?” Xie Jingyuan finally turned to look at him, his gaze unkind. His fingertip lightly tapped Chu Xinian’s chest, drawing a circle over his heart, and he said with a mischievous smile, “If you feel guilty for taking it for nothing, how about you cut a piece of flesh from your body and give it to me?”
Chu Xinian felt his heartbeat quicken. He instinctively grasped Xie Jingyuan’s restless hand and also suppressed the subtle tingle in his heart, “General, what would you do with my flesh? I am not Tang Sanzang, eating it won't grant you immortality, will it?”
The jade pendant lay between their touching hands, the pressure became somewhat uncomfortable.
Xie Jingyuan looked at Chu Xinian, not responding to his words. He merely looked at the jade pendant and said, “Wear it. Without my permission, you cannot take it off.”
Somehow, Chu Xinian agreed.
Xie Jingyuan added, “Besides, from now on, you are not allowed to accept sachets from women. From any woman.”
Chu Xinian laughed mockingly, feeling that this demand was unreasonable, “What if they insist on throwing it at me?”
Xie Jingyuan grimaced coldly, “Can’t you throw it back?”
The author has something to say:
Chu Xinian: QAQ Okay, I’ll do it.
Xie Jingyuan was a little flirty with tracing Chu Xinian’s chest 🤭 I wonder what significance the name “Lan Ting” has!
Thank you for the update.
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
Can’t you throw it back, has me CRYING
Xie jingyuan is such a jelly little hubby 😂 reminds me of lan wangji and his jealousness when wei wuxian accepted that one girl’s medicinal sachet