Nine thousand and nine.

The three women before him were trembling like chaff in the wind.

The one in the middle looked somewhat guileless and round, draped in a red cloak with hairpins dangling so precariously they seemed ready to fall, and adorned with clattering ornaments that lacked even a hint of elegance; she was said to be a young lady from the Huaiyuan Marquis’s estate. Another was slighter and thin, her eyes darting nervously as she huddled at the very back like a frightened quail.

Of the three, the most composed was the young wife who claimed to be a maidservant.

Pei Yannian no longer cared to discern what was true and what was false. He shifted his stance and began to walk straight toward them.

From a distance, he had already seemed formidable. But as the man strode forward with an expressionless face, the sheer power of his tall, broad frame was overwhelming. Truth be told, Pei San did not possess a vicious countenance; on the contrary, while he lacked the delicate refinement sought by the young gentlemen of the day, he had clear, open features and a spirited, heroic bearing. However, he rarely smiled. Now, with his brow furrowed and a sharp, piercing gaze fixed upon them, the lethal aura he had cultivated from years on the battlefield made one’s hair stand on end.

Qingfei and Qingcui, unaware of Pei San’s background, were so terrified they dared not speak. Watching him draw nearer, Qingcui clung to Qingfei, shaking violently.

"Miss Jiang?"

"Ah, yes, that’s me." Qingfei held out an arm in a defensive gesture, shielding everyone behind her, and managed to force out, "W-what do you want?"

Jiang Xinyue thought that her maid was not entirely useless; at the very least, she was much tougher than she had expected.

Pei Yannian looked at his young wife, who kept her head bowed, and said in a deep voice, "I have some matters to discuss with her. Could you two go wait outside?"

Jiang Xinyue squeezed Qingfei’s arm, signaling her not to agree. She had no desire to be alone with Pei San.

Just as Qingfei was about to refuse, she met the man’s heavy gaze. She stared at the defined muscles of his arms, visible even beneath his clothing, and swallowed nervously. She glanced sideways at her young mistress, her voice trembling.

"Uh? Should I say no... or yes?"

"I only wish to speak with her for a moment." Pei San turned his body, stepping aside to clear a path. He flicked his gaze toward the other two, his voice cold. "Will you go yourselves, or shall I escort you?"

It sounded like a threat regardless of how one interpreted it.

Qingfei’s legs turned to jelly; she nearly collapsed to the ground, daring neither to leave nor to offer a rebuttal. Qingcui was equally terrified, her face deathly pale, looking as though she might faint.

Jiang Xinyue was roaring internally, vowing to dock their wages when they returned. But no matter how reluctant she was, seeing the paper-white, pitiful state of her two maids, she could not bring herself to be heartless. She gritted her teeth and gave Qingfei a nudge from behind. "Go on, you two wait outside for now."

"Very well."

Qingfei’s legs suddenly regained their strength. She stood upright, grabbed the near-fainting Qingcui, and the two hobbled toward the mouth of the alley.

Jiang Xinyue stared in disbelief.

Once the two figures vanished from the narrow alley, the man’s presence became even more impossible to ignore, and she felt the space grow even more claustrophobic. Mentally cycling through every terrifying scenario, she saw his shadow fall over her and instinctively raised her hands to cover her face. "Don't hit my face!"

But the expected pain never came.

She couldn't help but part her fingers slightly, peering through the gap to see Pei San’s heavy gaze fixed upon her.

"When have I ever hit you?" Pei Yannian’s tone was unreadable.

Jiang Xinyue thought to herself, you’ve killed people, so what does hitting matter?

But she dared not argue. She awkwardly lowered her hands and explained, "I thought you would be angry that I left without saying goodbye."

Was Pei Yannian angry? Naturally, he was.

He had woken up from the sedatives the next morning to find his young wife gone. At that time, he hadn’t imagined she would leave him of her own accord, assuming instead that Liu Erniu had taken revenge and abducted Qiaoqiao. That wave of worry and panic had surged over him; he had stormed out, beaten Liu Erniu and his gang of thugs half to death, and only then realized that Qiaoqiao had left on her own. When someone from Qian County came to report that his warhorse had been sold, he had rushed over. Piecing the events together, he realized a fact that shocked him even more: Qiaoqiao had planned to leave long ago.

And yet, hadn't she told him she admired him and wanted to spend her life by his side? Why, then, had she been planning her departure in secret?

Recalling this, Pei Yannian’s chest heaved, his anger difficult to suppress. In the shadows, his face darkened, his jawline taut and firm. He forcibly tamped down his rage and asked, "Have I not treated you well?"

Jiang Xinyue didn’t answer. She kept her head down, twisting her fingers together, glancing up at him from time to time with a look of乖巧 (meek, obedient) helplessness.

"Speak!" Pei Yannian grew even angrier, his voice rising. "You dared to run away, so why play the mute now? If I hadn't found you, who knows where you’d be living it up right now? Chu Qiaoqiao, speak!"

His young wife jumped, and when she looked up again, her eyes were red-rimmed. Her bright, clear eyes were glazed with tears, looking at him with nervous, fearful bewilderment, her teeth biting down on her red lip.

Pei Yannian remembered that the first time he had picked her up, she had looked at him exactly the same way. Chu Qiaoqiao loved to play the innocent, while hiding countless little schemes behind his back.

He hardened his heart and said, "Explain."

But the next moment, his body went uncontrollably rigid.

His delicate, soft young wife had walked up to him, wrapping her slender arms around his waist, her messy hair—disheveled from running—gently rubbing against his chest. A pleasant, faint fragrance drifted from her, winding around him in delicate threads.

Pei Yannian paused, then pushed her away, his tone sour. "What is this for?"

But as soon as he pushed her away, the young wife, as if she possessed no bones, leaned back against him softly.

"Don't play these tricks, Chu Qiaoqiao. I want an explanation." Pei Yannian pushed her away again, though this time he hesitated longer.

Jiang Xinyue was exceptionally perceptive when it came to reading emotions. Sensing the hesitation in the man’s movements, she fearlessly hugged his waist again, pitching her voice to sound even sweeter and more cloying. "Don't be fierce with me, please. I'm scared."

Pei Yannian pushed at her shoulders; when he couldn't "push" her away, he let his hands rest on her shoulders instead. He was still wearing his training attire from the camp—broad-shouldered, narrow-sleeved, the smooth, sharp lines of his frame tightening as they descended, exuding a sense of vigorous strength and beauty. He was like tempered steel, unyielding and eternal.

And there, resting upon his waist, were a pair of pale, tender hands—as soft as porcelain or jade, devoid of any force, as if they would be crushed by a mere squeeze, yet they held onto him firmly.

Pei Yannian’s tone was fierce, but it carried a hint of bluffing. "When have I ever been fierce to you?"

He then pursed his lips, refusing to be easily swayed. "You planned to run away long ago, and now you think you’re in the right?"

"I wasn't planning to run away," Jiang Xinyue said, lacking confidence but forcing a lie anyway. "I just left and forgot to tell you beforehand, that’s all."

"What’s the difference?" Pei Yannian raised an eyebrow, not buying it.

"Of course there is! I just intended to finish my business and then come find you. Who knew an accident would happen in between?"

Jiang Xinyue’s brain was spinning rapidly, yet her words came out without a single stutter, as if she were stating a simple fact.

"You know about the bandits I encountered back then. But I already liked you a bit at the time, and I was afraid you’d think I was just a lowly maid, so I lied and claimed to be a young lady from a good family searching for relatives."

"In reality, that wasn't the case. I am just a common servant, and my young mistress was involved in the same incident. I grew up with her, and hearing that people were looking for her, I thought I would go to Qian County and tell them what I knew to help them find her."

"I originally intended to go and return immediately, but an accident occurred, and I ended up following them back to the capital."

The excuse sounded plausible, but upon closer inspection, it wouldn't hold up to scrutiny. Pei Yannian was not dim-witted; he pointed out the most critical flaw. "Then why did you lie to me at the beginning? And the sedative was your doing too, wasn't it?"

Jiang Xinyue, having finished her tall tale and thinking about how to win Pei San over, answered smoothly, "That’s only because you were not presentable."

The man didn't speak; his eyes narrowed slightly, obsidian orbs glinting with a dangerous light. "What do you mean by that?"

Hearing the man’s tone turn unpleasant again, cold sweat broke out on Jiang Xinyue’s forehead. She stuttered slightly but quickly regained her flow. "You... didn't you kill so many bandits? Young Master Xu is from an official family; what if he decides to arrest you? What would I do then?"

Her tone dropped. "I didn't want you to know I was just a maid. What if you only like wealthy young ladies and decide you don't want me anymore?"

As she said this, she looked up at the man who could easily lock her firmly in his embrace. A single crystal tear escaped, pressing against her long lashes before trailing down her porcelain-white, luminous cheek.

Seeing the man’s expression gradually soften, she couldn't help but feel a flash of triumph—the timing of that tear had been perfect. If she had a tail behind her, it would likely be wagging in the air.

Pei Yannian, on one hand, truly could not bear to see her cry, and on the other, he felt that since she had been found, dwelling on the cause and effect no longer held much meaning.

He reached out to wipe away her tears, the delicate sensation lingering on his skin. He sighed, "When did I say I didn't want you? My marrying you had nothing to do with your status."

"I don't want to dwell on other things; I will only ask you one thing: do you like me?"

Naturally, she did not.

But Jiang Xinyue looked at the man’s tall, upright stature and the imposing aura between his brows. Thinking that she was already at the final step of her deception, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Qiaoqiao naturally likes you."

She comforted her dwindling conscience—this wasn't technically wrong; Chu Qiaoqiao’s liking for Pei San did not mean Jiang Xinyue liked him.

When Pei Yannian heard the answer he wanted, he took her hand. "Very well. I’ll take you home, and we’ll live just as we did before."

To him, "as before" simply meant living together as husband and wife.

To Jiang Xinyue’s ears, it meant they were returning to Clear Water Town.

In an instant, Jiang Xinyue was so terrified that even her tears stopped.

Pei Yannian toyed with his young wife’s soft, boneless fingers. Noticing her stiffness, he lifted his eyelids to look at her, his stern face filled with inquiry.

"You don't want to?"