Chun Lai abruptly grabbed Xiao Shilang’s sleeve and slowly knelt at his feet.
Xiao Shilang’s spine was straight as an arrow, and after a long while he forcefully shook her off, striding around the altar in the ancestral hall and climbing out through the back window. After he had left, the back window was left wide open and was never closed; it was obviously an opportunity for Chun Lai to escape.
Although the Xiao family was influential, if Xiao Shilang arranged a new identity for Chun Lai and let her choose to flee, it was by no means certain that the Xiao family would be able to find a woman of low status in the vast sea of people.
Chun Lai knelt for a long time before bending down to pick up the clothes Xiao Shilang had thrown on the ground, wrapping them tightly around herself and huddling by a column with no apparent intention of escaping.
About half an hour later, a figure climbed back in through the back window. Chun Lai, vigilant, watched the newcomer, to find that it was Xiao Xuanzhi returning. He held a thin quilt in one hand and a bundle in the other. Squatting down in front of Chun Lai, he placed the quilt in front of her and took out a bamboo cylinder from the bundle and handed it to her.
Chun Lai hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it, feeling the warmth radiating from the bamboo cylinder. She removed the stopper, and a strong medicinal scent wafted out.
Xiao Xuanzhi then took out a paper package and stuffed it into Chun Lai’s hand; inside were candied fruits.
After completing these silent actions, Xiao Xuanzhi got up, ready to leave. As he was turning around, he heard soft sobs behind him. The sourness welled up in his heart, and after standing there for a while, he turned around and whispered in a low voice, "Stop crying, take the medicine."
With tearful eyes, Chun Lai looked at him for a moment, then tipped her head back and gulped down the medicine from the bamboo cylinder, quickly grabbing a few candied fruits and stuffing them into her mouth.
Xiao Xuanzhi did not know for whom Chun Lai was lying, but as they had grown up together since childhood, apart from the vast difference in their status, they could be considered childhood sweethearts. He knew her few lies, her few mistakes, the people she knew, where she went every hour of every day; he even knew the days she had her period. She could not have poisoned his mother.
In the moonlight streaming through the window, Xiao Xuanzhi could clearly see Chun Lai’s disheveled appearance. Chun Lai could not really be considered a beauty, she simply had a well-proportioned face. To say anything was particularly attractive about her, it would be her eyes, which curved like new moons when she smiled. But in her current tattered state, she was far from the delicate and charming beauty that drew sympathy. She was just an ordinary maid, as common as they come.
With an impassive face, Xiao Xuanzhi threw a handkerchief to her.
Chun Lai picked up the handkerchief and stuffed it back into his hand, rearranging the quilt and bundle a bit, before softly saying, "Shilang, you should leave quickly. If the Clan Leader finds out..."
Before she could finish, her wrist was grasped by Xiao Xuanzhi, his voice heavy with anger, "Don’t you have anything you want to explain to me?"
Chun Lai, in a rush, extended her other hand to cover Xiao Xuanzhi’s mouth but he fiercely yanked it down, his large hand imprisoning both her wrists.
"I... I cannot say," Chun Lai said, bowing her head, not daring to look at him. Xiao Xuanzhi had always been a detached person, somewhat lacking in sentiment, appearing much like his mother, Lady Dongyang. It was the first time Chun Lai had seen him lose his temper, the hidden rage beneath his usual coolness frightened her.
With her head bowed in silence, she felt her wrists suddenly pulled tight as Xiao Xuanzhi abruptly drew her into his embrace. Chun Lai, startled, looked up just in time to meet his descending lips.
Their lips met, breath mingling; Chun Lai could feel the familiar cold fragrance from his body, usually so remote it seemed untouchable. At that moment it was unmistakably clear, but her mind went blank.
The faint medicinal taste mixed with the sweetness of the candied fruits spread between their intertwining lips and teeth.
With Xiao Xuanzhi’s status, the most he could offer Chun Lai was the position of a concubine, and that was under the premise of helping her regain the status of a free citizen. If he intervened a bit, she could marry into a decent family as a principal wife, but he couldn’t let go.
A long kiss, long enough to nearly suffocate Chun Lai.
"Chun Lai, three years ago my mother asked me to pick someone to take into my household, the person I wanted wasn’t Qiu Xi," whispered Xiao Xuanzhi softly, "It was you."
"Chun Lai, would you be willing..." Xiao Xuanzhi’s voice trailed off, his eyes filled with hope as he looked at her.
Xiao Xuanzhi’s status, position, appearance, and scholarship were things Chun Lai would never dare to dream of in her entire life. Flustered, after a long moment, she murmured, "I must be out of my mind..."
A rare smile of joy appeared on Xiao Xuanzhi’s face, "Chun Lai, don’t be stubborn. Just tell the Clan Leader what you know, and I will ensure your safety..."
"I cannot say," Chun Lai said softly yet urgently.