Late-night visit

Late-night visit

The night breeze lifted a corner of the curtain, and at that moment, exhausted Jiang Chaoyu was taking off the hairpin from her hair and going to bed.

A gust of wind blew in from somewhere, causing Jiang Chaoyu to wrap her clothes tighter around herself. Looking around, she realized that she hadn't closed the door when she came in.

The moon was shrouded in dark clouds, letting out only a sliver of light. Just as Jiang Chaoyu's hand rested on the door, a hand suddenly landed on the back of her hand. Before she could even see who it was, a voice rang out.

"Little sister, why are you resting so early today?"

The sweet, cloying voice was like a snake's tongue striking Jiang Chaoyu's face, and the cold feeling of the hand that covered her was as if a snake was slowly coiling around her neck from her arm.

Jiang Chaoyu was startled when her older sister, Jiang Yuyao, appeared silently in front of her.

"elder sister!"

Jiang Yuyao looked at Jiang Chaoyu with a hint of surprise in her eyes, and then smiled. "What, you don't welcome your older sister?"

As she spoke, she moved closer to Jiang Chaoyu, the word "sister" gently brushing against Jiang Chaoyu's sensitive ear, causing her to shiver and shudder.

"No, please come in, sister." She moved aside, keeping her distance from Jiang Yuyao and making room for her to enter her room.

Jiang Yuyao released her hand and slowly took out a handkerchief, as if her hands had been dirtied by contact with Jiang Chaoyu. In front of Jiang Chaoyu, she wiped her fingers one by one.

After Jiang Chaoyu saw Jiang Yuyao enter, she closed the door. Turning her head, she saw Jiang Yuyao disgusted with her, wiping away the places that had touched her, which was a habit she was used to.

On the dressing table was the gold hairpin that the Second Prince had exchanged that day, which Jiang Yuyao noticed as soon as she entered the room.

"Sister, when did you meet the Second Prince?" Jiang Yuyao sat in the spot where Jiang Chaoyu had sat before, holding the gold hairpin in front of her eyes with only her index finger and thumb, carefully examining it. The bronze mirror reflected Jiang Chaoyu standing behind Jiang Yuyao.

"At the last banquet, someone bullied me. The Second Prince couldn't stand it and helped me. That's how we met." Jiang Chaoyu didn't know what Jiang Yuyao was up to, and she couldn't say much about knowing Zeng Chenhua. She just made up a lie to appease Jiang Yuyao.

Jiang Yuyao held the gold hairpin close to the candle flame, where it shimmered with tiny golden light. Just as Jiang Yuyao was about to place the hairpin on the flame, Jiang Chaoyu rushed forward and snatched it back.

"What are you doing, sister?" The moment she snatched back the gold hairpin, Jiang Chaoyu could feel the heat from the fire transferring to her skin.

Jiang Chaoyu was furious, wishing she could stare through Jiang Yuyao's back. She really didn't understand why! Why was Jiang Yuyao targeting her sister like this?

Jiang Yuyao's movements were still frozen in mid-air as she looked at Jiang Chaoyu in the bronze mirror, her brows furrowed and her eyes filled with anger.

She leisurely withdrew her hand, tidied her hair in front of the bronze mirror, looked at the snail-shell hairpin on her right, which resembled a candle burning its last flame, and smiled softly.

“Sister, you can fool Father, but you can’t fool me. You’re probably running out of this snail-shell ink, aren’t you? I still have some good quality ones. I’ll bring them over for you to choose from next time,” Jiang Yuyao said disdainfully.

Even before entering the room, Jiang Yuyao had been making sarcastic remarks. This was the first time in five years that Jiang Yuyao had stepped into Jiang Chaoyu's room, only to find that apart from a dressing table and a bed, there was nothing else. The huge room seemed to be filled mostly with air.

"If that's why you came in, sister, I thank you. Also, I'm exhausted today, so I can't see you out." She gestured for Jiang Yuyao to leave, hoping she would have some peace and quiet.

Jiang Chaoyu watched Jiang Yuyao get up, expecting her to leave, but instead, Jiang Yuyao came over and grabbed her wrist tightly. Her wrist, still sore from Zeng Chenhua's grip, was now being further injured by Jiang Yuyao.

The moment Jiang Yuyao grabbed it, Jiang Chaoyu felt a sharp pain and almost dropped the gold hairpin, but luckily she held on tight.

"What are you doing, sister!" Jiang Chaoyu, who was already angry, finally couldn't hold back and yelled at Jiang Yuyao.

Grabbing Jiang Chaoyu's hand with even more force, he sneered, "What are you doing? You, what makes you think you can marry the Second Prince!"

Jiang Yuyao didn't hide anything and directly stated her position.

That day in the front hall, Jiang Yuyao was very dissatisfied, but no matter what, her father would not agree to the marriage exchange.

“My sister has always been competing with me since we were little, but you know I’m just a good-for-nothing who can’t do anything. How can I compete with my sister? I’m just marrying the Second Prince, who is crippled and has lost his power. My sister still thinks I will enjoy a wonderful life.” Jiang Chaoyu used her other hand to pry open Jiang Yuyao’s hand that was gripping her wrist, even though Jiang Yuyao was holding on very tightly.

“If you want to get married, you can ask Father. What’s the use of looking for your sister here?” Jiang Chaoyu looked directly at Jiang Yuyao, without a trace of fear in her eyes.

Seeing Jiang Chaoyu's reaction, Jiang Yuyao became even less annoyed. With a fake smile, she tried to touch Jiang Chaoyu's face with the hand that had been put down. "Sister, I don't know when it started, but I can no longer see what I want in your eyes."

Jiang Chaoyu, now grown up, has developed her features. She has an oval face, and beneath her curved eyebrows are angry eyes, like a cat whose food has been stolen, staring wide-eyed. Perhaps because she doesn't go out during the day, her skin is fair but her figure is petite.

But before she could get close, Jiang Chaoyu had already dodged to the side, causing Jiang Yuyao's hand to miss its target.

"Sister, I'm tired, so I won't see you out." This time, Jiang Chaoyu didn't look directly at Jiang Yuyao, but bowed her head and asked Jiang Yuyao to leave.

She glanced coldly at Jiang Chaoyu, gave a perfunctory smile, and turned to leave. Before leaving, she said, "Sweet dreams, little sister."

Only after Jiang Yuyao's figure disappeared from sight did Jiang Chaoyu finally let out a long sigh of relief.

After confirming that no one was around, she closed the door and put the gold hairpin in her hand away from the obvious dressing table. Instead, she put it in a box under her bed.

After tidying everything up, Jiang Chaoyu said softly to the outside, "How much longer does the Second Prince want to listen?"

Normally, Jiang Chaoyu wouldn't finish packing before going to sleep. She was just observing how long the person outside would stay. She didn't expect him to stay so long. Jiang Chaoyu was so sleepy that she couldn't help but speak up.

Not long after Jiang Yuyao entered, she sensed a familiar presence. The person listened quietly without moving, trying not to be discovered. Unfortunately, perhaps because his injuries had not healed, for a moment, Jiang Chaoyu caught a glimpse of his disordered presence.

Seeing that he had been exposed, Zeng Chenhua stopped hiding and entered Jiang Chaoyu's room through the window. Jiang Chaoyu saw that he had blindfolded her with a white silk cloth and took out the medicine she had specially brought. "Please forgive me, Second Miss. I hurt you last time. I just came to apologize. I originally intended to put it on the windowsill, but I overheard this."

Blindfolded, Zeng Chenhua could only locate people by sound, which looked somewhat comical to Jiang Chaoyu, as she was to his left while he was facing to his right. Putting aside his disguise as someone else, Zeng Chenhua now stood upright in front of Jiang Chaoyu in plain clothes, one hand behind his back.

Jiang Chaoyu kept her distance from Zeng Chenhua and immediately saw through Zeng Chenhua's purpose, "I suppose the Second Prince's attire wasn't for coming here."

"I appreciate the Second Prince's kindness, but my injury has mostly healed, so there's no need to trouble you." Jiang Chaoyu said, looking at her wound that had been aggravated. She was fine, even though she didn't have any medicine. The worst that could happen was that she could just wait for the wound to heal on its own.

It wasn't until Jiang Chaoyu spoke up that Zeng Chenhua realized he was going in the wrong direction. He smiled and said, "Miss is joking. If I weren't in plainclothes, I would have had to enter openly as I did last time. But seeing that you were not happy, I changed my approach this time to express my apology."

Seeing that Jiang Chaoyu did not move, Zeng Chenhua gently placed the medicine on the ground, then turned around and left through the window. "Second Miss, the more medicine you apply, the faster you will recover."

After Zeng Chenhua left, Jiang Chaoyu picked up the bottle of medicine. It was a frost-free blood-clotting ointment. As long as it was applied to the wound, it would heal in less than a day. Jiang Chaoyu did not expect Zeng Chenhua to give her such an expensive medicine.

Perhaps it was the moment Zeng Chenhua opened the window that the cold air entered the room, and Jiang Chaoyu suddenly shivered.

The first snow in Beijing this year seems to have come later than usual; it hasn't fallen yet.

He pulled the blanket over himself, and the warmth of the blanket battled against the chill emanating from Jiang Chaoyu. The warmth gradually crept over Jiang Chaoyu, and eventually, she fell asleep comfortably.

Zeng Chenhua, who had just stepped out of Jiang Chaoyu's room, sensed the presence of other people.

Based on his intuition, he saw Xie Yunyin on the roof beam, standing there straight up, which would surely send chills down the spine of anyone who saw him.

Zeng Chenhua leaped onto the roof beam and stared at Xie Yunyin.

"Young Master Xie, it's been a long time!"

Xie Yunyin was somewhat surprised to see Zeng Chenhua standing directly in front of him, but what surprised him even more was that he actually knew Jiang Chaoyu, the second young lady of the Jiang family, and could freely enter and leave the room.

Zeng Chenhua was unaware of Xie Yunyin's thoughts, nor did he know that Xie Yunyin had misunderstood the situation.

Seeing this, Xie Yunyin smiled slightly and said, "I didn't know that the Second Prince was the one who broke into a woman's boudoir."

The face that appeared before me was the one from my memories, someone I had grown up with, yet still just as annoying as ever.

"Compared to me, I'm afraid Young Master Xie's behavior is no better. May I ask how long Young Master Xie has been here?"

"What does this have to do with the Second Prince?"

The two men locked eyes, while a howling wind swept through the entire capital, roaring like a wild beast.

Xie Yunyin was the man Jiang Chaoyu had unintentionally saved, but Jiang Chaoyu had no recollection of it. However, as the saying goes, "You may try to plant flowers, but they may not bloom; you may carelessly nurture willows, but they may thrive." Xie Yunyin had long harbored feelings for Jiang Chaoyu.

"I advise Young Master Xie to give up those thoughts."

Seeing Zeng Chenhua say this, Xie Yunyin was not afraid at all.

"Compared to me, I'm afraid the Second Prince should be the one to let go."

The two were evenly matched, and the air was thick with tension.

"However, Young Master Xie, you are late this time."

After saying this, Zeng Chenhua left without Xie Yunyin's notice.

Xie Yunyin didn't know what Zeng Chenhua meant, but as he watched Zeng Chenhua's disappearing figure, he thought to himself that he would definitely not give up.

They then appeared at the First Prince's residence. They had previously received a secret letter that a traitor had appeared in the capital, almost ruining their grand plan. While chasing the traitor, Zeng Chenhua passed by the Jiang residence, which made him think of something else.

At this moment, Zeng Chenhua was led to a secret chamber by guards, a place as its name suggests, completely sealed off from all light. Upon seeing the Second Prince arrive, the guards at the door quickly lit the room. Only then did they see a man bound to a stool, disheveled and filthy, his head bowed, blood slowly trickling from the corner of his mouth, looking utterly wretched.

Perhaps because he hadn't seen the light in a long time, the sudden brightness made him feel a little uncomfortable. He kept his eyes closed, then slowly opened them.

The first thing that caught the eye was a pair of cloud-patterned boots, made of black satin with a few gold cloud patterns. Slowly raising her head, she saw Zeng Chenhua and smiled contemptuously.

His mouth was full of blood, and even though he was tied up very tightly, he still managed to spit out a mouthful of blood at Zeng Chenhua.

Zeng Chenhua noticed this and kicked the man hard in the face, causing him to fall to the side without spitting the blood from his mouth onto Zeng Chenhua.

He stepped directly on the man, his voice soft, as soft as snow falling into a cold pool, yet chilling him to the bone, "Whose man are you? If you don't confess, I have plenty of ways to deal with you."

The man was terrified. He convulsed, vomiting blood, his breath coming in gasps, and he uttered intermittently, "Curved...curved...moon..."

Before he could finish speaking, the wire snapped, and he began to convulse violently, then his eyes rolled back and he started foaming at the mouth.

Zeng Chenhua coldly watched the convulsing man on the ground as if he were watching an ant being crushed to death by a stone, letting him convulse. In less than a quarter of an hour, the man stopped breathing.

He murmured, "Crescent Moon Gate!"