Chapter 66: The Fox

Liu Chuyan thought she would crash into the pillar and faint dead away. She’d even prepared excuses for her parents. Instead, she suddenly collided with a wall of flesh. Looking up, she saw it was indeed Xue Ao. Her mouth opened and closed, but she didn’t know what to say. Should she beg him to marry her? Plead with him to keep her secret? Or beg him to let her die?

“Chuchu?” Xue Ao gazed into her eyes, overflowing with grief and indignation, and was suddenly overwhelmed by guilt. But she was naked and dripping wet. All he could do was cover her with a towel, then wrap her in a brocade quilt. “Chuchu, don’t catch a chill.”

She was held tightly in his arms, unable to struggle, knowing she couldn’t resist him. All she could do was raise her hand and slap him hard across the face.

Xue Ao didn’t fight back; he knew he was at fault, but he truly hadn’t been able to control himself. Had he known she would be so distraught, he would never have come.

“Chuchu, I know I deserve to die. Hit me all you like.”

“You think I don’t dare hit you?” Liu Chuyan raised her arm and slapped him again, but it didn’t satisfy her anger. She buried her head in his shoulder and bit down hard. But Xue Ao had trained for years; his shoulder was as solid as iron, and she couldn’t even leave a mark—she only managed to hurt her teeth. Unable to vent her fury, she glanced down and saw her own shoulder and arm still exposed, and tears streamed down her face in rage.

“Chuchu, please, don’t cry…” Xue Ao, so sharp-tongued before others, was now stammering and at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to explain, how to comfort her.

“Miss?” Songling, hearing the faint sounds of weeping, guessed she must be in severe pain and called out anxiously.

Hearing footsteps outside, Liu Chuyan’s eyes widened in terror, her heart pounding, her hands icy. If only she knew, it would be her secret. If Songling discovered it, she wouldn’t even be able to deceive herself.

Xue Ao wanted her to stop Songling, but it was too late. All he could do was roll with her to the inner side of the bed, hook the bed curtain with his toe, and let it fall, shielding them both. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Quick, send her away. If we’re found out, it will be terrible.”

“Miss?” Songling and Qinghe entered, walked past the screen, and saw the bath barrel was empty, water stains on the floor, and the bed curtains somehow drawn. They stepped forward. “Miss?”

“Songling!” Liu Chuyan, stunned for a moment, finally called out in a trembling voice, “I… I’m fine now. You can leave.”

“You’re fine? Doesn’t your foot hurt?” Songling had seen her gasping in pain and couldn’t believe she’d recovered so quickly.

To avoid suspicion, Liu Chuyan steadied her voice and elaborated, “I just eased my foot in the water and it’s fine now. The water was cold, so I got into bed. I’m already lying down to sleep. You and Qinghe tidy up the bath and then go rest.”

Though puzzled, Songling and Qinghe could find no flaw in this explanation. Still full of doubts, they cleaned up, extinguished the lamps, and left.

As darkness fell, Liu Chuyan’s heart pounded wildly, and she curled up in fear.

“Chuchu?” Xue Ao, having come from the brightly lit corridor, couldn’t see her at first. As his eyes adjusted, he realized what she was doing. “Chuchu, what are you afraid of?”

She trembled for a while, then edged to the outer side of the bed, gritting her teeth. “Second Master Xue, leave now while I still haven’t strangled you.”

“If I leave, are you just going to harm yourself?” Xue Ao pulled her arm from his mouth, and in the dim light, could just make out the bite marks.

“Don’t worry. I’ll die cleanly—I won’t disgrace you, nor will I name you. Now get out,” Liu Chuyan tried to pull her hand free, but after much struggle, gave up. She sat up against the headboard, glaring at him, her face full of resentment.

“Chuchu, I know I was wrong, but you… you’re going to marry me in the end, aren’t you? What’s the harm if I saw you a few days early?” The more Xue Ao tried to explain, the more flustered he became, fearing she wouldn’t forgive him. His voice grew quiet, mumbling, “Besides, it’s not as if I haven’t seen you before when we were children…”

“What did you say?” Liu Chuyan’s voice rose. Her grip on the quilt loosened, and the brocade slipped away, revealing her bare chest.

“I remember you have a butterfly-shaped birthmark on your chest—small, about the size of a fingernail.” Xue Ao, seeing the delicate swell in the darkness, was tempted to reach out, but in the end, did not dare.

Liu Chuyan instinctively lowered her head. She did have a birthmark there—how did he know?

“Chuchu, have you forgotten me?” Xue Ao panicked upon seeing her reaction. Shouldn’t she have thrown herself into his arms with joy at his mention of the birthmark?

“Who are you?” Just as he was full of hope, Liu Chuyan asked the question.

“I—I’m Xue Ao,” he replied, puzzled, sensing something was wrong but unable to grasp it.

“You’re Xue Ao? Second Master Xue?” Liu Chuyan enunciated each word, making his heart race with dread.

“Then how do you know about my birthmark? And my childhood name? And that I was kidnapped when I was five?”

She hadn’t forgotten the events of her childhood, but she didn’t remember him. Why? After a moment’s daze, Xue Ao replied, “You told me your childhood name yourself. As for the kidnapping, I was the one who rescued you. Though I wasn’t strong enough, and we both fell off a cliff, in the end, it was you who saved me. We even made a lifelong promise, and you took my jade pendant—that meant you agreed. You can’t go back on it.” He clenched her small fist tightly, feeling her breath quicken and her body tense, but he was even more nervous than she.

“You?” Liu Chuyan turned her head away, thinking for a long time before forcing out her final doubt, “Is all that you said true?”

“Of course it’s true. Otherwise, who else could know so many of your secrets?”

“You… are you… Brother Jun Cheng?” The words slipped out, almost unbelievable, and for reasons she didn’t understand, a faint sense of shame followed.

“Brother Jun Cheng?” Xue Ao froze.

“You’re not!” Liu Chuyan, seeing his hesitation, suddenly found the strength to fling off his hand, jumped from the bed, and looked around, searching for something.

Xue Ao chased her, caught her by the waist, and pulled her back to the bed. “Chuchu, you’re only wrapped in a towel and have no shoes—be careful not to catch cold.”

“Mind your own business!” Liu Chuyan tried to shake him off, but he restrained her with both hands and feet. She struggled fiercely, and Xue Ao, caught off guard, toppled onto the bed with her beneath him.

“Chuchu, you’ll be my wife one day. Of course, it’s my business. I’m not your Brother Jun Cheng, but I am the Jun Cheng you remember.” Xue Ao tried, flustered, to explain.

Liu Chuyan went quiet at once. “What does that mean? How can you be and not be?”

“Chuchu, I finally understand the problem. No wonder you don’t remember me but favor Jin Ling. I really was careless; I forgot I changed my name.”

“What do you mean?” Liu Chuyan had forgotten to keep struggling. He changed his name? Could he really be the boy she remembered? Was Heaven playing a joke on her?

“I… Though I’m the son of the Duke of Xinguo, I was raised in the Jin family as a child. My uncle wasn’t my grandfather’s legitimate son—my grandfather had only my mother as a legitimate daughter. So, with the Emperor’s blessing, I was adopted into the Jin family, took the surname Jin, and was raised at my grandfather’s side, only occasionally visiting my parents. My uncle was born while my grandfather was at war in his youth; it was only eight years ago that he was found and brought back. Once the Jin family had a male heir, there was no need for me to stay, so I returned to the Xue family. That’s why my mother could never control me, and why Jin Ling and I never got along—he not only took my place, but also my name and my grandfather. And now, he nearly took my wife as well.” Xue Ao looked down at Liu Chuyan’s stunned face and smiled softly. “Fortunately, you’re still mine.”

“Who’s yours?” Liu Chuyan was not pleased in the least. She was mortified and furious. The Brother Jun Cheng she had cherished all these years turned out to be this scoundrel, this rascal, this rogue! The one who accused her of impropriety, who gave her the cold shoulder, who had just spied on her bathing!

How could she have been so foolish as to promise herself to him, to wait for him, to hope for him—only for this scoundrel to appear?

“Chuchu, you promised to marry me.” They say even a rabbit will bite when cornered; at this moment, she looked like a rabbit ready to devour someone. Anxious, Xue Ao seized her chin. “Chuchu, you took my jade pendant. I saw you wearing it not long ago. Don’t deny it, or Heaven will strike you down.”

“When did I wear it? When did you see me?” Liu Chuyan was determined to deny everything, to break all ties.

“At the country estate outside the capital—I saw your ribbon had snapped…” Flustered, Xue Ao spoke without thinking, only realizing his mistake as the words left his mouth.

Sure enough, Liu Chuyan was furious, elbowing him hard in the chest. “You—you—you were spying on me even then!”

Though he was much stronger, her full-force blow made Xue Ao grunt in pain and let go.

Seizing the chance, Liu Chuyan escaped, hastily throwing on a robe. But as she reached the door, she realized this was her own room—where could she run? Should she call for help and have this shameless, despicable intruder arrested? That would ruin them both.

Her hesitation allowed Xue Ao to catch her again. This time, he was clever—he took a sash and tied her hands and feet, covered her mouth to keep her from screaming for the servants, and, worried she’d fall ill, carried her back to bed. Since she already thought him a scoundrel, he didn’t mind being a little more shameless. Satisfied, he pulled her into his arms beneath the covers. “Chuchu, now you know. We’re engaged.”

“Nonsense!” She couldn’t reason with this ruffian. The news exploded in her mind like a bomb—she couldn’t think straight.

“Chuchu, even if there was no childhood promise, you’d still have to marry me. I’ve seen your body, and now we’re lying in the same bed.”

“I could die, or cut my hair and become a nun.”

“Whatever temple dares take you in, I’ll burn, loot, and destroy it. If you become a nun, even if you die, I’ll snatch you back from the hands of the King of Hell.”

At last, the scoundrel revealed his fox’s tail. But could he really be her Brother Jun Cheng? All her beautiful memories were ruined, not a trace left. Liu Chuyan wanted to weep, but had no tears left.