Chapter 16

A full moon hung overhead, and a night breeze drifted in, carrying the scent of sand, flowers, and grass. Several lamps were lit in the courtyard, lending the cool night a soft, warm glow.

Seeing that Ye Rui’s room was still brightly lit, Xie Tinglan rolled up her sleeves and raised a hand to knock. No one answered. After waiting in confusion for a few breaths, she knocked again, and a muffled “mm” came from inside.

Xie Tinglan pressed a hand to the door and pushed Ye Rui’s room open. A wash of wine fragrance immediately spilled out. Remembering what Ri Xi had said about what happened today, she could more or less guess the situation.

Ye Rui was draped over the round table in the middle of the room. There was a cup beside her, along with an unsealed jar of Broken Stars. Xie Tinglan lifted a brow. She had been a little displeased at first, but when she heard Ye Rui let out a catlike whimper, she could not help but smile wryly.

After closing the door, Xie Tinglan sat down on the other side of the table and picked up the Broken Stars. More than half was still left; it looked as though Ye Rui had only drunk two or three cups. And yet this person had already...

Xie Tinglan could only shake her head with a helpless smile.

Ye Rui had her head on her arm, exposing half her face. Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and her lips moved as though she were chewing on something. Xie Tinglan tidied the messy cups on the table before softly calling her, “Ye Rui, wake up.”

“Mm..."

Ye Rui let out an unhappy grunt and slowly peeled open her eyelids. She stared at Xie Tinglan for a long moment, then couldn’t help but chuckle. Reaching out, she grabbed Xie Tinglan’s hand resting on the table. “I... should I help you change your bandage?”

She sat up and reached to pull at Xie Tinglan’s collar. Xie Tinglan did not move at all, letting Ye Rui fuss with her. When that warm palm landed on her shoulder, Xie Tinglan could not help leaning forward a little.

“What’s wrong? Does something hurt? I... I’ll go get you medicine.”

Ye Rui looked left and right, scratching her head. Where had her bed gone? Her cupboard? Why was everything different?

Xie Tinglan took Ye Rui’s hand and pressed it to her own cheek. Watching that drunken, disoriented look, she lowered her voice with a smile. “Do you miss the days on the mountain?”

Her fingertips brushed lightly over those warm, long fingers. Seeing Ye Rui’s dazed expression, Xie Tinglan unconsciously drew Ye Rui’s hand up to her nose and slowly closed her beautiful eyes.

She loved the scent of grass and sunlight, especially the clean, unique smell that belonged to Ye Rui. She liked it very much.

“You... do you like me?”

The eyes that had just closed slowly opened again. Those beautiful eyes remained calm, as though she were confirming whether she had heard Ye Rui’s question correctly.

Right now, Ye Rui looked utterly blank, like a child who had gotten lost. She probably did not even remember what she had just asked.

“Ye Rui.”

Xie Tinglan lifted Ye Rui’s hand and gave it a light kiss near the knuckles. Some answers would always go unanswered. She raised her eyes to Ye Rui, tenderness leaking through the cracks in her composure.

“Tomorrow’s competition—you have to give it your all.”

Xie Tinglan paused, then lowered her beautiful eyes again, hiding every trace of emotion within them. “If you want to stay by my side, then prove your worth.”

Ye Rui was dizzy enough that she kept glancing between Xie Tinglan’s opening and closing lips and her own hand, held in hers. After drifting for a long while, she finally said, “If I... if I lose, are you... are you not going to want me anymore?”

Hearing the word competition, Ye Rui sobered a little, but not much. She was still smiling foolishly, and for a moment Xie Tinglan could not tell whether she truly was not nervous, or whether the wine had made her silly.

“Afraid I won’t want you?”

Xie Tinglan’s thumb gently stroked the back of Ye Rui’s hand, as if coaxing her to say something else she liked to hear.

“Afraid? Afraid of what? I, I can live on my own, all by myself!”

Ye Rui looked unconcerned and even laughed twice, as though she had heard some enormous joke. When the laughter faded, she looked at Xie Tinglan’s somewhat helpless expression and said very softly, “But..."

But what? There was no follow-up. The curve of her lips seemed to hide countless unspeakable thoughts, like a wind concealed in the night, leaving no trace.

Xie Tinglan did not ask. She simply watched the expressions on that face change over and over, as though a whole play had already ended in Ye Rui’s heart.

After a long while, Ye Rui took Xie Tinglan’s slightly cool hand and looked at that stunning face, so flawless it seemed nothing could ever tear open this woman’s composure.

“Are you... very tired?”

Xie Tinglan’s body went rigid. For an instant, she even wanted to pull her hand away. And yet she had always been too greedy for that furnace-like warmth, as though it could burn away the grime of the night wind and the sharpness she wore from the imperial court.

“Ye Rui, see you tomorrow.”

**

When Ye Rui woke, she was lying in bed with a blanket draped over her. No headache, no dizziness; only a little physical fatigue. Only then did she belatedly realize that Broken Stars had not been very strong on the aftereffects.

She glanced at the round table. It had been tidied up neatly, and even the remaining Broken Stars had been sealed again. But the blanket on her body...

The moment footsteps sounded outside, Xie Tinglan’s helpless expression suddenly surfaced in Ye Rui’s mind.

No way! Xie Tinglan came last night?!

Ye Rui sat bolt upright at once, slapped both hands against her face, and desperately called for Hutu.

Hutu: [Coming, coming; just booted up!]

Ye Rui: [Xie Tinglan came last night?]

No way, no way; she hadn’t done anything, right? Ye Rui patted down her clothes. Not a single piece was missing. Thank goodness.

Hutu: [You not missing anything doesn’t mean other people aren’t missing anything!]

Ye Rui: [What?!]

Before Ye Rui could even finish self-destructing mentally, Hutu’s next words froze her on the spot: [I’m just saying it’s a possibility, not that I’m replaying the whole thing for you. Don’t get nervous!]

Ye Rui: [...I really want to inject a virus into your system, then make you dance square dance in front of all the other systems while belting out “Conquer”!]

Hutu: [So ruthless!]

Ye Rui: [So did I do anything I shouldn’t have last night?!]

She was too easy to get into trouble; especially since she had drunk wine and even blacked out. Could she really still keep her self-control? She did have decent drinking manners, so there shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Hutu: [I don’t know. The moment you got drunk, I powered down and went to sleep.]

Sometimes she really wanted to report a system like this to the authorities.

Knock, knock, knock...

“Has Miss Ye woken up?”

It was Ri Xi’s voice. Ye Rui hurriedly got up to open the door. Blinding sunlight poured in the moment she opened it, and she squinted before smiling. “Miss Ri Xi, is the competition about to start?”

Ye Rui had only just gotten up and still didn’t know what time it was. She was so nervous she was practically sweating, terrified the competition had already started while she had not even brushed her teeth yet.

“Not yet.”

Ri Xi merely smiled. She was carrying a cup of hangover tea and said, “This was ordered by my lady to be delivered to you. She told you not to drink so much, but you never listen.”

Ye Rui scratched her head in embarrassment. Seeing that Ri Xi was about to bring it in herself, she quickly took the tray. “I’ll do it, I’ll do it. I can’t keep troubling Miss Ri Xi.”

Ye Rui took the tray and turned to set it on the round table. Ri Xi then said, “From now on, you don’t need to be so formal. If you don’t mind, you can call me Ri Xi, and I’ll call you Ye Rui, all right?”

Ri Xi held her hands before her abdomen, still perfectly proper, yet not at all distant. Ye Rui naturally agreed immediately. “Of course, Ri Xi!”

“The competition starts in one hour. You should prepare quickly; don’t disappoint my lady.”

Ri Xi glanced at the hangover tea inside and reminded her again, “Remember to finish it. You’ll feel much better.”

“Okay, thank you, Ri Xi.”

After Ri Xi left, Ye Rui quickly washed up and drank the hangover tea, then went outside for a stroll to wake herself up.

The Xie residence in the morning was always lively; everyone was busy. Probably because Xie Tinglan was not overly strict, the servants would chat while they worked. But the moment Xie Tinglan appeared, everyone would fall silent at once.

Over these past three days, Ye Rui had not practiced archery. It wasn’t because she was arrogant and confident; it was because she had no time, and she hadn’t brought her own bow and arrows. She had asked around, but no one was willing to lend her one, so in the end she simply gave up on practicing.

Well, if one said she was confident, she was indeed a little confident. Except for that Li Yun...

The competition began right on time an hour later. Xie Tinglan watched from the venue, with Yin Yue and Huan Jing both guarding her side. Today Xie Tinglan wore a black crossed-collar long dress, with a bright black outer robe layered over it. Dark python patterns were woven into it; one glance from Ye Rui was enough to make her so intimidated she did not dare look a second time.

Today, Xie Tinglan was solemn and imposing. Even breathing at the scene seemed to require caution. Ye Rui finally felt, in a truly visceral way, the pressure Xie Tinglan exuded; invisible, yet pressing down on her chest like a boulder, leaving no room to breathe.

Xie Tinglan said nothing, only had Ri Xi host the event, and the competition soon began. Before it started, Ye Rui even borrowed a bow and arrows from Ri Xi before getting ready.

The rules were simple, just like in modern times: a ten-point target, three arrows per round, with the scores from three rounds added up before elimination. Fifteen people had entered this time. At first, no one was optimistic about this woman from a hunter’s background. Yet after three rounds, Ye Rui had not only avoided elimination; her score was still among the top three.

After one round, five people were eliminated. In the second round, Ye Rui was still in the top three, and another five were eliminated. By the third round, only five people remained. Everyone thought Ye Rui would be eliminated, but she forcibly tied with Li Yun for first place with the same score. In the end, three more people were eliminated, leaving only her and Li Yun.

During the break, Ye Rui still could not resist looking toward Xie Tinglan. Just then, Xie Tinglan also looked over, the smile in her eyes seeming to soften all the forceful pressure around her. Xie Tinglan was like a rose covered in thorns, yet she reached beyond the brambles and sent Ye Rui her most beautiful petal.

Ye Rui’s heart seemed to skip a beat. She stared blankly at Xie Tinglan until Xie Tinglan looked away, and she still had not come back to herself.

“Ye Rui.”

“Ah?”

Ye Rui turned toward the person speaking to her; it was Li Yun.

“Let’s add another wager.”

“Ah?”

Ye Rui was still a little dazed. She even thought, Do I know you that well? Why are we adding wagers?

“Whoever loses becomes the winner’s subordinate. How about it?”

Author’s Note:

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There’ll be more tomorrow too~

[dog head][dog head][yellow heart]A whole bunch of little orange cats in the comments just keep wanting the two of them to kiss, hahaha!