A Quiet Homecoming

But with Xie Qingyan here, getting down from the wall became simple.

Chen Yao watched as he braced one hand against the wall, first landing steadily on the thick branch System 04 had picked out. Then he reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and with a single effortless motion, lifted her off the wall and into his embrace.

Chen Yao instinctively looped her arms around his neck, and within a few breaths, he had carried her safely down to the ground.

It wasn't until she stepped out of his arms and her feet touched solid earth that she felt the knot in her chest finally loosen.

After all, if it weren't for the plot, why on earth would she be climbing some stupid wall? If she accidentally fell, she'd not only get hurt—worse, she'd look utterly ridiculous.

Chen Yao breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then looked up at Xie Qingyan standing before her. His brows were drawn low, his face darkening again.

Chen Yao couldn't care less about his expression. Now that she was safely on the ground, she didn't want to tangle with him any longer.

Besides... she was really, truly exhausted.

She blinked her heavy-lidded eyes, which were nearly closed, and turned to leave.

Xie Qingyan grabbed her slender wrist, his voice laced with suppressed anger. "Are you so unwilling to marry me that you'd risk your own safety?"

He couldn't bear to think about how she'd climbed up that tree trunk and made her way onto the wall, inch by inch. Just imagining that dangerous scene made his heart clench, his breath catching as if frozen.

Chen Yao shook her wrist, irritation coloring her voice. "Let go of me."

Seeing she still couldn't care less about him, Xie Qingyan's thin lips pressed into a straight line.

Unable to contain his frustration, he tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her into his embrace once more.

His long, elegant fingers gently cupped her chin as he lowered his head and pressed another firm kiss to her swollen lips.

Then his handsome face met with a sharp "smack" as a flustered, furious Chen Yao slapped him.

Xie Qingyan's gaze locked onto her, and he said calmly, "I'll have men stationed outside the mansion. Don't think about running again."

With that, he turned, nimbly scaled the wall in a couple of graceful strides, and leapt down the other side.

Damn male lead—he was infuriating!

Chen Yao's face flushed crimson, and she could only raise the back of her hand to wipe her lips in disgust, telling herself she'd just been bitten by a dog.

She slipped past the patrolling guards with practiced ease, then hurried back to her own courtyard.

Slamming the door shut, she turned and plopped down on the bed, fuming.

It was already past midnight, and tomorrow was the critical escape-and-substitute-bride plot. Now Xie Qingyan had warned her he'd post guards outside the mansion.

Chen Yao flopped face-first onto the bed, grabbing the big red cloud-patterned pillow and punching it in frustration. "So annoying!"

After a while, she rolled over, resting her head against the soft pillow and staring up at the ceiling.

Gazing at the sheer silk canopy above, she forced down her restlessness and began plotting carefully in her mind.

According to the master's calculations of their birth charts, the auspicious time for the wedding ceremony was at *si* hour, exactly ten in the morning.

Of course, as the bride, she'd have to get up around four or five in the morning to begin dressing and preparing.

All told, she'd have at least a couple of hours of leeway. And with the mansion bustling with guests coming and going tomorrow, she'd surely find a chance to slip away.

With that thought, she managed to calm herself. Soon, her eyelids grew heavier, and before long, she drifted off to sleep.

*

Meanwhile, at the Xie residence.

As soon as Xie Qingyan returned to his Fufeng Courtyard, he ordered Ban He, who had hurried over, to summon the captain of the Shadow Guards to his study.

As the eldest son of the Xie clan and the tacitly recognized next family head, the old master had long since entrusted him with real power—including the Shadow Guards, secretly trained by the family for years.

The night was heavy, but the study was lit by flickering candlelight. The dancing shadows cast sharp angles across his face, accentuating his cold, stern features.

"Chi Ying," Xie Qingyan said, his voice as cool as jade.

"From this moment on, have men watch the young mistress at all times. Do not fail."

His gaze fell on the trembling candle flame, and in his mind's eye he could see Jiang Chen Yao's bright, lively eyes—so vivid and brilliant, yet always so cold when they met his.

"Yes!" The man in pure black battle attire bowed, then vanished in a flash to carry out his orders.

*

The second day of the second month was an auspicious day, perfect for marriage.

Shortly after the *yin* hour, the night outside was still thick, but the entire Pingyuan Hou mansion was already lit up with lamps.

Having gone to bed so late and with her escape plot weighing on her mind, Chen Yao hadn't slept soundly. Now, with the household bustling about and all kinds of noise drifting in, she was quickly jolted awake.

Her pretty brows knitted slightly as she rubbed her bleary eyes with the back of her hand and slowly sat up.

"Host, it's three in the morning now," System 04 informed her helpfully.

Chen Yao's face immediately contorted in agony. "Oh god, just kill me now."

With such a torturous schedule, let alone running away—she felt like she was about to drop dead from exhaustion.

It wasn't until System 04 blasted the suona classic "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" that Chen Yao finally felt her muddled mind clear up at least halfway.

Since the maids hadn't come to wake her yet, she decided to get out of bed, slip on her embroidered shoes, and shuffle quietly to the door.

*Creak.* She cracked the door open a sliver and peeked through the gap.

There were indeed plenty of servants rushing past her courtyard, all in a flurry, but thankfully her own yard remained fairly quiet—probably out of consideration for her rest.

Chen Yao silently shut the crack in the door.

She glanced around, then hurried over to the wardrobe in her room.

Pushing aside the clothes piled on top without a second thought, she rummaged through the wardrobe frantically.

Finally, she found the maid's outfit she'd secretly stashed away earlier.

"Great, time for Plan B," Chen Yao said, hands on her hips, brimming with confidence again.