A Quiet Homecoming

Since her seat in the private room was closer to the window, a single glance outside confirmed her suspicion—there was a peasant farmer carrying a straw target bristling with candied hawthorn skewers, strolling along the street and hawking his wares at the top of his lungs.

"I'm going downstairs to buy a candied hawthorn. You two keep listening."

Chen Yao figured she might as well give the male and female leads a nudge, so as she rose, she also pulled Xie Yi'an up from her seat.

She blinked, her smile bright. "Little Yi'an must like them too—let's go together."

Before anyone could react, she'd already made up her mind, and with her skirt flaring like a lighthearted butterfly, she tugged the girl along and dashed out.

The private room, which had held four people, was suddenly left with just two, who stared at each other in bemusement.

Jiang Lingxuan was silent for a moment, then looked at her future brother-in-law, whose expression had darkened, and steeled herself to save face for her unreliable elder sister.

"My sister is just lively by nature—"

"I'll go keep an eye on them," Xie Qingyan cut her off. "Make yourself at home, Miss Jiang."

Jiang Lingxuan smiled faintly in acknowledgment.

Watching him rise and leave, she let the curve of her lips flatten, turning her gaze out the window with a flicker of worry in her eyes.

She wasn't slow to pick up on things. From her time at the mansion with Jiang Chenyao, she could clearly sense the other girl's reluctance to marry into the Xie family.

But a betrothal set by ancestors, a match decreed by parents—how could she possibly refuse?

Jiang Lingxuan lowered her eyelids and, after a long moment, let out a soft sigh.

*

Out on the long street, Chen Yao had already pulled Xie Yi'an to a halt in front of the hawthorn vendor, who hadn't gotten far. "How much for these?"

"For you two young ladies, just two coppers a skewer—these are fresh, just picked hawthorns," the vendor replied, a touch nervous.

But Chen Yao was still startled by the booming voice that rang out right beside her ear like a bell.

She suppressed the urge to rub her ear and pointed at the two plumpest, most glistening skewers on the straw target. "I'll take those two."

She didn't bother with the payment—Chuntao, following behind, would handle that.

"Thank you, miss."

Chen Yao took a bite of one skewer, the sweet sugar coating melting on her tongue before yielding to the faintly tart hawthorn fruit beneath—tangy and sweet, genuinely tasty.

So she bent down and pressed the other skewer into the hands of the girl who was still looking dazed from being dragged along. "Try it—these are pretty good."

Though she hadn't quite figured out what was happening, Xie Yi'an instinctively shook her head at the street vendor's wares.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Sister Jiang." As if realizing she'd refused too bluntly, she lowered her head with a touch of embarrassment. "I don't have much of a sweet tooth."

If Chen Yao hadn't noticed the way the girl had been eyeing the candied hawthorns with bright, curious eyes just a moment before, she might have believed her.

So she didn't bother asking again. Instead, she swiftly brought the skewer to Xie Yi'an's lips, her tone casual. "Just try a bite—if you don't like it, toss it."

The red sugar coating pressed against her lips, and Xie Yi'an instinctively gave a small sip, a thread of sweetness seeping through.

"Sweet and tasty, right?" Chen Yao asked with a smile, then pressed the whole skewer into her hand.

The girl's eyes were bright, her smile radiant and bold, like a peony blooming in full glory under the sun.

Xie Yi'an clutched the candied hawthorn, stunned, and only after a long pause let out a soft "Mhm."

She... rather liked this sister.

The street was lined with stalls and vendors, their cries rising and falling in a lively chorus. Since she was already out, Chen Yao naturally decided to wander a bit.

Soon, her gaze was drawn to a troupe performing street magic not far away.

"That looks lively—let's go check it out."

In ancient times, there weren't many forms of entertainment, so itinerant troupes like this drew crowds of onlookers wherever they went.

With her maidservant and guards tagging along, Chen Yao didn't have to jostle with the common folk—but she was still standing amid the throng.

Worried that Xie Yi'an might feel out of place, she drew the girl in front of her. The candied hawthorn skewer, small as it was with only five or six fruits, had already been finished, so with both hands free, Chen Yao let her arm hang loosely, forming a light shield around the girl.

And she watched the dazzling, ever-changing performance without blinking.

Xie Yi'an clutched a corner of the older girl's sleeve, nibbling at the hawthorns on her skewer, and secretly glanced up at her—the tips of her ears, hidden beneath the strands of hair by her temples, flushed a faint red.

But with so many people around, even with maidservants and guards keeping watch, there were always moments that slipped through the cracks.

For instance, a woman's panicked cry suddenly rang out from the left. "My purse is gone!"

"It must've been you! I saw you deliberately bump into me just now."

"Don't you go spouting nonsense and blaming the innocent!"

Then came shoving and quarreling.

The onlookers buzzed with commotion as they checked their own pockets; those who'd also been robbed in the chaos joined the clamor.

Suddenly, the orderly crowd turned chaotic, though no one dared to spill into Chen Yao's space.

Still, their position was squeezed tighter as the crowd pressed in.

"Let's go," Chen Yao said, losing her appetite for the show. She had Chuntao toss a few bits of silver to the troupe as a tip, then moved to usher Xie Yi'an along to somewhere else.

Someone had already run off to report the theft to the authorities. She was a little curious how the ancient yamen handled cases, but the atmosphere was too noisy—she needed to look out for Xie Yi'an.

But the moment she stepped back, she felt her back bump into a warm wall of flesh.

The crisp scent of pinewood drifted faintly around her. Chen Yao turned around and sure enough, there was Xie Qingyan standing right behind her.

His long sleeves hung down, revealing a pair of slender, elegant hands that were loosely cupped around her—yet his fingertips stayed just a hair's breadth away from her clothes, never once touching her.

"Do be careful, Miss Jiang," he said, his voice as gentle as ever.

The instant he felt her back up into him, he also retreated a step, ever mindful of propriety.

"When did the male lead get here?" she wondered.

System 04 replied, "He followed right after you bought the candied hawthorns."

"What a proper gentleman."

Chen Yao gave a mental sigh, but didn't dwell on it.

In the early plotline, the male and female leads barely interacted anyway, and his encounters with the betrothed supporting character were just the usual one or two meetings.

Before long, he'd be sent as a trusted retainer of the Eastern Palace, dispatched by the crown prince's household on imperial orders to preside over the autumn imperial examinations in Yunzhang City—a task that would take roughly three months.

By the time he returned, the Xie and Pingyuan Hou mansions would be making preparations for the wedding to be held in early spring.

And that was when she'd have to start plotting her escape from the marriage...