Chapter Two: Breathing Underwater

Pei Zhouwu turned his face, his brows suddenly tightening.

He was about to pull his hand away, but then he saw Liu Fuying leaning forward, head bowed, drinking the wild vegetable porridge in big gulps. His motion paused midair.

It must have been to stabilize herself better that she reached out just now.

The porridge wasn’t hot, so it didn’t take long for her to finish.

She slowly leaned back again, not caring whether she looked unseemly or not—there was even a trace of milky white porridge at the corner of her lips.

Pei Zhouwu blinked rapidly, then quickly averted his eyes, adhering to the principle of “see no evil.”

“I’m sorry,” Liu Fuying said nervously, hurriedly withdrawing her hand.

“I… I was just afraid your chains… that your arms would get tired holding it for too long, so I wanted to drink it faster. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine.”

Pei Zhouwu stood up as he spoke again.

“Rest well. I’ll take you down the mountain tomorrow morning.”

Though his tone remained cold, there was an almost undetectable softness in it. With that, he left the room, the iron chains at his feet dragging with a dull clank as he shut the door.

Liu Fuying stared at her left index finger, which still had a smear of porridge from the corner of her lips.

She smiled—clearly pleased with Pei Zhouwu’s reaction just now.

But moments later, her smile gave way to worry again.

Worry about how to get close to him again in the future.

She lay down with difficulty, letting out a sigh as she settled in.

She barely slept that night.

It was nearly dawn when she finally dozed off, but not long after, the door creaked open—chains clinking—announcing Pei Zhouwu’s return.

He stopped not far from the bed. Liu Fuying opened her eyes and began to sit up.

“It’s time to go down the mountain.”

“Alright.”

Lifting the blanket, she saw only one shoe by the bed. The other must have been lost when she fell from the cliff—but one was better than none.

She stepped onto the floor, but the sprain in her left foot was still extremely painful.

Even just testing a step made her break out in sweat and suck in cold air.

“The sooner you return, the less your family will worry.”

There was meaning behind Pei Zhouwu’s words, and Liu Fuying understood immediately.

Ideally, someone with her injuries should rest several more days before attempting to walk. But she was a young woman who had gone missing in the mountains—her family would surely be searching. If she reappeared after several days alone, tongues would wag. Rumors would spread.

Her injuries weren’t life-threatening—just painful.

As she raised her head, sweat-drenched, she saw Pei Zhouwu offering the iron chain behind him—inviting her to hold it for support, as if offering his hand.

Her heart skipped—how amusing.

She reached out and grabbed it. The chain was cold, yet it felt warm in her grasp. The heat came from her heart, and it lit a smile in her eyes.

She’d never met anyone like him. Pei Zhouwu was fascinating in every way.

To accommodate her, Pei Zhouwu walked very slowly.

Outside the room, Liu Fuying paused—stunned by what she saw.

The courtyard was surrounded by sheer cliffs, towering so high their peaks weren’t visible. Only one side of the courtyard opened to the sky, where a massive mountain loomed ominously, as if it might collapse at any moment.

This was truly a “heavenly prison.”

There were only two rooms in the courtyard. One was the one she had slept in last night. The other, slightly larger, was directly opposite the exit—likely where the guards were stationed.

Yet Pei Zhouwu did not take her toward that direction.

Instead, he led her around the side—where, behind the sleeping quarters, a deep spring revealed itself.

“What’s this…?”

She was still wondering when Pei Zhouwu asked another question.

“You’re from the capital?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should know who I am. There is no second person in the capital shackled with chains and imprisoned on Xiang Mountain.”

Liu Fuying fell silent.

Of course she had guessed his identity long ago, even if she never let it show.

For him to suddenly reveal it now could only mean one thing…

Her downcast eyes lit up. Could it be that this spring led to a secret passage?

“Yes, the name of the Imperial Uncle Pei is known throughout the capital.”

“I’ll take you through the water and get you out,” Pei Zhouwu said.

And Liu Fuying knew then—just as she suspected, there was an exit underwater.

She immediately responded, “Imperial Uncle, rest assured. I won’t reveal a word of the underwater escape route. You’re only avoiding the front gate for the sake of my reputation, and I will not betray your kindness.”

“Kindness?”

Pei Zhouwu raised an eyebrow, a self-mocking smile on his lips.

“Do you know why I’m imprisoned here?”

She did. Treason.

She didn’t know the details, but the sentence was public knowledge—how could the Empress’s own younger brother’s alleged rebellion not be scandalous?

She bit her lip. There wasn’t a good answer to that.

Pei Zhouwu turned away again, dropping the subject. “Do you know how to swim?”

“A little.”

She lied—her swimming was excellent.

Pei Zhouwu hesitated but had no other options. Wordlessly, he guided her into the water using the chain.

Soon, their figures vanished below the surface. The chains shackling Pei Zhouwu’s limbs dragged him down fast. As they neared the bottom, he suddenly kicked off and swam forward with force.

Liu Fuying squinted and caught a glimmer of light ahead.

Swimming closer, a narrow passage appeared.

The farther they went, the brighter the glow became.

She glanced back at Pei Zhouwu. His hair fanned out in the water, casting flickering shadows across his side profile—a vision so surreal it looked like a dream.

A strand of hair brushed across his deep red lips, and she stared, mesmerized.

Then a thought struck her.

As Pei Zhouwu turned, sensing something was wrong, she was already putting on a desperate act—face flushed, eyes squeezed shut, clearly suffocating. Even underwater, her pain was visible.

If she didn’t get air soon, and with her injuries, she’d likely die.

Surely he wouldn’t just let her drown now—after all, he had saved her just yesterday.

In less than a second, Pei Zhouwu pulled her into his arms.

With one hand, he tilted up her chin.

Then he pressed his lips to hers.

In that moment of shared breath, Liu Fuying felt as though time had stopped. All she could feel was the softness of his lips—so gentle, so intoxicating.

Her husband, Shen Xiunian, had once told her she could go find other men as long as she didn’t make it public. She’d never truly been tempted.

But now… her desire surged.

So this was the thrill men sought in secret affairs.

…

When they emerged from the water, Liu Fuying was still dazed from the kiss.

Pei Zhouwu’s footsteps, chains clinking, broke her reverie. She turned and saw him holding a freshly cut wooden stick—meant to serve as a walking cane for her.

“Imperial Uncle, did you already know about the underwater exit?”

“No.”

“Then how did you find it?”

The exit lay so deep in the spring…

A chill crept up Liu Fuying’s spine.

Could it be that he had once lost hope and tried to drown himself—only to discover the exit in the process?