Chapter 9: Exposure

“Brother Zhiyu.”

That sudden coquettish call made the hairs on one’s neck stand on end.

He Zhiyu looked at Li Wu without betraying any emotion.

Yet through the veil of her hat, he couldn’t discern her expression.

His gaze shifted downward, and he saw her hands clinging to his arm, leaning intimately against his side.

He Zhiyu’s fingers tightened around the large bunch of candied hawthorns she had shoved into his hand.

Underneath the veil, Li Wu was watching Lü Xueying.

This business of marrying into the Tatars had come about so strangely that it was still uncertain whether it was tied to Minister Lü and the Lü family.

But she and the Lü family indeed harbored some grudges.

Li Wu noted the subtle changes in Lü Xueying’s expression and eyes at this moment.

Her smile remained undiminished, and she gained clarity about why Lü Xueying had appeared before her and He Zhiyu.

And after Li Wu spoke, Lü Xueying became even more certain of her own judgment.

The young lady in red, riding with He Zhiyu in plain sight through the streets, was none other than Li Wu.

What did it matter if her face was hidden by a veiled hat?

What did it matter if she pinched her voice to hide its true sound?

A woman so bold, so wanton and willful—there could not be a second such person in all of the capital.

Even if she hid her lotus-like face, she couldn’t hide everything else.

Lü Xueying lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over Li Wu’s graceful, enchanting figure. The corner of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. Inside her sleeve, her hand clenched into a fist, then slowly relaxed. After that, she no longer looked at Li Wu and only glanced at He Zhiyu, saying, “Since Lord He has matters to attend to, I shall not disturb you further.” She bowed slightly and took her leave.

Once she turned away, seemingly headed back toward the teahouse, the warmth on Lü Xueying’s face instantly vanished.

She pondered over what was going on between Li Wu and He Zhiyu.

He Zhiyu had always insisted on sending Li Wu to marry into the Tatars, as if with hate and resentment. Why then was he now behaving so intimately with her?

Had he… already defected to her side so quickly?

Lü Xueying frowned, then felt something was amiss.

Li Wu had concealed her face with a veiled hat, clearly not wanting her identity revealed.

Perhaps He Zhiyu was not willingly allowing this intimacy. After all, Li Wu was ever cunning and full of schemes, always finding ways to make trouble.

Back at the teahouse, Lü Xueying’s tightly knitted brows suddenly smoothed.

Li Wu had hidden her identity while walking beside He Zhiyu. Others wouldn’t know the young lady with him was actually Princess Pingyang, and she too could pretend not to know.

In the eyes of outsiders, this young lady’s identity was uncertain, but her relationship with He Zhiyu seemed unusual. Many young women in the capital adored He Zhiyu. If this nameless lady, riding together with him and acting overly intimate, drew jealousy and invited misfortune—who could she blame?

In the past, Li Wu had made her suffer countless humiliations, leaving her face smeared with disgrace. She had not forgotten a single one.

Now, at last, Li Wu’s retribution had arrived.

Thinking of this, Lü Xueying’s lips curved upward.

Her mood instantly lifted. Once back inside the teahouse, she immediately summoned her attendants and whispered detailed instructions.

---

Only after Lü Xueying returned to the teahouse did Li Wu finally, unhurriedly, release her hold on He Zhiyu’s arm.

Turning her head, she looked at him through the light veil.

“Lord He.”

She retrieved her candied hawthorns from his hand, her eyes glimmering with amusement as she smiled. “It seems we’ve been exposed.”

He Zhiyu thought for a moment and quickly realized Li Wu meant that Lü Xueying had recognized her.

But as he grasped this, Li Wu had already swung onto her horse. Sitting high in the saddle, she lowered her head slightly, as if looking down at him.

“Brother Zhiyu, next time we’ll eat lotus pastries again.”

“I shall take my leave.”

Her teasing words had barely fallen before she took advantage of the thinning crowd on the street, spurred her horse, and galloped away.

Leaving He Zhiyu standing alone.

The sound of hooves faded into the distance.

Her flowing figure on horseback disappeared at the far end of the street.

He Zhiyu’s face darkened, his eyes fixed for a long time on the direction she had gone. The mood that had lightened somewhat when she’d led him out of He Xian’s study now sank into deeper gloom. Along with it rose disgust and hatred—disgust at how easily he fell for her tricks, hatred at how, though he knew her heart was cold and unfeeling, he had still believed her when she said, “Let’s go ride,” and followed her out of the Marquis of Xuanping’s estate.

In the blink of an eye, she had shown two different sides.

She could step forward boldly to defend him, favoring him without hesitation. Yet just as easily, she could abandon him on the street.

Truly worthy of being Li Wu—she was indeed Li Wu.

She had even spent his money to buy ten skewers of candied hawthorns, without leaving a single skewer for him.

He Zhiyu tugged the corner of his mouth.

Unexpectedly, his sleeve was tugged too. Looking down, he saw a little girl with childish hair buns tilt up her small face, her innocent eyes gazing at him.

“Here, candied hawthorns for you.”

A skewer of candied hawthorns was offered to him with that soft little voice.

His eyes shifted to the bright-red skewer before him.

He didn’t take it immediately. Instead, he lifted his gaze to the woman selling the candied hawthorns.

She explained on her own: “That young lady just now picked this one out, said it didn’t need to be wrapped.”

He Zhiyu’s gaze froze for a moment before he finally accepted the skewer.

He glanced once more in the direction Li Wu had left.

The street bustled with hurried passersby, but her familiar figure was already gone.

He brought the candied hawthorns to his lips.

The sugar-coated hawthorn entered his mouth, and the mingled sweetness and tartness quickly spread across his tongue.

Pressing his lips tightly together, he turned and walked back.

Back at the marquis’s estate, images surfaced of Li Wu putting the veiled hat on him at the gates, then of her words and actions along the street.

And also her remark that “we seem to have been exposed.”

He Zhiyu suddenly realized something and froze. A few breaths later, he spun around abruptly.

But by then, he was already at the gates of the Marquis of Xuanping’s estate.

His face shifted repeatedly, and finally, suppressing his anger, he ordered in a deep voice for a horse to be prepared.

---

Li Wu had already ridden out of the city.

She galloped until she reached the woods outside the city, where many hibiscus trees grew.

Their white and pink blossoms scattered among lush leaves, like rosy clouds, a sight refreshing to the heart.

Near these woods stood a pavilion.

She urged her horse forward, stopped near the pavilion, and dismounted.

Inside, she sat down at a stone table, removed her veiled hat and set it aside, then slowly unwrapped her candied hawthorns. The sugar coating had begun to melt slightly, so she drew out a silk handkerchief, using it to pick up a skewer in good condition to eat.

The red hawthorn balls filled her pale cheeks as she chewed.

The taste was still excellent. She was delighted, her eyes curved into crescents with joy.

Cool breezes drifted through the pavilion.

She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a group of men approaching but continued eating at her leisurely pace.

“Little lady, why are you here all alone?”

The frivolous words rang out in the pavilion. Li Wu paid them no attention, lazily taking another bite of her candied hawthorn.

The man in front drew nearer.

When he clearly saw her face, his eyes lit up. His gaze fell on her lips.

Soft and rosy, the corners gently upturned, shaping an alluring curve.

The leader suddenly felt his mouth dry, and he swallowed unconsciously.

Her smile deepened. She slowly finished the last hawthorn on her skewer.

She rewrapped the remaining five skewers in oiled paper.

Her fingers still rested lightly on the silk handkerchief.

Turning her head, she smiled at the lewd man staring at her in a daze. “Want to play something exciting?”

Her smile made the man’s blood boil.

His eyes gleamed. He stepped closer, rubbing his hands. “What does the little lady want to play with me?”

Li Wu smiled.

Moments later, screams of agony pierced the pavilion, one after another, unceasing…

---

When He Zhiyu found her, Li Wu was sitting on the stone steps in front of the pavilion, resting her chin in her hands. Beside her lay an oiled paper package and a handful of pink-and-white hibiscus blossoms. After a quick scan confirming she was unharmed, he dismounted, face cold, and strode forward.

As he neared, he saw the pavilion floor strewn with groaning bodies.

His eyes grew colder, a shadow settling deep within them.

“You knew there was danger. Why didn’t you say so?”

He stopped a step before her, lowered his head, and asked in a harsh voice.

She didn’t even lift her eyes.

Grinding his teeth, he closed that last step, half kneeling before her, gripping her chin to force her gaze upward.

“You did it on purpose.”

The words came out through clenched teeth.

Her beautiful eyes looked at him innocently, half smiling. “I don’t understand what Lord He means.”

She brushed his hand away, rubbing her chin with the back of her hand.

He Zhiyu trembled with rage, lips quivering. He shot to his feet, nearly storming off in anger.

But in the end, he only turned his back on her, refusing to look at her again.

Li Wu had indeed been waiting for someone.

But not for him. She hadn’t expected him to come.

She had thought he would only learn of this matter tomorrow.

As she mused, she raised her eyes to the man’s back.

His words had revealed that he had sensed something amiss and had come after her. Not knowing where she had gone, he must have made some effort to track her.

How had he realized?

He’d arrived later than those in the pavilion, so it was unlikely he’d discovered them plotting against her by chance. The only remaining possibility was Lü Xueying.

But Lü Xueying hadn’t said anything in front of them.

So—it must have been him.

Even after she abandoned him in the street, he was still dwelling on her words?

So he’d noticed something strange?

Li Wu’s lashes fluttered, her lips curving.

“He Zhiyu, aren’t you set on sending me to the Tatars to marry? What does my danger have to do with you?”

“If anything were to happen to Your Highness, this humble servant could not escape blame.”

After a pause, he answered with eyes closed.

“Could not escape blame?” Li Wu chuckled, smiling sweetly while deliberately speaking with scorn. “Is Lord He saying that marrying me off to the Tatars was truly because he believed I would live a peaceful and happy life, with a good husband and filial children?”

He Zhiyu fell silent, replying only with silence.

When she had left him on his own, he hadn’t realized she’d already seen the danger and was acting with intent.

He should have figured it out sooner.

The moment she said Lü Xueying had recognized her, he should have understood why Lü Xueying had seen through but not revealed her identity.

“…Forgive me.”

He opened his mouth, but his low words were drowned out by the sound of approaching hooves.

He raised his eyes just as Li Wu stood.

She walked past him with a bright smile. He Zhiyu looked at her back, then fixed his gaze on the rider approaching.

It was Xi Mingzhong.

Watching Li Wu walk toward him with a smile, He Zhiyu pressed his lips into a thin line, his heart sinking heavily.