Jiang Yanyi felt so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

As she turned away with a flushed face, distracted, she stepped on some frost and slipped, losing her balance.

She tumbled over the wall.

“Hua Hua!”

Qui Kui screamed in fright as she saw Jiang Yanyi fall over the courtyard wall.

Jiang Yanyi was sure that this fall would leave her either dead or seriously injured, and she closed her eyes tightly, bracing for impact.

But the expected pain didn’t come.

Instead, she felt a firm grip around her waist, and a soft grunt sounded near her ear.

The warmth of breath brushed against her, leaving a tickling sensation that made her shiver.

She opened her eyes to find Feng Shuo’s handsome face right in front of her.

His lips were tightly pressed together, his jawline tense as if enduring some kind of pain.

Behind him, the pomegranate tree had mostly yellowed leaves that fell with each gust of wind, spinning as they drifted down.

At that moment, the world seemed to fall silent.

The only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat, quickening with each passing second.

“Are… are you alright?” she asked, worried that her fall from the wall might have hurt Feng Shuo’s arms.

Feng Shuo’s gaze dropped slightly, and he quietly replied, “Your hand.”

Following his gaze, she realized she had instinctively grabbed his collar during the fall.

Mortified, she quickly let go. “Sorry, sorry…”

In her panic, she had clung to anything she could reach, treating his collar as a lifeline.

She’d grabbed on so tightly that it pulled the fabric aside, revealing a muscular shoulder.

A vicious scar ran from his left shoulder blade down his back, disappearing beneath his shirt, and the deeper it went, the wider and more jagged it became.

The sight of the scar alone made her wince; it looked as if someone had struck him so forcefully that it had torn open his shoulder.

Jiang Yanyi could hardly imagine how he’d survived such a wound.

Feng Shuo, seeming uncomfortable with her looking at his scar, quickly straightened his collar once she was stable.

He covered the scar with his hand, his brow furrowed as if the earlier grunt had been a result of the old wound.

From the way he acted, Jiang Yanyi guessed that catching her had probably strained the scar. “Let me get you a doctor,” she offered hastily.

“There’s no need.”

He looked her over and then asked, “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, although her lower back ached slightly where his firm grip had been.

Feng Shuo said, “The parrot can fly down from the wall by itself next time. No need to climb.”

His words sounded factual but hinted at a challenge to her earlier excuse about climbing the wall to “rescue the parrot.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she felt the need to explain, “With the frost today, I thought it might have frozen up on the wall and couldn’t get down.”

“Even so, is a bird worth risking your life?”

There was a hint of anger in his tone, almost as if he were scolding her.

She opened her mouth to respond, but when she looked up into his intense gaze, the words stuck in her throat.

The parrot was a gift from him.

If she admitted that, it would reveal how much she valued his gift; if she denied it, her actions of climbing the wall would seem contradictory.

Jiang Yanyi felt a surge of confusion.

She’d been trying to avoid thinking about her feelings for Feng Shuo, and whether her affection for the parrot had anything to do with him, she wasn’t sure.

The two stood there in silence, simply gazing at each other.

She finally dropped her gaze, her long lashes fluttering as she looked down.

Her lips were pressed together, their color a soft, enticing red, like rose petals blooming in early spring, tempting to be picked.

“There won’t be a next time,” she murmured. “I apologize for troubling you today, but… could I borrow a ladder?”

After all, she’d climbed into his courtyard without using the proper entrance.

If anyone saw her leave this way, they might start to gossip, which would ruin her reputation.

And with her business depending on that, any damage to her name could mean the end of her livelihood.

She thought it would be safer to use the ladder to climb back over the wall.

The ladder was still on her side of the courtyard, so as long as she was careful, there shouldn’t be any issues.

Feng Shuo’s gaze lingered on her rosy lips for a moment.

He suppressed the urge to kiss those petal-like lips until she cried, then turned his eyes away and said coldly, “Are you really this unsatisfied without breaking an arm or leg?”

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but retort, “I wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t scared me.”

Feng Shuo’s face darkened, “Do I look that frightening?”

Jiang Yanyi thought to herself, It’s not really about looks; wherever he stands, the air seems to freeze. He’s like a grim reaper walking the earth.

Out loud, she replied, “No, no, Your Highness, you’re magnificent, as handsome as Pan An, radiant like an orchid, and unmatched in beauty.”

Feng Shuo scoffed, “Flatterer.”

Jiang Yanyi was speechless. Is there no way to win? Not flattering is wrong, and flattering is also wrong?

Feng Shuo glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and seeing her at a loss, he turned and gave her his back. “Follow me.”

He seemed slightly pleased by her reaction.

Jiang Yanyi quickly lifted her skirts to keep up with him. “Are we going to get the ladder?”

Feng Shuo paused and looked back at her, unable to resist. “…Is there anything else in that head of yours besides ladders?”

Once again rebuked, Jiang Yanyi reminded herself that he had saved her life.

Stay calm; don’t get angry.

Feng Shuo led her through a series of twists and turns in the estate.

Although she often came to the estate to water the pepper plants, she only ever went directly to the greenhouse and didn’t dare wander about.

Now, following him through unfamiliar corridors and seeing no other servants around, she finally asked, “Your Highness, where are you taking me?”

Feng Shuo walked ahead, “Where do you think?”

A chill ran down Jiang Yanyi’s spine. “Please… don’t tease a humble woman like me.”

Feng Shuo ignored her and continued walking.

Jiang Yanyi glanced down the narrow, empty pathway and hesitated before running to catch up.

Sensing her approach, he sneered, “Not afraid I’ll take advantage of you?”

Jiang Yanyi immediately praised him, “I’m not afraid; Your Highness is an upright gentleman who wouldn’t do something so dishonorable.”

Feng Shuo stopped suddenly and looked at her with an unreadable expression. “I’m not always so noble.”

His restrained yet predatory gaze made her heart race, and her palms grew clammy.

This is his estate. If he really intended to do something, what could I possibly do?

“Huahua!” A cheerful voice called out from nearby, interrupting her thoughts.

Jiang Yanyi looked up to see Qiu Kui coming toward them with a few of the estate’s young servants.

When Qiu Kui saw Jiang Yanyi fall off the wall earlier, she had been so terrified that her eyes filled with tears.

If Feng Shuo hadn’t been there, she might have rushed over and hugged her, sobbing.

“Your Highness.” The young servants quickly bowed upon seeing Feng Shuo.

“At ease,” he said lazily.

The lead servant explained, “Someone from the Jiang family next door came over to knock, saying their shopkeeper climbed up the wall to rescue a parrot and accidentally fell into our west courtyard. I was just about to bring some people over to check.”

“This path leads to the west courtyard,” Feng Shuo said, glancing at Jiang Yanyi. “I happened to be practicing martial arts there and saw her fall.”

Jiang Yanyi suddenly understood why Feng Shuo hadn’t let her climb back over the wall.

She had been so single-minded about getting back that she hadn’t considered Qiukui would have gone to the estate to seek help after seeing her fall.

She sincerely thanked him, “Your Highness, I shall never forget your life-saving kindness today…”

He interrupted her, “Enough. I just happened to be there. If you keep going on like this, the proper repayment would be to marry me, wouldn’t it?”

As she froze in alarm, he deliberately looked her up and down, then drawled, “If you were to marry me, I’d be on the losing end.”

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t tell whether she was relieved or irritated by his teasing.

She bowed, “If Your Highness ever has use for me, I will repay you, even if it means risking my life.”

Feng Shuo seemed to dislike her formal tone, and he snorted, suddenly sounding colder, “I should have just let you half-die instead.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving her puzzled by his mercurial temper.

The young servant led her and Qiukui out of the estate, and Jiang Yanyi didn’t linger any longer.

As she passed through the decorative gate, she turned back out of curiosity and saw Feng Shuo standing by the wall.

His posture was stiff, with one hand pressed against his left shoulder, head slightly bowed, concealing his expression. He must have aggravated an old injury while saving her.

An odd twinge pulled at her heart.