Chapter 111: Teasing — We’re a Pair of Shameless Adulterers
“What?!” Nan Xun sprang to her feet, asking urgently, “Did you find out the assassin’s name? Was it—was it Yan Han?”
Cui Huan shook her head through her tears. “This servant is useless. I couldn’t find out. I only know that the assassin has already been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.”
The moment Nan Xun heard the words Ministry of Justice, her body trembled violently. “The Ministry of Justice? That kind of place devours people without even spitting out bones. Once you go in, how could you possibly come out alive!”
“Cui Huan, Cui Huan, go ask again. You must find out that assassin’s name!” Nan Xun tried her best to maintain a calm expression, but her flickering gaze had already betrayed her worry and anxiety.
Cui Huan nodded repeatedly and hurried off in a fluster.
The Void Beast clapped enthusiastically. “Darling, your acting is amazing! If I didn’t know what kind of person you really are, I would’ve been fooled too.”
Nan Xun maintained her restless, uneasy demeanor all the way back to the inner hall. With a bang, she shut the door, then yawned. “Little Eight, I’ve been casting this net for quite a while now. It’s time to reel it in.”
Little Eight looked confused. “What net did you cast? When did you even cast it?”
Nan Xun chuckled. “If I hadn’t given Yan Mohan a hint—letting him think I might already have feelings for him—how could he have staged today’s little show? Ahhh, it’s finally time to cut loose a bit. I’ve been pretending for so long; it’s exhausting.”
Little Eight: …
Nan Xun spent the entire night “frightened out of her wits.” Cui Huan still hadn’t returned with news. She gazed at the night outside the window as it grew darker and darker. Pale moonlight spilled through the window, casting a silvery veil over her pitch-black, luminous eyes, making them look moist, as if she had been crying.
She didn’t know how long she had been staring outside when a dark shadow suddenly flashed across her vision.
Nan Xun’s expression changed. With a bang, she pushed the door open and ran out.
But there was no one in the courtyard. She couldn’t help wondering if that fleeting shadow had just been her imagination.
Just as Nan Xun turned back toward the room in a daze, she looked up and saw a man standing only a few steps away. Her feet came to an abrupt halt.
He was still dressed in a black, fitted robe, tall and outstanding. The silver mask on his face glinted coldly in the night, his thin lips pressed together lightly.
“Yaoyao…” the man murmured. Just those two short syllables were spoken with a trace of tender longing.
Nan Xun held it in and held it in, but finally couldn’t anymore. With a wail, she burst into tears and rushed toward him, throwing herself into his arms.
Yan Han hurriedly held her tight, squeezing her closer and closer.
His voice sounded even deeper and hoarser in the night. “Yaoyao, I originally didn’t want to come and disturb you again, but I couldn’t help myself. I still wanted to come see you.”
Nan Xun shook her head as she cried. “Don’t say it, don’t say any more. Yan Han, I like you. I think… I really have fallen for you!”
Yan Han’s body stiffened abruptly. He lifted her face sharply. “Yaoyao, what did you say? You… I… I—didn’t hear wrong just now, did I? Did you say you like me?”
But when he met Nan Xun’s tear-streaked little face, the immense joy on Yan Han’s face was quickly replaced by concern. He carefully wiped away the tears on her cheeks. “Yaoyao, don’t cry. Tell me what happened. Who bullied you? I’ll go beat him up!”
Nan Xun broke into a smile through her tears and then told him about the misunderstanding with the assassin.
Yan Han couldn’t help laughing. He pinched her nose. “Yaoyao, you really underestimate me. Do you think I’m that useless? Not to brag, but I know the entire palace’s defensive layout like the back of my hand. I could avoid the patrolling guards even with my eyes closed.”
Nan Xun chuckled softly and wrapped her arms around his waist.
She tilted her head slightly to look at him. Having just cried, her eyes looked especially bright and watery, as if filled with twin pools of spring water.
“Yan Han, are you afraid?” she suddenly asked.
Yan Han cupped her small face in both hands, his thumb gently stroking her delicate cheek as he asked softly, “Afraid of what?”
Nan Xun blinked, looking innocent. “Aren’t you afraid the emperor will discover that we shameless adulterers are fooling around behind his back, and then chop us both into pieces?”
Yan Han’s hand paused. Deep in his eyes, something intense churned violently. But just as that emotion was about to burst forth, he forcibly suppressed it, and his gaze became incomparably gentle.
He smiled faintly at Nan Xun. “Yaoyao, how could you talk about yourself like that? If the emperor really does find out, I’ll find a way to take you out of the palace. Yaoyao, I may not compare to the emperor and his supreme power, but the Yan family is well-off. I will definitely let you live a life of luxury.”
Nan Xun burst out laughing, lifting her chin as she looked at him. “I come from a family of generals. My grandfather is Old General Qin, my father was the vanguard general. What kind of luxurious life haven’t I seen? As for power—even if the emperor asked me to become the mistress of the harem, I, Qin Buyao, wouldn’t care for it. Being empress sounds impressive, but in truth it’s just managing a whole flock of concubines for the emperor. Those women speak with hidden barbs and endless twists and turns—I hate that kind of thing the most. Everyone in the Qin family is straightforward; we do what we think. I can’t learn that sort of behavior.”
As she spoke, her expression was radiant, her eyes bright and lively, carrying a touch of pride—yet it didn’t make her the least bit unpleasant.
Yan Han’s eyes flickered slightly, and for a moment he was completely entranced.
Nan Xun suddenly reached out and hooked Yan Han’s chin with her finger, smiling slyly as she asked, “Young Master Yan Han, once you board this pirate ship of mine, there’s no getting off. Have you really thought it through?”
Yan Han reached out and grasped the finger lifting his chin, scolding her with a smile, “Nonsense.”
“Yaoyao, I won’t regret it. I only hope that in the future, you won’t regret it.” Yan Han looked at her with blazing intensity. The corner of his lips curved upward, carrying a hint of wickedness.
When Cui Huan came in crying, what she saw was her lady gazing affectionately at Young Master Yan—the very man she had thought was already suffering brutal torture in the Ministry of Justice. A handsome man and a beautiful woman, so lovely it made her heart ache.
“So Young Master Yan, you’re fine! Her Ladyship was so worried about you just now,” Cui Huan said, sniffling.
When Yan Han saw Cui Huan enter, he was about to loosen his hold on the woman in his arms. Unexpectedly, Nan Xun immediately hugged him tighter and smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Cui Huan is one of us.”
Yan Han: … Truly a shameless woman.
The arm he had been about to withdraw instead wrapped around Nan Xun’s slender waist again.
“Yaoyao, so you were that worried about me.” Yan Han looked down at the little woman in his arms with a half-smile.
Nan Xun didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Instead, she smiled and asked, “Well? Are you a little moved?”
Yan Han didn’t quite know how to respond. After a pause, he said, “Yaoyao, I’m very glad you like me. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do with you.”
Hearing this, Nan Xun smiled brightly and was just about to reply when Little Eight suddenly ruined the mood by blurting out, “That’s it! That’s the line! The one domineering CEOs always say in romance novels—What am I supposed to do with you! Wahahaha! As expected of the big boss—coming up with such avant-garde sweet talk!”
