Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Afraid He Might Eat Her

Chun Zhi said: “You are always careful. Go outside and see if the Gu family left anyone guarding the door.”

Huo Zheng did not answer right away and kept writing.

Chun Zhi waited at the door for a while, then could not help walking in to stand before him. He had just finished a letter. He blew the ink dry, folded the page, and slid it into an envelope.

He did all of this without looking aside, as if it did not matter to him whether Chun Zhi came in or not.

Chun Zhi asked, “Are you done?”

He hummed a soft “mm,” his tone flat, his face giving nothing away.

Standing by the desk, Chun Zhi spoke again: “Yu Zhu is about to leave. Go outside and check if the Gu family left anyone watching her.”

Huo Zheng raised his brows at her and said nothing, yet it felt like he had said everything.

Chun Zhi pressed her lips together, leaned in, and gave his thin lips a quick kiss.

It was a light touch and then she pulled back, but the man caught her by the waist, and a deep, urgent kiss fell at once.

He lifted her to sit on the desk. Nanzhou had worn him down with busy, messy affairs. Only when he tangled with Chun Zhi did he feel a brief moment of joy. But Chun Zhi took the lead only at night, behind the bed curtains. In the day, she wished to stay far from him and did not even dare meet his eyes, as if she were afraid he might eat her.

He was not pleased by that at all. [Since she is my woman, she should belong to me completely.]

No one knew how long the kiss lasted. Chun Zhi’s lips stung a little, as if he would kiss them raw, before he finally let her go.

She panted for breath, her cheeks flushed. Her eyes were bright, like peach blossoms, as she looked up at him.

He set her down from the desk. When her feet touched the floor, her legs went weak and she almost could not stand. He gave a low laugh.

Blushing even harder, Chun Zhi pushed him lightly and said, “Go take a look.”

Only then did Huo Zheng tuck the letter into his sleeve and walk toward the door.

Through the window, Chun Zhi watched him open the courtyard gate. He looked outside for a moment, then turned back.

She rubbed her cheeks and went to meet him: “Well? Is anyone out there?”

Keeping a straight face, Huo Zheng said: “Yes.”

“I knew it!” Chun Zhi snapped: “I knew the Gu family would not let Yu Zhu go so easily.”

The corners of his mouth lifted as he added: “But they may not be from the Gu family.”

Chun Zhi fell silent: “…”

She could not help asking: “I asked you to see if the Gu family left anyone out there. How did you look?”

“You asked if there were people outside,” he said, then added, “There are.”

“But not necessarily Gu family people, right?” she muttered, already guessing what he would say, then said with annoyance: “Go do whatever you were doing.”

She went into the next room and told Yu Zhu: “People are coming and going outside. If someone sees you and tells the Gu family, that would be bad. Do this: wear my clothes, do your hair like mine, and go to the ferry to take a boat out.”

Linshui Town is a water town. Boats come and go at the ferry every day, to many places. On the water, one trip can take ten days, half a month, even a whole month. People on land cannot easily track a boat passenger. For Yu Zhu right now, the best way was to leave by boat.

Yu Zhu nodded and said: “I was thinking of leaving by boat too.”

“I will get you an old outfit to change into,” said Chun Zhi.

Yu Zhu waited quietly in the room.

Chun Zhi stepped out and saw Huo Zheng about to leave, so she called: “Huo Zheng, where are you going?”

He looked back and said: “Didn’t you tell me to go do whatever I was doing?”

She choked and said: “Go a little later.”

He stood not far away, his dark eyes on her, silent.

Chun Zhi beckoned: “Come here.”

He did not move.

She took two steps closer and said: “Come here.”

Only then did he walk forward a couple of steps, as if granting a favor.

Chun Zhi hurried up to him and rose on tiptoe to whisper in his ear: “In a moment I will dress Yu Zhu to look like me. Please see her to the ferry on your way.”

His face did not change, and his tone was calm: “It is not on my way.”

Chun Zhi said with a sigh: “Then treat it as making a special trip for her, all right?”

“No,” he refused without mercy: “Why should I make a special trip for her?”

That question left her stuck. She said: “She has been calling you brother-in-law for days. As her brother-in-law, why can’t you walk her to the ferry?”

[If I dress Yu Zhu like me and have Huo Zheng go out with her, it will hide her trail,] she thought. But he had refused at once.

“We only pretended to marry,” he said. “Does that make the brother-in-law part real?”

“You…” She had not expected him to use that to block her. She stared at him for a long time and still could not come up with a comeback.

Balling her hand into a fist, she thumped his chest once, face red, and lowered her voice: “Maybe it started as pretend, but you and I are husband and wife now. Yu Zhu is my sister. What is wrong with asking you to see her off?”

For some reason, that pleased him. The corner of his mouth lifted and he said: “Hurry up.”

“What?” Chun Zhi blinked, then realized, “You agreed?”

He did not answer.

“You agreed!” she repeated, then rushed back into the room to fetch a set of her plain old clothes and handed them to Yu Zhu.

After Yu Zhu changed, Chun Zhi combed her hair and tied the bun with the hair ribbon she herself used every day. The two were about the same size, and with the right details, Yu Zhu’s back looked very much like Chun Zhi’s.

“This should be enough,” said Chun Zhi. “All right, let’s go.”

Huo Zheng waited for them in the yard.

Carrying a small bundle, Yu Zhu walked out and said: “Chun Zhi, sister…”

Chun Zhi patted her hand to comfort her and said: “Don’t be afraid. I asked Huo Zheng to see you to the ferry.”

She lowered her voice and added: “Take good care of yourself out there. When the trouble dies down, come back to me.”

Chun Zhi could hardly bear to part. She told Yu Zhu many things and warned her: “If you really decide to end the pregnancy, go to a proper clinic for medicine. Do not go to a heartless doctor. Ending a pregnancy is serious. A small mistake could cost you your life.”

Yu Zhu nodded again and again. She also hated to leave Chun Zhi. But she could not stay in Linshui Town. She had to go.

Watching the two say their long goodbyes, Huo Zheng wondered how they had so much to talk about. At last, when Chun Zhi had said all she needed to say, Yu Zhu followed him toward the gate.

He lifted the latch and pulled the courtyard door open. Just as they were about to step out, two Gu family attendants, the same pair who had come that morning, walked up to them at the same time.