The middle of the night.
Ruan Ziji tossed and turned on the inn bed, his mind a chaotic jumble of unbidden images.
Was Young Master Xie still at Xu Hengyan's place? Would the two of them share a bed!
Shen Qinghuai had been in Ninghe for so long, yet Xu Hengyan had never once sought her out. He neglected his own fiancée, only to get involved with Young Master Xie!
Was Xu Hengyan's behavior normal?
How could Ruan Ziji not be filled with suspicion!
Young Master Xie was also very close to Xu Hengyan! Much closer than he was to Ruan Ziji! How could Ruan Ziji not feel wary!
That fool Xu Laosan had sworn up and down that his second brother had nothing going on with Young Master Xie. What did that great idiot Xu Laosan know!
Ruan Ziji slammed his fist onto the bed board, then threw off the thin quilt and sat up, pacing back and forth in the room with a frown.
He had finally found someone who suited him in every way! In this life and the next, he might never find anyone more to his liking than Young Master Xie!
He definitely wouldn't.
There was only one Young Master Xie in the world.
Did Xu Hengyan intend to solidify the rumors and steal him away!
Did Duke Wei know that his good son was intent on eradicating the direct bloodline of the Xu family!
The more Ruan Ziji thought, the more agitated he became, unable to sleep. No matter how confident he was, he didn't believe he could be Xu Hengyan's opponent!
The night watchman heard the commotion and asked softly from outside the door. The door suddenly opened from the inside.
"Young Marquis?" the servant asked, stunned to see Ruan Ziji fully dressed.
"I'm going out. None of you are to follow, and no one is to know."
Ruan Ziji lowered his voice and glanced at the rooms where Xu Hengyi and Xia Zeshi were staying. They were already asleep.
The servant nodded. "When will you be back?"
"It depends."
Perhaps Young Master Xie wouldn't bear to see him travel in the middle of the night and might let him stay at the Xie residence for the night.
After speaking, Ruan Ziji quietly left the inn and headed straight for the Xie residence.
~
This residence on the back street of the county yamen wasn't large. Ruan Ziji had entered and exited a few times in the past two days, and he easily scaled the wall into Xie Jiang's courtyard.
Ruan Ziji crouched on the roof of the adjacent side room and discovered that Xie Jiang's room still had a light on. The figure under the lamp was none other than Young Master Xie!
So Young Master Xie had already returned.
Ruan Ziji's heart immediately felt at ease.
What he didn't know was that in the darkness, several pairs of eyes had already fixed on him before he even climbed over the wall.
They were just waiting for him to make a move, ready to make him disappear from the world.
Having seen with his own eyes that Young Master Xie was in his own room and not consorting with Xu Hengyan, Ruan Ziji should have had no reason to worry.
Yet, as he gazed at the figure in the room, Ruan Ziji felt a reluctance to leave.
What was Young Master Xie so busy with, staying up so late?
He seemed to be opening letters, and after reading them, he spent a long time writing with a brush, then sealed them and handed them to a servant.
Before long, someone left with the letters.
Ruan Ziji lowered his head, and only after the person left the courtyard did he cautiously lift it again.
Young Master Xie continued to read letters. Below him, someone stood respectfully, seemingly reporting something.
After receiving some instruction, the person bowed and left the room.
Ruan Ziji retracted his head again, his face pressed against the cool roof tiles.
After a while, he looked up again and saw another person enter the room, seemingly reporting matters to Young Master Xie.
Young Master Xie was usually quite leisurely and seemed no different from them, but it turned out he was different.
Through the window, it seemed he could imagine Young Master Xie handling matters with ease.
He suddenly remembered the two rows of severed heads.
Seven or eight hundred bloodthirsty bandits had been as easy for Young Master Xie to kill as pigs and sheep awaiting slaughter.
A gust of night wind blew, and Ruan Ziji felt a chill down his spine. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Young Master Xie's strength was unfathomable.
~
In the study.
Xu Tianyi impassively inquired, "Young Marquis Ruan climbed into the residence and is lurking on the roof of the adjacent room, observing the Young Master. Should we deal with him?"
Xie Jiang rubbed his tired eyes and, without saying anything, raised a hand to signal Xu Tianyi to leave.
Was such a trivial matter worth bringing to her attention?
Xu Tianyi silently left the study and stood in the courtyard, letting out a whistle.
Ruan Ziji felt something was wrong and wanted to retreat, but it was too late. Two dark figures suddenly appeared behind him.
Ruan Ziji had almost no power to resist, and was quickly bound like a zongzi and gagged.
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph..."
Why were they tying him up!
Were they blind and didn't recognize him!
Not long ago, he had eaten dinner in Young Master Xie's courtyard!
He was Young Master Xie's friend! He meant no harm! He just wanted to see Young Master Xie! He didn't use the main entrance, that's all! Was it necessary!
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph..."
Did Young Master Xie know they were treating him like this!
Did the expressionless man who just entered the study to report to her perhaps ask Young Master Xie how to deal with him?
But he had clearly seen that Young Master Xie had not said a word!
That damned expressionless man dared to act on his own initiative!
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph..."
Feeling that Ruan Ziji was still too noisy even when gagged, Xu Tianyi frowned and delivered a swift chop to his neck.
He instantly fell silent.
The Young Master hadn't said how to deal with Ruan Ziji, but he also hadn't said to let him go.
If it weren't for the fact that Ruan Ziji had come to Ninghe specifically to visit the Young Master, anyone else who dared to spy in the middle of the night would have already been chopped up and thrown to the dogs.
They had already been lenient with Ruan Ziji.
Xu Tianyi instructed his subordinates, "Throw him here and let him starve for a couple of days."
~
The next morning, when Xu Hengyi came out of the inn, he didn't see Ruan Ziji and asked about him.
Ruan Ziji's servant vaguely replied, "The Young Marquis went out."
Xu Hengyi assumed Ruan Ziji had gone to the Xie residence and muttered to Xia Zeshi, "Why did Ruan Er run over there so early? Young Master Xie won't start eating early just for him."
To his surprise, when they arrived at the Xie residence, Ruan Ziji was nowhere to be seen.
"Ruan Er didn't come here? Then where did he go gallivanting?" Xu Hengyi looked around curiously.
Xie Jiang claimed ignorance.
She truly didn't know.
Last night, she had dealt with a backlog of matters that had been accumulating for some days. The minor incident with Ruan Ziji had been forgotten as soon as it passed her ears.
What Ruan Ziji? Ruan what ji?
She had no recollection.
~
No one knew where Ruan Ziji was.
But Xu Hengyan did.
Early in the morning, he heard Guang Qing report that Ruan Ziji had scaled the Xie residence wall in the middle of the night and hadn't come out since.
Xu Hengyan paused as he adjusted his collar. His first reaction was—Ruan Ziji, how dare he!
Then, considering another, greater possibility, he calmly and elegantly continued to adjust his collar.
Given Xie Jiang's temperament, she would surely have detained him.
Who knew what Ruan Ziji had endured all night.
Scaling the wall in the middle of the night with ill intentions, Ruan Ziji deserved no sympathy.