Chapter 16

When Su Mi opened the curtain, Qin Yan was pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed.

He was leaning on the mahogany table with one hand, supporting his forehead. His sleeve had slipped down to his elbow, revealing a well-defined muscular arm that gleamed like jade.

Su Mi paid attention to any movement from Qin Yan while she quietly sat down near the door, afraid of disturbing him.

However, even with her gentle movements, there were still some sounds. Qin Yan suddenly opened his eyes and looked in Su Mi’s direction, meeting her careful gaze.

“Greetings, My Lord,” Su Mi said softly, her voice slightly hoarse from the earlier argument with the other candidates.

Qin Yan’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed, barely noticeable. “Hmm.”

In fact, Qin Yan had been awake since Chen En came to find Feng Bao earlier. He was just resting his eyes. He withdrew his hand and adjusted his sleeve lazily, leaning back on the cushion with his eyes lowered, looking at Su Mi.

“Miss Su, this is the third time,” he said to her simply.

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It wasn’t that he cared whether Su Mi was sent by Cui Manshu or not.

It was just his habit of investigating people before letting them stay by his side.

He wanted to keep her by his side. She was someone who could make him happy, so of course he wanted to keep her by his side. He just wanted to find out her background. As for whether it was a coincidence that she met him, it didn’t matter anymore since she was in his hands.

“However, what kind of identity should I give you?” Qin Yan looked at Su Mi and murmured to himself.

His voice was too low, and Su Mi didn’t hear clearly. She only heard the words “what kind of identity” and thought Qin Yan was asking about her background.

It wasn’t much of a secret, so Su Mi decided to answer truthfully.

“My Lord, I live in the south of Jiangling City. My family runs a silk and satin business, and I have an older sister who manages it. She is the one who we met at the tavern that day.”

Su Mi earnestly explained her situation, but the person across from her still did not respond. She looked up at Qin Yan, who was also looking at her with a noticeable curve on his lips and a scorching smile.

Xuzhou was not far from the capital, and the carriage did not stop at any more relay stations along the way. Su Mi was inconvenienced as a woman, but overall, it was much more comfortable than riding on a mule cart. Qin Yan seemed to be deep in thought and didn’t say much. Su Mi naturally didn’t try to make small talk.

As they continued on their journey, half a day away from the capital, a sudden sound of galloping hooves interrupted them. The carriage came to a stop as Ling An, who was riding a horse alongside the carriage, called out in a cold voice, “Master, Xing Qianhu has sent a message by carrier pigeon.”

“What’s the matter?” Su Mi didn’t know who was outside, but at a time like this, should she avoid listening in case she heard something she shouldn’t? She simply stood up slightly, and Qin Yan gave her a quick glance up and down. 

Su Mi strangely understood his meaning and promptly sat back down.

“Master, several escaped prisoners from last month have been caught,” Ling An, who was riding outside on horseback, shouted coldly.

“Well, since they like to escape so much, cut their tendons,” Qin Yan replied calmly.

Su Mi trembled as she listened. She understood that punishing escaped prisoners was reasonable, but his tone was so indifferent, and it reminded her of the ruthless Eastern Bureau Chief that she had heard rumors about.

The first time she was rescued by Qin Yan, she couldn’t help but see him as her benefactor. She sometimes neglected his true identity. But in reality, he was always someone she couldn’t afford to offend. Thinking about her occasional disrespectful behavior and words towards him, Su Mi suddenly felt uneasy.

Last time, he seemed angry. She had caused him so much trouble. Was he selecting her to settle the score with her in the future?

Ling An outside the carriage heard Qin Yan’s expected answer and still had a cold expression on his face. “Master, how many tendons should we cut?”

Qin Yan looked at Su Mi, who was sitting further away from him, and wondered why she seemed frightened by his words. After all, he wasn’t going to cut her tendons. “Just one,” he said kindly.

“Yes.”

The carriage slowly resumed its journey, but Su Mi’s thoughts were spinning in circles. She was determined to remember Qin Yan’s identity and not say anything that would anger him.

After half a day of nervousness, the carriage finally arrived at the capital. The capital of the Ming Yin dynasty was the city of Ying Tian. The grayish-green city walls stretched for miles, with six city gates scattered in four directions.

The candidate’s mule carts came from the southern part of Jiangnan province, so they needed to enter through the South Gate. After entering the city gate, Qin Yan’s carriage did not wait for those mule carts but drove straight to the palace gate. 

On the stone path at the palace gate, the carriage gradually came to a stop.

“Thank you, sir,” Su Mi said respectfully.

“Hmm, Feng Bao will instruct the palace staff at the gate to take you to the Taiyuan Hall first.”

Su Mi bowed again inside the cramped carriage and then turned around to lift the curtain of the carriage door. When she got onto the front board of the carriage, she was a little stunned.

Qin Yan’s carriage had two horses and was much larger than a single-horse carriage. His figure was tall and slender, and getting down was a simple matter for him, but as a woman, it was clearly impossible for her to do so in one step.

When she got on the carriage, Feng Bao had brought her a chair from the post station. However, now she glanced at Feng Bao, who was talking to the coachman at the palace gate, and she didn’t want to ask for help.

Or… she could sit down first and then jump down, which would probably make it easier.

While she was hesitating, someone seemed to approach her from behind. She didn’t need to think to know that besides Qin Yan, who else could be on the carriage.

At this moment, Su Mi was slightly bent over, measuring the distance from the ground. Her round hips looked even more prominent, and the curve drawn by her slender back was particularly alluring.

As she pictured her own “ungraceful” appearance in her mind, the scent of sandalwood emanating from Qin Yan’s body repeatedly reminded her that the owner of the fragrance was very close to her, behind her. Her face couldn’t help but turn red with impatience, and in her haste, she thought about jumping straight off the carriage.

Unexpectedly, as she was about to jump off the carriage, she felt a strong hand wrap around her waist and pull her back, pressing her against a firm and warm chest. She was held in Qin Yan’s arms, and before she could even react, she felt herself being lifted off the carriage.

“Ahh!” Su Mi couldn’t help but cry out in surprise. When she came to her senses, she found herself standing on the stone pavement with Qin Yan by her side. She had been supported by his arm, but now she was standing on her own two feet. She looked at him walking towards the palace gate, his slender figure outlined by his dark-colored robe.

Her ears were still hot, as if his breath was still lingering in them.

“You’re too slow,” he said.