Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 63: She Could See Everyone—Except Him.

　　To get from Jinshe Town to Wuyin Temple, traveling by water was faster and more convenient than by land.

　　Conveniently, there was a river running through Jinshe Town. Though not wide, it had a small dock. From there, one could take a small boat to a nearby city and then board a merchant vessel heading south.

　　On the day of departure, An Jiu made a trip to Jinshe Villa to see Jin Yanwan.

　　“Yanwan, have you started practicing martial arts?”

　　That was the first thing An Jiu asked upon seeing her.

　　Jin Yanwan looked surprised. “How did you know?”

　　An Jiu pointed at her palm. “Look at your hands.”

　　Jin Yanwan stretched out her hand. The once delicate, fair skin was now covered in bloody, ragged wounds—traces left behind from burst blisters.

　　She glanced at her hand, then smiled as she pulled it back. “Just calluses from sword training. I started late. If I don’t work hard now, how can I catch up to those who’ve been practicing for ten or twenty years?”

　　Seeing no trace of complaint in her expression, only calm determination—and with the usual melancholy gone from her demeanor—An Jiu said nothing more.

　　She knew this was what Jin Yanwan had been seeking all along.

　　Jin Yanwan reminded her repeatedly,

　　“What I told you the other day—you must never tell anyone. I haven’t even told my father.”

　　An Jiu nodded guiltily. “Alright. I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

　　After a brief chat, An Jiu told her she’d be heading to Wuyin Temple.

　　Jin Yanwan gave her some travel money, and they agreed to meet again sometime in the future before parting ways.

　　Truth be told, they had only known each other for a few days, but it felt like they were old friends. A rare kind of fate.

　　—

　　At the dock outside Jinshe Town, An Jiu carefully stepped along the narrow wooden plank leading onto a small boat, her bag slung over her shoulder.

　　Jinshe Town only had small boats, the kind that could hold at most four or five people.

　　Standing on deck was an old boatman in a straw raincoat, balancing a bamboo pole in his hand, ready to take them to the nearby city.

　　An Jiu didn’t want to squeeze into the cramped cabin, so after boarding, she stood on the deck and turned back to look at Pei Ji still standing on the shore.

　　“How are you guys getting up here?” she called out.

　　Ah Qi grinned. “Easy!”

　　As he spoke, he lifted the wheelchair with both hands, leaped lightly, and floated from the shore onto the boat.

　　The heavy wheelchair landed on the deck without a sound, only causing the small boat to sway slightly and send out delicate ripples.

　　“Fine skills, young man!” the boatman cheered.

　　Ah Qi cupped his fists with a laugh. “You flatter me, sir. May I place my young master’s wheelchair at the bow of the boat? Will that be alright?”

　　The boatman waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. I’ve been sailing boats for thirty years. Doesn’t matter where he sits—even if it’s on the roof—I guarantee he won’t fall into the water.”

　　“Then that’s fine,” Ah Qi replied and, being quite self-aware, ducked into the cabin, leaving only An Jiu and Pei Ji at the bow.

　　The boatman called out, “Everyone sit tight—we’re setting off!”

　　An Jiu quickly sat down on the deck beside Pei Ji’s wheelchair, instinctively gripping the handle of it.

　　“What are you doing?” Pei Ji asked.

　　An Jiu blinked and whispered, “I’m afraid if the boat shakes, you might fall into the water.”

　　Even though she kept her voice low, the nearby boatman still overheard.

　　“Little miss, they don’t call me ‘Old Man Strawcloak’ for nothing. Just watch.”

　　Right after he said that, An Jiu felt the boat sway slightly beneath her—then, like a leaf, it glided forward at incredible speed.

　　Clearly, this old boatman was also a martial artist. With just a push of the bamboo pole, the small boat moved like an extension of his arm, nimbly dodging hidden rocks and bends in the river, gliding smoothly ahead.

　　The boat was astonishingly stable—not even the slightest wobble. It felt more like walking on solid ground.

　　Silently, An Jiu let go of the wheelchair handle, then turned her head as if nothing had happened, pretending to admire the lake and mountain scenery around them.

　　After a while, she turned back and asked the white-robed man beside her, “Pei Ji, have you started practicing that thing yet?”

　　“What thing?” Pei Ji looked puzzled.

　　“You know, that thing!”

　　Seeing that he didn’t catch on, An Jiu leaned close to his ear. Afraid someone might overhear—these martial artists all had freakishly sharp hearing—she nearly pressed up against his ear and whispered,

　　“The manual that could cure your legs!”

　　The girl was far too close. When she spoke, her breath brushed directly into his ear, like a warm little hand gently rubbing his earlobe, sending a tingling sensation straight to his heart.

　　Pei Ji leaned slightly back to put some distance between them and cleared his throat. “Not yet.”

　　The girl’s face immediately showed a ‘why-are-you-like-this’ expression. “Ugh, why haven’t you started yet!”

　　Pei Ji’s fingers brushed over the cool bones of his folding fan. His expression calm and unreadable, he replied slowly, “There’s no rush. It’s not something that can be done in a day.”

　　Seeing how leisurely he was about it, the girl looked genuinely anxious. She shot him a fierce glare and turned away, annoyed.

　　Sitting with her back to him, she muttered loud enough for anyone to hear,

　　“Hmph, the emperor’s not in a hurry but the eunuch is—ugh, no, I’m not a eunuch… Stupid Pei Ji, I wrote it all down for you out of kindness and you don’t even care…”

　　The girl was still muttering under her breath on the other side. Pei Ji’s expression shifted slightly, but he remained silent and made no move to coax her.

　　He had already made up his mind—not to indulge her like he used to. He couldn’t allow himself to break that resolution now.

　　The words in the poem, ‘The light boat has passed ten thousand layers of mountains’ were indeed true. Sure enough, by just half the morning, they’d reached a nearby city and boarded a large passenger ship.

　　This passenger ship had rooms. When it came time to choose one, An Jiu picked the room right next to Lin Qingyan’s.

　　Perhaps as revenge for Pei Ji’s coldness earlier that morning, the young lady didn’t look at him even once during the journey. Every time Pei Ji glanced her way, she deliberately turned to show him the back of her head—her anger was clear as day.

　　Even Lin Qingyan and He Ziqing noticed. They gave Pei Ji a few subtle nudges to go and soothe the sulking young lady.

　　Pei Ji simply smiled and didn’t take it to heart.

　　Given how well he knew her, she’d probably forget all about it by tomorrow morning.

　　That evening, the passenger ship docked at a town along the way.

　　This waterway had lots of shallows and eddies, so for safety reasons, boats usually didn’t sail at night.

　　Still fuming, An Jiu refused to go out for dinner. She lay on the bed, waiting—waiting for him to show up.

　　After quite a while, there was a knock at the door.

　　She perked up immediately and walked quickly over, a smile already forming on her lips. But when she opened the door, the face she saw belonged to Ah Qi.

　　An Jiu’s smile instantly dropped. “Why is it you?”

　　Ah Qi replied, “My young master sent me. Miss An, this is for you.”

　　He handed her a paper-wrapped package. It was warm to the touch.

　　An Jiu’s face remained cold. “Why didn’t he come himself?”

　　Ah Qi scratched his head awkwardly. “Young master… young master had something to do…”

　　An Jiu let out a mocking hmph, took the package, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

　　Once the door was closed, her expression changed. She quickly unwrapped the paper package—inside were two big, steaming hot buns, soft and white, giving off a delicious aroma. She took a big bite—sour cabbage and pork, her favorite!

　　Judging by the heat and freshness, they must’ve been bought just moments ago. No way the ship’s kitchen had anything this good.

　　An Jiu devoured both buns in one go. Her empty stomach finally stopped its dramatic wailing.

　　To keep up her act of being angry today, she hadn’t eaten a single bite—she was truly putting her life on the line for this performance.

　　With her hunger satisfied, An Jiu climbed into bed, feeling content. She had no idea that in another room, someone else was tossing and turning because of her.

　　“Young Master, Miss An accepted the food,” Ah Qi reported.

　　“Did she eat it?” Pei Ji asked.

　　“I’m not sure… she shut the door right after,” Ah Qi said cautiously, sneaking a glance at his young master’s expression. Then he offered a suggestion, “Young Master, why don’t you go check on Miss An yourself? She even asked why you didn’t bring it to her in person…”

　　Pei Ji was silent for a while before slowly shaking his head.

　　Ah Qi couldn’t help asking, “Young Master, weren’t you two just fine this morning? How did it suddenly become awkward? You used to coax her so gently. Why are you acting like you're holding a grudge now? Weren’t you the one who taught me not to bicker with delicate young ladies?”

　　Pei Ji gave him a look and said mildly, “If you have nothing else to do, go get some rest.”

　　Ah Qi secretly pouted. His young master clearly couldn’t answer the question, so he was trying to send him away on purpose.

　　There was nothing he could do. With a helpless sigh, he left the room.

　　Sigh… the emperor’s not worried, but the eunuch is panicking. If you don’t coax your wife, she might just run off. Especially someone like An Jiu—wealthy and beautiful. Honestly, it was already a miracle she had taken a liking to his young master.

　　Most high-born young ladies wouldn’t give martial world folks the time of day.

　　Even though Ah Qi worshipped his young master and thought he was unmatched in the world, he had to admit: in this relationship, his young master was the one reaching upward.

　　Inside the room, Pei Ji sat alone. Truthfully, he didn’t quite understand why An Jiu had been angry for so long.

　　In fact, he wasn’t even sure what she was angry about.

　　Was she mad that he didn’t appreciate her efforts? Or that he mistook her good intentions for something else? Or maybe because he hadn’t gone to comfort her in time?

　　Did the condition of his leg matter that much to her?

　　Why did it seem like… she really wanted his leg to heal quickly?

　　Pei Ji didn’t understand her at all. She used to call him a ‘cripple,’ and when angry, she cursed him as a ‘dead cripple’ — her tone full of disdain and utter contempt.

　　No matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t figure out An Jiu’s way of thinking.

　　Usually, she treated him with indifference, even coldness. So why was she suddenly showing concern for him now?

　　An Jiu was like a puzzle.

　　Every time he thought he was starting to understand her, she would reveal some new, unexpected side, plunging him back into confusion.

　　After pondering for a long time and still coming up empty, Pei Ji finally gave up.

　　Whether she was angry or not really had little to do with him.

　　There was no need for him to care too much.

　　Buying her food was just to prevent her from getting hungry in the middle of the night and then getting up to bother him.

　　That had happened before — he was just trying to be proactive.

　　No matter if she cried or threw tantrums at night, this time he wouldn’t indulge her.

　　But what surprised Pei Ji was that the night passed quietly — nothing happened.

　　He had spent the whole night half-awake, expecting her to come to him, yet nothing came.

　　The next morning, he went up to the deck and saw the girl leaning on the railing, gazing at the sunrise over the river.

　　Her red dress billowed fiercely in the golden morning light, as if ready to be carried away by the wind.

　　When she noticed him, the relaxed expression on her face instantly vanished.

　　Without hesitation, she turned and walked straight into the cabin without looking back.

　　Pei Ji finally realized something — this time, An Jiu’s anger was different.

　　She no longer yelled or caused a fuss that forced him to compromise.

　　Instead, she ignored him completely, not speaking to him or even acknowledging his existence.

　　Those beautiful eyes could see everyone… except him.

　　Pei Ji’s fingers unconsciously clenched into his palm.

　　For the first time, he understood:

　　Silence and neglect, though quiet, felt far more unbearable than outright anger.

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