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Chapter 17: She Was Trapped Before the Curio Stand
Since the Marquis hadn't turned around, Xiangwu naturally didn't dare make a sound. After gazing at his towering back with wide, anxious eyes for a moment, she had no choice but to bow her head and continue tracing the artwork.
This set consisted of four hanging scrolls in total. Right now, she was tracing the second one while giving the faded lines of the first scroll another touch-up along the way.
Xiangwu had a peculiar habit: whenever she did something, she could only do one thing at a time without distraction. But once she focused on a task, she would get so completely immersed in it that everything else vanished. So, while her head had initially been filled with thoughts of the Marquis and those juicy berries, she gradually sank deep into the painting, completely forgetting the rest of the world.
By the end, what Marquis? What berries? She had forgotten them all entirely!
Working with such total concentration, she finally laid down her last brushstroke. Lifting her head, she rubbed her stiff, aching neck—only to be struck with a sudden, horrifying realization: she was in the Marquis's personal room!
Panicking, she darted her eyes toward the window lattice. The Marquis was no longer sitting there; only the massive black panther remained, lounging lazily in his place.
She let out a long sigh of relief, unclenching her heart just enough to start packing up her embroidery tools.
As she cleared her things, her eyes fell upon the leftover purple berries, and her mind began to race.
Honestly, she felt far too embarrassed to eat all these berries herself. Returning them to the Marquis was out of the question—offering him her scraps? Thinking about it carefully, that was completely insane! Her other option was to pack them up, sneak them back to her quarters, and let her fellow maids have a taste. She knew full well how Yueqing was practically drooling with longing to try one, even if she'd never admit it.
She stared at those lush, juicy berries for a long moment before deciding to take them back. There was simply no way she could be brazen enough to serve the Marquis her leftover food!
After carefully stowing the berries away, she picked up her bundle and prepared to leave. But the second she raised her head, her gaze landed squarely on the handkerchief resting on the curio display stand.
That handkerchief.
The very handkerchief she had given to the guard Cheng Rui—only for Cheng Rui to turn around and surrender it straight to the Marquis!
Just thinking about it made her blood boil with rage and shame!
With the handkerchief sitting right there on display, it was practically a living, breathing testimony of her supposed flirty, unchaste behavior!
Xiangwu bit her lip and cautiously peeked outside. There was only the gentle chirping of birds in the courtyard. The Marquis was nowhere to be seen, and she had no clue where he had wandered off to.
Since the Marquis wasn't here... could she secretly take that handkerchief back?
It was hers to begin with, so this doesn't count as stealing, right? She's just retrieving her own property!
Xiangwu tried her absolute hardest to convince herself, though her wide, darting eyes looked every bit like a guilty thief.
"Just taking it... just taking it..." she mumbled under her breath. "I'm only taking back what's mine!"
She pushed herself to believe her own logic.
Muttering her little mantra, she took a bold step toward the curio stand.
She had barely taken a single step when a sudden sound shattered the quiet: "Awooo—!"
Xiangwu gasped, whipping her head around in terror. The massive black panther was swishing its tail back and forth, glaring at her with a predatory, intense stare.
Her heart plunged straight into her stomach, and a chilly sweat broke out all over her back.
"P-Panther... Dear Panther..." she stammered in utter panic. "I-I'm not doing anything bad! I just want to take my handkerchief back, okay? May I?"
The majestic black panther arched its powerful back, puffing out its chest, and let out a strangely high-pitched, kitten-like roar: "Awooo!"
As it made that noise, its sleek brows knitted together, looking dangerously fierce.
Terrified out of her mind, Xiangwu scrambled back two full paces, nearly slamming her hips right into the sharp corner of the table.
Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "Panther Brother! Brother Panther! I'm really not trying to steal anything! That's my handkerchief—it belonged to me first! It's a maiden's private, intimate personal item, so I'm just taking it back... Brother Panther, please, please don't eat me!"
Whether it was the title "Brother Panther" that touched its wild soul or something else, the massive beast tilted its round, sleek head and stared at Xiangwu with dark, wide eyes. To her immense relief, it stopped roaring at her.
Seeing a ray of hope, Xiangwu immediately deployed every single flattering trick she used on the young mistress, pouring out an endless stream of sweet words toward "Brother Panther." But seeing the beast remain largely unmoved, her eyes darted to the berries on the table, and an idea struck her!
"Brother Panther," she coaxed gently, "do you like eating these? How about I give these to you? May I feed you?"
The black panther's round ears twitched slightly, its sharp eyes locking straight onto the berries without blinking.
She guessed right!
Xiangwu was overjoyed. Hurriedly pinching a purple berry, she gingerly fed it to the panther.
Smack! The panther gobbled it down in one bite, its eyes lighting up with intense delight as its velvety ears twitched back and forth with excitement.
Xiangwu hastily fed it another, and smack!—it gobbled that one right up too.
Gritting her teeth, Xiangwu generously set the entire tray of berries right in front of the black panther. "Brother Panther, eat as much as you like..."
‘Besides, it's your master's berries anyway, so I don't feel bad—definitely not feeling bad for him at all!’
While comforting herself with this logic, she tiptoed toward the curio stand. Seeing that the panther was completely absorbed in devouring the fruit, she reached out her hand, desperate to snag her handkerchief and make a run for it.
However... right as the tips of her fingers grazed the cloth, the door creaked open.
She froze mid-motion, turned into a stone statue, completely terrified to move a single muscle.
Stepping into the study, Huo Yunqing was met with the sight of the little maiden standing by his curio stand like a caught thief, her clear eyes locked onto his panther with utter paranoia.
Meanwhile, his own grand panther had completely bent its wild spine for the sake of a few mere berries.
He looked at the little girl with a completely unreadable expression. "What are you doing?"
The maiden painfully thawed out of her frozen state. Forcing an agonizingly strained smile, she stammered in complete panic, "M-Marquis... This servant... this servant..."
It was all far too sudden. Though she racked her brain till her head throbbed, she couldn't conjure up a single usable excuse.
Huo Yunqing: "Trying to steal my property?"
The little girl shook her head so violently her head looked like a rattle drum. "No! Absolutely not!"
Huo Yunqing clasped his hands behind his back, his face darkening. "Then what are you doing? This curio stand is filled with high-level imperial correspondence. Were you attempting to pry into secret matters of state?"
At those words, the girl's eyes bulged, her face draining of all color until it turned paper-white. "My Lord, this servant wouldn't dare!"
Huo Yunqing's cool gaze slowly drifted from the terrified maiden down to the panther, whose paw was currently suspended right over the berry tray.
The black panther shrank its big sleek head back, hastily retracting its paw before scampering over to Huo Yunqing’s feet, letting out a series of soft, pitiful *awooo*s.
Watching this unfold, Xiangwu’s heart practically wept bitter tears.
‘How she wished she could just be a panther right now! Then she wouldn't have to explain anything with words—a few cute whimpers, and the whole problem would be solved!’
Huo Yunqing raised his hand slightly. Receiving the silent order, the black panther tucked its tail between its legs and slunk right out the door.
As it squeezed out, it even used its thick tail to push the heavy wooden door shut behind it.
With a soft *click* of the latch, only Huo Yunqing and Xiangwu were left in the quiet room.
Xiangwu stood there helplessly, her head drooping low, pouting her lips in a picture of utter misery.
The study was suffocatingly quiet—so quiet she could hear the Marquis's steady, deep breathing, sounding as though it were right beside her ear.
Her mind was an absolute jumble, flooded with random memories. She remembered being a little girl before she was sold into the estate, getting caught sneaking a lick from the sugar jar and getting beaten black and blue; she remembered first arriving at the Marquis's estate, knowing nothing at all, curling up alone on her bed at night unable to sleep; she even recalled that strange, haunting dream where her face was scarred and she sat all alone listening to the midnight bells of a mountain temple.
Born into lowliness, life carried so much bitterness. Xiangwu suddenly felt as if no matter how the Marquis decided to punish her today, she wouldn't even care anymore.
Bowing her head, biting her lip, and holding her breath, she waited for the Marquis to pronounce judgment upon her fate.
Yet the world before her suddenly went dark. The sunlight filtering through the window lattice was completely blocked out by the man’s imposing shadow as he towered over her like a magnificent, unyielding mountain peak, engulfing her whole.
"What are you crying for?" The Marquis’s deep, authoritative voice carried a soft, measured tone.
"Th-this servant isn't crying..." Xiangwu didn't even realize she had shed a tear. She truly didn't think she was crying, yet the sound coming out of her throat was laced with a thick, pathetic sob.
She felt thoroughly lost. ‘Was she really crying?’
Right then, however, the Marquis reached out his hand.
Those very hands, the ones that held official correspondence and carried books with effortless, aristocratic grace—were now gently yet firmly clamping around her chin, forcing her to lift her face up.
Xiangwu’s breath caught in her throat. Her brain went entirely blank as she stared up at him in sheer bewilderment. Looking into that distant, awe-inspiring face, she had no idea what the Marquis was about to do, much less what was happening.
She was terrified of the Marquis, just as she was terrified of her young mistress.
Yet now, the Marquis was holding her chin like this, standing impossibly close to her.
His scalding breath hovered right before her face. She widened her eyes, a thin layer of teary mist coating her vision, making the handsome, majestic face before her look agonizingly sharp—yet distorted like a bizarre phantom.
"I intended to let you off easy," the Marquis murmured in a low, raspy tone that sounded almost like a whisper against her skin. "Yet at such a young age, you simply refuse to behave yourself."
As he spoke, he leaned his head down.
Xiangwu’s eyes expanded even further.
To be fair, she actually knew about certain things... How could she not? She had dreamed about them in that bizarre dream, after all.
Yet no matter how clear a dream was, it was still just a dream. When the real thing unfolded right in front of her, her brain wiped entirely clean, and every bit of dream knowledge vanished into thin air.
She didn't know what was happening, nor could she comprehend it.
So when those searing hot lips pressed down against her eyelids, her entire body shuddered so violently her legs nearly turned to jelly!
The Marquis was endlessly taller and broader than her. His powerful arm reached out to hold the curve of her back, pinning her firmly against the wooden frame of the curio stand.
The luxurious, fine dark fabric of his robe pressed tightly against her body. Separated from this noble, commanding man by only a thin layer of cloth, the suffocating heat radiating off him threatened to burn her to ashes, while his scalding lips brushed across her eyelids and slid softly down her cheek.
"M-Marquis..." Trapped between the curio stand and the Marquis's chest, Xiangwu helplessly tilted her delicate, snow-white neck back, gazing up at the man in total disorientation. A delusional thought even flickered through her head. ‘Maybe this was all just another dream.’
A dream about getting a little massage.
Huo Yunqing lowered his gaze, staring down at the little maid held fast within his embrace.
Her delicate little face was flushed with a soft, peach-blossom pink hue, her crystal-clear, spring-like eyes filled with total innocence and helplessness. Forced to lean backward, her slender neck arched back softly, while her cherry-red lips hung open in utter, silent confusion.
She was like a little wild flower blooming deep in the mountains—by no means precious, yet brilliantly radiant, fresh, and brimming with a captivating, delicate fragrance.
It made one helplessly long to reach out and pluck her right into the palm of one's hand.
Huo Yunqing's dark gaze deepened, sliding slowly downward until it rested on the area wrapped inside her thin pink tunic.
Naturally, he still remembered the sensation from when she had bumped straight into him a few days ago. It had indeed grown a bit fuller, bearing a ripe, voluptuous strain that looked ready to burst through the cloth.
Raising an eyebrow, he murmured in a low, raspy tone: "Does it... still hurt here?”
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