A Stolen Romance - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: The Clothes Are Dirty

Shi Yuning looked down at her mud-caked body. Her moon-white robe with a ruyi pattern and cloud-geese embroidery was completely unrecognizable. She looked at her two outstretched hands, covered in stinky mud. She then looked up at the person in front of her, Xie Zhaoran, whose clothes were not only covered in splotches of mud but also had two distinct dark handprints, the exact size of her own hands.

Shi Yuning truly wanted to cry. She forced a smile that was uglier than a cry.

“Uh, it seems I’ve, uh, caused trouble for you again.”

The carriage had been stuck for a while, so she couldn’t help but get out to check, thinking it might lighten the load. But she wasn’t careful and fell, getting covered in mud. Just as she managed to stand up, she saw Xie Zhaoran approaching from a distance. She hadn’t figured out how to face Xie Zhaoran yet, and in her panic, she just wanted to run. But she slipped again…

She would have fallen a second time in the same spot if Xie Zhaoran hadn’t caught her in time. But even as Xie Zhaoran caught her, Shi Yuning felt incredibly awkward. In her haste, she tried to push her away, forgetting that her hands were still covered in mud. Now, not only were her own clothes ruined, but Xie Zhaoran’s were, too.

“Oh dear, what happened? What are we going to do? I didn’t bring any extra clothes.” Tu Chunhua poked her head out of the carriage window. When she saw Shi Yuning’s disheveled state, her eyes widened. When she saw Xie Zhaoran turn around and noticed the black handprints on her clothes, Tu Chunhua’s mind buzzed. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

“Ningning, why did you have to get Miss Xie’s clothes dirty, too? Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?” Tu Chunhua was at a loss, frantically trying to get out of the carriage to apologize for Shi Yuning.

“Please don’t get out, Madam. The ground here is slippery,” Xie Zhaoran warned her.

Shi Yuning came to her senses and shouted for her mother to stay in the carriage. “Mother, please don’t get out! The mud here is very slippery.” Seeing Tu Chunhua stop, Shi Yuning breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She instinctively turned to Xie Zhaoran, no longer caring about her awkwardness. “What should we do? Is there still time for me to go back and change?”

Xie Zhaoran shook her head. “No, there isn’t.”

Shi Yuning was disappointed. If that was the case, she had no choice but to go like this. At most, people would laugh at her. She just hoped the Empress Dowager wouldn’t blame her for being rude.

“Follow me.” Xie Zhaoran looked at Shi Yuning’s face, which was now stained with a patch of mud like a small calico cat. Her round, moist eyes were full of guilt, as if she had made a grave mistake. It was an endearing and pitiful sight.

Xie Zhaoran pursed her lips, then turned to Tu Chunhua and said in a gentle voice, “Madam, I have suitable clothes in my carriage. I’ll take Miss Shi to change. You can follow the procession. If anyone asks about us, please explain.”

Tu Chunhua was a little hesitant, looking at Xie Zhaoran with a bit of scrutiny. It seemed that whenever her Ningning got into trouble, this young lady from the Xie family was always there to help. They had no prior connection, so Xie Zhaoran’s kindness to Ningning was a little sudden.

“Don’t worry, Madam. We will catch up shortly,” Xie Zhaoran said, meeting Tu Chunhua’s gaze with confidence.

Looking at the filthy Shi Yuning and Xie Zhaoran’s dirty clothes, Tu Chunhua sighed. They had to change. “Okay, I’ll go on ahead. Ningning, be careful,” she said, still worried.

Shi Yuning nodded. “Don’t worry, Mother. If anyone asks about Miss Xie, remember to explain that it was all my fault.” Tu Chunhua agreed.

After the procession gradually moved away, Shi Yuning saw Qiang Di driving a single horse-drawn carriage in the opposite direction of the traffic. It was a small carriage, likely used by the Xie family for carrying supplies. After it stopped, Xie Zhaoran got on the footboard first, then turned and offered her hand to Shi Yuning.

Shi Yuning looked at the slender, fair hand offered to her, then down at her own filthy, mud-caked hands, which were now starting to dry. She shook her head. “No, I can get up myself.” Without waiting for Xie Zhaoran to say anything, she grabbed her skirt and leaped up.

After she got into the carriage with Xie Zhaoran, Shi Yuning belatedly realized a problem! She was going to change clothes with Xie Zhaoran?

This… Shi Yuning awkwardly twisted her still-damp skirt. This didn’t feel right…

The carriage was indeed as Shi Yuning had imagined, filled with a few bundles. With two people sitting inside, it felt completely stuffed. In the small space, besides the smell of her mud, there was only Xie Zhaoran’s unique clean, crisp scent.

“Take them off.”

A voice as crisp as the scent suddenly rang out in the carriage. Shi Yuning’s whole body stiffened. The words had entered her ears, but she was unable to process the information. She looked at Xie Zhaoran blankly. “Huh?”

After a moment, she finally understood what Xie Zhaoran wanted her to do. Her face instantly turned as red as a steamed prawn. She turned her head away, not daring to look at Xie Zhaoran, and mumbled a low “Oh.”

Although she had agreed, her hands remained still. She didn’t even know why she felt so awkward. They were both women, and Xie Zhaoran wasn’t going to do anything to her. No, no, no. Shi Yuning patted her head. What was she thinking? How could Xie Zhaoran do anything to her? Shi Yuning chastised herself, Thinking such unseemly things! She sneaked a glance at Xie Zhaoran out of the corner of her eye and saw that she was still looking at her, not saying a word.

Ever since they got in the carriage, Xie Zhaoran had noticed that Shi Yuning was acting differently today, as if she were awkward with her or deliberately avoiding her… Before, their relationship might not have been intimate, but it was never like this, with Shi Yuning acting so uncomfortable around her. In just a few days, what had happened?

Xie Zhaoran’s heart suddenly gave a hard twitch. She turned her head away so Shi Yuning wouldn’t see the dark expression in her eyes. She moved forward a bit, her back to Shi Yuning, and picked up a light pink bundle from the seat, handing it to her. “I’ll guard the door. Hurry and change out of your wet clothes,” Xie Zhaoran said without turning around.

Seeing Xie Zhaoran’s back, Shi Yuning felt relieved, but her anxious heart still felt unsteady. She frantically took off her outer robe. “Give it to me,” Xie Zhaoran said without turning, just reaching her hand behind her.

Shi Yuning hesitated for a moment, then handed it to her.

Xie Zhaoran took it, intending to put it in the woven bamboo box in the corner. As she picked up the clothes to fold them, she noticed it was just the outer robe and felt a little puzzled. “Aren’t you changing your inner clothes?”

Shi Yuning awkwardly looked at her inner clothes, which were a little wet. “No, I guess not.”

Xie Zhaoran, still with her back to her, raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Wet inner clothes can make you catch a cold.”

Shi Yuning: “But do you have inner clothes that fit me?”

Xie Zhaoran: “You can check the bundle to see if there are any.”

Shi Yuning had already opened the bundle. There was an outer robe on top, but underneath, there were indeed inner clothes, and even some small undergarments… She hesitated, took them out, and held them up. The size seemed to be a perfect fit. “Our figures aren’t the same. How do you have my size?”

The outer robe was one thing; it could be an old one of Xie Zhaoran’s. But if the inner clothes fit her, they must have been specially prepared for her. Xie Zhaoran thought of this problem as well and froze for a moment. She had only been thinking that in case Shi Yuning got into some trouble and needed a change of clothes, she should be prepared. As for the size… well, she had measured it by eye… The time she took Shi Yuning home after she got drunk from fighting Prince Yu, she was worried that her night-walking clothes would expose her, so Xie Zhaoran changed her into sleepwear.

While she was deliberating, Qiang Di’s voice suddenly came from outside.

“Miss Shi, I prepared those. Last time in the Eastern Palace, your clothes got wet, and you didn’t have a spare set. This time, when I was preparing for the master, I thought that if something like this happened again and you forgot to prepare, you might be in trouble, so I took it upon myself to prepare a set for you, too.”

Shi Yuning didn’t expect it to be Qiang Di. She was so thoughtful to think of her. She raised her voice to thank her. “Thank you, Sister Qiang Di, you’re such a good person!”

With a wet spot on her chest, Shi Yuning was very uncomfortable. Since Qiang Di had specially prepared them for her, she didn’t waste any time. She quickly took off her inner clothes and handed them to Xie Zhaoran, her face flushed.

Xie Zhaoran took the inner clothes, still warm from Shi Yuning’s body, and her ear tips quietly turned red. She didn’t dare to look at them, quickly folded them, and put them in the bamboo box. The only sound left in the carriage was the rustling of Shi Yuning putting on her new clothes and the hurried breathing of both of them.

Shi Yuning quickly finished changing and patted Xie Zhaoran on the shoulder. “I’m done changing. I’ll stand guard. You should hurry and change out of your dirty clothes.” She squeezed past Xie Zhaoran to move to the front. As she tried her best to avoid touching her, their shoulders brushed, and that one spot felt as if it had generated heat from the friction. She looked down, her hands tightly gripping the carriage door.

Ever since Xie Zhaoran had heard the rustling of Shi Yuning changing her clothes, her mind had been uncontrollably filled with all sorts of improper images. Both of them, now harboring feelings for each other, were too scared to look at each other and didn’t notice the other’s flushed cheeks.

Xie Zhaoran quickly changed her clothes and was about to get up when she suddenly heard a whooshing sound. Something was wrong! Xie Zhaoran swiftly lunged forward and pressed Shi Yuning firmly to the floor of the carriage.

“Be careful!”

As Xie Zhaoran shielded Shi Yuning’s head against the floor, she looked up and saw a sharp, silver-gleaming arrow fly through the window and lodge itself in the carriage wall. Outside, there was the neighing of horses and a sudden chorus of panicked shouts.

“Assassins! Protect the master!”

Xie Zhaoran held down Shi Yuning as she heard the sound of clashing swords and horse hooves outside, judging that there were many of them. “Stay down and don’t move. I’m going out to see.” With that, she drew the sword from under her seat and tossed the scabbard.

Shi Yuning stopped her. “Is it Prince Yu? What is he going to do?”

Xie Zhaoran: “I’m not sure, but there are a lot of them. Stay down and don’t move.” With that, Xie Zhaoran kicked open the carriage door and sent an assassin who was trying to break in flying.

Shi Yuning also saw the scene outside. There were indeed many of them. She immediately pulled out a sword from under her own seat and charged out. She couldn’t always let Xie Zhaoran protect her. She could protect Xie Zhaoran, too!

Xie Zhaoran thrust her sword into the assassin in front of her. She was about to turn and deal with the one behind her when she saw him fall. Shi Yuning, with a solemn face, pulled her sword out of the assassin’s chest, and blood gushed out. Xie Zhaoran thought, Well, my clothes are dirty again.

But this time, Shi Yuning wasn’t a mess at all. On the contrary, she was radiant.

Xie Zhaoran’s heart was stirred with emotion. Her eyes gleamed as she gave Shi Yuning a deep look. At this moment, in this situation, Xie Zhaoran knew that no words were needed. She nodded at Shi Yuning, said, “Be careful,” and charged into the chaotic battle.

Support A Stolen Romance