A Stolen Romance - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Sachet

Shi Yuning’s footsteps paused, making a faint sound on the wooden floor covered with felt mats.

As if she heard the sound, the beautiful woman on the couch slowly opened her eyes a little, her thick eyelashes fluttering gently.

Shi Yuning watched as Xie Zhaoran’s gaze shifted from a daze to clarity. She was only looking at her, with nothing else in her eyes, and no trace of annoyance at being disturbed.

Relieved, Shi Yuning curtsied respectfully.

Xie Zhaoran maintained her relaxed, half-reclining posture, but she lowered her hand, loosely holding the sachet.

“It smells quite nice.”

“Huh?” Shi Yuning was momentarily confused.

Xie Zhaoran gave a faint smile, untied the red thread wrapped around the sachet, and handed it to Shi Yuning.

“That scent on you from a while ago… it was because of this sachet.”

Shi Yuning tilted her head, looked at the sachet in Xie Zhaoran’s hand, and it took her a moment to process the words before she quickly stepped forward to take it.

She wondered inwardly: A while ago? That scent on me? When did Xie Zhaoran ever get close enough to smell me?

In the past, Xie Zhaoran had always kept a certain distance from her in the palace. How could she have smelled her?

Shi Yuning racked her brain, recalling her very few interactions with Xie Zhaoran.

The closest they had ever been was probably the first time they met. Shi Yuning had entered the palace for an audience, and, not knowing the proper etiquette, she had performed a grand, oversized bow to the Empress.

It was Xie Zhaoran who had helped her up and smoothed over the awkward situation.

However, when Shi Yuning had later tried to get on good terms with her, the other woman had been completely unresponsive.

Shi Yuning eventually gave up, realizing that she and Xie Zhaoran were simply from two different worlds.

“Thank you, Crown Princess, for getting this sachet back for me today,” Shi Yuning said with sincere gratitude.

“The fragrance is quite special. You seem very concerned about it. Was it a gift from a gentleman?”

Shi Yuning quickly waved her hands. “No, no, this was a gift from my grandmother. It’s not an ordinary sachet; it has medicinal herbs inside to ward off bugs and mosquitoes.”

“Where I come from in the South, there are lots of insects, and I get bitten often, so my grandmother made this special sachet for me. She also added some dried flowers. If the Crown Princess likes it, when I go back to the South, I can ask my grandmother to make one for you too.”

Xie Zhaoran’s fingertip bent. The red thread, loosely wrapped around her finger, suddenly tightened and dug into the soft flesh. A dull, not-too-sharp pain squeezed her knuckle.

Xie Zhaoran smiled.

“Then I thank you, Miss Shi, in advance.”

Shi Yuning waved her hand again. “No thanks needed. I should be thanking you, Crown Princess. You went to a lot of trouble for me today. Otherwise, my sachet might have been pierced by an arrow.”

She was speaking from the heart. To this day, she still didn’t understand why Xie Zhaoran had helped her.

She figured it was likely because the Crown Princess couldn’t stand Prince Yu’s arrogant, rule-breaking behavior. Whatever the reason, she had helped her, and Shi Yuning thought to herself that if Xie Zhaoran ever needed her help in the future, she would not hesitate.

Shi Yuning carefully tied the sachet back onto her belt, smiled, and curtsied to the Crown Princess. Just as she was about to say that she wouldn’t disturb her any longer, she heard the languid woman across from her speak with a soft laugh.

“I almost forgot to ask you to sit, Miss Shi. Don’t just stand there, please, sit.” Xie Zhaoran gestured nonchalantly to a nearby chair, then raised her voice and called out, “Someone, bring tea.”

Shi Yuning quickly declined. “No, thank you. I shouldn’t disturb the Crown Princess’s rest.”

As soon as she spoke, the tent flap was lifted, and Qiangdi, the maid, came in carrying a red lacquered tray. She was so fast it seemed she had been waiting outside the whole time.

Qiangdi quickly glanced at Shi Yuning out of the corner of her eye, wondering at Xie Zhaoran’s unusual treatment of her. Earlier, when they returned to the tent, Xie Zhaoran had specifically instructed the guards at the door that if Shi Yuning came, they were to let her in without announcement.

She had initially thought her mistress had something private to discuss with Miss Shi and had sent them away, but what she had overheard from outside didn’t seem to be anything of the sort.

Qiangdi placed the Junshan Yinzhen tea that Xie Zhaoran usually drank on a small table beside her.

She straightened up slightly, intending to ask if her mistress had any more orders, and that’s when she noticed Xie Zhaoran’s posture.

Qiangdi was surprised again. She hadn’t paid attention earlier, but Xie Zhaoran was still half-reclining on the couch, looking lazy and completely at ease.

Having followed Xie Zhaoran for many years, she knew her mistress’s emphasis on proper etiquette. That was why she had kept her head down and her eyes on the floor when she came in to serve tea.

Xie Zhaoran disliked people who didn’t follow the rules, and she herself was always so proper in her every word, action, and posture, as if she were being measured by a ruler.

Now, with a guest present, she was half-lying there so languidly. This was truly unprecedented.

Xie Zhaoran waved her hand, signaling for her to leave. Qiangdi didn’t dare to linger and quickly bowed out. Just as she reached the tent flap, she heard Xie Zhaoran’s voice, with a hint of reproach, ring out.

“What, Miss Shi? Do you dislike me so much that you won’t even have a sip of my tea?”

Qiangdi’s hand trembled, and she nearly dropped the tray.

Such a gentle voice with a hint of petulance was coming from her mistress, who was always so solemn and whose presence was like a rock on a snowy peak.

Qiangdi wondered if the wind at the hunting grounds had muddled her wits today.

She couldn’t help but look back at Shi Yuning, who was still standing there, looking as if she really didn’t want to stay.

Miss Shi probably didn’t know that her usually indifferent mistress was making an effort to keep someone for the first time ever.

Shi Yuning felt extremely awkward. She and Xie Zhaoran weren’t close, and they had nothing to talk about. Wouldn’t staying any longer just make things awkward for both of them?

She reluctantly looked at the teacup on the side table, thinking that since the tea had already been served, it would be rude to leave without at least a sip.

So, feeling uncomfortable, she sat down, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of tea.

Shi Yuning felt that the atmosphere was even stranger now that they were just drinking tea without talking. But she couldn’t think of anything to say. What could she and Xie Zhaoran possibly talk about?

As she worried, Xie Zhaoran spoke first.

“It’s been a while, but Miss Shi has changed quite a bit from before.”

Shi Yuning didn’t care if there was any hidden meaning in the words. Having a topic to talk about was enough; she would even take a comment about her having grown taller today.

“People always change. My mother always hoped that I would become more like a refined young lady. After being kept in the palace by the Empress for a month to learn proper etiquette, my mother praised me for becoming much more composed.”

Shi Yuning was different from Xie Zhaoran and the others. She was born and raised in the countryside. Before her coming-of-age ceremony, she was a wild country girl.

It was just last year, right before her coming-of-age, that her grandfather, who had been missing for over twenty years, found them.

It turned out her grandfather had not died on the battlefield but had instead achieved great military success and was granted the title of Marquis of Yunxiang.

After finding them, he brought the family of three back to the capital.

Shi Yuning’s life was flipped upside down, and she went from being a wild country girl to the daughter of a marquis.

Being a marquis’s daughter was not easy. When she first arrived in the capital, Shi Yuning made many a fool of herself and was kept in the palace for a month by the Empress to learn proper etiquette.

It was during that month that Shi Yuning often saw Xie Zhaoran when she came to pay her respects to the Empress.

Unfortunately, Xie Zhaoran didn’t think much of her, the wild, ill-mannered girl.

“The Crown Princess also seems a bit different from before,” Shi Yuning said with a smile, trying to make a joke.

“Oh? For the better, or for the worse?” Xie Zhaoran picked up her teacup, seemingly asking a casual question.

This question caught Shi Yuning off guard. She had just said it on a whim, and she didn’t expect Xie Zhaoran to not only take the bait but also ask such a pointed question.

“For the better, of course. The Crown Princess was radiant before, and now you are even more dazzling.” Although Shi Yuning’s words were a compliment, they were sincere. She truly believed it.

At the hunting grounds just now, Xie Zhaoran had been as brilliant as one could possibly be.

A fleeting, obscure look crossed Xie Zhaoran’s eyes. She gently placed her teacup on the table beside her and looked at Shi Yuning intently.

“You flatter me, Miss Shi. You are the one who has now become the talk of the capital. Why else would Prince Yu pursue you so desperately?”

Shi Yuning’s tea-drinking paused. A hint of understanding dawned in her eyes. So that’s it. She knew it. Why would Xie Zhaoran suddenly pay attention to her?

It was all because of Prince Yu.

Shi Yuning quickly figured it out. Xie Zhaoran was worried about the Shi family getting involved with Prince Yu.

“The Crown Princess is joking. Prince Yu was just playing games. I have no connection to Prince Yu—not before, and not in the future.”

Shi Yuning got angry just thinking about that pig-headed Prince Yu. He had been so infuriating lately. Everywhere she went, she seemed to “coincidentally” run into him, and she hadn’t dared to go out for a long time!

“You don’t like Prince Yu?”

When Xie Zhaoran asked this so suddenly, Shi Yuning’s mouth moved faster than her brain. “Do I look like my eyes don’t work?”

Xie Zhaoran raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you defending Prince Yu just now?”

Shi Yuning was shocked. “When? Oh, you mean just now? That wasn’t me defending him. I was worried he would act like a fool again and say something to offend you.”

The hand Xie Zhaoran used to hold the red string suddenly loosened. She looked up and met Shi Yuning’s eyes, as if to gauge whether she was telling the truth.

Shi Yuning met her gaze openly. It was the truth; how could she ever defend that pig, Prince Yu?

Xie Zhaoran looked down, a small smile playing on her lips. When she looked up again, she was back to her usual self.

“All the noble ladies in the capital want to marry Prince Yu right now. The Crown Prince is weak… Marrying Prince Yu would grant you endless power and status in the future… Does that not tempt you at all, Miss Shi?”

Shi Yuning shook her head without a moment’s hesitation. “Not even a little.”

She didn’t want to go into details. Shi Yuning felt that her relationship with Xie Zhaoran wasn’t close enough to share her true thoughts.

Xie Zhaoran didn’t press the matter and instead had some refreshments brought in, inviting Shi Yuning to try them.

Shi Yuning felt like she was sitting on a bed of nails. She felt that the silence was even more awkward, and she didn’t want to stay any longer. She stood up slightly, about to excuse herself, when she heard a sound at the tent flap.

Unsteady footsteps accompanied by a low, hacking cough grew closer. The Crown Prince, his face pale and half-leaning on a palace attendant, slowly walked in.

Shi Yuning saw the dark circles under his pale eyes and knew that the rumors were true: the Crown Prince was gravely ill. She suppressed her shock and quickly rose to curtsy.

“Cough… rise… cough… sit.”

The Crown Prince covered his mouth with a handkerchief. He spoke a single phrase and then coughed for a while. The attendant helped the Crown Prince sit down beside Xie Zhaoran and then bowed out.

Xie Zhaoran remained seated, her face stiff, a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Her tone was far from gentle.

The Crown Prince seemed completely unbothered. He smiled faintly and glanced at her, a hint of a shared, teasing secret in his eyes.

He didn’t answer Xie Zhaoran’s question. Instead, he turned his gaze to Shi Yuning, looking her up and down.

Shi Yuning was wearing a pear-blossom white riding outfit today, with a light pink sleeveless jacket over it. The combination was a bit mismatched but very warm.

The colors were very fresh, and they complemented her round, fair face with its rosy cheeks, like a pink peach in spring—making her very pleasant to look at.

When Shi Yuning looked up after her curtsy, she met the Crown Prince’s gaze and saw the smile in his eyes.

“Miss Shi is dressed very warmly.”

Shi Yuning felt that the Crown Prince, like the Crown Princess, said things that left people a little confused.

Fortunately, she wasn’t one to overthink things. “My mother says to dress warmly in the spring and coolly in the autumn. She says it’s best to dress warmly in spring to avoid catching a cold.”

“Cough… Lady Shi is a woman of great wisdom. Cough… Zhaoran, you should listen to her more often.” The Crown Prince smiled as he spoke to Xie Zhaoran.

Shi Yuning thought that since the Crown Prince and Crown Princess had things to talk about, it was her cue to leave. She quickly curtsied to both of them again.

“I won’t disturb Your Highness and the Crown Princess. Thank you again, Crown Princess. I will take my leave.”

After she finished speaking, Shi Yuning looked at the Crown Prince, waiting for his permission.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince, with a smile in his eyes and on his lips, turned to the Crown Princess. “Zhaoran’s guest, does Zhaoran want to keep her?”

Xie Zhaoran untangled the red thread wrapped around her fingers, clutched it in her hand, and looked up at the visibly fidgeting Shi Yuning.

“The hunting ground is a dangerous place, Miss Shi. You should be careful. I won’t keep you. Go and enjoy yourself.”

Though Shi Yuning thought the words sounded a bit like they were meant for a small child, she was just happy to be able to leave. She readily agreed.

After Shi Yuning bowed out of the tent and the fluttering flap settled, the Crown Prince turned his head with a smile. His usually sickly face was filled with a newfound vitality, like a prospector who had just struck gold.

“So it’s her. Cough… I must say, I’m a little surprised.”

The Crown Prince’s excitement led to a fit of coughing. After a long while, he looked up and continued, “Zhaoran, cough… you’ve been hiding this for a long time.”

As the Crown Prince spoke, his eyes held a peculiar glint.

Xie Zhaoran’s gaze had followed Shi Yuning’s departure and lingered on the tent flap as if it had never been lifted.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince’s words, she reluctantly looked away. But she couldn’t be bothered to look at the smugly smiling Crown Prince. She shifted her body and found a more comfortable position to lie in.

She had been holding herself stiffly for a while, and her back was a little sore.

The Crown Prince paid no mind to her cold attitude. Seeing her trying to avoid the topic, his smile only grew wider. “Now I understand why Zhaoran volunteered to host this spring hunt. Cough… cough.”

His father and mother had recently caught a cold, and he himself was not well. He had originally thought that Xie Zhaoran would be too annoyed to do it and had wanted to cancel the spring hunt for the year. In the end, it was Xie Zhaoran who had offered to host it herself.

“If you’re not well, you should just lie down. Why are you causing trouble for yourself?” Xie Zhaoran saw that the Crown Prince was coughing badly and immediately called for medicine.

The Crown Prince, however, was in a great mood. After the attendant left, he drank the medicine in one gulp.

“Do you need my help?” the Crown Prince asked, eager to be involved. He was always keen to do something with a secret he had just uncovered.

Xie Zhaoran glanced at him sideways, clutched the red string in her hand, and spoke with a casual tone that also held the confidence of someone in complete control of the situation.

“No, I don’t.”

In the afternoon, Shi Yuning was racking her brain for a reason to decline Prince Yu’s invitation to hunt together when she received an oral decree from the Crown Prince.

It stated that Shi Yuning was to accompany and protect the Crown Princess on her hunt that afternoon.

Shi Yuning: ?

She immediately thought of the arrow from the morning that had pierced clouds and shattered stone.

Her mind was full of question marks, and she was utterly bewildered.

She, the Crown Princess, Xie Zhaoran, needed someone to protect her?

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