After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 3

The sun dipped into the west, painting the foot of Qiu Mountain in gold. A cold winter wind swirled, dropping a withered leaf onto Tianxuan’s head. Before the guard could step forward to cover for her master, Cui Qiong spoke up with a sneer.

“Young lady, our Great Xia empire may be liberal with women’s behavior, but isn’t your pick-up line a bit too outdated?”

Gu Wanlan ignored him, her eyes pinned on the man beside him, searching for even a flicker of a reaction. “Have we met?”

Cui Qiong laughed. He was delighted to see this “country girl” get rejected by the man at his side, so he folded his arms and prepared to watch the show.

The man, Cui Jue, looked down at the slender hands clutching his white fox fur. Due to the biting wind, her knuckles were flushed red. He looked up, his voice distant but polite. “My apologies. We have never met.”

Wanlan pursed her lips. Her mind was a whirlwind of suspicion, but she knew this wasn’t the time to press. She released his sleeve. “Forgive me. I mistook you for an old friend.”

“It is no matter,” Cui Jue replied, nodding slightly while holding his hand warmer.

“See? He doesn’t know you. Go home,” Cui Qiong crowed, walking over like a stray dog wagging its tail.

“What happens between him and me is none of your business,” Wanlan retorted.

“I am at least his companion! We share a carriage and a courtyard! I am far closer to him than you!” Cui Qiong blurted out, puffing his chest out provocatively.

Wanlan arched an eyebrow. “Impressive. Should I clap for you?”

The Hand Warmer and the Memory

Just as Wanlan turned to leave, a hand warmer was held out to her. It was Cui Jue.

“The wind is strong. You need this more than I do,” he said softly.

Wanlan took it, surprised. “I can’t take this for nothing. I will return it. Do you live here?”

Cui Jue nodded. Wanlan smiled brightly. “Then, until we meet again.” She gave Cui Qiong a triumphant look and departed.

As they entered the courtyard, Cui Qiong grumbled, “That was your favorite hand warmer. Why give it to a stranger? Is there a hidden scheme?”

Cui Jue didn’t answer. He simply walked toward the house. When Cui Qiong tried to bring up the political plot to destroy the general “Ji Lin,” Cui Jue stopped him coldly. “This matter ends here.”

“Ends here?!” Cui Qiong was baffled. But one look at Cui Jue’s icy, slightly smiling eyes sent a chill down his spine. He realized he had become too comfortable; he had forgotten that this man was not just a “brother,” but someone far more dangerous.

Inside the carriage, Wanlan’s mind raced back to her final night at Changping Pass.

She had been given a farewell banquet. Thinking Cui Qiong was investigating her, she had been distracted and accidentally drank a “drugged” wine. She fled to a nearby lake to cool her burning body in the freezing water. Under the moonlight, she had seen a person in the water—black hair like a waterfall, a slender waist draped in white silk.

She had reached out and pulled that waist toward her…

The next morning, she woke up alone with her clothes perfectly intact, the knots on her chest-binding exactly as she had tied them. She had assumed it was a hallucination brought on by the drug and the cold.

Until today. That beauty mark, that aura—it was him.

“Tianxuan, stop the carriage!” Wanlan ordered. “Go find your brother. Tell him to use all of ‘Ji Lin’s’ resources to investigate that man. Specifically, find out if he was at Changping Pass half a month ago. Fast!”

Death in the Protector Duke’s Manor

While Wanlan was slowly walking back, the Protector Duke’s Manor was in a state of chaos. The Old Madam was furious that Wanlan had used the excuse of “thanking the Emperor” to disappear for the day.

“She has the gall to use the Emperor as a shield!” the Old Madam spat. “Does she think I’ll mistreat her? She’s a country girl who doesn’t know the rules.”

The Old Madam had heard that the general Ji Lin had been the one to bring Wanlan to the Emperor. She assumed Ji Lin was just a young man smitten by a pretty face. Since Ji Lin was currently “sick” and seemingly out of power, she didn’t fear him. She planned to “teach” Wanlan her place.

But as the Old Madam rose to give an order, a maid burst in, trembling with terror.

“Old Madam! It’s bad! The Protector Duke… he couldn’t catch his breath… He’s passed away!”

“What?!” The Old Madam slammed the table, but then a low, eerie smile spread across her face. “Good. Finally, this day has come. Fetch the Second Master. I have instructions.”

Outside, the red New Year lanterns were being torn down and replaced with white mourning banners. The servants whispered: the Eldest Miss had returned for only one day, and already her father was dead.

They whispered that she was a “jinx”—and that her bright future was over before it had even begun.