After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 39

Pop—

A spark jumped from the charcoal brazier in the corner of the room.

In the flickering light and shadow, Gu Wanlan saw Cui Jue’s eyelashes flutter before he slowly opened his eyes.

Habitually, a small smile curved Gu Wanlan’s lips. She leaned in closer, staring directly into his eyes. “Cui Jue, I’ve remembered a few things. It’s you, isn’t it? Back at Changping Pass—”

“Coo-coo!” A sudden, abrupt birdcall rang out.

Gu Wanlan’s expression shifted instantly. She rolled over and sat up, but just as she was about to jump out of bed, her wrist was caught in a death grip from behind.

“Where are you going?”

Gu Wanlan turned her head and looked unexpectedly into the depths of Cui Jue’s eyes. Only now did she realize that when he wasn’t smiling, his eyes were like bottomless icy pools, ready to envelop a person and drown them entirely.

But now was not the time for talk. That birdcall was the signal she had taught Xiao Chen. If something urgent happened, that whistle was the code.

She expected a struggle given Cui Jue’s posture, but the moment she made a move to brush him off, he recoiled his hand as if burned by fire.

Gu Wanlan froze for a second, then rose in silence to light the candle. After picking up her clothes from the floor, she walked straight behind the screen. Through the silk of the screen, the yellow candlelight cast the silhouette of the man sitting motionless on the bed.

Having fastened her belt, Gu Wanlan stepped out. She pursed her lips and finally came to a stop before the bed. “It’s Lehuan. I just remembered a promise I made her. She was quite frightened yesterday and wanted me to keep her company tonight. I won’t be back to sleep. You go ahead and rest.”

It was an absurd lie. The moment the words left her mouth, Gu Wanlan regretted them. What kind of younger sister drags her sister away for a sleepover on the second night of her marriage?

As she brainstormed a way to fix the lie, a wave of palpable warmth approached her.

“The wind is strong outside. Wear this.”

Gu Wanlan looked up in surprise to see Cui Jue standing before her. His long hair was slightly disheveled, his robes were wide open at the chest, and he was barefoot. He reached out, draping something over her in a gesture that was almost an embrace. Before she could react, her ears felt a burst of warmth—he had placed a pair of earmuffs on her.

At the same time, his cool voice, tinged with a faint smile, sounded in her ear. “Coincidentally, I have a scroll that hasn’t been delivered yet. I need to go to the study to paint tonight as well. Rest easy, My Lady.”

Gu Wanlan touched the fluffy earmuffs, instinctively biting her lip. Her thoughts were becoming more entangled. He seemed… so easy to appease. Could a casual excuse really make him this happy?

But if her suspicions were true, then all of this was likely just a calculated performance. After a moment of hesitation, she gave a final instruction before heading out.

“Take care of yourself and don’t overwork. When I return tomorrow, I have things to ask you. Don’t go out then.”

“Alright. I will be at home waiting for you.”

In the warm glow of the room, Cui Jue’s smile remained unchanged.

The door opened and closed. The biting wind seized the opportunity to invade, stealing the warmth from the room before ruthlessly retreating.

Cui Jue stood barefoot behind the door for a long time, seemingly oblivious to the cold. Eventually, his eyes moved. As if looking at something loathsome, he paced to the candlestick and expressionlessly used two fingers to pinch the wick, extinguishing it slowly.

He had been exhausted these past two days, but because a long-held dream had come true, he hadn’t slept at all. Thus, the moment Gu Wanlan sat up tonight, he had known. He thought she had a nightmare.

But before he could “wake up” to comfort her, he sensed a surge of killing intent from the person beside him. Though it vanished quickly, in that moment, he felt as though a freezing tide was drowning him.

He didn’t understand. She seemed to have remembered their past, so why did she suddenly want him dead? And tonight, who was the person she was so desperate to see on the second night of their marriage?

Cui Jue let his emotions grow like the darkness in the room, winding around him, tightening, strangling… his eyes glowed with a faint, crimson light.

As he neared suffocation, he let out a low, terrifying laugh in the moonlight-drenched room. He reached out a hand, tracing the sliver of moonlight as if stroking a lover’s skin, before suddenly clenching his fist tight.

It doesn’t matter. Even if she wants to kill me.

I will not let go.

Thud! Something hit the window with a crisp sound, breaking the silence. Cui Jue remained deaf to it, simply pacing back to the inner chamber with his hair loose and feet bare.

Thud. Thud.

After two more rhythmic taps, the sound vanished. Eventually, Cui Jue pushed open the door. The wind whirled the snow into a frenzy. He opened his umbrella and walked forward.

“Let’s go.”

Shadows flickered in the trees as a dark figure followed.

The Palace Call

The Emperor’s decree could not be disobeyed.

Cui Qiong had been waiting for a long time. His carriage was parked in an alleyway a street away from the Protector Grand Duke’s Manor. Unable to sit still, he jumped down to let the wind clear his head.

“Why is Shi Yi taking so long to fetch him?”

“Ahem… the Eldest Young Master is married, after all… it is inconvenient to call for someone at night,” the coachman whispered.

Cui Qiong’s imagination ran wild. “Hmph! If I find out that Gu Wanlan is bullying my brother, I won’t let her hear the end of it!”

Just then, a familiar figure appeared, walking through the snow under an umbrella. Cui Qiong’s heart brightened. “Broth—”

The word died in his throat. Today, his brother wore a black cloak with crane embroidery, and his hair was bound by a small purple-gold crown. Holding nothing but a bamboo umbrella, his aura was so overbearing it was almost impossible to look at him directly.

Others might not know, but Cui Qiong did: whenever his brother dressed like this, his heart was in turmoil. He had a desire to kill.

Someone is going to be very unlucky.

Cui Qiong reflexively pulled his foot back and whispered, “It is a summons from His Majesty. It likely concerns the secret memorial you submitted previously.”

On his way back to the capital, Cui Jue had sent a secret report. It stated that according to his investigation, the Roulan hostage Xiao Sun had led the guards to rescue was a fake. The person currently on the run—Xiao Sun himself—was the real Roulan Prince. Along with the report, he had sent the fake hostage as a witness.

The Emperor summoning them late at night meant the investigation results were in.

“Who else was summoned?” Cui Jue asked.

“Will Gu Wanlan be suspicious of you leaving in the middle of the night?” Cui Qiong asked at the same time.

Realizing they had spoken at once, Cui Qiong hurriedly added, “No, I just meant… Brother, you don’t have much experience with women. They are sensitive and overthink things. She might act magnanimous on the surface, but she’ll be furious you stayed out all night. She’ll suspect you have another woman, and that’s bad for the marriage. If you need, I can visit the manor tomorrow and make sure Sister-in-law knows you were with me, not at some brothel.”

Cui Jue paused while closing his umbrella. “It doesn’t matter. She won’t know.”

“?” Cui Qiong was baffled. Don’t husband and wife sleep together? How could she not know? A possibility struck him, and his eyes widened. “It’s only the second day of the marriage?! She dares to go find another man already?!”

Recalling the way Gu Wanlan had left without a single backward glance, the violent aura Cui Jue had suppressed came roaring back to his eyes.

“Cui Qiong, you have a death wish.”

Uh oh. Cui Qiong realized his brother’s married life was in serious trouble. In this moment, he wasn’t even scared of Cui Jue; he was genuinely worried. But he had to put those thoughts aside as he sat in the carriage, stealing a glance at his brother before answering the earlier question.

“The Embroidered Uniform Guards were also summoned. The leader should be their Commander, Feiyan.”

Help. His brother’s face just got even scarier.