After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 54

Akishiyama (Autumn Mountain)

By the time the final instructions were given to Cui Qiong, dusk had arrived. The incense in the burner had completely burnt out, leaving only scattered ash and a lingering cold fragrance in the room. Cui Jue rose, intending to depart.

Cui Qiong finally recovered from the weight of their conversation. As he moved, his chair dragged across the floor with a harsh, piercing screech. “Brother… was this decided from the very beginning?”

Cui Jue merely cast a faint, indifferent glance back at him. Cui Qiong knew then that there was no room for negotiation.

He took a sharp breath and said in a muffled voice, “Since it is Brother’s wish, I will do as instructed.”

At that moment, Eleven arrived outside the door. Seeing the situation, he did not step forward but remained respectfully at the threshold.

Noticing that Cui Qiong’s eyes were faintly rimmed with red, Cui Jue let out a sigh. He gestured toward Eleven. “What is it? In the future, there is no need to intentionally avoid Cui Qiong.”

Eleven stepped forward, his expression grave. “Master, our contact in Roulan has replied. The people Xiao Sun used to investigate the events of those years have recently ceased their movements. It is likely he has discovered a lead and will soon suspect the Cui family.”

Cui Jue showed no surprise. He smoothed a wrinkle on his sleeve. “We were short-handed back then, and the matter was handled crudely. It is only a pity we couldn’t finish him off directly at the start. Now, since he wants to investigate, let him.”

Cui Qiong was stunned, his mouth hanging open instinctively.

Why did he understand every word, yet find the entire matter incomprehensible?

Was this saying that his brother had interfered in Roulan’s affairs and tried to kill that Roulan Hostage? Back then? When the Hostage failed his coup and fled into exile, how old was his brother?!

However, neither of the men present could spare a thought for Cui Qiong’s shock.

Eleven asked hesitantly, “Does the Master mean we should do nothing and let him continue his investigation?”

Cui Jue finally smoothed out the wrinkle before looking up, his gaze languid. “Mhm. If he cannot find anything, feel free to drop a few clues his way to give him something to do. My identity cannot be hidden for much longer anyway.”

“Besides…” Cui Jue narrowed his eyes slightly. “I am very curious to see if scattering this bait will hook any other fish.”

Cui Qiong understood this part. His brother wanted to use himself as bait to see if Xiao Sun had any other accomplices within the Great Xia.

Realizing that he was finally his brother’s “own person,” Cui Qiong hurriedly said, “Speaking of which, if you want to know who else is around Xiao Sun, wouldn’t asking Gu Wanlan be faster? Didn’t she say she followed Xiao Sun to that Nanfeng Pavilion today?”

Cui Qiong felt his logic was perfectly clear, yet he sensitively perceived the atmosphere freeze for a moment, turning into a source of inexplicable awkwardness.

“Uh.” Cui Qiong shrank his head back weakly. “If it is inconvenient for Sister-in-law, Brother should just act as if I never spoke.”

Cui Qiong practically wanted to scold himself. How could he have forgotten? His brother—usually so wise, decisive, and in control—suffered a complete lack of husbandly authority in front of Gu Wanlan!

Especially since Gu Wanlan and Xiao Sun were known to have close dealings…

As Cui Qiong buried his head, racking his brain for a way to tactfully change the subject while preserving his brother’s dignity as a man, he heard Cui Jue let out a light chuckle.

Cui Qiong instinctively looked up. He saw a tender smile in his brother’s eyes, and the coldness surrounding him vanished in an instant. As if thinking of something pleasant, Cui Jue whispered, “Indeed, we can ask her.”

The Protector State Duke’s Estate

Gu Wanlan and Cui Jue returned to the room almost one after the other. To her surprise, the first thing Cui Jue did upon seeing her was ask what she had discovered from Xiao Sun today.

In the past, he would have acted as if nothing had happened.

Glancing at the dinner sent from the kitchen on the table, Gu Wanlan crossed her arms and gave Cui Jue a half-smile. “Are you sure you want to ask now? I’m afraid that once you know, you might lose your appetite.”

Cui Jue’s expression faltered.

He had earlier sensed the faint glimmers of affection Gu Wanlan showed him, which was why he dared to ask today. But now, under her counter-question, irrational thoughts of her and Xiao Sun instinctively surfaced in his mind.

Suppressing those moldy, damp thoughts, he was about to speak when Gu Wanlan pressed down on his shoulders, forcing him to sit in the chair. She chided, “Hey, I was just making a casual joke. Why do you look so pitiful, as if I’m about to abandon you?”

Cui Jue lowered his eyes and caught her hand just as it was about to slip from his shoulder. “Apologies. I simply can’t help but feel jealous of him whenever I think of the past you shared where no one else existed. It won’t happen again.”

Gu Wanlan turned around, looking at his profile. She hesitated before switching the topic. “Actually, when I said you’d lose your appetite, I wasn’t saying it was because of anything between me and Xiao Sun. I think you guessed today that the person Xiao Sun was so loudly trying to catch in Nanfeng Pavilion was me. I saw his behavior was strange and found a way to follow him, eavesdropping outside his window for a while until I was detected for certain reasons…”

Gu Wanlan leaned down slightly, resting her chin on Cui Jue’s shoulder. She turned her head to look at him with a smile. “Husband, guess what I overheard? It was truly an unexpected matter.”

Cui Jue’s heart skipped a beat.

Eleven’s words from earlier surfaced in his mind. Could it be that Xiao Sun went to Nanfeng Pavilion today specifically to investigate his past in Roulan with someone else? How much did Gu Wanlan hear?

Cui Jue’s eyelashes trembled. “Is that so? To make even Madam surprised, it must be a major event.”

Gu Wanlan tilted her head and reached out a finger, almost idly touching Cui Jue’s eyelashes. She sighed, “Yes, and it even concerns you, Husband.”

Was he discovered? The true face beneath the mask that is far from virtuous.

Cui Jue lowered his gaze.

Gu Wanlan scrutinized Cui Jue’s slightly tensed jaw, about to turn up the heat, when suddenly, she was pulled fiercely by the waist. A landslide of kisses descended upon her, and she found herself sitting on his lap.

This was the first time he had been so rough, as if he wanted to swallow her whole, making the root of her tongue go numb. The sound of their intimacy was far too obvious in the silent room. Gu Wanlan stole a glance and realized—

Their bedroom door hadn’t even been closed!

From her angle, she could see the maidservants walking past the door. If they so much as glanced inside, they would see the scene in the room clearly!

Gu Wanlan’s face turned bright red. She was about to use her strength to push the man away, but he was far too cunning, as if he had seen through her thoughts. His fingers arrived at her pressure point at some unknown moment. With a light press, Gu Wanlan could only arch her back, biting her lip hard, unable to speak another word.

Cui Jue’s hand was like a helmsman on the great sea, controlling her “ship” as it climbed higher and higher on the waves. Her skirt was hopelessly wrinkled, yet the man before her remained sitting upright in the chair, his expression cold and solemn as ice, as if he had no idea what “foul deed” his hand was perpetrating beneath her skirt.

Gu Wanlan was beyond irritated. She gripped Cui Jue’s sleeve tightly and gritted her teeth. “…Cui… Jue… what on earth… are you afraid of…”

“Are you… afraid of me knowing…”

“Ngh!”

In the end, her unfinished threat turned into a muffled groan.

Gu Wanlan’s breathing became ragged, but at the critical moment, Cui Jue stopped abruptly. He looked at her with an expressionless face. “It was Madam who said we should talk after dinner.”

Gu Wanlan practically wanted to roar at him.

She grabbed Cui Jue’s collar and forced him to lower his head. “Cui Jue! You know perfectly well that wasn’t what I meant! What are you doing now?!”

Cui Jue only looked down at her. Though his words were incredibly indecent, his expression was solemn to the point of gravity, even carrying a trace of imperceptible pleading. “Then now… does Madam want it?”

What was the meaning of this?

So, after going in such a huge circle, he was trying to use physical intimacy to avoid my interrogation?

Am I, Gu Wanlan, someone so easily blinded by beauty?!

Gu Wanlan couldn’t hold back anymore. She pressed down on the back of Cui Jue’s head and bit back fiercely, snarling, “I’m not afraid of your ghostly tricks! Trying to manipulate me with this! In your dreams!”

In the end, Gu Wanlan didn’t know who had manipulated whom. She could only lie on the soft bed, her limbs limp and sore, secretly hating herself for falling into his trap again.

Knock, knock.

It was the sound of a maid at the door.

Gu Wanlan looked at the sky through the window and guessed the maid was coming to collect the dinner trays.

Taking one look at the room—which looked like a disaster zone hit by a storm—Gu Wanlan withdrew her gaze, unable to bear looking further. It was an eyesore; looking at it made her eyes ache.

Gu Wanlan reached out a foot and kicked the man beside her. “Hey, someone’s here. Hurry up and tidy this place.”

Cui Jue made no sound. He obediently got out of bed, threw on an outer robe, and began picking up the mess. Right now, he showed none of the ruthless, predatory air he had while holding her earlier.

Thinking about it, Gu Wanlan propped up her head and lay sideways on the bed, watching the man cleaning the ruins. Cui Jue was tall with a lean waist; even wearing only the most ordinary inner garment, his aura was exceptionally standout.

Of course, he wasn’t bad when he wasn’t wearing anything, either.

Feeling a bit weary, Gu Wanlan couldn’t help but yawn. She rubbed the tears from her eyes and said lazily, “Cui Jue.”

Cui Jue’s figure paused. He didn’t turn around, but gave a low response. “Mhm. I’m here.”

“I didn’t originally intend to speak of it today, but since you brought it up when you returned, I’ll say it.”

Cui Jue tightened his grip on a piece of crimson fabric—it was a piece he had torn from her in the heat of passion. Holding it now, it felt terrifyingly hot.

Cui Jue didn’t know what to say and merely nodded. “Mhm.”

Gu Wanlan said solemnly, “Everyone has secrets. I know our current relationship hasn’t reached the depth where we can reveal everything to each other without reservation. So, if these secrets are harmless, they can be ignored. But—”

She paused and took a breath. “I might as well tell you. The information I got from Xiao Sun is that someone witnessed you entering the Imperial Palace. So, I want to know two things.”

“First, do you have an identity or office within the palace?”

“Second, will your secret bring harm to the Protector State Duke’s Estate?”