Chapter 26: Don't Move

The flames in the garden soared to the heavens, illuminating the faces of the Jingzhao Yin and his men, who stood frozen in shock. Qin Lang gripped Shen Ruojin’s wrist with his uninjured right hand, holding it tight as he strode rapidly toward the exit, determined to lead her away from this filthy place.

Zhuifeng was still waiting by the gate and galloped forward as soon as his master emerged.

"Good boy..."

Qin Lang rubbed the stallion’s head with the back of his hand, though his eyes remained fixed on Shen Ruojin. He seemed to be enduring something intense; blood continued to seep from the wound on his left hand, yet he appeared indifferent to the pain. Under the cover of the night, he feigned normalcy and helped Shen Ruojin onto the horse.

The two of them, on one mount, rode through the city’s myriad lights as Zhuifeng carried them toward home. The streets were silent and deserted. By day, Shengjing was a dazzling, bustling spectacle, but after the curfew, it wore an entirely different face. Shen Ruojin closed her eyes, listening to the night wind whistling past her ears.

After a long while, she finally spoke to Qin Lang. "As a new bride who has just entered the Prince of Zhenbei’s mansion, I really should be advising you to stop while you’re ahead. No matter what, you shouldn't have burned down the Li family’s garden. After all, I didn't suffer any real harm, and I’ve already taught everyone in the Li garden a painful lesson. If this blows up tomorrow, even if we are in the right, we will surely have to pay for the garden."

Li Er was effectively crippled, and the false pains of Madam Li An had turned real, sending her into premature labor; it was unclear whether the child had even been born. While teaching Madam Lü and the others a lesson, Shen Ruojin had forced a confession out of the servants, learning that this was not the first time Li Er had used the convenience of Madam Li An’s social calls to lure young, beautiful women—both official kin and commoners—to the Li garden to be toyed with. Some of the strong-willed ones had committed suicide on the spot, while others had returned home in silence after their degradation. Relying on their father, the Chancellor, this repulsive couple had managed to suppress these matters time and time again. Beneath the flourishing flowers of the Li garden lay the bones of countless beauties.

Ghosts wandered in that garden, and even if Qin Qi hadn't brought the Jingzhao Yin along tonight, Shen Ruojin had intended to report them to the authorities. Yet, before the officials could conduct a thorough investigation, Qin Lang had set the place ablaze.

"Are you that short of money?" Qin Lang focused on the crux of her words, responding without hesitation: "Now that you are my little princess, you will certainly never want for anything."

His words pulled Shen Ruojin right out of her tangled thoughts.

"There's such a benefit?" Shen Ruojin thought to herself, *It’s just a sham marriage, you don't have to be so generous, little Prince Qin.*

Still holding the reins, Qin Lang moved to wrap his arm around her waist, almost imperceptibly. "That goes without saying." Struggling to maintain a shred of clarity, he said in a hoarse voice, "If you were speaking only as Shen Ruojin, what would you have said to me?"

"Well burned!" As the night wind blew, Shen Ruojin failed to notice his distress and declared loudly, "What courage! What a bold spirit! You truly command respect, little Prince Qin!"

Praised by her words, Qin Lang momentarily forgot his pain and cast aside his physical discomfort, muttering, "If it's come to this, wouldn't it be remiss of you not to call me 'husband'?"

"What?" Shen Ruojin thought she had misheard.

Qin Lang secretly tugged at his wound to keep himself awake. "Nothing. A husband’s duty is to protect his wife and ensure she suffers not the slightest grievance."

Hearing this, Shen Ruojin laughed in spite of herself. "You... you suddenly make me feel like I’m taking advantage of you." These benefits had originally belonged to the woman Qin Lang held dear. She was merely occupying the position of the Princess of Zhenbei for the time being, and gaining these perks along the way—was that not taking advantage of someone?

"You may take all you like." Qin Lang’s words were swifter than his thoughts. *In any case,* he mused, *there is no one else who could take advantage of me but you.*

"How generous, little Prince Qin," Shen Ruojin teased. She stroked Zhuifeng’s mane, recalling how she once loved to travel the world and break in wild horses, only to remain confined within the inner courtyards after returning to the capital. Even a frail woman like Madam Li An had dared to set her sights on her. As for Li Chengzhi, perhaps the blow to his head from Qin Lang had scrambled his wits; he had failed to take her—a girl raised with the full resources of the Shen family—seriously, assuming she only knew a few flashy tricks and that he could do as he pleased on his own turf. *What kind of creature thinks he can pounce on me?*

Shen Ruojin had broken both of Li Er’s legs on the spot and battered him all the way from the flower hall to the center of the garden. Throughout the ordeal, the people of the Li estate had acted as if they had seen a ghost, screaming and grabbing weapons to rush at her to save Li Er. Shen Ruojin fought them one by one, beating them in pairs. Fighting a hundred men alone was no challenge for her. She had not ridden a horse or drawn a sword for a long time, but after the fight in the Li garden today, she felt the blood and passion of a general’s daughter returning to her.

Facing the night wind, Shen Ruojin called out, "Qin Lang, give me the reins."

Qin Lang, his mind already drifting, did not hesitate to hand them over.

"Hold on tight." Shen Ruojin took the reins and spurred the horse down the long street, flying like the wind. Zhuifeng was loyal to his master and would never be driven by anyone other than Qin Lang; yet, with the two of them riding together and the reins in Shen Ruojin’s hands, he galloped with joy. They did not even slow down when they encountered the curfew patrol, rushing past them like a gust of wind.

Racing through the streets of the capital in the dead of night, they covered the distance from the Li garden to the Prince of Zhenbei’s mansion in the time it takes for a single stick of incense to burn. Though Shen Ruojin had not yet had her fill, the gloom that had trapped her in the residence for the past year had largely dissipated, and her anger had faded significantly.

As they neared the gates of the mansion, she pulled the reins to slow Zhuifeng down, only then realizing that Qin Lang had wrapped his arms around her at some point. The man’s broad chest pressed firmly against her back, and an extraordinary, scorching heat radiated through their clothes onto her skin. Even though Shen Ruojin was inexperienced in the ways of men and women, she sensed that something was wrong. She tried to shift her posture but was held fast by Qin Lang’s embrace, unable to move.

"Don't move," Qin Lang warned, his voice hoarse.

Shen Ruojin paused. "You... what is going on with you?"

"The Sixth Prince plotted against me; he slipped 'Xiangjian Huan' into my wine." Qin Lang had originally thought this would be too shameful to utter. He had held his tongue the entire way, but once Shen Ruojin discovered his condition, he finally found the opening to speak.

"'Xiangjian Huan'? That sounds quite romantic. Why would the Sixth Prince drug you with that? Could it be that you swing both ways?" Shen Ruojin saw Qin Lang’s intense reaction and knew without thinking that this so-called "Xiangjian Huan" must be an aphrodisiac used to heighten pleasure in the bedroom. She had heard that Qin Lang was the man of every noble lady’s dreams in the capital, but she had never heard of any man being interested in him.

As they spoke, Zhuifeng carried them to the mansion gate. Hearing her ask, "Do you swing both ways?", Qin Lang’s vision went dark, and he nearly tumbled from the horse. *Yuan Ping has caused me great harm! He’s caused my wife to misunderstand me.*

Shen Ruojin was quick to act; she leapt from the horse and caught him. "If you were drugged, why didn't you say so sooner? Why did you come to the Li garden to find me... you should have found a way to neutralize the poison earlier."

It would not do for others to see Qin Lang in this state, so she helped him inside. The guards at the gate and the servants they encountered stepped forward to help, but Qin Lang dismissed them all one by one. His peach-blossom eyes were flushed red with heat; he would not allow anyone near him, clutching Shen Ruojin’s wrist tightly instead, refusing to let her go. Her wrist throbbed with pain, and she was tempted to strike him unconscious with a chop of her hand. But as she looked up, she met his reddened gaze and heard him whisper in a hoarse voice: "I have no concubines."

"And no bed-chamber maids."

"Shen Ruojin, I am in pain... please help me."