To give one's body as a pledge

  Xiao Heng's face broke into a smile, his eyebrows and eyes like a painting, handsome and elegant. His folding fan lightly lifted Yuan Yi's chin, seemingly serious yet playful: "If it's affection, why mention tomorrow? Fourth Daughter is as beautiful as an immortal, and values emotions and righteousness, exactly to my liking. Wouldn't it be better to pledge our bodies to each other?"

  Yuanyi's face quickly turned red, not because of shyness, but purely because she was infuriated by the scoundrel in front of her. She would have to be out of her mind to thank this rascal sincerely and give him a good look.

  She slapped away the folding fan hooked on his chin, huffing and puffing as she pulled Su Mei up, coldly sneering: "Want to marry me? Go ahead and dream about it! I'd be crazy to marry a good-for-nothing like you."

  Xiao Heng's bright eyes dimmed, looking at Yuan Yi in disbelief, as if her rejection had hurt him to the extreme. "I ask myself, with my looks and character, both are top-notch in Kyoto, why does Fourth Daughter look down on me?" He smiled playfully, gazing deeply at Yuan Yi, saying: "Could it be that Fourth Daughter has someone in her heart?"

  Yuanyi's eyes flashed, and she looked at Xiao Heng with a smile that was not quite a smile. She said: "Young Master Xiao has excellent character, but I'm afraid I'm not worthy of him. We've only known each other for one day, and yet we're already talking about marriage - this is truly frivolous and shallow. Young Master Xiao should not speak nonsense and tarnish my reputation."

  Xiao Heng's eyes lit up, and he chased after Yuan Yi, who was leaving in a huff. He laughed and said, "Is Fourth Young Mistress offended that I'm not being respectful enough? What's difficult about this? When we get back, I'll send a matchmaker to your esteemed residence to propose marriage, and on an auspicious day, with the three matches and six gifts, I'll marry you and bring you back home."

  It's like the saying "a chicken and a duck talking", that's the situation she's in now, encountering this shameless person, Yuan Yi feels like all her upbringing and education have been completely ruined by him.

  She suppressed her anger, suddenly realizing that she had revealed too much of her emotions today, which was not a good sign. She regained her usual calm and composure, put on a distant and polite smile, turned to the persistent Xiao Heng and said: "Xiao Gongzi please stay here, just ahead is the carriage of our mansion, there's no need for you to see me off. Thank you for saving me today, let's just consider those words as a joke."

  She no longer paid attention to his expression after he finished speaking, and instead put on her cloak, tied up her light silk scarf, and with a slight movement of her skirt, headed towards the Zhu family's carriage.

  "Wait a minute." Just a few steps out, Xiao Heng's voice sounded again. Yuan Yi frowned and his face showed impatience and disgust. He stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around.

  Suddenly, a cool and refreshing turquoise-glazed porcelain bottle was thrust into her hands. The man's slender, dry fingers with distinct joints inadvertently or intentionally brushed against the tender palm of her hand, leaving behind a tingling sensation and goosebumps.

  "This is the imperial secret healing medicine, such a perfect pair of hands, don't leave any scars, I would be heartbroken." Xiao Heng seemed to not mind her previous offending words at all, his smile on his face unchanged, his eyes filled with pity and heartache when they touched her injured hand.

  She grasped the porcelain bottle tightly in her hand, suppressed the complexity in her eyes, said a word of thanks, and then boarded the carriage without further delay.

  "Return to the mansion."

  Inside the magnificent and luxurious pavilion, a faint wisp of blue smoke rose from the corner of the Wen Wang Ding, filling the room with the rich aroma of dragon incense that was intoxicating. On the large purple sandalwood couch, a slender white hand carelessly fiddled with the sheep fat jade pendant on the five-colored silk tassel. A lazy and low male voice slowly sounded, saying: "How's the search?"

  A man in black knelt beside the wooden bench, saying respectfully: "Master, except for Fourth Miss Zhu, no one else has entered the woods."

  The attic was quiet for a while, and the man's gentle voice sounded again, "Keep an eye on her." After another silence, the man said, "Wait, I'll go myself."

  The man in black nodded and said calmly: "Yes."