CH 39

Several Jin Yi guards had surrounded them. Even though they all kept to themselves – as if they did not notice the situation here – Zhou Qing could not deceive herself nor stand it. Her soft, pink cheeks were tinted with red. She looked like a budding rose, both fragrant and lovely. 

Xie Chong suppressed the rising storm in his heart and said with indifference, “Mrs. Luo, it’s time to get in the carriage. Do you want me to personally help you?”

Zhou Qing secretly sighed and slowly said, “There is no need to rush, Your Excellency. I’ll just get in.”

After she finished speaking, she stepped on the low stool, parted the curtains, and went inside, with Xie Chong following closely behind. As soon as he entered, the rusty scent on his body became stronger inside the small, closed space. Zhou Qing could not but feel an illusion. As if she was not in the carriage returning to the capital, but in a dark and damp environment, inside a dungeon that never saw the light of day.

“Ever since Mrs. Luo made the tranquilizing herb for the very first time, I felt that you carry a peculiar fragrance, like orchids and musk. I thought it was because of your frequent exposure to herbs. However, today, it seems that this official’s thought was wrong.”

The man’s voice was deep and booming, like thunder, in Zhou Qing’s ears. Seeing the blood stains on his fingers, the woman stiffened, as if the whole person was nailed in place and not moving a bit.

“Why is Mrs Luo not speaking? Is there nothing else you want to say to this official?” Xie Chong crossed his arms around his chest, looking at the woman in front of him nonchalantly. Although she was married and pregnant, she was not that old, exactly at the age of 28, seven years younger than himself.

In the past, due to etiquette, he did not want to take a look. But today, he did not want to continue obeying the rules. His eyes slid from the dazzling, jade-like, white flesh to the light blue veins. The thin wound had already started to scab with blood. It was not serious, but it was extremely eye-catching.

The tall body suddenly leaned forward. Zhou Qing was startled. Her eyes moved down, right into the man’s hair. She could feel the hot breath spraying on the wound, like burning coal.

“My lord! You– What are you doing? Although you have been kind to our Zhou family, you can’t humiliate me like this.”

Xie Chong sat down again, without a trace of shame on his face, and said in a light voice, “Mrs Luo, don’t be afraid. I don’t mean to insult you. I just don’t understand where the scent comes from, and wanted to find the source.”

The big palm suddenly held her wrist. Looking at those hideous scars, he couldn’t help but frown, “Earlier, every time Mrs Luo came to the house, the tip of the finger was wrapped with layers of white cloth. It turned out Madam was wounded.”

Zhou Qing remembered very clearly what her father once said. The Commander had killed countless people. He was comparable to Shura and such a person could not be easily fooled by her small tricks. It did not mean he had not discovered it just because he did not expose it before.

Her heartbeat quickened a bit. She saw Xie Chong point to his own head as he said with a smile, “Just now, I interrogated some prisoners in the capital. Their blood spilled, splashing on the herbal pills in the silver fragrance ball. The An Shen herb was tainted by blood and it was turned useless. This official’s sea marrow experienced knife-like pain. But as soon as I got close to Mrs Luo, that stabbing pain unexpectedly slowly eased. Don’t you find it strange?”

Zhou Qing strongly argued, “I carry with me the fragrance bag which contains the tranquilizing herb. Although far less effective than the one created by the Xuande furnace, it can also relieve momentary emergencies. My lord, I am afraid you have made a mistake…”

Putting her small hand into her sleeves, Zhou Qing anxiously rummaged through them. But after searching for a long time, she still could not find the sachet. Only then did she remember – to calm Zhaowei – she gave the sachet to Yan Hui. Naturally, there was no other tranquilizing herb on her body.

“The Xuande Furnace is an heirloom of the Zhou family. And no one is more aware of the truth that a person is not guilty of harboring a treasure than Mrs Luo. Otherwise, you would not have sent the Xuande Furnace to this official in the first place.” After a pause, he gave a low laugh and continued, “The reason why An Shen herb can ease the pain in my medullary sea is entirely thanks to Mrs Luo’s blood, such a miraculous effect, comparable to the legendary elixir. It is really an eye-opener.”

Fingernails dug hard at the soft cushion. Zhou Qing’s face was pale as she softly asked, “What exactly does the Commander wants? Just say it, why beat around the bush?”

Seeing the stubbornness in those pair of apricot eyes, Xie Chong swallowed the words that came to his throat, and organized his thoughts before speaking, “Mrs. Luo is gifted. You used the An Shen herb to relieve the dulling pain of this official’s sea of marrow. Even if it is in exchange for keeping the Xuande Furnace, your kindness cannot be ignored. You have suffered so much today. This official is being unfair to you.”

Zhou Qing reacted for a moment before realizing that Xie Chong was talking about the dirty things that Luo Xinyue had done. She could not help but sigh, “I am already married to the Luo family. What can I do? Being in the mire, the more I struggle, the deeper I fall.”

His handsome face was tinged with anger, and he replied with a sneer, “Mrs Luo can’t get out? Or are you unwilling to get out?”

God knew that when Xie Chong interrogated those mountain bandits, he learned that someone had lusted after Zhou Qing. He could not wait to cut that bastard to pieces and make Luo Xinyue pay for it as well.