Chapter 10

Yun Pianpian covered Xiao Changyuan's handsome face with dirt until he looked thoroughly disheveled.
Finally, his true appearance was no longer recognizable.
This time, when they walked into the marketplace, people no longer stared at Xiao Changyuan's face, and the market returned to its usual bustling atmosphere.
Only then did Yun Pianpian breathe a sigh of relief.
She couldn't let Chu Yi find Xiao Changyuan ahead of time.
Xiao Changyuan hadn't regained his memories yet and was intellectually compromised, even she could easily deceive him, let alone the cunning Chu Yi.
If Xiao Changyuan fell into Chu Yi's hands, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den, Xiao Changyuan would undoubtedly meet his end.
Yun Pianpian didn't want Xiao Changyuan to die.
Especially not at the hands of the male protagonist, Chu Yi.
Although Yun Pianpian loved the story of “Song's End,” she disliked the male protagonist Chu Yi. Compared to the cruel and tragic Xiao Changyuan, she found Chu Yi, who constantly manipulated the female lead, far more detestable.
In the grand finale of “Song's End,” Chu Yi used Ye Suxin as bait, gathering the strength of five nations to finally kill the great antagonist, Xiao Changyuan. The male and female leads embraced and kissed amidst Xiao Changyuan's pool of blood, ushering in a happy ending. Though Ye Suxin harbored hatred for Chu Yi in her heart, she also deeply loved him. All her past love and hatred were tied to Chu Yi, so she could not leave him. Later, Chu Yi ascended the throne as emperor and enfeoffed Ye Suxin as his empress.
Ye Suxin became the most noble woman in the world.
However, from then on, Ye Suxin, whose singing had once been more beautiful than a nightingale's, never sang again.
After countless trials, the songs and revelry came to an end.
Only the blood, red imperial power remained, eternal and unyielding.
When Yun Pianpian read this ending, she cried as if her heart were breaking.
Even she herself didn't know why she was crying.
Yun Pianpian shook her head, forcing herself not to dwell on these sorrowful thoughts.
The bustling market quickly swept away Yun Pianpian's worries, making her happy again.
She had always been someone who found joy easily.
Spotting a vendor selling candied hawthorns in the market, Yun Pianpian bought two sticks, six copper coins both.
After paying, Yun Pianpian handed one stick to Xiao Changyuan and, while munching on her candied hawthorn, began counting on her fingers.
Xiao Changyuan took a bite of the candied hawthorn and frowned.
How could his wife enjoy such a cloyingly sweet treat so much?
Seeing Yun Pianpian counting on her fingers, murmuring to herself with a serious expression, Xiao Changyuan couldn't help but feel curious.
“Wife, what are you calculating?”
After finishing her count, Yun Pianpian's clear, almond, shaped eyes suddenly lit up, and she beamed at Xiao Changyuan.
“Husband, we still have five hundred and twenty taels left, enough to buy over eighty six thousand candied hawthorns!”
He really shouldn't have been curious about her, Xiao Changyuan thought, feeling somewhat exasperated.
“Is your head filled with nothing but food?”
Worried that Xiao Changyuan might still be brooding over earlier matters, Yun Pianpian deliberately sweet, talked him: “I also think of you, husband! You're so good to me and so skilled at earning money. Even if someone offered me eight hundred thousand or eight million candied hawthorns, I wouldn't trade my husband for anything!”
On the girl's delicate and pretty face, her sparkling eyes brimmed with radiant, captivating sweetness.
Hearing this, Xiao Changyuan pressed his thin lips together and turned his handsome face away.
“How boring.”
Yun Pianpian noticed a faint blush gradually creeping onto Xiao Changyuan's fair earlobes.
Her heart swelled with delight.
She had finally figured out what Xiao Changyuan was afraid of.
This tyrant feared neither heaven nor earth.
Yet he was actually afraid of her sweet words!
How peculiar.
Yun Pianpian strolled leisurely through the market while eating her candied hawthorn.
The streets were crowded, with people jostling shoulder to shoulder.
Having experienced the subway era, Yun Pianpian didn't find this level of crowding particularly bothersome.
But Xiao Changyuan seemed to dislike such hustle and bustle intensely.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and his gaze toward everyone was filled with an unwelcoming disdain.
“Wife, let's go back.”
“No, I haven't finished buying all the pots and pans yet.”
Yun Pianpian dove headfirst into a stall selling basins, not even turning her head to speak to Xiao Changyuan.
Although Xiao Changyuan found the crowded streets irritating, he still followed closely behind Yun Pianpian to ensure her safety. Worried that others might jostle her, he even wrapped his long arm around her shoulder, shielding her from the crowd.
Yun Pianpian turned her head and saw Xiao Changyuan's hand resting on her shoulder, along with his strikingly handsome face that was etched with displeasure.
She couldn't help but feel a little amused.
It turned out that happiness really was built upon others' misery.
Seeing Xiao Changyuan's unhappy expression sparked a faint sense of schadenfreude within her, and even her earlier worries about the storyline vanished completely.
Noticing the smile on Yun Pianpian's face, Xiao Changyuan furrowed his brows, his handsome face turning cold and guarded.
“What are you smiling at?”
Yun Pianpian knew exactly what he was afraid of, so she deliberately curved her eyes, her small face feigning bashfulness.
“My husband looks so heroic and dashing when he protects me, it's utterly captivating!”
Xiao Changyuan stiffened and turned his face away.
“You're insane!”
Though his tone was icy and his face tense with frost, he didn't remove his protective hand from her shoulder.
Yun Pianpian noticed the delicate, pale earlobe hidden beneath Xiao Changyuan's dark hair gradually tinged with a faint blush.
Suddenly, she felt that these three years might not be so unbearable after all.
Because teasing the great tyrant was truly amusing.
Yun Pianpian turned back to continue haggling with the vendor, a slow smile curling her red lips.
The market goods were incredibly cheap. Yun Pianpian bought a large pile of items and spent less than seven hundred wen in total.
With so many purchases, it was difficult to carry everything home, so Yun Pianpian decided to hire an ox cart for transport.
Coincidentally, they ran into Xie Yu, who had driven his ox cart to the market to shop.
After asking, she learned that Xie Yu often bought goods in town and resold them in the county seat to earn a profit from the price difference.
Since Xie Yu had finished his shopping, he offered Yun Pianpian and Xiao Changyuan a ride back to Jiangjia Village.
Yun Pianpian wanted to pay for the ride, but Xie Yu firmly refused, so she had to let it go.
Instead, she took two corn cakes from her basket and gave them to Xie Yu.
She had bought the corn cakes at the market, they were delicious, so she had bought a few extra, which happened to serve as payment for the ride.
“Thank you, Sister Pianpian!”
Xie Yu beamed with a smile, thanked them, and slowly drove the ox, cart away.
A few days later, Xiao Changyuan’s medicine had run out, so Yun Pianpian went to Doctor Zhou’s house to buy more.
The door was opened by a pale, sickly, looking young man.
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. “Is Doctor Zhou not home?”
The young man’s pale, frail face wore a gentle and polite smile, making him appear very amiable.
“My uncle has gone out to see a patient. I’m his nephew. Is there something you need from him?”
“I came to buy medicine…” Yun Pianpian asked, “Did Doctor Zhou mention when he’d be back?”
The young man replied, “The place my uncle went to this time is quite far. He probably won’t return until after sunset.”
“In that case, I’ll come back later to see him.”
With that, Yun Pianpian was about to leave Doctor Zhou’s house when the young man suddenly called out to her.
“Are you Miss Pianpian?”
Yun Pianpian turned back in confusion. “How do you know my name?”
The young man smiled and said, “My uncle mentioned you. He calculated that your medicine would run out today, so he prepared a few packets in advance. If he wasn’t here, he asked me to give them to you. Wait a moment, I’ll go get the medicine for you…”
A short while later, the young man handed Yun Pianpian a packet of medicine.
Yun Pianpian paid for it and was about to leave when she recalled the sickly young man’s appearance, as if he might collapse at any moment.
A sudden surge of compassion made her turn back. Hesitantly, she asked, “Young man, you don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell? Since Doctor Zhou hasn’t returned yet, why don’t I take you to see a doctor first?”
The young man was momentarily stunned, then said, “No need. This is an illness I’ve had since I nearly drowned as a child. It’s been many years, but it’s nothing serious.”
Seeing his refusal, Yun Pianpian had no choice but to say, “Alright then.”
With that, she turned and left.
After Yun Pianpian left, Chen Fashan’s amiable expression vanished, his eyes turning sinister and ruthless.
He had laced the packet of medicine with a deadly poison. If Xiao Changyuan took even a small sip, he would die instantly, beyond any cure.
Even if the mission failed, he could shift the blame onto her, whose identity was already highly suspicious.
This woman was full of mysteries, making her the perfect scapegoat.
If suspicion did fall on him, he could always claim he had mistakenly given her the wrong packet of medicine to clear his name.
Chen Fashan watched Yun Pianpian’s retreating figure, a sinister smile spreading across his pale, sickly face.
He would use this woman’s hand to kill Xiao Changyuan, who trusted her so completely.