Chapter 39

“Brother A’Yu?”
Jiang Cuicui took the note from Jiang Goudan and unfolded it.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
Written on the slip was a single line: “Meet me under the pomegranate tree in the back mountain at the Hour of the Horse . I’ll wait for you.”
The signature read Jiang Sheyu.
At the sight of his name, Jiang Cuicui's heart skipped a beat.
Her small face flushed instantly.
She opened her mouth to call Jiang Goudan back, but the boy had already skipped far away.
Before leaving, he had mischievously thrown a pebble onto the Shitou family's roof.
Jiang Cuicui had no choice but to let it go.
Lowering her lashes, she stared at the note in her hand.
Her heart pounded uncontrollably, her cheeks burning with warmth.
Brother A’Yu was asking her to meet him under the pomegranate tree in the back mountain?
Was he going to confess his feelings?
Jiang Cuicui couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
Her face flushed crimson, her expression shy, her heart brimming with anticipation for the future, and the bashfulness of facing a confession from the one she adored.
Thud. thud.
Yun Pianpian was tidying up the house when she heard the sound of a stone rolling down the roof.
It seemed to have landed on something below.
Worried about the jars and pots in the corner, she immediately set aside her work and dashed outside like a whirlwind.
Xiao Changyuan followed leisurely behind her.
He had already sensed the stone, and the little rascal who threw it.
There was no malice in the stone’s trajectory.
So Xiao Changyuan paid no mind to either the stone or the child.
Yun Pianpian stepped into the courtyard and sighed in relief when she saw the jars and pots unharmed in the corner. Spotting a stray pebble at her feet, she glanced around and saw Jiang Goudan skipping away in the distance.
That little troublemaker must have thrown the stone onto her roof, but he was already too far away.
Missing her chance to scold him, Yun Pianpian could only sigh in frustration.
Just as she turned to go back inside, she noticed Jiang Cuicui standing in the yard, her face flushed, clutching a note and giggling to herself.
Curious, Yun Pianpian asked, “Cuicui, what are you looking at? You seem so happy.”
Startled, Jiang Cuicui hid the note behind her back like a child caught misbehaving.
Her lashes fluttered as she avoided Yun Pianpian’s gaze, her cheeks pink. “It's nothing.”
“Really nothing?”
Yun Pianpian stepped closer, suspicion in her eyes. “Are you hiding something good from me?”
“Really, it's nothing special!”
Panicked, Jiang Cuicui stuffed the note into her sleeve, her face burning red as she hurried toward her house. “I, I have to go inside now!”
Yun Pianpian narrowed her sharp almond eyes.
“Something’s fishy.”
A pale, slender hand suddenly reached out.
It cupped her chin.
Xiao Changyuan turned her face toward him, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Even if there’s something fishy, it’s none of my wife’s concern.”
His jade, like features were cold as he stared at her.
“My wife isn’t allowed to care about others. She can only care about me.”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
This man’s possessiveness was overwhelming, yet that night, he hadn’t claimed her.
It made no sense.
The memory of that abruptly halted passionate night resurfaced.
Her mood instantly soured.
Yun Pianpian said gloomily, “I don’t feel like cooking today. You do it.”
Xiao Changyuan noticed his wife’s sudden melancholy.
But he couldn’t fathom why.
Obediently, he replied, “Okay.”
Xiao Changyuan went to the kitchen to prepare their meal.
Yun Pianpian, meanwhile, moved her rattan chair and small table into the yard, bringing her novel outside to read.
The sunlight was gentle, not harsh at all.
Yet her mood remained heavy.
In contrast, Jiang Cuicui next door was practically glowing with joy.
It was now the Hour of the Snake, one hour left until the Hour of the Horse. Jiang Cuicui’s parents were busy preparing lunch in the kitchen, so she helped by picking vegetables in the yard, humming a cheerful tune.
That rosy, delicate little face was adorned with a silly smile from time to time.
Hearing the singing, Yun Pianpian put down the storybook in her hand and walked over to the fence, leaning down to ask Jiang Cuicui, “Cuicui, why are you so happy today?”
She wasn't happy herself at the moment, so she wanted to know the reason for others' joy, hoping to share in their happiness and become happy too.
Jiang Cuicui blushed, her eyes darting around nervously as she replied guiltily, “I'm this happy every day.”
Perhaps because Yun Pianpian was a little liar herself, she was particularly skilled at exposing others' lies.
Narrowing her wise almond, shaped eyes, Yun Pianpian mercilessly called Jiang Cuicui out. “You're lying. You weren't as happy yesterday as you are today.”
Jiang Cuicui retorted in a weak, barely audible voice, “Who said I wasn't as happy yesterday as I am today.”
Seeing Jiang Cuicui's voice grow fainter, Yun Pianpian knew victory was within reach. She pestered her, “Just tell me, please? I just had a fight with Shitou and don't even feel like cooking. If you tell me, it'll make me happy too.”
Jiang Cuicui was the village chief's granddaughter, spoiled since childhood, which had fostered a haughty and arrogant flaw in her character. Because of her pride, the other village girls didn't like being friends with her, and of course, Jiang Cuicui didn't like them either. She disdained associating with country girls, believing she was different from them. As the village chief's granddaughter, she naturally considered herself superior.
Jiang Cuicui thought she would never have a friend in her lifetime, but then Yun Pianpian moved in next door.
This girl named Yun Pianpian had a smile that made her eyes curve like crescent moons, and she could strike up a conversation with anyone. Jiang Cuicui occasionally envied Yun Pianpian's social skills, but Yun Pianpian remained completely unguarded around her, naturally treating her as a friend.
Sometimes, Yun Pianpian would pester her to go corn, picking; other times, she'd drag her along to pickle vegetables. She would share delicious sweets and lend her favorite storybooks. In everything she did, Yun Pianpian acted as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Like a clingy little kitten.
Jiang Cuicui passively became Yun Pianpian's friend.
At first, Jiang Cuicui was somewhat resistant.
But soon enough, she accepted Yun Pianpian, because she, too, needed someone to confide in, a peer who would listen to her thoughts.
Jiang Cuicui had lived for fifteen years.
At fifteen, she finally gained her first friend, Yun Pianpian.
The Yun Pianpian who claimed that even the clouds danced with joy at the sight of her.
Pestered relentlessly by Yun Pianpian, Jiang Cuicui's defenses gradually crumbled. Her face flushed crimson as she shyly confessed, “This morning, Brother A'Yu sent someone with a note, asking me to meet him during the hour of the Horse today.”
Yun Pianpian's eyes widened slightly, her surprise gradually replaced by excitement. “Really? He actually asked to meet you?”
Her voice was soft, deliberately hushed to avoid being overheard by Jiang Cuicui's parents. But Jiang Cuicui, feeling guilty, quickly put down the vegetables she was holding, rushed to the fence, and covered Yun Pianpian's mouth with her hand. “Shh, keep your voice down.”
Yun Pianpian's excited face was now blocked by Jiang Cuicui's hand, leaving only a pair of sparkling eyes visible.
She nodded vigorously.
Only then did Jiang Cuicui release her hand.
Once Yun Pianpian's mouth was unsealed, she bombarded her with questions, “So, have you decided what to wear later, what makeup to do, and what jewelry to put on?”
Jiang Cuicui froze, “N, No.”
Yun Pianpian said, “Then come to my place after you finish eating. I'll give you a beautiful 'first love' makeup.”
Jiang Cuicui was puzzled, “What's 'first love' makeup?”
Yun Pianpian excitedly explained, “It's the makeup girls wear when they fall in love for the first time.”
Hearing Yun Pianpian's words, Jiang Cuicui suddenly felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart. She had been holding onto this secret with nowhere to confide, like a boulder pressing on her chest, sweet, yet suffocating.
Thankfully, she could share this secret with Yun Pianpian.
It dawned on Jiang Cuicui why Yun Pianpian always loved sharing things with her so much.
Because the joy of sharing is even greater than the joy of receiving.
Sharing secrets is the same.
After finishing her meal, Jiang Cuicui spent a long time picking out clothes at home and finally chose her most beautiful begonia, red dress to wear. Her parents were curious, “Cuicui, why are you dressed so nicely? Where are you going?”
Suppressing her shyness, Jiang Cuicui whispered, “I'm going to play with Pianpian.”
With that, she lowered her head and hurried out the door to Yun Pianpian's house.
Yun Pianpian had been waiting for Jiang Cuicui for a long time and was finally delighted to see her.
“Cuicui looks so beautiful in this dress.”
Yun Pianpian didn't hold back her compliments as she guided Jiang Cuicui to the dressing table. She carefully applied makeup to Jiang Cuicui's face, adorning her like a Barbie doll, and finally gifted her a new box of lip rouge.
“I haven't used this one yet. It's a gift for you.”
Jiang Cuicui said sincerely, “Pianpian, thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
Yun Pianpian opened the lip rouge box and applied it to Jiang Cuicui's lips.
“By the way, where did he ask to meet you?”
Jiang Cuicui replied shyly, “Under the pomegranate flowers on the back hill.”
Hearing this, Yun Pianpian's hand paused slightly.
Her brow furrowed.
Jiang Cuicui noticed Yun Pianpian's reaction.
“Pianpian, what's wrong?”
Yun Pianpian looked down at the young girl before her.
On the girl's face was the shyness of a crush and the excitement and anticipation for the future.
Yun Pianpian couldn't bear to ruin her joy, so she forcibly suppressed her doubts and merely curved her eyes in praise, saying, “It's nothing. My Cuicui looks so beautiful today, A’Yu will surely be so captivated by you that he won't be able to speak.”
Jiang Cuicui blushed at her words. “Don't say anymore.”
Yun Pianpian replied, “Alright, alright, I won't. If I keep going, your face might start steaming.”
With the final step completed, Yun Pianpian set down the lip rouge in her hand.
“All done.”
Jiang Cuicui looked at herself in the dressing mirror.
The girl in the mirror had exquisite makeup, her cheeks fair with a rosy glow, like a crabapple flower reflecting the sunlight, delicate, charming, fresh, and radiant.
Jiang Cuicui was already naturally lovely, and this makeup enhanced her charm to its fullest.
“Pianpian, thank you so much today,” Jiang Cuicui said gratefully.
Yun Pianpian smiled, her eyes crinkling. “What's there to thank me for? Hurry and go find your A’Yu. Don't keep him waiting.”
Jiang Cuicui nodded emphatically. “Okay.”
Yun Pianpian gave the lip rouge to Jiang Cuicui.
After thanking Yun Pianpian, Jiang Cuicui slowly made her way toward the back hill.
Clutching the lip rouge case, she walked through the winter forest.
Her bright, charming eyes were filled with bashfulness for her beloved and dreams of the future.
At this moment, the innocent and radiant girl had no idea she was walking toward her own execution.
After Jiang Cuicui left, Yun Pianpian tidied the dressing table but suddenly furrowed her delicate brows.
“Why choose the back hill for a confession.”
Xiao Changyuan entered with a cold, handsome face, clearly displeased. “Whose wife are you, exactly? You actually kicked your husband out just to do Jiang Cuicui's makeup? Is there any wife who disregards her husband like you?”
Earlier, when Jiang Cuicui arrived, Yun Pianpian had shooed Xiao Changyuan out to keep him from disturbing them.
Hearing his words, Yun Pianpian immediately clasped her hands together, blinking her dewy almond, shaped eyes, and pitifully apologized to him.
“Sorry, husband, I was wrong. I won't do it again.”
Xiao Changyuan was quick to anger, but at the same time, he was very easy to appease, his temper as unpredictable as a child's.
“Don't let it happen again.”
Yun Pianpian immediately beamed. “Thank you, husband!”
Xiao Changyuan's gaze never left Yun Pianpian.
As Yun Pianpian bent her head to tidy the bottles and jars on the dressing table, she grew more and more troubled by the situation. “The back hill is so vast, and there have been tigers there before. Nowadays, only hunters dare go up alone. What was A’Yu thinking, asking a young girl to such a dangerous place? If he wanted to confess, he should have picked a better spot. So ungentlemanly.”
Xiao Changyuan, hearing that Yun Pianpian was still thinking about Jiang Cuicui, grew unhappy again.
“Why do you care so much about her?”
Yun Pianpian said, “She's my friend.”
Xiao Changyuan retorted coldly, “And I'm your husband.”
Yun Pianpian glanced at him and immediately coaxed, “My husband treats me the best. I love my husband the most.”
A faint blush instantly spread across Xiao Changyuan's jade, like fair face.
He turned his handsome face away and coldly uttered two words.
“Boring.”
Yun Pianpian could tell that Xiao Changyuan seemed to be in a slightly better mood.
He was like a white wolf with its fur bristling, but after she smoothed it down with her hand, he suddenly became much more docile.
After tidying up her dressing table, Yun Pianpian felt her heart racing uncontrollably.
She stood up. “No, I have to go to the mountain.”
Xiao Changyuan grabbed her wrist.
He frowned slightly.
“You're not allowed to go.”
Yun Pianpian thought she might have been suppressing Xiao Changyuan too harshly lately.
So he kept getting defensive and rebelling against her.
She let out a soft sigh.
Yun Pianpian tugged at Xiao Changyuan's collar, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek.
Xiao Changyuan was stunned by her kiss.
He covered his face, standing frozen in place.
A flicker of panic crossed his dark, deep eyes.
“Wife, what are you doing?”
Yun Pianpian pretended not to hear the frantic beating of her own heart.
She replied calmly, “I'm kissing you.”
Xiao Changyuan said blankly, “Isn't this the first step of the demonic technique?”
Yun Pianpian kept a straight face. “This isn't a demonic technique, it's a reward. If you agree to come with me to the back mountain, I'll reward you again. Back when you hadn't lost your memory, I often rewarded you like this.”
Xiao Changyuan mumbled in a daze, “Really?”
“Of course it's true. I'm your wife, why would I lie to you?”
Yun Pianpian raised her eyes to look at Xiao Changyuan. “Husband, do you want another reward?”
Xiao Changyuan nodded blankly.
“I do.”
Yun Pianpian's eyes lit up, her almond, shaped eyes curving into a smile.
“Then let's hurry to the back mountain.”
Xiao Changyuan immediately scooped her up by the waist, pushed off the ground with force, and soared toward the forest using his lightness skill.
Meanwhile, Jiang Cuicui, filled with shyness and excitement, arrived at the place mentioned in the note.
Under the pomegranate blossoms stood a tall, elegant young man.
He had his back to her, so she couldn't see his face, only the cold wind brushing through his long hair, as if tickling her heart.
Jiang Cuicui, her face flushed, called out shyly.
“Brother A’Yu, I'm here.”
The young man turned around, revealing a handsome but pale and sickly face.
It wasn't Jiang Sheyu at all.
It was Chen Fashan.
Jiang Cuicui froze for a moment. “A’Shan, why is it you?”
Chen Fashan didn't speak.
He lifted his foot and slowly, step by step, walked toward Jiang Cuicui.
Chen Fashan drew a pearl hairpin from his sleeve.
This was the very hairpin Yun Pianpian had dropped on the ground that day. Many in Jiangjia Village had seen Yun Pianpian wearing it. He intended to use this hairpin to kill Jiang Cuicui and frame Yun Pianpian.
Chen Fashan could sense Zhou Qiren’s hesitation.
He didn’t trust Zhou Qiren.
That was why he had to carry out this crucial step himself, to ensure his scheme was flawless.
Seeing Chen Fashan remain silent, Jiang Cuicui’s heart instinctively raced.
She retreated step by step until her back pressed against a cypress tree, with nowhere left to go.
Jiang Cuicui lifted her gaze, staring blankly at Chen Fashan.
“A’Shan, what are you doing?”
Chen Fashan looked down at her, his dark, icy eyes like a thick, bitter decoction of medicinal herbs.
His pale, delicate face showed little expression.
Slowly, he raised the pearl hairpin in his hand.
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
Chen Fashan heard the sound of rushing wind through the forest, it seemed two people were approaching.
Who was coming?
A trace of gloom flickered in Chen Fashan’s eyes, dark and intense like medicinal brew.
How dare they disrupt his plans!
The newcomers were skilled in martial arts. Whether it was Xiao Changyuan or Wan Shanke, he would be no match for them.
Chen Fashan’s fists slowly clenched, his fingertips turning pale from the force.
Countless schemes flashed through his mind, but in reality, only a brief moment had passed.
Chen Fashan paused slightly, a gentle and harmless smile appearing on his pale, sickly face.
He raised his hand and offered the half, raised pearl hairpin to Jiang Cuicui.
“Cuicui, I adore you. This hairpin is for you.”
He had lured Jiang Cuicui out under Jiang Sheyu’s name and even revealed the hairpin in front of her.
Now, his only option was to brazenly confess his feelings to Jiang Cuicui, using it to evade suspicion from the approaching figures.
Jiang Cuicui was caught off guard by Chen Fashan’s confession.
She looked up, staring at him in a daze, unable to process his words, her voice stammering slightly.
“Y-you adore me?”
Chen Fashan lowered his eyelashes, his expression appearing fragile. He offered a bitter smile. “I’ve liked you for a long time, Cuicui. But I know your heart belongs to someone else, which is why I used his name to ask you out. Cuicui. you won’t blame me, will you?”
Jiang Cuicui’s face flushed bright red.
Her gaze toward Chen Fashan wavered slightly.
“You know I like...”
Chen Fashan pressed his bloodless lips together, bowed his head, and let out a low, bitter chuckle. “Do you think I’m overestimating myself? Knowing you like him, yet recklessly confessing to you like a moth drawn to flame. You must look down on me now.”
Jiang Cuicui’s face flushed even deeper. “I don’t.”
She was just too shocked to respond to his words.
Jiang Cuicui didn’t look down on Chen Fashan at all.
On the contrary, because of his confession, her heart raced uncontrollably.
It seemed she was developing feelings for him.
Humans often confuse the sensations of danger and infatuation.
When faced with danger, the heart beats faster.
And when encountering someone who stirs the heart, it beats faster too.
Jiang Cuicui's heart raced and her blood surged purely from an instinctive sense of danger, yet she mistakenly believed she was moved by Chen Fashan's moth, to, flame confession, convinced she had fallen for his desperate, all, or, nothing declaration.
Suddenly, Yun Pianpian's hesitant voice came from behind.
“Cuicui.”
Turning around, Jiang Cuicui saw Yun Pianpian and Xiao Changyuan.
Xiao Changyuan set Yun Pianpian down, and she immediately approached Jiang Cuicui, asking, “What happened? Where's A’Yu?”
Jiang Cuicui's face flushed crimson. “Actually, it wasn't A’Yu who asked to meet me.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. “Not A’Yu?”
Unnoticed by Yun Pianpian and Xiao Changyuan, Chen Fashan discreetly tucked the pearl hairpin into his sleeve.
He stepped forward calmly and said, “I was the one who invited Cuicui out using A’Yu's name.”
Yun Pianpian frowned slightly. “Why did you deceive Cuicui?”
Chen Fashan offered a faint smile, his tone laced with bitterness. “If I hadn't used A’Yu's name, I feared Cuicui would never agree to see me.”
Just as Yun Pianpian was about to speak, Jiang Cuicui stopped her.
Her delicate, bright eyes brimming with unmistakable shyness, Jiang Cuicui shielded Chen Fashan, her cheeks flushed scarlet. “Pianpian, don't blame A'Shan. He only did this because. because he likes me so much.”
Her voice grew softer, her face reddening like a ripened apple. “I can't talk to you anymore.”
With that, Jiang Cuicui covered her face and dashed away in embarrassment.
Chen Fashan glanced at Yun Pianpian and Xiao Changyuan before following Jiang Cuicui, maintaining a careful distance as he trailed behind.
“Cuicui, wait for me.”
The forest was silent, save for the rustle of cold wind through the leaves.
Yun Pianpian murmured to herself, “Was I really meddling in something that wasn't my business?”
Xiao Changyuan swept her into his arms. “Let's go, wife.”
Jiang Cuicui ran through the woods for a long while. When Chen Fashan's calls faded into the distance, she halted and looked back. Seeing no sign of him, a pang of disappointment struck her heart.
But then she recalled the courage in Chen Fashan's confession earlier, and her heart began to race once more.
At that moment, Jiang Cuicui had no idea she had just narrowly escaped death.
She remained unaware of the icy murderous intent concealed beneath Chen Fashan's sweet lies.
Jiang Cuicui, her heart brimming with the joy of being confessed to, walked briskly down the mountain.
Meanwhile, Chen Fashan walked down the mountain with a gloomy expression.
His schemes and plots had once again ended in failure.
Chen Fashan made a firm resolution in his heart.
One day, he would use the sharpest blade in the world to personally end Xiao Changyuan's life.
At that time, Chen Fashan did not yet know that the sharpest blade in the world was not schemes or plots.
It was love.
Love is the sharpest blade in the human world.
It can strip away a person's flesh piece by piece, leaving only a bloody, sincere heart.
Years later, this blade named Jiang Cuicui would torment Chen Fashan, making him unable to live or die. When he knelt at her feet, holding his bloody, sincere heart and begging for her forgiveness, that young girl, whose heart had turned to ashes for him, refused to even glance down at him. Only then did Chen Fashan truly understand what it meant to regret one's past actions and what it meant to be overwhelmed by remorse.
But all of this was still yet to come.
For now, Chen Fashan's feelings toward Jiang Cuicui were nothing but the loathing that followed the failure of his plans.
And the disdain he felt for her identity as a village girl.