Chapter 40 Breaking into his room
Today she was traveling with Yunyi alone. Seeing that Zheng Chengyan was about to disappear from her sight, she made a quick decision.
"Yun Yi, please help me pick out some good fabrics first, and I'll be back right away."
Su Wanyu turned around, her voice filled with unquestionable determination.
"Miss, where are you going?" Yun Yi followed closely, looking puzzled.
Without waiting for an answer, Su Wanyu had already walked away at a quick pace, following Zheng Chengyan's trail.
Fortunately, she was wearing a hat today, with her face half covered, making it difficult for her to be recognized.
She followed silently, weaving through the winding and narrow alleys until she arrived in front of a dilapidated house.
The gate of the house is mottled and the red paint is peeling, revealing a sense of desolation that the former glory is no longer there.
Zheng Chengyan and his servant pushed the door open and entered, and low voices of conversation were heard from inside the house.
A clear female voice asked, "What is the theme of this article?"
Zheng Chengyan replied: "Write a 3,000-word essay on the rainstorm in Jiangzhou."
The woman gave the price straightforwardly: "Twenty taels of silver."
Zheng Chengyan's tone was mixed with dissatisfaction, and he completely lost the demeanor that a noble should have. He bargained like a street vendor: "Why do you want twenty taels this time? In the past, it was only ten taels."
The woman reluctantly explained that her father was seriously ill and urgently needed money to save his life. Zheng Chengyan angrily put down the silver and compromised on the deal.
Su Wanyu was struck by lightning. She had always believed that Zheng Chengyan was extremely talented and a pillar of the country, and his brilliant achievement of winning the top three places in the imperial examinations was further proof of this.
However, the truth is so ironic that those articles praised by the world were actually purchased from this woman.
She smiled bitterly and shook her head. In her previous life, she had been deceived by such a double-faced man. What else did he have except a skin that deceived the world?
Recalling my past life, I feel pain like a knife cutting through my body. I regret having given everything to such a person. It was so foolish of me.
Zheng Chengyan approached, the transaction was completed, and he was about to leave.
Su Wanyu suddenly woke up and swiftly turned to the alley on the right. She remembered that there was a teahouse nearby which could serve as a temporary shelter.
Zheng Chengyan noticed something was wrong and asked sternly, "Who's there?"
Su Wanyu quickened her pace, ran to the backyard of the teahouse, pushed open a dark gray wooden door, and hid inside.
“Stop!” Zheng Chengyan’s shout followed closely behind, and in the narrow alley, his breathing was clearly audible.
Su Wanyu suppressed her panic, lifted her skirt slightly, and rushed into the hidden entrance of the teahouse.
Behind the door, there are rockery, flowing water, and winding paths leading to the most famous teahouse on South Street.
She walked along the stream and came across a narrow staircase. Zheng Chengyan's urging voice approached from behind.
Her heart was beating like a drum, but she walked steadily up the boxwood stairs. The guard upstairs heard her and wanted to stop her, but was stopped by the person in the room and hid in the dark.
As soon as he stepped into the corridor on the second floor, Zheng Chengyan shouted: "She is upstairs, chase her!"
Her heartbeat quickened as she looked around. In panic, she discovered a wing door woven from golden bamboo. There was no servant guarding it, suggesting that the room was empty.
The guests in the teahouse were all extraordinary people, so Zheng Chengyan was not in a position to search them at will.
This seemingly forbidden room became her only safe haven.
She decisively pushed the door open, hid herself, gently closed the door, leaned against it, and her nervousness gradually subsided.
Just as she was about to go deeper into the room, she found a man sitting quietly on a chair. He was wearing a black long gown with wide sleeves, a silver hair crown on his head, and a glass teacup in his hand. The lapels and sleeves of his clothes were embroidered with a picture of mountains and rivers under the moonlight. He had an extraordinary and noble temperament.
Their eyes met, and the man's gaze was deep.
The air was filled with the faint fragrance of osmanthus and pine wood. The familiar smell made Su Wanyu's heart tremble. Just as she was about to speak, Zheng Chengyan's call from outside the door sounded again, urgent and firm: "I found her, come here quickly!"
At this moment, she had no way to retreat.
Her heartstrings seemed to be plucked by an invisible hand, and an indescribable feeling of tension instantly surged into her heart.
She turned around in a hurry, her movements were somewhat flustered, and she showed the most respectful courtesy to the seemingly indifferent man, with a barely perceptible tremor in her tone: "Sir, I have suddenly encountered misfortune and someone is pressing me to leave. I have no choice but to beg you to show mercy and allow me to take shelter in this small place for a while."
The man moved slowly and steadily, as if all the noise from the outside world had nothing to do with him.
He gently placed the teacup in his hand on the table. The slight ripple of the tea formed a sharp contrast with the approaching sound of the argument outside the door, but he did not utter a word.
Outside the door, the servant's dissuasion mixed with the other man's tough attitude, sounding particularly harsh.
"Master, this room is the Second Young Master's forbidden area. Outsiders are not allowed to enter without permission..."
"Since there's no one here, why wouldn't it be a problem for me to go in?" Zheng Chengyan's voice was firm.
Seeing Zheng Chengyan about to push the door open, Su Wanyu's eyes involuntarily fell on the screen behind the man, and a plan quickly formed in her mind.
Just as she was about to take action, the man who had been silent suddenly moved. He stood up, and with graceful and powerful movements, he gently took off the white gauze hat on her head.
Then, a large hand grasped her arm tightly, with such force that she could not resist, and pulled her to his side, and the two of them sat side by side on the soft cushion.
The spring clothes seemed especially thin when they were so close to each other. They could almost feel each other's body temperature passing through the clothes. There was a subtle and tense atmosphere in the air.
Su Wanyu's mind was blank and there seemed to be a buzzing sound echoing in her ears. Her mind told her that she should struggle hard to break free, but her body seemed to be frozen and unable to move.
At this extremely tense moment, Zheng Chengyan kicked the door open suddenly, and with wood chips flying, he broke into this originally peaceful space.
Su Wanyu's heart seemed to be about to jump out of her chest, and her muscles were tense to the extreme. She had never felt so helpless and scared.
At this moment, she was actually sitting side by side with a man she had never met before, and her husband was standing a few feet away.
Zheng Chengyan rushed in impulsively because he was eager to find his target. However, the moment he stepped over the threshold, he was stopped by a cold voice: "How dare you! Who dares to be so presumptuous!"
Zheng Chengyan paused, then reacted and quickly knelt on the ground, "I am Zheng Chengyan, the second son of the Marquis of Changping. I didn't know the prince was here. I am sorry."
He pressed his forehead to the ground and prostrated himself, showing his utmost respect for the person in front of him.
The man looked at Zheng Chengyan, who was kneeling on the ground, with a pair of cold eyes and slowly uttered a few words: "Changping Marquis Mansion... Zheng Chengyan..."
The voice was low and lazy, but it carried a majesty and power that could not be ignored, and it made people shudder.
Su Wanyu already knew in her mind that this person was the regent who had great power in the court.
A few days ago, she was just taking measurements for this mysterious king behind a thick curtain, and she never thought that they would meet in such an awkward way today.