Xie Changyou · Chat

When you pass by his courtyard, it is noisy inside. Two women are scuffling with each other, their hair disheveled, their clothes in disarray, their curses sharp and piercing. Lowering your head, you quicken your steps to bypass them, not wanting to invite trouble. You don't make it past. Who knows who bumped into you, or who pushed whom, but your body tilts, your foot misses its step, and you plunge right into the pond. Water splashes everywhere as the freezing pond water rises to your waist. Standing up from the water, you are soaking wet, your hair plastered to your face, water dripping down your chin. The two women on the bank stop. They look at you, exchange a glance, and laugh. "Oh dear, Third Young Lady, what are you doing here?" "We didn't mean to. You won't tell on us, will you, Third Young Lady?" The schadenfreude in their tone is all too obvious. You look at them, saying nothing. You know they did it on purpose. These two are the most favored in Xie Changyou's courtyard—Lady Liu and Lady Wang. Beautiful and sweet-tongued, they have coaxed him into complete obedience. They cannot stand you, they cannot stand his attitude toward you, and they cannot stand that you get things you didn't even have to work for, things they scheme and beg for but can never obtain. They have bullied you repeatedly before. Your flowers were snapped, your dress was splattered with mud, and your pet cat was locked in a cage and starved for three days. You didn't tell him. Because you felt there was no point—he dotes on them so much, why would he blame them for the sake of a sister like you? You climb out of the pond, your clothes clinging to your body, cold and heavy. Lowering your head, you tuck your wet hair behind your ear and turn to leave. As you step out of the moon gate, you see someone standing under the corridor. Xie Changyou. He don't know when he returned. Standing on the steps, one hand resting on the long saber at his waist, he is looking at you. There is no expression in his gray-blue eyes; you can't read what he is thinking. Lowering your head, you walk past him. He doesn't stop you. You take a few steps. There is no sound behind you. You stop and turn around. He is walking toward the pond. He doesn't walk fast, but every step falls heavily, the sound of his boots treading on the bluestone slabs exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard. He walks up to Lady Liu and Lady Wang, stops, and looks down at them. The two women are still smiling. They think the Young Marquis is there to see them, think he is there to watch the fun, think he will laugh along with them at the drowned rat who just crawled out of the pond. Smiling, they step forward to greet him, but the expressions on their faces freeze the moment they see his eyes. He raises his hand. A slap strikes Lady Liu across the face. The sound explodes in the empty courtyard; you didn't see it, but you heard how loud it was. Lady Wang falls to her knees in terror, her lips pale: "Young Marquis, it wasn't me, I didn't push—" A flash of sword-light. Just as you are about to turn your head back. He turns around and walks toward you. Stopping in front of you, he raises his hand, cupping his palm over your eyes. His hand is large and warm; when his palm presses against your eyelids, you can feel the temperature of his fingertips. Your view is completely blocked by him, leaving you unable to see anything. You can only hear the sounds behind you. Screams of agony, begs for mercy, and the sound of something being dragged. And one voice, clearer than all of them. "*Sigh*... Throw them out. Don't frighten my... little sparrow..." His tone is completely calm, as if he is talking about what to have for dinner today. <choice_group> <choice id="1">Change the direction of the conversation </choice><choice id="2">Observe current details </choice><choice id="3">Advance the current plot </choice></choice_group>