Chapter 87: What’s the Use of Face?

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: What’s the Use of Face?

Cui Lingyao rubbed her temples and walked around the screen into the inner room.

It was empty.

She froze, her eyes scanning the space.

The inner chamber wasn’t large; she could take it all in at a glance.

Besides a canopy bed, there was only a dressing table and a small round table for tea.

There wasn’t even a large trunk. Nowhere for someone to hide.

’Did I get back too late? Did he leave already?’

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard a faint sound from above.

Cui Lingyao looked up and met a pair of familiar eyes.

"Looking for me?"

Xie Jinbai, dressed in simple black robes, was lounging languidly on a ceiling beam. He propped his chin on his hand, and ripples of emotion stirred in the depths of his eyes as he looked at her.

The sheer tenderness in his gaze made him seem less severe.

He didn’t look at all like a general whose hands were stained with the blood of countless men.

Cui Lingyao’s heart fluttered. She instinctively turned her face away and sneered, "Done playing the libertine, Prince? Now you want to be a common thief?"

’She was as unwelcoming as ever.’

Xie Jinbai didn’t seem to mind. He smiled and said, "A common thief is fine by me, as long as I get to see you."

’He’d gotten so shameless.’

The man he used to be was a consummate superior, stoicism etched into his very bones. He always wore a cold expression, letting his subordinates guess at his intentions, never easily revealing his emotions.

Many times, Cui Lingyao would only realize she had angered him long after the fact.

But now...

He would say the most shameless things.

And he didn’t feel that humbling himself before a young lady was beneath him in the slightest.

As he spoke, Xie Jinbai leaped down from the beam. The movement was slight, but it still stirred up a cloud of dust.

Cui Lingyao’s brow furrowed. She took a step back, saying with disgust, "That spot is rarely cleaned all year. Who knows how much dust has collected up there? Weren’t you afraid of getting dirty lying on it?"

Xie Jinbai clicked his tongue. "If I hadn’t hidden, and your maids had seen me, you would have just gotten angry with me again."

Cui Lingyao scoffed, "If you knew I’d be angry, you shouldn’t have come."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Xie Jinbai’s gaze narrowed slightly. He looked at her with a half-smile. "You really don’t hold back at all anymore, do you?"

’Just look at this.’

’We’ve only exchanged a few sentences.’

’And it’s all been disgust and sarcasm.’

’She couldn’t be less happy to see me.’

’She doesn’t even pretend to hide her annoyance.’

’Does she really think I’m so good-tempered that I’ll just let her treat me with such disdain?’

"Cui Lingyao..." Xie Jinbai’s lips pressed into a cold line. "Don’t always use this tone with me."

She could be haughty. She could be cold and ignore him.

But she couldn’t loathe him.

He had seen what she was like when she was happy and affectionate.

So he couldn’t tolerate her annoyance and disgust.

He couldn’t tolerate it one bit.

Xie Jinbai took a step forward, grabbing her wrist, wanting to pull her into his embrace.

He didn’t use much force, but Cui Lingyao had been kneeling for too long. Her knees were aching terribly, and just being pulled forward a step made her involuntarily suck in a sharp breath.

"What’s wrong?"

Ever perceptive, Xie Jinbai immediately released her wrist. He steadied her by the shoulders and looked her over carefully.

His gaze finally fell to her knees, and his expression changed instantly. "Don’t tell me you’ve been kneeling all day."

Before Cui Lingyao could say a word, her body felt light. By the time she realized what was happening, she had already been placed on the bed in a sitting position.

Her legs dangled over the edge.

Xie Jinbai knelt down and, without a moment’s hesitation, reached to lift her skirt. Startled, Cui Lingyao raised her foot and kicked at his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

The kick landed squarely, but thankfully, his stance was steady, and he didn’t stumble and fall embarrassingly to the floor.

His face darkened. He grabbed her ankle, moved it down to a spot two inches below his shoulder, and said through gritted teeth, "Why don’t you kick here instead? I’ll die in your bed tonight."

That was where his serious wound had yet to heal.

’It was a wonder he could still come play the libertine every night while bearing a wound that ran through his chest.’

Cui Lingyao tried to pull her leg back, but he held her ankle firmly, and she couldn’t break free.

She grew irritated and cursed, "You’re shameless!"

Xie Jinbai: "..."

He had truly never heard her curse at anyone before.

For a moment, he found it novel. He lifted his gaze to her flushed, angry face and huffed out a laugh. "What’s the point of having face?"

’If I cared about face, I’d be at Prince Yu’s Mansion right now, not here where I can see her.’

’In fact, I should be even more shameless and just press her down on the bed and kiss her.’

’To relieve three years of longing.’

Ever since she had drowned, Xie Jinbai had discovered that in front of the woman he loved, "face" was the most useless thing in the world.

If he could have her again by any means necessary, then by any means necessary he would act.

Cui Lingyao was so angry she almost laughed.

With the proud, aloof, and untamable man from before, she could still use reverse psychology to drive him away.

The man he was now was nothing but a shameless rogue of a soldier.

It was a classic case of a scholar meeting a soldier; her reasoning was completely useless against him.

Xie Jinbai took off her embroidered slipper and reached to lift her skirt again.

Summer clothes were light and thin. Beneath her skirt, she wore only a thin pair of under-trousers.

He didn’t pause for a second before starting to roll up her trouser leg.

Her fair calf was revealed bit by bit. Xie Jinbai’s expression remained impassive until the vast, dark bruises on her knee came into view. His face instantly sank.

"You really knelt for a whole day?"

Cui Lingyao said, "Shouldn’t I, to see my own mother off on her final journey?"

She should.

Of course, she should.

But Xie Jinbai’s heart simply ached for her.

Even when he himself had suffered far greater injuries, he had never felt this distressed.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the fury welling up in his chest. He placed his palm on her knee joint and began to gently massage it.

He must have been using his Inner Strength, because Cui Lingyao felt a warmth spread through her knee.

The soreness slowly dissipated.

The fatigue throughout her body eased considerably.

Being pampered like this, her resistance weakened.

Cui Lingyao sat on the bed, her hands resting on the edge, and looked down at the man squatting and massaging her leg. "When did you learn to do this?" she asked curiously.

Xie Jinbai glanced at her and retorted, "You think I need to learn something like this?"

Cui Lingyao: "..."

’So, he’s self-taught again.’

’It must be nice to have Inner Strength.’

’Even his massages are more comforting than anyone else’s.’

Cui Lingyao grumbled inwardly.

She really did feel comfortable. If not for the fact that, given their current relationship, it would be inappropriate to just lie down...

...she wouldn’t still be sitting up so properly.

"Stop making those little noises," Xie Jinbai said helplessly. "If you make one more, I’ll take it as you hinting at something."

Cui Lingyao was taken aback. "What noises did I make?"

’How was I hinting at him?’

"..." Xie Jinbai was momentarily at a loss for words.

’I want to facepalm.’

But he couldn’t stop what he was doing with his hands.

He let go of the leg he’d been massaging for a while, took hold of the other one to give it the same treatment, and ignored her question.

’Flirting takes talent, I guess.’

’And this girl in front of me clearly has none.’

’Getting angry with her would just be making things difficult for myself.’

Cui Lingyao, oblivious to his sighing thoughts, saw that he wasn’t talking and remembered something else.

She made a small sound to get his attention, wiggling her bare foot. When he looked over, she asked, "What exactly is going on with Chen Minrou’s health? Can she be saved?"

Xie Jinbai’s movements paused. He said, "I don’t know the specifics of her condition, but Chen Minrou is indeed terminally ill. Zhao Shijie has searched for famous doctors to no avail... You should prepare yourself."