Chapter 15: The Eccentric

Chapter 15: The Strange Man

Cheng Yi followed the path he remembered from the day and arrived at Shen Yichen's courtyard.

It was extremely quiet inside, as if he'd already turned in.

After a brief hesitation, Cheng Yi went ahead and climbed in through the window.

He moved so quietly that the person inside didn't hear a thing.

Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, Cheng Yi noticed the thin figure on the bed by the moonlight streaming through the window.

He moved closer without thinking.

Shen Yichen was curled up facing the wall, his curled-up position leaving most of his back exposed outside the covers.

His dark hair was a mess across his back, but it couldn't hide how frail he looked.

Cheng Yi instinctively reached down to pull the blanket over him.

But just then, the person in bed suddenly spun around, and a flash of cold steel, sharp with killing intent, stabbed straight at Cheng Yi.

Luckily, Cheng Yi was quick.

As he dodged, he closed in fast and clamped his hand over the other guy's mouth before he could yell.

"Mmph—"

Shen Yichen panicked, but the big hand muffled every sound. All he could do was desperately stab the dagger at Cheng Yi again.

Cheng Yi stared at the familiar dagger coming at him, his feelings a mess.

With one quick move, he easily caught Shen Yichen's wrist.

"Mmph!"

Shen Yichen's eyes went wide, like an iron hand had clamped onto his wrist.

The movement sent pain shooting through his wounds, making him dizzy, and the sheer strength of this guy made him feel hopeless.

He'd dodged one disaster after another—was he really meant to die tonight?

But then, a low whisper, warm breath brushing his ear, sounded close by.

"It's me. Don't make a sound."

This voice...

Even though it was just a few short words from that day, they'd somehow stuck in Shen Yichen's mind.

In his daze, he squinted and sure enough, met a face that was blurry but instantly recognizable.

Cheng Yi?

Why him?

Shen Yichen froze, but then Chuliu's voice came from the other room.

"Young master? Are you awake? Are you feeling okay? Want me to come in and help?"

Cheng Yi tightened his grip, his eyes telling the other not to let anyone in.

It was only then that Cheng Yi realized, a beat too late, that his big palm was covering Shen Yichen's lips, and his palm was pressed against something soft and warm.

He'd come in from the night, cold to the bone, so that warmth stood out all the more.

It made his palm tingle, almost burn.

A strange feeling stirred inside him.

Little did he know, the guy whose lips he was covering was already bright red.

If it weren't so dark, Cheng Yi would've seen Shen Yichen's ears turn crimson.

Realizing it was Cheng Yi, Shen Yichen—already rattled—felt his heart pound even harder.

In the dim light, their eyes met, and the man's features seemed even more intense, the blurry outline adding a mysterious allure to an already striking face.

He let out two quick muffled sounds, signaling for Cheng Yi to let go.

Cheng Yi quickly withdrew his hand.

Shen Yichen unconsciously pressed his lips together, then called out to Chuliu in the other room.

"No need to come in. I'll call you if I need anything."

Chuliu, half-asleep, mumbled an "oh" and dozed back off.

Only once he heard Chuliu's steady breathing did Cheng Yi let go of his wrist.

The dagger had already fallen.

Shen Yichen winced and shook out his aching wrist, and instinctively scooted further back, even casually tugging the blanket up over his legs.

"I didn't know the Little War God had a habit of sneaking into people's rooms in the middle of the night."

Cheng Yi said at once, seriously, "Sorry. That was out of line."

Shen Yichen was speechless.

He'd wanted to throw some sarcasm his way, but faced with Cheng Yi's sincerity again, all his prepared lines got stuck in his throat.

Shen Yichen just bit his lip and stayed quiet.

"How are your injuries?"

Shen Yichen couldn't help but glance at him.

He remembered waking up to Chuliu telling him he'd almost burned to death in the fire, and that this man had shown up just in time to save him and carried him all the way back here.

Not only that, he'd also faced down Wang Shuci right then and there, coldly shot back at Minister Shen, and even used brutal tactics to intimidate everyone there, flipping the whole situation.

In short, he was crazy and reckless—even Shen Yunhe couldn't handle him.

Chuliu had talked a mile a minute, his eyes full of both fear and excitement.

He'd naively believed his master had finally found a good man and a protector for good.

Shen Yichen was filled with complex emotions.

He wouldn't be so narcissistic as to think that this man had stormed the Minister's residence, even going so far as to fall out with the powerful Minister of Personnel, just to seek justice for him—his notorious fiancé.

But regardless of the man's motives, the fact remained that he had saved him, and he had also proven his innocence.

With that thought, the sharp thorns he usually wore as a facade suddenly felt misplaced.

Shen Yichen looked utterly awkward.

"I'm not dying yet."

His tone was stiff, and he regretted it the moment the words left his mouth, but he was always used to speaking to people this way, so he pursed his lips in annoyance instead.

Suddenly catching sight of the fallen dagger, he recalled what Chuliu had said earlier.

When he had been carried back to the residence, he had been clinging tightly to the man's lapels with a death grip, and with so many people watching, even the house physician couldn't pry him off, nor could Chuliu.

Chuliu said that Second Young Master Cheng's face had turned terrifyingly dark at the time, and when he pulled out his dagger, Chuliu nearly fainted from fear, terrified that Cheng Yi might chop off his hand.

But instead, he cut his own lapels and even left the dagger behind as a betrothal token.

The mere thought of that scene made Shen Yichen dizzy with embarrassment, drowning in mortification, wishing he could just faint from the pain right then and there.

Cheng Yi noticed his uncomfortable expression and pulled several porcelain bottles from his chest, handing them over.

"This is a fine golden wound medicine—it stops bleeding, reduces swelling and pain, and prevents the wound from festering."

Shen Yichen hadn't explained what happened today, but Cheng Yi had already pieced together most of it, and the scratch on his arm was most likely self-inflicted.

Given the depth of the wound, he must have been in extreme pain at the time.

"This is a special burn ointment, and this bottle is scar-removal cream..."

As he spoke, Cheng Yi himself froze.

When he left the Duke Zhenguo's residence, he hadn't planned to come to the Minister's residence, yet he had inexplicably asked his grandfather for these medicines.

How ridiculous...

And Shen Yichen was once again stunned by his sincerity.

He truly couldn't understand him—this was clearly a situation with no benefit to himself, yet he had agreed to it.

Today was a rare opportunity; he could have easily taken this matter before the Emperor, not only escaping cleanly but also shifting all the blame onto the Minister's residence and Shen Yichen himself.

But not only did he not use this to break off the engagement, he had instead gone out of his way to prove Shen Yichen's innocence.

Everyone knew that Cheng Yi was only marrying him because of the Emperor's decree and because he lost the bet at Zuijing Tower. Shen Yichen had originally thought the same.

But after today's events, upon reflection, he began to sense something else.

And that was precisely why he was even more confused.

What an odd man.

After an internal struggle, Shen Yichen finally spoke up awkwardly:

"Thank you."

"And for today's matter, thank you as well."

"It was my duty; you needn't feel burdened by it."

After a moment's thought, Cheng Yi added:

"My elder brother is already betrothed, and the wedding date was set before the new year, so our wedding will surely be after his."

Shen Yichen looked at him, puzzled. Why bring this up out of nowhere?

"You... will need to endure a bit longer."

Endure?

Endure what?

Shen Yichen's expression gradually went blank, then flushed crimson.

From embarrassment! From anger!

"You—what nonsense are you talking! I told you long ago that this young master doesn't care—it's me who doesn't want to marry! Do you think I'm desperate or something?"

"Do you think I'm that kind of person too?"

Like the rumors said—licentious? Sleeping around with men? Even desperate enough to go after someone like Zhu Dazhuang?

Furious! Absolutely furious!!!

Shen Yichen had never cared about these slanders, because the filthy words of insignificant people couldn't hurt him.

But this man before him...

Shen Yichen had never been this angry before.

He had thought that the man's defense of him during the day meant he believed in him, but he never expected...

Shen Yichen's chest heaved violently with rage. His wound was already hurting terribly, and now this bastard had him aching in every organ.

"You—you..."

Cheng Yi hadn't expected one sentence to provoke such a strong reaction and was momentarily at a loss.

Seeing Shen Yichen too furious to speak, he finally realized belatedly that the man had misunderstood something.

"No... you've misunderstood. What I meant was, your situation at the Minister's residence is so difficult, but our wedding date is set for two months from now, so you'll need to endure a bit longer there."

Shen Yichen froze.

His face flushed crimson again—this time from embarrassment.

What had he just said!

Utterly mortifying!

"I... I was just..."

Let him faint right now!

"It's fine."

Cheng Yi, seeing his awkward expression, prepared to leave.

But just as he turned, Shen Yichen suddenly grabbed hold of his sleeve.

Huh?

Cheng Yi was puzzled.

Before he could speak, Shen Yichen shoved something into his hand without explanation.

Cheng Yi examined it carefully for a long moment before barely making out what it was—looked like a sachet.

Something was embroidered on the sachet, resembling two strange birds.

Yet with such sloppy stitching, and the look on Young Master Shen's face, could he have made it himself?

Cheng Yi suddenly recalled that in his past life, Xie Yulin, before he gained power, had made him many similar things.

Sachets, pouches, jade belts, even robes, boots...

Each one was meticulously sewn by his own hand, and Cheng Yi treasured each one like a precious gem.

But later, as he rose to power, the things he'd once sewn by hand became a dark past he couldn't bear to touch.

It seemed Xie Yulin hated everything he'd done for Cheng Yi back when he was weak.

And those were exactly the things Cheng Yi cherished most.

With that in mind, how could he not end up dead?

Shen Yichen was already mortified beyond belief, but when this guy stayed silent for so long, he got furious and reached out to snatch it back.

"Fine, forget it if you don't want it!"

"I want it," Cheng Yi said, quick as lightning, tucking it into his robes. "The young master's gesture—I'll gladly accept it."

Shen Yichen grabbed at nothing, instantly flustered and embarrassed.

He was furious at himself for acting so foolishly and neurotically just now.

Who knew if he'd lost his mind.

When he learned that betrothal gifts had to be exchanged on the day of the proposal, he'd inexplicably come up with this terrible idea.

Chuliu said that many noble sons and daughters in the capital would make a sachet by hand as a betrothal token, symbolizing constant companionship and conveying affection through a hidden fragrance.

And it had to be sewn stitch by stitch, by one's own hand, to truly show sincerity.

He must have been possessed to actually believe Chuliu's nonsense.

It was his first time making one, and Chuliu, his teacher, was barely half-skilled himself.

So, this hideous thing in Cheng Yi's hands was already his best work.

"The young master's been pampered since childhood and surely lacks nothing. This sachet... was made by Chuliu."

"I figure the young master doesn't care much about tokens anyway, so this'll have to do."

Cheng Yi rarely cracked a faint smile.

"The young master's gesture—I'll keep it safe."

"What gesture? I told you, Chuliu just made it on a whim."

Shen Yichen felt a rare pang of shame and finally couldn't bring himself to look at the man again.

"Hurry up and leave. Don't let Minister Shen catch you and have you beaten to death like a thief."

Cheng Yi let out a soft chuckle.

Long after Cheng Yi's figure had disappeared, Shen Yichen's face was still burning hot.

Cheng Yi hadn't expected that what was just an excuse to shoo him out would almost lead to him running into Shen Yunhe on his way out of the residence.

The Minister of Personnel sneaking out late at night—Cheng Yi definitely had to follow and see what was going on.