Chapter 57: Gathering One’s Heart

Liu Shen arrived at Tongda Hall...

The shopkeeper of Tongda Hall saw him approach and hurriedly came out to greet him, clasping his hands and smiling, “Young Master Liu, Yuan Xiaofei and Doctor Zhang have gone out to tend to patients. The master is in the inner hall—would you care to join him?”

The shopkeeper, who managed the business out front, was a perceptive man. He already knew about the unusual relationship between Liu Shen and Pei Xueyan, and was well aware that Liu Shen was the very man who had recently become the talk of Jianghu in Heyang County.

As such, his words were full of respect, and his demeanor bore a hint of deference…

“Thank you for your trouble…”

Liu Shen paid little mind to this, offering a polite word before making his way with practiced ease into the rear hall of Tongda Hall.

In the accounts room...

Pei Xueyan, seeing him slip in silently, immediately turned her face away with a huff, as if angry over something.

“What’s the matter?” Liu Shen, baffled by her irritation, sat down and poured himself some tea, asking, “Who’s upset our esteemed young madam this time?”

“Still pretending, are you!” Pei Xueyan glared at him, her tone sharp as she gritted her teeth. “I’ve been run ragged these days, and yet I never realized our chaste young hero would, in front of all those Jianghu figures, personally kill the Young Master of the Chishui Gang, rising from a mere dockworker to a trusted aide of the Qingsha Gang.”

She paused, her voice laced with sarcasm, “It’s been half a month since that happened. As your friend, I knew nothing of it. Had I not overheard your name being discussed today, I might have remained ignorant for another month.”

“So that’s why you’re cross, young madam?” Liu Shen rose casually, walked behind her, and tried to knead her shoulders, intent on coaxing the sulking lady.

But this time, Pei Xueyan was genuinely angry. Seeing him approach, she got up with a huff to avoid his touch.

“Oh, my dear young madam…”

Seeing her evade him, Liu Shen dragged a stool over and sat down heavily, then reached out and pulled the sulking lady straight into his arms…

“You…”

Pei Xueyan never expected such audacity from him, and, losing her balance, fell onto his lap with a startled cry.

Their eyes met…

Pei Xueyan saw the glimmer of amusement in his gaze and, coming to her senses, her face flushed as she struggled to break free from his embrace.

But she was, after all, a delicate woman with little strength, how could she escape the strong grip of Liu Shen, whose frame was broad and powerful?

“Let me go! You… you scoundrel! Let me go!”

Liu Shen found it amusing as the beauty in his arms, both embarrassed and angry, beat her small fists against his chest, her flustered expression betraying her inner turmoil.

Recalling certain scenes from past memories, he seized one of her slender wrists in his hand, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and whispered into her ear, “Young madam, this is the accounts room. You wouldn’t want anyone to see us like this now, would you?”

Pei Xueyan, never having heard such brazen words, felt the blush spread from her cheeks to her neck. She shot him a reproachful glare but dared not utter another sound.

Perhaps feeling humiliated by her own helplessness, she leaned over Liu Shen’s shoulder—and bit him hard.

“Ah…”

Liu Shen feigned pain, drawing in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.

Sensing the strength of her struggle ebbing, he gently released her wrist and instead wrapped her in a soft embrace, caressing her back, allowing her to bite him as she wished.

He could feel the trembling of the beauty in his arms. When he glanced sideways, he saw that she, still biting his shoulder, was watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Their gazes locked, and for a moment, time itself seemed to pause…

Liu Shen smiled lightly, unfazed. “I know you’re angry, young madam. If one bite can ease your temper, then bite as you please—harder, even.”

“Hmph…”

At this, Pei Xueyan stopped biting him, turned her face away, and muttered in a low voice, “You’re not even that old, but already you’re acting like a rascal. Let me go.”

Even as she spoke, she shifted as if to escape from his embrace—though perhaps she herself didn’t notice that her resistance had grown much weaker.

Liu Shen had come precisely to pierce that last thin veil between them and knew this was the moment to press his advantage—he would not let go now.

With a mischievous glint in his eye, he changed the subject, “Tell me, young madam—have you ever seen a New Year’s pig?”

“A New Year’s pig?” Pei Xueyan frowned, puzzled by this abrupt change of topic.

Thinking she hadn’t understood, Liu Shen explained, stifling a laugh, “The kind of pig that’s slaughtered for the New Year.”

Though she didn’t know why he’d suddenly brought this up, Pei Xueyan replied softly, “I saw one when I was little. Why?”

“Oh, nothing…” Liu Shen teased, “I once heard someone say an angry wife is harder to pin down than a New Year’s pig. I never understood what that meant before—but now I think I do.”

“An angry wife is harder to pin down than a New Year’s pig?” Pei Xueyan frowned as she tried to puzzle out the meaning of his words…

Suddenly, she realized that she was still sitting in his lap, struggling, and instantly understood his implication. She ground her teeth and demanded, “You mean I’m harder to pin down than a pig?”

“Not at all,” Liu Shen shook his head, feigning innocence. “They said ‘wife’—but you, young madam, aren’t my wife yet…”

“You—” Pei Xueyan, seeing him hold her so, taking advantage while still playing the innocent, was both irate and helpless—she almost wanted to bite him again.

“But don’t worry, young madam.” Liu Shen, shameless as ever, said earnestly, “Before Old Master Song departed, he entrusted you to me—you were there, too. I, Liu Shen, will consider you my wife, no question.”

“You…” Pei Xueyan was so exasperated by his straight-faced gall that she couldn’t help but laugh, rolling her eyes at him. “I’ve never seen anyone so shameless.”

“Well, now you have…” Liu Shen laughed as well, adjusting the beauty in his arms to a more comfortable position before sighing, “That night at the docks—I nearly died…”

“That night, it all happened so suddenly. I had no time to think about anything else…”

He recounted the entire story as if telling a tale—the Qingsha Gang’s nighttime assault on the Chishui Gang, his own quick wits in using Zhang Shichen’s corpse and Zhang Wanxuan’s reputation as his token of entry, how he later caught the attention of others by serving as a ‘horse’s bone’ and making a name for himself.

Pei Xueyan bit her lip as she listened, especially when she heard how Liu Shen fought two enemies at once and fled to the docks—her heart clenched with worry.

“It was a blessing in disguise, I suppose,” Liu Shen sighed. “After regaining my freedom, I came to Tongda Hall looking for you, only to hear that Old Master Song had fallen gravely ill. I wanted to tell you, but your father drove me away as an outsider.”

“After Old Master Song passed, you were so busy with the funeral arrangements. I saw it all, I felt for you. How could I burden you with my own troubles on top of that?”

“Now that the funeral is nearly over, I’ve come to see you at once…”

Pei Xueyan realized she had misjudged him, and pouted, murmuring, “I thought you’d kept it from me on purpose.”

“Kept it from you?” Liu Shen arched his brow, smiling. “With our relationship, why would I hide anything from you? What could I possibly want to hide?”

“How should I know…” Pei Xueyan mumbled, biting her lip. “I was just afraid you’d become famous and wouldn’t care about me anymore…”

Liu Shen felt a pang in his heart.

He knew what kind of family Pei Xueyan had grown up in—how she’d been treated differently since childhood, how her own parents had sold her into the Song family under the guise of marriage. All those accumulated grievances—calling her unfortunate would be no exaggeration.

People who grow up in such circumstances, whether men or women, always lack a sense of security.

In some ways, Pei Xueyan was just like little Yu Hong—sensitive, and deeply afraid of being abandoned.

“Look at me…”

Liu Shen reached out and gently caressed Pei Xueyan’s cheek, making her meet his gaze.

Looking into her eyes, he spoke solemnly, “No matter when, no matter where, no matter what happens, even if the day comes when I, Liu Shen, become emperor or ascend to immortality…”

He paused, then grinned as if making a vow, “You, Pei Xueyan, will always be my young madam—forever and always, do you understand?”

Pei Xueyan stared at him, lost in his gaze and his words, and felt her eyes grow red without realizing it…

She wanted to cry—for her twenty-odd years of hardship, for having no one to rely on, for being manipulated by those closest to her.

But she also wanted to laugh—that after more than twenty years of suffering, it was only as a widow she’d met someone who cherished and loved her, someone she could finally depend on.

“I know—I know…”

Overcome with joy, Pei Xueyan could no longer restrain her feelings. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his…

“Mmm?”