Chapter 32: I Might Not Be Able to Hold Back

Faint morning sunlight sprinkled across the top of Xiuya Cliff, a place usually frequented only by birds and sparrows. Now, it teemed with people, the air filled with unusual clamor.

Occasionally, hoarse cries from men pierced the noise.

“Don’t hold me back! I have to go down there myself and search! You fools—how could you lose track of someone that big? Waaah, my Ningning—”

Shi Minda struggled desperately against the guards restraining him as he tried to charge toward the cliff edge. A fresh group of guards had just climbed back up, shaking their heads to report that they had seen nothing below.

No one knew exactly how high Xiuya Cliff plunged, shrouded as it was in thick mist that hid its depths. It offered no trace of the missing Shi Yuning or Xie Zhaoran.

“Marquis, forgive my bluntness, but falling from such a height leaves little chance of survival. The soldiers searched all night without a sign of them. I’m afraid the odds are grim. Please, Marquis, and the Young Master—accept this reality and mourn.”

Chen Da was Shi Chao’s personal guard and trusted confidant. He could not bear to see the Shi Family’s only daughter perish like this, but the facts were undeniable. He only hoped the marquis and his son could face the truth soon.

Hearing this, Shi Minda ignored the guards around him and lunged at Chen Da. “Nonsense! My Ningning won’t die!”

Upon learning of his daughter’s fall from the cliff the night before, Shi Minda had rushed straight here. If Shi Chao’s men had not stopped him, this frail scholar without the strength to truss a chicken would have tried to climb down himself in search of her.

Seeing his bloodshot eyes—veins more prominent than the wrinkles on his face—Shi Chao noted his son’s sleepless night, unkempt beard, disheveled clothes, and hoarse voice from crying all night. Sadness welled up in him too, rimming his eyes red.

“Extend the ropes further and rotate out the soldiers who searched all night. Send in a fresh team,” Shi Chao ordered, his face grim.

Chen Da acknowledged the command and went to make arrangements.

Though he still thought it futile and pitied the Shi father and son, he wondered which god they had offended to suffer such misfortune.

The family the marquis had finally recovered—one missing at the cliff base, the other taken hostage. He could only hope Madam Shi’s side fared better.

He had just ordered the ropes lengthened when the subordinate sent to Crane Cry Temple returned with news.

Chen Da hurried back to report to Marquis Shi.

“Reporting to the marquis: Duke Xie’s side sent word that rescuing the Empress Dowager takes priority. They leave the search here to you.”

Shi Chao’s brows furrowed at the news, but Shi Minda exploded in curses. “What a heartless family! Their daughter falls off a cliff—alive or dead, no sign—and they don’t even inquire all night.”

Realizing his words were inauspicious, he slapped his thigh in regret. “Pah, pah, pah! Ningning will have heaven’s protection.”

He wanted to curse the Xie family more, but Shi Chao silenced him with a look. “Enough.”

Shi Minda snorted coldly, too focused on his own troubles to care about others. He turned to the messenger guard. “Any injuries on that side?”

The guard shook his head. “None. Both sides are still in a standoff, tugging back and forth.”

Shi Chao nodded and dismissed him.

Shi Minda’s face was etched with worry. “Father, do you think Chunhua will be all right?”

He had nearly lost his mind this night—daughter missing, wife kidnapped.

Shi Chao glanced at the brightening sky and lowered his voice. “Don’t worry.”

“Since Prince Yu is using the women to keep the generals from mobilizing, and we’re just searching here without troops, your wife should be safe.”

Shi Minda breathed a shallow sigh of relief. As long as Chunhua was fine, but poor Ningning.

He thought of how heartbroken his wife would be if she learned their daughter had fallen. For all Tu Chunhua’s claims that he and their daughter were equally important, Shi Minda knew their daughter held her heart’s top place.

If anything happened to Ningning, he dared not imagine what his wife would do.

Overcome with grief, he wailed aloud. “Ningning! Daddy’s Ningning, you can’t leave your father and mother!”

His heartbroken cries echoed through the valley, reddening the eyes of all the soldiers present.

“Hurry, make these ropes even longer. This time, I’ll go down personally to search.” Chen Da sighed, moved by Shi Minda’s paternal devotion.

Meanwhile, outside Crane Cry Temple, Duke Xie had his men surround the entire mountain.

He ordered the encirclement tightened by one layer every hour, with warnings sent to the thieves inside each time.

Xie Zhaoyi gazed at his father’s resolute face, thinking of his mother and wife still in the enemy’s hands. He cautioned worriedly, “Father, Mother and Huan’er are still their captives. Won’t this force them to desperation?”

Duke Xie glanced down at him. “A true man must know when to prioritize.”

Xie Zhaoyi’s heart stirred. In alarm, he cried, “Father!”

He had thought his father was just playing mind games, but now it seemed his assumption was wrong.

“Father, why not follow the Shi Family’s lead? Pretend to search for Zhaoran and hold back our forces.”

Duke Xie shot him a cold look. “Womanly mercy. Your sister is a Xie. She must uphold righteousness. If saving her undermines Great Ye’s foundations, how could she face the world?”

Xie Zhaoyi fell silent. He disagreed—if one woman could shake a dynasty’s roots, it must already be rotten.

He knew his father still fumed over Zhaoran’s refusal of the empress position, but she was his sister, their daughter. How could they ignore her?

Before he could persuade further, the outer gate of Crane Cry Temple creaked open in the distance.

Qin Xiao, one of Zhaoran’s former maids, emerged, shoving Lin Feiying and Jiang Huan ahead of her.

“If Duke Xie doesn’t withdraw, your wife and daughter-in-law will perish here.”

Rage twisted Duke Xie’s square face. The orphan he had brought from the border had been a spy, duped by this mere girl all these years. Humiliation burned in him.

“Loose arrows!”

Duke Xie had no intention of negotiating with a lowly servant like Qin Xiao. He ordered fire directly.

“No—” Xie Zhaoyi shouted in panic. “No—Father, that will hit Mother and Huan’er!”

A look from Duke Xie had his men drag the obstructive Xie Zhaoyi away.

“The Xie Family is loyal to the end, and our women share that integrity. What is death to fear? I, Xie Zhen, will never let these traitors leave this mountain alive!”

“No, don’t shoot—” Shi Yuning cried out, jolting awake from her nightmare. She had dreamed of Xie Zhaoran surrounded, arrows raining down to kill her.

Shi Yuning’s face was deathly pale, sweat beading her forehead. Clutching her pounding heart, she turned to the inner side of the bed.

The alcove was empty, save for a lone pillow.

“Xie Zhaoran? Where is she?”

Shi Yuning paled in shock, scanning the tiny room. Xie Zhaoran was nowhere.

Even the bench by the bed was gone. For a moment, Shi Yuning wondered if last night had all been a dream.

Xie Zhaoran unsaved, no shared bed, no heartfelt confessions—just her imagination.

Dazed, she heard voices outside.

Shi Yuning shot to her feet, dressed in haste, and dashed to the door without delay.

She flung it open to see the limping Xie Zhaoran propped on a bench, speaking with an unfamiliar woman.

Xie Zhaoran heard the commotion behind her and turned. Seeing Shi Yuning’s pale face and uncombed hair, her heart skipped, and she frowned slightly.

Mindful of the outsider, Xie Zhaoran beckoned Shi Yuning over with a reassuring smile, then said to the woman, “My little sister just woke up.”

Village Chief’s wife Li Juhai had come at her husband’s bidding to deliver medicine. Spotting Xie Zhaoran, she nearly thought she’d seen a fairy—the most stunning girl she’d ever laid eyes on, leaving her speechless.

Seeing Shi Yuning calmed her. With Xie Zhaoran setting the bar, Shi Yuning’s top-tier beauty felt more approachable by comparison.

“You two sisters don’t look much alike,” Li Juhai remarked after comparing them—a tactful way to put it. Truth be told, they looked nothing alike.

One had a classic oval face with otherworldly allure; the other, a friendly round face, with no shared features in brow or eye.

Xie Zhaoran smiled back. “One takes after Father, the other Mother.”

Li Juhai nodded. “Both gorgeous. Your parents must be thrilled—two such beauties. Come visit when you can; we’ve two girls at home too.”

After polite chatter, with chores awaiting, Li Juhai set down the items and took her leave.

Only after she left did Shi Yuning approach Xie Zhaoran. “Who was that?”

“Village chief’s wife, bringing medicine. Oh, I told them we’re sisters. Call me ‘big sister’ around outsiders from now on.”

Shi Yuning nodded obediently, no objection. She looked Xie Zhaoran up and down—her spirits seemed fine.

She marveled inwardly at such resilient recovery. If it were her with a broken leg and injured arm, she’d be bedridden for ten days or half a month, waited on hand and foot by Tu Chunhua.

She tapped the bench Xie Zhaoran leaned on—a long one that could seat four or five, now upright. “You used this as a crutch to walk out?”

Xie Zhaoran nodded. Waking that morning, she’d needed the latrine but saw Shi Yuning still deep in sleep and hadn’t wanted to wake her.

Spotting the bench, she’d stood it up, tested it, and found it steady as a crutch.

She took two supported steps to demonstrate. “What do you think? Pretty good, right?”

Shi Yuning bit her lip to stifle a laugh. “Mm, very good.” If you ignored the silly look.

She glanced at the sky. The sun had risen halfway over the eastern horizon, its rays dancing on flowers and grasses.

The banyan tree before the house stretched luxuriantly in the light. The yard held a small vegetable patch, rows of greens glistening with dew that sparkled in the sun.

All was serene—wind whispering, birds chirping, cicadas humming, rooster crowing, goose flapping past. A stray yellow dog barked twice at the strangers.

Everything felt utterly peaceful. Shi Yuning inhaled deeply of the fresh grass-scented air.

Today was worlds apart from yesterday.

Narrowing her eyes at Xie Zhaoran—in rough homespun, hair simply pinned, no makeup—still breathtakingly beautiful, yet no longer so aloof.

Recalling last night’s words, Shi Yuning blinked. It couldn’t have been a dream, could it?

She wanted to ask but didn’t know how to start.

“If you keep staring at me like that, I might not be able to hold back,” Xie Zhaoran said with a laugh, noticing Shi Yuning’s unwavering gaze.

“Huh?” Shi Yuning snapped back. “What did you say?”

Xie Zhaoran chuckled inwardly. After one night’s sleep, this little donkey seemed even dopier.

She glanced around—no one but a few mangy stray dogs passing by.

In a swift motion, Xie Zhaoran leaned in and pecked Shi Yuning’s cheek, pulling back instantly.

“Like that. Can’t hold back.”