Volume One, Chapter 18: It’s You After All?

Page (1/3)

Upon hearing those words, Su Qingxue’s cold eyes flickered with a trace of surprise. She looked at Liu Chengye before her—the man who wielded power over Yun’an City, now wearing an expression of awkward embarrassment—and found herself momentarily at a loss for words. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

A brief silence fell over the room, the atmosphere turning subtly charged.

After a moment, Su Qingxue spoke again, her voice devoid of the earlier coquettish teasing, instead carrying an almost imperceptible weight.

“Uncle Liu, do you realize that what you missed might be more than just a name?”

Her voice was soft, yet like a stone dropped into the lake of Liu Chengye’s heart, it sent ripples spreading outward.

Liu Chengye was stunned. “Niece Qingxue, what do you mean by that?”

Su Qingxue shook her head gently, enunciating each word clearly: “This person is a miracle doctor, with divine medical skills and extraordinary methods—not someone ordinary. The fact that he saved Sister Yuexue today has left a great debt of gratitude upon the Liu family.”

“This favor, if managed properly, could safeguard the Liu family for a century.”

“But if… you don’t even bother to ask his name, then this favor becomes light and faint.”

“In the eyes of such a person, this might not be friendship, but merely a transaction.”

Su Qingxue’s words were like a splash of cold water, waking Liu Chengye from his joy and excitement. A cold sweat broke out on his back.

Indeed!

At that moment, he had been so caught up in his happiness and the thought that the miracle doctor needed rest, that he overlooked the most crucial detail!

To not even know the name of such an immortal figure—if this were to become public, it would be an enormous embarrassment, and even a sign of disrespect to the doctor!

“I…I was careless!” Liu Chengye slapped his thigh in regret.

Su Qingxue looked at him, a faint smile touching her cold expression, like the first thaw of ice and snow.

“Uncle Liu, there’s no need to blame yourself too harshly; your love for your daughter made you distracted.”

“Since you forgot back then, let me handle it on your behalf.”

She stood and gave Liu Chengye a graceful bow.

“Officially, I wish to make amends for this oversight on behalf of the Liu family and formally establish ties with this esteemed gentleman.”

“Personally, he has saved Sister Yuexue’s life; as her elder sister, it is only right that I visit in person to express our thanks.”

Liu Chengye looked at this poised and articulate niece before him with both gratitude and admiration.

Truly worthy of being the daughter of the prime minister and the capital’s foremost talent!

Such insight and demeanor were beyond that of an ordinary woman.

“Well! Well! It’s still you, Qingxue, who thinks so thoroughly!” Liu Chengye nodded repeatedly and personally led the way. “The miracle doctor is resting at Tingyu Pavilion; I’ll take you there.”

Page (2/3)

The two walked one after the other, passing through a covered corridor and heading towards the most elegant lakeside villa deep within the estate.

Along the way, Liu Chengye lowered his voice, his expression solemn as he cautioned, “Qingxue, that Mr. Ye… Ah, yes, his surname is Ye. That’s all I know.”

“Although he looks very young, when you meet him, do not underestimate him in the slightest due to his age.”

“His bearing… his aura… sigh, I can’t quite find the words, but he is not like a mere mortal!”

Liu Chengye racked his brain but could not find an adequate expression to describe the impression Ye Xuan left on him.

That feeling transcended power and authority; it was a calm and confident mastery that seemed to control everything.

Su Qingxue listened quietly, her curiosity about this “Mr. Ye” growing clearer and deeper.

What kind of person could inspire even someone like Liu Chengye to be at a loss for words and to feel awe?

Liu Chengye then recalled something and looked at her with concern. “By the way, Qingxue, I remember you’ve always had a weak constitution since childhood and often need medicinal tonics. This Mr. Ye has divine medical skills and can even reverse bone-cold ailments. Why not ask him to take a look at you?”

Su Qingxue’s steps faltered slightly. She lowered her gaze; her long eyelashes cast a faint shadow over her eyes, concealing her emotions.

After a moment, she shook her head slowly.

“No need, Uncle Liu.”

Her voice remained cold but carried a resolute firmness that brooked no argument.

“Blessings should not be sought indiscriminately.”

“His saving Sister Yuexue today was out of goodwill. If I ask again, it would become a transaction.”

“To befriend such a noble person, goodwill is far more precious than any transaction.”

“Besides…” She paused, a faintly enigmatic curve appearing at the corner of her lips. “I know my own body well enough. For now, there is no serious problem.”

Liu Chengye took her words as modesty but admired her careful consideration all the more and did not press further.

Soon, a delicate courtyard surrounded by emerald bamboo and built beside the lake appeared before them.

Outside the gate, two of the Liu family’s most elite guards stood statue-still, yet they dared not approach within a hundred paces of the gate, only watching from afar.

Liu Chengye stopped at the gate, hardly daring to breathe.

He did not immediately knock but instead signaled to a servant who had been waiting nearby.

The servant understood, tiptoed cautiously to the gate, and respectfully whispered a message.

Su Qingxue observed everything closely, her heart growing even more solemn.

To treat a guest in one’s own home with such deference and caution, as if treading on thin ice—

The skill and status of this Mr. Ye must be far greater than she had imagined!

Quietly, she suppressed all traces of disdain and curiosity, fully adjusting her attitude.

Page (3/3)

Today, she was neither the prime minister’s daughter nor the capital’s foremost talent.

She was merely a junior visiting to express gratitude to a great man.

After a moment, the servant hurried back, bowing deeply. “Master, Miss Su, Mr. Ye requests your presence.”

Only then did Liu Chengye breathe a sigh of relief, stepped forward, gently pushed open the gate, and made a gesture inviting them in.

Su Qingxue entered gracefully.

Within the courtyard, the lake breeze stirred softly, bamboo shadows swayed, and a faint scent mingling medicinal herbs and sandalwood greeted them, refreshing the spirit.

The door to the room was ajar.

Liu Chengye brought Su Qingxue to the door and respectfully knocked again.

“Come in.”

A clear, slightly husky voice came from inside.

Though not loud, it carried a strange penetrating power that seemed to reach straight to the heart.

Liu Chengye opened the door.

Su Qingxue lifted her eyes.

By the window sat a tall, slender figure cross-legged.

He wore a simple moon-white robe; his black hair flowed like a waterfall, loosely tied with a wooden hairpin.

He seemed to have just finished a period of meditation and was slowly opening his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

Deep and serene, like an ancient well, yet seemingly containing the stars and cosmos, capable of drawing one’s very soul inward.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

As the figure slowly turned his face to fully reveal his features to Su Qingxue—

She was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place instantly.

Her eternally cold and pristine face cracked for the first time, blood draining away to a deadly pale.

Her lips parted slightly, her exquisite eyes filled with utter shock, horror, and a hint of... even she had not realized it herself—fear.

She instinctively stepped back half a pace, a barely audible murmur slipping from her throat.

“Is it… you?!”