A/N: Bonus Chpater~

When they entered through the gate, a young servant boy came forward with a wide sunny smile on his face. He stood up and bowed his head to Lu Tong Xiao and Bai Yu Yan in a formal greeting before saying cheerfully, “Master is back!”

Behind him, an old woman garbed in a light grey gown which was famously known as the peasant hanfu bent to bow in salutation to the two of them and maintained the posture until the horse came to a stop. Only when Lu Tong Xiao glanced at them did they raise their head.

After the horse came to a halt, Lu Tong Xiao swung his leg back in an arc and smoothly jumped down from it. He then held out his arms to hold Bai Yu Yan by her underarms and pulled her down with ease.

In the whole process, Lu Tong Xiao’s muscle on his forearm did not even twitch once.

Seeing this, the servant boy chirped, “Mistress seems lighter than a small sack of potato.”

Speechless, Bai Yu Yan’s hand pulling the hoodie of the cape paused midair when she heard the boy’s comment. A little embarrassed, she did not know what to say but from the corner of her eyes, she saw that Lu Tong Xiao was busy seizing her petite body with serious eyes as if to silently confirm it.

“Ah Chuan!” old servant angrily shouted at the young boy but he had already taken the horse straddle and happily ran towards the stable of the courtyard to feed it.

The old woman sighed with exasperation but knowing whom he had just misspoken to, she appeared a little apprehensive and said with lowered head, “Mistress, please forgive this old servant’s grandson. He must not have recognized Mistress just now and said something very rude. This servant will make sure to whack him when he comes back,” she did not dare to raise her head and look at Bai Yu Yan, after all, it was the first time they had seen the Master bring a woman to this place and did not know what she was like.

“There is no need to worry about it. It’s okay,” assured Bai Yu Yan with a smile as her attention was already attracted by the surrounding of the quaint little courtyard.

Currently, they were standing inside the circular entrance gate where the wooden door had already been closed. However, there was not a single servant standing guard like in the Lu manor.

There was a wide cobbled pathway which branched into different small paths ahead. Various coloured maple, blue mimosa and ginkgo trees stood on the side and shed colourful shades of red and yellow leaves on the ground which the sweepers had diligently swept to the sides on top of the mowed grass.

“Master, Mistress, this way please!” The old woman stretched her wrinkly hand to show them the way with a smiling face. She seemed very happy to be able to have Lu Tong Xiao and his wife in this place.

Lu Tong Xiao took Bai Yu Yan’s small hand into his own and looked at her wandering eyes admiring the place.

Bai Yu Yan glanced at the man beside her several times. After a while, her curiosity suppressed the hesitation in her heart and she asked in a small voice that only he could hear, “Your Excellency, does this place belong to the Lu family?”

She knew the noble families usually owned many estates inside and outside the capital apart from their main manor but did not know if this was the property of the Lu house. If anyone heard her asking this, won’t he lose his face if it did not belong to his family? So, she could only whisper to him.

“This is not Lu family’s property,” replied Lu Tong Xiao to see her small face appearing slightly embarrassed and added unhurriedly, “It’s my personal property.”

Bai Yu Yan looked at Lu Tong Xiao with wide eyes that had unhidden excitement and asked, “Really?” 

As a reply, he simply rubbed her head with a doting smile.

The old servant at the front turned back when she heard the couple and informed Bai Yu Yan, “This servant does not know if Mistress is aware but this courtyard was designed by Master himself. Even the architects were surprised by Master’s vivid imagination as if he had seen it somewhere. However, there is no other place like this so the design was all Master's own idea.”

Stunned, Bai Yu Yan turned to look at the man in admiration. There was no way she could have thought that Lu Tong Xiao had such a hidden talent. To be able to design this masterpiece was no joke and she still had a lot to explore the place.

She inched closer to the man and asked, “Your Excellency, how did you do it? Are you also interested in design?”

Lu Tong Xiao looked at her intrigued face which was at a very close distance where he would only have to lower his head to capture those enticing lips. In those serene beautiful eyes, he was seeing some unrestrained emotions that were usually hidden in the presence of other people.

Suddenly, an unwelcome thought escaped his suppression and surfaced in his mind.

What kind of emotions do these eyes show when they are in front of that man? Do her eyes reflect only that man when she is looking at him? Why was the charcoal stick which belonged to her in his possession? Did she give it to him?

Was it her token of...love?

Lu Tong Xiao could no longer continue that line of thought. More like, he did not dare to, else it would drive him to madness. His chiselled jawline clenched in what seemed like an effort to control his wantonly spiralling emotions. But the knot in his chest was only growing bigger and coming to choke him like a venomous snake.

On the other hand, Bai Yu Yan was taken aback by Lu Tong Xiao’s sudden change in expression.

Wasn't he fine just a moment ago? Did she say anything that she shouldn’t have?

There seemed to be a thick layer of frost in his eyes which were always warm when looking at her. His hand holding her palm with softness was slowly tightening with a force that could almost crush her bones if he increased his strength any more.

If she saw it correctly, there was definitely a murderous aura surrounding him. There was no way she could have mistaken it.

She had never seen him this way before. Not that she had expected him to be a kind man. He was cruel, very much so, and his hands have held the sword and taken countless lives but whenever those hands held her, it was only with patience and indulgence.

But the sudden change in Lu Tong Xiao made her a little scared and she unconsciously tried to free her hand from his hold.

Her small movement seemed to have brought him back to senses and his eyes focused on her face which was looking at him with confusion and fear that she was too late in hiding. He lowered his head to see that her fair fingers had turned slightly red and only then realized the force with which he was holding them.

Lu Tong Xiao suddenly let go of her hand like he was scalded and took a step back, not knowing whether he was trying to get away from her or keeping her at a distance from her so he could not hurt her.

However, seeing the look of caution in her eyes when she glanced at him, he could not bear to see it and went forward to pull her into his embrace. One of his hands tightened around her waist, this time with nothing but tenderness, while his other hand gently held her wrist and brought it to his face to inspect carefully. 

When he saw the red mark caused by his grip on the back of her hand, he silently cursed himself and asked, "Does it hurt?", his warm fingers gently massaged the skin in a soothing manner. 

 Although Bai Yu Yan did not feel much pain, especially with the man pressing the right acupoints, since her skin was very fair and soft, the redness did not easily dissipate. However, even if she could hear the worry in his voice, she did not want to let go of it so easily. Who told him to lose his temper without any reason?

So she lowered her head and resisted while pretending to pull her hand from his grip as if she was trying to not let him see it, "I'm fine...Your Excellency, please let go."

Seeing her obviously hurting but denying in front of him, Lu Tong Xiao felt an ache in his heart.  He looked at her without letting go then lowered his head to blow on her fingers with warm breath and as if it was not enough, his slightly cool lips pressed a soft kiss on her palm.

“Xiao Yan, don't be afraid. I will never hurt you...so don’t be afraid,” his voice was filled with guilt and distress as he whispered to her. 

His heart was shrouded with unease and anxiousness, causing him to become reckless. But tomorrow...tomorrow he will take care of it all. Everything will be alright after that, he silently thought to himself.

As for those trying to take her away from him, Lu Tong Xiao's eyes flashed with coldness.