Chapter 25

“Don’t you like it when I call you that?”

“Jiang Huai” looked at her, tilting his head slightly. Xu Lianqiao couldn’t help but swallow nervously. The sensation was unbearable.

“I…” Xu Lianqiao paused, unsure of what to say, “We’re not that close.”

He had always used her first name before.

No, he was mistaken.

“You hated me before. Why are you being so kind to me now?”

After Xu Lianqiao asked, there was silence on the other side…

Of course, Ning Yuan was aware that using Jiang Huai’s identity and suddenly acting so kindly towards Ah Qiao would raise doubts. It would seem strange to others.

But he couldn’t continue treating her the same way Jiang Huai had.

After a long silence, Ning Yuan finally spoke, his expression serious: “Does that mean I’m being kind to you?”

Xu Lianqiao looked confused. She didn’t fully understand what “Jiang Huai” meant by this.

“Is this what you consider kindness… I moved your home, bought you some fabric, and spoke a few words to you…”

In the grand scheme of things, what he did was insignificant.

“Ah Qiao.” Ning Yuan looked at her intently, “Don’t let small gestures from a man move you.”

“And the reason I changed my attitude towards you is because, after returning from the hell gate^[1]refers to a place or moment of extreme difficulty or peril., I realized many of the things Jiang Huai did no longer mattered.”

Ning Yuan felt a tinge of bitterness. Over the past days, he had done many things, but nothing had helped Ah Qiao regain her memory of him. Worse, his actions had only caused her to see Jiang Huai in a different light.

This left him feeling sour, and there was no way to express the pain in his heart.

Xu Lianqiao was taken aback when he mentioned “Jiang Huai.”

She hadn’t expected him to say that, and she felt embarrassed for being sentimental.

Thinking about it, Jiang Huai had always been far kinder to Lu Siqing than to her. The things he had done for her recently didn’t matter that much.

Maybe even the act of clearing her name was just a way of helping Lu Siqing find the person who had harmed her.

With that realization, Xu Lianqiao suddenly understood.

“Yes, I understand.”

She nodded and turned her face away from him.

Ning Yuan understood that his frustration had led him to speak harshly. Ah Qiao seemed to have forgotten their past together, but still remembered that Jiang Huai had saved her. Why hadn’t he known about the story between her and Jiang Huai?

The more he thought about it, the more upset he became.

“Ah Qiao…” Ning Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “When you were a child…”

“Prince!”

Before Ning Yuan could finish, a voice from outside interrupted him.

They both looked at each other in surprise.

“What’s going on?” Ning Yuan’s tone was obviously impatient.

“Your Majesty…” The voice outside hesitated, then said cautiously, “Your Majesty, the carriage has been stopped…”

The speaker didn’t finish, but from the hesitance, Xu Lianqiao could tell it wasn’t good news.

Sure enough, she soon heard the young man, shaking, say, “Someone… came to take this child, claiming it’s yours, the Crown Prince.”

“My what?” Ning Yuan frowned, clearly confused by what was happening.

Xu Lianqiao rolled her eyes, embarrassed at how moved she had been over the past few days.

“Your child!” The young man raised his voice without realizing it.

“The child…is…mine?”

Ning Yuan looked completely baffled, truly confused by the situation.

After all, he had no idea what was going on.

“…”

How did Jiang Huai end up with so many romantic affairs?

_

After returning home, Xu Lianqiao saw the woman, who was holding a little boy about two or three years old beside her.

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t tell if they looked alike because of the way she was staring at them.

The woman introduced herself as Lin Rou, and she claimed to have met Jiang Huai in Yangzhou four years ago.

According to Lin Rou, her parents had been killed by bandits, and as a young woman, she had no choice but to seek refuge with her uncle in Yangzhou. However, her uncle, who was driven by greed, wanted to sell her to the Yangzhou magistrate as a concubine. She escaped, and while fleeing, she found Jiang Huai, who had been injured. After saving him, Jiang Huai woke up and, after learning of her situation, offered to help. He arranged a house for her in Yangzhou.

Two months later, when Jiang Huai was drunk, they ended up together.

After that, she followed him. But a year later, Jiang Huai received a letter from home and left for Beijing. He promised to come back and take her to the capital soon.

She believed him and waited. But as her belly grew, as the child was born, and as the child grew to two years old, Jiang Huai never returned.

Eventually, she made the decision to go to the capital and find him.

“Madam, what I am telling you is the truth,” Lin Rou cried bitterly.

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t help but feel pity as she watched Lin Rou’s tearful face.

It felt almost like a play, a woman searching for her husband over a thousand miles.

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t help but imagine a scene of this pregnant girl waiting desperately in the yard.

As she thought of this, she couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Huai.

Seeing him frown, she had the feeling that Jiang Huai might decide to give up.

Ning Yuan had no idea what to think. He was simply observing to see if Lin Rou was telling the truth.

Mrs. Jiang was uncertain and glanced back and forth between Lin Rou, the child, and her son.

The young man did resemble a younger version of Jiang Huai.

“Huai’er, is what she said true?” Mrs. Jiang asked.

Ning Yuan, caught off guard, had no way to answer.

Jiang Huai hadn’t spoken yet, but Jiang Xi, who was beside him, answered first: “Mom, even if this woman’s story about her and second brother is true, how can we be sure this child is really second brother’s? It’s been three years since second brother came back from Yangzhou, and we haven’t even received a letter from her…”

Mrs. Jiang nodded.

Whether they accepted this woman or not was one thing, but they couldn’t risk the bloodline of the Marquis family being mixed up.

“That’s because I didn’t know the identity of the prince before,” Lin Rou explained, her voice filled with emotion.

Mrs. Jiang had a question. “Then how did you find our Jiang Mansion’s carriage?”

Lin Rou unexpectedly pointed her finger at Xu Lianqiao.

Xu Lianqiao was confused. What did this have to do with her?

“The clothes she is wearing belong to me,” Lin Rou said.

Xu Lianqiao’s eyes widened, and she noticed the outfit did seem like it might fit Lin Rou.

Jiang Huai looked at Xu Lianqiao with an uncertain expression. He really didn’t know how this woman had come to know about the clothes.

“It’s been more than a month since I arrived in the capital. I haven’t gotten any useful news during that time, and the money I had left is almost gone. So, I sold the remaining silk to get some money.”

“I think it was fate. My older sister, who I had entrusted to look out for me, saw the prince’s portrait and recognized him as the one who had bought my clothes. That’s when I realized the person I was looking for had been so close to me.”

Lin Rou took a deep breath, turned her tearful gaze towards Jiang Huai, and continued.

Not only was Lin Rou crying, but the child was crying too, calling out “dad,” though not very clearly.

It was almost as if they were in a drama.

Xu Lianqiao had never seen such a strange coincidence before in her life.

“Huai’er, is this true?” Mrs. Jiang asked again.

Ning Yuan knew something was wrong, but he had been in the northwest at the time. How could he know what happened in Suzhou?

Some things could be easily explained, but this… was complicated.

“It’s true,” Ning Yuan admitted. He didn’t see any signs of deception in Lin Rou’s face.

Admitting it now was the safest option. If it turned out to be false, he could later claim he was just setting a trap.

Xu Lianqiao rolled her eyes again, feeling a sense of injustice. But in the end, it wasn’t her problem. This was Jiang Huai’s business.

Mrs. Jiang placed a hand over her chest, unsure of what to say. After taking a moment, she composed herself and ordered, “Please arrange for them to stay in the west wing for now. When the Marquis returns, we will discuss this further.”

She then cast a complicated glance at “Jiang Huai.”

Ning Yuan noticed this, but he couldn’t say anything at the moment.

_

This incident caused quite a stir in Xuanwu Marquis Mansion, with everyone having their own thoughts.

That evening, Xu Lianqiao heard that Ming Xiyuan had invited another physician.

Ah, the child in Lady Lu’s belly was really in trouble.

“Jiang Huai” likely went to Lady Lu’s room.

Xu Lianqiao thought this and suddenly found the carrot cake in her mouth wasn’t as appetizing.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about “Jiang Huai” anymore.

Tch…

She really had a poor memory.

_

Ning Yuan visited Mingxi Courtyard, and after taking care of what Jiang Huai needed to do, he returned to his own house.

Even though the matter didn’t concern him directly, he avoided seeing Ah Qiao that evening because of Jiang Huai, which gave him a chance to calm down.

After taking on Jiang Huai’s identity, he had investigated Jiang Huai’s past.

He found out that Jiang Huai had indeed spent a year in Yangzhou four years ago, and his property there matched what the woman had said.

What remained unknown was whether they had been intimate. Even with his extensive knowledge, Ning Yuan couldn’t know what went on behind closed doors.

Ning Yuan actually hoped Jiang Huai would resolve the issue on his own.

It was surprising to him that he and Ah Qiao could act as parents, which felt nice.

_

At Qinkang Courtyard, Zhou Wan kept eating her rice without stopping. She couldn’t remember ever dreaming that Jiang Huai had such an older son.

Had she really dreamed that?

“Madam…cough, cough…”

Zhou Wan’s thoughts were interrupted by Jiang Lian’s cough. She quickly put down her bowl to help him breathe.

Jiang Lian raised his hand to stop her.

“I’m fine.”

He took her hand and sat down again, asking, “What were you thinking just now, Madam?”

Zhou Wan suddenly realized she had been lost in thought.

She smiled and answered, “It’s nothing. I was just reflecting on what happened during the day.”

Jiang Lian nodded. “Do you think it’s true, Madam?”

Zhou Wan smiled faintly and replied, “What’s the harm? You’ll know soon enough.”

After a pause, she added, “I didn’t come here to find my husband, and this has nothing to do with our eldest brother. It’s just one more mouth to feed.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Lian nodded and they continued the conversation.

However, there was a strange look in his eyes.

***

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