Chapter 35  

Jiang Huai’s eyes flickered with confusion. After comforting his parents, he stood up and left the banquet, following the visitor. Before leaving, he shook Xu Lianqiao’s hand and reassured her not to worry.

Tch, there was nothing for her to worry about.

She was so anxious about Jiang Huai that it almost seemed like a dream. It would be better for her if he just left and never came back… though that felt a little cruel.

It would be better if he lost his memory after leaving. Well, amnesia would be less harsh.

Xu Lianqiao was actually just a little surprised by what she had seen.

She had noticed that Jiang Huai’s eldest brother was not at all surprised by the news.

But now, when she looked over, Jiang Lian was already wearing a worried expression. He walked over to Mrs. Jiang, who appeared sickly, and began comforting her. “Mom, don’t worry, second brother will be fine.”

“Really?”

Mrs. Jiang looked anxiously at Lord Jiang and then at Jiang Lian.

“Master Marquis…”

Marquis Jiang also frowned, growing a bit impatient. “Didn’t you hear what the person who delivered the decree said? The Holy Emperor only allowed Huai’er to enter the palace alone?”

Although he was the legitimate master of Xuanwu Marquis Mansion, he was not treated seriously in front of the Emperor.

It didn’t matter that he couldn’t compare with me, but he certainly shouldn’t compare with his son.

Mrs. Jiang was anxious, but she didn’t know how to handle matters outside the household, as she only managed internal family affairs.

“Mom, don’t worry. When I was studying, I had a classmate who is now working at the Denwen Drum Courtyard. I will ask him to help sort things out.”

“Damn it.”

Mrs. Jiang was furious and slapped her hands on the table. The unfinished soup in her bowl shook. “Who knocked on the Dengwen drum?”

The adoption banquet that was supposed to be peaceful and joyful came to an abrupt end.

Before leaving the banquet, Xu Lianqiao looked over at Zhou Wan.

When Zhou Wan realized her gaze, it quickly moved down, and she gently comforted the child in her arms.

In Xu Lianqiao’s impression, the two brothers, Jiang Lian and Jiang Huai, seemed like siblings.

Jiang Huai was such a troublemaker, but he was calm when dealing with Jiang Lian. Jiang Huai never complained about him at all.

Of course, this could be because she didn’t know Jiang Huai well.

However, based on what Jiang Huai had told her earlier, Xu Lianqiao could understand his feelings toward his brother Jiang Lian.

As for Jiang Lian… her nominal “brother”…

Xu Lianqiao thought for a moment and realized she didn’t really understand him.

She had lived in the Jiang Mansion for so many years, and because Jiang Lian’s health was poor, she wasn’t sure if she had spoken more than ten words to him, except for polite nods when they met.

But thinking back on her scattered memories… Was Jiang Lian really that kind of person?

Or had she just been mistaken when she saw him earlier? No, she shouldn’t have been wrong; she was too old for that.

As Xu Lianqiao walked towards Cuihu Courtyard, she thought about what she had just seen. She became so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice what was happening around her.

When she finally realized it, a hand touched her forehead.

Warm… hot.

“Who are you, and what are you doing?”

Xu Lianqiao looked down but instinctively took a step back.

“Ah Qiao…”

At the sound of the name, the drizzle seemed to last forever, like a dry land finally receiving its long-awaited rain.

His voice was gentle, almost like fine sand brushing against Xu Lianqiao’s ears.

She froze.

After a while, she raised her head uneasily.

Her eyes were moist, making Ning Yuan call her name again: “Ah Qiao.”

Finally, he stood face to face with her again.

In his true form.

“Long time no see, Ah Qiao.”

_

Ning Yuan hadn’t expected that his connection with Ah Qiao would be so brief.

He rushed to the inn that day to meet the person who had sent him the letter. He was cautious and hid in the shadows to observe, but when the time arrived, no one showed up at the appointed place. This made Ning Yuan start to feel suspicious.

Just as he was about to leave, a sharp pain suddenly struck his head. It was embarrassing to admit that he lost consciousness at that moment.

When he woke up, although he was back in his body, an entire month had passed.

Not wasting any time, he hurried for two days straight to finally see Ah Qiao.

Only he knew how deeply he cared for her.

_

As soon as he spoke, greeting her with a smile, Xu Lianqiao’s eyes filled with tears, which she couldn’t hold back. What should she do? She cried in front of him.

Lifting her head, she looked at Ning Yuan. A ray of setting sun illuminated the bridge of his nose.

It was a familiar voice and a familiar face.

She had thought she’d forgotten his voice and smile long ago, but as soon as she saw him, all the memories returned.

Unknowingly, she was left speechless.

He was, after all, the most handsome young man she had ever seen.

“Ah Qiao, you’re crying so much it hurts my heart.”

Before Ning Yuan even finished speaking, his toes were stepped on by the fragile girl in front of him. She angrily said, “Do you know how worried I’ve been? Where have you been? Why did you come back?”

She had thought he was dead, so worried she couldn’t sleep at all. Even in her dreams, it seemed like he was still facing death… though she knew that sounded a little exaggerated.

Ning Yuan’s mouth twitched, then he raised his hand to wipe away the grease from the corner of her mouth.

At least, the little girl wasn’t starving herself.

Xu Lianqiao suddenly felt embarrassed when he wiped her mouth. She realized she hadn’t been caring for herself enough.

“Ah Qiao, I came to see you right after I woke up.”

He hadn’t stopped for even a moment. When he heard that the Jiang family was hosting a banquet today, he had disguised himself as a young man and sneaked in.

But Ning Yuan didn’t tell Xu Lianqiao that after his body had been in a coma for two months, he had collapsed again when he tried to stand.

Xu Lianqiao looked around, saw no one else, and pulled Ning Yuan into the courtyard, shutting the door behind them.

Standing under the jujube tree, she looked like a child who had made a mistake. “I messed up with Li Shu… I can’t reconcile with Jiang Huai.”

Jiang Huai wouldn’t even agree to divorce her.

As she spoke, the tears that she had just managed to hold back began to fall again.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll handle it,” Ning Yuan said, wiping the tears from her eyes gently.

Xu Lianqiao finally cried freely on his chest.

Once again, she felt so wronged.

She picked up a silk handkerchief to wipe her tears, remembering that she had been thinking about Jiang Huai earlier when she was in front of Denwengu.

“Jiang Huai seems to have been taken away.”

Xu Lianqiao didn’t understand the difference between what the Holy Emperor had called and what someone else had called. She only knew that someone had accused Jiang Huai before Deng Wengu, and then Jiang Huai had been taken away by the Holy Emperor.

“Yes, I know,” Ning Yuan replied softly. While it had been a sudden event, his subordinates had already filled him in on the details.

“You know?” Xu Lianqiao was puzzled. In her heart, her big brother was just an ordinary commoner.

Ning Yuan blinked slightly, feeling a little uneasy. “Ah Qiao, my surname is Ning.”

Would she be upset that he had hidden his identity from her?

“Ning?”

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t hold back and hiccupped lightly.

She always got embarrassed like this when she was nervous or unsure.

“The Holy Emperor only wants two princes, right?”

“Uh…”

“Brother, could it be that you are the Holy Emperor’s prince living among the common people… uh…”

Xu Lianqiao stammered and was lightly knocked on the forehead.

“Didn’t I tell you before that the Emperor has a nephew?”

His name is Ning Yuan.

“Uh…” Xu Lianqiao was completely stunned.

The Holy Emperor only had one nephew, the current King of Zhenbei, Ning Yuan.

But Xu Lianqiao hadn’t expected the King of Zhenbei to be here in the capital.

She recalled that when she was at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, she had wondered if the reason King Zhenbei was distant from women was because of Duanxiu…

So, was her big brother, Duanbubu, in front of her, seeing her as a sister, not as someone he cared about?

Xu Lianqiao didn’t dare to ask him directly. Instead, she changed the subject. “So, do you know why Jiang Huai is being sued?”

Ning Yuan, hearing Ah Qiao call him “big brother” again, felt a pang of longing, but he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Why had she called him “big brother” only to ask about Jiang Huai?

Though he didn’t think Ah Qiao had bad taste in men, the thought of her caring about Jiang Huai left him feeling uneasy. It was as if a lump of cloth had been stuffed in his chest.

He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her again.

“Remember Lin Rou from Yangzhou?”

Ning Yuan asked, mentioning the chaos.

Lin Rou had taken her child and sued Jiang Huai for abandoning them. Even after they had been kicked out of the Jiang Mansion, she still wanted to kill them all.

Ah Qiao, Ah Qiao, Jiang Huai was truly no man at all.

Xu Lianqiao narrowed her eyes, thinking hard. She recalled that Lu Siqing’s maid had said the child had caused Lu Siqing’s premature birth, and that Mrs. Jiang and Jiang Huai had kicked them out.

So, something like that happened later.

But didn’t Jiang Huai tell her he had given them a settlement allowance?

What was going on?

“Then what does this have to do with Jiang Lian?”

She still felt something was off when thinking about Jiang Lian’s expression.

Ning Yuan gently tapped Xu Lianqiao’s puffed cheek with his finger.

It wasn’t hard, just two gentle taps. “Ah… Ah Qiao, still that curious little girl.”

The evening breeze blew between them as they looked at each other like two crested ibises they hadn’t seen in ages.

Ning Yuan had always known that Ah Qiao was curious. If she weren’t, their story would never have started. He wouldn’t have been moved by her either.

But could she not be so curious about Jiang Huai?

***

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