Chapter 36  

A withered yellow leaf fell from the jujube tree and landed on Xu Lianqiao’s shoulder.

She tilted her head, blinking in surprise, then remembered that she still had one important question to ask.

Don’t blame her for forgetting—there were so many things on her mind. When the person appeared in front of her, she didn’t know where to begin.

Xu Lianqiao mimicked his actions, pulling at her sleeve and leading him into the house.

She peeked through the crack in the door, confirming that no one was around, and then closed the door carefully with both hands.

She poured tea for both herself and Ning Yuan. Once seated, she rested her head in her hands and asked, “So, what’s going on?”

Ning Yuan accepted the tea from Xu Lianqiao and sat across from her. Just like eight years ago, he began sharing various stories.

He smiled and replied, “Ah Qiao, your observation skills are still impressive. No wonder you always noticed the differences between me and him.”

What made him happiest, though, was that she recognized him so quickly.

Ah Qiao really hadn’t forgotten him.

When Xu Lianqiao received confirmation, her eyes sparkled with realization.

“I knew it! Jiang Lian seemed off earlier. Does Jiang Huai’s situation really have something to do with him?”

Ning Yuan nodded in agreement.

“But why?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

She looked like a curious little fox, her ears twitching, waiting for him to continue.

“Ah Qiao wants to know the reason?” he asked.

Xu Lianqiao eagerly nodded.

“Then come with me to Yangzhou.”

Ning Yuan’s sudden suggestion caught her off guard.

“Ah…” Xu Lianqiao was momentarily stunned.

She thought she had misheard him. “Yangzhou… isn’t that far away?”

In all her nineteen years, the farthest she had traveled was to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. She had never left the capital.

Ning Yuan wasn’t sure, so he asked again, “Ah Qiao, do you want to visit Jiangnan?” 

“Well…” Xu Lianqiao hesitated. “You are my big brother, right? Or… who is this really?” 

She was genuinely scared. Who knew who might be pretending to be her big brother?

Xu Lianqiao shuddered at the thought.

Ning Yuan was left speechless by Xu Lianqiao’s response.

But at least the little girl was cautious.

He wanted to tease her but didn’t dare after just reuniting with her.

“Ah Qiao, do you want to pull it?” he asked, raising his hand and tugging at his face, just like she had done to him that night.

Xu Lianqiao knew exactly what he was laughing at.

She bent down and pinched Ning Yuan’s chin.

“Hiss,” Ning Yuan gasped in surprise.

She had every right to punish him for laughing at her.

But after touching his face, it felt real.

So… what about the soul inside?

To make sure it was truly him, Ning Yuan carefully took out a silver bracelet from his belt pocket.

“Ah Qiao, do you remember this?”

Xu Lianqiao’s gaze fell on the delicate silver bracelet in his hand. It was simple, without any patterns or engravings, just a plain bracelet.

However, the small leaf pattern inside the bracelet reminded her that this was the silver bracelet she had given her big brother.

Normally, silver tarnish over time, but the bracelet still gleamed, showing it had been well cared for all these years.

“Yes, I remember.”

_

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t forget it. This was one of the few precious things she had… No, to be more accurate, it was the only valuable item she had at that time.

Back then, children her age, including her cousins, wore gold ornaments on their heads, necks, and hands.

The gold lock around Xu Jiawei’s neck made her envious. She had never seen such a large piece of gold.

But… Xu Jiawei’s father and mother were not her parents. She couldn’t ask them to treat her the way they treated Xu Jiawei.

It was already a blessing that they didn’t let her live on the streets.

This… was something her grandmother had always told her.

Of course, it was only when she grew older that she realized her second uncle had a lot of money, which he got from her father, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

However, she didn’t hesitate to use his money.

In short, she was very envious at that time.

What else could she do? Kids like shiny things.

During festivals, if she talked sweetly, she would receive lucky money from adults.

Basically, it was half-small, half-cut pieces of silver.

But if there was more, the broken silver would also increase. She would occasionally send medicinal materials to the pharmacist in the medical house at the foot of the mountain. Before she knew it, she had saved half a tael of silver by the time she was ten years old.

This half a tael of silver was just enough to buy a silver bracelet.

At that time… how could she be so generous as to give away whatever someone asked for?

She had saved that half tael of silver for two years.

“Ah Qiao…”

Xu Lianqiao looked at the silver bracelet and couldn’t help but feel lost in thought.

When she snapped back to reality, she heard Ning Yuan continue: “Ah Qiao, do you believe it now?”

This was a secret that belonged only to the two of them.

Ning Yuan would never forget the scene when she raised her little head and told him that she still had him and would never want him away.

From that moment, she was the one he would always protect.

However, he still broke his promise and made her suffer a lot of injustice.

“Ah Qiao.” When he spoke again, Ning Yuan felt a bit of sorrow in his heart, “I’m sorry, I once said I would always protect you, but I didn’t do it.”

He still remembered when he went down the mountain that day, planning to give Ah Qiao a new gold bracelet, but his father appeared and told him there was a war in the northwest and that he had to follow him immediately.

He had asked to be given even an hour to say goodbye to Ah Qiao.

But his father refused and even called him a coward because he cared about someone.

Who could have known that his father, the King of Zhenbei, would faint and take him away…

Because of that, he missed the chance to take Ah Qiao with him, and he also missed the chance to say goodbye.

In the blink of an eye, when he entered the capital again, it was already time for her to get married.

He originally told himself that as long as she lived well…

But he didn’t. He couldn’t forget her.

He didn’t want to admit how despicable he was. At first, he told himself that when he came to Beijing, he just wanted to make sure Ah Qiao lived a good life. As long as she lived well, he would let her go.

But when he came to Beijing this time, he had the idea of snatching her away.

But before he could act on it, by some strange twist of fate, he became that guy from Jianghuai.

“Ah Qiao, would you blame me?”

Xu Lianqiao shook her head. In truth, maybe it was because she was still young at that time, so she didn’t take those words too seriously.

After all, even her parents couldn’t do that.

She admits that she doesn’t fully trust other people’s promises.

However, Xu Lianqiao trusted the person in front of her, her big brother from before.

Not just in appearance, but also in soul—he was her big brother.

For some reason, she felt she could trust him.

“Too small.” Ning Yuan returned the silver bracelet to Xu Lianqiao. Unfortunately, it was now too small for her to wear.

She gestured, looking a little regretful.

“By the way, what about my interests?”

She harbored deep resentment and was still waiting for the interest from the past eight years.

Little money addict.

Ning Yuan’s mood lightened because of her, and he seemed relieved.

“I owe you first.”

Xu Lianqiao pouted and turned her head, pretending to be angry.

But the smile at the corner of her mouth was still clear.

“Then don’t forget it.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

The winter sunset slowly sank into the west.

As the day came to an end, a burst of dusk entered through the west window.

The birds perched on the branches, clinging to each other.

“But do you have any clues as to why we’re going to Yangzhou?”

She remembered that Lin Rou was from Yangzhou.

“Ah Qiao is indeed very smart.”

Ning Yuan never hesitated to praise Xu Lianqiao.

This made Xu Lianqiao feel a little embarrassed.

Not only did he praise her for being beautiful, but also for being smart.

Thinking about this, Xu Lianqiao felt her ears heating up.

After Lin Rou appeared in the Xuanwu Marquis Mansion, he sent someone to investigate Lin Rou’s background.

There was some news, but for more details, he needed to go to Yangzhou to confirm it in person.

Although he didn’t have to personally take action in these matters, he had his own selfish reasons.

That was, he hoped to temporarily take Ah Qiao away from this place of right and wrong.

“Then I’ll just leave, okay?”

After all, she didn’t live alone, and her leaving the capital would surely be noticed by others.

“Don’t worry, I’ve made all the arrangements.”

He was, after all, the King of Zhenbei. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if he didn’t have any methods or means?

_

In this way, Xu Lianqiao followed Ning Yuan and left the capital.

“Ah Qiao, can you ride a horse? Or would you prefer to take a carriage?”

Ning Yuan looked at Xu Lianqiao with concern. “Or do you want to ride with me?”

Xu Lianqiao hesitated for a moment but shook her head. Since she was dressed in men’s clothing, it would look strange for two “men” to ride the same horse.

“I can manage,” she replied.

She was referring to riding a horse. While her skills weren’t exceptional, she could handle normal situations.

“Brother Ning, didn’t you teach me to ride a horse before? After you left, I didn’t stop practicing. The monks at the temple were very kind. They lent me horses to practice on and even taught me how to improve.”

With that, she mounted her horse, grabbed the reins, and urged the horse forward.

The horse moved as she applied force with her legs.

Her face lit up with a smile, and the sunlight outlined her features just like when she was a child.

Ning Yuan could clearly see the faint downy hair on her cheeks.

It was as soft as a peach.

The two traveled light, each on their own horse, slowly heading towards Yangzhou.

“Brother Ning, how far is Yangzhou?”

Ning Yuan noticed that Xu Lianqiao had changed the way she addressed him, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he liked it when she called him “Brother.”

For some reason, it made his heart race.

“It’s about fifteen hundred miles,” he answered.

“Fifteen hundred miles…”

She thought about the distance.

The farthest Xu Lianqiao had traveled before was only ten or twenty miles, to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

“Riding a horse slowly, it will take about ten days,” Ning Yuan explained.

“Half a month on horseback…”

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t imagine how Lin Rou managed to travel alone from Yangzhou to the capital with her child.

After all, having a horse wasn’t easy for just anyone.

“Are you wondering how Lin Rou got here?” Ning Yuan asked.

Xu Lianqiao nodded quickly. She felt like he could read her thoughts.

“That’s why it all seems suspicious,” Ning Yuan said.

It felt as though someone was orchestrating the entire situation.

Otherwise, how could Lin Rou and her son, both widowed and orphaned, conveniently appear at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha?

Even if this wasn’t meant to harm him directly, if it involved Xu Lianqiao, it was his concern as well.