Chapter 42  

After being bandaged, Xu Lianqiao lay flat against Ning Yuan’s neck. It was the first time they were this close to each other.

“They said it was Li Ming who brought those people here.”

Xu Lianqiao sighed as she spoke.

“I originally thought he did it for his daughter…”

But when things got dangerous, he ran away without even looking at her.

Ning Yuan patted her shoulder. Although he had fallen asleep due to his injuries, he had realized from the moment those people appeared that someone must have been tracking them. Without a leak from his own men, they wouldn’t have found them so quickly.

It could only be Li Ming who had done it.

“Ah Qiao, not everyone in this world is good. Some parents are bad too.”

Xu Lianqiao shared his sentiment, her thoughts similar.

“I know.”

“No wonder the little baby clung to me when she saw Li Ming again. She must have been scared of him.”

“I’m glad I didn’t let that kind of person escape.”

“General Yang said the little baby’s hand was broken before, most likely from being beaten by Li Ming.”

“It’s one thing to not love your child, but why abuse them…”

Xu Lianqiao became more serious, her voice growing louder as she propped herself up.

“He also said… said…”

She stopped abruptly.

“What did he say?”

Ning Yuan, now awake, looked at her intently.

“Those two children aren’t his.”

“Since Lin Rou was with others before, she’ll likely be with others later.”

Xu Lianqiao said it delicately, but Ning Yuan understood immediately.

“Disgusting and shameless.”

Xu Lianqiao cursed again, which was rare for her.

“He thought that after divorcing, a woman couldn’t find another man, so he treated Lin Rou’s children terribly.”

It made her think about her own situation… Though she didn’t have children, she had a weakness.

She couldn’t imagine how much more complicated things would have been if she and Jiang Huai had a child together.

Ning Yuan observed Ah Qiao’s anger and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Unable to resist, he kissed her cheek.

“Why are you kissing me? I’m talking about something serious!”

Xu Lianqiao touched the spot where he kissed her, muttering.

“I just don’t want you to be upset.”

Ning Yuan defended himself, but honestly, he didn’t want Ah Qiao to be distracted by these thoughts, especially since they reminded her of her parents and… Jiang Huai.

Tonight was supposed to be special for them, and she should focus on him.

They had their own warmth and affection to share.

But Xu Lianqiao didn’t understand Ning Yuan’s feelings and continued angrily:

“Don’t men care for their children like mothers do just because they weren’t born from their own bodies?”

Ning Yuan was taken aback. Why was she bringing this up now?

“How could Ah Qiao think like that?”

Xu Lianqiao shifted into a more comfortable position in his arms, then said:

“I won’t talk about my father, but my second uncle… Although he’s a bit better than my father, he still doesn’t care about his children. When he gets angry, he has excuses for everything… And… Jiang Huai, he didn’t even care when adopting his child.”

That’s why Xu Lianqiao felt this way.

“Yeah, it seems that way.”

After all, men don’t go through the same hardships of bearing and raising children.

“A woman gives birth and raises the child. Men don’t need to do much more than call them children. If the kids don’t turn out how they want, they just blame the woman.”

It’s really shameless.

Although Ning Yuan didn’t have a rebuttal, he still felt the need to defend himself: “Don’t worry, Ah Qiao, I’m definitely not like that.”

He genuinely feared that Ah Qiao might hesitate to marry him in the future.

He leaned closer to her ear and promised, “If Ah Qiao is worried, I can swear an oath.”

The oath… had been made.

Xu Lianqiao glanced at him, surprised at how serious he was.

“Or, our future children will all take your surname, Ah Qiao.”

His tone became more earnest.

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t help but feel moved.

But…

“Why would they take my surname? It doesn’t give them an advantage over the Xu family.”

Ning Yuan smiled and hugged her, patting her back, half-joking, half-serious: “Then we could give them the surname Yan?”

“That’s…”

Yan is part of the character Xu.

Xu Lianqiao laughed at Ning Yuan’s response.

She lifted her head from his chest, her frown finally melting away as her eyes filled with a smile.

“Brother Ning, where did you learn all these sweet words?”

“It’s unfair, Ah Qiao, I’m speaking from the heart.”

After that, he rubbed the tip of her nose.

Xu Lianqiao felt a pleasant shiver and nestled back into his arms.

She felt so soft, and smelled so good.

After laughing, Ning Yuan leaned against her hair and continued seriously: “Ah Qiao, don’t think of your surname Xu as the surname they gave you.”

“Xu is just your own surname. There are so many Xu’s in the world. Does that mean they’re all their descendants?”

Xu Lianqiao was a little surprised…

She had never heard such reasoning before.

But it made sense.

“It makes sense. The northwest is so far from the capital, so the surname Xu isn’t related to them.”

Xu Lianqiao spoke logically, but Ning Yuan found something else in her words.

He smiled, his lips curling: “So Ah Qiao is willing to marry me.”

Xu Lianqiao blushed when he said that.

“No, I was just saying it casually…” Her voice grew quieter, and she lost some confidence.

“Ah Qiao, I will definitely be good to you.”

Ning Yuan dropped his playful smile and spoke seriously: “Ah Qiao, I may not say sweet things, but I promise you that from now on, you’ll be my boss. If you say something, I won’t say anything else. If you tell me to do something, I will. If you say not to, I won’t.”

“If I break this oath, you can kick me out.”

Xu Lianqiao looked at him seriously. She couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought you were going to say something about being struck by lightning and never reincarnating.”

“Those are lies, but if I break my promise, you can kick me out.”

“Besides, if I said that, Ah Qiao would really do it.”

Touched, Xu Lianqiao hugged him and nodded.

After all, she had agreed to marry him.

She might not believe what others said, but… she trusted what Brother Ning said.

“Ah Qiao, you can’t go back on your word.”

“I would regret it, but I would shrink.”

_

The words he heard sounded familiar. Xu Lianqiao finally remembered that she had spoken these words to Brother Ning when she was a child. It turned out that he had remembered them all.

“Okay.”

_

Another five days passed. Calculating the time, it seemed it couldn’t be delayed any longer. Ning Yuan could only endure his injury and set off.

Fortunately, he could take the waterway from Yangzhou to the capital, which saved him from the rough journey. But he didn’t expect that despite being an adult, Ning Yuan was so ill that he vomited terribly during the day. At night, he pulled Xu Lianqiao close and started acting coquettishly. Xu Lianqiao didn’t even know men could be like that.

“Ah Qiao, I’m thirsty…” “Ah Qiao, I don’t want to drink water.”

Then Xu Lianqiao was kissed on the lips. The scoundrel… Ning Yuan seized the opportunity to enjoy it.

“Ah Qiao, I’m still injured.” “Ah Qiao, I’m dizzy.” “Ah Qiao, it’s so cold when I sleep alone.”

They did everything they could, repeating the promises they had made… Finally, on the eighth day, they reached the capital.

“I’m leaving.”

The carriage arrived at the entrance of the alley in the backyard of Jiang Mansion. Xu Lianqiao felt very uneasy looking at the heavy wooden door. Ning Yuan hugged her and refused to let go. He comforted her: “Ah Qiao, I swear, soon, you will be able to leave Jiang Mansion in a dignified manner.”

“Um.”

Xu Lianqiao nodded. Then she realized that Ning Yuan was still holding her and wouldn’t let go.

“Brother Ning, it’s late.” Xu Lianqiao reminded.

“Yeah… it’s almost dark…”

“Ah Qiao, why don’t we go have dinner first and wait until tomorrow to leave?”

Xu Lianqiao, who had just finished a meal, replied, “…”

“No, I have to go back.”

Xu Lianqiao insisted, and Ning Yuan reluctantly let go. Xu Lianqiao quickly kissed Ning Yuan’s cheek and quickly got out of the carriage. She entered Jiang Mansion and, as arranged, met the person pretending to be her. Xu Lianqiao was shocked when she saw the person. Not only did they look similar, but they even sounded similar. The resemblance was so close that she couldn’t tell at all. No wonder Brother Ning had repeatedly promised her they would not be deceived.

After Ning Yuan left the back alley of Jiang Mansion, he didn’t return to his residence to rest. Instead, he went to Dali Temple Prison, where Jiang Huai was currently imprisoned. It must be said that Jiang Lian really killed Jiang Huai.

“Who are you?” Jiang Huai stared at the “jailer” standing at the door.

“You’ll leave this Dali Temple without guilt,” Jiang Huai said.

Ning Yuan got straight to the point, “But I want you to sign and stamp this now.”

Jiang Huai picked up the paper that was thrown in front of him. The words “He Li Shu” were clearly written on it. His eyes turned red instantly.

“You are dreaming.”

“Who are you? It’s none of your business to deal with Xu Lianqiao and me.”

“Ah Qiao, she deserves to be called Ah Qiao.” Ning Yuan sneered as he changed his appearance. The lights in the prison were dim, so he wasn’t worried about Jiang Huai recognizing him.

“Prince Jiang can’t protect himself now, so it’s better for you to focus on how to escape.”

As he spoke, he threw the document in front of Jiang Huai again. “As long as Prince Jiang signs the letter of separation, the document with your fingerprint will appear in front of the Holy Master tomorrow. Then Prince Jiang can return to Jiang Mansion.”

Jiang Huai picked it up and read it. What was written in black and white was the fact that Lin Rou had been coerced and framed against him. Jiang Huai’s fingers trembled as he held the document. The person who had instigated her to do all these things was his eldest brother.

“Why…”

If Prince Jiang wanted to know the reason, he should sign this peace and separation document.

If it weren’t for this bargaining chip, Ning Yuan wouldn’t have bothered to go all the way to Yangzhou for Jiang Huai’s “innocence.”

“Who are you?” Jiang Huai demanded, but there was no answer to his question.

The night was long, but Jiang Huai eventually signed the document.