Chapter 48  

“Can I talk to you?”

It seemed like this was the first time Xu Lianqiao saw Jiang Huai looking so worn out and exhausted.

“Just to talk, nothing more,” Jiang Huai said nervously, afraid she might refuse.

Xu Lianqiao felt there wasn’t much to discuss with Jiang Huai. However, considering everything that had happened between them, she thought it was best to clarify things.

After a moment of silence, she nodded.

They didn’t go anywhere special, just sat in the courtyard.

As the New Year approached, a cold wind swept through the yard.

Jiang Huai instinctively raised his hand to take off his cloak and offer it to Xu Lianqiao, but he suddenly remembered he had left in a hurry without wearing any extra layers. Meanwhile, Xu Lianqiao was dressed warmly, especially with her green cloak that had a hood snugly covering her.

Jiang Huai hesitated, then let his half-raised hand drop.

“What do you want to say?” Xu Lianqiao asked, seeing his hesitation.

She didn’t want to waste too much time with him.

Jiang Huai appeared lost in thought. He realized it had been so long since he last talked to Ah Qiao.

The only other times they spoke were during moments when he pretended to be someone else. Now, sitting calmly like this, the situation felt bittersweet.

Was this peaceful moment only possible now that they had separated?

“That man… it’s him, isn’t it?”

Jiang Huai’s tone was uncertain. He wasn’t sure how he felt.

That night, he saw Ning Yuan carry Ah Qiao out of the fire while the flames consumed everything else—burning away the ugliness and filth.

There was no mystery left.

It turned out the man who had once used his body was actually Ning Yuan, the King of Zhenbei.

Though Jiang Huai’s face betrayed no emotion, he mocked himself internally.

But when he noticed Ah Qiao’s guarded expression, he sighed.

“What do you want to do?”

“What could I do?” Jiang Huai replied.

If he hadn’t personally experienced the soul-switching incident, he’d have dismissed it as absurd nonsense.

Someone like him couldn’t stand being the subject of jokes.

He considered exposing that Ah Qiao and Ning Yuan had known each other for a long time but refrained.

Did Ah Qiao really not understand him at all?

“I’m only concerned about you,” Jiang Huai said, softening his tone. He had never imagined he would speak so gently to a woman.

Xu Lianqiao frowned, but Jiang Huai lowered his voice further.

“Ah Qiao, I know I don’t have the right to say much anymore. But if you follow the King of Zhenbei and leave the capital, you’ll be completely on your own. If the King of Zhenbei someday loses interest in you, what will you do?”

“Brother Ning isn’t like that,” Xu Lianqiao said firmly.

But she wasn’t good at arguments, and her weak rebuttal reflected her hesitation.

“Really?” Jiang Huai smirked. “Ah Qiao, do you think you understand men better than I do?”

From Jiang Huai’s perspective, Ah Qiao had simply been deceived by sweet words.

“Do you know how far the northwest is? How many days it takes to travel from the capital to Zhenbei? Do you know anything about life there? Do you know people in the northwest eat raw meat?”

Xu Lianqiao looked shocked. Jiang Huai pressed further.

“Could you endure that? Maybe as long as the King of Zhenbei likes you, you’ll have some comfort. But if he doesn’t, or if someone else catches his eye, what will happen to you in Zhenbei Palace?”

“Are you done?” Xu Lianqiao said, pursing her lips.

“Brother Ning is not like you,” she declared.

Xu Lianqiao felt ridiculous for even listening to Jiang Huai. She admitted she didn’t know much about life in the northwest, but she trusted Ning Yuan.

Before she left, Jiang Huai knew he had to change tactics. He couldn’t openly insult Ning Yuan.

“Ah Qiao, I mean no harm. I’m only worried about you. Even though we’re no longer married, I still hope you’ll live a happy life.”

Xu Lianqiao found it hard to believe Jiang Huai could say such things.

She wondered if he’d gone mad.

“Jiang Huai, I don’t need your concern,” Xu Lianqiao replied.

Her voice softened as she looked at him.

“You say you’re worried for me, but I was the one who felt helpless in the Jiang Mansion.”

No, more accurately, she had nothing to depend on—ever.

Jiang Huai was stunned. He had never thought of her situation that way before.

To him, she always seemed to have enough support—whether as his wife, as the eldest daughter of the Xu family, or as someone with living parents.

But deep down, he knew it wasn’t true.

Looking back, no one had truly supported Xu Lianqiao. Not even her mother, who kept her distance to avoid suspicion.

Xu Lianqiao had carried her burdens alone.

“Ah Qiao,” Jiang Huai murmured.

_

Jiang Huai still wanted to argue. “Maybe it was like this before, but now that your father has returned to Beijing, he can support you.”

Xu Lianqiao regretted it.

She really regretted it. She shouldn’t have wasted any more words with Jiang Huai.

“Are you done speaking, Crown Prince Jiang?”

“Have you finished? I’m leaving.”

But just as she stood up to leave, Jiang Huai followed her closely, preparing to stop her.

However, before he could do that, a familiar figure suddenly hugged Xu Lianqiao.

“Prince Jiang seems to have a lot of free time. Has he taken care of all his family matters?”

Xu Lianqiao felt a little guilty being held in the familiar embrace and hearing the familiar voice. However, she remained calm.

Jiang Huai looked at the man and woman in front of him as though facing a strong opponent.

If he could, he might just want to take them down right now.

“I dare not trouble King Zhenbei with my family affairs.”

His tone was respectful, but even Xu Lianqiao could sense the irritation in his words.

Worried that Brother Ning would get angry, Xu Lianqiao, nestled in his arms, nuzzled him carefully and covertly, hoping to calm him down.

Ning Yuan, who had been genuinely angry at first, found himself both angry and amused after she did this.

“Why would Prince Jiang expect me not to worry about him in the courtyard rented by me?”

His tone was icy, and Xu Lianqiao hugged him a little tighter.

Jiang Huai was cold inside.

He had followed Ah Qiao here, not expecting that this was Ning Yuan’s place.

His behavior really was unreasonable.

His fingers clenched into fists inside his sleeves.

The memory of that night suddenly surged in his mind.

The humiliation he felt threatened to overwhelm him.

He would never forget how Ning Yuan barged into their Xuanwu Marquis Mansion that day, taking Ah Qiao away right in front of him.

“Forgive me, King Zhenbei, I was rude.”

However, reason told him to endure it.

Otherwise, Ah Qiao would never want to see him again.

_

Jiang Huai had left for a while, but Ning Yuan didn’t let go of Xu Lianqiao.

She could tell that Brother Ning was a little angry.

“Brother Ning, why are you here?” she asked knowingly.

“Why should I not come if you wanted to talk to him alone?” he responded, sounding aggrieved.

“Did Lieutenant Yang tell you?”

After what happened, Ning Yuan had no choice but to send someone to protect Xu Lianqiao.

Even though the guards were always with her, they wouldn’t interfere with her actions or whom she met.

It was Jiang Huai’s identity that was a bit too sensitive.

“He’s just worried that you might be in danger…”

Ning Yuan seemed to be explaining his actions.

Although Ning Yuan really wanted to tie Xu Lianqiao down, he was afraid that his thoughts would frighten her. He didn’t want to come off as possessive.

He didn’t want Ah Qiao to misunderstand and think he was spying on her.

“I’m not angry…” Xu Lianqiao said honestly. Thinking about it from another perspective, if Brother Ning had been alone with another woman, she might feel uncomfortable too.

“I didn’t want to hide anything from you. I planned to tell you when I returned.”

“I just wanted to be clear with him, so I agreed to say a few words.”

“What did you… say?”

She rested her head against his chest and asked, “Didn’t you hear?”

Ning Yuan shook his head.

When he arrived, he intervened without hearing what they said.

“Actually, it’s nothing. The main thing is he was talking nonsense.”

“Brother Ning…”

“Brother Ning…”

“Ah Yuan…” Xu Lianqiao tried calling him by a different name.

Hearing this, Ning Yuan shivered for some reason.

His heart seemed to melt with the sweetness of it.

His fingers began to tingle with warmth.

“Saying it again,” he said, his gaze fiery.

Xu Lianqiao stood on tiptoe, pressed her lips to his, and then whispered in his ear, calling him twice more.

“Brother Ah Yuan…” The words were full of affection.

Ning Yuan felt it was all worth it.

He had no more temper left.

At that moment, a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky, landing on their shoulders.

_

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t bring herself to say those words to Brother Ning.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him.

On the contrary, it was because she trusted him so much that she couldn’t speak. She feared that Brother Ning might make some rash promises to her.

Xu Lianqiao wasn’t naive enough to trust men blindly.

After going through a marriage like the one she had with Jiang Huai, how could she place all her trust in a man?

If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t get close to them.

She wasn’t foolish; she understood how risky it could be.

If you live in an unfamiliar place and can only rely on a man’s favor, you’ll definitely face difficulties.

But this was Brother Ning, the Brother Ning who would risk his life to save her.

That’s why she was willing to trust him.

Even if things go wrong in the future, she would accept it.

Besides, even if Brother Ning changes his mind later, she’s not helpless—she can leave on her own.

If she can take something up, she can also put it down.

Therefore, she refuses to stop living because of past hurts. She won’t stop trusting people just because of Jiang Huai.