Chapter 7

Xu Lianqiao didn’t know why someone would send her such good lotus seeds, but she didn’t mind and ate them happily.  

No one would dare to poison her in broad daylight.  

Probably not…  

She stopped peeling the lotus seeds for a moment, suddenly feeling that they didn’t taste as good.  

But look at these light green, round, big seeds, just like little beads.  

She couldn’t resist eating them. If she didn’t, they would get dry and unappetizing.  

Xu Lianqiao hesitated, still wanting to eat them. She could eat them raw or make lotus seed soup, which was sweet and sticky. The lotus seed cores could also be dried and made into tea.  

But she had already eaten several pills today.  

When she was at the Xu Mansion, her second uncle didn’t like her, so much that he didn’t even let anyone kill her.  

Now, she was the nominal wife of Jiang Huai, the Crown Prince.  

If she suddenly disappeared, Jiang Huai would be a widower, and that would hurt his reputation. People might think he was too harsh on her.  

But they didn’t understand. It was easy to get rid of her. She only needed a letter of divorce, and she would leave without a problem.  

She could disappear from their lives forever.  

Why go through all this trouble? If someone poisoned her, wouldn’t it cause more trouble than it’s worth?

Thinking about this, Xu Lianqiao put another lotus seed in her mouth.  

It was delicious. She hadn’t had such sweet lotus seeds in a long time.  

She was sitting on a stool, enjoying the lotus seeds with a smile. But when she looked up, she saw Jiang Huai standing at the door, dressed in black.  

She froze.  

The lotus seed in her mouth wasn’t fully swallowed.  

Could he really move so fast?  

She started coughing, choking on the lotus seed.  

She wasn’t going to die from choking on a lotus seed. She’d been through worse.  

Ning Yuan, who had been standing by the door, panicked when he saw this.  

He rushed over and kneeled beside Xu Lianqiao to help her.  

“Ah…”  

He stopped himself from saying her name because he wasn’t supposed to.  

He quickly adjusted her neck and pushed her hair back, then slapped her back to help her cough.  

It was his fault for showing up so suddenly.  

But the feeling of Jiang Huai’s hand near her neck reminded Xu Lianqiao of the time he had almost strangled her.  

Her body went stiff, making it harder to breathe.  

Fortunately, after some coughing, she managed to get the broken lotus seed out of her throat, and she slowly started to calm down.  

Ning Yuan let out a sigh of relief, but still looked worried.  

“Are you okay?”  

He didn’t want to hurt her, but he was worried that his actions might have been too forceful.  

After catching her breath and wiping away her tears, Xu Lianqiao slowly turned around.  

She was still a bit scared of Jiang Huai. She sometimes felt brave enough to argue with him, but it never ended well.  

Now that Jiang Huai was acting strangely, she wasn’t sure when she might offend him again.  

“Why are you here, Your Highness?”  

Xu Lianqiao asked, nervous.  

When she was nervous, she tended to tug at her skirt.  

The morning light shone on the floor where she stood.  

Ning Yuan looked at her, her pale yellow clothes gently moving, her eyes lowered with tears in the corners of her eyes. Her face was fair and soft, like a ripe peach.  

“Ah… I…”  

Ning Yuan felt a sudden warmth spread through him.  

It must be the heat in the room.  

“What?”  

Hearing her confused question, Ning Yuan’s heart began to race.  

“I came to talk to you about reconciliation.”

_

Xu Lianqiao’s face was full of confusion.

She felt that Jiang Huai’s mind was truly broken. Before, he had clearly said that he would never reconcile with her, claiming that the only possibility was either she would die or he would divorce her.

But if his mind was really broken, shouldn’t he act like a seven- or eight-year-old child?

Why didn’t he seem mentally impaired, though? Instead, he appeared like a completely different person now.

Could it be that escaping death changed him entirely?

So, was this a good thing?

Xu Lianqiao was still in shock and confusion when she heard “Jiang Huai” hand her some water and continue:

“Heli, yes, but not now.”

Ah Qiao looked at him with a puzzled expression. Ning Yuan frowned, trying to calm his anxious heart. He continued to explain:

“Three months, just three months, and Gracious Li , I will set the date three months from now for you.”

Ning Yuan had thought a lot the night before.

Now, he had to choose this compromise.

Ah Qiao was not happy in Jiang Mansion. He believed his transformation into Jiang Huai was an opportunity given by fate to help Ah Qiao leave Jiang Mansion and gain her freedom.

But he also had selfish motives.

If Ah Qiao leaves now, he will never see her again.

He truly missed her.

He thought that cutting off communication with her while in the capital would allow him to forget her.

But reality proved him wrong.

He still missed her day after day.

It had only been a month, but the yearning was unbearable.

Eight years ago, due to an emergency war in the northwest, he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye properly or ask her to wait for him.

A year ago, he regretted not seeing her again because of a half-month difference.

Only then did he wish to give himself another chance.

He wanted to know if she still remembered him and if she would recognize him.

However, Ning Yuan feared that this bizarre situation might disappear one day.

He would return, and the real Jiang Huai would come back.

So, if he treats Ah Qiao well now, it might backfire when that time comes.

Therefore, he set a limit of three months.

Three months later, if Ah Qiao liked him, he would tell her who he really was.

If Ah Qiao didn’t like him, he would let her go.

Even if he didn’t stay in this body for three months, Jiang Huai would have no choice but to accept it.

Of course, he had also thought of the worst case scenario—Ah Qiao leaves, and he has to stay in this body for the rest of his life.

If that happens…

At least Ah Qiao would be free and happy.

_

Xu Lianqiao didn’t know that “Jiang Huai” thought so much.

She only felt like she was in a trance, as if in a dream. It seemed too unreal.

She couldn’t explain her feelings, but her head felt a bit numb. Could such a good thing really happen to her?

Could she really leave?

“Really?”

She couldn’t believe it, so she asked again:

“You’re not lying to me, are you? Or you might regret it later.”

Ning Yuan was impressed by her. Ah Qiao still had such a sense of innocence. No wonder someone would frame her.

“Of course, if I regret it, I will be lonely and helpless for the rest of my life.”

This time, Xu Lianqiao looked into “Jiang Huai’s” eyes. The obsidian eyes, with a smile that slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth, were the first time she saw such a pure smile in Jiang Huai’s eyes.

By accident, she nodded.

Although she didn’t know how trustworthy Jiang Huai was, she still felt that this was better than him insisting on not letting go.

But,

Inexplicably, she seemed to really believe what “Jiang Huai” said.

Thinking about this, Xu Lianqiao felt she had really lost her memory.

That’s Jiang Huai, Jiang Huai.