When Jiang Rao climbed onto the top of the wall, the two round flower-bud buns on both sides of her head swayed unsteadily.

There was a light touch of sweat on his cheeks.

Just as she was about to find the right position to jump down, she noticed a black figure in front of her, which startled her and made her body sway and she almost fell down.

Fortunately, she was able to hold on to the wall.

"Why are you here?"

She tilted her head and shouted at the figure.

The moment she swayed just now made Rong Ting's breathing tense.

His arms were already moving forward to catch her.

But as she hugged the wall to steady herself, she calmly withdrew herself.

The tension and anxiety in his eyes also returned to calmness and composure.

"Come to see you." He said calmly.

Jiang Rao, however, noticed the movement of his shoulder pulling back and a flash of fear in his eyes.

She frowned.

What are you afraid of?

She thought about it carefully, and finally understood when she saw his hands clenched into fists and placed on his knees.

Last time she fell from the wall of his house and hit him, she was hit directly and her legs were almost broken.

If it were her, she would also be scared when she saw the culprit who almost killed her climbed up the wall again.

I understand. I understand.

Jiang Rao understood and shouted to him, "Stay away first so I can jump down."

After jumping down, he was very close to him.

The night breeze is cool and has the scent of soapberries.

Jiang Rao steadied himself and touched the tip of his sweaty nose in the chilly wind. "Why didn't you dodge?"

She was worried that his legs were not healed and he had difficulty moving, but she heard a faint voice: "There's nothing to hide."

Rong Ting retracted his sleeves, his eyes were deep and cold like stars.

His deep gaze rested on her face for a moment, as if examining something carefully.

Jiang Rao touched her face in confusion, thinking that he might have come to see her because she broke the appointment, and explained, "I didn't mean to not see you today. My father confined me for a day, and I wanted to write to tell you about it."

Jiang Ping climbed over the wall from the other side and sat on the top of it, waving the letter in his hand.

"Young Master, I forgot to send it to you. It's my fault."

After saying that, Jiang Ping jumped down.

This time, Rong Ting stepped back without any hesitation and left a distance.

The movements were crisp and clear.

…

Jiang Rao felt guilty and asked Rong Ting, "Have you been waiting for me for a long time today?"

"soon."

His words

It was very concise, and his pupils were clear, but she could vaguely see a hint of grievance in his eyes.

He may have waited a long time.

Jiang Rao felt guilty and promised earnestly, "I won't let you wait so long again in the future."

Rong Ting raised his eyes and looked at her, his gaze was heavy, "Don't lie to me."

"No."

Jiang Rao was even more impressed that Rong Ting was someone who knew how to use his looks to his advantage.

Every expression and every movement is so pitiful.

It made her want to reach out and rub it even more.

…

Fourth Master Jiang didn't know that his daughter had escaped by climbing over the wall. When chatting with Jiang Qinshi at night, he said worriedly, "Is Nian Nian confined today? Will she... be in a bad mood?"

Jiang Qin couldn't help laughing, "Why do I feel that the master is punishing himself when he punishes Niannian? I see that Niannian eats well and sleeps well, but the master is always worrying about this and that."

"What's wrong with worrying? Nian Nian is our treasure that we worked so hard to get."

During the first four years after Jiang Qin married him, although they had a good relationship, Jiang Qin's belly was still not moving. She sought medical advice and took many medicines, but she finally got pregnant in the fifth year. After a lot of effort, she finally had a child, but instead of having his long-cherished daughter, he didn't take good care of her. He felt sorry for himself who had been waiting for four years!

Fourth Master Jiang thought about it and decided that he had to go and have a heart-to-heart talk with his precious child, so he put on a coat, got up from the couch, picked up a lamp, and strode towards Jiang Rao's courtyard.

When he was about to arrive, he looked at the courtyard where candlelight was dimly lit and frowned.

It was too quiet in there, as if no one was there.

He frowned and strode forward in confusion. When he opened the gate, he saw only a few unfamiliar maids.

"Where's the girl?"

The maids looked at each other.

Before the girl left, she told them not to reveal where she was going.

But the girl didn't teach them. If the master came to ask, what should they answer?

Who could have thought that the master would come?

Mr. Jiang Si realized that something was wrong. Anger gradually gathered in his eyes. He asked again in a cold voice, "Where is the girl?"

Finally, a maidservant couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere anymore and said, "The girl..."

Fourth Master Jiang had a stern face.

"father!"

Jiang Rao appeared in front of Mr. Jiang Si, panting.

Just now, after saying goodbye to Rong Ting, I came back from the backyard and saw from afar that the door of her yard was open and her father was standing in the yard.

This feeling is exactly the same as when I was a kid and was caught sleeping in embroidery class by my dad.

Even better.

Jiang Rao rushed back immediately, extremely nervous, with her eyes downcast and head lowered, "Dad, why are you here so late?"

"You didn't even tell your daughter." She muttered, "Your daughter should go and greet Daddy."

Her heart was pounding.

Just now, Rong Ting told her that he didn't wait long today, but he looked worried, which made her feel guilty and uneasy. She invited Rong Ting to stay at her house on the grounds that the journey was far.

But he didn't agree because of his leg injury. She felt a little guilty. Now it seems that it's a good thing he didn't agree.

Otherwise, if her father saw him, his legs would probably be injured again.

"Hypocritical." Although Fourth Master Jiang said so, his expression became much better when he saw her, but with a slight suspicion, "Where did you go crazy? The soles of your shoes are all covered with mud."

Jiang Rao lowered her eyes to glance at the soles of her shoes, and sure enough, they were covered in mud. She smiled unnaturally, "Dad, I just went to the lotus pond in the backyard to admire the flowers."

"The flowers in the backyard haven't bloomed yet. What are you admiring?"

Jiang Rao immediately changed the topic, "Appreciating the bamboo."

Fourth Master Jiang glanced at her, then looked at Ming Shao and Jiang Ping behind her. He always felt that something was strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

I wanted to turn around and leave, but suddenly I remembered the purpose of my trip.

He turned around and said, "Daddy will confine you for a day today..."

Jiang Rao listened attentively.

Fourth Master Jiang thought about his purpose of not wanting to make his daughter angry, and after thinking about it, he didn't know what to say. He was silent for a while and decided to use the wording he had thought of on the way here.

"Actually, it was your mother's idea to confine you. She said she wanted to confine you for a few more days, but with your father's help, it was limited to just one day."

Jiang Rao: “Hmm?”

Fourth Master Jiang said calmly, "Yes."

He was very pleased with his clever rhetoric.

Take an unconventional approach and divert disaster to others.

Apart from the risk of being locked in the study, there is nothing wrong with it.

Jiang Rao couldn't help laughing.

If her brother hadn't informed her, she might not have changed her mind.

But now, who is Dad trying to fool...

She endured it, knowing that he was afraid that she would be angry, and said obediently: "Daddy, I know I'm wrong, I'm not angry with you."

Fourth Master Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, and then heard his daughter trying to hold back her laughter and say, "But if Daddy talks like this, Mom will be angry if she hears it."

Seeing that she was not fooled, Fourth Master Jiang coughed and said, "Don't tell your mother."

He became serious, "Niannian, you know that Daddy confined you not only because you came home late."

He once again had the expression of an old father who was worried sick. "Niannian and that kid from the west of the city are getting closer and closer. She doesn't even come home. Daddy has been thinking about the scene of Niannian getting married in the future. I feel uncomfortable. I'm confining you to remind you that as a girl, you should be more reserved."

Jiang Rao was almost choked to death by the air.

There is such a big gap between just strolling down the street and getting married, Daddy can also imagine that.

"In fact, when you were just born, you were almost engaged to a ninth prince."

Fourth Master Jiang's tone gradually became serious.

Jiang Rao was stunned.

This was the first time she had heard of this.

"But I rejected it, so the marriage was not finalized."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

I was originally a single person, but suddenly heard that I was engaged to someone. It was really unexpected.

"A woman's marriage is supposed to be arranged by her parents and the matchmaker. But I don't like this set of rules. I always think that if I really like my husband every year, I will be happy every year in the future."

Jiang Rao was feeling a little touched when she heard Fourth Master Jiang sigh, "But now, I feel that if I really meet someone I like, I have to check if he is the right person. It seems to make sense that parents decide and matchmakers decide."

Jiang Rao: “…”

Seeing her father was worried, she raised her hand and smoothed the frown on his brow, "Dad, you're thinking too early."

She was so young, how could she have thought carefully about what her future husband would look like?

She suddenly became curious, "Dad rejected the marriage with the Ninth Prince just because I might not like it?"

"That's not all." Fourth Master Jiang said, "The Ninth Prince was born to a palace maid, so his family background is too low. There has been no news about him in recent days, and it's hard to say whether he is dead or alive."

Jiang Rao heard this and sighed sadly, "He is so pitiful."

…

The next day. Post station.

Jiang Rao was wearing a cone hat and inconspicuous clothes, and had been waiting here.

His eyes scanned everyone entering the city one by one.

But no one looked like the person in her dream.

I waited until noon.

The sun was bright, and the postman changed shifts. Jiang Ping asked Jiang Rao, "Miss, do you want to go back and rest for a while?"

Jiang Rao covered her yawn with her hand and said wearily, "I can't leave."

Only she knew what the man in green and his horse in the dream looked like.

There was the sound of horse hooves at the city gate.

Jiang Rao's tiredness disappeared and her eyes brightened.

The blue clothes and brown horse...that was the man in her dream.

She stood up and walked to the man in green. "Where are you from, sir?"

The man in blue looked at her warily and did not answer.

talk.

But the postman at the post station was arranged by Jiang Ping yesterday, and he immediately followed her words and asked, "Where are you from?"

The man in green could only say, "Ci County."

lie.

Jiang Rao narrowed her eyes. It was obviously someone from Jinling.

But he smiled and said, "Another foreigner."

She turned around and pretended to be nonchalant, saying to a postman beside her: "This foreigner is not familiar with the climate of our Yecheng, so it is easy for something to go wrong. The fire in the west of the city a few days ago was really big."

The postman who had long been bribed by Jiang Rao also agreed, "Light an open fire at night. It's dry here and it's easy to start a fire."

But when the man in green heard about the fire in the west of the city, his ears pricked up, "There's a fire in the west of the city?"

"Yes, it was a great fire. Who was it? The house was all destroyed."

The postman replied, "The house of the young master from Jinling who was recuperating here was destroyed, and he almost died."

When the postman spoke, their words seemed particularly credible.

The man in green's expression changed immediately.

"Where is he now?" he asked anxiously.

Postman: "He lives in a shabby house in the east of the city. He is pitiful."

Jiang Rao: "Which one?"

The man in green also pricked up his ears and listened.

Postman: "The one beside the stream."

Jiang Rao: "Oh, I see."

The man in green was anxious, "I don't know!"

"Sir, are you going to look for him?" Jiang Rao acted very much like a show, pretending to be surprised, "Then I'll show you the way."

The man in green was naturally very happy and waited for Jiang Rao to go first, but seeing that he did not move for a long time, he spread his hands towards him.

The man in green understood and took out some silver from his pocket and gave it to Jiang Rao.

Holding the silver coins in her palm, Jiang Rao smiled playfully, with dimples appearing on her face, making her look more and more like a money-grubber.

She was the first to stand up and move forward.

Seeing that she was greedy for money, the man in green lost all his suspicion and followed her.

In the east of the city, the servants with high martial arts skills arranged by Jiang Rao were well fed and waiting for them to arrive.

…

Not far away, there was a pair of eyes watching the man in green and Jiang Rao chatting happily, and their eyes became colder and colder.

Rong Ting's figure was hidden under a tree.

He remained silent and looked towards the post station.

He recognized the man in green, with a snake tied with silver thread on the corner of his clothes. They are assassins and people close to the queen.

Watching the assassin hand the money to Jiang Rao.

Rong Ting lowered his eyes, his gaze frozen.