Chapter 59 Xiao Mingzhang, I have no more obsession with you...

Yunzhu lived in Hanze Town for three whole years.

For three whole years, I never encountered anything unsafe.

The biggest trouble is none other than Xiao Mingzhang right in front of us.

But Xiao Mingzhang insisted on taking her home.

They were neighbors, and once she stepped out of Xiao Mingzhang's courtyard, she was at his doorstep. As soon as Yunzhu left, she saw Ayan waiting outside.

Ever since Yunzhu left tonight, Ayan had been waiting outside the door. Now that she saw Xiao Mingzhang personally bringing someone back, she immediately went forward, separating herself between Yunzhu and him, and watching the newcomer warily.

Xiao Mingzhang didn't say much to Ayan. His gaze passed over Ayan and remained fixed on Yunzhu. He asked cautiously, "Yunzhu, may I come to see you and Azhi off tomorrow?"

"No!" As soon as Xiao Mingzhang said this, not only Yunzhu but also Ayan answered him.

Ayan had no idea what had happened between the two. She kept protecting Yunzhu and shouted, "You surnamed Xiao, what exactly do you want to do?"

Surname Xiao? This was the first time Xiao Mingzhang had ever heard of such a name from the two women, mistress and servant, who addressed him in secret.

He finally answered Ayan, "I don't want to do anything, I just want to make amends to Yunzhu and Azhi."

Make up for Yunzhu and Azhi? Ayan really laughed when she heard this. She was about to go up and say a few sarcastic words when Yunzhu grabbed her sleeve.

Yunzhu gently shook her head at Ayan, then turned to Xiao Mingzhang and said, "Azhi and I don't need you to see us off, not tomorrow, not the day after. You've said so much tonight, and I have a general idea of ​​what's going on. But Xiao Mingzhang, I still want to tell you that I don't want to go back. Right now, I don't want to go anywhere else but here. This is my home."

This was the result of Yunzhu's careful consideration, a short walk from his door to hers.

Tonight, Xiao Mingzhang explained his predicament to her and the actions he hadn't taken back then. But whether Yunzhu listened or not was one thing, and whether she reconsidered her relationship with Xiao Mingzhang was another.

Both sides had their own difficulties back then, and since he had explained it that way, she would just believe him for the time being. But now she had truly gotten used to life here, used to this free and unrestrained land. Even though the Huan Prince's Mansion no longer had any restrictions on her, she still didn't want to go back.

She no longer wanted to be the Crown Prince's wife, no longer wanted to shoulder those unwarranted responsibilities.

"Yunzhu..."

Xiao Mingzhang shook his head. No, this was not the result he wanted after being honest with Yunzhu. Just as words welled up in his throat, he heard Yunzhu say, "Xiao Mingzhang, the reason I can still stand here and talk to you properly is because I have let go of everything from the past. Your words tonight have indeed made me feel much more at ease. I have no more obsession with the past, and I have no more obsession with you either. So you don't need to be so attached to me anymore. Go back to where you belong and do what you should do."

Xiao Mingzhang, your words tonight have brought me peace... I have no more attachment to the past, nor to you... So I will go on living the life I am meant to live, and you should go on living the life you are meant to live...

If Xiao Mingzhang had known that this was what he would get after confessing, he would never have told Yunzhu these things under any circumstances.

He reached out, still wanting to reach for Yunzhu, but after Yunzhu finished speaking, she had already entered the house under Ayan's escort.

Ayan braced herself against the two courtyard gates, glared at Xiao Mingzhang, and quickly closed the gates in front of him, leaving him no trace.

Xiao Mingzhang was left standing there, the autumn wind and the moonlight falling on him alone.

—

After returning to her room, Yunzhu didn't rush to tell Ayan what had happened that night.

Ayan wasn't in a hurry to ask. She simply followed Yunzhu and served her a bowl of lotus seed soup that she had simmered that evening.

The lotus seed soup was kept on the stove and simmered over low heat without cooling down. When Yunzhu chewed it, the lotus seeds in her mouth turned into fine powder.

After finishing the lotus seed soup, Yunzhu took the initiative to tell Ayan about what happened that night.

Ayan was both astonished and horrified, finally understanding why Xiao Mingzhang had the confidence to say such things.

“Princess, do not believe his words!” Ayan said excitedly. “Is it true that he never really wanted to kill us? Is it true that he has taken care of everything at home? Is it true that he can promise you the position of Empress? He only said he would consider your death when he was being questioned by a few advisors. If he insists on making you Empress in the future, he will face countless civil and military officials. Can he guarantee that he will not waver under their words and will not break his promise?”

Having received several more years of education, Ayan now speaks with perfect logic and order.

Yunzhu looked at Ayan with satisfaction, nodding her head repeatedly.

These were all things she had considered.

But perhaps there was still some past affection involved, or perhaps, all these years, she had actually been waiting for Xiao Mingzhang to give her an explanation. After hearing Xiao Mingzhang's explanation tonight, Yunzhu felt a mix of emotions and did not immediately choose to deny it.

But she didn't rush to believe it.

It wasn't until she stepped out of Xiao Mingzhang's courtyard and saw Ayan waiting for her at the gate that she understood everything.

Because of their past friendship, she was willing to believe Xiao Mingzhang for a while and accept his explanation. But no matter how much she believed, that was the limit. She didn't want to go back to the life she had with Xiao Mingzhang before. She cherished her current freedom and everything she had.

"It's good that the princess has her own plans."

Ayan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Yunzhu's plan.

What she feared most was that Yunzhu, after hearing Xiao Mingzhang's explanation, would lose her senses and want to go with him. Now it seems that Yunzhu has no such intention.

"Princess, will that man surnamed Xiao really leave tonight after listening to your words?" Ayan asked Yunzhu again. "If he still doesn't want to leave, what should we do if we see him again tomorrow?"

"What should we do?" Yunzhu pondered. She had already experienced the worst tonight. She thought that with her words, Xiao Mingzhang would no longer want to act rashly.

If he wants to stay here, so be it. She'll just act as if he doesn't exist, no matter what.

Thinking this way, she told Ayan the same thing.

Ayan nodded, naturally listening to Yunzhu's every word.

—

Xiao Mingzhang's original plan to force Yunzhu to go home with him failed. In just one night, he returned to his daily routine of helplessly following behind Yunzhu and his daughter.

At first, Yunzhu tried to chase him away a few times, but after seeing that she couldn't get rid of him no matter what she did, she stopped chasing him and simply chose to ignore him.

Yunzhu still held the same idea: as long as she and her daughter persisted long enough, as long as she continued to disregard Xiao Mingzhang, and as long as Xiao Mingzhang did not go crazy like he did that night, then in the end, it would be him who could no longer stay here and would have to leave.

He has his own identity and his own mission, and he is destined not to stay here for long.

However, what Yunzhu didn't expect was that, before Xiao Mingzhang left, within a few days, the villagers in the town had all heard the news: Master Mu's elder brother had moved into the house across from hers and was staying with her and her daughter every day in order to invite Master Mu to come home!

Yunzhu found these rumors amusing; Xiao Mingzhang, however, offered no explanation.

He knew that Yunzhu did not want to easily reveal her identity. If he forced an explanation to the outside world, the friendship he had just built with Yunzhu would probably be lost again.

He then let it be.

In this town, only one person knew his identity: the horse trader Zhang Xingyuan.

This man surnamed Zhang had been warned by him not to reveal his identity carelessly, so he absolutely dared not talk about it to outsiders.

That day, Xiao Mingzhang escorted Yunzhu and the young girl Mu Zhaozhi to the school. Yunzhu told her daughter to go into the school first, and then, unusually, she turned back to look at Xiao Mingzhang and said, "You don't need to come again this evening."

"You're going to the grasslands to teach horseback riding?" Xiao Mingzhang asked knowingly.

Yunzhu nodded.

Xiao Mingzhang then said, "Then I will come to pick up Azhi, so there's no need to trouble Ayan to come again."

“Azhi doesn’t need you to answer,” Yunzhu said.

Today is the fifth birthday of Zhang Helai, the son of Zhang Xingyuan, the biggest horse merchant in town. A few days ago, he invited all the children in the school to his house for longevity noodles at noon today. In the afternoon, the children simply played at his house, and the school did not hold classes.

Xiao Mingzhang understood.

He said, "Then I'll wait for Azhi outside his house."

"You're not allowed to go!" Yunzhu said urgently again.

In the past few days, although Xiao Mingzhang had been following behind them, Yunzhu still hadn't explained his identity to her daughter.

Azhi was very clever, and Yunzhu knew it too. She probably already guessed Xiao Mingzhang's identity, but in any case, as long as she didn't expose the truth, she could still pretend that her daughter didn't know or didn't want her daughter to have too much contact with Xiao Mingzhang.

Seeing Yunzhu's anxious expression, Xiao Mingzhang quickly guessed what she was thinking.

He slowly lowered his eyelashes, his fist clenching and unclenching repeatedly, and said, "Then I'll have someone keep watch from a distance. Let Ayan handle the task of picking her up, okay?"

"..."

Yunzhu remained silent, which meant she acquiesced.

She lifted her skirt and turned around, not looking at Xiao Mingzhang again.

From that day on, Yunzhu felt that she and Xiao Mingzhang seemed to have fallen into many strange situations. She no longer hated or resented Xiao Mingzhang, but he still clung to her and refused to leave.

She ignored him, as if he didn't exist. But no matter how much she ignored Xiao Mingzhang, he would always come into contact with her daughter when he was by her side.

Yes, it's her daughter.

Yunzhu still refuses to admit that Mu Zhaozhi has half of Xiao Mingzhang's blood.

His contact with Mu Zhaozhi gave Yunzhu a headache and made her feel troubled.

But she still doesn't have a good solution.

She and Xiao Mingzhang had said everything they needed to say. He didn't want to leave, and she didn't want to abruptly leave the home where they had lived for so many years with Mu Zhaozhi. So they remained in this awkward stalemate.

Today is her friend's birthday, so for the first time this month, the little girl Mu Zhaozhi didn't have lunch with her mother at noon, but instead went to Zhang Helai's house.

The Zhang family was the wealthiest horse trading family in town, and they arranged a lavish and respectable celebration for their child's fifth birthday.

The banquet was divided into two tables. Zhang Helai, as the birthday boy, sat at one table with his elders and relatives, while the children from the school were seated at the other table.

Today, Mu Zhaozhi wore a pale yellow dress with a pink butterfly embroidered on the button in front. She was small and easily blended into the group of children.

The birthday gift she prepared for Zhang Helai was a small but exquisite blue and white porcelain pen holder. She and her mother chose the design and she made it herself. After giving the gift, she was going to sit with her classmates at school.

Unexpectedly, she had only taken two steps toward the table when someone patted her on the shoulder.

Mu Zhaozhi turned around and saw Zhang Helai's father, Zhang Xingyuan.

"Uncle Zhang!" Mu Zhaozhi greeted him.

"Yes!" Zhang Xingyuan replied with a grin.

Unaware of Zhang Xingyuan's purpose, Mu Zhaozhi greeted him and then headed back to her friends.

But Zhang Xingyuan called her back again.

"Ah Zhi!" Zhang Xingyuan bent down and said to her in a kind voice, "You've come to the wrong place. There's an empty seat next to our Helai. Go there and sit with our Helai today, how about it?"