Chapter 23: Leaving and Taking the First Step.

Banners fluttered in the north wind, accompanied by the neighing of warhorses and the rustling of leather armor. Birds perched on the treetops were suddenly awakened and flapped their wings to fly away.

In the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight.

Shi Wan stood inside the house, staring almost obsessively into the distance until all the sounds blocked by the bricks and tiles disappeared, and she could no longer detect the slightest movement from Jiang Xu's side.

In a short while, the bugle sounded, and all was gone in an instant.

......

Before noon, the group of people left the city.

Jiang Xu held the reins in one hand, fine beads of sweat sliding down his wheat-colored skin and disappearing into his leather armor. The cicadas' shrill chirping, with its drawn-out melody, was somewhat irritating and annoying.

He suddenly reined in his horse and glanced back in the direction of Jichuan.

Beside him, Xiao Chijie seemed to sense something. "Is Your Majesty reluctant to part with him?" He had just returned from Taoyuan City and had heard from his colleagues about the many things that had happened in Jichuan recently. Seeing this, he naturally had some guesses. When he saw that Jiang Xu did not deny it but looked over, he immediately had a flash of inspiration and said, "My wife is the same way. She likes to overthink and also worries."

Jiang Xu remained noncommittal, saying, "She's been married to you for several years, so it's only natural for her to worry about you."

He and Wan'er were different.

I don't feel at ease unless I have someone by my side.

However, Jiang Xu considered himself not to be such a petty man. In any case, if he was keeping her cooped up, it wouldn't hurt to let her out for a bit of fresh air.

Xiao Chijie smiled slightly, seemingly a little embarrassed, "I made all the necessary arrangements at home before I left, and with my mother's help, I'm sure there won't be any problems."

After laying the groundwork, he continued, "As for my wife... I wrote her a letter and spent some time with her to comfort her." He seemed to have a lot of experience with this, his eyes constantly glancing at the person beside him. "Only in this way can a marriage last."

He had already shared his experience with the king yesterday regarding the letter-writing matter, and the king seemed quite composed, so he probably had already put it into practice.

If that's the case, then... simply writing letters might not be enough?

After thinking it through, Xiao Chijie quickly moved closer to the side and continued to mutter his so-called brilliant plan.

Behind them, Jing Yin and Jing Yan lagged a little behind.

The two walked side by side. Jing Yin saw Xiao Chijie suddenly lean in and whisper in the king's ear, and scoffed, "This guy was also a scout, commanding an army, but now he looks like a eunuch?"

Upon hearing this, Jing Yan immediately reassured him, "With him here, you'll have less work to do." His younger brother was always taciturn in front of outsiders, but he also had a personality that needed protection, so he couldn't help but worry. This was also one of the reasons why he specially called Xiao Chijie back this time.

His gaze involuntarily shifted, landing on his younger brother, a boy of seventeen or eighteen, who had gone to war with him and looked like a spirited little chick.

The little chick protested, "I think she's acting suspiciously. What if she's a long-term scheme to lure our king in? What should we do then?"

"Ahem." Jing Yan focused his gaze on him, his voice carrying a reminder, "Miss Wan'er is someone the King values ​​highly, so don't be rude."

Jing Yin muttered something under his breath, but ultimately wouldn't offend his brother, so after a while he obediently responded.

*

Inside the mansion.

Shi Wan stood there for a while before collapsing back onto the couch, panting heavily as if she had lost all her strength.

Her rapid breathing seemed to finally release all the tension and repression of the past few days, and even the slight hesitation she had felt in her daze was gone.

After lunch, Yu'er came to bring her medicine as usual. The little girl stammered, "Sister Wan'er, the King left you a letter and specifically ordered me to deliver it to you."

In fact, Jiang Xu had been keeping an eye on her all along, and Shi Wan was aware of this, but she did not expect that this person would have such a tender side.

They've even started writing those damn letters?

It's simply unbelievable.

Seeing Yu'er place the letter on the table, he then asked casually, "Is this a letter left by the King?"

Seeing Yu'er nod, she remained silent for a moment.

Shi Wan had previously worked at Willow Terrace and was not unfamiliar with such methods.

But these methods... are mostly used by women on men. Now that the order is reversed, she felt a strange mix of emotions.

His behavior always gave them the illusion that they were just an ordinary couple.

After taking her medicine, Yu'er noticed that Shi Wan seemed restless, so she offered to stand guard at the door. Only after everyone left did Shi Wan open the first letter and begin to read it.

She skimmed through it, and after a quick look, she was deeply moved.

Although the letter contained only a few dozen words, it was undoubtedly a lot for Jiang Xu.

Secondly, the letter contained a message telling her not to believe rumors or overthink things, and to stay by his side with peace of mind.

This statement is quite pointed, as if it were directed at a specific person.

For no apparent reason, Shi Wan thought of the daughter of Jiang Xu's mentor, whom Liu Ying had mentioned.

Sure enough, Jiang Xu knew about her going out for fun these past few days; otherwise, why would he have added that sentence out of the blue?

They had only known each other for less than three months, yet Jiang Xu was already so deeply in love with her?

Lately... he's been making similar promises all the time.

This is not a good thing.

Even if it's not true, it means that this person is paying more and more attention to her. If he's still interested, then there will probably be more and more people watching her, both openly and secretly.

After all, Jiang Xu's waiting and appeasement strategies were all based on the premise that she stayed by his side.

Shi Wan quickly suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and carefully put away all the letters.

For her, a moment of distraction was enough.

It was just a beautiful dream, washed away by the rain, and when I woke up in the afternoon, the dream was over.

It will also fade over time.

......

July 4th coincides with the Lesser Heat solar term.

The sunlight was scorching and extremely dazzling; the viscous liquid dripped onto the ground, as if it could instantly burn a hole in it.

Today was the day she had agreed to meet Liu Ying, and Shi Wan was inevitably excited, unable to sleep well all night.

As usual, when it was time to take her medicine, Yu'er unexpectedly brought another letter, which was also written by Jiang Xu.

The content of this letter was clearly different from the first one. In addition to simple greetings and admonitions, there were also more... sweet words and romantic phrases, which filled almost the entire page, showing the care the man put into writing this letter.

Shi Wan read through the entire text without being moved, and even frowned when she caught sight of some surprising words.

Jiang Xu...could he have been possessed?

He didn't think he was being that deeply in love with her, did he?

What is the purpose of writing these sarcastic remarks?

As she was pondering this, Liu Ying arrived at the door as promised and asked her to go out and buy some things.

Liu Ying stood at the doorway. It was late afternoon, and golden light was streaming into the room from outside, the tiny beams of light seemingly illuminating even the dust in the air.

In the stillness, a golden trajectory is drawn, leading straight outward.

It resembles a long road.

All that's left is for her to take the first step.