After leaving the Fourth Prince's residence, the carriage quickly arrived at Jiang Shuwan's county princess residence.

The county magistrate's residence was also built on Zhuque Street.

The old emperor was generous, allocating ample space for Jiang Shuwan, and the money was allocated by Pei Yanzhi at the time, so the county princess's mansion was built quite luxuriously.

However, Jiang Shuwan preferred the delicate charm of the Jiangnan water towns, so the county magistrate's mansion gave people the feeling of a refined and beautiful landscape with pavilions and towers arranged in a well-ordered manner and exquisite carvings and paintings.

It's just the wrong season. In November, even the most beautiful flowers, leaves, and foliage have almost all fallen off.

Fortunately, the old emperor recently bestowed a batch of green chrysanthemums upon Jiang Shuwan, otherwise they would have found the garden utterly deserted.

However, Li Chengyun's mind was not actually on strolling through the garden.

The man, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, strolled leisurely forward, glancing at Jiang Shuwan beside him with a smile.

"The county princess is truly refined. Not only did she greet me at the gate of the county princess's residence, but she also personally led me around the garden. This is quite different from your usual self!"

As he spoke, Li Chengyun lowered his voice and leaned half of his body towards Jiang Shuwan.

His teasing gaze landed on Jiang Shuwan's face with a smile.

The girl's delicate oval face had eyes as beautiful as stars.

"Not at all. Your presence would be an honor for my humble abode. How could I possibly entrust it to someone else?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengyun immediately let out a low laugh.

That's really interesting.

He used to want Jiang Shuwan to call him Fourth Brother, but Jiang Shuwan refused no matter what.

Now people keep calling him "Fourth Brother".

Such sweet words...

Could it be that you need something from him?

"Fourth Brother, come inside. I've prepared tea and snacks, and I've also invited the most famous opera troupe in the capital. Fourth Brother, please taste their performance and see how well they sing."

"..."

This was something Li Chengyun hadn't anticipated.

Jiang Shuwan had previously invited him to watch a play, but it was just to tease him.

Now things have really taken a turn for the worse... their relationship has truly reversed...

It seems their demands are indeed quite high.

After some thought, Li Chengyun followed Jiang Shuwan into the room. Seats had already been set up by the window facing the stage, with wine, fruit, snacks and all sorts of other refreshments.

As soon as Jiang Shuwan sat down, she first toasted Li Chengyun.

Then, with the sound of gongs and drums, the show began.

They both listened quietly, drinking as they listened.

Jiang Shuwan has a high alcohol tolerance, and today she came with a mission, so her alcohol tolerance is like the sea. She toasted him cup after cup, and Li Chengyun couldn't figure out her intentions, so he could only drink cup after cup.

It wasn't until Jiang Shuwan talked to him about the play on stage that he began to understand.

The story being performed is about a man burdened with a deep-seated grudge who spends ten years lying low to seek revenge.

Were you present at Shilipo?

Jiang Shuwan had just finished recounting a few lines about the plot on stage, and before she could even speak about Jiang Yao, she saw Li Chengyun suddenly stand up.

Jiang Shuwan nodded subconsciously, and the man's face immediately turned as cold as ice. The next second, he turned and walked out.

Jiang Shuwan quickly got up and chased after her.

"No, why are you leaving? I haven't even said anything yet..."

As she spoke, she reached for his arm, but before she could touch it, several guards jumped down from the roof.

The servants and guards in this area had all been cleared out, and General Gu and his men were naturally not among them. When they saw Li Chengyun's guards draw their swords, General Gu and his men also emerged from the shadows.

The two sides immediately started fighting, and General Gu even pulled Jiang Shuwan back.

"Princess, leave quickly! They're trying to kill us..."

"..."

What did you do?

Are they going to kill her?

Li Chengyun didn't think she was going to threaten him, did he...?

"Wait, stop hitting! It's a misunderstanding!"

Jiang Shuwan jumped up and down in a panic, lunging forward to try and get both sides to stop, but General Gu pulled her back. One in front of the other, Jiang Shuwan accidentally fell into the flower bed.

"Princess!"

General Gu exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm fine!"

Jiang Shuwan's muffled voice came from the flower bed. The soil in the flower bed was newly filled and had not been compacted. Apart from her face being covered in mud and her nose hurting a little, she was not injured.

She vigorously wiped the dirt from her eyes, and seeing that the fight was getting increasingly brutal, with blood being drawn, Jiang Shuwan screamed in despair.

"Can you please let me finish? I didn't mean to threaten you, I just want to beg you to spare Jiang Yao—"

Jiang Shuwan's angry shouts startled a flock of birds away, and both sides were subdued by the force of her roar.

They looked at each other in surprise and didn't make a move. Li Chengyun also watched in astonishment.

The man's expression was blank.

He stared blankly at Jiang Shuwan.

At that moment, peach blossoms flew past his eyes.

"Found you!"

—Four dramatic words flashed through the man's mind. His body reacted before his brain could process them, and he pulled Jiang Shuwan up.

He reached out and touched the mud on her face.

"..."

Jiang Shuwan was stunned by his actions, but fortunately General Gu stood in front of her. However, Li Chengyun still sneered, "I've been looking for you for so long!"

"..."

What? That's a complaining, woman-like tone.

"Come in, we really should have a talk."

Li Chengyun said this and then went back into the house with a flick of his sleeve.

What's wrong?

What's wrong with the fourth brother?

Jiang Shuwan followed him in, still a little dazed. After a cup of tea, she was completely sober.

She covered her face halfway, not daring to look at Li Chengyun's aggressive gaze.

"I don't understand what you're saying. I'm just a well-bred young lady who never leaves her home..."

"Which well-bred young lady doesn't stay at home embroidering and do business outside every day?"

"It's because I'm short of money, you know what I mean by being short of money. Actually, I'm very gentle, I never go to any desolate mountains or wilderness..."

"Oh……"

Li Chengyun sneered and looked at her. Just when Jiang Shuwan thought she had escaped, Song Huaizhang arrived.

"Your Highness, we have investigated and confirmed that when Lord Jiang was transferred to the capital, he did indeed pass through Pingzhou, and the time was the same as when we went to Pingzhou."

As Song Huaizhang spoke, he looked at Jiang Shuwan with a mixture of surprise and awe.

Jiang Shuwan: "..."

Oh my god~~~~~

Horrible~~~~~~

I want to go home~~~~~~~

wrong.

This is my home!

Jiang Shuwan buried her head in her shoulder, feeling utterly hopeless about life.

The next second, she suddenly looked up at Li Chengyun.

"You can't blame me for breaking my promise. It's true that I said I would help you, but only on the condition that you let me go. But it wasn't you who let me go. There were soldiers searching the mountain, and I cleverly ran away. So my promise doesn't count."

Staring at Li Chengyun, Jiang Shuwan spoke with conviction.

She felt she could still struggle a little longer.

"With your speed and your back wide open, if I hadn't intentionally let you go, would you have been able to escape?" Li Chengyun said through gritted teeth. "Do you know that I've been looking for you all these years?"

"You should have recognized me by now, right?"

"Are you avoiding me?"