Chapter 62 Hua Jinfan: He carried the surging emotions that followed the release of pent-up emotions...

Seeing Jiang Yunjin looking at her inquisitively, Cui Yiluo suppressed her heart, which was beating even faster. Her bright eyes tried her best to show innocence, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly like butterfly wings.

If Jiang Yunjin saw Yuan Ling and her coming out one after the other, he would surely guess that she had used conditions to get Yuan Ling to investigate her background. He was too smart and wouldn't allow any changes to happen. She was the best pawn to separate the Fifth Prince from the Chu family.

Cui Yiluo hardened her heart, her fingers sliding down Jiang Yunjin's sleeve like a soft, babbling brook, and grasped his well-defined hand.

The soft flesh wrapped around him, but Jiang Yunjin's hand, which was being held, stiffened like pine wood, with veins and knuckles bulging, awkwardly gripping hers in return.

"Husband, it's so cold here," Cui Yiluo urged.

He then responded, gently pursing his lips and humming in agreement before getting into the carriage.

Cui Yiluo secretly breathed a sigh of relief when the carriage door was completely closed.

"Are you sick?"

Cui Yiluo was untying her cloak when her fingers, which were holding the pale yellow ribbon, paused. A hint of wariness flashed in her lowered eyes, but she continued to pull the ribbon open as if nothing had happened.

Why do you ask that, my husband?

"Your pulse was beating very fast just now."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it struck her like a thunderclap. Jiang Yunjin was indeed perceptive; after holding hands for only a few moments, he could sense the nervousness in her heart.

Is he testing her now? If he notices something amiss, he'll definitely send someone to investigate what she did after entering Baoming Temple. Back when the Cui family came to Shengjing, she wasn't calm enough, which allowed him to discover something was wrong and uncover everything.

In an instant, Cui Yiluo's mind raced. She casually put down her cloak, turned to the side of Jiang Yunjin, and said in a slightly shy voice, "I was a little surprised to see my husband so suddenly."

An unexpected event can be a pleasant surprise. Cui Yiluo didn't say it directly, but her tone and the expression on her profile conveyed this sentiment.

Jiang Yunjin indeed did not ask any further questions, and his fingers, which were resting properly on his knees, were slightly bent.

Cui Yiluo straightened her cloak, sat up straight, and asked naturally and smoothly, "Shouldn't my husband be on duty at the government office at this hour? Why are you at Baoming Temple?"

He stood in front of the carriage, clearly knowing that she was at the temple. Everyone in the manor knew that she had gone to Baoming Temple to offer incense, so it was not surprising that he knew. But why did he come from the manor to Baoming Temple? He couldn't have come to take her back to the manor. Could it be that he knew something and came here on purpose?

This guess made Cui Yiluo's heart tighten and feel somewhat bitter.

Jiang Yunjin succinctly stated: "I had some official business in the suburbs, and on my way back I happened to see the carriage from the manor."

It was just a coincidence. Cui Yiluo breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart sank again.

The carriage sped through the familiar mountain road toward Shengjing. Cui Yiluo looked through the paper window at the blurry withered branches and yellow earth outside and suddenly remembered that last time she deliberately made him miss the time when the city gate closed, so that he had to stay in the temple with her for a night. When they came down the mountain the next day, his attitude toward her had not changed. She sat in the carriage and he rode ahead on horseback.

"Yi Luo".

He suddenly spoke, pulling her out of the shallow tide of memories.

His tone was somewhat low: "I need to set off for Yunzhou the day after tomorrow to deal with the famine."

Is he leaving Shengjing?

Cui Yilu asked instinctively, "How long will it take?"

Jiang Yunjin's gaze was somewhat heavy, and he seemed reluctant to leave Shengjing, but since it was official business, he could not refuse. "It will take almost a month."

January. She wouldn't see him again until the twelfth lunar month.

Cui Yiluo suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. She didn't understand why she felt this way; she longed to stay away from him, and after thinking about it, she realized it was just habit at play. They had shared a bed for so many days, and suddenly having one less person beside her inevitably left her feeling empty.

Whether or not he noticed her emotions, Jiang Yunjin spoke again: "I will return to the capital as soon as possible."

When Cui Yiluo looked up again, her expression had returned to normal. She smiled slightly and said in a casual tone, "My husband's official duties are important."

Inside the carriage, the incense burner on the table emitted a cool and elegant fragrance, while the charcoal brazier occasionally crackled softly, filling the empty silence.

Jiang Yunjin, sitting on the other side of the couch, stared intently at her face, his dark eyes seeming to gleam with a fleeting glimmer of light before quickly falling away.

He was to travel to Yunzhou the day after tomorrow. The report about Yunzhou had been sent to his study. After dinner, Jiang Yunjin returned to his study.

"Young master."

At the doorway, Wen Feng cautiously observed the man sitting upright at his desk, his pen moving with effortless grace, a sense of dread washing over him. Both pieces of news were things the young master feared most, yet, loyal to him, he had no choice but to report them.

"Enter."

Wen Feng entered the study and stopped a few steps away from the desk. Jiang Yunjin was busy and didn't have time to look up at him, but this made Wen Feng even more uneasy, as if he were standing on a board of needles.

"What is it?"

Just as Wen Feng was about to speak, Jiang Yunjin asked a question, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Young Master, not long after you and the young mistress returned, another person came out of Baoming Temple..."

As soon as the pen stopped, the rich ink instantly spread across the snow-white paper, creating a dark dot that stood out starkly.

Wen Feng's heart skipped a beat.

"Yuan Ling?"

Jiang Yunjin lowered his eyes and calmly placed the brush back on the celadon landscape brush holder. His expression was obscured by his lowered eyes, but his face was already gloomy, as if a storm was brewing.

"Yes..." Wen Feng replied, then quickly reassured her, "However, Commander Yuan did not come out with the young mistress. Perhaps they just happened to go to Baoming Temple to offer incense? Besides, Lilan has been by the young mistress's side all day."

Although he tried to comfort him, his tone was unsteady, clearly indicating that he was feeling uneasy.

coincide.

Jiang Yunjin's eyes darkened as he recalled Cui Yiluo's unusual initiative in front of the carriage over the past few days.

Taking the initiative to link arms with him, hold his hand, and smile at him is not to appease my anger, but simply to prevent him from finding out.

Seeing Jiang Yunjin's face darken rapidly, Wen Feng felt even more troubled. Just as he was struggling with how to report the next matter, he suddenly heard Jiang Yunjin's hesitant voice echo in the quiet study: "Compared to me, how does Yuan Ling's temperament compare?"

Unlike him, he is not rigid, nor is he boring.

Wen Feng was stunned: "Young Master..."

"Enough, step down." Jiang Yunjin stared at the ink spots on the snow-white paper, his whole body exuding a heavy pressure. He was about to pick up the pen again, but his other hand gripped the paperweight so hard that it turned white.

“There’s one more thing,” Wen Feng said, seeing Jiang Yunjin so emotionally exposed for the first time. He dared not continue and forced himself to say, “The young mistress secretly ordered one of the guards we sent to escort the Cui family to deliver a message. Last time, that man was caught red-handed when he delivered the letter to the young mistress and has already confessed.”

Jiang Yunjin gave a faint "hmm," seemingly unsurprised, as if he had already anticipated this.

But what happened next was something he could never have guessed. Wen Feng's heart pounded, and he continued, "That guard was the one who alerted you, young master, when the young mistress was attacked on the mountain path..."

Wen Feng was a little puzzled at the time. This guard was not usually very skilled in martial arts, so how could he have broken through the encirclement? Now it seems that he was not in the group from the beginning, but was waiting in advance on the road that the young master would definitely take back to the mansion.

Jiang Yunjin paused, his hand holding the pen still.

"I investigated and found that the assassins were originally hired by the young mistress... but the Fifth Prince replaced them with real assassins."

After hearing the news, he dared not utter a sound.

The young mistress hired someone to assassinate her and then sent a guard to inform the young master. Her motives were almost obvious, and the young master detested being schemed against.

"Understood. Have the guard reply to the young mistress as usual."

Hearing Jiang Yunjin's voice, which was noticeably gentler, Wen Feng looked up in surprise. He saw that the gloomy expression on Jiang Yunjin's face had largely disappeared, replaced by a bright one, with a hint of pleasure in his eyes.

Seeing Jiang Yunjin's expression change drastically—from a stormy mood to a gentle breeze just moments before—Wen Feng almost doubted his own perception. This shouldn't be happening, but Jiang Yunjin's expression was undeniably genuine. How could someone be happy after being schemed against? And to tolerate the guard replying as usual, it was clear he didn't want anyone to notice anything amiss, or perhaps he was tacitly allowing people to gather information.

Hearing this, Jiang Yunjin suddenly realized something, but dared not linger. He responded, suppressed his doubts, and left, leaving Jiang Yunjin alone in the spacious study once again.

The man sat upright before his desk piled high with official documents, the bright candlelight casting a gentle glow on his handsome face, the dark depths of his eyes barely visible.

In the end, she still chose him, didn't she? And from the very beginning, he was her target.

-

Late at night, fine snow began to fall again outside the carved window. Cui Yiluo looked out through the thick silk and saw a blanket of white covering the blue stone bricks. Her beautiful, watery eyes were lost in thought.

Unexpectedly, it snowed again the day before Jiang Yunjin was to leave.

As the fine snow fell, a tall figure appeared, walked around the screen wall, and strode towards the bedroom. Even though his face was blurred, his elegant and refined demeanor amidst the swirling snow could not conceal his noble and aloof air.

Cui Yiluo's fingertips trembled suddenly, and with a snap, the abacus beads were moved upwards, making a crisp sound.

She snapped out of her daze and looked at the ledger.

The sound of the door opening and closing rang out. Jiang Yunjin returned to his room and went straight to the bathing room. He did not cross the embroidered curtain to enter the room, so the two did not meet.

He returned to his room at 9 PM yesterday, presumably to prepare for his trip to Yunzhou. She had already gone to sleep by then. Hearing that he would set off before dawn tomorrow, he knew that although Yunzhou was nearby, the journey would be arduous, which explained why he returned so early tonight.

The sound of dripping water came through the cracks in the door. Cui Yiluo felt that the numbers in the account book didn't add up no matter how she calculated them. After fiddling with the abacus a few times, she felt frustrated and closed the account book. She then went to bed and settled down.

Jiang Yunjin soon came out of the bath room. The candlelight illuminated his tall figure, and the room gradually darkened. Just when Cui Yilu thought he was going to extinguish all the candles, the room returned to a dim light.

He strode toward the bed, and the candlelight reflected in the curtains flickered, causing Cui Yiluo's heart to skip a beat.

A warm sensation came from behind her, but he didn't press his body against hers; instead, he lay quietly beside her.

"When will my husband depart tomorrow?"

There was a moment of silence in the tent. "It's three-quarters past the hour of Yin."

It was even earlier than his usual court time. Cui Yiluo bit her lip.

Silence fell again inside the red tent. The wind and snow outside the window seemed to have intensified, suggesting that the road ahead would be difficult tomorrow.

The person beside him gently lifted the brocade quilt and got out of bed to extinguish the candle. He was perceptive and naturally knew that she was unwilling. Since the last time he had been locked in the room from dusk till late at night, even missing dinner, he had been very careful not to overstep his bounds again.

Their relationship, which had been lukewarm, suddenly became one of mutual respect and courtesy. He had been gone for over a month, and she would probably see him again before the end of the year. Without his presence to restrain her and without worrying that he would discover her investigation into her origins, she should feel much more relaxed.

He lifted the red curtain, stirring up a gentle breeze that caused the candlelight to flicker, making Cui Yiluo's heart flutter.

In that moment of confusion, she suddenly turned around and grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Jiang Yunjin paused, his eyes instantly turning dark and filled with complex emotions, the desire seeming to be a product of those complex emotions.

Cui Yiluo's heart clenched. Looking at her fingers that were gripping his clothes, a wave of regret washed over her. She immediately loosened her grip and pulled back.

But once a move is made, there's no going back, and he didn't seem to allow her to regret it either. The moment her fingers loosened, her slender wrist was grabbed by his large hand.

Before she could react, her chin was gripped, and a shadow loomed over her like a tidal wave, kissing her lips.

With the surging power of pent-up emotions released, it was even more unrestrained than last time, advancing straight ahead.

The wind and snow outside the window grew stronger. The fine snow was blown up by the wind and frantically pounded against the tightly closed doors and windows, but it could not get in even a little bit. Inside the room, the candlelight flickered and danced, providing the only glimmer of light in the snowy night.

The candle lightly burst into a tiny flame, the brief sound quickly swallowed up by the wind and snow.

Author's note: I'm afraid I'll go crazy when I get back [doge emoji]

I'm about to go crazy; the progress bar is about to burst, there are probably two or three more chapters to go.

Thank you to the babies for the nutrient solution! [heart emoji]