The young man wore a dark green official robe, and his posture was upright. The color should have made him look old, but on him he had an air of dignified composure.
His slender figure, in particular, made him appear dignified and austere, like a serious and old-fashioned scholar.
But his handsome face broke this aura, giving him a contradictory attraction.
Jiang Yimian was momentarily lost in thought.
Lu Cijian smiled, stopped in front of her, and then lowered his head to say, "Mianmian, are you tired of waiting? Or are you just staring at me in a daze?"
The words were clearly flippant, but when he said them, they had an unexpectedly alluring quality.
After all, he does have the ability to leave people speechless.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and lightly tapped the chest of the person in front of her. "Yes, I think Lord Lu is stunned."
The girl's fingertips lightly traced his chest. It was a casual gesture, but he inexplicably felt a ticklish sensation, and the area touched seemed to slowly become hot.
Lu Cijian subconsciously reached out and grabbed the hand that had calluses from frequently handling daggers. He felt his palm getting hot and his ear tips turning red. He coughed lightly before saying, "Let's go to the carriage first."
As he spoke, he took her hand and led her out of the palace.
Jiang Yimian was still a little dazed when she saw Lu Cijian's ears, which were so red they were practically dripping blood, and then she belatedly realized that he was shy.
She immediately burst out laughing, instinctively tightening her grip on his hand, and whispered, "Lord Lu, are you shy?"
Lu Cijian only glanced at her deeply before getting into the carriage. Then he pulled her into his arms and leaned down to give her two pink and full lips a restrained kiss.
He was afraid that if he had any more fears, he might not be able to hold back.
After staring at the person in his arms for a while, Lu Cijian asked nervously, "Are you angry?"
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, somewhat confused by his meaning.
Lu Cijian said seriously, "Aren't you angry about the arranged marriage? I didn't tell you in advance."
He was afraid that Mianmian wouldn't want to marry him; it was indeed an impulsive thing of his to do.
But whenever he heard others put him and Xue Lingyu together, he felt annoyed. He clearly liked Mianmian, but those people insisted on bringing up someone insignificant.
He hopes that in the future, when people mention him, the person they will mention will be Mianmian.
Whether it's the person he's engaged to or the person he's married to, he only hopes that person is Mianmian.
Jiang Yimian just smiled, turned her head to look at his nervous expression, and said with a bit of amusement, "Why would I be angry?"
The arranged marriage did surprise her somewhat, but that was all.
If she were to marry someone else, she might hesitate or be uncertain, but with Lu Cijian, she would only look forward to the days after they got married.
It's a wonderful thing that such a good person can become the one she spends her life with.
There seemed to be stars twinkling in the girl's eyes, but upon closer inspection, all that could be seen was his reflection.
Lu Cijian's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to look away and reached out to cover those bright eyes.
There was an itchy sensation in his palm, like the trembling of eyelashes, just like in his heart, as if someone were gently teasing him with a feather.
Suddenly, darkness enveloped Jiang Yimian's eyes. She was puzzled and subconsciously reached out to remove the large hand covering her eyes. Then, a deep voice came to her ear, "Mianmian, I really want to marry you as soon as possible."
I want to have his Mianmian as soon as possible.
Jiang Yimian just smiled, reached out and hugged the person in front of her, and said with feigned trouble, "That depends on what my parents think."
Lu Cijian paused, and after a long while, he said with a wry smile, "I had actually forgotten about that."
The two elders must have been quite frightened when they saw the people who came to offer their congratulations.
However, he wasn't in such a hurry.
Now that Mianmian is engaged to him, the only person by his side in the future will be Mianmian, and no one else will be there.
Thinking it over, he simply said, "Your family has only been reunited for a short time. Uncle Jiang and Aunt Wang certainly won't want you to get married so soon. You should also want to spend more time with your family."
It's okay, I can wait, as long as it's you.
Jiang Yimian felt as if her heart had been struck. She never expected that Lu Cijian would consider so much. He should have wanted to marry her as soon as possible, but he would change his mind because of her.
She merely raised an eyebrow, staring at him deliberately, and said, "Aren't you afraid I'll regret it? What if I don't want to marry you anymore?"
Lu Cijian frowned, his voice carrying a hint of sternness and seriousness, "Then I will make you like me again, make you like me even more than you like now. I will wait until you are willing to marry me."
Mianmian, you wouldn't be so heartless, would you?
The young man frowned, a hint of tension lingering in his beautiful peach blossom eyes, and his large hand on her waist tightened unconsciously.
It was as if she wouldn't be let off easily if she dared to say a single word of dissent, yet there was a hint of hurt in her expression.
Jiang Yimian was amused by Lu Cijian's hurt expression. She leaned over and kissed him on the corner of his lips, saying seriously, "It's very difficult for me to like someone."
Lu Cijian was stunned for a moment. The warm touch on his lips made him stiffen.
Does "Mianmian" mean that she likes him now?
Realizing this, his tightly pursed lips relaxed, and his peach blossom eyes instantly regained their smile. He simply hugged the person in his arms even tighter.
The carriage arrived at the Jiang family's residence quickly.
From afar, one could see a large crowd gathered at the entrance of the Jiang residence. Besides the neighbors and commoners who came to watch the excitement, the people in the very center were several eunuchs from the palace who had come to issue an imperial edict.
As soon as Jiang Yimian and her companion stepped off the carriage, they heard the head eunuch say, "Master Jiang and Madam Jiang are truly blessed. With a princess as their daughter, they will soon have a son-in-law who is the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief."
Lord Lu, you've become the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief at such a young age; your future is limitless. Congratulations to both of you!
He truly never expected that such an ordinary family would produce not only a princess personally appointed by His Majesty, but also a son-in-law from the Censorate.
The Jiang family is likely to rise to prominence in the capital in the future.
Jiang Dazhuang and Wang Fengqin stared at each other for a long time without saying a word, clearly not understanding what the person in front of them was saying.
They were still in a daze when they vaguely heard the eunuch read out the imperial decree and announce a long list of rewards, including a marriage and the title of princess.
Liu'er and Song Er, standing to the side, were filled with astonishment, clearly not expecting things to turn out this way.
Seeing this, the eunuch was not annoyed. When Jiang Yimian and Lu Cijian returned, he simply smiled and said, "Greetings to Princess Ning'an and Lord Lu."
"Well, our two distinguished guests have returned, and our mission is complete. We'll take our leave now."
Having said that, he waved the whisk in his hand and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Liu'er quickly stepped forward and handed him a money pouch, saying with a smile, "You must be tired from your journey, sir. My young lady would like to invite you gentlemen to have some tea."
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