Chapter 169 Do you want to come with me?
Achan lay on the bed with her eyes open. The voice in her dream was so real that she wondered if she was trying too hard to get a free life.
I don't think so. I saw him just a few days ago.
Just then, a familiar voice sounded in her ear, the deep, mellow voice sounding even more languid in the night: "What were you dreaming about?"
"I dreamt of... Mother, Bai Xiuming?" This voice completely woke her up. Achan sat up from the bed and immediately saw the dark figure standing in front of the bed.
The candles on the table suddenly burst into flame, casting a dim, yellow light that finally allowed Achan to see the person beside the bed.
Bai Xiuming was wearing an indigo blue wide-sleeved cross-collar long robe today, and Achan reached out to grab his sleeve.
After grabbing it, she tugged at the sleeve, and Bai Xiuming sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Why are you here?" Achan sat sideways, her clothes thin, her long hair hanging smoothly in front of her, her face still showing some confusion from just waking up.
"Just passing by, stopped by to see you."
"Where are you passing by?" Achan didn't believe it was such a coincidence that he would just happen to pass by her house.
Bai Xiuming smiled without saying a word. He slightly opened his arms, and Achan pounced on him.
She nestled against Bai Xiuming's chest, nuzzling against his skin. Bai Xiuming pinched her chin, lifting her face up and examining her closely for a moment before saying, "Haven't you been resting well these past few days?"
"Hmm." Ah Chan nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Did you dream about your mother?"
Achan nodded: "I miss them a little."
Bai Xiuming raised his hand to stroke her long hair and said softly, "The Crown Princess will be giving birth soon, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will be a grandson of the Emperor."
Achan tilted her head, not understanding why he was saying this to her.
"Then congratulations to her?"
Bai Xiuming chuckled lightly: "This is the Crown Prince's legitimate son, whom His Majesty values highly. With the birth of the little imperial grandson, His Majesty will likely grant a general amnesty to show his favor."
Achan finally realized that in Bai Xiuming's eyes, she must have been dreaming about the Lin family.
When she said she missed them, he assumed she was referring to the Lin family, not the Marquis of Jinyang.
"You mean... your maternal grandparents' family might be pardoned?"
"Yes, regarding the theft of the Demon Seal, although the Lin family bears some responsibility, they were merely misled. The matter is over, and His Majesty will not dwell on it."
"So, after the Crown Princess gives birth, they will probably return to the capital?"
"Yes, I've checked. After they were exiled, although they lived a hard life, they were all still relatively healthy. They may not be able to be reinstated, but the confiscated property can be returned in full."
The Lin family is quite wealthy; even if they can't hold official positions, their wealth is enough for them to live comfortably.
Of course, if it were any other exiled family, the confiscated property would not have been obtained intact.
But since Bai Xiuming dared to say that, no one dared to keep anything that belonged to the Lin family.
After thinking about it, Achan felt that this might be a good thing. In her memory, Ji Chan was quite close to her maternal grandparents' family.
After all, they are Ji Chan's family. If they are alright, Ji Chan should be happy.
Feeling the tense body of the person in his arms relax, Bai Xiuming lowered his head and asked her, "Are you happy now?"
"Mm." Achan nodded. Actually, just seeing him made Achan very happy.
After hugging her for a while, Bai Xiuming said, "I need to go out and take care of some things recently."
Achan looked up and asked him, "How long will it take?"
"The timeframe is uncertain, it could be a month or half a month."
"Why did it take so long?" Achan pouted, looking somewhat unhappy.
Bai Xiuming chuckled, pinched her pouting lips, and thought she was cute even when she was unhappy: "Aren't you going to ask me where I'm going?"
"Where are you going?"
"Wilderness land".
Achan thought she had misheard, and blankly repeated his words: "You're going to the wilderness?"
"Yes, so, do you want to come with me?" Bai Xiuming asked.
"Are you taking me with you?"
"Well, I'm not going to investigate a case. I'm just going to pay respects to an old friend on behalf of my father. Would you like to come with me for a walk to clear your head? I heard the temperature there is pleasant and the scenery is quite nice. You should like it."
Seeing that Achan didn't immediately agree, Bai Xiuming asked, "Don't you want to go?"
"Yes, I want to go!"
She snuggled closer to Bai Xiuming, hesitated for a moment, and then told him about the letter Shen Huixue had sent her, though she omitted some of the letter's contents.
She said, "Actually, I just received a letter from Huixue a few days ago. In the letter, she said that she had settled down in the wilderness and invited me to visit her when I had time."
Bai Xiuming was somewhat surprised: "What a coincidence."
"Yes, if you hadn't come to see me today, I was planning to take Hui Niang with me to go find her."
Bai Xiuming touched her face: "The wilderness is far from Great Xia. How do you plan to get there?"
“I’ll go with the caravan. The messenger who delivered the message back to Xue said I can go with them.” Achan sat up from Bai Xiuming’s arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What about you? How do you plan to get there?”
Bai Xiuming hadn't figured it out yet. If he were alone, traveling day and night wouldn't take more than a few days.
But Achan was weak and could not travel as fast as him.
Thinking about it that way, going with the caravan isn't such a bad idea.
“Then go with the caravan, I’ll go with you.”
“Okay.” Achan’s eyes sparkled. “They’ll set off on the third day of the third lunar month. We can find them in the West Market then.”
"I'll do whatever you say."
Achan gradually calmed down. After all, it was a long journey, and Huiniang was only at the second level, so Achan was still not at ease.
If she went with Bai Xiuming, she wouldn't have to worry.
After the initial excitement subsided, Ah Chan yawned and vaguely heard the sound of a clapper outside; it was already past midnight.
Knowing that Bai Xiuming would be leaving soon, Achan suddenly felt a little reluctant.
She wanted him to stay and keep her company.
Ah Chan never wanted to compromise herself, so she asked directly, "Are you going back later?"
"You don't want me to go back?"
"Mmm." Ah Chan leaned against him, tilted her head, and whispered in his ear, "I don't want you to go back. I want you to come up here and sleep with me."
Bai Xiuming closed his eyes, concealing the barely suppressed desire that had burst forth in them just moments before.
"Is it okay?" Unaware of anything else, Achan kept pestering him to agree.
Bai Xiuming's fingers gently caressed the back of her neck. He tilted his head and buried his face in the side of her neck, his thin lips kissing her slender, white neck inch by inch.
Achan didn't dodge. Her smooth, black hair brushed through his fingers, and his hand was faintly visible in his long hair, with the veins on the back of his hand protruding slightly.
Bai Xiuming's voice was restrained and suppressed: "No."
"Why?" Achan clutched his collar, her voice slightly breathless.
Bai Xiuming offered no explanation, simply repeating "No."
In the end, Achan failed to trick him into sleeping in her bed; instead, she was kissed by him until her body went limp.
Before things got out of control, Bai Xiuming put Achan back on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and then tidied up her disheveled clothes.
Then he whispered to her, "Go to sleep, I'll stay here with you."
After thinking about it, Ah Chan decided that if she couldn't sleep with her, she could just watch her sleep from the side.
"You can't sneak away anymore." She reached out and placed her small hand in his.
Bai Xiuming held her soft, boneless hand and assured her, "Okay."
As the candle went out, Achan slowly closed her eyes in the darkness, and the warmth of another person on her hand made her slightly curl the corners of her lips.
That night, she still had dreams, but they were no longer nightmares.
In the dream, there were no longer the blurry faces of my parents, only Bai Xiuming.
This was a dream that belonged only to him.
When she woke up the next morning, Bai Xiuming was no longer there.
Ah Chan yawned as she walked out of the room. Seeing Chen Hui coming out of the kitchen, she asked, "Hui Niang, what did you see last night..."
She stopped speaking halfway through her sentence.
"What did you see?" Chen Hui asked calmly, her tone suggesting she hadn't seen any strange people leaving her house.
Ah Chan thought to herself that Bai Xiuming must have been avoiding Hui Niang when he left.
Since she hadn't seen it, she decided not to mention it. After all, in Hui Niang's heart, she still needed to be wary of Bai Xiuming. A Chan planned to tell Hui Niang about going to the wilderness with Bai Xiuming in a couple of days.
Chen Hui's gaze swept across the area and immediately noticed the red marks on A Chan's neck, but A Chan was completely unaware of them.
Chen Hui thought to herself, "I brought this person here myself, but it's Ah Chan who's suffering the loss. That Lord Bai really doesn't let go of any advantage."
However, at least A-Chan looked much better today, and her mood didn't seem as low as it had been in the past few days, so Bai Xiuming was still somewhat useful. Chen Hui comforted herself and finally stopped worrying.
In the following days, Bai Xiuming would still appear in A Chan's room at night, and the nightmares that had plagued her finally stopped.
That evening, Bai Xiuming arrived a little early. When he arrived, Achan was soaking her feet.
She had just gotten her period today and had been in pain for most of the day. She was listless and lacked energy. When she saw Bai Xiuming come in, she just lifted her eyelids and didn't even greet him.
"What's wrong? Are you upset again?"
"stomachache."
Bai Xiuming paused for a moment, then immediately understood. He half-squatted in front of Achan and reached out to hold her pair of snow-white jade feet, which were immersed in the water, in his hands.
Achan was startled and tried to pull her legs back, but she couldn't break free from his grasp.
Bai Xiuming picked up a cloth placed to the side and slowly wiped the water off her feet. Her round, fair toes were tinged with a light pink from being soaked in hot water.
He held her feet in his hands and stared at them. Even though she hadn't done anything, Achan's hands unconsciously tightened around the sheets beneath her.
"Bai Xiuming, you're not allowed to watch anymore."
Bai Xiuming raised his head and saw that A Chan's gaze was wandering and she refused to look at him, so he couldn't help but chuckle.
He let go of her hand, and before he could say anything, he saw Ah Chan quickly pull her foot back, pull the blanket over herself, and cover herself up.
"I'm going to sleep." Achan turned to her side, facing the inside of the bed, and gently rubbed her toes on the sheets, feeling as if the sensation from before still lingered.
"Going to bed so early?"
"I'm tired, you can go first."
"good."
There was a rustling sound behind her. Ah Chan thought he was leaving, but when she turned around, she found that he had taken off his outer robe.
"Didn't you refuse to sleep with me?" Ah Chan still held a grudge.
Bai Xiuming threw back the covers: "I'm moved by your sincerity."
The two were covered by the same quilt. Under the quilt, Bai Xiuming held A Chan's waist and pulled her close.
Ah Chan's back was pressed against his chest, and his hands came around from behind, his palms gently kneading her lower abdomen.
The warmth of his palm made Ah Chan close her eyes comfortably, and the dull pain that kept coming from her lower abdomen subsided considerably.
"Bai Xiuming, you're so hot." The person behind him was burning hot, and even his palms were unusually hot.
"Close your eyes and go to sleep."
"I slept for several hours during the day, and now I can't sleep." Ah Chan leaned back. "Why are you here so early today? Is the case closed?"
"It'll be quick. The case will be closed in two more days."
Achan was very interested in this topic. She rolled over and half-lay on Bai Xiuming, asking him, "What will happen to Shang Yin? Will he die?"
"That depends on His Majesty's decision."
So, will I die or not?
Bai Xiuming smiled and asked her, "Why did you help Shang Yin?"
Achan's answer remained unchanged: "When I see injustice on the road, I'll lend a hand."
"The path you've taken is quite remarkable; you always seem to encounter people who need your help."
"Who can argue with that?"
"You want him to live?" Bai Xiuming asked.
"I really want to." Ah Chan didn't hide her thoughts from him. "So, does he have a chance to survive?"
Achan knew that whether Shang Yin lived or died was up to the emperor, not to what crime he had committed.
And the one who could influence the emperor's thoughts was, of course, Bai Xiuming.
Under Achan's expectant gaze, Bai Xiuming spoke up: "His Majesty intends to spare his life."
"real?"
“It’s true. The Shang family’s case has been reopened for investigation. Now that Zhao Qi has been brought to justice, the previous Northern Wilderness King is dead. When the Northern Wilderness King comes to the capital, His Majesty is hoping that his testimony will cripple the Northern Wilderness King’s Mansion.”
Bai Xiuming knew very well that the emperor would not punish the Northern Wilderness King this time, since the one who made the mistake was not the current Northern Wilderness King.
But mistakes always come at a price. I've heard that the King of the Northern Wilderness is a clever man; if he is truly clever, he knows how to appease the emperor's anger.
At this moment, Achan's attention was drawn to another matter: "When will the King of the Northern Wilderness arrive in the capital?"
Bai Xiuming said casually, "From the time the imperial edict is sent to the Northern Wilderness until the Northern Wilderness King sets off, it will take about one or two months. By the time we return from the wilderness, we should be able to catch up with the excitement."
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