Chapter 159: Determined to Travel Together
Anliu chased Ying Niang for who knows how long, until he saw her collapse to the ground, her legs giving out, her hands clutching her face as she wept bitterly. Having been a secret guard for years, Anliu had never come into contact with a woman, and he didn't know how to comfort or soothe her. He could only stand silently by her side, accompanying her like a guard. Ying Niang's eyes were red from crying, and she looked up at Anliu, "You knew she was a woman, right?"
"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you hide it from me?"
Ying Niang vented all her resentment on Anliu. She stood up and punched Anliu's shoulder. "You guys saw me following her. Did you find it funny in your heart? Were you laughing at my ignorance?" Her tears fell like pearls. "But is it wrong for me to want to make a living for myself? I like her. No one has ever cared for me as gently as she does."
"But...why?"
Ying Niang crouched on the ground, holding her head in her hands. She cried until she was exhausted. Thinking back to all the things that had gone wrong before, she had originally thought Jiang Lin was a homosexual, but she had never expected that they would actually be in love with each other. She was the only one being made fun of! Ying Niang stood up shakily and tried to walk towards Lotus Town. Anliu saw her and hurriedly shouted, "Aren't you coming with us?"
Go? Where to?
Ying Niang turned around with a wry smile, "How can I still have the dignity to follow you guys now? Do you think I'm embarrassed enough?"
When Anliu heard her self-deprecating words, although his mouth was clumsy, he still said, "How is it embarrassing? When you meet someone you like, it is right to express your feelings bravely. It's just that the one you love is not a good person, so you just need to change. Besides, the third lady didn't take this matter seriously. She asked me to pursue you and said that if you are willing, you can leave with us." After Anliu finished speaking, he looked at Ying Niang and the light in his eyes returned.
"Some things can only be told to you by the Third Miss herself."
"But I can assure you that the Third Young Lady is a good person. Since she's willing to help you, she'll definitely treat you like family. People like me and An Feng are both secret guards of the Prince's family. She could have treated us as servants or ignored us. But the Third Young Lady didn't. Your judgment is correct. It's just that when she came to Lotus Town, the circumstances were special, so she had to use the identity of a man."
Anliu blinked and said, "Since you want to fight for yourself, it's just that you want to live a better life in the future."
"The Third Miss is a woman, but many of the people accompanying her are men." Anliu racked his brains to think. Ying Niang's expression became increasingly gentle. She paused, pondered for a long moment, and then walked up to Anliu. A pair of clear, bright eyes stared at him, "Are you married?"
Anliu shook his head, "Following the prince, how can we talk about love when we haven't accomplished anything great yet?"
Ying Niang lowered her head, a smile playing on the corners of her lips. She raised her hand and wiped away her tears. "You're right. If you've taken the wrong road, just go back and start over. What's there to be afraid of? Following you is much better than staying in Lotus Town. Since she's a woman, I can be her personal maid."
"I'll go with you."
Ying Niang made her decision. Anliu smiled innocently and looked at the carriage parked in front. "Let's go."
Outside the gate of Lianhua Town, Qin Xiangnuan sat in the car, looking at the two people walking back and forth, talking and laughing in the distance, and raised her eyebrows, "It seems that the prince wants to thank me. I have solved a worry for your secret guard." She held the hot water bottle and turned to Jiang Lin with a meaningful smile.
Jiang Lin followed her gaze and didn't say anything. He just tightened the fur coat around her shoulders.
He used something to stir the charcoal in the fire, raising the temperature a little. Qin Xiangnuan's face was roasted red, and the coldness on her body had mostly dissipated. "You can see clearly when you look at others, but when you look at yourself, why can't you see anything clearly?" Qin Xiangnuan heard his derogatory words and sighed deeply. "I'm in a good mood today, so I won't bother with you."
"Thank you very much, Miss Third."
Jiang Lin deliberately made a respectful gesture, which made Qin Xiangnuan smile.
The group returned to the inn in a mighty procession. Still some distance away, Qin Xiangnuan lifted the carriage curtain and spotted a familiar figure in the distance. She anxiously tiptoed, "Mother?" Qin Xiangnuan asked doubtfully, then leaned forward and jumped out of the carriage, trotting towards them. Seeing her, Liu Shi couldn't help but burst into tears, slapping her in a reproachful manner, "You really are... you! How can you always make me worry like this?"
"Mom, it hurts. Please be gentler." Qin Xiangnuan dodged with bared teeth, rubbing the place on her shoulder where she was hit, and muttered coquettishly.
Upon hearing this, Liu quickly withdrew her hand and looked at her daughter, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Although Wang Qiang had kept it a secret from her, after three days, they had guessed that Jiang Lin and Qin Xiangnuan had gone on a dangerous mission. "Third Miss, ever since you left, Madam has been standing here every day. No matter how much we persuade her, she won't go back, and she only leaves late at night. She says she wants to see you first when you return..." Wang Qiang explained.
Qin Xiangnuan looked at Liu's face, which was somewhat darkened by the wind, and rushed over to her, lying in her arms, "Mom, I made you worry again."
"Nuannuan promises you that I won't worry about anything else from now on. Our family will rush to the border without stopping and reunite with Daddy as soon as possible! Okay?" Qin Xiangnuan said this, but everyone who heard it, and everyone who spoke it, knew that if they were faced with a truly critical situation, she would still help without hesitation. This was probably in the blood of the general's family.
Seeing that they were exhausted from the journey, Liu said nothing more and just asked them to go in and rest quickly.
This dilapidated inn, stained with blood at the hands of the waiter and the shopkeeper, had been renovated by Madam Liu and Madam Zou in just a few days, leaving it remarkably tidy and exuding a warm atmosphere. Qin Feng, who was a little slower in the rear, returned a little later and gulped down two large mouthfuls of water upon entering the inn. "Grandmother, you have no idea how much the people of Lotus Town now respect and adore our General's Mansion. Before I left, I heard from Brother Hao that they were planning to place a stele outside Lotus Town to record my kindness to them for generations to come."
Qin Feng spoke loudly, and Old Madam Qin looked at Qin Xiangnuan worriedly.
In troubled times, being so ostentatious is never a good thing. Qin Xiangnuan smiled at her and shook her head, secretly pointing in Jiang Lin's direction, "There are people protecting him, don't worry, Grandma, it won't involve Daddy and the Qin family."
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