His voice was as low as a string.
Jiang Rao was frightened by the meaning behind the word "tablet". Her vision was instantly blurred by tears and her eyes were misty. She looked up at him blankly, her eyelashes were wet and the watery look in her almond-shaped eyes was so pitiful.
Rong Ting slowly loosened his fingers.
He really wanted to lock her up regardless of her wishes, in a place only he knew. After all, he had thought of ways to make her never see anyone else and only look at him.
But he was afraid that she would cry.
He thought that if she shed tears, he would definitely feel distressed, but he didn't expect that he would panic when she just had red eyes.
He retracted his fangs, and in an instant he looked submissive again, his long fingers loosening and slowly rubbing the red mark on her wrist.
The calluses on her fingertips made it impossible for Jiang Rao to ignore the touch of his caressing on her wrist. The gentler his movements were, the more her heart ached as if it was being tugged. The mist in front of her eyes became heavier, and her tears fell like raindrops. She cried so hard that her voice trembled. "I won't marry anyone else, and I won't marry a piece of wood either."
Rong Ting paused, wiped the tears from her face with his fingers, and smiled, "Just stay in Jinling and rest assured. I will definitely come back."
But his eyes still had the look he had just given, a look of seriousness that was frightening. He said in a low voice, "Even if I were a piece of wood, I wouldn't want to."
His assurance not only failed to put Jiang Rao at ease, but made her even more uneasy. Seeing her tears on his fingertips, she suddenly realized how hard she was crying. She bit her lip to stop crying. Her eyes were as red as rabbits after washing. She grabbed his wrist again to stop him from wiping her tears. With tears on her cheeks, she sobbed and asked, "When are you leaving?"
"Two days later." Rong Ting's voice softened, and he showed that pitiful look he often had in front of her, "Can you come and see me off, Nian Nian?"
Jiang Rao pursed her lips and lowered her head. It looked like she was nodding, but if it was a nod, her movement was too light.
There was a hint of sharpness in her eyes.
…
The sun sets and the moon rises, and the last bit of light from the sun is swallowed up by the night, extinguished like ashes, and sinks into the night.
When Jiang Rao returned to the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, Jiang Xingzhou was waiting for her by the screen wall, his shadow long in the moonlight.
Jiang Rao walked slowly, with her head down, absent-mindedly, and she didn't even realize there was someone behind the screen wall. It was not until Jiang Xingzhou coughed that she suddenly raised her eyes, was startled, and shouted "Dad".
Jiang Xingzhou took the lantern from the servant behind him and walked slowly to Jiang Rao's side. He took big steps and walked beside his daughter, changing one step into half steps.
Jiang Rao was waiting for him to talk to her, but he said nothing and let the lantern light up the way towards Jiang Rao.
He didn't say anything, so Jiang Rao couldn't help but said, "Dad...won't you ask me where I went after leaving my aunt's place?"
This matter cannot be kept secret, so it would be better for her to say it first.
Jiang Xingzhou paused for a moment, but said nothing.
Behind Jiang Rao, Ming Shao, who knew the inside story, couldn't help but cough twice.
Jiang Rao knew nothing and could not hold it in any longer.
She was feeling very upset at the moment and wanted to know what her father was thinking. After dealing with it, she returned to the courtyard and said, "I went to see His Majesty the Ninth Prince. Isn't my father angry?"
"Why am I angry?" Jiang Xingzhou finally spoke, his tone sounding joking and relaxed, "I think you might do something to piss me off even more in the future."
Jiang Rao was startled and looked away.
Jiang Xingzhou said in a brisk tone, "This kind of thing has irritated me more than once or twice. If you get so angry every time, how can I, your father, live longer?"
After he finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows. It seemed like he was joking. Jiang Rao felt relieved, but smiled bitterly.
She was in no mood to joke. At the moment, she felt a level of anxiety she had never experienced before.
Seeing that she was listless, Jiang Xingzhou said indifferently, "Did you know that the Ninth Prince will be sent to Huaizhou?"
Jiang Rao didn't say anything, her eyelids were slightly red, and she pursed her lips, which was considered as her agreement.
"I tried my best to tell you that marrying into the royal family would bring you pain and suffering, but you refused to listen and insisted on marrying him. Look, are you suffering now?"
Jiang Rao lowered her head, perhaps because she realized her father had no intention of blaming her, or perhaps because she was so sad that she ignored him.
Jiang Xingzhou added fuel to the fire, "If you had listened to me at the beginning, you wouldn't be so sad now."
His tone, which was a bit disdainful and arrogant, made people feel annoyed.
Jiang Rao was annoyed and tired, and stamped her feet, "Dad, if you want to punish me, just punish me."
Why are you so talkative today?
Such sarcastic remarks coming from the people closest to you can hurt more than the fastest knife.
"I have never regretted marrying him."
Sometimes she felt that she was a lot like her aunt, in that she wasn't very interested in love and preferred to think about what she wanted.
If you want to get what you want, you have to pay what you should pay.
Her marriage seemed to help Rong Ting, but in fact it helped her find the most comfortable position.
She said she wanted to get engaged to someone she liked, but she had met so many people since she was a child, and she had never fallen in love with any of them.
She didn't even know what it felt like to be moved.
"He wanted to go to Huaizhou. It was General Xi's fault for leading his troops there but doing nothing. He delayed suppressing the rebellion and suppressed the disaster, causing the people to suffer. It was the Queen's fault for trying to use General Xi to kill him. It was not my fault."
After she finished scolding, she remembered that she had scolded one less person, and was afraid that someone would accuse her of being disrespectful. After checking that there was no one around, the little girl lowered her head and muttered quietly, "If it were the emperor, he wouldn't care about his own son's life or death."
Jiang Xingzhou laughed.
Jiang Rao didn't know what he was laughing at. Seeing that she had said such things, he actually changed his look and didn't take it seriously. He stomped his feet a few times in annoyance and powerlessness, "Daddy, I'm really sad today, please don't make fun of me anymore."
Jiang Xingzhou didn't listen to her at all. There were faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Jiang Rao was petite. Once she lowered her head, Jiang Xingzhou had to tilt his head to see the expression on her face. "Look at my beautiful daughter, how worried she is."
Jiang Rao stopped talking to him as if she was angry.
She was originally feeling somewhat guilty, but after he messed things up, her anger took over.
Jiang Xingzhou finally stopped laughing.
"Do you know why I just said that you should do this more often when you are angry with me next time?"
He placed the lantern on the railing, loosened his hand, took out a parchment scroll from his sleeve, unfolded it in the light of the lantern, and called Jiang Rao to come over and have a look.
"Two hundred miles away from Huaizhou, there is a paradise. It has almost no material exchanges with the outside world and is rarely visited by people. When you were nine years old, we went there. Because of my paintings, the county magistrate gave me face and asked us to stay there for a few days. I drank the wine of the county magistrate's family there and owed him a painting. Now seven or eight years have passed, and the county magistrate has changed. I owe him a painting..."
He paused, lowered his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "I still owe it."
"But it's time to change it."
Jiang Rao looked at the sheepskin map under the candlelight and asked in confusion, "Dad, what does this mean?"
"I know what you are thinking. You want to go to Huaizhou."
Jiang Xingzhou glanced at her sharply. Jiang Rao was stunned for a moment and looked away again.
She never mentioned it to anyone...
“You’re wondering why
You never mentioned it to others, but I know it. "Jiang Xingzhou laughed again," Because I am your father. ”
"Last time in prison, I figured out some things."
He wants his children to live a carefree life, but at the same time he creates a circle for them. Under the pretext of being good to them, he adds some rules and regulations to them, which makes them feel restrained when they are around him.
He was just too confused.
"Go," he said, "go to Taoyuan, be closer to him, and then come back with him."
Tears welled up in Jiang Rao's eyes again.
"Don't cry. Didn't I just tell you that my most beautiful daughter in all of Dazhao would be really ugly if she cried?"
Jiang Xingzhou couldn't stand her tears, frowned, and pretended to be disgusted, "Don't think that I made a big sacrifice for you. I just thought that if I didn't agree, you would go out without saying goodbye like you did last time when you went to Ren Fuqing to ask for medicine."
When the old things were brought up, Jiang Rao stopped crying in embarrassment.
"Tell me, if I hadn't come to find you, would you have wanted to sneak away?" Jiang Xingzhou asked her.
Jiang Rao subconsciously shook her head quickly, then slowed down and admitted, "Daddy is just worried about my safety, but I think... I can be careful and nothing will happen."
"If you make a mistake, your mother and I will be the ones who are sad." Jiang Xingzhou said, "You have to promise me that you will only go to Taoyuan at most and not go one mile south. I'm afraid you will get the disease."
Jiang Rao nodded.
It would be fine if her father agreed. If not, she would feel guilty towards him and her mother.
A weight was lifted from her heart, but she was not completely relieved.
She frowned, feeling that Rong Ting might not ask her to follow him.
Maybe, we need to think of a way.
…
Two days later, before the convoy left the city, Rong Ting still did not get on the carriage. His deep gaze was fixed on the bluestone-paved road, all the way to the end.
From the time when the sky turned blue as after rain at dawn until the sun gradually became brighter, I waited for more than half an hour, but still did not see Jiang Rao.
Huai Qing packed up his things and came over, looking a little dusty. "Your Highness, everything is packed. It's time to set off."
He glanced in the direction Rong Ting was looking, thinking that Jiang Rao hadn't arrived yet. He felt something strange in his heart, "Your Highness, the Fourth Young Lady might have been delayed by something."
Rong Ting withdrew his gaze.
The secret guard came to report for the last time, saying that after she returned from him, she saw Jiang Xingzhou and cried very hard.
It’s okay if you don’t come.
With the secret guards around her, she couldn't leave.
It's over.
But even after admonishing himself like this, he still couldn't hide the disappointment on his face. After getting on the carriage, he leaned against the cold wall and closed his eyes to rest.
The carriage jolted southward.
They had walked less than a mile when Rong Ting suddenly opened his eyelids with a cold and fierce look in his eyes.
Besides him, there was someone else in the car.
The daggers and hidden weapons in his sleeves were all moved to his fingertips. He stared at the structure inside the carriage and found that the carriage prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs was different from the one he had ridden before. There was a wooden board standing in the left rear corner. He measured it with his eyes and found that there was just enough space for a thin person. Rong Ting's fingers reached for the long sword behind him, and without saying anything, he drew his sword and cut the wooden board without blinking.
A cold light flashed, the wooden board broke, and Rong Ting looked at that place with murderous eyes.
The little girl was curled up, hugging her knees, hiding quietly inside.
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