Chapter 96: Not worth mentioning. You just think I am no longer useful...
Jiang Cichen stared at her cold expression, it was obvious that she already knew everything.
This expression was too familiar, that kind of alienation and coldness that kept people at a distance. The way she looked at him was exactly the same as when she was in the capital two years ago.
In an instant, Jiang Cichen seemed to be pulled back to the past.
It was hard to imagine that just this afternoon, they had sat opposite each other playing chess, and she had shown some annoyance because of his obstruction.
Jiang Cichen walked slowly closer, the moonlight casting a faint shadow on his well-defined profile.
When he lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes: "Go back to the house."
Luo Wan didn't refute, but stood up silently and walked into the house. But he stopped at the last moment.
She didn't need to look back to feel the burning gaze on her back: "Why did you hide it from me? Do you want Shen Zhiyan to die too?"
"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would act impulsively."
A light and airy word floated into her ears.
"Then when are you going to tell me?" Luo Wan sneered, "Wait until Shen Zhiyan is torn into pieces by five horses? Wait until I regret it for the rest of my life?"
He entered the palace today without court attire. His dark-black robe only accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He seemed inexplicably dejected. "I've already petitioned His Majesty to spare Shen Zhiyan's life. I had intended to wait until he agreed before telling you."
"Did he agree?"
"No," he whispered.
Luo Wan took a deep breath and turned to look at him.
Seeing him lower his head and his black hair falling from his shoulders, I was reminded of how miserable Dahuang looked when he was caught in the rain.
Jiang Cichen gripped her shoulders, the warmth of his fingertips burning into her skin through her thin shirt. He said, "Shen Zhiyan killed Xiao Ce. This isn't that simple. Give me some time. I won't break my promise. I will save Shen Zhiyan."
To avenge the Jiang family, Jiang Cichen must rely on Emperor Yun. Without military power, everything is empty talk.
What's more, Jiang Cichen has been fighting for the Yun Kingdom for a long time. It would be no easy task to start over again at this time.
Luo Wan was also unwilling to force him to disobey the order for his own selfish reasons.
"Jiang Cichen." Luo Wan said calmly, "Perhaps our reunion was a mistake from the beginning."
In the past, she was always afraid that Shen Zhiyan would not be willing to give up the North Country and the common people, and that he would be so righteous that he would swear to live and die with the country.
Her indecision and timidity finally led to such an ending.
"Wrong?" Jiang Cichen frowned, his hair unable to hide the surging emotions in his eyes. "You regret it, don't you?"
"Perhaps I shouldn't have discussed cooperation with you from the beginning." Luo Wan pinched his palm with his nails. "So, let's break up."
Perhaps she should have taken Shen Zhiyan away from the beginning, but Shen Zhiyan would not be willing. He could never stay out of trouble in troubled times.
The more she thought about it, the more powerless she felt. It seemed that no matter what she did, she couldn't help Shen Zhiyan survive.
Jiang Cichen tightened his grip so hard it hurt her shoulder bones. Luo Wan tried to break free, but his hands seemed welded to her shoulders, unmovable.
He leaned forward, anger in his eyes: "Luo Wan, why are you always so nonchalant towards me? Don't you care about anything else except Shen Zhiyan?"
"Yes, but what does the death of Xiao Ce mean?" Luo Wan said calmly and firmly, "One hundred Xiao Ce are not as good as one Shen Zhiyan."
"What about me?" Jiang Cichen's eyes were heavy. He grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his chest. His voice was hoarse. "You said you wanted to break up. Does that mean you don't care about me?"
"Can you be more rational? Separation is the best choice for you and me." Luo Wan tried to pull her hand back, but he held it tighter. "You want to avenge your parents. You can't disobey my order for me. I want to save Shen Zhiyan. I don't want to implicate you."
Jiang Cichen's eyebrows lowered, his pupils dark and deep, his Adam's apple rolled: "How do you know it's impossible for me?"
Luo Wan was startled, her eyelashes trembling violently. Through the fabric of his clothes, she could feel his rapid heartbeat.
"If I am willing to disobey your order for you, can you please not abandon me?"
Luo Wan paused and said softly, "Stop joking."
He said word by word: "This is not a joke."
Luo Wan said seriously, "I don't blame you for hiding it from me anymore. You have your difficulties, and I have mine. Let's understand each other, okay?"
Since her rebirth, Luo Wan has been weighing the pros and cons of everything. The price of emotionality is too high, and she can no longer bear it.
This choice is the best choice for both her and Jiang Cichen.
She was even grateful that Jiang Cichen had asked for permission from Emperor Yun, which at least proved that she had chosen the right person. However, there were too many people in this world who were unable to control their own destiny, and they were not people who could act arbitrarily.
A long silence stretched between the two of them. It was so quiet around them that they could clearly hear the chirping of cicadas in the trees, which was inexplicably irritating.
The two people were in a silent stalemate, neither of them willing to compromise or give in.
Jiang Cichen narrowed his eyes, his jawline tensed. He suddenly wanted to laugh: "Actually, you don't care whether I have any difficulties or not. You just think I have no value to use."
She didn't care how sad he would be, she only cared about Shen Zhiyan.
Jiang Cichen didn't understand why Luo Wan cared so much about Shen Zhiyan's life and death, and had been working hard for it since a year ago, as if she knew Shen Zhiyan would die.
Luo Wan was surprised that he thought so. She originally thought that the two of them could be decent, even if they separated it would be decent.
Whatever, she has said all the good and bad things.
Luo Wan slowly raised her eyelids, her eyes curved upwards as she stared at Jiang Cichen without blinking. "Don't you know everything? I approached you because of Shen Zhiyan from the beginning to the end. This is also the beginning of our cooperation."
From the beginning, their alliance was open and honest. Luo Wan never concealed her purpose from Jiang Cichen, but during the cooperation, some things had subtly changed.
Under the moonlight, she saw the young man's eyes gradually fade, and heard his voice: "Then our relationship, compared to Shen Zhiyan, is not worth mentioning?"
"Not worth mentioning."
Luo Wan answered without hesitation.
Before, she was always worried about what Jiang Cichen would do if she died on the road to revenge.
Now that it has to end, there is no need to worry about it anymore.
Jiang Cichen had no choice but to speak softly, "Didn't you say you wouldn't hide anymore?"
Luo Wan said: "It's not hiding, it's ending."
If she really wanted to hide, she could have left before Jiang Cichen came back, but Luo Wan felt that this was not a good idea. Things like this still needed to be made clear.
Parting ways amicably is something she learned only after she started over in this life.
"Okay." Jiang Cichen finally let go of her. "When are we leaving?"
"I'll be leaving soon."
The assassins of Tingyu Tower have been assembled, but the first task has been changed to rescue Shen Zhiyan. She has no relatives and does not mind going against the court.
But Jiang Cichen, a member of the royal family, couldn't do that. Even if he said that, Luo Wan didn't want him to fall into a situation of being unfaithful and unfilial.
Jiang Cichen didn't say anything.
He simply leaned back slightly against the porch pillar. The lanterns under the eaves were swayed by the wind, and the light flashed across his delicate eyebrows, outlining his innate noble temperament even more clearly.
Luo Wan pursed her lips, turned around and went back to the house to get her luggage. Just as she took half a step into the house, she felt a pain on the back of her neck. Her vision suddenly went black, and she was unconscious. Her body fell limply backwards.
Jiang Cichen stretched out his long arms and took her into his arms in time. The warm and soft jade was in his arms, tightly embedded in his arms.
It was a long time before he loosened his grip a little. He lowered his head and looked at the peaceful face of the person in his arms after she lost consciousness. His slender fingers gently brushed away the few strands of black hair scattered on her cheek.
*
When Luo Wan regained consciousness, what came into view was the familiar cloud-patterned curtains on the bed in General Lingyun's mansion.
The faint light shines through the gauze curtain, outlining the figure of Jiang Cichen sitting quietly on the edge of the bed.
He gently traced her cheek with his fingertips. He had obviously expected her to wake up.
Luo Wan suddenly tried to get up, but he easily pushed her back onto the brocade mattress with one hand.
Only then did she see clearly that Jiang Cichen was wearing black armor, and the cold light of the iron reflected his deep eyebrows and eyes.
He slowly leaned over, pressing his cold lips against hers, prying open her teeth. However, for some reason, in this kiss that should have been full of predatory intent, he paused for a moment and finally pulled away.
"Let me go!" Luo Wan glared at him.
"Don't waste your energy." Jiang Cichen said indifferently, "You are no match for me. The general's residence is full of guards. With your current skills, there is no way you can escape."
Luo Wan was really a little panicked. She knew that Jiang Cichen had not lied to her. Ever since she was seriously injured last time, the backlash of the drugs had prevented her internal strength from recovering to its peak.
But she couldn't be trapped here, she still had things to do.
"Don't do this to me." She softened her tone and took his hand on her shoulder.
"I will save Shen Zhiyan for you." He promised.
"That's not it." Luo Wan shook his head, "I have to leave."
"Revenge?" Jiang Cichen said, "Whoever you want to kill, I'll kill for you."
Luo Wan frowned: "How do you know?"
Jiang Cichen glanced at the gradually brightening sky outside the window and said, "If you don't tell me now, then I'll come back after I conquer Jingzhou."
Without waiting for her answer, Jiang Cichen got up and left.
The moment his hand touched the door, Luo Wan called out to him, "Jiang Cichen!"
He stopped but didn't look back.
"I'm going to ask you one last time, are you sure you want to do this to me?"
She was answered by the soft sound of a door being opened and closed.
*
What Jiang Cichen said was true. There were guards everywhere in General Lingyun’s mansion, with both visible and hidden sentries.
Luo Wan sometimes just went to the small yard behind the house to feed the goldfish, and when he looked up, he could catch a glimpse of a few guards hiding in the corners of the wall.
The first time someone came to deliver food, Luo Wan was so angry that he threw the food away.
The second time someone came to deliver food, she was no longer so impatient and sat down at the table to finish her meal slowly.
She wants to live.
Now, she has completely cut off contact with the outside world. The small courtyard is her entire world. She can only stay in the yard, teasing the little fox and feeding the little goldfish.
The body is idle, but the mind is anxious.
She didn't know what the situation was like in the East Palace. Then she thought, what could Jiang Cichen not do? She was trapped in General Lingyun's mansion, unable to move.
This is Jiang Cichen's truest appearance.
He is exactly the same as he was in the capital.
That evening, the food delivery boy was late. Luo Wan was almost dozing off on a recliner in the backyard when he heard a gentle knock on the door.
She went to open the door and was surprised to find that the person standing outside was not a familiar face, but Qi San.
The servants who usually came to deliver meals were all unfamiliar faces that Luo Wan had never seen before, and they were replaced every few days. This must be Jiang Cichen's way of preventing her from colluding with outsiders.
"Why are you here?" Luo Wan asked while Qi San was taking out the food from the lunch box one by one.
Qi San deliberately slowed down his serving of the dishes and whispered, "I gave all the servants a laxative. Since no one could come for a while, I came."
The boy raised his eyes: "Girl, do you want to go out?"
Luo Wan glanced outside the courtyard and the guards did not dare to relax at all.
Of course she wanted to go out, otherwise Jiang Cichen wouldn't have wasted so many people here.
"Can you help me?" she asked.
Qi San nodded: "I have observed that the patrol routes and shift changes of these guards are regular, but I am not completely sure. Maybe you should wait a little longer."
Luo Wan also tried to observe it herself, but whenever she stood at the window for too long, a guard would come forward to "remind" her not to stand in the draft for too long, so she didn't figure anything out.
"Thank you very much." Luo Wancheng thought to himself, "Also, can you still contact Tingyu Tower? If I leave, they will definitely find out soon and catch up with me. I need someone from Tingyu Tower to pick me up."
Qi San pondered and said, "I'll try, but it's too late today. Next time I come to deliver food, you can write down the message on a piece of paper and give it to me."
The author has something to say: Nagging: In the afternoon, the teacher asked questions and asked students to go to the podium to answer. Every time the question was asked, I would do something, praying that the question would not be asked to me, and then do what I did to the podium (>﹏<)
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