"It is my good fortune to have someone who looks like Your Highness's old friend," Jian Yang quickly regained her composure and said with a smile in a falsetto.
Zhou Jing'an smiled and nodded, saying, "Indeed, Empress Wende was the mother of the nation. It is indeed a blessing for a lady to be like her."
Jian Yang started cursing in her heart.
She thought to herself that she hadn't given anything away.
"Your Highness is too kind. I am but a commoner and cannot compare to the Empress. Please eat more of the dishes. I made them myself. I don't know if they suit your taste."
Jian Yang decided to change the subject.
Zhou Jing'an picked up a piece of Eight Treasure Duck with his chopsticks, and after eating it, he praised it highly: "I heard in the palace before that Empress Wende was a great cook. I think that your cooking skills are no less than those of Empress Wende."
Jian Yang wanted to punch Bang Bang twice.
This man keeps mentioning the Empress, which is making her extremely anxious.
Jian Hong was also a little nervous and regretted agreeing to bring Jian Yang out today.
"General, you have been guarding the northern border. I wonder how you met the Empress?" After drinking several cups of fine wine, Zhou Jing'an finally stopped insisting on talking about the "Empress".
Jian Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Jian Hong made up a story: "My father-in-law was a military doctor. After he passed away, my wife took over his profession. I met her at the camp and we secretly got engaged."
"Was there any arrangement of parents and matchmaker?" Zhou Jing'an blurted out abruptly.
Jian Hong frowned and said, "Since it's a private engagement, there's naturally no such thing. I wonder why Your Highness is concerned about these matters?"
After drinking the wine in his cup in one gulp, Zhou Jing'an said with blurry eyes, "To be honest, I fell in love with your wife at first sight. Since you two did not have the consent of your parents or the words of a matchmaker, you are not a proper couple. Why don't you, General, spare my wife and give her to me?"
Jian Yang: "???"
Jian Hong: "..."
"Your Highness, you're drunk," Jian Hong said through gritted teeth, suppressing his anger.
He realized that this guy, seeing no hope of winning him over, was taking the opportunity to humiliate and disgust him.
If Jian Yang hadn't held him back, Zhou Jing'an would have already been beaten up.
However, what Jian Hong didn't know was that Zhou Jing'an was indeed somewhat drunk at this moment.
His arrogant words just now weren't entirely meant to provoke Jian Hong; there was also some genuine feeling mixed in with them.
Although the woman in front of him, Lady Liu, looked completely different from Jian Yang, her every smile, frown, and gesture reminded him of the deceased Empress Wende from his memory.
If he hadn't been drunk, he probably wouldn't have believed he could say such a thing.
“Madam, if you come with me, I will treat you well and never let you suffer the slightest grievance.” Zhou Jing’an completely ignored Jian Hong’s threatening attitude.
Jian Hong finally lost his temper, grabbed Zhou Jing'an by the front of his shirt, and said in a voice so cold it seemed to freeze.
"Your Highness, if you dare to utter another word of nonsense, believe me, I'll twist your head off."
Fearing that her brother would lose his temper, Jian Yang immediately stepped forward to persuade him, "Alright, alright, brother, why are you arguing with a drunkard? Let him go."
She had genuinely spent time with Zhou Jing'an, and he would never say such a thing under normal circumstances.
The current situation can only mean one thing: he's drunk.
However, his alcohol tolerance is really too low.
In a daze, Jian Yang remembered that Zhou Jing'an and the emperor were brothers and shared the same genes.
Since Zhou Jing'an was a lightweight drinker, does that mean the emperor's alcohol tolerance was also not very high?
She quickly realized that she was thinking about the emperor again, and hurriedly pulled herself out of her thoughts to rescue Zhou Jing'an from her brother's clutches.
In no time, Zhou Jing'an could no longer sit still.
"This is so bad." Jian Yang made no attempt to hide her disdain.
Jian Hong then summoned Zhou Jing'an's guards, who helped him onto the carriage.
According to the proper etiquette for entertaining guests, they should have let Zhou Jing'an stay at the house to sober up before sending him away.
Jian Hong just really hated him, and right now he didn't care about etiquette at all; he just wanted him to get lost as soon as possible.
The carriage carried Zhou Jing'an toward the best inn in town.
An hour later, Zhou Jing'an finally sobered up from his drunken state.
"Go and call Mr. Wei over."
Zhou Jing'an pinched the bridge of his nose and then drank a large bowl of hangover soup.
A moment later, Wei Cong walked in.
"Your Highness, what was the result of this test?"
Zhou Jing'an said calmly, "Mr. Wei is indeed exceptionally intelligent; Empress Wende is indeed still alive."
After a brief moment of surprise, Wei Cong nodded: "How did Your Highness's discussions with the General of the North go?"
Zhou Jing'an sneered, "Stubborn and unyielding. I thought he wasn't the kind of person who was blindly loyal, but he resolutely rejected my invitation."
Wei Cong stopped talking and fell into deep thought.
What is Mr. Wei thinking?
Wei Cong replied, "I'm wondering why Empress Wende faked her death and why she came to this small southern town."
Zhou Jing'an said, "That's what intrigues me too. The emperor is deeply in love with her, yet she only wants to escape. There must be some interesting reason behind this."
Whatever the reason, he was determined to dig it out.
Thinking of this, a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
Although Zhou Jing'an's arrival disrupted Jian Yang's life, the clinic could not stay closed, as patients were still waiting to see a doctor.
On this day, Jian Hong was sent by Jian Yang to a suburban farm to purchase medicinal herbs, while he himself was to see patients at the clinic.
After seeing more than twenty patients in one morning, Jian Yang was a little exhausted and called out loudly, "Mao Li, bring me a cup of tea."
"Okay!" Mao Li replied from downstairs.
A moment later, footsteps echoed down the wooden stairs.
Jian Yang assumed it was Mao Li bringing tea and, without looking up, said, "Just put it on the table."
However, no one answered her, and there was no tea on the table.
Jian Yang looked up in confusion and saw Zhou Jing'an standing in front of her.
Her pupils suddenly contracted. Remembering that she had disguised herself, she quickly composed herself and asked, "Young master, are you feeling unwell?"
Zhou Jing'an smiled slightly and said, "Empress, I never knew your disguise skills were so remarkable."
Jian Yang: "..."
"What Empress? Young Master, you've mistaken me for someone else," Jian Yang said expressionlessly.
Zhou Jing'an's smile remained unchanged. "Then how about I call you General's Wife?"
Jian Yang: "..."
"Brother, I am a man."
Zhou Jing'an burst into loud laughter.
"I never expected the Empress to be so playful and adorable."
Jian Yang's mind raced as she tried to figure out where she had slipped up.
Zhou Jing'an seemed to see her doubt and said, word by word, "Your eyes, no matter how much you pretend, have never changed. Besides, how can a man not have an Adam's apple?"
Jian Yang: I was careless...
"In addition," Zhou Jing'an paused, then continued, "the Empress probably doesn't know that you always have a unique fragrance on you. I smelled it from the first moment I saw you at the dock."
Jian Yang: "???"
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