"My men have already brought them to the palace. I've also left Rongying to accompany your people from your homeland. They'll be able to come to the city and enter the palace early tomorrow morning, and Jiang'er will soon be able to see her family."
After Jing Yan finished speaking, a faint smile appeared in his eyes, but his expression was tinged with weariness.
Yue Jiang became even more certain that Jing Yan had not deliberately broken his promise, but was genuinely delayed by other matters.
Even her slight anger from just now vanished. She tossed aside the strands of hair in her hand and leaned closer to Jing Yan with concern: "Your Highness, you must be very tired."
He was naturally exhausted. Yesterday, he received news that Anguo intended to intercept the Yueguo envoy, and Jingyan spent the whole night discussing countermeasures with Rongying and Weiyou.
I was relieved to receive the person before dawn this morning, but then I remembered my promise to Yue Jiang and rode back without even resting.
Recalling the first time he saw Yue Jiang after returning home, when she complained to him angrily and aggrievedly, Jing Yan couldn't help but chuckle and wanted to tease her.
Instead of giving a direct answer, he asked, "Didn't Jiang'er dislike me? Why are you showing concern for me now?"
Yue Jiang realized that Jing Yan was teasing her; she hadn't expected him to make such a joke at her expense.
She spoke softly and gently, her voice sweet and charming, her eyes brimming with tenderness like spring water, naturally creating a relaxed and ambiguous atmosphere.
"Is it because you disliked His Highness just now? His Highness didn't explain the reason to me, but now His Highness has explained that it was all for my family. How could I be an unreasonable person?"
Jing Yan knew that Yue Jiang was sensible and understanding, and that even though she had a bit of a silly and naive personality, it was never unreasonable.
Even though he was angry, he was willing to sit down and talk things out first, which made things very convenient for Jingyan.
Regardless of the reason, he almost broke his promise, but his intention to apologize remained unchanged: "It's good that Jiang'er doesn't blame me."
Jing Yan's good qualities lie in his humble and measured manner, as well as his calm temperament. This is likely related to his long service in the military and his high position as the crown prince. If he were impulsive and hasty, he probably wouldn't have reached where he is today.
But sometimes he's too calm. Even when he's the one being misunderstood, he'll give himself a chance to vent before explaining.
It's good for Yue Jiang, but it doesn't prove that Jing Yan truly cares about her.
It's more like a way of doing things that you've been raised with since childhood; you have a calm way of solving problems and don't need to resort to unreasonable arguments or a bad temper.
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that Jing Yan doesn't have feelings for Yue Jiang. After all, Yue Jiang sometimes subtly flirts with Jing Yan, which leaves him quite bewildered and surprised.
If he hadn't been completely unmoved, he could have simply walked away, but such subtle emotions were far from enough for Yue Jiang's needs.
One day, Yue Jiang will definitely make Jing Yan kneel at her feet and see if he can remain calm and composed.
Suddenly, she noticed the food box beside her and immediately frowned, looking up at him with concern: "Your Highness has returned so early, have you not eaten yet?"
“No,” Jing Yan gently shook his head.
On a whim, Yue Jiang immediately took out the porridge from the food box, stirred it a few times, and brought it to Jing Yan: "Your Highness, please drink the porridge!"
"This porridge?" Jing Yan looked familiar; it seemed to be something given out as alms outside.
Yue Jiang smiled and said, "This porridge is an offering I made to the children of the farmers. One of the children was concerned about me but refused to accept it, and wanted to give me his share instead."
“How could I bear to refuse the child’s kind intentions? So I kept one bowl and gave another bowl to the child.”
Speaking of this, Jing Yan felt endless sorrow. Over the years, it was they who truly couldn't afford porridge and rice.
He is not as good as Yue Jiang. At least Yue Jiang dares to face the days when people can't afford to eat porridge. Jing Yan has not yet been able to guarantee that every household has surplus grain, so how can he be worthy of eating the porridge brought by the children?
Yue Jiang noticed the guilt in Jing Yan's eyes, but she didn't want to let him hurt himself: "Your Highness, do you still want me to feed you?"
She scooped up a spoonful and brought it to Jing Yan's lips, and Jing Yan couldn't refuse and took a bite.
Yue Jiang asked with a smile, "Your Highness, is it delicious?"
"Hmm, these are grown by the farmers themselves, they're very sweet. I'll do it myself," Yue Jiang scooped up another spoonful. Jing Yan was already in his early twenties and wasn't used to being fed.
But as soon as she reached out, Yue Jiang hid her hand to the side, as if she insisted on doing it herself.
"Your Highness, you've been riding all morning, your arms must be sore. Please rest."
As Yue Jiang spoke, she brought another spoonful to Jing Yan. Although Jing Yan found this gesture strange, it was also a rare moment of warmth.
His gaze moved up to Yue Jiang's eyebrows and eyes, where he saw her focused and gentle expression, and even the black hair hanging down on both sides could not hide her tranquil and noble nature.
Jing Yan suddenly remembered the scene he had just witnessed and asked with concern, "Did your hair get pulled out?"
Yue Jiang was busy feeding the porridge when she suddenly heard Jing Yan say this. She was stunned for a moment before she realized what he meant and deliberately kept him in suspense.
"If I were beaten and lost my beauty today, would Your Highness still treat me well?"
“Jiang’er believes that I treat you only because I value your beauty,” Jing Yan retorted.
Yue Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly: "Who knows?"
Jing Yan chuckled softly, recalling the day he first met Yue Jiang. He saw a frail, weak woman being bullied by the deserters of the Feng clan, surrounded by a group of men who were speaking filthy and vile words to her.
He hijacked the Yue Kingdom's marriage procession, disrupting the peace and marriage between An Yue and Yue, but he had no intention of humiliating the people of Yue Kingdom, so he shot and killed them.
When Jing Yan captured Yue Jiang, he was indeed struck by her stunning beauty, but he never entertained any romantic notions about the enemy's wife. He was more concerned with how to retaliate against An Guo.
It was only after Yue Jiang woke up and mistook him for her husband that Jing Yan began to give Yue Jiang a second glance.
At that time, I only had one thought about a woman who had lost her memory and mistook her husband: pitiful!
The more I got to know her, the more I found her clingy rather than annoying, which probably had nothing to do with her lack of beauty!
"Let's just say it is. I'm only human, and I also have a love for beauty," Jing Yan frankly admitted, adding shortly afterward.
"But I will not abandon you just because Jiang'er has been hurt today. I will not treat Jiang'er like a worn-out shoe."
Yue Jiang secretly pondered Jing Yan's words, meaning that while her beauty was indeed pleasing to the eye, he was a gentleman and would never have the thought of abandoning his wife who had shared his hardships.
Yue Jiang suddenly realized that it was pointless to discuss beauty with Jing Yangguang. If he had a responsibility, he would hardly care about personal preferences.
"I was frightened earlier and dropped a few gold hairpins in my panic. I wasn't bullied, so Your Highness doesn't need to worry."
...
The following day, the Yue Kingdom envoys finally entered Pingkang City. A banquet was held in Jing Palace to welcome the envoys, and Yue Jiang sat at the same table with Jing Yan.
After the eunuchs welcomed the envoys from the Moon Kingdom into the palace, the leading envoy stood in the center of the hall and kowtowed to Jing Huaixu and Empress Ye.
"Yue Lang, the envoy of Yue Kingdom, greets His Majesty and Empress of Jing Kingdom. May His Majesty live ten thousand years and Her Majesty the Empress live a thousand years."
As the self-introductions of the people in the hall spread, Yue Jiang gave a light snort.
People from our motherland have come, and what a scoundrel they've sent!
The faint sound caught Jing Yan's attention. Jing Yan turned around in confusion: "Isn't he your own brother? Why does he seem unhappy?"
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