persuade
Jiang Yan didn't say anything more after that. She left the Liu residence as if possessed. When she could clearly perceive her surroundings again, she had been wandering on the main road for a long time.
"...Master, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying a word?"
Huang Ying was so anxious that she burst into tears. Jiang Yan took a deep breath helplessly, forced a smile, and looked at her, saying, "Why are you crying again?"
"Master, you scared me to death!" Huang Ying hugged Jiang Yan tightly, so tightly that Jiang Yan almost turned her over.
"Okay... I... can't breathe!"
Huang Ying quickly released Jiang Yan again.
Jiang Yan said, "I'm fine, don't cry." She reached out and gently wiped away the tears that hadn't yet fallen from Huang Ying's cheeks.
"Master, I can accept your crying, fussing, and cursing in the future, but please don't do what you did just now. It was really scary!" Huang Ying cried out, still feeling lingering fear.
Jiang Yan did not do this intentionally. In fact, she had never been so distraught as to be unable to accept anything before.
"I promise you, I'll never do it again." Jiang Yan sighed softly and hugged Huang Ying, but the moment Jiang Yan hugged her, Huang Ying cried even harder.
"Don't cry, it's okay." Jiang Yan gently patted Huang Ying's back to comfort her.
Huang Ying cried for a while longer before stopping, then looked at Jiang Yan and tentatively asked, "Master, have you found out anything?"
Jiang Yan's thoughts drifted back to the present, and she sighed, saying, "Someone will come to arrest Shangguan Zeyu the day after tomorrow."
"What?" Huang Ying was quite shocked.
Jiang Yan glanced at her worriedly: "It shouldn't be fake. We need to make plans in advance."
"...Should we tell the Prince?"
Jiang Yan couldn't help but recall the tender moments between Shangguan Zeyu and Xiao Yiqing, and said, "He doesn't even care about his own life, so why should I worry? Alright, let's go back."
Jiang Yan hired a carriage and returned to the Prince Duan's residence with Huang Ying. In the carriage, they were both quiet, not uttering a single word, each lost in thought about this life-or-death matter.
Jiang Yan originally did not intend to tell Shangguan Zeyu about this, but on her way back to Pear Blossom Residence, she inexplicably went to Cloud Pavilion.
Huang Ying followed her silently until she was sure that she was going to enter Yunxiao Pavilion, then said, "Master, I was just thinking, if you tell the Prince so rashly, what if he doesn't believe you and blames you?"
Jiang Yan hadn't considered this problem, but she wasn't worried at all, because Shangguan Zeyu must have already anticipated it.
"Don't worry, just wait for me here." He gave Huang Ying a reassuring look and went inside.
Jiang Yan was someone who didn't want to cause trouble for herself, especially in this feudal society. But she also knew very well that even if she didn't want to, she had no choice, because ever since she married into the Duan Prince's mansion, she could no longer remain untainted.
Zhang Qin wasn't waiting outside, so Jiang Yan guessed he should be inside. She went up to knock on the door, but her sharp ears allowed her to faintly hear a woman's laughter.
Jiang Yan's heart skipped a beat, and then she subconsciously put her ear to the door and listened carefully again.
"Your Highness, you're really something. This way, everyone else will know everything."
Yes... Xiao Yiqing's voice?!
Xiao Yiqing came to see Shangguan Zeyu again?
"My beloved concubine, what's wrong with that? As long as it brings a smile to your face, I don't think it's absurd at all," Shangguan Zeyu said gently.
Jiang Yan's heart suddenly ached terribly, and her eyes seemed to be filled with tears, as if they were being blinded by something.
"Your Highness, you love me, don't you?"
Jiang Yanqing couldn't help but hold her breath, anxiously and fearfully awaiting Shangguan Zeyu's answer.
Shangguan Zeyu didn't keep her waiting long before smiling and saying, "If I didn't love you, why would I do all this?"
Jiang Yan's heart began to clench violently, unable to contain itself any longer. Her mind was as if shrouded in fog; she knew nothing.
Has Shangguan Zeyu been deceiving her all along?
He had been deceiving her all along?
Were all those sweet words he said fake?
Was his affectionate yet sorrowful gaze also fake?
Jiang Yan no longer knew what identity or stance she should take to tell him the truth, and left like a walking corpse.
However, Jiang Yan did not actually leave.
"Master, why are you sitting by the lake?"
"I'm thinking about something."
"...Master, are you still going to tell the Prince those things?"
Jiang Yan didn't know how to answer.
Huang Ying didn't insist on asking any more questions, but stood quietly behind her, keeping her company.
Jiang Yan recalled all the scenes of her encounter with Shangguan Zeyu in the Prince's mansion. As she thought about it, she found it quite amusing, but all of that was in the past.
Jiang Yan didn't let her heart be disturbed for long. She sat by the lake until evening and then asked Huang Ying to invite Shangguan Zeyu.
Shangguan Zeyu was surprised to hear that Jiang Yan was waiting for him by the lake. He told Huang Ying to go back and report first, while he changed his clothes and tidied himself up before going to find Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan sat facing the lake.
A gentle breeze rippled across the lake's surface, and the glow of the illuminated red lanterns made it appear as if the sun had set over the lake.
Upon seeing Jiang Yan's back, Shangguan Zeyu smiled and hurried over, but stopped slowly as he approached Jiang Yan's side.
"Ruyi, why are you waiting for me here?"
Jiang Yan smiled and looked back at him: "The scenery is beautiful, Your Highness, don't you like it?"
Shangguan Zeyu smiled and walked up.
Jiang Yan remained seated, while Shangguan Zeyu looked down at her with a cheerful smile: "Aren't you afraid of getting bitten by bugs?"
"I am immune to all bedbugs."
Shangguan Zeyu couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Whatever you want." He wanted to sit next to Jiang Yan, but Jiang Yan seemed afraid that he would get too close to her, so she quickly moved to the right, leaving Shangguan Zeyu a large empty space.
Shangguan Zeyu's face darkened instantly. He stood there, half-bent over, staring silently at Jiang Yan for a long while before slowly sitting down.
"Among the 'bedbugs' that Ruyi just mentioned, am I included?"
"Why would Your Highness think that way?" Jiang Yan asked with a cold smile.
Shangguan Zeyu frowned even more: "Ruyi, are you still angry with me?"
"How could I dare? Why would I be angry with Your Highness? Everything I eat, drink, and use depends on Your Highness. I'm too busy trying to please you to be angry with you."
"Then why don't you look me in the eye?"
Jiang Yan quickly looked at Shangguan Zeyu.
"Look into my eyes."
Jiang Yan immediately looked into his eyes again.
A bitter smile gradually appeared on Shangguan Zeyu's face: "Is this how you look at me? Cold? Distant?"
Jiang Yan neither explained nor denied it.
Shangguan Zeyu was so angry that he immediately withdrew his gaze from Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan also turned her head and looked at the calm lake surface again.
The two of them sat there quietly, neither wanting to speak again.
Jiang Yan waited a while longer until the wind picked up before saying, "They're going to arrest you the day after tomorrow, Your Highness. Have you thought of a plan?"
Shangguan Zeyu chuckled and said, "Is Ruyi concerned about me?"
"Your Highness can also think that way."
Shangguan Zeyu sighed softly, but Jiang Yan still heard it.
"Is Ruyi afraid that I will implicate you?"
"no."
"Ruyi, I've said it before, no matter what happens, I will protect you. Do you believe me?"
Jiang Yan did not believe it.
With imperial power supreme, even brothers of the same blood will eventually turn against each other with weapons. What conditions can be negotiated then?
"Your Highness, are you really not worried about your future? Are you just waiting to be captured by them?" Jiang Yan looked at him with concern.
Shangguan Zeyu smiled and stared at the calm lake ahead, saying, "Ruyi is all bark and no bite; she still cares about me."
Jiang Yan was speechless. She raised her voice and said, "I only heard about it from others. Whether it's true or not, Your Highness should make preparations as soon as possible!"
Shangguan Zeyu turned his face to look at Jiang Yan: "Then, according to Ruyi, what should I do?"
"...Doesn't Your Highness want to take some money with you when you flee for your life?"
Shangguan Zeyu laughed as if he had heard a funny joke, his body shaking with laughter: "Ruyi, how can you be so naive?"
Jiang Yan was very worried about Shangguan Zeyu's safety, but Shangguan Zeyu was so nonchalant and didn't seem to care, even joking around. Jiang Yan got angry and suddenly stood up, saying...
"This is His Highness's business. He can do whatever he wants." He got up to go back.
But Shangguan Zeyu reached out his right hand and grabbed her hand.
Shangguan Zeyu's hands were warm, as if they had just been taken from the edge of a blazing brazier. He held Jiang Yan's right hand firmly and said.
"If I were truly decapitated, would you collect my body?"
For some reason, Jiang Yan's scalp suddenly tightened, and then he said in a daze, "Your Highness is really joking."
Shangguan Zeyu slowly released his grip on her hand, gave a wry smile, and said, "Ruyi really is someone I can't understand."
Jiang Yan did not respond to him, but glanced at him intently for a while before leaving.
Jiang Yan was afraid of death and didn't want to die. After hearing what Shangguan Zeyu said, she was terrified that he would make her die with him, so she returned to Pear Blossom Residence, feeling extremely uneasy.
She had originally intended to find a way to survive for everyone in the Prince's mansion, but she never expected things to develop so quickly. Now she had no other choice but to consider where she and Huang Ying could go.
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