Worry
After Jiang Yan and Huang Ying settled in, they began to inquire about the situation in the capital. However, perhaps due to the distance, news from the capital had not yet reached Yongfeng Town, and the people there knew nothing.
Jiang Yan felt inexplicably uneasy, and had no time to appreciate the picturesque landscape.
That morning, it was drizzling. She opened the window in the living room early in the morning and lay there in a daze.
When Huang Ying got up and saw her, she went over with concern and said, "Master, it's late autumn, you'll catch a cold if you keep doing this."
Jiang Yan slowly woke up and said softly, "Don't worry, I'm not that delicate."
"This servant will go and get you a blanket."
"good."
Huang Ying quickly came over with a white blanket. She gently draped the blanket over Jiang Yan's shoulders and said, "Master, I've noticed that you seem distracted these past few days. Is something the matter?"
Huang Ying slightly twitched the corners of her mouth, looked at the river surface relentlessly pounded by raindrops, and said, "What could possibly happen to me?"
Huang Ying silently watched her profile, and from her face she saw loneliness, desolation, and endless sorrow.
"...Is Master homesick?"
Jiang Yan smiled slightly and said, "Yes, I miss home."
Huang Ying followed her gaze to the rippling river surface, and after a while, said, "Is Your Highness worried about the Prince?"
Jiang Yan's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly a few times, and he said with a wry smile, "Why would I worry about him?"
“My lady, you can’t hide it from me.” Huang Ying withdrew her gaze and looked at her quietly. “My lady, you are in love with the prince, aren’t you?”
Jiang Yan stopped deceiving herself.
She slowly withdrew the bitter smile from her face and said seriously, "Yes." But then, she added indifferently, "I'm a very fickle person. I like all good-looking men, not just him."
“This servant believes that you are not that kind of person, my lord.”
Jiang Yan smiled and looked at her: "Then tell me, what kind of person am I?"
Huang Ying said very earnestly, "Master, you are free-spirited, strong, and kind."
Jiang Yan couldn't help but tease her: "That's all? In your eyes, I'm not pretty, not generous, and not interesting?"
"No, my lord, this servant... this servant is clumsy with words..."
Seeing her serious and self-reproachful expression, Jiang Yan said kindly, "Alright, I was just teasing you, don't take it so seriously."
Huang Ying smiled slightly, then looked up at Jiang Yan: "Master, this servant is very curious. Since you are in love with the Prince, why did you push him away in the Prince's mansion?"
This isn't the time to discuss this, but Jiang Yan still patiently answered her.
"How should I put it? I do like him, but it's not to the point of love. Let me put it this way: even if I loved him, I wouldn't go out of my way to fawn over him or try to please him, do you understand?"
Huang Ying didn't understand and stared at her blankly.
Jiang Yan sighed, then looked at the distant river and said, "He is him, and I am me. Even though in this era he is the master and I have to depend on him for survival, I still firmly believe that love is the coming together of two equal souls, not something forced by status. My liking him doesn't mean I have to lose myself because of it. Besides, you should have seen that he has many women and doesn't lack people to love and care for him. But I'm different. People of our time can like many people, but love can only be deeply loved by one person. Therefore, it's impossible for me to fall in love with him."
But Huang Ying blurted out after hearing this: "What if you, my lady, have already fallen in love with the prince?"
"Impossible." Jiang Yan said firmly.
"Why is Master so certain that it's impossible?"
Faced with Huang Ying's questioning, Jiang Yan was momentarily at a loss for words.
Huang Ying said, "My lady, although I don't quite understand what you just said, I know that worrying about someone, being unable to eat or sleep because of someone, and being absent-minded because of someone means you can't let go of that person."
Jiang Yan: "......"
Chen Run, having received no news from Qingfeng for a long time, forced his weak body to get out of bed. He put on his outer robe and had barely left the bedroom when Qingfeng rushed over from the side, extremely anxious.
"Young master, the imperial physician won't let you get out of bed." He supported Chen Run's shoulders.
Chen Run, who was already unsteady on his feet, leaned against him after being supported, but still asked weakly, "Did you find it?"
Qingfeng frowned, his face full of worry and heartache. After a moment of silence, he said, "Young Master, not yet."
Chen Run suddenly became agitated and started coughing violently again.
Qingfeng quickly tried to calm him down and kept reassuring him, "Young master, please don't get agitated. I have already sent more people to search, and we will surely find it soon."
Chen Run's cheeks were flushed, but his lips were completely bloodless. He looked haggard and exhausted, but his eyes were unusually bright, like a shining lamp.
"How much longer do you want me to wait?" She angrily shoved Qingfeng aside and dragged her staggering body down the steps. "I'll go find it myself!"
Qingfeng was terrified and rushed over, hugging him tightly from behind. He cried out anxiously and worriedly, "Young Master, you can't! You're unwell, you can't go anywhere!!"
Chen Run couldn't break free from him, so he closed his eyes helplessly and breathed heavily.
Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then said firmly, "Master, I will go find her! I will find her soon!"
"If you can't find her, you don't need to come back."
Qingfeng hugged him tightly, momentarily stunned, then tensed up: "Don't worry, young master, I will definitely find her!!!"
Chen Run did not go back to lie down, but went to his study. Because of his meritorious service in protecting the country, his status had changed drastically, and he was now the Left Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Kingdom, so he could not delay matters of the court.
Chen Run lost track of time when he was dealing with government affairs, and by the time he finished his work, it was already sunset.
He stretched wearily, intending to rest, when his subordinate suddenly reported, "Young Master, Lord Xiao is waiting for you in the living room."
"Who let him in?!"
"Reporting to young master, it was Lord Xiao who insisted on barging in. Lord Xiao said that if you do not see him, he will come to the backyard to find you."
"This is outrageous! I understand, you may leave!"
Chen Run disliked Xiao Yiqing's father very much. Apart from his arrogant, conceited, and unruly nature, the main reason was that he had come to see him because of Xiao Yiqing.
Xiao Yiqing, Shangguan Zeyu's princess, is a spoiled and domineering woman who has never treated Ruyi well. Is he just going to let her go without doing anything?
Chen Run tidied himself up and went to meet Xiao Yiqing's father.
Xiao Yiqing's father was tall and robust, standing in the living room with an aura of strength, like a sturdy cypress tree that had lived for over a hundred years.
As soon as he heard footsteps behind him, he quickly turned around and saw the weak Chen Run. His eyes revealed an undisguised contempt and mockery.
"Lord Chen, what's wrong with you? Why are you so miserable, like someone who's died, after getting promoted and making money?"
Chen Run's lips curled slightly, revealing a hint of disdain. He slowly walked to his side, passed him, and sat in the main seat before saying, "Lord Xiao, I did not invite you, yet you have come to my humble abode. It truly honors my humble abode!"
Before Chen Run could even offer him a seat, Xiao Yiqing's father had already found one for himself. He sat down with a disdainful expression, legs crossed, looking straight ahead, and said...
"Lord Chen, you surely know why I'm here!"
"Lord Xiao, you flatter me. I truly have no idea why you have come!"
Xiao Yiqing's father snorted coldly and glanced contemptuously at Chen Run: "I'm taking my daughter away!"
Chen Run couldn't help but laugh out loud: "What are you saying, Lord Xiao? If you want to take your daughter away, then just take her away! Tell me what you mean by that?"
Xiao Yiqing's father instantly flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table before standing up abruptly: "You surnamed Chen, don't make a big deal out of nothing! I've been an official for years, I've seen all kinds of people and encountered all kinds of situations. You think you can disrespect me? Dream on!"
Chen Run remained completely unperturbed. Instead, he leisurely sipped his tea, savoring it with relish, before turning to Chen Run and saying, "In that case, Lord Xiao may do as he pleases. Why bother telling me?"
"Chen Run! Give me the token!!"
"What token?"
Stop playing games with me!!!
Chen Run's face gradually darkened. He was not afraid of Xiao Yiqing's father's chilling eyes at all. He looked directly at him and said, "I have no choice but to obey the Emperor's order. If Lord Xiao wants to take his daughter away, he should go and beg the Emperor."
"Hmph!" Xiao Yiqing's father sneered and said sarcastically, "I might be able to help Lord Chen find the person he is looking for."
Chen Run's eyes narrowed dangerously for a moment, and he asked tentatively, "Lord Xiao is joking. Who am I, Chen, looking for?"
Xiao Yiqing's father laughed mockingly, turned to look at him, and said, word by word, "Liu, Ru, Yi!!!"
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