Chapter 017

Jiashan had never thought that Zhan Yue would take over in this way. Although his breathing was gentle, his tall stature, slim waist, broad arms, and strong body naturally created a kind of pressure on her.

Jiashan was slightly stunned before she responded. She smiled, and in a moment, she had prepared a set of words: "Your Excellency is a high-ranking official. My cousin has just entered the officialdom. Since your official rank is higher than his, he should naturally be more polite to you."

Zhan Yue's lips moved.

His eyes remained fixed on Jiashan. His voice was gentle, but his tone was bland: "Your Highness seemed to prefer official language when speaking to me."

"But that's clearly not the case when you talked to Lord Pei."

Zhan Yue raised his eyes to look at her. Maybe Jiashan was mistaken, but he always felt that there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

Why is he lonely?

Jiashan's heart moved.

Zhan Yue continued, "Your Highness, do you think I'm difficult to get along with?"

Jiashan smiled and said, "Of course not. If I felt that you were difficult to get along with, I wouldn't be here to talk freely with you."

Zhan Yue pursed his lips, brushed off the leaves on his sleeves, and turned his face halfway to face Jiashan.

After a long silence, Zhan Yue leaned back slightly, leaning against the tree trunk, his eyes fixed on the vines, and said, "I have a question that I have always wanted to ask Your Highness."

Zhan Yue paused, looked up at her, and said slowly, "Since Your Highness said to speak freely, I will speak directly."

His words also aroused Jiashan's curiosity. She smiled with great joy and said, "Please speak, sir."

"There is a girl living in my heart." Zhan Yue's voice was mellow, and he said something earth-shattering as soon as he opened his mouth. Before Jiashan could show any surprise, Zhan Yue continued calmly, "In the past, I always felt that I was not worthy of her."

"But these days, I've been tossing and turning, and I think that instead of letting her marry those ordinary people, it's better to ask her to marry me." Zhan Yue's thick eyelashes blinked slightly, he stared at Jiashan firmly, and said seriously, "At least I will treat her well."

His voice sounded steady at first, but if you listened carefully, you could tell he was trembling slightly.

The ending sounds of the words "will treat her well" floated in the air melodiously as if they were sitting on a swing.

Jiashan didn't know why, but seeing Zhan Yue being so serious and reserved, he suddenly found it funny.

He probably has never told anyone about his feelings before, so that's why he's so nervous?

Zhan Yue raised his eyes: "What do you think, Your Highness?"

Jiashan groaned, and then analyzed the situation with him in a serious manner: "Given your talent, beauty, and character, there are probably very few women in this world who can be described as 'not worthy of' by you."

Zhan Yue stared at her without blinking, his eyes never moving away. He said in a dry voice: "I am a concubine's daughter, and my mother's family is a criminal."

"My Lord, do you think it is shameful to be born out of wedlock?" Jiashan said in a calm tone, and she hit the nail on the head, "Do you think it is extremely shameful that you have the blood of the Yongding Marquis Fu family in your body?"

Zhan Yue remained silent for a moment, then he said, "Of course not."

"The Prince of Anguo is not as good as you. In the Anguo Mansion, everyone respects you as a hero." Jiashan's voice was crisp, her lips moved slightly, her eyes sparkled, and she didn't seem to be pretending.

Zhan Yue was almost blinded by this smile. He whispered, "Do you really think so?"

"Yes." Jiashan said with a smile.

Even though Zhan Yue was born out of wedlock, he would be in a high position one day, and the commander of the Jinwu Guards was a job that many people wanted but could not get. As for the Yongding Marquis Mansion, Jiashan always felt that it was "groundless". However, in order not to hinder the wisdom of the late emperor, it was inconvenient to announce it.

She passed away early in her previous life, and she didn’t know whether Zhan Yue finally vindicated the Yongding Marquis’ Mansion. But she guessed that he probably did, right?

After all, he looks so awesome.

In fact, apart from the fact that he was born out of wedlock and came from the Yongding Marquisate, there was almost nothing to criticize about Zhan Yue, not to mention that he was such a likable person.

I just don’t know who is the girl that Lord Zhan has in mind, is she Feng?

It doesn't seem like it.

Jiashan pondered, if Zhan Yue was talking about Feng, then he shouldn't treat Feng with respect. He just said that if he married that person, he would at least treat her well. Feng's life in her previous life must not be bad, but it was not too good either.

So, in the end, he actually failed to marry the girl of his dreams...

Jiashan thought with regret, and when he looked up at Zhan Yue again, he was a little cautious.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me who that girl is?" Jiashan still remembered the task that Princess Ruyang taught her, and she took advantage of the opportunity of Zhan Yue telling the truth today to strike while the iron is hot.

She laughed and said, "If she was from a famous family, you would marry her with great fanfare, wouldn't that be a good story?"

Zhan Yue was looking at her carefully, and under the faint sunlight, his eyes were as bright and warm as the sun and the moon.

His eyes were deep: "Now that you know, you may regret it."

Jiashan was surprised and asked, "How come?"

"I know. My aunt asked you to look after my marriage." Zhan Yue avoided answering. There was a smile on the corner of his lips. His snow-white face was gentle and handsome. "Your Highness, can you tell my aunt for me? When the time is right, I will tell her in person."

Jiashan had not expected that the things that Princess Ruyang had discussed with her in private had already been known by Zhan Yue. Hearing him say this, she could not help but feel quite embarrassed.

After all, she was an unmarried girl and had no relationship with Zhan Yue. After being exposed by Zhan Yue, she felt embarrassed to ask more questions.

Jiashan nodded and said, "I hope you can understand my aunt's painstaking efforts."

"I understand." Zhan Yue said.

He stood up from the willow tree trunk he was leaning against and smiled softly. Zhan Yue opened his lips slightly and walked slowly to Jia Shan. He lowered his head slightly to look at her. His tone was different from the usual coldness. Instead, it was a little coaxing: "I shared a secret with Your Highness. Shouldn't Your Highness reciprocate and share one with me?"

Jiashan is not so easily fooled by him.

She looked up at him and said lazily, "That's wrong. You told me that on your own initiative. I didn't force you. I never knew that there is such a principle of reciprocity nowadays."

Jiashan snorted, "It should be called forced buying and selling."

She spoke in a cute voice, and her small oval face was radiant, which was rare for her to have a bit of girlishness. Zhan Yue had been looking at her, and seeing this, the smile at the corner of his eyes deepened a little.

He said, "Or, I ask, and Your Highness answers."

"Say what you want to say, and if there is anything you don't want to say, just don't say it."

Jiashan turned her gaze towards him, and Zhan Yue slightly distanced himself from Jiashan. His expression remained unchanged, and he just stared at her closely: "Your Highness, you don't like my nephew, right?"

Jiashan raised her head and said without any hesitation, "Yes."

"You can rest assured about this, sir." Jiashan looked at him with a pair of big eyes, pupils like crescent stars, sparkling, "I am already so familiar with you. If I marry Zhan Shaoying, wouldn't it be a generation lower than you for nothing? When we meet in the future, you will have to call you fourth uncle. I don't like to do such a disadvantageous thing."

Her voice was lazy, as if she really disliked Zhan Shaoying for this reason. But Zhan Yue stared at her for a long time, and he clearly saw a flash of hatred and ridicule in her eyes.

Does she hate Zhan Shaoying?

Zhan Yue's thin lips trembled slightly, and he swallowed this doubt silently.

"I didn't expect the princess to be so decisive," Zhan Yue said gently, "I have no other questions."

Jiashan chuckled: "Is that what you want to ask, sir?"

Zhan Yue half-closed his eyes and looked at her. He said with a smile: "If I ask anything else, will you answer?"

"It's hard to say." Jiashan thought for a moment and said seriously.

Zhan Yue took a step closer to her slowly.

Unlike the orchid scent on Pei Yuantang, he had a light herbaceous scent that was slightly astringent at first, but once the astringency wore off, what remained was clear and pure.

Zhan Yue smiled, looked at her quietly, leaned forward, and said word by word: "I want to know who you want to marry the most."

His tone was calm, but Jiashan frowned unconsciously, as if he had the illusion that he was suppressing something.

As the sun sets, the warm rosy light penetrates the sparse clouds and shines through the gaps in the willow leaves, casting a faint shadow on Jiashan's face.

Half of her face was illuminated by the sunlight, bright and charming, looking very graceful.

Jiashan looked at him and suddenly smiled: "You stumped me."

After a brief pause, she lowered her head and looked at her shadow on the ground. She said softly, "I don't even know the answer to this question yet."

"There are not too many good men in the world, but not too few either," Jiashan sighed, "but it's probably not easy to find one who can satisfy my father and me."

Those young men from famous and noble families basically all have more or less flaws like Zhan Shaoying. Some are extravagant and dissolute, some are ignorant, some are promiscuous, and some are arrogant. To be honest, Zhan Shaoying is actually quite outstanding.

Given the chance to live her life over again, Jiashan knew that she should help Yuankang regain his sight, mediate the conflict between her cousin and uncle, and remind her father of those natural and man-made disasters that could have been avoided.

But Jiashan was at a loss as to what to do about his own marriage.

Natural disasters and man-made disasters can still be avoided, but the human heart is the most difficult to guess.

She had been hurt once, how could she dare to start a second time?

Hearing Jiashan's words, Zhan Yue pursed his lips slightly. He paused for a moment, lowered his eyes, and said softly: "I think Your Highness will get what he wants."

Jiashan smiled and said, "I hope you do the same."

She was naive and didn't know the situation yet, and even her tone was sincere. Zhan Yue tilted his head to look at her, and saw that her face was pale, her black hair hung behind her shoulders, and the smile on her lips faced the sunlight, the scenery was as beautiful as a painting.

His tone softened, but his eyes remained firm: "Definitely."

This wish of his in this life must be fulfilled.