The Prince of Yan actually offered several jars right away... This shows how much face he has in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Wei Hanzhang believed his previous promise even more, and his worries about the safety of his ancestral home were slightly relieved. When he held the teacup, Chunri's clothes were thin, and the wide sleeves slipped down, revealing half of her wrist, which was so white that it was dazzling.
Xiao Junzhan glanced at it inadvertently, quickly looked away, and a faint red appeared on the tip of his ears.
Wei Hanzhang didn't pay attention to his expression and started to sip the tea in the cup again.
She applied a thin layer of lip balm, and when she put down the teacup, a lip mark was left on the porcelain cup, and Xiao Junzhan's eyes stayed on it.
Wei Hanzhang felt uncomfortable being stared at by him, and raised his eyes and said, "Haven't you seen the cup that the girl drank from?"
Xiao Junzhan turned his eyes away and remained silent, the light red on the tips of his ears becoming deeper.
Wei Hanzhang felt that this person was extremely contradictory.
He was clearly a lecherous man whose wife had passed away half a year ago. He would look twice more at beautiful girls whenever he saw them, but he always looked shy, as if someone had teased him.
She tapped the tea table with her fingers and looked at his profile. She was a fearless person, so she couldn't help but laugh and said, "Master Xiao, has anyone ever told you that you are pretentious?"
Xiao Junzhan looked at her helplessly: "Speak properly and don't talk nonsense."
"Oh, then I won't talk nonsense anymore." If Wei Hanzhang didn't feel it was too awkward for both of them to be silent, he would not have been willing to talk to him any more.
She propped her chin up and looked around. This seemed to be a study.
The row of bookshelves against the wall were filled with thick books, without even a decorative ornament.
In an era without electronic screens, her eyesight was excellent and her eyes were attracted by a piano score.
After just a few breaths, Xiao Junzhan noticed it. He stood up and went to get the music sheet, handed it to her, and said, "You can read anything here except the letters on the desk."
Wei Hanzhang had no idea what kind of privilege this was. He nodded very naturally and lowered his head to read the books.
She knew a lot about the art of playing the zither, and with just a quick glance she knew that the copy in her hand was a rare copy that had been lost for many years and was created by Xie Daoling, a great zither master of his time.
Wei Hanzhang was fascinated at the first sight. Xiao Junzhan did not say anything to disturb her, but just looked at her quietly.
The girl is in her prime, and she is dressed quite simply today. Apart from a gold and jade bracelet on her wrist, she has no other decorations, and only a plain hairpin in her hair.
He threw etiquette out of his mind and looked at it almost abruptly, feeling a little confused...
This is a girl who has not yet had her coming-of-age ceremony, and is about the same age as his niece...
When Wei Hanzhang finished reading a musical score, he found that the host was already busy at the desk.
He was not reading, writing or painting. In his hand he was holding something that looked like a letter, apparently handling official business.
Wei Hanzhang thought about the purpose of his visit, stood up quietly, walked to the table, held the ink stick and slowly ground it.
She glanced over the words above and was slightly startled.
'Mianyang Jiedushi Liu Yuan submitted a memorial'...
What did a local official have to report to the prince of the palace? "Ran Ran," Xiao Junzhan called her softly and said, "You don't have to really do these things like grinding ink and serving tea. Just stay by the side. If you are bored, you can read the books here at will."
Wei Hanzhang's eyebrows jumped when he called her "Ranran".
I was calling her 'Miss Ranran' before, how come she suddenly became just Ranran?
She was stunned in the spot. Xiao Junzhan thought she was worried about the Jiang family, so he said gently, "Don't worry, I never break my promise."
For example, at this moment, she actually didn't want him to call her by her nickname, but she didn't know how to remind him... or correct him.
She had never come into contact with this kind of people before...
Even my grandfather, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, did not have the aura to make light of important matters.
Wei Hanzhang lowered his eyes and continued to grind ink, and asked, "When will my grandparents arrive in Beijing?"
"At least five days, at most seven days." Xiao Junzhan pondered for a moment and explained, "The Jiangnan corruption case was personally investigated by the Crown Prince. Jiang Zixiu was a low-ranking official with little influence, and he was only an accomplice. He did not receive any stolen money, so his family would not be implicated."
I didn't ask about the beginning, but he was so detailed that he told me the general details of the case that my uncle was involved in. Wei Hanzhang didn't stop grinding his wrists and hummed softly.
She knew that in the original novel, something must have happened to the entire Jiang family, and it was a big one, to the point that no one stepped forward even when the eldest daughter was divorced. This was definitely not something that could be concluded by this person's casual remark that "the family will not be implicated."
The reason why the family would not be implicated was because Prince Xiao was confident that if he came forward to plead for mercy, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would let the Jiang family go.
Thinking of this, Wei Hanzhang felt even more grateful and said thank you softly.
"Ran Ran..." Xiao Junzhan turned his head and looked at her quietly, and whispered: "You don't need to be restrained in front of me, and you don't need to be polite to me... You should understand my intentions."
This was the first time he had expressed his true feelings so frankly, and his usually calm tone even had a hint of immaturity.
Wei Hanzhang, who was originally a little embarrassed and annoyed by his abrupt words, was shocked by his appearance.
Where did this wonderful man come from? He is the one who speaks frivolously and abruptly, and he is also immature and embarrassed.
Isn’t he a playboy with many concubines in his backyard?
Why do you look so easy to bully?
Is this how you deceive little girls?
Wei Hanzhang pursed her lips and stared at him without saying a word. She just stared at him.
Xiao Junzhan stared at her for a long time, and was finally dazzled by the brilliance in her eyes. He lowered his eyelids and called out softly, "Ran Ran..."
Wei Hanzhang finally couldn't help but asked softly, "I wonder how old is Prince Xiao now?"
She was pointing at him, saying that at his age he was still missing a young girl in her prime.
How could Xiao Junzhan not know this? He was already concerned about this, and this question made him even more annoyed.
After a few moments of silence, he suddenly reached out to cover the back of her hand that was grinding ink, "I am twenty-five this year, exactly ten years older than you, you..."
The man's palms were big and warm, and he covered her hands tightly. This was the first time since Wei Hanzhang was old enough to understand that she had been so close to a man other than Gu Yunran.
"Master Xiao!" Her fingers trembled with fear as she interrupted him in a hurry: "If you were a few years older, you could be my father. How can you be so frivolous!"
She came here to complete a negotiated deal with him. She ground ink and served tea for him, and he helped her speak well of the matter in front of the prince to save the Jiang family.
Although she needed help from others, she had no intention of giving herself to him, not to mention that he had only made a verbal promise and had not really rescued the Jiang family yet.
Xiao Junzhan has had a calm temperament since he was a child and rarely gets angry. This was the first time in his life that he knew what it felt like to be shocked and angry.
(End of this chapter)