I care about you
Cang Jingqi picked up the jade bracelet from the ground.
“Brother,” Cang Jingmo said meaningfully, “we cannot act rashly, we cannot make mistakes.”
"The Demon Lord cannot act rashly or make mistakes; I am not the Demon Lord."
Fortunately, Han Jiang hadn't gone far. Cang Jingqi ran out, turned a corner, and caught up with the angry figure.
Han Jiang naturally heard the footsteps behind her and was just waiting for Cang Jingqi to catch up. She prepared herself emotionally, ready to burst into tears as soon as Cang Jingqi asked her anything.
Perhaps she was really sad. Before she could think about the sad things, Han Jiang was already about to cry just because Cang Jingqi rejected her confession.
"Han Xiaoman, I'm sorry."
The apology came quickly.
Han Jiang pretended not to hear and quickened her pace. The corridor was not a suitable place for chatting; she needed to find a quieter spot, but unexpectedly, she ran into several guards.
"What are you doing here?" Han Jiang asked.
The head guard said, "We were ordered to protect your safety, but we were cleaning up the broken dishes and didn't notice you left, so we came to find you now. It was our dereliction of duty, and we apologize."
Cang Jingqi was right behind him and said, "We'll talk about the punishment tomorrow. This is none of your business."
"Of course there is," Han Jiang said. "Come on, come with me out of the palace for a drink."
This is a lie; Han Jiang doesn't drink alcohol at all.
Coincidentally, Cang Jingqi knew that Han Jiang didn't drink alcohol. Having known Han Jiang for so long, he had never seen him drink alcohol, let alone tea. He simply said, "Okay, then I'll go with you."
"Where are you going?" Han Jiang turned around abruptly.
"I'll drink with you."
At this point, anyone who doesn't go is a coward.
Han Jiang braced himself and walked into the restaurant, shamelessly sitting down and asking the waiter to bring him wine.
What would you like to drink?
"Drink whatever's expensive, he'll pay for it." Han Jiang pointed at Cang Jingqi.
Cang Jingqi, on the other hand, remained calm and sat down opposite Han Jiang.
When the guards saw Cang Jingqi sitting down at the table, they didn't dare to sit and instead stood around Han Jiang.
Several jars of wine were brought to the table, and Cang Jingqi thoughtfully poured a bowl for Han Jiang and pushed it in front of him.
Hanjiang took a symbolic sip, looked uncomfortable, stuck out her tongue slightly, and said, "Ugh, this doesn't taste good."
"Your Highness, drinking alone is no fun. How about we play a game?" She put down her wine bowl.
“Sure,” Cang Jingqi said calmly.
Han Jiang turned around and beckoned a few people over: "What games do you all play?"
With several heads hanging in the air, they couldn't come up with a single, ingenious game. Han Jiang wondered what games the people here could possibly know, so he could only suggest rock-paper-scissors.
They took turns drinking, and everyone was practically passed out, but Cang Jing didn't drink a single drop.
“It’s your turn,” Cang Jing said.
Han Jiang looked around and saw several guards lying on the side, and several wine jars were empty.
"I don't know how to play rock-paper-scissors, let's play something else," Han Jiang said. "How about this, we take turns asking questions, and no matter what the other person asks, you have to answer 'Of course,' or you have to drink, okay?"
"OK."
The cold snap brought a burst of energy: "You're ugly!"
"Of course."
"You're short!"
"Of course."
"You can't compare to Han Tian!"
"Of course."
Han Jiang was completely unaware that the rule she had just mentioned was "taking turns asking questions," and kept asking Cang Jingqi questions as if venting her anger and grievances.
"You don't like me..."
Cang Jingqi did not answer immediately, but stood up, walked to Han Jiang's side, picked up the bowl she had drunk from, and drank from it.
Han Jiang stared blankly until Cang Jingqi pulled her hand and walked out of the tavern.
She turned to look at the situation in the tavern. The waiter helped the group to their seats and was calculating the money bag left by Cang Jingqi.
"Where are you taking me?" The jade bracelet was put back on Han Jiang's wrist.
"Return to the Demon Palace."
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
Cang Jing remained silent.
"Hmph, he doesn't even know as much as that guy today. No wonder he's twenty-five and still can't find a wife," Han Jiang muttered.
She was telling the truth. This place is probably set in ancient times, where men are supposed to get married when they reach adulthood. Once Cang Jingqi's birthday is over this year, he will be twenty-six.
Cang Jingqi felt it necessary to defend himself: "Demons marry later than humans."
"Oh, it's because he can't find a wife."
"Han Xiaoman, have I been too kind to you?" Cang Jing sneered.
Han Jiang raised their clasped hands: "Cang Jingqi, do you treat everyone like this? Don't ask me whether I want you to treat everyone like this. The answer is no, because I like you, so I only want you to treat me like this. And you, do you want me to treat others like this?"
"I don't want that."
"Do you like me?"
The journey back to the Demon Palace was quiet; only her voice could be heard.
She repeated, "Cang Jingqi, do you like me?"
Cang Jingqi could not sense the spiritual energy fluctuations of Han Jiang; he could only feel his own heartbeat, which disrupted his thinking and judgment.
"good."
Han Jiang said happily, "Then I don't need any guards. Wherever you go, I'll go with you, and you can protect me."
"no."
"Why not? Are you going to find another girl?"
"No, Anju is very dangerous."
Han Jiang released Cang Jingqi's hand: "Anzhou? You're going to Anzhou? So what if it's dangerous? I went to the desert even though it was dangerous."
Cang Jingqi tried to take Han Jiang's hand back, but she dodged it: "Xiao Man, that's different. I care about you a lot right now."
“I care about you too, and I want to go with you,” Han Jiang said. “Cang Jingqi, we’re on the same side, remember? No matter which side you’re on, I’ll be on your side.”
Cang Jingqi's expression remained hesitant, so Han Jiang continued to persuade him, "I don't want to run away or hide behind anyone anymore. I want to stay by your side."
Such sincere words were enough to move even Han Jiang.
Cang Jingqi finally nodded.
The next day, he assigned the guards other tasks.
Han Jiang roughly understands that there are actually two groups of people involved in the human-demon transformation. These two groups have different purposes, but they are all under the banner of the rebels.
Cang Jingye is just one of the factions.
"Do these two camps have any overlap?" Han Jiang slipped into the study when no one was around.
Cang Jingqi put a silence note on the door: "Yes, Rei Mo is one of the points of intersection. But when we discovered this, Rei Mo had already been taken away by the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, and we couldn't find any trace of him."
Cang Jingye once collaborated with Lei Mo. Lei Mo researched the transformation of humans into demons, and Cang Jingye cooperated in the experiments.
Another point of intersection was during the Anzhou rebellion, when the rebels captured a group of people and handed them over to Cang Jingye for human-demon transformation, and Han Jiang was among them.
Currently, most of the human-demon transformation-related issues they encounter are handled by Cang Jingye, including those involving the Medicine Manor and Yinzhou.
Cang Jingqi covered for Cang Jingye twice. The first time was in Yinzhou, after the mansion exploded, he erased all traces of Cang Jingye's existence, so that the Vermilion Bird Pavilion could never find the person behind it. The second time was in the library, when he went to tamper with the forbidden books and bumped into Han Jiang.
Cang Jingye tried to get Cang Jingqi involved, but Cang Jingqi remained uninterested throughout, which displeased Cang Jingye. So, in Yinzhou, she lured Cang Jingqi away in an alley and attempted to use an illusion to change Cang Jingqi's attitude.
Unexpectedly, Cang Jingqi became so immersed in the illusion that he couldn't extricate himself, so he had no choice but to ask Han Jiang to enter his illusion and bring him out.
The Medicine Manor had cooperated with the Four States Sect for many years. At the time, Han Jiang wondered why the Four States Sect hadn't noticed the change in the Medicine Manor's owner. It wasn't until Lei Mo's accident that the past events were pieced together.
Cang Jingqi was initially unaware that Cang Jingye was a participant; he only discovered this during their confrontation in Yinzhou.
Few people knew that Cang Jingqi possessed spiritual perception, but Cang Jingye was one of them. Only she could accurately conceal her spiritual power, making it impossible for Cang Jingqi to sense it.
"What is the Third Prince's purpose?"
Cang Jingqi seemed unwilling to mention the matter.
Han Jiang then changed the question: "Which side is the imperial court sending troops to Anzhou to suppress?"
There are two factions within the rebel army, which is why the imperial court has not taken action until now. Now that the court has probably learned some of the information, it has decided to send the Vermilion Bird Pavilion to suppress the rebellion.
"That's exactly what we're trying to figure out. Aye said she didn't actually know who the other group was. Their leader said he was willing to help Aye succeed to the Demon Lord. But Aye refused; she only wanted information about human-demon transformation."
Are they still working together?
“No, Aye terminated the cooperation before the New Year. She said she had gotten what she wanted.”
Han Jiang sensed something was off about the timing: "The cooperation was terminated before the New Year, and then the imperial court decided to send troops after the New Year. Could it be that the imperial court knew Cang Jingye was involved, but didn't want to disrupt the human-demon coexistence, so they waited for Cang Jingye to withdraw before suppressing the other side?"
“That’s what we thought too. But Amai said that the court’s version of events is different, and the prevailing narrative is that they are targeting the demons. The people are saying that the Demon Lord wants to unify the world, which is why he’s turning people into demons.”
"I have indeed heard similar things."
But these words could never have come from Cang Jingye. Cang Jingye didn't seem to want the Demon Clan to last forever; on the contrary, he probably wished for the Demon Lord to be deposed.
"So the other group in the rebels is also a demon?" Han Jiang countered his own words. "Both sides are demons, but the common thread is Rei Mo, a human..."
I feel like something's missing, like a link in the chain is missing.
"Don't worry, Amai is looking for the mole. Perhaps we'll make a new discovery." The mole Cang Jingqi was referring to was someone planted in the Demon Palace by the other side.
The purpose of their placement of this mole is currently unknown. Is it to monitor their partner, Cang Jingye, or to monitor the movements of the entire Demon Palace? Cang Jingye has no idea.
Cang Jingye hadn't been seen for several days. He left a message saying he was going to Anzhou and wouldn't be back for a long time.
Han Jiang heard the knocking and was about to get up when Cang Jingqi pressed him down and made him sit back down while he went to open the door.
It's winter.
"Master!" Han Jiang stood up. "Why are you here?" Could it be that you want to take her away? She absolutely cannot leave. Her relationship with Cang Jingqi has made a breakthrough, and she will never give up.
After Cang Jingqi agreed to like her that night, the two became much closer. Even though the Demon Palace had a chef, Cang Jingqi would still cook separate dishes for Han Jiang. Except for sleeping, the two spent almost all their time together.
Cang Jingqi was handling affairs in his study, while Han Jiang sat beside him.
Although there was nothing else besides holding hands, the level of affection has definitely increased significantly compared to before.
Han Jiang had already dreamt that the system had fixed her relationship with Wen Xu, which was now at 100% favorability. Then Wen Xu was resurrected on the spot! And then, the two of them could go home!
Going home... Cang Jing had to stay here; he couldn't go home with her...
"Xiaoman?" Hantian called to her. "Xiaoman? What are you thinking about? I've called you several times."
"It's nothing..." Han Jiang snapped out of her reverie. "Master, you didn't come to the Demon Palace to take me away, did you?"
Hanjiang looked nervously at Hantian.
Han Tian shook his head: "No, I'm here to guard someone's house."
Guarding the home?
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