centering
After being sent to the door of his residence by Xiao Yingzhu, Jiang Nian leaned on the door of the courtyard and waved to him gently.
"Thank you for sending me here today. It's getting late, so you should go back and rest."
Even though she didn't work with Xiao Yingzhu every day, she knew that Xiao Yingzhu had a lot of tasks on hand.
Xiao Yingzhu stood at the door, looked at her for a moment, his eyes moved, and the thoughts in his eyes were immediately suppressed by his owner.
He nodded slightly, responded lightly, and turned to walk towards his residence.
Watching Xiao Yingzhu's back gradually disappear into the night, Jiang Nian sighed and closed the door casually.
I don’t know if I’m just being too suspicious, but I always feel that… after I said those words to him in the afternoon, the relationship between them has subtly changed again.
Just like the time we spent together on the way back tonight.
“…”
Jiang Nian closed his eyes, dispelled the inexplicable thoughts that were starting to come up again, and turned to go into the house.
The light inside the window paper lit up for a while, and then was cut off again.
Tonight is quiet and peaceful.
—
The next day, Jiang Nian got up early to choose clothes and put on makeup.
After all, I'm going to meet Commander Yu and Commander Xi, and if I don't clean up, it will leave a bad impression.
However, because she prefers a simple style, she only matches the colors of her clothes and hair accessories without making many changes.
The makeup is close to modern light makeup.
The mirrors of this era could still show faces, but compared to modern ones, they were still blurry.
Jiang Nian reached out and picked up the dressing mirror, looking at it in the sunlight coming through the paper window. Her soft and gentle facial features appeared in the mirror.
In modern times, she is 24 or 25 years old.
And this era...
Her still childish face looked like when she was fifteen or sixteen years old.
If she hadn't traveled through time, she really wouldn't have thought that in an unknown era, there would be someone who looked so similar to her.
After putting the mirror back in its place, Jiang Nian immediately picked up the notebook.
It was originally used to check if there were any missed clues, but now it is used for her to understand what is happening around her.
Otherwise, it would be too difficult to connect all the events just from her perspective.
After putting the notebook back into the bag, I stood in front of the mirror and straightened my clothes that were a little wrinkled from sitting down.
After confirming that her outfit was correct, she put on her shoulder bag and walked out of the residence.
—
She had set a time with Xiao Yingzhu last night, so when she arrived at the door of Youguan Mansion, Xiao Yingzhu was already standing outside waiting for her.
Afraid of being late and afraid that Xiao Yingzhu would have to wait for a long time, Jiang Nian adjusted his expression and walked forward to wave at him.
"I'm not late, am I?"
Hearing the voice, Xiao Yingzhu turned around, her eyes moving from her tied-up hair to the obvious earring in an instant.
“No.”
After looking away, he responded and raised his hand to lift the curtain.
"You go first."
“…”
A familiar scene.
The memory of the night in Pingzhou flashed through his mind for a moment. Jiang Nian suppressed the inexplicable longing in his heart and entered the carriage from under the curtain.
After sitting in the familiar seat, she put her bag aside, glanced out the window, and her nerves relaxed a lot.
These past two days, I became inexplicably nervous whenever I saw Xiao Yingzhu. It would be fine if I didn't go to see him.
For the sake of face, Jiang Nian didn't want Xiao Yingzhu to discover this clue.
After the curtains were lowered, the attendants closed the door from the outside and respectfully watched them go away.
There was a downhill distance from the mansion to the foot of the mountain, passing through lush forests. Jiang Nian's eyes swept across the blue sky and the flying birds, and then he asked aloud:
"You and Young Master Qin...are both from the capital?"
"Beijing native?" Xiao Yingzhu was surprised, but then she agreed. "Yes, that's where he and I are from."
"Then..." Jiang Nian wanted to look away as soon as he looked into her eyes. Her mind went blank for a moment, and the question she wanted to ask shifted a little and turned into gossip, "Is Miss Tao also from Beijing?"
“…”
The carriage was silent for a moment. Xiao Yingzhu looked at her thoughtfully, then looked away.
"no."
"……Um."
Jiang Nian closed his eyes and continued to look at the scenery passing by outside the window with a calm expression.
How did she chat with Xiao Yingzhu before?
I feel like I can't chat with him anymore.
It's really just awkward chat.
Jiang Nian, who had never dug a hole for himself in his life, now tripped into it. After thinking for a long time about how to resolve the embarrassment he had caused, Xiao Yingzhu interrupted the subtle silence with a voice.
"The soldier you mentioned earlier is now Yu He's subordinate. If you have any questions for him, you can ask Yu He later."
The bishop's investigation was progressing slowly. Jiang Nian was planning to use Meng Zheng's investigation to investigate his own time travel. When he heard what Xiao Yingzhu said, he immediately agreed.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you."
"……Need not."
Xiao Yingzhu raised his hand, rubbed his brows, closed his eyes for a moment, and said calmly, "You are my ally, there is no need to be so reserved."
“…”
Jiang Nian opened his mouth, but the conflict in his heart was unspeakable, so he had to shut up after a while.
"Um."
In order to make the relationship between the two parties less tense, Xiao Yingzhu leaned his head and nodded at the table, then changed the topic.
"I still owe you a few questions from the pharmacy."
"I have some free time now, why not spend it like this?"
His voice was lazy and not as distant as usual, nor was it elusive.
Emotions also seem to be more audible and discernible, becoming traceable.
Jiang Nian thought for a moment and asked, "Anything is fine?"
"Yeah. As long as I can answer."
Guaranteed to get an answer, Jiang Nian pondered several questions in his heart, and finally avoided the topic that could touch upon his parents or the core of Emperor Changde, and chose a relatively harmless question and asked:
"Can you tell me...what happened between you and the Fourth Prince?"
From the moment he first met Meng Zheng, Jiang Nian felt that something bad had happened between them.
Now that she and Meng Zheng have become temporary partners again, finding out about the relationship between Xiao Yingzhu and Meng Zheng will help her, who is caught in the middle, understand things a little better and avoid stepping on other people's sore spots when collaborating in the future.
"Can."
Xiao Yingzhu was not surprised that Jiang Nian chose to ask him this question. On the contrary, he seemed to have expected her to start from this point.
Without pausing for a moment, he answered without reservation, "Meng Zheng has had poor health since childhood, so his life was different from mine, Qin Lan, Shuang Hua, and the others. He was confined to the palace all day and not allowed to go out."
"As a result, his personality is more sensitive than his peers, his way of thinking is different from others, and his views on things are not the same as ours."
Xiao Yingzhu pondered for a moment, recalling Meng Zheng's expression when he stood in front of Emperor Changde to report the results of the mission.
That kind of direct gaze without any hesitation, and a straightforward look without feeling any offense to others.
"He had a very paranoid view of things. Unlike Meng Jian today, his paranoia was focused on the changes in a person."
Jiang Nian blinked: "A person's change?"
"Well, he cares about whether others follow through with their original ideas or decisions. If someone has already made a bet and then later abandons their original idea, he will consider them a 'deserter' and a useless person."
Seeing that Jiang Nian still looked puzzled, Xiao Yingzhu explained in more detail:
"Because of his congenital disease, he will be tormented by it for the rest of his life. Therefore, once he chooses a goal, he can only move towards it. There is no room for regret or error."
Thinking of Meng Zheng's life in the countryside, and the memory fragments of him trying to find out what he was doing several times, Xiao Yingzhu tapped the table casually and continued:
"He's extremely sensitive, with thoughts that others can't understand. He's determined to change his constraints, but he feels powerless to resist fate. After recognizing the difficulties he faces, Meng Zheng formed this desperate decision to go all the way and never look back."
"While trying to break free from his fate, he was also constrained by his own thoughts caused by his predicament. Whenever he felt suffocated and wanted to see the lives of others in the outside world and invent motivation for himself to live, he would set his goals on others."
"He would be pleased if others followed his desperate ideas to the end and succeeded."
“But if you give up halfway, he’ll scoff at it.”
Jiang Nian still remembers Meng Zheng's face as he tried to hold on despite his illness on the boat from Chimen to Cangjun.
Disliking the sympathy of others...is also a way of despising one's own sick body.
When Meng Zheng sneers at others' giving up, will he despise himself even more for having to risk everything on one throw?
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then raised his eyes again to listen to Xiao Yingzhu's light words.
"There are too few people around me to contact, so Meng Zheng's target is me."
The fragrance of tea overflowed from the teapot, and after a moment, a cup of scented tea was placed in front of Jiang Nian.
She took it and thanked him softly, then followed up on Xiao Yingzhu's words and asked, "...Is that what he asked when you met in Cang County?"
Xiao Yingzhu turned the teacup nonchalantly.
"Um."
"Many years ago, I swore an oath before His Majesty, but many years later..."
He curled his lips slightly.
"As you can see, my reputation in Huandu is not good."
"So, the target he set on me was shattered."
Jiang Nian frowned: "What you did in this matter has nothing to do with him. Wasn't it his idea from beginning to end?"
"He's imposing his ideas on you."
Surprised at Jiang Nian's huge reaction, Xiao Yingzhu stroked the cup, and after a moment, there was a hint of casual smile in his words.
It sounded like he was not overly angry about Meng Zheng's opinion. Instead, it did not affect his mood and he seemed indifferent.
"Perhaps, but there is still some unfinished business."
"My parents are friends with the eldest princess, and the eldest princess means a lot to Meng Zheng. Therefore, he is also worried about my current reputation in Huandu, which is a disgrace to my parents' past deeds."
"..." Jiang Nian held the tea and looked up at Xiao Yingzhu for a long while, "You didn't do anything wrong."
Xiao Yingzhu propped up her head and raised her eyes to look at Jiang Nian.
“Ordinary people are easily dazzled by the complexity of things. Those who can see the root of things are ultimately only a small number of people who are willing to accept things.”
“People who are left outside cannot get the answers they know, no matter how hard they try.”
The light from the car window shone onto the table, illuminating Xiao Yingzhu's beautiful eyebrows and eyes.
His mood was extremely calm.
It is even completely contrary to the rumors that his mood is unstable.
"So, Jiang Nian, I'm not complaining about this."
They are just bystanders who are angry about being eliminated and are making objections. There is really no need to waste their emotions.
She understood the hidden meaning in Xiao Yingzhu's words.
"...Even if everything I've given you is taken away by someone else, and all my past good reputation is wiped out?"
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and looked at the teacup in his hand.
Her gentle features were reflected there.
"I don't think that's fair."
"Once Donglan's disturbance in Huandu subsides, those people...will simply blame all their suffering on you, the Duke who 'did nothing' and even 'betrayed' Emperor Changde."
"The nobles who enjoy the comfortable environment brought by your hard work day and night, and the common people who are deceived by the nobles' words."
"...Is it really impossible to change this?"
“…”
Xiao Yingzhu looked at her for a moment, and the laziness in his tone faded away without him noticing, and became unpredictably casual again.
“When I took on this position, I knew this was the way to go.”
"Jiang Nian, you don't need to speak up for someone who doesn't feel wronged."
He tapped the table thoughtfully.
"Rather than feeling resentful for me, perhaps it would be better to spend your emotional energy on how to get information from Zuihualou."
“…”
Jiang Nian sighed, the heaviness in his heart did not dissipate, but became even greater.
"It's really a letdown when you talk like that."
Receiving her dissatisfied look, Xiao Yingzhu smiled faintly and passed over the topic.
"These reasons overlap—that's why Meng Zheng and I don't get along."
"Does my answer satisfy you now?"
"……cannot."
Jiang Nian shook his head.
"It seems like he's the only one who resents you, not that you both have a conflict."
"If your rebuttal to Meng Zheng when you first met was due to the external persona of 'Duke', then what happened afterwards?"
She recalled the past thoughtfully.
"Judging from what happened afterwards, you seemed to have some friction with him."
Xiao Yingzhu paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his lips and looked down at her.
"You didn't notice?"
The topic of conversation inexplicably shifted to himself, and Jiang Nian was very confused.
"What did you find?"
Xiao Yingzhu propped up her head, curled her lips and said slowly, "Because he repeatedly tested your identity."
"So all the disputes that followed were caused by you."
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