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The letter sent by Meng Zheng was delivered from the imperial palace to the Duke's Mansion within a few days.
The protagonist mentioned in the letter was still sleeping, as if he had entered a dream, and showed no intention of waking up.
The courtyard outside the mansion is quiet and peaceful.
Only a few newly hired maids were sweeping up fallen flowers and leaves in the courtyard belonging to the mansion...or rather, the mistress's.
Occasionally, he would look up and glance inside the window frame through the gap in light.
The girl lying on the bed had her eyes closed, as if she was just taking a quiet afternoon nap.
The dancing golden light shines through the bonsai placed under the windowsill, illuminating the floating dust, and the hazy halo is blocked outside the fallen gauze curtain.
The silence dazed the maid who was peeping outside the window. She didn't come back to her senses until someone next to her gently tapped her shoulder.
"What are you doing? Be careful, those elusive secret guards might see you or they'll punish you."
The maid flinched at the pat on the shoulder and hurriedly picked up the cloth that had fallen to the ground. She waved at the other party repeatedly, "Nothing... I'm just curious about the connection between this girl and the owner of this mansion."
As if she felt that she was mentioning a taboo word, she lowered her voice and looked around. Seeing that no one was looking at them, she felt relieved.
"...You are really asking for your life!" The other party was also startled by this bold question. It took him a while to come back to his senses and gently hit the maid's shoulder.
"This mansion belongs to Duke Xiao... Anyone related to him must be either wealthy or noble."
"but--"
The maid frowned and was about to say that she had worked in the Prime Minister's house before and had seen many rich girls from the capital, but had never seen a woman like this.
The girl has a gentle face and soft features, and she has an attractive appearance. However, among the young ladies who always like to dress up in a flashy way, she is like a bit of freshness among a sea of flowers, not an appearance that will make people stunned and unforgettable at first sight.
Back in the day, Duke Xiao captured the hearts of many young girls in the capital with his looks, but it was not certain that any rich lady could win him over.
Now seeing a girl who is being carefully taken care of in this mansion, how can one not be curious?
That was Xiao Yingzhu, who was not interested in women and was aloof.
But despite her doubts, the maid caught sight of two tall figures not far away and immediately pushed the other person's shoulder.
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this. Let's sweep the floor quickly. Someone is coming."
The other person immediately understood what she meant, hurriedly picked up the broom, and pretended to sweep the fallen leaves on the grass under the tree.
—
They were very familiar with the two people who came.
One of them is the owner of this Duke’s Mansion, Xiao Yingzhu.
The other one...even though he is not famous, he seems to be in a high position. He is probably a master hidden in the mountains and forests, specially invited here, Lan.
The maid pretended to sweep the grass in front of her, which had already been swept clean and had no fallen leaves. She then raised her eyes and looked cautiously in Lan's direction.
Although many women in the capital harbored amorous feelings for Xiao Yingzhu, even knowing that he was ruthless, volatile, and difficult to approach, they still loved him. It was a bit of an unyielding attitude, the more mysterious he was, the more he liked him.
But the maid felt that compared to liking Xiao Yingzhu, who looked so cold that she felt like she would die if she looked at her for one more moment, Lan, who had been following Xiao Yingzhu recently and seemed easy to get along with and gentle, was better.
After being personally transferred to the Duke's Mansion by the Prime Minister, Young Master Qin - Qin Yue, the maid felt more and more like the heroine of the novels sold in the bookstores on the streets of the capital. The people she could come into contact with were all famous figures in this Huandu.
When I listen to people telling stories about them on the street, they feel like they are so far away from me.
But now, they have appeared in her daily life!
It’s incredible.
The maid felt more and more that she was really too lucky. If she could take some time out from her busy schedule to go to the bookstores in the capital and buy some storybooks to read, she might be able to master some new skills and gain the favor of these important figures!
By then—by then…
The maid couldn't help but chuckle as she imagined the beautiful life in the future.
Lan, who was standing outside the window where they had just stood, talking to Xiao Yingzhu with her head tilted to the side, seemed to sense something and turned to look at her.
The maid was caught off guard and looked into the eyes of the man of her dreams. Her heart skipped a beat. Just when she was feeling aroused, she saw his eyes, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling at all, and were as cold as a deep pool. She was instantly frightened and lowered her head in panic.
Lan glanced at the maid for a moment, then looked back expressionlessly and continued with Xiao Yingzhu's words.
"Yes, the original owner of this body probably hasn't completely left yet, which is why she's still not awake."
His gaze passed over the dusty window frame, lingered for a moment on the girl's sleeping face, and then looked away.
"If we want to find 'Jiang Nian' himself, we have to go back to his hometown and inspect it."
Xiao Yingzhu listened calmly, with little expression on her face. She looked away from the room and said lightly, "Well, I'll go back to Pingzhou tomorrow."
"You—" Lan was shocked for a moment, then his eyes lingered on the girl and Xiao Yingzhu's faces for a moment, and he understood, "No wonder you came to see me on purpose."
He spread out his hands. The afternoon light was at its brightest, and the token in his palm was emitting a faint fluorescence.
Under the white curtain, the light it emits is not obvious.
"I thought you wouldn't use this token."
After all, this token was originally left to Xiao Yingzhu to prepare for future troubles - for example, because he had previously intervened in the war, the history of Huandu was tampered with and evolved into its current state.
As the only person from this era who knows about this matter, Lan hopes that if there are any deviations in the history of this world, Xiao Yingzhu will use this token to call him back to deal with it.
Because this token can only be used once, it is very precious.
Lan would think that the next time Xiao Yingzhu summoned him, it would be to deal with a national war or a self-defense matter that he himself could not handle.
But I didn't expect it was for Jiang Nian.
"Going back to Pingzhou? That's not necessary."
He suppressed the slight shock in his heart. He had always been indifferent to other people's feelings, so even if he was stunned for a moment, he no longer cared and turned the topic back to what he had just done.
"I can turn back time and shorten the journey."
"For example, you and I are currently in a short distance, and no one can hear our conversation. As long as you keep your destination in mind, you will be back to the place and time you want to go in the next moment."
This sounds long, but it is easy to understand.
Xiao Yingzhu didn't ask any more questions. He turned around briefly and stepped into the vast area in front of him where there was water flowing all over the place.
—
The water falls from the boundless, turbid and dark sky, seemingly flowing endlessly to the ends of the earth.
Wherever you look, the water on the ground can reflect the sky.
Xiao Yingzhu walked a few steps in this space and looked up slightly.
The sky, like a mirror in the water, reflected his expressionless face. He seemed to have no expression change these days. Now, looking at himself who was looking up in the sky, Xiao Yingzhu's gaze paused for a moment, then he calmly withdrew his gaze and continued to move forward.
All the surrounding scenes are empty and it is impossible to stare at them, nor can I see clearly what kind of scenes are mixed in them.
After a while, Lan, who was following beside him, seemed to have noticed something. A smile appeared on her lips, and she gestured to Xiao Yingzhu for a moment: "We're here."
The picture changed as his voice moved, like water dripping into ink. After a moment of silence, the picture in front of him began to blur.
A blurry scene appeared before the two of them.
Xiao Yingzhu walked a few steps in the black and white scene, and his eyes stopped on a figure.
That was the teahouse where Jiang Nian usually liked to go to gather intelligence.
In the silent black and white scene, Jiang Nian's running scene appears vivid.
After she got off the carriage, she impatiently stretched out her hand to drive away Fuling and Guizhi, who were worried about her and wanted to follow her. She twisted a handkerchief in her hand and walked forward.
Thinking about meeting the young man whom he had agreed to meet in the teahouse, Jiang Nian walked hurriedly, raising his hands to slap away or dodging people who did not exist in this world. He then trotted a few steps to the teahouse door and entered the front door.
Lan's gaze followed the girl's hair as it swept across the corner of the hall. Even as he raised his hand and slightly changed his gesture, the scene in front of him spread out like ripples on the water, and the scene of Jiang Nian and Master Li's conversation was projected before them.
Since this world is a world of the past, we cannot hear the voices of that time and can only judge by their actions and expressions.
The Jiang Nian next to him is not the Jiang Nian who traveled through time, but the Jiang Nian who had no intention of taking over the pharmacy at the beginning.
Jiang Nian still seemed indifferent to the difficulties his family was facing, and when he saw Mr. Li's impatient face, he acted as if he didn't see it.
Even as she happily came forward, she swept away her impatience towards the two maids at home who cared about her, opened her lips and said something to Master Li, then put the sachet in her hand in front of her and pushed it in front of Master Li.
Lan watched Master Li's movements calmly, her eyes falling on the cuff of his right hand as he raised it to take the sachet. She paused for a moment, but said nothing and continued to watch.
Soon, the tea and snacks ordered by Mr. Li, who arrived first, were brought up by the waiter.
Jiang Nian still maintained his usual style in the Jiang Mansion. He tilted his head and stared at Mr. Li's handsome face, not paying any attention to the movements of his hands.
Even until Master Li opened his mouth to say something to her, Jiang Nian was still overjoyed and nodded at him with great joy.
“…”
Needless to say, the source of this unexpected joy was the scene that was playing out like a pantomime in front of him.
It seemed that Mr. Li had never done anything for Jiang Nian before, so he took the initiative to pick up the teapot, poured water for Jiang Nian, and carefully filled the teacup with tea and pushed it in front of her.
Jiang Nian thought nothing was wrong and didn't even think about whether the tea in the cup was the same as the one served by the waiter. He drank it without any hesitation.
Even though things happened very quickly afterwards, Jiang Nian said goodbye to Master Li, but at the door of the teahouse, she heard Master Li saying something that made her shudder with a smile.
Her joyful expression faded away, and she stepped forward to question him, but she saw Master Li wave his sleeves, turn around and walk towards the carriage parked on the other side of the Li family mansion.
The scene in front of him spread out like ripples on the water. Xiao Yingzhu's gaze moved away from the carriage where she and Jiang Nian had been sitting together before, and turned to the picture of ripples on the water next to her.
The picture shows Jiang Nian returning to the mansion, cutting off the figures of others, washing up, getting dressed and going to bed.
Immediately following.
Time flies, even back to the very first day.
Xiao Yingzhu stood across time and space beside the bed where Jiang Nian slept, watching her open her eyes, her vision vaguely focused. Even when she stood up, she slowly and blankly looked around at this era that was strange and questionable to her.
…
Everything starts to overlap here, forming a circle.
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