Chapter 286 Friends
"A friend?" Liu Zijun asked curiously. It turned out that Brother Huo Ran knew the shopkeeper. But that wasn't strange. Brother Huo Ran had a wide circle of friends and knew many people, so it was normal.
“I am Huo Ran’s fiancée, so I am not an outsider. Huo Ran’s friend is also my friend, so I can naturally go in.”
As she was speaking, Liu Zijun was about to walk towards the backyard when Manager Liu quickly stopped her: "This won't do. Young Master Huo has come to discuss something important, which seems to be related to business. If you go in with him, it will be too conspicuous, and some things will be difficult to discuss. Please go back."
Liu Zijun was very unhappy after being told to leave. She then remembered that she had met Jiang Mi earlier. Now, looking around, she found that Jiang Mi was also gone. Was it just a coincidence?
Seeing that Liu Zijun and the others had left, Jiang Mi slowly went to the backyard and suddenly stood there, backlit, her whole body seemingly coated with a layer of light, making her seem unreal.
"Why did you come here? Didn't you always send Liu Min to deliver messages?"
Huo Ran felt a little embarrassed. He had wanted to talk to Jiang Mi up close for a long time, but he was afraid that Jiang Mi would be unhappy, so he had been avoiding her. After thinking it over carefully, he realized that he couldn't keep doing this, so he came over to talk to Jiang Mi himself. If he wanted to be with Jiang Mi, he couldn't keep backing down.
“These past few days I’ve been traveling to and from the palace and I’ve noticed that the noble ladies there are all using the soaps and honeys you make. This is a good thing, but not entirely a good thing. Do you understand what I mean?”
Jiang Mi understood this principle: everything has two sides. Once she did something well, there would always be people who would be jealous of her, and then some people would try to harm her. But if she was going to do something, she should do it the best. Now that she had come this far, there was no going back.
"I know, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Is this what you came here to tell me?"
Huo Ran certainly didn't want to leave so abruptly. He thought for a moment and said, "A couple of days ago, I went to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, but I ran into Consort Jing. She hadn't seen you before, but because everyone around her was praising you, she seemed to have some opinions about you."
Jiang Mi thought for a moment and asked, "Is Consort Jing Liu Zijun's aunt?"
"That's right. However, Liu Zijun hasn't been to the palace recently, so she probably hasn't told Consort Jing about your situation. But it's only a matter of time before they find out. You should be prepared. Fortunately, your second and third brothers are now officials in the court. If anyone wants to deal with you, they'll have to think twice."
Huo Ran hadn't seen the Emperor for the past few days. He had wanted to tell the Emperor about Jiang Mi, but he wasn't sure what Jiang Mi was thinking, so he decided to come find her first.
“I understand. I will avoid Liu Zijun these days and not confront her directly. Once my brothers have established themselves and my shop is stable, I can focus on my business.”
Huo Ran looked at her, feeling a soft warmth in his heart. He said gently, "You don't have to work so hard. I just want you to be able to do whatever you want. Being so strong must be tiring, right? Honey, I've been so wrong before. Can you forgive me?"
Jiang Mi thought that they had already talked things out before, and she didn't know why Huo Ran brought it up again: "Why are you bringing this up again? Didn't I say before that this matter is over? Since everything has been cleared up, and I'm not an unreasonable person, why are you still bringing it up?"
Huo Ran sighed softly: "I always felt that you had something on your mind. Although you said that, your actions were different from before. Honey, I swear to you, my feelings for you have never changed, and have always been the same. Can we still be like before?"
Jiang Mi recalled the days before. Back in Shushan County, although she knew Huo Ran had a secret, she never imagined his status was so noble. If she had known, she wouldn't have provoked him. But now that it was like this, she would feel very sad when she had free time. After all, they had been together for so long, and she felt a little reluctant to let go.
"We...aren't we doing fine now? I always feel like you're a bit unpredictable these days. You're like the clouds in the sky, and what am I? The capital is really big, much bigger than our Shushan County, and everyone there is very wealthy, and..."
"There are so many beautiful girls out there, and Liu Zijun is quite nice too. Aside from being a bit spoiled, she's very good and would suit you well. All I know is business."
"It doesn't matter what you're good at, what matters is you as a person. I love you, Jiang Mi. Will you marry me?"
Jiang Mi never expected Huo Ran to say it like that. She thought that with her status, she could only be a concubine. Huo Ran actually asked to marry her.
Jiang Mi's face flushed red. She glanced around and, finding no one nearby, breathed a sigh of relief. She said, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Isn't this something parents should discuss? Why are you telling me this? I don't know. How would I know about these things?"
Huo Ran no longer wanted to run away from this matter. As long as Jiang Mi was willing, and as long as he was sure that Jiang Mi's heart was the same as his, he would do anything to finalize his marriage with Jiang Mi. What he was afraid of was that while he was forging ahead, Jiang Mi would hesitate and ultimately fail.
"Jiang Mi, all I want to know right now is how you feel about me. Only when I'm sure of your feelings can I fight for our future. Jiang Mi, are you willing? Do you... love me?"
Looking into Huo Ran's sincere gaze, Jiang Mi thought, "If someone is insincere, they shouldn't be able to look like that. Over all this time, he seems to have never changed. Even when I neglected him and misunderstood him, he only carefully and silently gave his all and didn't give up easily. Looking into those eyes, Jiang Mi really couldn't run away anymore."
"I...I do have feelings for you, Huo Ran, but I don't want to be a concubine, nor do I want to share a husband with another woman. If you can do that, then I'm willing to work hard with you."
Huo Ran suddenly laughed. This tough, strong man actually had tears in his eyes. He seemed to realize that he had shown a vulnerable side in front of his beloved. He quickly covered up his emotions, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, since that's the case, no matter how difficult things are in the future, I will be with you. Honey, I, Huo Ran, will never let you down."
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