Chapter 12: Heart-Fluttering...
It's her.
It really was her. Shang Xu stared wide-eyed in shock, looking at her in disbelief. He forgot what to do and how to react, just staring straight at her as she walked towards him step by step.
The winter night was cold, but the moment I saw her, my blood boiled and surged beneath my skin, burning hot like magma. The cold winter night was no longer biting because of her arrival.
On such a cold and quiet winter night, Shang Xu thought he would be forgotten and had no expectations, but unexpectedly, someone he thought would never appear appeared.
It came so suddenly, like a sudden rainstorm, that it moistened his desolate heart.
Their eyes met, and Shang Xu's breath hitched. His throat felt inexplicably dry, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He swallowed unconsciously, and he could hear his heart pounding clearly in his ears—so violent, so fast, as if it were about to shatter his chest and leap to her.
With a "ding-dong" sound, like a drop of water falling from a high place in the mountains, it hit his heart right in the middle. Water splashed everywhere, and a subtle feeling spread from his heart to his whole body. At this moment, Shang Xu clearly realized one fact: he was about to be defeated by Yan Yize.
Yan Yize's actions may have been out of a sense of responsibility or good intentions, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that she appeared. Her arrival was undoubtedly fatal to someone who had been neglected and isolated.
He was like a person walking alone in the dark who saw a light in the darkness. Perhaps liking someone is that simple; once it touches the heart, it makes people go all out.
Staring at someone is impolite and unreasonable. Shang Xu knew he should look away at this moment, but he couldn't. There seemed to be a vortex in her deep eyes, drawing him in and making him unable to look away. Under her gaze, his heart beat for her.
When she was a step away from him, Yan Yize stopped, her gaze falling on him as she carefully examined him to make sure he was not injured. She then slowly withdrew her gaze, walked straight to the side and sat down. Her eyes were calm, revealing no change in her emotions, but her brows relaxed considerably.
Shang Xu's eyes followed her intently, his gaze shifting with her every move. After she sat down, he seemed to awaken from a dream, finally regaining control of his body. He abruptly turned his head away, biting his lip lightly, his face burning hot as if it were boiling water, a blush creeping up his cheeks without him even realizing it.
"Your Highness...why did you come here?" After some hesitation, he asked softly, his voice as light as a breeze, his fingers gripping the soft fabric, anxiously awaiting her answer.
Yan Yize listened carefully before she realized what he was asking. After thinking for a couple of seconds, she asked in return, "Were you surprised to see me?"
There was no need to think too much about this question. Shang Xu nodded vigorously. It was not just unexpected, it was shocking and unbelievable.
"yes."
Yan Yize leaned against the carriage wall, his gaze lightly falling on him, and said casually, "It's so late, and I came out to check since you hadn't gone home yet."
Perhaps his mindset had changed; under her gaze, he felt uneasy. Hearing her words, his heart tightened. She spoke so casually, but Shang Xu knew it wasn't so.
It is common knowledge that the Ninth Princess Yan Yize is not favored by the emperor. She has not yet been granted a title, so her coming out of the city to find him must have come at a great cost.
Thinking of this, Shang Xu felt guilty, and the heat on his face cooled down. He poked his palm with his fingertips. He shouldn't have left the city today. If he hadn't left the city, there wouldn't have been any accidents, and he wouldn't have implicated her.
The custom of worshipping Buddha has a long history. When he was young, his father's neglect made Shang Jue bully him more and more recklessly. Sometimes he would even team up with other children his age to bully him. At that time, he thought about dying, thinking that it would be better to end it all.
However, he overheard someone saying that the Bodhisattva is compassionate and merciful, saving people from suffering. Helpless, he regarded this as salvation and prayed to the Bodhisattva every day, hoping that the Bodhisattva could help him escape from the Shang Dynasty.
Later, as he grew older, Shang Jue stopped bullying him openly, but he still retains his habit of worshipping Buddha.
Shang Xu pursed his lips, looked up, glanced at her uncomfortably, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
He sighed inwardly, realizing he needed to change his habit of worshipping Buddha. He had already troubled her once; he didn't want it to happen again.
Yan Yize frowned, a sense of displeasure rising within him. She was his wife, and this was what she was supposed to do. He didn't need to apologize for it; if he were to apologize, it should be for something else.
She looked at him silently for a moment, then said, "Next time you go out, bring more people with you."
This section of road in the suburbs is the only way to enter the city, and it has a unique and excellent location. Bandits usually roam around here, targeting lone people, which is very dangerous. The imperial court has been sending people to capture them, but for some people, wealth and honor are sought in danger. No sooner has one group been captured than another group comes. No matter how many times they are captured, they can never be completely eliminated.
His staying here without any guards was extremely dangerous, but he didn't seem to realize it. Fortunately, it was winter, and the weather was so cold that even the bandits didn't bother to come out and cause trouble.
Yan Yize's words were meant to be caring and a reminder, but Shang Xu heard them and interpreted them differently. His long-term living environment had taught him to read people's hearts and to think in the worst possible way.
To him, her words sounded more like a veiled accusation, implying that he hadn't brought more men with him, so that there wouldn't have been any accidents and she wouldn't have had to pay the price to leave the city to find him.
Shang Xu froze, his heart seemingly plunging into an icy abyss, so cold he couldn't help but shiver. Winter was still just as cold; he was still walking alone in the darkness, the light never appearing. He lowered his eyes, concealing the sadness within. His affection seemed to have been mercilessly extinguished before it could even sprout.
But he was still genuinely grateful to her; on such a winter night, she had not forgotten him.
Shang Xu nodded silently, no longer blushing, sitting quietly and obediently like a mindless puppet.
"I see."
Yan Yize frowned and looked at him. He was still the same person, and his movements hadn't changed at all, but he suddenly seemed to have lost some of his vitality, like a bud on the verge of withering.
For some reason, it made her heart tighten.
She wanted to ask, but swallowed the words back. The two were husband and wife, but there was always an invisible chasm between them. They were not yet familiar enough to chat casually.
A note from the author:
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