"The Emperor has issued a decree today that strictly reviews everyone leaving the city. If I did not come today, I’m afraid that you would have considered the Emperor’s order as a passing breeze," said Deputy Commander Wang, as he casually pulled out the purse of bribe money from the soldier’s pocket.
The soldier’s face changed instantly, and he quickly tried to play it off with a smile, "We graciously receive a little tip from those entering and exiting the city gates. It’s just a token of appreciation for our hard labor guarding this gate."
Deputy Commander Wang snorted coldly, his gaze landing on the horse carriage, "Let me see the people in the carriage!"
He was obviously looking for trouble.
Shulan was sweating bullets. Xinhe glanced at Xiaoyu and signaled her with her eyes.
Xiaoyu subtly nodded, and then calmly got out of the carriage, her eyes trembling with timidness. She reluctantly curtsied, "Honorable general, my mistress is not feeling well and cannot bear the wind. Our grandpa just passed away, my mistress is devastated, and she fainted from grief. She is not fit to meet anyone currently."
"Enough with the nonsense! The Emperor’s order to inspect strictly means we cannot let anyone pass! Even if your grandfather is dead, even if your mistress is dead right now, I have to see it before you can leave the city gate!"
Saying so, he strode towards the horse carriage.
The coachman got all tense, his hand clenched tightly inside his sleeve, ready to take action at any moment.
Just as the lieutenant general was about to reach the horse carriage, a voice suddenly sounded, "Wait!"
Immediately following that, they saw Minister Duan galloping in on horseback, sitting on the horse with an air of cold arrogance.
Upon seeing Minister Duan, the lieutenant general quickly raised his arm in salute, "Why is Minister Duan here?"
Minister Duan glanced at the horse carriage, speaking indifferently, "I came to send a friend off."
The lieutenant general looked at this horse carriage in astonishment, "Minister Duan, you know them?"
Minister Duan replied, "Deputy Commander Wang, please do me a favor. They are in a hurry to leave the city for a funeral, and they are not in a good condition."
Deputy Commander Wang hesitated for a moment but ultimately, dared not offend Minister Duan. Thinking that Minister Duan and Marquis Mu had a feud, he would not possibly let Marquis Mu’s people leave the city, so he quickly made a bow, "If Minister Duan insists, I wouldn’t want to make it difficult for them."
After saying this, he waved his hand to the soldiers guarding the city gate, "Let them through!"
The horse carriage could finally pass through the city gate slowly.
Shulan felt as if a cold sweat had soaked through her entire back.
Once they had left the city gate, Ji Xinhe pulled back the carriage curtain to see Minister Duan riding beside them. His face was expressionless, even the usual feigned smile was absent.
"Thank you for your help today." Xinhe said sincerely, her face veiled, but the sincerity in her voice came through.
The many years of affection had long since exhausted, but today he was able to help her. Naturally, she was sincerely thankful.
Minister Duan pulled on the reins of his horse, stopping in his tracks. He turned to look at her, pursed his lips, remained silent for a moment, and finally said, "You should go."
These three light touchy words took a full eight years for him to utter.
Xinhe was momentarily taken aback and then said, "Thank you."
Minister Duan gave a bitter laugh, "I’ve done so much. It was actually never for your ’thank you’."
Xinhe remained silent. However, apart from ’thank you’, she could not offer anything more.
Minister Duan released a soft sigh, "Xinhe, you should go. Let’s never see each other again. Just think that I never existed. After dragging out so many years and tormenting myself for so long, I should have known that it was impossible for us."
Xinhe didn’t know what to say in response. Minister Duan took a pause and smiled, "These past few days, I have been turning in my bed, suffering from insomnia, and spending my days thinking about one question: I have wasted eight years on this meaningless affection, do I regret it? But after thinking about it, I don’t regret it. If I were to go back in time, eight years ago, I would still choose to stay the night in Lian’an Town and meet you at the Lantern Festival."
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Minister Duan’s lips. The dimple on his right cheek was shallow, and for once, the smile in his eyes was genuine. For a moment, it made Ji Xinhe see the innocent young man he used to be eight years ago.
"Do you like this flower lantern? Then I’ll go win it for you, as a replacement for the flower lantern you lost that night in Lian’an Town."
A charming young man. That was undoubtedly the purest and happiest time of Minister Duan’s life.
Xinhe wanted to say something, but found herself not knowing what to say. Her throat constricted, and in the end, not a single word came out.
But Minister Duan seemed to not care at all. He turned his horse around, gave a whip to the horse, and galloped away.
All they could see was his receding silhouette.
"Madam, shall we leave?" asked the coachman awkwardly.
Xinhe took a deep breath, then pulled the curtain back down and nodded, "Let’s go."
Once they leave on this trip, they probably would never meet again in this lifetime, because Minister Duan had said they would never meet again. Whether he had let it go or not, they would never meet again.
"Madam, Minister Duan, he..." Shulan said hesitantly.
"Whatever you want to say, just say it. You don’t need to hedge around the question with me," Xinhe said calmly.
"I just think Minister Duan is quite pitiful," Shulan awkwardly said.
Xinhe replied, "There are countless pitiful people in the world, but unfortunately, I am not compassionate like a Bodhisattva. I can’t do anything even if I feel sorry for him."
Shulan was taken aback. She still wanted to say, wasn’t Xinhe slightly moved by Minister Duan’s pitifulness eight years ago?
But she didn’t dare to say it. Who knew that Ji Xinhe answered anyway.
Countless people are pitiful, but she did not love him. In the end, she just did not love him. Call her heartless or selfish, she only had that one proud and aloof man who could make her feel heartache.
Because she was distressed for him, hence, she always wanted to alleviate his worries. Because she was distressed for him, hence, she always gave him the most safety net and resolutely stood by his side. Because she was distressed for him, hence, her heart could not accommodate anyone else since he was the man she loved.
As for others, even if it was Minister Duan, she could only give a thank you or a sorry, but could never afford to give anything else.
Shulan couldn’t help but say, "Being the person in madam’s heart, truly, nothing could be happier. When madam married His Highness, many people said that madam was lucky, and that it must be her luck that her ancestral tomb is smoking to have such good fortune. But I think, that His Highness was the lucky one, being able to win madam’s heart."
The affection that was bestowed without any reservations, the firm resolve – now that she thought of Minister Duan’s pitiful selves, how fortunate was His Highness?
Xinhe smiled without uttering a word, "With such a sweet mouth, I won’t give you extra dowry."
Shulan’s face instantly reddened, "Madam, please don’t tease me!"
Xiaoyu giggled, "Speaking of which, once we return to Yu State this time, we should start preparing for Shulan’s wedding. Maybe the Liu Family has been waiting anxiously."
Xinhe laughed, "Maybe, Shulan is even more anxious."
Shulan blushed, "I am not!"
The horse carriage traveled overnight until they left the capital city and entered a neighboring small town. Finally, they stopped for a while as it was prearranged to meet with Le Yuanhou here.
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