"What am I afraid of? I don't know, do you know?"
Bai Jiao looked at Qi Nuan and asked her with a smile, but his tone was slightly cold.
"Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say. As for what Ji Jin wants to do, I respect his decision."
She walked to the door, indicating that Bai Jiao could leave.
Bai Jiao didn't linger, glanced at her, and then left.
The night was slightly cool. Bai Jiao was only wearing a thin ordinary garment. He looked at Qi Nuan's tightly closed door, then looked up at the crescent moon hanging on the branch, sighed softly, and then gave a self-deprecating smile.
Who was he doing this for? Perhaps even he himself didn't know, didn't know why he was doing these things that were meaningless to him.
It's just unnecessary.
Just like the medicine he gave her was always unnecessary, it was just something he insisted on.
Yes, he admitted that he envied Ji Jin. He envied Ji Jin for being able to easily gain everyone's favor, while he himself, no matter how cunning he was, could not compare to Ji Jin's position in other people's hearts.
But that was in the past; he doesn't care about it anymore.
He knew that people's hearts could always be manipulated, and that was enough for him.
Perhaps I was too soft-hearted towards him.
Good people, kind people, are just hypocrites. He knew from a young age that no one was truly good. Just like that man, he was a good official in the hearts of all the people, a great benefactor, and a good husband and father that all women envied.
And yet, did he show him even a shred of pity?
It's all just a disguise.
Even at the very end, all he asked for was to protect his other son. How could he possibly be completely selfless? He was both selfish and naive.
What he didn't know was that Qi Nuan picked up the medicine he had given her after he left; it was still in that exquisite little wooden box, untouched.
Perhaps he did have a sliver of genuine affection for her, but he mostly used her.
Ji Jin's goodness was pure and sincere.
No one is truly a fool. Only the person involved truly knows whether they are being sincere or not; it's just that some people are willing to deceive themselves.
Ji Jin was aware of this, which is why he had listened to him for so many years.
But now the situation has changed, and the circumstances have given them more options. When the surface peace is broken, what remains is not necessarily beautiful.
Ji Jin lay straight on the bed, like a child sleeping peacefully.
He knew that Qi Nuan wanted to know about Bai Jiao's situation, but he didn't say so.
He knows everything. Perhaps they think he doesn't, which is why Bai Jiao treats him so well. Being the son of his benefactor is just an excuse; he knows everything.
What Bai Jiao didn't know was that he didn't see him after he grew up.
Ji Jin knew Bai Jiao when they were very young, and he had seen him before. He also knew that Bai Jiao was his older brother.
He remembered that it was a very cold winter when he ran out of the yard to look for his father and saw a ragged woman kneeling in his father's yard, holding his eleven or twelve-year-old brother.
The woman wept bitterly, while the man looked at them with cold eyes. Only the boy in the woman's arms, thinly dressed and shivering from the cold, stared at them expressionlessly.
Ji Jin, meanwhile, hid to the side, watching them curiously.
He overheard their conversation; the woman was telling the man in her arms to call her father "Dad," while the boy stubbornly refused to speak. The man didn't care; he was disgusted by the two people who had appeared before him.
Later, the woman knelt on the ground and begged her father for something, but her father just coldly threw some silver on the ground.
And coldly told them never to show up again.
Later, after a long time, when he had almost forgotten about the incident, Bai Jiao came to their residence and was introduced to him by his father. At that time, Bai Jiao was already seventeen or eighteen years old. He was handsome and fair-skinned, and his eyes always held a hint of a smile and a touch of languor.
But what Ji Jin saw was the boy who had stubbornly looked at his father many years ago.
He was very capable and always worked for his father. They rarely saw each other in the mansion until three years later, when Ji Jin was thirteen years old, when the current emperor sent people to arrest young boys and girls.
His father naturally hid him away.
However, they were denounced and framed, and their family was imprisoned. The father was also wrongfully killed, and then the father entrusted himself to Bai Jiao.
Bai Jiao led him to escape to Xujia Village, where they settled down.
The people of Xujia Village had always taken good care of him because they had received kindness from his father.
Ji Jin knew that Bai Jiao hated his father, but he did not transfer his resentment towards his father onto himself. He continued to take care of him. Perhaps the matter of the accusation was related to him, but that did not matter, because it was indeed the truth.
But he knew that the framing had nothing to do with him, and that was enough.
He glanced at the jade pendant he held to his chest. If he and Qi Nuan left, he would give it to him. He knew Bai Jiao had been looking for it, and he also knew that Bai Jiao might have always known that this thing was on him.
This was originally something left by his father. Since he was also his father's child, Bai Jiao should also have it.
A light rain began to fall from the sky, and it grew even colder.
Jiang Yu and his troops were still on their way.
Looking at the incessant autumn rain, Sheng Xiao felt melancholy. "I wonder when this rain will stop." He was extremely anxious, hoping to reach Julu as soon as possible so that they could crush the rebels.
The amount of food and supplies consumed by hundreds of thousands of troops along the way was not small.
The longer they are delayed on the road, the more detrimental it will be to the morale of their soldiers.
Moreover, soldiers are more prone to illness in cold weather.
Compared to his bad mood, Jiang Yu finally had a smile on his face. After several twists and turns, Qi Nuan's letter was finally delivered to him.
A letter from Song Jingning was also sent along with the package.
He knew Qi Nuan would be alright.
Zhang Liao smiled when he saw this.
"A life that has survived a great calamity is sure to bring good fortune. The young lady is a blessed person. My lord can finally rest assured now. This is truly good news. When we return from Julu, we must have a proper celebration."
Jiang Yu nodded calmly, but the smile in her eyes was obvious.
He said to Jiang Ming, "Go and tell Qingqing and the others, so they won't keep worrying."
Jiang Yu hadn't seen Qingqing and the others for a long time. Ever since Qi Nuan's accident, he knew that Qingqing and the others had been in a state of worry and self-blame. Although they were all in the military, he deliberately avoided them.
He knew that too.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com