Chapter 109 Would you be willing to be my Crown Prince Xiang's consort?
Jiang Zhi didn't refuse anymore and walked towards the library with Xiao Yunheng.
The library of the Prince of Xiang's mansion looks magnificent from the outside, standing five stories high, and gleams with a warm light in the sunlight.
Once inside, the room was filled with a rich aroma of ink and a faint scent of wood. Rows of bookshelves stood tall and neat, filled with a dazzling array of books, and dust danced in the air.
Jiang Zhi looked around with her head tilted back, stunned by the enormous collection of books in the Xiang Prince's mansion.
Seeing her dazed expression, Xiao Yunheng couldn't help but smile.
"Miss Jiang, please follow me."
To facilitate Xiao Yunheng's movement, the library has specially designed sedan chairs. The sedan chairs carrying wheelchairs are pulled by people using ropes to transport them to each floor.
Jiang Zhi was once again stunned by the wealth of the Prince of Xiang's mansion.
She had long heard that the Prince of Xiang's mansion was deeply favored by the Emperor, and that rewards were sent to the mansion in an endless stream; now she truly understood this.
She followed Xiao Yunheng to the top floor of the library.
Xiao Yunheng told her that the place contained rare and priceless manuscripts that had long been extinct elsewhere.
Jiang Zhi walked carefully among the bookshelves, afraid of knocking something over.
"This is the one." Xiao Yunheng found the Buddhist scripture and handed it to Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi carefully took it and discovered that it was the "Zhao Cheng Jin Zang" which was said to have been lost in the previous dynasty. She felt a chill in her heart, as if the book in her hand weighed a thousand pounds.
"The young master entrusted such a precious scripture to me. What if it gets damaged or lost..." Jiang Zhi hesitated.
She hadn't expected the scroll to be so valuable.
Xiao Yunheng didn't take it to heart. "It was you who took it. Everything else is not mine. If it is really lost or damaged, it means that this scripture is destined not to belong to the Prince of Xiang's mansion. Miss Jiang, you don't need to worry about it."
Jiang Zhi held the hot potato in her hand, her face full of dilemma.
She regretted agreeing to it.
After leaving the study with Xiao Yunheng, they found themselves on a viewing platform outside, offering a panoramic view of the Xiang Prince's residence.
“You can also see the Jiang residence from here.” Xiao Yunheng pushed his wheelchair toward the railing himself.
Jiang Zhi followed and found that what he said was indeed true.
Jiang Zhi was preoccupied with finding the doctor and was somewhat absent-minded, only giving perfunctory replies to whatever Xiao Yunheng said.
Xiao Yunheng noticed her perfunctory attitude and turned to look at her. "Look at me, I haven't spoken to anyone in a long time. Once I start talking, I can't stop. I hope Miss Jiang will forgive me."
“No, no,” Jiang Zhi waved her hands repeatedly. “The young master is kind and gentle. It was I who was impolite.”
"Is that so?" Xiao Yunheng pushed his wheelchair closer to her. Although he seemed shorter than her because of his posture, he exuded an indescribable sense of pressure. "Is that really what Miss Jiang thinks?"
Faced with his sudden approach, Jiang Zhi took a step back warily, her lower back pressed against the railing. "Of course, I suddenly remembered that I have some things to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
Jiang Zhi wanted to leave, but Xiao Yunheng's next words stunned her into standing still.
"Miss Jiang, since my mother likes you so much, I don't reject you either. Would you be willing to be my Princess Consort of Xiang?"
His voice was calm, and his expression was calm as well, as if he were just talking about today's weather.
Jiang Zhi stared at him in disbelief, thinking she had misheard.
"Your Highness, are you joking with me?" They've barely met each other more than a few times.
Xiao Yunheng's wheelchair moved even closer, and Jiang Zhi was pressed tightly against the railing behind her, with no way to retreat.
"Or is it that Miss Jiang dislikes me because I'm disabled and is unwilling to agree?" His light gaze was like an invisible net, tightly binding her.
Jiang Zhi swallowed nervously.
Although she didn't know what Xiao Yunheng was thinking, she was already engaged and naturally couldn't agree to it.
"No, Your Highness probably doesn't know yet, but I've already..."
Just as she was about to explain, a very soft voice sounded in her ear.
Before she could react, she heard a soft "crack" and the railing behind her snapped under the weight. She felt weightless and lost her balance, falling from the sky!
Jiang Zhi was completely dazed, her hands frantically trying to grab something.
"Miss Jiang."
Xiao Yunheng called out and leaped from his wheelchair, grabbing Jiang Zhi's wrist just as she fell. The wheelchair, propelled by inertia, flipped over the railing and plummeted rapidly down the building.
"Hurry up."
Jiang Zhi was so windy that she could barely open her eyes. Her body was suspended in mid-air, with the ground far below her. Her only support was the hand that was holding her wrist.
She looked up and saw Xiao Yunheng holding her with one hand and gripping the pillar behind him tightly with the other, his knuckles digging deep into the wood from the force. His face was pale and his brows were furrowed.
"Don't be afraid, I'll pull you up." He tried to pull Jiang Zhi up, but his disabled legs were of no help at all. Coupled with his long-term illness, with the slightest effort, he was pulled away by Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi's heart was about to jump out of her throat.
No, if this continues, Xiao Yunheng will definitely be implicated by her.
"Your Highness, please let go. I'll be fine." Her voice was carried to Xiao Yunheng's ears by the wind.
Xiao Yunheng shook his head, "I can't just watch you fall."
Jiang Zhi watched as the veins on his hand gripping the pillar bulged, yet he continued to slowly pull away from it.
If this continues, something bad will happen to both of them.
She began to reach out and slowly pry open Xiao Yunheng's fingers that were holding her.
Xiao Yunheng was shocked and exclaimed, "No, no!"
Jiang Zhi smiled at him, and then Xiao Yunheng watched helplessly as the woman in front of him pried his hands off and fell down without hesitation.
Xiao Yunheng's pupils contracted violently.
But soon, he saw a slender figure rush out from behind him, catching Jiang Zhi in mid-air at an even faster speed. After using the railings on each floor for leverage, they landed steadily on the ground.
The guards in the mansion arrived immediately, helped Xiao Yunheng up from the ground, brought a spare wheelchair, and took him downstairs.
Everything happened in an instant.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" the guard asked him.
Xiao Yunheng shook his head, his gaze falling on Jiang Zhi beside him.
She seemed still a little shaken, patting her chest and panting.
The figure that had just appeared at the critical moment to save Jiang Zhi had vanished, as if it were merely his imagination.
“I’m really sorry about what happened earlier. Few people go up to the library, and the railings are old and in disrepair. Fortunately, Miss Jiang was not hurt,” Xiao Yunheng frowned and ordered, “Withhold half a year’s salary from the person in charge of the library, and have each of them go and collect ten lashes.”
This is Xiao Yunheng's family matter, and Jiang Zhi shouldn't offer any advice.
"I must thank Your Highness for your help; otherwise, I would not be standing here unharmed right now," Jiang Zhi said, still shaken.
When they entered the library, Dark Moon and Shadow couldn't go up with them, so they secretly stayed below.
If Xiao Yunheng hadn't pulled her back, even if Ru Ying had three heads and six arms, she wouldn't have been able to rush up and save her in such a short time.
Xiao Yunheng was in a hurry to deal with the matter of the library, so he sent someone to escort Jiang Zhi out of the mansion.
"Did you get a clear look at her bodyguard just now?" Xiao Yunheng suddenly asked the guard beside him.
His expression had lost its earlier panic and tension, and instead carried a faint sense of dejection.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
