A Trip to Jiangnan (1)
He Yi was not surprised by Yan Qing's words, as if she had long been used to her sudden decisions. Actually, saying it was sudden was not quite right, but Yan Qing's plans always seemed rushed because no one else was involved.
But she knew that Yan Qing's choices were the result of long-term consideration, yet she couldn't help but be curious, so she asked, "Why the sudden decision to go to Jiangnan?"
“After spending several months together, you should be able to tell that I run Cat Tea House not just to make money, but also because I have other more important things to do.” Yan Qing explained, but did not explicitly state what she was going to do. She simply continued, “The trip to Jiangnan is for this purpose, and I want you to come with me.”
After hearing what she said, He Yi remained silent for a long time.
Yan Qing noticed her hesitation and then asked her about other things, "Have you heard anything from your family?"
"Not yet." He Yi stopped thinking, his brow furrowed with worry but he tried to remain calm. "Maybe I'm looking in the wrong direction. I'll find it eventually if I keep searching."
After speaking, she smiled at Yan Qing with feigned ease. Yan Qing was taken aback when she met her gaze. The words she had rehearsed came out, but they were not as cold and calculating as she had expected.
"The war is almost over, and perhaps they have already settled down, so don't worry too much. Why don't you come with me to Jiangnan? This trip will take us through many places, and we'll have more information there."
The moment he said those words, Yan Qing genuinely wanted to take her with him, without any other considerations of self-interest.
But He Yi on the other side shook his head, his tone sincere and firm, "I came to the capital to escape the disaster. You gave me a place to stay and entrusted me with managing your business. I can't just think of myself. We'll get the news eventually. They may not be heading south. Waiting in the capital is just as good. I can still do my part for you."
"Go to Jiangnan if you want, I'll stay here and look after the business. With so many merchants wanting to join the franchise, starting a new business in Jiangnan isn't difficult, but giving up the business in the capital for nothing isn't worth it. You've never mentioned what you want to do to me, there must be a reason for it. I'll stay here and watch over things for you, you can go to Jiangnan with peace of mind..."
He Yi continued speaking, but Yan Qing felt a buzzing in her ears, as if the gaping hole in her body was being magnified infinitely. In the past 25 years of her life, she needed a solid and reliable ally more than a close friend.
Has anyone like He Yi ever appeared before, someone so sincere and frank as to want to build a friendship with her?
There must be some, but they were all left behind in her hurried solo journey. The weariness that had been accompanying her for so long finally caught up with her when she slowed down to think, and this weariness seemed to be going to follow her for a long time. Thinking of this, Yan Qing suddenly felt deflated.
That kind of life has ended in the past, and there's no reason for it to return in the new world.
In a different time and space, she might be able to give up walking alone. Even if she fails, she can still leave and return to her original time and space to take everything back into her own hands.
Yan Qing was patted on the shoulder. She came back to her senses, met He Yi's worried gaze, and smiled sincerely, "That's true. I'm also a little unwilling to feed this piece of meat to someone else."
He Yi laughed along.
After thinking it through, Yan Qing felt much lighter. She gripped He Yi's shoulders and said solemnly, "You can manage all the businesses for me: Cat Cat Tea House, Cat Cat Supplies Shop, and Old Zhang's place. There will be more shops in the future, and I want to entrust them all to you."
He Yi finally showed a look of surprise, raising his hand to refuse, "Mr. He? No, I..."
Yan Qing didn't give her a chance to refuse again, and gently patted her head, "It's settled then, Boss He!"
After saying that, she ran away quickly, afraid that He Yi would catch up and say something to refuse her.
Leaving the capital was not in Yan Qing's original plan. When she decided to stay in the capital, she wanted to establish her own power in the capital and participate in the politics of the court. However, this was much more difficult than she had imagined.
Although she has already achieved some initial results, her every move is under Rong Xuan's control and surveillance, which undoubtedly brings great uncertainty to her actions.
That's secondary; more importantly, she can't accept that her actions are being monitored or even interfered with.
No one can try to control her; only she can decide what she wants to do.
The incident at the exotic cat manor was both a verification of the message relayed by the cats and an explanation to Rong Xuan.
Her information actually helped him get things done. Due to his deliberate concealment, Yan Qing had difficulty finding out what he had done through the cat, but she still managed to guess from the few words that the Crown Prince had suffered a serious injury.
"Whether you defeat the Crown Prince or you wish to replace him, I will be your greatest asset."
This can be considered as her fulfilling her promise, and now it's time to cut off Rong Xuan's sight.
As for why the destination was Jiangnan, besides the fact that it is the best place to expand the cat industry, there is another important reason.
"Is it because of the King of Qi?"
Upon receiving Rong Xuan's intrigued gaze, Yan Qing feigned surprise, as if she had never heard that Prince Qi was going to Jiangnan again. "Prince Qi? What makes you say that?"
Rong Xuan's eyes shifted several times. "Hasn't the all-powerful Boss Yan heard that Prince Qi is going to stay in Jiangnan for a long time and won't be back for a while?"
Yan Qing then feigned sudden realization and nodded, saying, "I see. No wonder you misunderstood. But my real reason for leaving this time is to see the so-called Jiangnan region shrouded in mist and rain. After all, I've wasted most of my life in the inner court, so it's time to go out and travel, isn't it?"
Rong Xuan smiled and casually changed the subject of her leaving, saying, "The inner court is too stagnant, why don't you go out for a stroll? It seems like Boss Yan has been outside for too long and wants to wander around the palace."
This is another test to ascertain her identity.
Looking back, Rong Xuan first became suspicious of her identity in the dungeon, when she revealed that the Crown Prince had a backup plan.
She had only been in the capital for less than half a year, but she could tell that the current Crown Prince was a brainless fool. The Empress's vehement denial at the New Year's banquet that Consort Shu had deliberately harmed her proved that when the Crown Prince approached Yan Congjin to plan this frame-up, no one else was involved. How could such a shallow and reckless person have thought of a backup plan?
But even someone like him, whose position as crown prince remains as firm as a rock, does so not for any other reason than the emperor's favor. It is unknown how Rong Xuan will try to shake his position this time.
It was obvious to everyone that the farce at the New Year's banquet was orchestrated by the Crown Prince. Although the Emperor ordered the Empress to investigate thoroughly, the matter was ultimately dropped.
Yan Qing never expected that one day she would expose herself because someone else was too stupid. How could a female official who had lived in the inner court for a long time and had risen to the rank of fifth-grade official not know what kind of person the Crown Prince was? This was equivalent to directly telling Rong Xuan that she was not Yan Qing.
"You don't think I'm Yan Qing?"
Even though Rong Xuan had already come to appreciate Yan Qing's straightforwardness, she still couldn't control her expression.
Yan Qing caught him off guard by his loss of composure and burst out laughing, which made him frown and glance at her, but she pretended not to notice and kept smiling.
Rong Xuan couldn't control her own expression, so she couldn't control Yan Qing's face either.
Getting back to the point, he fiddled with the jade pendant and concluded in a soft voice.
"You are not Yan Qing."
Yan Qing wasn't flustered by being exposed. Instead, she leaned forward, looked into his eyes, and asked, "Then who am I?"
This caught Rong Xuan off guard again. His hand paused, his eyes darkened, and then he put on a stern posture and passed the buck back to Yan Qing, "Only you know the answer."
The answer was uninteresting; she wanted to hear if Rong Xuan had any bold conjectures.
"Who else could I be? I will never change my surname or my given name. My name is Yan Qing."
This was no lie. She wasn't the doomed female official Yan Qing, nor was she the fake identity of the Yan family's daughter from Jiangnan that Rong Xuan had somehow found. But she was indeed Yan Qing, the Yan Qing who had been captured and brought here by some unknown misfortune.
Hearing her unashamed answer, Rong Xuan didn't bother with further words. He met her gaze with his calm eyes and then said softly, "If you say so, then so be it."
Seeing that he had nothing to say, Yan Qing did not intend to stay any longer and issued an ultimatum, "I will set off in half a month. You should also gather all your people as soon as possible, both the visible and the invisible."
Rong Xuan did not answer, but simply watched her leave.
Just before her figure disappeared, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you so sure I'll let you go?"
Yan Qing was surprised by his question and thought the two of them had already reached an agreement.
She stopped without turning around and said, "You agreed to cooperate with me just to watch the show. As I said before, I did give you some help in defeating the Crown Prince, which can be considered as fulfilling my promise. The show at Cat Tea House may have been pretty good these past few months? But even the most wonderful show has to end. If we force it to continue, I'm afraid it will end badly."
After saying this, Yan Qing also left.
She's right.
From the very beginning, Rong Xuan never expected Yan Qing to be able to offer him any help.
A lonely female official burdened with the crime of escaping, who would dare to use such a person to pull the crown prince down from his high position? Anyone who hears this would laugh their heads off.
Why did he agree to this absurd collaboration?
Thinking about this, Rong Xuan also had to think about it, and after pondering it, she felt that Yan Qing was right.
Yan Qing was a vibrant drama that suddenly broke out in his boring, repetitive life.
Smart, funny, and direct.
Her directness was something he rarely encountered; tracing back to her childhood, when she was still learning to speak and didn't know how to pretend, he could find some of her unvarnished emotions.
But she wasn't like that.
When she first met him, she saw that he was not easy to fool, so she slyly turned her eyes and tried to pull him away. After that, she became uncontrollable and did not restrain herself in front of him. When she was angry, she dared to point at him and curse, and when she was happy, she would pat his shoulder and laugh.
In these instances, it was as if he had shed all his identities; the emperor's dispensable son, the prince's younger brother with his dragon-like bearing and phoenix-like grace, were all irrelevant to him.
The longer a spectator stays, the closer he gets to the stage, and gradually he will want to step onto the stage and act out his discontent.
Why the dissatisfaction?
Because she is vibrant in front of everyone, not because of him or only for him.
Realizing she was losing control, Rong Xuan closed her eyes to calm herself down quickly.
After calming down, Rong Xuan felt a little regretful about the question he had asked at the end; this was something the two of them should have kept to themselves.
Just like he knew that she went to Jiangnan for Rong Xiao, but he didn't point it out.
He gazed in the direction Yan Qing had left, stood up, changed into a jade pendant, and rubbed it as he murmured, "After this performance, I wonder when I'll be able to take the stage again."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
