He pulled out a red silk handkerchief from his chest. “This should prove my identity, right?”
I certainly wouldn’t forget this handkerchief. During the Three Kingdoms Competition, An Jin had participated in the hunting event.
I embroidered this handkerchief for him, featuring a Yao flower. During the competition, unexpected incidents occurred, and I lost track of it, never imagining he had kept it.
“To gain the Qi Emperor’s trust, I had Tang Wei bring back the handkerchief your mother embroidered,” he handed the silk handkerchief to me. “I’ve kept it safe. When I miss you, I take it out.”
“A hint?” I asked, confused.
“You didn’t notice,” he said with a helpless smile. “Next to the Yao flower, I added a duckweed leaf to show I was safe, worried you might think I was dead.”
“The handkerchief was covered in blood. How could I look closely?” My emotions swelled, and though I held back tears, I confronted him. “Since you’re fine, why didn’t you come find me? I’ve been in Xiliang for so many days. Why didn’t you reveal your identity?”
He looked at me silently.
An unexpected series of events had left me unsure of how to respond. I expected An Jin would appear when I needed him most, but he didn’t. Not when my father-in-law left, not when I fled to Nanrui, and not during my anxious days there.
When I had to stand up and face everything alone, thinking he was waiting to be rescued like a trapped cat, he suddenly appeared behind me.
I didn’t know whether to rush into his arms or clarify everything.
After a moment of staring, he finally spoke. “Are we going to keep staring like this?”
I closed my eyes and stretched out my arms. “Brother Jin, hold me.”
He laughed softly, and almost immediately, I was tightly embraced. Warm and fresh, like the fragrance of locust flowers in midsummer. This was An Jin’s scent. Though this chest wasn’t as thick as I remembered, this smell couldn’t lie.
“Finally…” I buried my face in his chest, breathing in his scent. “Why did you only appear now…”
