“You misunderstand,” he waved his hand. “Emperor Yan is not deliberately making things difficult for the princess. He just wants me to give her an additional choice.”
“A choice?”
“Indeed,” Xia Zhichun nodded. “His Majesty said he too once faced a choice, gaining much but also losing much. Although he doesn’t regret it, there’s still some lingering regret. So he wants me to give the princess a choice and see how you will choose this time.”
I stared blankly at him, feeling complex emotions. I couldn’t understand why Yan Huo would instruct Xia Zhichun to convey this to me.
“The black gold token and An Jin’s whereabouts,” he continued. “You can only choose one. Princess, please consider carefully.”
Truly worthy of Yan Huo.
I knew I should choose the black gold token. An Jin would try to find me after learning I was in Western Liang. But the opportunity to obtain the black gold token might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Yet, I hardly considered it before blurting out my choice.
“I choose An Jin.”
At that moment, I realized I was still the same old Xiao Yao – not rational enough, but always knowing what I truly wanted.
Xia Zhichun wasn’t surprised, just smiled. “Just as I expected.”
He stood up, smoothing the wrinkles on his sleeve.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll excuse myself for a moment. No one will come here, so you can be at ease.”
Huh? I watched him leave, confused. Wasn’t he supposed to tell me An Jin’s whereabouts? Why did he just leave?
“A Yao,”
An Jin’s voice sounded behind me, accompanied by a long-suppressed sigh of relief.
I took two steps back, watching him warily. “Who are you? What is the intention of impersonating An Jin?”
“Impersonation?” He looked somewhat shocked. “A Yao, can you not recognize my voice?”
“If it were An Jin, he should have answered ‘People with too much curiosity often die the fastest’,” I glared at him. “I’ve heard some people can imitate voices perfectly. Stop pretending. Were you sent by Yan or Xia Zhichun to test me?”
His expression stiffened, and his originally dark face looked so black that his features were barely distinguishable. “Good. My little demon, you’ve finally learned to be cautious, to probe, to suspect, and to scheme. You won’t need me anymore, right? Since you don’t believe me, why didn’t you choose the Wujin token just now?”
I opened my eyes wide. “You… you are really…”
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…”
His fingers combed through my hair. “Why didn’t you listen to me? Didn’t I say not to come to Xiliang? Watching you deal with Xia Zhiyuan and Yan Or was hard for me.”
“But why did you—?” I raised my head, looking at him.
“I wanted to find you, but the Eastern Palace was at the guest inn. If he discovered me, all our plans would be ruined,” he paused, hesitant. “Also, I wanted to know how you would choose.”
I angrily bit his chin. “Did you collude with Yan Or?”
“More precisely, he designed this choice, and I was curious too,” he smiled slightly, an expression that looked ridiculous on Mu Qu’s dark face.
I tried to imagine his original appearance to suppress my strange feelings.
“You also came to test me?” As I pieced together the story, it became clear. Yan Or was skilled at manipulating emotions. If I had chosen the Wujin token, it would have created an unresolved knot in An Jin’s heart, likely stemming from his resentment of An Jin’s previous calculations, serving as his revenge. Yet An Jin accepted this arrangement, coldly observing my choice alongside Xia Zhichun. How could I remain calm?
An Jin coughed and changed the topic. “Don’t you want to know what I’ve been doing in Xiliang, and why Xia Zhichun is here?”
“Don’t change the subject,” I pushed against him, glaring hatefully. “Do you know how I’ve spent these past months? I haven’t had a single peaceful night, dreaming that you were injured or betrayed. My mind was consumed with thoughts of where you were, what you were doing, and why you didn’t come to me. Finally arriving in Xiliang, I wanted to know your whereabouts but didn’t dare reveal it to Yan Or, fearing he might harm you. In front of everyone, I had to pretend to be calm and indifferent, acting like a proper Southern Rui princess. And you, whom I’ve worried about, were watching me get manipulated?”
By the end of her speech, her voice was hoarse, as if she had exhausted all her energy.
By the end, she was heartbroken, everything before her blurry and hazy.
As long as she didn’t blink, the tears wouldn’t fall. She held her eyelids, not wanting to cry after such an accusatory speech.
Her eyelids felt sore. She vaguely saw him approaching, gently caressing her face.
“Don’t cry, A Yao, don’t cry.” His voice was gentle. “I’ve always planned for you, protected you, but I never thought I’d have to let you face those vicious hearts alone. The stronger you become, the more worried I am, afraid you no longer need me. It’s all my selfishness. I’m sorry, A Yao, I shouldn’t have hurt your heart.”
The more he spoke, the sorer her eyelids felt, and finally, she blinked, letting two hot droplets fall on his fingers. Mo Qu’s face appeared, but the heartbroken and guilty gaze belonged to An Jin. She cupped his face and kissed him fiercely.
He reacted quickly, opening his mouth cooperatively, but her speed was too fast, and she knocked her lips against his teeth, feeling numb and painful. She didn’t care; having finally caught him, how could she not kiss him thoroughly?
Their bodies pressed tightly together, tongues intertwined, arms entangled.
I only knew that the person I was intimate with was An Jin. As long as he was by my side, I didn’t need to think about anything else. He was my An Jin, my husband who meticulously planned for me.
After a passionate kiss, it transformed into a gentle embrace. I nestled in his arms, tugging at the beard on his face. “What would you do if I chose the Wu Jin symbol?”
