Finally, Su Hui, perhaps uncomfortable with my staring, spoke first: “Didn’t expect to meet here, what a coincidence.”
“Indeed unexpected,” I came to my senses, holding the warm tea, my mind full of questions. “I thought you liked An Jin.”
“My closeness with Brother An was by His Majesty’s order,” Su Hui smiled. “To investigate Brother An’s background and to drive a wedge between you and your husband.”
She spoke frankly, and I had no reason to be secretive. But the fact that Su Hui and I would have such an open conversation was truly unpredictable.
She quickly excused herself, saying she would prepare some tea and snacks. Mo Qu remained standing in the same spot, motionless, with an extremely faint sense of presence.
“I heard that the Third Prince had fallen off a cliff, and Zhao Hua specially burned some paper money to console him, only to find that Your Highness is not only alive but also living quite comfortably,” I picked up my teacup and casually glanced at him. “To actually have such a pastoral life in the deep palace is truly enviable.”
Xia Zhichun looked at me with a somewhat strange expression, and after a while, he gave a bitter smile. “Younger sister Yao, you’ve changed quite a bit from before. I know you’re now the Grand Princess of Nan Rui and have surely experienced hardships, no wonder your temperament has changed.”
“It’s hardly considered hardship,” I gave him a slight smile. “Compared to Your Highness’s patience and strategic restraint, Zhao Hua is truly inferior.”
Xia Zhichun looked slightly embarrassed, lowering his head. “At that time, deliberately approaching you was indeed to confirm your identity. Compared to the Eastern Palace, I was at a disadvantage, constantly suppressed and threatened, so I had to rely on some methods to seek an opportunity.”
“I had originally wanted to provoke his guilt and make him tell the truth, but I didn’t expect him to be so frank and natural that I couldn’t bring myself to blame him.
“The grudges between Your Highness and the Eastern Palace are of no interest to me,” I stared into his eyes. “I only want to know where that black gold token is.”
He was not surprised at all. “I know you came to find me specifically for this black gold token.”
“This token is of no use to you,” I was not anxious, taking a sip of tea before continuing. “I believe Your Highness doesn’t want to hide in the Western Liang’s inner palace for a lifetime. As long as you’re willing to return the black gold token, Zhao Hua will owe you a favor. If Your Highness has any requests in the future, I will definitely help within my capabilities.”
Xia Zhichun looked at me for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “If I could gain the princess’s assistance, I would be delighted. However, I have received Emperor Yan’s grace and naturally must follow his arrangements.”
My heart sank slightly. I knew Yan Huo wouldn’t have let me meet Xia Zhichun so easily without reason. Even if I met Xia Zhichun, whether I could ultimately obtain the black gold token still depended on him. What a cunning Yan Huo – what exactly did he want to gain from me through this arrangement?
“Since that’s the case, Zhao Hua won’t force Your Highness,” I forced a smile. “I didn’t expect to ultimately still need Emperor Yan to speak.”
“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, seemingly accompanied by a long-suppressed sigh of relief.
I decisively 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 even recognize my voice?”
“If it were An Jin, he should have answered ‘People with too much curiosity often die the fastest’,” I confidently glared at him. “I’ve heard that some people can imitate voices perfectly. Stop pretending. Were you sent by Yan or Xia Zhichun to test me?”
His expression stiffened, neither laughing nor crying. “Good, very 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.
I had personally embroidered this handkerchief for him, with a Yao flower on it. There were some unexpected incidents during the competition, and I hadn’t paid attention to where the handkerchief went, never expecting he had kept it.
“To gain the Qi Emperor’s trust, and to give you a hint, I had Tang Wei bring back the handkerchief your mother embroidered,” he stuffed the silk handkerchief into my hand. “I’ve kept this handkerchief safe. When I miss you, I take it out to look at.”
“A hint?” I stared at him blankly.
“Pity you didn’t notice,” he smiled helplessly. “Next to the Yao flower, I added a duckweed leaf. I was worried you might think I was dead, so I used the duckweed to tell you I was safe. But you didn’t look carefully at all.”
“The handkerchief was covered in blood. How could I have the heart to look carefully?” I felt my nose grow sour, but held back my tears. “Since you’re fine and haven’t lost your freedom, why didn’t you come find me? I’ve been in Xiliang for so many days. Why didn’t you reveal your identity?”
He silently looked at me, not answering.
One unexpected event after another had left me not knowing how to respond. I had thought An Jin would appear before me at a specific time, standing up for me when I needed him most. However, when my father-in-law left, he didn’t appear; when I fled to Nanrui, he didn’t appear; during those days in Nanrui, living in constant anxiety, he still didn’t appear.
When I had to stand up and face everything alone, when I thought he was somewhere waiting to be rescued, he suddenly appeared behind me.
I didn’t even know whether to rush into his arms first or to clarify everything.
After staring at each other for a moment, he finally spoke. “Are we going to keep staring like this?”
I closed my eyes and stretched out my arms. “Brother Jin, hold me.”
I heard him laugh softly, and almost in the next moment, 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, gently stroking. “Why didn’t you listen to me? Didn’t I say not to come to Xiliang? These past few days, watching you deal with Xia Zhiyuan and Yan Or, do you know how hard it was for me to restrain myself?”
“But why did you—?” I raised my head, looking at him questioningly.
“I wanted to find you, but the Eastern Palace was also at the guest inn. If he discovered me, all our plans would be ruined,” he paused, seeming 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.
I quickly tried to imagine his original appearance to suppress this strange feeling.
“You also came to test me?” As I connected the whole story, I suddenly understood. Yan Or was a master at calculating people’s hearts. If I had chosen the Wujin token, it would have left an unresolvable knot in An Jin’s heart. Yet An Jin had actually accepted his arrangement, watching my choice coldly with Xia Zhichun alongside him.
