An Jin laughed. “That’s settled then.”
He walked to me, crouched down, and rubbed my frozen face.
I pulled his head into my embrace. Hot tears rolled down my face, feeling itchy. Something in my heart slowly expanded, swelling painfully in my chest.
“Brother Jin, we’ll never separate in this lifetime.”
An Jin nodded slightly in my arms. “Silly Ah Yao. Even if you try to drive me away, I won’t leave.”
The storm subsided.
Note: The removed content could potentially be used later in the story to introduce a plot twist or conflict, but in this context, it seems out of place and disrupts the emotional intimacy between the characters.
If we tried hard, there might still be hope.
However, I understood that the An family was already weak in producing offspring, and with the added Juezi wine, the chances were slim. But no matter how slim, we wouldn’t give up. During that time, the kitchen often smelled of seahorse chicken soup. An Jin tried hard, and I worked hard too, trying every possible position, but I still couldn’t get pregnant. As time passed, our anxious desire gradually faded, and we decided to let nature take its course.
As for the true reason behind the Qi Emperor’s actions, I sensed it would be a secret hundreds of times more significant than An Jin’s previous investigation into the whereabouts of Princess Nan Rui. Pursuing this secret might disrupt our current peace, so we temporarily chose to ignore it. I also advised An Jin to find an opportunity to resign and leave Yanfeng. An Jin hinted he had been planning this.
The Emperor’s actions had deeply hurt my original reverence for the Qi royal family. I slightly modified the novel manuscript stored with Chen Hua’s puppet and secretly had him distribute it as a hand-copied novel. This illustrated manuscript was later adapted by folk artists into a play called “Beating the Mandarin Ducks,” which became extremely popular.
This one failed to result in a successful marriage, and we had secretly formed a grudge with the royal family. Therefore, when my elder brother anxiously came to find me, saying that Miao Yin had disappeared and no longer came to the Hanlin Academy, I was not surprised at all.
