"Wait for me?"
Lan Jinxiang seemed to have heard something extremely funny. She scoffed at Xu Ziyi's words. "Four years ago, I sent a letter to Yangzhou, hoping that you and the Xu family would come to the rescue of the Lan family. I waited and waited."
"I waited for the officers and soldiers who came to raid our family and an imperial edict of exile."
Xu Ziyi's face paled. Looking at her cold face now, his heart felt as if it had been stabbed severely by a sharp knife. "I'm sorry for you."
"You've done nothing wrong to me." Lan Jinxiang said indifferently. "Your Xu family has always minded its own business. I was just too naive, thinking that you had feelings for me, that you would break the rule for me and ask the Duke of Dingguo to intervene."
"Now, I won't wait for anyone anymore."
Xu Ziyi's eyes turned red with pain from her words. "Father didn't ignore it. It's just that..."
How could he put it?
It was just that when the Duke of Dingguo went to the palace, Emperor Guangwu feigned illness and refused to see him.
Xu Ying couldn't just barge into the palace!
While they were still trying to figure out a way, the Crown Prince showed up.
No one knew who had persuaded the Crown Prince, who had always been on bad terms with the Lan family, to go into the palace to plead for the Lan family.
When the Crown Prince came out, the punishment for the Lan family was changed from the execution of nine generations of kin to exile.
This result was something that even the Duke of Dingguo, Xu Ying, might not have been able to achieve.
Since the lives of the Lan family had been saved, Xu Ying couldn't push for more.
Naturally, the matter was left unresolved.
He just didn't expect that Lan Jinxiang and Lan Jinshu would "pass away" before they even reached the brothel in the capital.
This made his plan to rescue them from the brothel in the capital fall through.
Xu Ziyi hesitated to speak. Finally, he lowered his head. "Xiang'er, I was useless back then. I underestimated the situation and made you suffer..."
He looked at her with red - rimmed eyes. "How have you been all these years? Have you been well?"
Well?
Lan Jinxiang felt as if she had been stabbed by his question. She squinted her eyes and smiled like a beautiful snake.
"Sure! Why not?"
"I've served three Khans one after another, and I have countless male concubines in my harem."
"So many Tartar men have knelt at my feet. Do you think I've been well?"
Xu Ziyi slowly lifted his eyelids. There was a hint of shock in his pain - filled eyes.
Lan Jinxiang's words made him look panicked.
His lips opened and closed. It took him a long time to find his voice. "I thought, I thought you... you were just saying it to anger me..."
When she said yesterday that she had male concubines, he thought she was just trying to make him angry.
As for the matter of serving three Khans, after Song Yinghuai had revealed that the Tartar Khagan's wife might be Lan Jinxiang, he had already come to terms with it.
For a weak woman to end up in a foreign land and become the woman of the highest leader of the royal family was already a blessing in disguise.
He had prepared himself mentally.
He had been constantly convincing himself that Lan Jinxiang must hate him deeply, and that they would never be together again in this lifetime.
He might as well not be jealous or have any expectations.
He just wanted to watch her be happy silently.
But he didn't expect that on the day she returned, she would shatter all his mental defenses.
She pulled him into the abyss and had an affair with him, making him sink.
His hope flared up again quickly and he couldn't control it at all.
He knew that he could never forget this woman.
Because of his own mistake back then, she had almost lost her life.
Guilt and love were like a flood that had been dammed up. It burst through yesterday under Lan Jinxiang's impact and turned into an uncontrollable emotion.
"Xiang'er." Xu Ziyi's lips trembled. He stepped forward and tried to hold her hand. "I know you hate me. You can torture me however you like. I'll do whatever you say. I... I just want to be with you."
Not just today.
He wanted to be with her forever.
He didn't know how to say this.
"Wait for you. I'll wait for you to do your makeup, okay?"
Lan Jinxiang gave the pleading man a cold look and sneered in her heart.
Now he was willing to wait?
It was too late.
She no longer believed in men.
She smiled faintly. "Sure! If Lord Xu is willing to wait, then wait!"
"Stand there and wait." She casually pointed to a distant street. "Go and prepare the sedan chair."
She specifically instructed, "Lord Xu, you go and prepare the sedan chair yourself, not arrange for someone else to do it."
After saying that, she turned around and slammed the door shut, leaving Xu Ziyi outside.
Xu Ziyi stared blankly at the door for a while, then let out a bitter smile and went to prepare the sedan chair.
Lan Jinxiang asking him to prepare the sedan chair himself actually meant asking him to be the sedan - chair bearer.
Once upon a time, she had joked with him, "Brother Ziyi, when will you carry me in the bridal sedan chair and carry me into the Xu family's door?"
Now he was alone, while she had been married three times.
People all said that coptis was bitter, but how could coptis be as bitter as life?
People all said that the spring ice was thin, but how could the spring ice be as thin as human feelings?
Xu Ziyi looked at the sedan chair, which was resplendent with rare treasures, and felt a sourness in his heart that he couldn't express.
Lan Jinxiang must have been deliberately stalling for time.
On the one hand, she wanted to show Emperor Guangwu who was in charge. On the other hand, she wanted to make things difficult for Xu Ziyi.
Missing court without reason would earn even the Minister of Justice a scolding from Emperor Guangwu.
Xu Ziyi knew this well, but he still waited outside the post - station.
It was Song Yinghuai who finally showed up.
Song Yinghuai saw Xu Ziyi waiting outside the post - station at a glance. With just one look, he could tell that Second Master Xu had been toyed with by Second Miss Lan.
He dismounted and nodded to Xu Ziyi. "Second Master, you've been waiting for a long time. I wonder if Caiyu also stayed at the post - station last night?"
He had gone to Wutongyuan this morning first, but he had come up empty - handed.
The servants in Wutongyuan had told him that everyone had gone to the post - station yesterday, so he was late.
Xu Ziyi couldn't help but mock. "His Highness the Prince of Yan has eyes and ears everywhere. How come you even have to ask me where your own woman is?"
Suddenly, compared to Song Yinghuai, he didn't feel that miserable anymore.
Song Yinghuai was silent.
All his people in the capital had been taken away by Han Fen and sent to Hainan. This was a secret that even Ji Ming and Xiao Rencheng didn't know.
So when mocked by Xu Ziyi, Song Yinghuai just smiled and didn't say a word. He just asked calmly:
"I see that Second Master seems to have been standing outside for a long time. Could it be that Second Miss won't let Second Master into the post - station and insists that you wait outside?"
Xu Ziyi's face also froze. He snorted. "Don't be complacent. When your Third Miss comes out later, you might be even more humble!"
Just as he finished speaking, Caiyu, Sheng Jiangli, Xiao Rencheng, and Lan Jinqin appeared at the door of the post - station.
Song Yinghuai quickly stepped forward and smiled at Caiyu. "Yuer!"
"Why are you here, Your Highness?" Caiyu suddenly said indifferently.
Although her question was calm, it was like a thunderbolt to Song Yinghuai.
He stared at Caiyu in surprise and disbelief, and his voice stuttered a bit. "Yu... Yuer, are you talking to me?"
Caiyu glanced at him again and asked strangely, "I'm talking to Your Highness. Is there another prince here?"
"No." Song Yinghuai reacted quickly this time. Then the smile on his face could hardly be maintained. "I'm just so surprised... You're willing to talk to me. Does it mean you're not angry anymore?"
Hearing this, Caiyu gave him another cold look.
Song Yinghuai felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly added, "I'm overthinking. You must still be angry. But it doesn't matter. As long as you're willing to talk to me..."
"By the way, today the Emperor is having negotiations with the Tartar envoys. The drill ground in the palace has been opened. Day one of the martial - arts competition between Daye and the Tartars is today. You and Eldest Miss are the sisters of the Khagan's wife. The Emperor has specially granted you two permission to enter the palace. I'm here to pick you up."
Song Yinghuai probably had never been so patient in explaining such a mess of things to anyone in his life.
In the past, he would have just said "Come with me" and that would have been it.
But seeing that Caiyu seemed to be calming down, he was in a great mood and couldn't help but talk more.
Caiyu just gave a soft "um" and got into the carriage. After sitting down, the last trace of warmth on her face gradually faded.
The escape plan that Sheng Jiangli had discussed with her yesterday was still fresh in her mind...