Lan Jinqin trembled violently.
Which woman in the world could remain unmoved upon hearing such sweet words?
Tears fell like pearls, pattering down. She had been strong for so many years, but finally, she was touched by Xiao Rencheng.
Her voice quivered with sobs. "My lord, I'm not oblivious to your feelings... I'm just afraid of disappointing you. I'm in poor health. I'm afraid I'll never be able to bear a child. Among the three great unfilial acts, being childless ranks highly. I can't drag you down!"
So that was the reason.
Xiao Rencheng seemed quite relieved. "I've heard that the great master Guangzhi is highly skilled in medicine. If that's your only concern, once we reach Jin, I'll go and plead with the master to diagnose and treat you. We can work on this together."
"But what if even the master can't do anything?"
"Childless or not, the Xiao clan has many promising young people. We can just pick one to adopt."
Such a major matter seemed so trivial in Xiao Rencheng's mouth. He even joked:
"My lady, I'm not particularly talented, but now that I hold a high position, many people are eager to send their sons to me, wishing they could call me their ancestor... My lady, you don't have to worry about us having no one to care for us in our old age."
"You!" Lan Jinqin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After a while, she finally let out a chuckle. "Stop being so glib!"
"Not glib then. How about a kiss?" Xiao Rencheng said as he pulled her into his arms.
Lan Jinqin blushed and buried her head in his chest, dodging left and right.
In the end, the man was stronger. He held her delicate chin and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.
Her restless heart finally settled down.
"My lady, now can you tell me where you want to go?" Xiao Rencheng asked as he held her in his arms.
At the question, Lan Jinqin's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "Zhengyang County."
Xiao Rencheng nodded. "Do you want to go and see the place where the third young lady fell into the water?"
Tears streamed down Lan Jinqin's face again. "The third younger sister was the most delicate in the family. I heard that she was shot in the chest and then fell into such a turbulent river... How much pain must she have endured!"
"Now we can't even find her body. We don't know where it's lying in the river. She was so afraid of being alone. As her elder sister, I must go and see her no matter what."
"I understand."
When it came to Caiyu, Xiao Rencheng also felt extremely heavy - hearted.
He had heard that Song Yinghuai had almost gone crazy because of Caiyu's drowning.
Now, according to the news from the front - line, he had been fighting desperately regardless of the onset of the poison. It seemed that he was torturing himself.
He nodded. "I'll go with you."
Lan Jinqin immediately shook her head. "My lord, you're busy with official affairs. Moreover, with the young emperor just ascending the throne, you mustn't leave your post without permission, lest others find fault with you."
Xiao Rencheng smiled. "I'm not leaving my post without permission."
He paused for a moment. Looking at Lan Jinqin's surprised expression, he said with a smile:
"I've grown tired of working in the Censorate in the capital. Yesterday, I asked the emperor for an assignment to an external post. The emperor values me highly and has specially promoted me to be the governor - general of the five provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu, and has also bestowed on me the position of the governor of the grain - transport. I'm to take up the post immediately."
The governor - general of five provinces was a first - rank official.
Xiao Rencheng, in his early thirties, had already reached the first rank.
He showed no excitement about his promotion. Instead, he looked eagerly at Lan Jinqin:
"My lady, the Zhengyang County you want to go to is within my jurisdiction. I'll accompany my lady to pay tribute to the third younger sister and take up my new post by the way."
Since the news of Caiyu's drowning had reached the capital, he had already anticipated that Lan Jinqin would want to leave.
So he had petitioned the young emperor for an external post and had been keeping an eye on Lan Jinqin's movements.
Lan Jinqin was stunned for a moment. "You... you..."
Afraid that she might refuse, Xiao Rencheng immediately got out of the carriage. He called Liuli into the carriage and then whipped the horse:
"My lady, the journey is long and dangerous. It's still necessary for a man to accompany you two lonely women on the road."
"My lady, you can't carry your own luggage when you stay at an inn, can you?"
...
In the winter of the first year of the Xuanwen era of Daye.
The Tatars were engaged in a fierce battle with the capital army, the Xu family's army, and the Yan army.
The Tatars were setting fires everywhere on the border between Qin and Jin, killing and looting. The hatred of the Daye people towards the Tatars quickly spread from the Yan region to the whole country.
The anger of the common people and the court towards Lan Jinxiang, the Tatar khan's wife who was under house arrest in the capital, had reached its peak.
Under the nationwide call to kill Lan Jinxiang, the indecisive young emperor finally gave in to the pressure and issued an imperial edict, bestowing a cup of poisoned wine, a white silk ribbon, and a dagger on Lan Jinxiang.
Upon learning that the Tatar khan's wife had finally been executed, the whole country rejoiced.
Even the soldiers fighting on the Qin - Jin border were inspired and won several battles in a row, forcing the Tatars towards the Qilian Mountains.
At that time.
In an unremarkable small village in the Qilian Mountains.
Caiyu finally woke up.
Sunlight filtered through the flying snowflakes and scattered outside the window.
Caiyu opened her eyes and stared at the large expanse of snow outside the window, as if an eternity had passed.
Seemingly sensing the movement on the bed, the man lying beside the bed stirred. He got up and met Caiyu's blank and staring pupils.
A big smile instantly lit up Sheng Jiangli's face. "Shu'er!"
He grabbed Caiyu's cold hand tightly, his voice trembling. "You're awake! You're finally awake! Thank God!"
Caiyu looked at the excited man in front of her, at the moisture in his dark pupils. She raised her hand, wanting to pinch his gaunt cheeks.
Unexpectedly, her fingers were too weak, and the pinch turned into a gentle caress.
"Brother A'li... How long have I been asleep?"
Sheng Jiangli held her palm tightly against his face, laughing and crying at the same time:
"You naughty girl! You've been asleep for forty - six days!"
"I've even considered burying myself with you!"
So long...
Caiyu was extremely surprised.
At this moment, the wooden door was pushed open.
A thin figure rushed in, accompanied by a young man's excited shouts:
"Third sister! Third sister!"
"Ah! Sister Qing! Third sister is awake!"
Caiyu was stunned.
She stared for a long time before realizing that she wasn't dreaming. " ... Fan'er? Fan'er?"
Lan Guifan threw himself on the bedside, rubbing and jumping. "It's me, third sister! I thought I'd never see you again... Wuwuwu..."
Being a young boy, he cried easily.
There was another hurried sound from the doorway.
Qingqing appeared at the door, holding a bowl of soup. Running in a hurry, she was out of breath.
When she saw Caiyu sitting on the bedside, tears rolled down her face. She stood there stupidly, not knowing what to say.
She's awake!
Finally awake!
Surprise and relief welled up in her heart. Then she quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Caiyu.
Caiyu looked up, saw the silly girl, and smiled at her. "Qingqing... Why are you here?"
"Didn't you go to Pengcheng to visit your relatives?"
Qingqing took a deep breath. Involuntarily, she moved her fingertips. Finally, she lowered her head and cried:
"Sorry, Sister Caiyu. I lied to you."
"I didn't go to Pengcheng."
"Okay." Caiyu didn't seem surprised. "I could tell that your identity was not simple... I just never knew whose person you were."
"Sister Caiyu knew I had another identity?" Qingqing looked up in surprise.
Caiyu smiled faintly. "When we first met, the prince reminded me. Moreover, you're just a young girl, yet you're so brave and knowledgeable. You could never be a child raised in a poor family."
"Then why didn't you expose me... " Qingqing choked.
Caiyu said, "Neither the prince nor Brother A'li exposed you. I'm sure they both thought you were a nice girl. And I thought so too."
"But I hurt you." Qingqing felt even more ashamed. "Sister Caiyu, I'm an agent of Empress Dowager Lü. I didn't want to hurt you, but I owed Empress Dowager Lü a debt of gratitude. Later... later, I thought I had repaid it, but I failed to recognize her malice. I still caused you to have a big fight with the prince. You should hate me."
Caiyu listened for a while, looking at Sheng Jiangli in confusion.
Sheng Jiangli said coldly, "The Empress Dowager Lü she mentioned is Lü Baiwei. During the days you were in a coma, great changes took place in Daye. I'll let Fan'er tell you about it slowly later. Qingqing and I will go out and talk about something first."
With that, he got up. As he passed by Qingqing, a cold wind blew, swirling the snowflakes.