Song Yihuan sat there, her head bowed as she stared silently at the wine cup in front of her.
Just when Ji Lingchuan thought she might have fallen asleep, she said, "I don't want to."
Although Ji Lingchuan had already guessed her answer, his heart still gave a sudden twitch.
"Why?" His voice turned hoarse. "Weren't you interested in the frontier in his writings?"
Song Yihuan laughed. She said, "Interest doesn't necessarily mean we have to meet. Maybe if we meet, we'll find that it's better not to. It's so much nicer to keep that bit of mystery."
After filling their stomachs, the two of them headed back home.
Song Yihuan wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that on the way back, Ji Lingchuan seemed even more silent than when they were at Jiang Heng's place. His brows were tightly knitted, and he looked utterly exhausted.
Song Yihuan instinctively wanted to ask him what was wrong, but just as the words were about to come out, she swallowed them back.
He and the yamen had been so busy for so many days trying to catch the criminal. It must be because he was too tired that he was like this, right?
Moreover, when they were catching the criminal, she had called him Big Brother Ling. But back in the Prince Ning's Mansion, he was the lofty heir apparent, while she was just a shadow of her older sister who was hidden away in the backyard and couldn't see the light of day.
She shouldn't overstep her bounds.
Just as the carriage was about to reach the Prince Ning's Mansion, Ji Lingchuan suddenly spoke up.
"Was your younger brother born in the first year of the Taichu Era?"
Song Yihuan was taken aback. After regaining her senses, she nodded and replied, "Yes."
There was a small lantern lit inside the carriage. The warm yellow light shone on Song Yihuan's face, softening her gorgeous and bright features. Ji Lingchuan stared deeply at her and asked,
"On which day was he born?"
Song Yihuan gently hooked the rope on her veil hat with her finger. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and there seemed to be a mist in her eyes. "Lesser Fullness."
After Ji Lingchuan asked this question, his gaze was absent - minded for a moment. "So, that day was also the anniversary of your step - mother's death."
Song Yihuan's eyes flickered, and she let out an almost inaudible "mm".
Ji Lingchuan's hand in his sleeve tightened into a fist so hard that his knuckles cracked. His knuckles were frighteningly pale.
On Lesser Fullness in the first year of the Taichu Era, it was the day they had agreed to meet in the dilapidated temple. That day, he had waited in the temple from sunrise to sunset, but he never saw her figure.
After that, an urgent report came from the frontier. He was ordered to lead the Black Armored Army to the frontier. Just like that, the two of them had missed each other for four years.
When they met again, everything had changed.
Why did fate always play such cruel tricks on people?
The carriage gradually came to a stop. Both Ji Lingchuan and Song Yihuan knew that this meant the carriage had reached the alley outside the back gate of the Prince Ning's Mansion.
The two of them got out of the carriage one after the other. Song Yihuan carried the lantern and walked in front, while Ji Lingchuan followed three steps behind her.
Soon, the familiar gate was in sight.
Song Yihuan tightened her grip on the lantern in her hand. Just as she was about to step through the gate, Ji Lingchuan called out to her.
"On the day when Doctor Zhong came to the mansion for a diagnosis, I asked about Xuan'er's symptoms. Although he was unable to treat him, he pointed out a way. He said that there was a divine doctor in the folk who might be able to cure him. This child is so well - behaved, smart, and innocent. I like him very much. Don't worry. I will do my best to find that divine doctor and cure Xuan'er so that he can run and jump like an ordinary child."
She knew. Doctor Zhong had told her that day. She knew that he also cared about Xuan'er deeply in his heart. After all, he was Xuan'er's brother - in - law, and Xuan'er was so likable. It was not strange at all.
However, at this moment, hearing his words, she felt that the small flame that she had hidden deep inside and tried so hard to suppress suddenly flared up, and it even showed a tendency to burn more and more vigorously.
The wind blew up Song Yihuan's skirt. She lowered her head and looked at her feet. The shadows of the two of them were illuminated by the lantern on the gate and overlapped, as if they were hugging.
The sound of the night watchman's gong came from not far away. Song Yihuan came to her senses, took a step back, lowered her head, and curtsied to Ji Lingchuan.
"Yihuan is grateful to brother - in - law for taking care of Xuan'er. To have such a brother - in - law, Yihuan is happy for Xuan'er."
The overlapping shadows on the ground separated into two, with a distance between them, just like the insurmountable chasm between them.
Back in the Prince Ning's Mansion, they were no longer Miss Rou and Big Brother Ling, but Ji Lingchuan and Song Yihuan.
He was the heir apparent of the Prince Ning, while she was the younger sister of his wife, a guest staying in the Prince Ning's Mansion, and an unmentionable shadow.
"Brother - in - law, Yihuan will go in first."
Ji Lingchuan didn't say a word. He watched helplessly as Song Yihuan carried the lantern and carefully walked through the gate. Her figure disappeared into the darkness.
He stepped through the gate after a moment. But instead of going straight back to the Surging Waves Courtyard, he quickened his steps, quietly followed Song Yihuan, and accompanied her all the way back to the Orchid Courtyard.
The last time he escorted her back, he had noticed that Song Yihuan had a better memory than he had expected. She not only remembered all the small paths in the Prince Ning's Mansion but also the patrol times of the guards. She didn't run into anyone on the way and returned to the Orchid Courtyard without any hindrance.
It was already late at night. But the two maids in her courtyard hadn't gone to bed yet. They were sitting in the courtyard waiting for her.
When they saw her figure, the two maids surrounded her and whispered words of concern. One of the maids even cried with joy and held her hand tightly.
The cat he had carefully chosen for her was also circling around her, showing its soft belly at her feet.
He saw her bend down to pick up the cat and coax it gently. It seemed that she liked this fluffy little thing very much.
She seemed to be more popular than he had thought. Both the maids and the cat treated her sincerely. Such a woman could never be as false and vain as she had shown herself to be before.
He knew that his little friend had never been that kind of person.
It wasn't until he saw her go into the room and sit in front of the dressing table while the two maids untied the hairpin on her head that Ji Lingchuan left.
Inside the room, after the hairpin was removed, her long black hair cascaded down her back. Song Yihuan looked out of the window. There were only the tree branches gently swaying in the breeze outside.
She sent the two maids back to rest, and she was left alone in the room.
When there was no one around, a hint of sadness and vulnerability showed on her face.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she took out the book "Notes on Yangshan" from under the pillow. Her fingers trembled as she stroked the words on the cover.
From the moment he asked about Xuan'er's birthday in the carriage, she had realized something.
Actually, she had had a premonition for a long time, but she had always deceived herself into thinking that he wasn't the one.
Ling Ji. If you reverse it, it's Ji Ling.
It turned out that Mr. Ling Ji was the most unattainable person in the world to her.
She was right. For her now, it was better not to meet Mr. Ling Ji. If they met, she would only feel more and more that fate was so cruel.
The missed encounter between the two of them had been doomed from the moment she dressed up as her older sister and went to the Imperial College in her place.
With a trembling hand, she took down the wooden box on the cabinet. She pressed gently on both sides, and a more secret hidden layer appeared in the box.
She wiped away the teardrops that had fallen on the cover, put the book into the box, and sealed it away.