The carriage swayed gently as it moved forward, with Tang Ning nestled against Xiao Yan's side, holding his hand and softly discussing the matters of the academy. When the noise from outside grew louder, she began to sense something was off. Curious, she lifted the curtain and saw that the carriage had already reached the city gates.
It was still early in the morning, and the flow of people entering and leaving the gates was continuous. When the horse-drawn carriage with an official plaque approached, the pedestrians all hurriedly stepped aside.
Tang Ning turned her head. “Brother, where are we going?”
Xiao Yan softly replied, “I’m taking you to meet someone.”
After the carriage left the city, it picked up speed. The number of people on the outskirts of the city began to dwindle, and the road beside them gradually changed from broad to dense with greenery.
In the scorching heat of summer, the carriage’s curtains were raised. Tang Ning leaned by the window, gazing at the lush greenery outside. Suddenly, she remembered the day she had returned from the mountain, feeling a bit disoriented. She had been trapped in that small, dilapidated courtyard with no sight of the sky. She had never imagined she would have the chance to live this life again.
“What are you thinking about?” Xiao Yan suddenly asked.
Tang Ning turned her head. “I was thinking about that day on the mountain. Was I very embarrassed in front of you?”
She rested her arm on the edge of the window, her cheek resting against it. When she turned, a soft, pale piece of her face showed, which made Xiao Yan's fingers itch, wanting to poke at her.
“You were quite a sight,” Xiao Yan said with a slight smile as his long eyelashes fluttered. “You cried loudly, not making any sense, with snot and tears all mixed together, your clothes soaked with blood and water. You looked like a rolling mud pot, still crying loudly like that…”
“Brother!”
Tang Ning immediately regretted asking him. She could already imagine how awful she must have looked.
Xiao Yan blocked her hand from hitting him and, grabbing her wrist, gently pulled her closer. “But you were also very cute.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying.”
Xiao Yan softly said, “At first, I thought you might be an assassin sent by someone, but then I realized an assassin wouldn’t be so foolish.”
His tone wasn’t derogatory, and his voice seemed to carry a nostalgic hint as if he was recalling the events of that day.
“At the time, I was thinking, who’s cat got lost, cold and hungry, trembling in fear, but still stretching out her claws, trying to act tough…”
Fearful, but also pitiful.
At that moment, even without seeing the dragon-patterned pendant, he probably wouldn’t have harmed her.
The sudden silence in his arms made Xiao Yan lower his head. “What’s wrong? Are you angry?”
Tang Ning’s voice was a bit dull. “No.”
She seemed to sense Xiao Yan looking at her, and leaned slightly against his chest, rubbing her head. “Brother, do you think if I hadn’t met you that day, and had really fallen off the cliff, broken my face, and my legs, and if the matters with the Song family hadn’t arisen, and the dragon-patterned pendant had been taken by someone else, would you still be as kind to others as you are to me now?”
Xiao Yan firmly answered, “No.”
He didn’t know why, but when he heard the girl in his arms say this, his heart tightened instinctively. He knew she was just speaking casually, yet his heart still felt like it was being squeezed, and he couldn’t help but tighten his grip.
“The dragon-patterned pendant represents an old acquaintance of Aunt Xue’s. You are you. It’s different.”
When Madam Rong brought him the dragon-patterned pendant and saved his life, he naturally protected anyone holding it, but that was all it meant.
He was no longer the naive youth he once was, full of sincerity. If it weren’t for the child he met back then, if that person wasn’t Tang Ning…
He wouldn’t have poured his feelings into it, wouldn’t have let himself indulge in it, and wouldn’t have exposed his vulnerability, letting someone else become his soft spot, allowing his heart to collapse without trying to save himself.
Xiao Yan’s voice was soft and distant. “Our Xiao Haitang only has one. Even if you didn’t have the dragon-patterned pendant, I would still recognize you eventually, no matter how much you change.”
Tang Ning’s eyes grew misty, and suddenly, she remembered the dream she once had—the one where a figure walked toward her under the moonlight, calling out “Xiao Haitang” just before she was on the brink of death.
Tang Ning hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest.
Xiao Yan noticed something was wrong with her emotions and lowered his head. “What’s wrong?”
Tang Ning’s voice was muffled as she spoke. “Why didn’t I meet you earlier?”
Xiao Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “How do you know we didn’t meet earlier? Maybe we met a long time ago.”
Tang Ning thought he was comforting her, so she murmured and buried her head even deeper.
Xiao Yan rarely saw her act so coquettishly. He stretched out his long arm and pulled her into his embrace, gently patting her head.
He didn’t know why Tang Ning was so uneasy, nor what she was worried about, but he vaguely sensed she was particularly fixated on the question of “What if the dragon-patterned pendant had fallen into someone else’s hands?”
It was something that had never happened, yet she kept bringing it up.
She had asked him this before, in the Cheng Wang residence, and now she was asking him again.
Xiao Yan’s eyes lowered, deep in thought.
...
The carriage continued heading toward the outskirts of the city, traveling further and further. When it passed through a large forest and stopped in front of a manor, Tang Ning recognized it as the place where Xiao Yan had stayed the night after saving her.
By now, her emotions had calmed down, but she was still a bit surprised. What was Xiao Yan bringing her here for?
As they entered the manor, it didn’t take long before Mrs. Qin came out to greet them.
“Sister Qin?” Tang Ning was surprised.
Mrs. Qin smiled. “It’s been a few days, and Tang Ning has become even more beautiful.”
Tang Ning glanced at the manor, then at Mrs. Qin. She had seen Mrs. Qin leave in a hurry several times before when she went to Ji Yun Alley, always saying she had to see to someone else. Could it be that the patient she mentioned was staying at Xiao Yan’s manor?
Tang Ning was confused but followed them inside.
Xiao Yan asked Mrs. Qin, “How is the old lady’s health?”
“She’s better, able to eat, sleep, and talk a little. But she still doesn’t recognize anyone or remember anything,” Mrs. Qin said, looking at Tang Ning. “But the old lady likes pretty young girls. She’ll be happy to see Tang Ning.”
Before entering the main courtyard, they heard a voice from inside, gently coaxing someone.
“Old Madam, you should take your medicine. Once today’s dose is finished, there’s some poria cake for you.”
“I don’t want to take medicine. It’s bitter!”
“Good medicine is bitter…”
“I won’t take it! I won’t take it!!”
The voice inside was full of resistance, an elderly voice filled with anger. “Go away! Where is my Yao’er?”
When they entered, they saw an elderly woman dressed in brocade glaring unhappily, and standing before her was Ling Yin, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time.
Ling Yin, no longer as composed as before, stood holding a bowl of medicine, looking helpless as the elderly woman cried out, not knowing what to do. When she saw them enter, she quickly said, “Governor.”
Xiao Yan walked past Ling Yin, taking a few steps to the elderly woman’s side. “Grandmother, were you looking for me?”
The elderly woman stared at Xiao Yan with blurred eyes, full of unfamiliarity and, vaguely, some resistance.
Xiao Yan rolled up his sleeve to reveal the red string tied around his wrist, with a small golden gourd attached to it. Upon recognizing the object, the elderly woman immediately broke into a smile.
“Yao’er, you’re here?”
=================
You can read ahead to chapterr 400 (100+ extra chapters) here
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