Chapter 220: The Breeze of Mianmian
The weather in the capital was hot. The cicadas were chirping incessantly.
The Former Crown Prince’s birthday had been grand, and his funeral was equally grand.
It was said that The Former Crown Prince had died of depression while under house arrest. How could one die of depression? Thus, some said he had been murdered, others claimed he had died from abuse, while still others suggested he had hanged himself, drowned in a river, or swallowed gold… There were so many ways to die, and so many rumors.
In the end, the Emperor put an end to all those rumors with a grand funeral.
He was his son, his own flesh and blood. Even if a son made mistakes, a father, though angry, would not want his son’s life.
Many people were actually thrilled that the Emperor insisted on holding such a grand funeral. For those aligned with The Former Crown Prince, it meant that, at least for this moment, there was a possibility of being forgiven. Would The Former Crown Prince’s children be released from house arrest? Every move had profound meaning.
As Jiang Wan and her grandmother hurried toward the capital, they saw white funeral banners fluttering everywhere upon reaching the city gates. A noble had passed away.
Chu Xi glanced at Jiang Wan with surprise.
Jiang Wan responded with a faint smile, then lowered the curtain again.
Traveling together on this journey had caused Chu Xi to constantly change his opinion of Jiang Wan.
At first, he thought she was just a naive girl blinded by love, but through conversation, he discovered she was very articulate, well-read, and insightful. She was a truly perceptive woman, a rarity in his experience.
It was likely because Young Master Liu had accidentally saved her that, in her youthful infatuation, she felt an extraordinary gratitude toward her savior and mistook it for love.
Chu Xi actually knew clearly that his cousin’s marriage would certainly not go smoothly. Young Master Liu still had a fiancée, and his behavior while out and about was indeed inappropriate.
Of course, what moved Chu Xi even more were the bits of information Jiang Wan inadvertently revealed in her speech.
She seemed extremely intelligent, as if she could deduce things from the slightest clues.
Somewhere along the way, they happened to talk about The Former Crown Prince. To his shock, Jiang Wan had said that The Former Crown Prince was destined to die—that only by his death could the stalemate be broken and a path to survival be secured for his descendants.
At the time, Chu Xi thought it was nonsense. Everyone wants to live if they can; dying is easy, but terrifying, and everyone strives to survive. Yet now, she had actually predicted it correctly.
Chu Xi found Jiang Wan increasingly fascinating. She was unlike any other girl, like a woman shrouded in mystery.
He never imagined that one day he would become infatuated and captivated by a woman. And a woman who had already promised herself to someone else, at that. Thinking about it, why was it so thrilling?
Liu Tong had seen Wan’er chatting happily with Heir Chu along the way and had not felt jealous, because Wan’er had told him that Heir Chu was her cousin, a relative, and it was better to maintain good relations. Besides, she had already declared her feelings in front of their elders.
Although for a fleeting moment, Liu Tong felt that Wan’er and Heir Chu seemed too in sync, and that he was like an outsider, they were cousins, so it was normal. Furthermore, a woman had openly admitted to being fond of him in front of everyone; she must be devoted to him, and he would certainly take responsibility.
They arrived in the capital.
Liu Tong was a little nervous, yet excited. He was nervous because he didn’t know how to tell his parents, and excited because he thought that once he informed them, he could marry Miss Wan’er. Afterward, they would live in mutual respect and harmony, sharing common interests, painting and playing chess together—life would surely be very happy.
He was also proud of his own judgment; he hadn’t expected that a trip away would allow him to find such a beautiful woman—it was worth it.
However, upon arriving at the city gate and seeing so many white banners, he hesitated. Which big shot had passed away? It looked like a state funeral; would it affect their wedding?
Seeing the white banners, Jiang Wan only felt relieved—everything was back on track. Although she only had her grandmother by her side at the moment, she had traveled with Chu Xi the whole way. By utilizing her understanding of him, their relationship seemed even better than it had been at the beginning in her dream. In the dream, he had always been full of suspicion toward her at first.
Here, she was merely playing the role of a naive girl fond of someone else, a girl with love in her heart—what kind of schemes could she possibly have?
When they entered the city, perhaps because Liu Tong had written to his family earlier about when he would arrive, he hadn’t expected a carriage to be waiting at the gate. A young girl with a round face stepped down; she looked completely naive. When she smiled, her sharp canine teeth showed, and her teeth were a bit uneven, but she had deep dimples on both cheeks. She waved happily when she saw Liu Tong.
“Young Master Liu, I’m here! Am I amazing? I guessed you would be arriving soon, so I’ve been waiting for you here these past few days. I finally waited for you!”
The girl smiled openly and generously, making the sky seem much brighter and the white banners much softer. It made one feel very close to her upon meeting. Then, she saw Jiang Wan.
Liu Tong felt a bit awkward.
Jiang Wan merely nodded slightly at her, “It is Miss Dong.” She stood beside Chu Xi.
Liu Tong breathed a sigh of relief and said, “This is my… my friend. We came back together.”
Seeing Jiang Wan, Miss Dong was a bit stunned and sincerely praised, “Big sister, you are truly beautiful.”
Jiang Wan nodded and smiled, somewhat reservedly. This was Miss Dong, the cheerful and innocent Miss Dong.
Miss Dong followed along, accompanying Jiang Wan to get settled, chattering away the whole time.
Liu Tong finally managed to avoid Miss Dong and promised he would come to see Jiang Wan very soon.
Jiang Wan only smiled gently, watching Miss Dong outside with a hint of sorrow.
The wind in the capital was a bit dry and parched, but her whole body relaxed. She felt that this was a familiar place, where every move she made had support. She was like a kite blown high by the wind, spreading its wings and soaring—flying so high and so beautifully.
The wind in Jingzhou was neither dry nor parched; it even had a hint of moisture. Classes had resumed. A group of young ladies at Shangqiu Academy were filled with righteous indignation.
Wu Yian and her group had worked hard to distribute porridge, but instead of being grateful, those people had actually cursed them. They claimed they were being deceptive and fooling the common people. Heaven knows that even if the porridge they cooked later was thinner than it was at the beginning, it was still much thicker than the porridge Jiang Mianmian had distributed. Yet, they didn’t curse Jiang Mianmian, only them.
Listening to everyone chime in one after another, Wu Yian threw herself onto the desk and cried in grievance. The young girl’s shoulders heaved as she sobbed, her long hair spread across the tabletop, and she smelled sweet.
Jiang Mianmian was already unable to memorize her books, and her desk mate behind her kept crying. It was distracting and annoying, like hearing a puppy whimpering next door while trying to recite lessons.
“Stop crying. It’s not your fault; it’s their problem. You’ve already done very well.”
Wu Yian looked up in surprise, her eyes red, tears hanging on her lower lashes. She pouted, her fleshy face with tiny peach fuzz still twitching slightly. Her shoulders were also trembling. She was surprised that Jiang Mianmian would actually comfort her, as Jiang Mianmian usually mocked her.
“I clearly gave them so much; it would be one thing if they weren’t grateful, but they even cursed me. Do you know what the man who took the porridge yesterday called me? He said I was stingy…” At this point, Wu Yian choked up again, her hands trembling. She felt so aggrieved; to distribute the porridge, she had contributed two years of her hidden pocket money, and that person had actually called her stingy.
Jiang Mianmian watched the young girl cry; it was quite funny. The young girl cried very prettily. She couldn’t help but reach out and pinch her cheek.
Wu Yian cried even louder. “You’re still bullying me!”
Jiang Mianmian said, “You gave too much at the beginning, and later you didn’t give as much as you did at first, so of course they complained about you. If you had started with thin soup, then made it a bit thicker the second day, and even thicker the third, they would have felt very happy. People always struggle to accept going from good to bad, but they are full of hope and happiness when going from bad to good, even if they receive the same amount.”
Wu Yian thought it made some sense, but she still wanted to cry. She suddenly felt that Jiang Mianmian was actually quite nice and not that annoying. She had wanted to steal the spotlight from her porridge distribution, yet Jiang Mianmian had actually come to comfort her.
“Seeing me comfort you now, do you think I’m actually quite nice?” Jiang Mianmian asked.
Wu Yian puffed out her cheeks and nodded. “Because I used to mock you every day, so when I’m suddenly a little nice to you, you think I’m quite good. If I had been coaxing you every day before, and I missed one sentence of coaxing now, you would think I wasn’t good.”
“I understand. Thank you.” Wu Yian choked out her thanks. At this moment, she truly felt Jiang Mianmian was very good.
Jiang Mianmian took the opportunity to reach out and pinch her other cheek: “To balance it out; the other side was a bit swollen from being pinched just now.”
With her face being pinched, Wu Yian burst into loud tears. “Jiang Mianmian, let go of me!”
“Alright, that side isn’t swollen enough yet, wait.” “Waa… Teacher, help!”
Outside the window, banana leaves swayed, and birds chirped in the trees. The wind was warm, and the days were slow.
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