“Yes, no.” Prince Ning echoed, then steered the conversation back to the present, saying calmly, “Once Lord Ling succeeds, I will be your reward.” He was determined to say this.
Ling Xiao, who thought he had gotten away with it, was speechless. Knowing that there was no way to reason with this increasingly shameless person, Ling Xiao turned around and said, "I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me up when it's time for dinner."
She was truly exhausted, so she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, and Prince Ning did not disturb her rest any further.
...
Ling Xiao's consultation with Madam Jiang was scheduled for three days later, and she postponed other matters to make time for herself. To protect her, the matter was kept quiet, and Ji Heng was temporarily relocated. Everyone who could see Ling Xiao was a person she had arranged beforehand. To ensure thorough preparation, Ling Xiao mingled with many people and entered the room without being detected.
Lady Jiang also did not see Ling Xiao. Before he appeared, she had someone administer anesthesia to Lady Jiang. By the time Ling Xiao appeared, Lady Jiang was already paralyzed and unconscious. Prince Ning was by her side. Behind the screen, apart from him, Ling Xiao, and Lady Jiang on the bed, there was no one else.
The whole process was extremely quick and smooth. All Ling Xiao did was use his own set of tools to cut off the object from Jiang's neck, squeeze out the blood, clean the wound, and then stitch it up. Simple, brutal, and effective.
Ling Xiao was extremely focused when she worked, and Prince Ning was quite surprised to see such a method for the first time. However, he remained quiet and didn't look at Ling Xiao strangely. He simply recalled the mysterious aura she had displayed on Mount Jiutuo, and remembered her plot to murder Empress Shen and her scheme to escape the palace…
In truth, he didn't know much about Ling Xiao, and even after their entanglement, he stopped trying to investigate further. However, the more secrets he discovered about her, the more he understood her desire not to stay with anyone. Thinking of Ling Xiao's eventual soft heart towards him, Prince Ning lowered his eyes and pursed his lips. No matter what, he would keep her by his side.
Jiang Shi remained unconscious until the end. The aftermath wasn't too difficult, involving only medication and recuperation. Ling Xiao didn't interfere further, entrusting the entire matter to another imperial physician. She was interested in Jiang Shi's illness, not only to have extra lab rats for her experiments but also to confirm the susceptibility of similar ailments.
As they returned to the manor in the carriage, Ling Xiao leaned against the wall, watching Prince Ning with the same expressionless face as before. Not being too tired, she felt a mischievous urge and said, "Doesn't Your Highness Prince Ning have anything to ask me?"
Prince Ning's eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled. "Would you answer if I asked Lord Ling?"
"Won't."
Prince Ning frowned. "But I still want to ask." Ling Xiao narrowed her eyes, waiting for his words, somewhat assuming he couldn't resist wanting to delve deeper into her past. But instead, she heard him continue, "Lord Ling, when can I marry you?"
"...when I want to get married."
When will you want to get married?
"It depends on my mood."
Prince Ning nodded, "Alright, we'll wait for Lord Ling."
He spoke cheerfully, leaning in to kiss Ling Xiao's forehead, which she didn't resist. A strong, warm feeling finally welled up from the bottom of Ling Xiao's heart; she really did like... this person's respect and tolerance. As for his dark history, well, let's not bring it up again.
·
Jiang's condition gradually improved, and by early February, Ji Heng finally took her away from Lin'an and returned to Dayuan. His departure was so swift and decisive that it made people believe that he had indeed taken this action to seek medical treatment for Jiang.
As the middle of the month approached, Ahao and Lingxiao had little time to worry about Ji Heng's affairs, nor did they know the terms he had agreed upon with Zhang Yu. During her month at the academy, Ahao helped Du Yuqing, interacted with the students, and constantly observed them.
Every day upon returning to her residence, she would record the day's events. Now, with two days left before the female official assessment, A-Hao took the time to summarize her experiences and insights from the academy, intending to hand them over to Zhang Yu later.
Most of the women who participated in the examination for female officials were daughters of noble families or officials. Since the court was just beginning to allow women to serve as officials, everyone who knew about it was aware of the many visible and invisible benefits involved, and no one would want to miss out on getting a share.
Moreover, it's fine if you don't get a share either, but it's different if you don't. If you value benefits, you're unlikely to willingly give up the good stuff.
Among the group of girls from outstanding backgrounds, A-Hao stood out. Those who recognized her were curious but didn't approach her to chat. Du Yuqing, encouraged by A-Hao, also participated in the assessment.
The test questions, personally reviewed by Ling Xiao, could be described as unique, or to put it bluntly... cough. Perhaps because he had spent so much time with her and was so familiar with her style of doing things and her way of thinking, Ah Hao, though finding them a bit strange, still finished answering all the questions.
The assessment results will be available in seven days.
Zhang Yu waited in the carriage. As soon as Ahao got out and boarded the carriage, she saw him. He seemed to have the same confidence in Ahao as Ling Xiao. Upon seeing her, he said with a smile, "My Ahao is about to make something of herself. She is my pride."
Ah-hao was speechless. She said, "You've seen the test questions, haven't you? Although it was an extra-curricular question, you actually agreed to a question like, 'If your father and husband both fall into the water at the same time, who should you save first?'"
Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "What did you answer?"
“Of course, it’s to save Father.” Ahao replied without hesitation. Zhang Yu snorted and laughed, “Doesn’t Your Majesty know how to swim?”
After a moment's thought, she said, "Thinking about it this way, I should let you save my father while I wait on the shore. After all, I can't swim, and jumping in would only be suicide, which you certainly wouldn't want to do."
“You will definitely be number one,” Zhang Yu said meaningfully.
But before Ah Hao could get the first place Zhang Yu mentioned, she got something else first.
She assumed Zhang Yu must be very busy, and that he would definitely be involved in grading the papers after the assessment. Since the number of participants in this round was far greater than in the imperial examinations, Zhang Yu needed to personally review and select the papers, and he only had seven days. At least during the few days she rested at the manor, Ling Xiao and Prince Ning were both so busy that she rarely saw them.
Zhang Yu always came to find her on time, as dusk approached, to have meals and take walks with her, doing simple and uninteresting things, yet he seemed content. On the fifth day, when it should have been time to rest, Zhang Yu seemed wide awake, only saying that he wanted to take her somewhere.
In the dead of night, he said he was going to take her somewhere… It must have been a very strange thing, but when Ahao heard him say it, she nodded in agreement. There was still a chill in the air that night, so she took a cloak and wrapped herself up warmly. Without asking any questions, she followed Zhang Yu out the door, feeling relaxed and carefree, without any worries.
The place they were going to was quite far, and it was nighttime. While they were still on the road, Song Shuhao had already fallen asleep leaning against Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu then simply let Song Shuhao lie down and rest with her head on his lap, and carefully wrapped her in a blanket he had prepared in advance to prevent her from catching a cold.
The carriage moved smoothly at first, and when it bumped a little later, Song Shuhao wasn't awakened. Perhaps it was because she was in Zhang Yu's arms that she slept so peacefully. But then she had a dream.
A very strange dream.
She saw Zhao Jian, Xie Lanyan, Xue Liangyue, some strangers whose names she couldn't recall, Zhang Yu, and herself standing in front of Zhang Yu. It was as if she were in a water prison, with Zhang Yu trapped inside, and her posture vaguely suggesting she was protecting him.
Song Shuhao felt confused and bewildered. Zhao Jian and Xie Lanyan were both dead, and she had never dreamed of these two people before, so why did she have such a dream? And Zhang Yu, why was he a prisoner, and why did he look like he was on the verge of death?
She could even feel that in her dream, when she looked at Prosecutor Zhao, her heart was filled with nothing but despair. She saw herself appear calm and composed, her tone always gentle, yet each word was a relentless stab at Prosecutor Zhao. But she still couldn't understand it.
It was subtle. She remembered Xie Lanyan's inexplicable words and Zhao Jian's strange reaction when she was in Nanwan City. She had been concerned about words like "next life" back then... The things in the dream were not like the future, but like the past, and they were so real that they didn't seem like a dream.
Her thoughts drifted further, recalling how Zhang Yu had suddenly changed his cold attitude towards her, treating her exceptionally well for no apparent reason. Around the same time, Zhao Jian, like Zhang Yu, exhibited perplexing behavior. She seemed to understand something… but didn't want to delve into it all.
The despair surging within her heart in her dream made her instinctively feel that it wasn't a good thing. Since it wasn't a good thing, and it was unrelated to her current life, not knowing about it seemed to make no difference, so why add to her anxiety?
When she dreamt of Zhao Jian pointing a knife at her, Song Shuhao refused to watch any longer. She finally woke up to find herself lying on Zhang Yu's back. Zhang Yu's back was always upright and reliable, making people instinctively want to rely on him, and she could smell his pine-like scent mixed with coolness.
Song Shuhao opened her eyes. The mountains were at their feet, the sky was just beginning to lighten, mist and dew brushed against her skirt, and birds took flight in fright. She seemed to have slept for a very long time, and Zhang Yu had been carrying her for an unknown amount of time. Step by step, they were almost at the summit.
The mountain path was rugged, and Zhang Yu, focused and undistracted, along with Song Shuhao, made no movement, so they didn't immediately realize she was awake. Song Shuhao stared at the back of his head, her gaze moving down to his broad shoulders, and then slightly upwards to his neck…