An Xin stood there, then looked up at the apricot tree overhead. A gust of wind blew, and the apricot blossoms fluttered down... She wasn't a sentimental person, but at this moment, she felt inexplicably choked up, though she didn't know why.
****
Deep within the palace grounds, An Xin strolled back absentmindedly, but accidentally got lost. An Xin stopped, feeling a headache coming on. She had been so focused on talking to the Empress Dowager that she had forgotten to remember the way.
This place was quite far from the palace, and An Xin searched for a long time without finding a single person. Just as she was getting annoyed, she suddenly heard someone whispering, so she immediately walked towards the source of the sound.
"My lord, Song Li's matter has become troublesome. The body of that dead woman has been stolen. Ordinary people naturally wouldn't be able to find anything, but the Right Chancellor is always suspicious, and that An Xin is extremely perceptive. Once she notices it, she might reveal something..."
"Someone's coming." A calm, gentle voice stopped the person next to him from speaking. The person was startled and hurriedly shut up.
An Xin didn't conceal her steps, worried that she might accidentally stumble upon someone's secret and cause trouble. Hearing the sound abruptly stop, she quickened her pace, brushing aside the willow branches, and said, "Brother..." Her words caught in her throat when she saw the person before her, and she was startled, "So it's the Left Prime Minister..."
Jing Lan smiled faintly.
The person beside him changed his expression.
"Miss An left with the Empress Dowager, how did you end up here?" Jing Lan smiled, his beauty was truly breathtaking. The scenery behind him was picturesque, but it couldn't compare to his handsome appearance.
An Xin smiled awkwardly and said, "I was so busy talking to the Empress Dowager that I forgot to remember the way. Um... If you have something to do, I won't bother you any longer."
Jing Lan smiled faintly and said, "Fang Yuan, you may leave now."
The man called Fang Yuan glanced at An Xin warily before respectfully retreating.
Jing Lan glanced in the direction Fang Yuan had left before turning back and smiling, saying, "The roads in this palace are a bit chaotic."
An Xin glanced at Jing Lan. Back in Weiyang Palace, he had been as indifferent as a stranger, but now his approachable demeanor aroused suspicion.
"Has the banquet begun?" An Xin stepped forward, perhaps because of Yan Zhen, she was inexplicably more wary of Jing Lan.
"Hmm." Jing Lan was still smiling, revealing no other emotion.
There was a subtle sense that the two had run out of things to say.
"Does Your Excellency wish to return?"
Jing Lan smiled and said, "It's just in time to be with Miss An, let's go."
An Xin gave an awkward smile.
"Miss An and the Right Prime Minister have only known each other for a short time, yet they have developed many feelings for each other. This is truly a cause for celebration." Jing Lan walked slowly ahead, her voice carrying a hint of laughter.
An Xin smiled and said with a twitch at the corner of her mouth, "It's less about feelings and more about karmic debts. It's more like the fact that the Prime Minister and your fiancée are getting married soon, which is truly something to celebrate."
Jing Lan suddenly paused: "Fiancée?"
An Xin smiled and said, "I've heard that woman is a beauty. The gentleman is unparalleled in looks, and the lady of the prime minister is exceptionally elegant. They are truly a match made in heaven, a perfect couple..."
Jinglan paused and asked, "How did Miss An find out?"
An Xin's lips tightened when she saw Jing Lan's expression: "Could it be a rumor?"
Jing Lan raised her eyelashes and looked at An Xin's face, saying, "It's not a rumor. It's just that I've never seen that woman before, so I don't have any feelings for her."
An Xin subconsciously asked, "A childhood betrothal?"
Jinglan chuckled and said, "You could say that. This marriage is just something my parents said casually. It shouldn't be taken seriously."
An Xin's smile faltered slightly as she said, "I felt incredibly guilty about this, and I even thought that the letters I exchanged with the adults might have caused unnecessary misunderstandings..."
Jinglan paused: "Miss An wrote to me?"
An Xin was taken aback: "The master didn't receive it...?"
Jing Lan's gaze shifted, and after a long pause, she smiled faintly, "I haven't received it..."
"Not even one?" An Xin instinctively wanted to scold Yan Zhen.
"Not a single one."
"Those times you stood me up... and I didn't receive anything?" An Xin felt a soreness in her teeth and suddenly understood why Jing Lan had suddenly become cold.
"..." Jing Lan felt that he had unintentionally missed something, but he didn't know that some things, once missed, are gone forever.
No need to guess, you can tell just by looking at Jinglan's expression.
An Xin was a little overwhelmed, then twitched her lips and said, "Sir, I... I sent a letter to explain, but I never expected that letter..." How could it have disappeared without a trace!?
Jinglan felt as if the tip of the iceberg in her heart had melted...
“Miss An, there’s no need to explain.” Jing Lan smiled gently, a rare tenderness in her eyes: “I have no resentment…” How could I not resent? How could I not blame?
An Xin laughed awkwardly, "If I hadn't met you today, this misunderstanding would have been much bigger. After I parted ways with you that day, I was ambushed by the Snake Gate and kidnapped..."
The Left Prime Minister's eyebrows twitched: "Snake Gate?" He knew very well what kind of sect the Snake Gate was.
"Yes, the Snake Gate... Xin'er almost lost her life, which caused her to miss her appointment with the Left Prime Minister." A lazy voice with a laugh came over, and An Xin frowned subconsciously. That bastard Yan Zhen, he must be involved in the matter of writing to Zuo Xin!
Jing Lan's eyes flashed, and then she raised her eyelashes and smiled, "The Right Prime Minister is not presiding over the banquet in Weiyang Palace, so why is he taking a stroll here?"
Yan Zhen, his face partially hidden by a folding fan, smiled and said, "Naturally, I've come to find my fiancée..."
Anxin couldn't stand it anymore and her teeth started to ache again.
Jinglan lowered her eyelashes, turned the ring on her finger, smiled faintly, but remained silent.
An Xin glared at Yan Zhen and then walked forward on her own.