Her emotions came and went quickly. The joy of regaining what she had lost turned into deep restraint when she clearly touched him. She pushed him away forcefully and said irritably, "You're going to strangle me!"
Yan Zhen held her tightly, refusing to let go.
An Xin was suffocating. Instead of being poisoned, she was strangled to death by Yan Zhen. There was no joy in her eyes, only fury. An Xin kicked him.
Yan Zhen finally relaxed her and said aggrievedly, "Xin'er, shouldn't we be overjoyed and cry tears of happiness when we meet again after such a long separation? Why did you resort to violence?!"
An Xin was finally able to breathe, and said irritably, "I would really cry tears of joy if you strangled me to death!" Although she was angry, her eyes were fixed on him, and joy slowly surged in her eyes, which curved slightly, revealing a delicate beauty.
Yan Zhen used less force, but sighed softly, "Xin'er, I miss you so much..." Even though she was in his arms, he still felt anxious thinking about her.
An Xin smiled faintly, her gaze shifting as she caught sight of Qing Ran's figure not far away. She paused slightly, then nudged Yan Zhen and said, "The Left Prime Minister is injured, stop fooling around."
Yan Zhen hugged An Xin and said with dissatisfaction, "We've only just met, why bring up that spoils the mood!"
An Xin's lips twitched, thinking to herself, "That spoilsport you were talking about is standing right behind you, sir!"
"My lord did this to save me." An Xin emphasized her words, but this time she used a bit more force to push Yan Zhen away. Yan Zhen then turned her head to look at Jing Lan, and said with a half-smile, "The Left Prime Minister is still alive."
This insidious nature of his is unchangeable! An Xin glanced at Yan Zhen with disdain, while Jing Lan's gaze was indifferent, unlike his usual gentle smile. He simply said coldly, "Isn't the Right Prime Minister still alive and well?"
Yan Zhen smiled and said, "I am blessed with good fortune and a long life, so of course I should live well. But I heard that most of the people in the West District have died. How come the Left Prime Minister, with his extraordinary wisdom, couldn't even save a single person?"
An Xin was suddenly taken aback, realizing that Yan Zhen meant...
Jing Lan slowly pursed her lips, her lines slightly cold.
"Have all the people in the East City left?" An Xin asked directly. Negative news always spreads the fastest. Are the people in the East City more mentally resilient than those in the West City? They don't seem flustered at all!?
Yan Zhen kissed her as if no one else was around and said, "Since Xin'er has said so, I can do it. When news came from the West City, I ordered that all news from the West City be blocked, so everyone was able to leave the city safely."
An Xin couldn't help but laugh and said, "Yan Zhen, you've finally done something good!"
Yan Zhen said, "If Xin'er likes it, I will do good deeds from now on."
An Xin suddenly found it amusing, and her smile inexplicably carried a sweet undertone. However, An Xin glanced at him indifferently and said, "The Left Prime Minister is injured. You should take him to see the Imperial Physician first. I still need to go find my mother."
Yan Zhen was unusually shocked and said, "You want me to take him with me!?"
An Xin glanced at him lazily and said, "What? Who said that if I liked you, I'd do all sorts of good deeds from now on?!"
Yan Zhen's face darkened as she said, "Xin'er, isn't saving him aiding and abetting evil?!"
An Xin thought to herself, "How dare you, such a treacherous minister, call someone King Zhou!"
"In that case, I'll take the Left Prime Minister to find the Imperial Physician. You go find my mother for me," An Xin instructed expressionlessly.
Yan Zhen's face darkened further: "How could I let you bear the crime of aiding and abetting evil! Kuang Xin'er's mother has already left the city, so there's no need to worry."
An Xin's eyes widened suddenly. She wasn't unsurprised; her mother had already left the city!? There was no way she could have left the city under those circumstances!?
Yan Zhen looked at An Xin's shocked expression, then suddenly smiled and said, "Are you starting to like me?"
An Xin lowered her eyelashes, and when she raised them again, her eyes were as dark as an abyss, yet she uttered two words in a low voice: "Yes."
****
The East City was almost unaffected, while Xu Ruolan and her group left the city through the South Gate. Minghe naturally dared not neglect this matter, knowing that she was the future mother-in-law of the lord. If he caused any harm to the lord's mother-in-law, he estimated that the lord would make him suffer a severe loss in return!
After the heavy rain, the capital was in ruins, and it was said that the palace was also in ruins, with many people dead. Yan Zhen commented on this with four words: "They deserved to die."
When An Xin returned to the An residence, the ten death row inmates were in good condition, but they hadn't eaten for a day and a night and were so hungry that they had no energy at all.
In fact, An Xin was taking a risk by leaving these ten death row inmates here. She placed two large containers in the room, filled with salt water, which was naturally sea salt.
In fact, she couldn't be completely sure that the sea salt was effective. After all, she wasn't sure what kind of poisonous gas remained in the lake. She had planned to return after coming back from the East and West Cities. With the Dust-Avoiding Pearl on her body, she was naturally not afraid of the poisonous gas. Little did she expect that so many things would go wrong in the middle!
The An family mansion was also in a mess due to the storm. An Xin picked up a broom and started sweeping casually. A figure blocked her way. An Xin glanced at the broom and poked it.
"Be gentle with those you like." Yan Zhen took a step back, avoiding the situation.
An Xin said calmly, "There are three questions: First, how come you're unharmed after running wildly in the rain all night? Second, how do you know my mother didn't leave the city? Third, where is An Wan?"
Yan Zhen smiled and said, holding up her folding fan, "I like the first question, the second question is a bit silly, and I don't know the answer to the third question."
An Xin stopped sweeping, looking at his smiling face, she said expressionlessly, "First, you don't have to answer. Second, if you don't want to answer, then get lost. Third, if you're going to get lost, then get lost somewhere far away, so you don't have to look at me and get annoyed!"
Yan Zhen closed his folding fan and said, "Being strong and healthy, and having precognition before one's servants is a problem!"
An Xin's lips twitched. Is that how you answer a question?! "Strong and healthy!" she thought. "Look how thin he is, nothing's left but bones!"
"You stole my sea salt?" An Xin continued sweeping.
Yan Zhen casually sat down on a stone bench to the side, propped one hand on his forehead, and lazily looked at An Xin, saying, "The word 'steal' sounds awful, I took it!"
An Xin rolled her eyes and said, "Thanks for my mother's matter."
Yan Zhen's smile froze for a moment, then he overturned the stone table. An Xin was really startled. He suddenly did that, it was terrifying!
"What are you doing!" An Xin glared at him, annoyed.
"Flip the table." Yan Zhen kicked another table leg away.
An Xin stared in disbelief. "Sir, that's a rock! Doesn't your foot hurt?!"
An Xin said irritably, "Take it home if you want!"
Yan Zhen turned and left.