Yan Zhen asked, "What did you say?"
An Xin said, "I heard you clearly, go ahead and speak."
Yan Zhen said, "What did you say? I can't hear you because we're too far away."
An Xin: "..."
An Xin eventually went over, though very reluctantly.
Yan Zhen smiled with great satisfaction and said, "Why is Xin'er getting so close? I'm not deaf or blind..."
An Xin thought to herself, "Everyone says that the Right Chancellor is unpredictable and has an unfathomable temperament. He's not someone to mess with—the rumors are just too believable!"
An Xin was speechless. Provoked by his words, she was somewhat speechless. She really had to admire this adult's ability to distort the truth. It was too perverted!
An Xin really had no desire to outwit him; she figured she wouldn't win anyway. Annoyed, she demanded, "Who exactly ordered this?"
Yan Zhen raised his hand and placed it on her earlobe, then leaned close to her ear and said in a soft, gentle voice, "I am known as the one second only to the emperor, and above ten thousand others. Who is that one person? Do you understand, Xin'er?"
Chapter 101 The Past
It's Huang Yixuan!
Even the composed An Xin was shocked and widened her eyes. From the beginning until this meeting with Huang Yixuan, An Xin had a feeling that the emperor did not dislike her. To be honest, Huang Yixuan had helped her many times. Even though serving the emperor was like walking on thin ice, An Xin did not harbor any hostile thoughts towards Huang Yixuan deep down.
An Xin had long concluded that Huang Yixuan was no ordinary person, and she had never underestimated her. Even when Huang Yixuan framed the commander, she must have seen it all, yet she still went along with her wishes. An Xin even felt that Huang Yixuan actually had feelings for her. These feelings might not be romantic, but they were still feelings. So why would he suddenly kill her parents?
An Xin lowered her eyes slightly and subconsciously thought of another possibility. Yan Zhen has always held great power and can be said to be all-powerful. Moreover, the whole world knows about the relationship between Yan Zhen and herself. Yet Huang Yixuan still came to murder her parents at this time. Could this be regarded as a provocation to Yan Zhen?
But Yan Zhen has been cultivating his influence in the court for many years and is deeply entrenched, so it would be extremely difficult to touch him... Apart from Yan Zhen, An Xin really couldn't think of any other motive.
Or perhaps this was a lie that Yan Zhen fabricated to slander Huang Yixuan... But An Xin thought that Yan Zhen would never lie to her, and besides, there was really no point in him lying to her about something like this.
"Can we eat now?" An Xin suddenly asked a question that seemed out of the blue. All sorts of questions were crammed into her mind, and she really didn't want to dwell on them.
“…Hmm.” Yan Zhen’s eyes flickered slightly.
An Xin felt as if her mouth was stuffed with cotton when he uttered that one word, "Mmm," leaving her muffled and speechless.
In the past, Yan Zhen ate something due to anorexia and vomited blood. She tried to get him to eat, but she felt sorry for him because he would vomit after eating, so she didn't force him. Now, his anorexia has actually been cured. It seems that with Zhou Xiruo's return, the tragedy of the past is no longer important, and that feeling of nausea must have disappeared. It is reasonable that he can eat now.
However, Yan Zhen had been anorexic for many years because of Zhou Xiruo and Ye Qingcheng, so it's conceivable that he also had feelings for them.
Thinking of this, An Xin felt even more depressed. Actually, it was good that Yan Zhen was better. Why should she think so much about other things?
An Xin said wearily, "My head hurts a little. Can I lean on your shoulder?" An Xin rested her forehead on his shoulder. It seemed that since she transmigrated, she had been busy. In her previous life, she never knew fatigue, but in this life, she was somehow tired.
She felt as if she had fallen into a chaotic city, unable to find her way out.
An Xin raised her eyelashes and looked up at the flowering tree above her head. Petals fell like rain, and the clear blue sky was faintly visible. She felt that she was born to worry, and in the end, she ended up making a mess of herself.
"Do you remember when we first met?" An Xin recalled the first time she saw Yan Zhen. The scenery was picturesque, but it paled in comparison to his handsome appearance. At that moment, she was stunned.
Yan Zhen seemed to recall something from the past and smiled, "I remember." It was during his most vulnerable time that she saved him.
Yes, back then, she seemed very naive and timid. She saved him, but he didn't appreciate it and even left her alone. But somehow, her image is still etched in my mind.
Their next encounter was in the palace. When she nimbly kicked the yellow dog away, he suddenly had a strange feeling. Three years had passed, and although her face had changed somewhat, he could still recognize her. However, he just couldn't reconcile the person in front of him with the person in his memory, which piqued his interest.
Life is truly wondrous. If he had known he loved her so much earlier, he should have fallen in love at first sight.
"What did you feel when you first met me?" An Xin knew this question was pointless, but on such a leisurely afternoon, she felt that asking it was the only way to prove that she was relaxed and at ease.
Yan Zhen laughed and said, "Hmm... to be honest, I don't remember very clearly..."
An Xin stepped on it, and Yan Zhen laughed, "But the An Xin of today has won my heart."
An Xin pouted and said, "You've said too many sweet words, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?" She suddenly wanted to ask him if he was as impressed with her when he first met her as she was when she first met him.
This was such a boring question, yet she was surprisingly interested in it for the first time.
Yan Zhen's eyes remained deep and unwavering; those past events, when recalled, were actually not very pleasant.
“At that time, I was seriously injured and almost died at the hands of the enemy. When Xin’er saved me, I seemed to have fainted. I have no memory of it.” Yan Zhen instinctively felt that she was being too clear and might be in trouble. However, she did not know that An Xin’s expression suddenly changed.
“Xin’er saved my life back then, but I abandoned you and left you alone… Do you resent me?” Yan Zhen thought she must have resentful, which was why she put on such a cold face when they met in the pavilion, pretending not to know him.
Now that you're asking this all of a sudden, does it mean you're no longer resentful?
An Xin's body trembled inexplicably, but her heart was surging like the sea.
Since her transmigration, her first encounter with Yan Zhen was clearly in the pavilion of the prefectural government office in Yi'an County. When did she save him? Could it be that before her transmigration, this body had already been destined to be with Yan Zhen?
Was it because of this body that he saved Yan Zhen that he treated her so well afterwards?
An Xin suddenly felt a chill all over her body and stood there stunned for a moment.
If Yan Zhen liked this body back then, does he like her now or the original her in this body? An Xin suddenly found it ridiculous that she would think of such a foolish question, but there was still a trace of calculation in her heart. Why did she have to calculate herself instead of someone else?
If Yan Zhen's feelings for this body were solely based on the life-saving grace she received from that body, then what exactly is her existence?
"Xin'er?" Seemingly noticing that An Xin's expression was off, Yan Zhen cupped her face, leaned down, and kissed her. "What are you thinking about, little one?"
An Xin felt her heart grow colder and colder, and subconsciously felt a sense of resistance to Yan Zhen's contact. She couldn't explain why she felt this resistance.
She had no reason to argue with Yan Zhen about these things. She was just a lonely soul from another time and space. She couldn't tell Yan Zhen that she came from the distant future, and she couldn't tell him that she wasn't the real An Xin, but an imposter!
An Xin took a step back, feeling a chill in her breath, but forced a smile and said, "Of course I resent it! You abandoned me, and I was terrified!"