After an unknown amount of time, darkness fell.
When Jiang Rongyin woke up, Jiang Yun was already sitting at her desk working on documents.
She stood up, relieved that she had already looked at the map, and had Bao Yin return it.
Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Yun merely glanced at Jiang Rongyin.
“come over.”
Jiang Rongyin had just put on her shoes when she heard Jiang Yun’s words.
She pursed her lips and walked over slowly.
Walking to the table, Jiang Yun reached out and grabbed her: “Your homework is a mess, how dare you tell me you went to the academy?”
The man’s voice carried a hint of teasing.
Jiang Yun’s smile is indeed somewhat deceptive.
Such a appearance is rare in this world.
When she doesn’t smile, she’s like a biting winter snow, carrying coldness and oppression.
A smile melts away the winter chill, bringing a moment of spring warmth and bright sunshine.
Jiang Rongyin looked at her homework, which she had done in a daze yesterday, and looked away.
She was preoccupied with other things and wrote in a messy, disorganized manner, never expecting that Jiang Yun would see it.
“Feeling guilty?”
Jiang Yun saw Jiang Rongyin silently turn her head away, and reached out to pinch her chin.
“Given Sheng Huai’an’s temperament, if he saw you write like this, he would probably keep you at the Xuezhi Hall again.”
After he finished speaking, Jiang Yun asked Xiang Ming to bring in a chair.
He had Jiang Rongyin sit next to him and rewrote it.
Jiang Rongyin glanced at him. Why was this person meddling in her studies?
Jiang Yun watched her writing with her head down, and the frustration he had just felt from reading the memorial seemed to vanish instantly.
The young woman sat there obediently, her small regular script calligraphy adorned with flowers was exquisite.
A smile involuntarily crept onto Jiang Yun’s lips.
Actually, he wouldn’t restrict Jiang Rongyin from learning anything.
It is said that the more you know, the more different thoughts will arise in your mind.
But Jiang Rongyin couldn’t be completely ignorant.
If we have children in the future, we’ll entrust them to her care. She can’t be completely illiterate, can she?
“Your Highness, there is an urgent report. His Majesty is waiting for you in the Hall of Diligent Governance.”
Just as I was thinking about these things, Xiang Ming stood at the door and said something.
Jiang Yun got up to leave, and Jiang Rongyin looked up at him.
“I’ll come to check later; don’t write anything carelessly.”
He gave a stern warning, and Jiang Rongyin nodded.
She didn’t write anything randomly.
However, Jiang Yun did not return that night.
According to Bao Yin, the Qin Zheng Hall summoned many ministers, and the lamps there remained lit all night.
It seems that this is still inextricably linked to the private tax case in Jiangnan.
As the crown prince and the presiding judge, Jiang Yun naturally had to keep a close eye on things.
Jiang Rongyin didn’t care about these things; what she should be worried about right now was how to escape.
That day, Jiang Rongyin had just finished her studies at the school when she saw Baoyin walking over.
She was carrying a food box, which she handed to Jiang Rongyin when they arrived at Guanghua Hall.
“Liu’er said that this was given to her by Young Master Qin.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rongyin’s eyes widened immediately: “How could you accept his things?”
Jiang Yun’s repeated probing was all because of Qin Shiyan.
Jiang Rongyin accepted Qin Shiyan’s things at this time. Was she courting death?
“Princess, don’t worry. Liu’er said that she was given the pastry by the pastry shop owner when she was buying pastries. Young Master Qin did not appear.”
“The letter is hidden in the layers of the pastry.”
Bao Yin quickly offered an explanation, and Jiang Rongyin, holding the food box, sighed.
“Go and close the door.”
Jiang Rongyin had avoided Qin Shiyan so many times, but she never expected that he would risk his own safety to send her a message.
Is there something urgent?
The food box was opened, and inside was a plate of delicate glutinous rice cakes.
She reached out, picked up a piece, and broke the pastry in half.
A neatly folded letter was stuffed inside the glutinous rice cake.
Holding the letter, Jiang Rongyin felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.
She and Qin Shiyan were childhood sweethearts who grew up together.
She fell in love for him, and her girlish heart was also because of him.
She knew she would marry him in the future, and Qin Shiyan treated her very well.
So no matter how difficult life was in the palace, Jiang Rongyin thought that once she came of age and got married, all the suffering would be nothing.
Sometimes, Qin Shiyan would take the opportunity of entering the palace to ask someone to bring her various things.
He knew all of Jiang Rongyin’s preferences and was more willing to put in the effort to make her happy.
They used to be so close.
Bao Yin looked at Jiang Rongyin’s reddened eyes and felt sad as well.
Jiang Rongyin slowly opened the letter.
My beloved Ayin, your letter brings a smile to my face.
I know you are in a difficult situation, and I know Jiang Yun will not give up easily, but I still have to risk sending you this message.
In the case of the illegal taxation in Jiangnan, Jiang Yun used ruthless methods and offended many powerful families in Dayong.
Li Zhixu, the only son of the Li family in Suzhou, was imprisoned in the imperial prison for his involvement in a case involving illegal taxation and was to be executed soon.
The Li family has been a prominent family for centuries, with ancestors who made contributions to the founding of the nation. Now, the matriarch of the Li family has joined forces with the powerful clans of the Dayong Dynasty to petition for the removal of the crown prince, or else she will die outside the Taihe Hall.
To quell the anger of the Li family and appease the former officials, the court officials proposed that the princess be married to Li Zhixu’s only son.
And they chose you.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Rongyin’s hand trembled, and the letter nearly fell.
Li Zhixu’s only son was a chronically ill patient who was bedridden and constantly taking medicine.
Because of his poor health, he became even more eccentric and would kill people at the drop of a hat.
The four wives he married before either hanged themselves, committed suicide, drowned themselves in a lake, or jumped off a cliff.
No one dared to act as a matchmaker for the Li family anymore, but unexpectedly, these people set their sights on Jiang Rongyin.
Jiang Rongyin clenched her fists and continued watching.
Qin Shiyan said that Jiang Yun seemed to have tacitly approved of the matter, and was just waiting for the Li family to come to the capital.
He didn’t want Jiang Rongyin’s life to be ruined by these people.
He said to Ayin, “You must leave the capital.”
Not only do you have to run, you have to run far, far away.
During the archery banquet, Qin Shiyan would arrange for someone to make Jiang Rongyin pretend to be eaten by a wild beast before taking her away.
At the end of the letter, Qin Shi said that if he were to show his face, Jiang Yun would definitely be able to detect it.
So he left people to meet him, and prepared silver, land deeds, and most importantly, a brand new identity and a register of origin.
‘My beloved Ayin, I broke my promise and failed to save you from your suffering; it is my fault.’
‘I know, and I understand, that from the moment you avoided me at the arrow pavilion, it was already impossible for us.’
“Now that I’m engaged, I absolutely cannot let you bear this stigma any longer. You’ve called me ‘brother’ for ten years; this time, as your older brother, this is the only thing I can do for you. Don’t refuse, don’t feel guilty.”
Jiang Rongyin blinked, and a tear fell onto the letter.
‘The past is fleeting and turbulent, the road ahead is long yet bright. May you be as constant as the moon, as rising as the sun, moving forward smoothly, even without me.’
After reading the letter, Jiang Rongyin was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Qin Shiyan is the one who understands her best.
He had prepared everything, and even fearing that he would implicate Jiang Rongyin, he gave up the chance to say a final goodbye.
He said the past was too painful to recall, but the road ahead was smooth.
Ke Shiyan has never broken his promise.
Jiang Rongyin got up, wiped away her tears, and threw the letter into the candlelight.
The letter burned to ashes in an instant, drifting and scattering to the ground.
In Jiang Yun’s mind, she was a commodity to be traded after weighing the pros and cons.
But some people cherish her and love her dearly.
Qin Shiyan never wronged her, yet he took all the blame upon himself.
He was the person in the whole world who missed her the most.
However, Jiang Rongyin could not follow his plan.
If Jiang Yun finds out, he will definitely not let Qin Shiyan off the hook.
Preventing Qin Shiyan from getting involved in these conflicts was also the last thing Jiang Rongyin could do for him.