After hearing Jiang Lan’s words, Qin Yuehan didn’t say anything more, simply nestling obediently in her embrace.
Jiang Lan couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke Qin Yuehan’s hair, her fingers gently weaving through the strands.
The tenderness in her gaze as she looked at Qin Yuehan was so profound it seemed ready to overflow.
A faint tremor passed through Qin Yuehan’s heart, a dark glint flashing through his jet-black peach blossom eyes.
His other hand suddenly grasped Jiang Lan’s, his grip unconsciously tightening, yet his voice remained soft as he asked, “Wife, will you ever leave me?”
As he spoke these words, his fingertips trembled slightly—a subtle movement, yet Jiang Lan felt as if his grip was causing her pain.
Men in this world were typically gentle, including the unconventional Qin Yuehan.
Thus, it was rare for him to hold her hand with such force.
Jiang Lan suddenly recalled the warning System 009 had given her when she first entered this world.
“If a quick transmigrator fails their mission, they will be sent to a punishment world. Meanwhile, the male lead Qin Yuehan, who was supposed to be saved by her, will turn to the dark side, seeking revenge on the entire world and replacing Jiang Lan as the true villain.”
Villain—what an ironic term. Just the thought of it felt despairing, much like her own fate.
Jiang Lan couldn’t imagine the man before her consumed by utter hatred.
Overcome with emotion, she raised her hand to caress Qin Yuehan’s face, her fingertips lightly brushing against his eyelashes.
Then, she spoke slowly and deliberately, “I won’t leave. I won’t leave you.”
Qin Yuehan was taken aback, suddenly wanting to ask, “Why didn’t you come sooner?”
But he didn’t dare. He remembered the stories he had read.
Once a celestial being is exposed, they must depart.
The mere thought made his heart ache.
In that moment, he realized he had changed. Before, he truly hadn’t cared, but now he wouldn’t allow anyone to take this woman from him.
At the Yuehan Pharmacy on Xinlan Street in Azure Capital City, a woman with rather sharp features was sorting through herbs behind the counter.
In a tone dripping with disdain, she said to an apprentice nearby, “The young master is a man, yet I don’t understand why he insists on mingling with these lowly commoners all day.”
The apprentice, who was chopping herbs, was a relative of the woman. Hearing her speak of Qin Yuehan this way, she seemed entirely accustomed to it.
“Indeed, the pharmacy should be under your management. I wonder what kind of woman could tolerate the young master’s behavior of flaunting himself in public,” the apprentice replied, only to look up and see the shopkeeper’s face turn deathly pale.
“Is that so? Then what kind of woman do you think would be worthy of marrying your young master?” Jiang Lan’s voice cut through the air, her stunning face now covered in a layer of frost.
Hearing this, the apprentice turned to look at Jiang Lan and saw the usually icy young master standing gently by her side.
It was the image of the young master she had once fantasized about.
Noticing the apprentice’s brazen gaze fixed on Qin Yuehan, Jiang Lan couldn’t help but frown slightly, a surge of anger rising within her.
Qin Yuehan naturally noticed it as well, his expression turning cold.”Young master.” The shopkeeper hurried out from behind the counter and knelt respectfully before Qin Yuehan and Jiang Lan.
“This is the Head of the family,” Qin Yuehan spoke, his voice still cold.
Only after hearing Qin Yuehan’s words did the shopkeeper bow to Jiang Lan, though with little respect in his attitude.
The pharmacy shopkeeper had originally worked in the Qin residence. Over time, he had forgotten his proper place.
He only knew that Jiang Lan was criticized for her impoverished background, completely forgetting her status as the current Number one scholar.
Seeing the shopkeeper’s attitude, Qin Yuehan cautiously glanced at Jiang Lan, his eyes filled with concern.
Qin Yuehan always remembered his father consort’s advice: No woman likes her Lord to have authority surpassing her own.
Jiang Lan, unaware of Qin Yuehan’s complicated thoughts at the moment, simply observed with serious eyes the shopkeeper kneeling on the ground and the apprentice who had also knelt nearby.
In this world, medical knowledge was held by only a few people.
If the shopkeeper and apprentice hadn’t signed indentured contracts, Qin Yuehan wouldn’t dare use them with such confidence.
Yet even so, the inherent flaws in women’s nature remained hidden in their hearts—how could they willingly submit to a man like Qin Yuehan?
Jiang Lan stood quietly before the shopkeeper. By now, the apprentice, realizing Jiang Lan’s identity, was filled with regret.
But unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret available now.
Jiang Lan continued watching them without telling them to rise.
She stepped around the kneeling shopkeeper, took Qin Yuehan’s hand, and settled him in a chair at the side of the pharmacy.
“Yuan Guihua, from Yunxi region, sold yourself into servitude. After gaining my mother’s appreciation, you studied pharmacology. You have one older sister and one younger brother, both now in Azure Capital City—I heard they came seeking refuge with you.” Jiang Lan spoke slowly and deliberately.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Guihua froze, an involuntary chill running down her spine.
Few people knew she was from Yunxi, and even Prime Minister Qin might not know about her siblings in Azure Capital City.