freenovelworld Chapter 170 Birthday
Chapter 170 Birthday
The surrounding crowd dispersed to make way.
Chi Yu, dressed in fine clothes, approached and gave her a haughty look: "Oh, who do we have here? It's Miss Jiang."
Jiang Wan gripped the food box tightly: "I arrived first."
"So what?" Chi Yu chuckled. "Do you think you can take away what I want from you?"
Jiang Wan sensed a hidden meaning in her words.
She glanced back; Xiao Hengzhi had his back to the crowd and hadn't noticed what was happening.
Chi Yu reached out, trying to snatch the food box from her hand.
Jiang Mian paused for a moment, then suddenly lifted the lid of the box, reached out and took a lotus flower pastry, putting it directly into her mouth.
Two delicate lotus-shaped pastries were held between her fingers, the flaky crust and filling falling gently.
"You!" Chi Yu was stunned for a moment, not expecting her to do this.
Jiang Mian handed over the empty box, which contained only a few crumbs: "You can take it now."
"Jiang Mian! How dare you treat me like this!" Chi Yu grabbed the wooden box and threw it at Jiang Mian.
Jiang Wan dodged aside. She said, "So all you do is throw things? No wonder His Highness said you're not steady!"
"When...when did Your Highness say such a thing?"
Jiang Mian paused, remembering that those words were spoken by Ning Zhi during a nighttime conversation with her in her previous life.
She turned her head away and did not answer.
Chi Yu glared at her: "Jiang Mian, you just wait! Once I become the Crown Prince, I will repay this humiliation a hundredfold!"
She pointed at Jiang Mian, panting with anger.
"Miss Chi."
A voice suddenly came from the side.
Jiang Mian turned her head and saw Xiao Hengzhi slowly walking over.
Seeing his distinguished attire, the onlookers stepped aside and remained silent, simply watching the spectacle unfold.
Upon seeing him, Chi Yu's arrogant demeanor subsided, but she still spoke with a hint of annoyance: "If I remember correctly, Your Highness's wedding is approaching, and you still have the mind to meddle in this commotion?"
"Some people are also getting married soon, aren't they creating a buzz here too?"
Chi Yu retorted defiantly, "Your Highness, instead of staying with Sister Wen, you're protecting someone else. Aren't you afraid that such favoritism will reach the Empress Dowager's ears?"
"I'd love for this to reach the Empress Dowager's ears. But you, if the Crown Prince heard of your behavior today, do you think he would be pleased or furious?"
Chi Yu took half a step back, momentarily speechless.
She glared at Jiang Wan, then flicked her sleeve and said, "Let's go!"
The crowd gradually dispersed.
Jiang Mian looked at the mess on the ground and said softly, "The lotus flower pastries are gone. I'll go look elsewhere and pick out something else for Your Highness."
"It's alright." Xiao Hengzhi raised his hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You can accompany me for a walk."
Jiang Wan nodded.
The two continued walking along the street. Jiang Mian looked around aimlessly, her mind filled with thoughts of how to escape and meet Ning Zhi on Hualing Street.
As I was pondering this, I saw a wisp of smoke rising from a distant mountain forest.
When she was alone, that place was where A-Yun's villa was located.
Could it be that there's a fire, which is why the Red Slaves came down from the mountain and ran into the streets?
"Jiang Mian," Xiao Hengzhi suddenly called her.
She looked away: "What's wrong?"
"The General's Mansion is still under renovation. You can stay at the Prince's Mansion and wait for Uncle Jiang to return from Qingzhou in triumph, is that alright?"
"Why did Your Highness suddenly bring this up?"
Xiao Hengzhi looked at the river without saying a word.
She followed his gaze and saw several carpenters pushing a timber cart along the riverbank, heading straight for the General's Mansion.
Jiang Mian paused slightly, looked up and forced a smile: "Today is the Prince's birthday, let's not talk about this. Let's discuss it later."
Her gaze swept across the bustling crowd, silently looking towards the direction of Hualing Street.
She knew that they had no future together.
Soon, the warm winter sun began to set, and lanterns of various colors lit up the streets and alleys one by one.
With the year drawing to a close and today being New Year's Day, the city appears even brighter, the warm light reflecting off the unmelted snow, making the whole city look like a crystal world.
The two walked onto the Flower Antelope Bridge and gazed at the flowing water below, outlined by the lights.
The air was filled with the warm aroma of food and fireworks, and children ran by laughing and playing with pinwheels, creating a lively atmosphere of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new.
But the noise made Jiang Wan feel somewhat dazed.
On this night in her past life, she was in the palace.
The Empress hosted a banquet, the hall was filled with jewels and jade, and laughter and chatter filled the air.
At that time, she had only recently become Ning Zhi's concubine. The Empress invited her to a seat, but then publicly mocked her for being of low status and unworthy to sit.
The concubines chatted and laughed, while she was tricked into leaving the scene.
He was also accused of breaking the rules and was punished by being confined to the palace to reflect on his actions.
In the vast palace, she was all alone; even her breath echoed.
The sounds of revelry outside the window only served to highlight how terribly desolate her place was.
That night, she sat on the couch and felt a chill seep into her very bones.
Just when she thought she would have to get through the night like this, she heard hurried footsteps outside the palace.
The door was pushed open, and Ning Zhi walked in, covered in a chill, with snowflakes still clinging to her shoulders.
"Your Highness... why are you back?" She stood up in surprise.
Ning Zhi stepped forward, took her cold hand in his palm, and breathed warm air on it: "I was worried that the Empress would make things difficult for you, so I came back specifically."
"Didn't they say that matters outside the palace were urgent?"
"It'll only take a little while, it won't hurt."
He glanced at the empty stove, ordered someone to add silver thread charcoal, and then, as if by magic, took out a still warm oil paper package from his bosom, inside which were two pieces of peach shortbread from outside the palace.
"You mentioned wanting to eat the peach shortbread sold near the General's Mansion, so I went and bought some when I saw it today."
That night, he sat with her by the window and watched the snow fall all night.
When the young eunuch struck the gong at midnight, a deep, resonant bell rang out from the direction of the palace.
Fireworks exploded in the night sky, illuminating the entire imperial city as bright as day.
Ning Zhi kissed her forehead and whispered a prayer: "May we have this day every year."
At that moment, his eyes reflected the sparkle of fireworks and starlight, so pure that it made her heart tremble.
At that time, she was preoccupied with how to take advantage of this unique favor to become the Crown Princess.
He offered her his heart, but she only saw it as a bargaining chip to climb the social ladder in the deep palace.
So later, he harmed others and himself, and ended up in a terrible state.
What if she hadn't entered the palace back then?
She probably lived a poor but peaceful life with Xiao Hengzhi.
He would clumsily learn to cook soup, and she would sit by the window and mend his clothes.
There is no overwhelming power, no life-or-death struggle.
Only the daily necessities of life make them two people who depend on each other for survival.
If things continue like this...
Suddenly, snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and the shimmering waves rippled outwards, shattering the reflections in the water.
Jiang Mian gently shook her head, her fingertips digging deeply into her palm.
She looked at Xiao Hengzhi, who stood silently beside her.
The light from the lanterns at the bridgehead cast intermittent shadows on his sharply defined profile.
In a daze, the eyes and brows overlapped with those of the peaceful, contented person in my memory.
Xiao Hengzhi turned his head and met her gaze.
"What are you thinking about?"
“I was thinking… it seems that I used to stroll through the streets with the Prince, watching people come and go on the bridge.” She paused, her gaze drifting into the distance. “If only I hadn’t left back then. If I had stayed by your side as the Prince once said, many things wouldn’t have happened.”
Her voice was soft, tinged with a melancholy longing for the past.
Xiao Heng was momentarily speechless.
He always thought that Jiang Wan hated the time she spent with him in the past.
How much sincerity is there in saying these words now?