freenovelworld Chapter 335
Chapter 335
A pear blossom twirled and fell before her eyes. Nalan Jingwen reached out and caught it. The petal landed in her palm, and she gazed at it intently before slowly clenching her fist.
After standing there for an unknown amount of time, Ah Nian's smile in the courtyard became somewhat strained. He was in poor health and could not stand or sit for long periods of time. He covered his face and coughed twice. Upon seeing this, Shen Xi asked with feigned concern, "Is Your Highness feeling unwell anywhere?"
Ah Nian shook his head and said distantly, "I'm a little tired, I'm afraid I can't entertain Lord Shen."
Shen Xi brushed the petals off her body and stood up. "In that case, I will not disturb you any longer. Your Highness, please rest well. We will be leaving Changming Temple tomorrow. I hope Your Highness will take care of yourself."
Ah Nian nodded, but smiled without saying a word. Only after Shen Xi left did he slowly get up and walk into the room.
Nalan Jingwen stepped into the courtyard. The person with her back to her paused upon hearing her footsteps, but did not turn around.
"What's the matter?"
"it's me."
Nalan Jingwen gazed at his retreating figure and spoke calmly.
Ah Nian remained silent for a long time before finally turning around, her face bearing a distant smile unlike any she had before. "Why did you come today, sister?"
He didn't rush to greet her as usual, but stood at a distance, the two gazing at each other from afar.
Nalan Jingwen took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them, his dark, deep eyes fixed on him. "I've come to see you. How have you been staying here these past few days?"
"It's alright, sister, don't worry."
"Have you taken your medicine on time?"
"Three times a day, without fail."
"your eyes……"
She raised her hand, wanting to pluck the flower petals from his hair, but he slightly turned his head and dodged her. Nalan Jingwen's hand froze in mid-air, his expression dark.
Ah Nian seemed oblivious, continuing to talk to himself.
"It's still a little blurry, but it should be fine soon, so don't worry about me, sister."
He looked in the direction of Nalan Jingwen, his voice calm, as if he were simply narrating.
At some point, the chanting stopped.
Nalan Jingwen felt slightly uncomfortable with his cold attitude, frowned slightly but said nothing, only asking, "I heard that Shen Xi has been here for many days?"
At this, A-Nian paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Sister's information is indeed accurate. Lord Shen has been coming every day these past few days. He was worried that I would be bored, so he brought me a lot of little trinkets."
He said, a faint smile appearing on his face, "That's interesting."
Upon hearing this, Nalan Jingwen frowned even more deeply. "How could you be so close to her? Don't you know Shen Xi's purpose?"
Before she could finish speaking, Anian interrupted her, "Sister, I know, I'm not stupid."
His expression was indifferent, but his eyes and brows were not the same as before. "You have always been there for me and protected me. I am very grateful. But after the coronation ceremony, you will be leaving. Have you thought about how I will live after you leave?"
"So you're trying to solidify your position by currying favor with Shen Xi?"
Nalan Jingwen stared intently at him with deep, dark eyes.
Ah Nian's smile froze for a moment, and Nalan Jingwen also realized that his words were really hurtful, but he did not defend himself.
The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of pear blossoms; it should have been a comfortable and relaxing day, but the atmosphere was oppressive.
After a long while, Anian finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "These days, no less than a hundred women have been sent to the palace. I have to patiently deal with them every day, and I also have to move around among various ministers in the court. Anian is really tired."
"If we're talking about motives, who among them doesn't have one? Shen Xi is just more blatant, and I understand her motives better. She wants a position next to me to control the court. Besides, I'm a man, and sitting in that position is unacceptable to the world. If Shen Xi can silence them, wouldn't that be a good solution?"
He chuckled softly as he spoke, his voice low, as if it were about to dissipate in the wind.
"Besides, sister, you've forgotten, I don't have much time left."
Nalan Jingwen felt a lump in his throat and they looked at each other in silence. Anian seemed to be extremely tired, and his eyes and brows were filled with fatigue.
"If there's nothing else, sister, you should go back now. If you linger any longer, that person might get angry. I won't see you off."
Nalan Jingwen stared at his thin, frail back for a long time in the courtyard. Only when the chanting of sutras sounded in her ears again did she come back to her senses. A slight stinging sensation came from her palm, and she realized that the petals she had just held had been trampled beyond recognition. She lowered her hand, turned and left, and the petals in her hand quietly fell and were crushed into dust.
……
Back in the city, Nalan Jingwen encountered someone who surprised her. She frowned as she looked at the still disheveled woman in front of her.
"Why are you here?"
Aman was about to start cursing when she heard a familiar voice and paused. When she saw that it was Nalan Jingwen, her eyes lit up.
"You! You! What are you doing here?!"
Nalan Jingwen sighed helplessly, pulled her aside, and lowered his voice, "What's going on? Didn't you head south?"
Aman pouted, "Someone asked me to treat their illness, so I came."
"Who?"
"He seems to be some official in Baiji, surnamed Xiao or something?"
Aman tilted her head in thought, but her words made Nalan Jingwen's expression suddenly turn serious.
"Xiao Jin?"
Nalan Jingwen probed.
"Yes! It's her! You know her?"
Aman looked at her, and Nalan Jingwen frowned, "Do you know what illness Xiao Jin has?"
"I don't know, I just arrived and I'm waiting for someone to pick me up. I haven't seen anyone yet."
"It's strange, this person insisted that I wait under the banyan tree in the east of the city, making it all very mysterious. If I hadn't heard that Baiji's Ningxue Brew was delicious, I wouldn't have come here."
Aman was talking to herself and didn't notice Nalan Jingwen's expression. It wasn't until she didn't hear him speak for a long time that she realized what was happening.
"What's wrong? By the way, how's your husband? How's he? Is his eye better?"
Nalan Jingwen seemed distracted, offering only a few perfunctory replies before asking, "When will the person you're waiting for arrive?"
Ah Man looked up at the weather and figured it was coming soon.
Nalan Jingwen nodded, "If you've finished your medical treatment, come to the inn to find me, and I'll arrange accommodations for you."
After she finished speaking, she left in a hurry. Ah Man couldn't call her back no matter what she said, and could only mutter that she was a weirdo.
After returning, Nalan Jingwen sent people to investigate what illness Xiao Jin had contracted. She hadn't heard any news of Xiao Jin's illness these past few days, which showed that it was being kept very secret. If it weren't for meeting Aman today, she would have been in trouble. However, it was strange that Xiao Congyu hadn't come to see her for a long time since their unpleasant parting. She had originally thought that they wanted to find another way to avoid cooperating with her, but now it seemed that something had really happened.
The news was quickly found out that Xiao Jin had started feeling unwell ever since her last meeting with Shen Xi.
The initial assessment is that Shen Xi targeted Xiao Jin. However, Xiao Jin has continued to appear in front of everyone these days, seemingly without any discomfort. If it weren't for the fact that A Man had been brought in, people would probably think that nothing had really happened.