PNB Chapter 132 Confused
Chapter 132 Confused
Jiang Mian concealed the turmoil in her eyes, looked up at Li Zhijing, and said calmly, "In that case, I'll head back now."
"I send you."
Li Zhijing followed beside her.
The two stood one in front of the other, not too far apart, but at a respectful distance.
In the courtyard, Duan Zhian watched Jiang Mian's figure disappear into the night.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
Only after Jiang Mian had walked far away did he slowly enter the house.
When Ning Zhi saw him come in, he put down his teacup and asked, "Who came to see me just now?"
Duan Zhian smiled and said, "It was Her Majesty the Empress who sent someone to tell Miss Chi not to forget the time and to go back to rest early."
Chi Yu felt slightly embarrassed upon hearing this.
She had been by Ning Zhi's side all day, and it was indeed getting late.
She smiled and got up to take her leave.
Ning Zhi nodded and watched her leave.
The musicians in the hall also withdrew, and soon only he and Duan Zhi'an remained.
Ning Zhi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and rubbed his temples: "Spending a day with a heartless person is really not as good as having me copy the admonitions ten times."
He took a sip of tea and casually picked up the lantern on the table to play with it.
While playing, he suddenly laughed.
Duan Zhi'an raised his eyes and asked softly, "What is it that's funny, Your Highness?"
Ning Zhi looked at the lanterns, his voice tinged with melancholy: "I was thinking that I had seen similar lanterns with Miss Jiang in the capital that day. I never thought that Yun Chuan would have them too."
Upon hearing this, Duan Zhi'an's eyes flashed with a complex emotion. He then asked, "Your Highness has not seen Miss Jiang for quite some time. It is dark and secluded now, so no one will know. Would you like to go?"
Ning Zhi's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "Really?"
Duan Zhi'an's expression suddenly turned serious: "If you lose your composure and reveal your thoughts in front of others, it will not be good for either you or Miss Jiang. Has Your Highness forgotten why the Emperor summoned the Second Prince back to the palace?"
Ning Zhi's expression froze, and the hand holding the lantern slowly fell down, as if deflated.
How could he not know?
After the Third Prince was convicted and exiled to the frontier, no one in the court dared to challenge him. For a time, all the officials flocked to him, and he became the sole figurehead in the court.
After he proposed to take Jiang Mian as his wife, his father believed that he was after Jiang Xun's military power.
How sensitive are emperors?
From then on, everything took a sharp turn for the worse.
From intentionally promoting Li Zhijing to bringing Ning Chang back to the palace.
All of this was simply a warning to him, the crown prince.
The political situation is now turbulent, and there are even rumors circulating in the court that the Crown Prince has not achieved anything in a year and is not as good as the Third Prince who was sent to the frontier.
Every move he made was closely watched by the civil officials.
As the crown prince, he walked on thin ice in the court, while Duan Zhi'an, as the grand tutor, naturally faced difficulties as well.
The candlelight illuminated the walls inside the room.
Ning Zhi stared blankly at the lantern in his hand, muttering, "Is it truly impossible to have both power and beauty?"
Duan Zhian stood to the side, his gaze slightly darkening.
Seeing Ning Zhi's distraught state, he felt increasingly uneasy.
"A beauty is like the moon in the sky, but Your Highness, what matters right now is the path beneath your feet."
If one is preoccupied with romance before the country is secure, this path will likely only become narrower and narrower.
The lantern in Ning Zhi's hand trembled slightly, and the struggle in her eyes was obvious, but she eventually calmed down.
"I understand. Now, the most important thing is to get on our way. I will continue to maintain contact with Miss Chi as before, and we must keep an eye on the Chi family's influence in the civil service."
Duan Zhian looked at his smiling expression, a faint hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.
Something seems off about Ning Zhi today.
But he couldn't say for sure if he was being too suspicious.
So he didn't say anything more and slowly walked out of the house.
The distance between the imperial palace and the villa is not very far.
Li Zhijing walked slowly as he escorted Jiang Mian, but the two did not exchange many words.
Because there were many guards along the way, everyone had to bow to Li Zhijing, but he just nodded expressionlessly.
Jiang Wan inexplicably felt like a prisoner being escorted away.
When she reached the vicinity of the courtyard gate, she stopped and said softly, "There's no need to see me off any further. I can go in by myself."
Li Zhijing paused, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.
Jiang Mian nodded, turned around and walked into the courtyard.
She didn't turn around, but she always felt a gaze gently falling on her back, making her feel heavy-hearted.
Stepping into the courtyard, all was quiet.
The winding corridors seemed endless, and the sparse lighting added to the gloom.
Jiang Mian was disoriented by the similar corridors here and somehow ended up in a secluded corner.
He frowned, just as he was about to turn back.
Suddenly, they heard faint voices coming from behind the bushes.
"...Anyway, it's good that she's pregnant." It was the voice of the Lady of Pingnan Marquis. "Otherwise, the young master has been married for so long and doesn't even have a child. Who knows what they'll say about us."
Jiang Mian was startled.
Then came the voice of the Marquis of Pingnan: "But her body is as weak as a willow branch, I don't know if she can give birth to the child safely."
"My lord, do not worry. During her pregnancy, I have had people take good care of her. It will also show the Grand Tutor how much the Marquis's mansion cares for his niece."
"If Wen Qian can give birth smoothly, our reputation will be secure, and the Grand Tutor will treat our household better. As for her..."
"Now that she's severed ties with the Wen family, the child will be of little use after it's born, so there's no need to be polite to her anymore..."
"..."
A chill ran through Jiang Mian's heart, and her fingertips involuntarily tightened around her cloak.
She had assumed that Wen Qian was pregnant and had a good relationship with Li Zhijing.
While they might not be pampered by the Marquis of Pingnan's household, they certainly shouldn't be in this situation.
The elders I thought were incredibly loving when I was young turned out to be so calculating and cold-hearted in private.
She took a deep breath to suppress her astonishment.
He tiptoed back a few steps and quickly left that corner.
Upon returning to the room, Wen Qian's gentle face came into view.
She was still flipping through medical books, searching for medicines that could be made from the fruit of the Trichosanthes kirilowii.
Jiang Mian's gaze fell on her abdomen, and her heart tightened.
Wen Qian heard the door open, looked up, and smiled broadly.
"Sister Man, you're back."
"Well, it's so late, you should get some rest."
Jiang Mian lowered her eyes, concealing the turmoil within them.
She didn't know whether she should tell Wen Qian what she had just heard.
Now that she has severed ties with the Wen family, that child is her flesh and blood, and also her only bargaining chip to gain a foothold in the Pingnan Marquis's mansion.
If I tell her, what good will it do besides adding to her worries?
But if I don't tell her now, I'll only realize after she gives birth that the marriage I've been trying so hard to maintain was just a result of using her words.
Will Wen Qian be even more heartbroken then?
Jiang Mian closed her eyes, a sense of powerlessness welling up inside her.
Tell her she will be in pain.
If I don't tell her, at least I can live a more comfortable life.
But is this really for her own good, or is it harming her?
Wen Qian seemed to notice Jiang Wan's silence and looked up to ask, "Sister Wan, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Jiang Mian snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and said in a light tone, "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."
"You've been busy all day, so get some rest."
Jiang Mian responded and turned back to the inner room, but her mind was in turmoil.
She thought of how carefully Wen Qian treated the child every day.
I think of the tenderness that she couldn't hide in her eyes when she occasionally mentioned Li Zhijing.
Jiang Mian suddenly felt a little confused. If the Marquis of Pingnan was like this...
Was Li Zhijing truly sincere towards her?