Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 10

The man’s thumb flicked towards her forehead, his tone full of doting affection, “Only remembering me now, huh?”

Jiang Wanshu flinched from the pain and couldn’t help but silently complain about her helplessness.

She was a dignified princess, so noble and precious, yet she had allowed this coarse man to touch her skin repeatedly. In the past, she wouldn’t have felt satisfied unless her personal guards gave him a beating. Now, well, her comeuppance had arrived.

Before her successful escape, she had to rely on him and coax him, and she couldn’t show the intense hatred she felt towards his presumptuous actions in front of him.

She secretly rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Observing the subtle changes in the woman’s demeanor before him, Zhou Yan’s deep-set eyes grew dim.

He spoke, slightly annoyed, “Why are you so fickle? A few days ago, you’d talk back to me, but now, if you hear something you don’t like, you just stop talking?”

“I didn’t,” Jiang Wanshu replied, displeased. She didn’t want to start another argument with him. Hadn’t her taking a step back in itself been enough? Was he still dissatisfied?

The girl’s cheeks puffed out with annoyance, the soft flesh swelling like a delicate, tempting peach. Zhou Yan unconsciously pressed his index finger against it, the soft, yielding touch immediately soothing his mood.

He muttered to himself, “Forget it. Who told you that you are the ‘A’jia’ I’ve decided upon? If you become a mute wife, I’ll be your mouth.”

The more she listened, the more Jiang Wanshu felt that Zhou Yan was speaking without any restraint. She flung away the hand Zhou Yan still had on her face, then covered her ears with both hands, refusing to listen to him any further.

Zhou Yan watched the girl before him with a smile in his eyes. He suddenly noticed a subtle change in Jiang Wanshu’s attitude toward him.

The look in her eyes was no longer the fear she had when he first rescued her. Perhaps Jiang Wanshu believed she could escape this deep forest now, and her true disposition was beginning to show.

Escape.

Zhou Yan’s eyes narrowed subtly. Seeing the person in front of him looking so unwilling, he brought his right hand down on the reins. The horse instantly bolted, startling Jiang Wanshu into a yelp.

As he focused on galloping the horse, Zhou Yan spared a glance for the frightened girl, a palpable coldness gradually emanating from his body.

Wanting to escape right under his nose? He was determined to teach her what it meant to be unable to escape.

The place they lived was uniquely positioned between the Central Plains and the grasslands, belonging to a neutral, unpopulated zone. A hundred li (Chinese mile) ride to the left would bring them to the edge of the grasslands, and a hundred li ride to the right would bring them to the Central Plains territory.

Now, the horse was moving to the right. Past the deep forest, they would reach a village. The village had over a hundred households, and today was its market day. The villagers were simple and honest people; it was a suitable place for shopping that he had discovered after his demotion to this region.

The village had many farmers cultivating saplings, with large fields connecting with one another. Many merchants, hoping to make a living, were setting up stalls on the side, selling various vegetable seeds.

The horse galloped, kicking up a cloud of dust. Jiang Wanshu, choked by the flying dirt, let out several sneezes and tightly covered her mouth and nose.

Finally, the horse stopped by a small stall. Zhou Yan dismounted and held up his arm high.

In the past, based on his nature, he would have likely picked her up without a word. Instead, he was acting like a gentleman’s son, holding out his arm, patiently waiting for her to decide whether to take the initiative to link hers with his.

Her feet were a certain distance from the ground. She was afraid she would be injured if she jumped down. Unable to do otherwise, Jiang Wanshu grabbed Zhou Yan’s arms. The man exerted force and gently lifted her down.

Bathed in the sunlight after the rain, the air carried a slight humidity. After landing, Jiang Wanshu, wanting to observe her surroundings, pretended to be disoriented by the horse’s speed, spinning around in a dazed manner.

As she did so, she widened her eyes, memorizing the routes around her.

How could Zhou Yan not know what she was doing?

He merely wondered in which direction she was planning to flee later.

Zhou Yan kept his eyes fixed on the girl, his heart on high alert.

On the stall, various kinds of seeds were displayed, a dizzying sight.

Even though she had diligently reviewed the minute details the tutor had mentioned about choosing good seeds the previous night, she still felt nervous.

After all, her true purpose wasn’t about the seeds, and she worried that if the seeds she chose carelessly didn’t grow once planted, Zhou Yan would detect her intentions.

She immediately picked up a palm-full of seeds from the stall, pursing her lips and lowering her eyebrows to examine them carefully.

The village’s sunlight shone down, illuminating the girl’s delicate, fair skin. Next to her was a small, neatly folded cloth bag. Jiang Wanshu examined the seeds in her palm again, smelling them a few times as described in books, and then took a deep breath, raising her head to look at the seed merchant.

The merchant often did business in the village and rarely saw anyone so unfamiliar with choosing seeds. Normally, he would have just reached out and picked the best ones for her. But seeing the tall and imposing man standing behind her, a man whose handsomeness was intimidating even from a single glance, made him want to back off.

The merchant managed a strained smile and lowered his head to ask, “Miss, you are choosing cabbage seeds. Cabbage seeds are the easiest to grow. Regardless of the seed quality, once planted in the ground and watered, they are sure to grow big and strong within six days.”

“Really?” Saying this, Jiang Wanshu picked up the cloth bag next to her, opened it, put the handful of seeds inside, and tightly tied the bag’s opening.

The merchant smiled happily upon seeing this, “Of course it’s true, we are running a small business and never cheat people. Miss, you can take it home and try. If they don’t grow well, feel free to come back and find me.”

“Then I certainly will come back to find you,” Jiang Wanshu replied in agreement, to make the purpose of this outing seem more authentic.

Just this one response made the merchant think of his own daughter, who was at home learning embroidery. His daughter was the same age as her, a sensible child.

Following this thought, the merchant momentarily forgot about the man standing behind Jiang Wanshu with his arms crossed over his chest, and he opened up the conversation.

“I see you look like a Central Plains person, but you are wearing grassland clothing. Are you here to visit relatives in the Central Plains?” He instinctively assumed Jiang Wanshu was a woman who had been married off far away.

Jiang Wanshu immediately shook her head, swaying like a rattle drum, “No, he is my mother’s cousin. It was my aunt who married into the grasslands.”

The merchant realized his mistake and quickly apologized repeatedly.

Jiang Wanshu’s nose turned slightly red, and she hastily said, “It’s no trouble, old man.”

The conversation between the two in front had a distinct Central Plains courtesy, characterized by politeness and reciprocity. However, the man standing behind them grew more and more intense as he watched them.

It wasn’t until Jiang Wanshu smiled at the merchant again and picked up another cloth bag to grab a handful of seeds that Zhou Yan completely lost his patience. He strode forward, pulled the woman who was still choosing seeds behind him, and haphazardly grabbed a handful himself, shoving it into the bag.

The sudden surge of anger from the man left Jiang Wanshu bewildered. Seeing Zhou Yan glare at the old man, frightening him into silence, she whispered a reminder, “You’ll scare people like that.”

Zhou Yan ignored Jiang Wanshu’s attempt at conversation. He thought to himself that this little delicate flower was quite skilled at choosing who to talk to. In front of the old man, she chatted merrily, smiling sweetly, practically eager to buy the seeds with him and talk until the end of time.

Yet, in front of him, she spoke softly and occasionally acted like a slighted young wife, ignoring him. A wave of jealousy coursed through his mind, making him feel thoroughly uncomfortable.

A man knows a man’s heart best, and the old merchant was instantly enlightened.

This person was clearly not the cousin the girl claimed; they were husband and wife, likely just having a spat.

With this realization, he could understand the man’s displeasure just now.

Bearing in mind the saying, “Better to let a man hit his son than advise a man to divorce his wife,” the old man spoke up again.

“Sir, you are worried about the young lady being harmed. Out here, a nature like hers, one that trusts outsiders so easily, could easily lead to her being cheated.”

The old man sighed in his heart. With that statement, he had risked his own face by implying he, too, was a potential danger.

Jiang Wanshu was genuinely confused, shaking her head to show she didn’t understand.

By this time, Zhou Yan had tied up the cloth bag and placed copper coins in the old man’s hand. He turned his gaze to Jiang Wanshu. The girl was tiny standing in front of him. Zhou Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he said in a rather provocative tone, “Still looking? If you keep looking, are we still going to buy clothes or not!”

Jiang Wanshu was utterly speechless by the situation. She reluctantly shifted her feet to walk closer to Zhou Yan.

She glared at the man in front of her, thinking with hatred that when she finally returned to the palace, she absolutely must poison him until he was mute. How dare he speak like that!

However, she only dared to think this in her heart. In truth, she understood that even if she returned to the palace, her father and mother might not be able to fully protect her.

After all, the matter of a princess for a political marriage losing her life halfway through and then returning to the palace was quite serious:

Firstly, her parents would have to deal with the gossip and rumors she might face outside.

Secondly, her parents would have to send people to explain to the grassland people that she was not dead and offer some high-sounding, official reasons.

If she was lucky and her parents were powerful, and if the grassland people agreed to renegotiate the marriage and choose another princess due to her supposed death before she returned, she wouldn’t have to worry about the political marriage again.

However, the place where she and Zhou Yan lived was remote, and the political marriage was an internal royal affair, not widely known to everyone. Therefore, her return to the palace was full of uncertainties.

But even so, she would still choose to flee back to the palace. Only with her parents by her side would she feel safe.

“Wanwan.” The sparkling sunlight in front of her was blocked by a body as large as a mountain. Jiang Wanshu collected her thoughts to look, and the man’s expression was now like that of a wolf, fierce and threatening.

Sensing the shift in the man’s mood, and worried that he would not take her to buy clothes, thereby losing her chance to investigate the terrain, Jiang Wanshu quickly agreed, “Okay, we can go buy clothes now.”

Saying this, Jiang Wanshu truly couldn’t stand having her vision obscured and stepped aside. She then noticed the old seed merchant and waved, “Goodbye, old man.”

The old man counted the copper coins in his hand, feeling much better. Seeing the man’s back turned to him—out of sight, out of mind—his courage returned a bit, and he kindly offered information:

“Miss, are you going to buy clothes? Just two days ago, a new clothes shop opened straight down the south end of the village and into the town. My daughter went to see it yesterday and said the owner has a great eye and makes extremely beautiful clothes!”

“My daughter bought several sets yesterday—she was very extravagant! I scolded her when she got back, and she even argued with me. But now that I think about it, she wasn’t wrong. The shop owner is from the capital, and she came all the way south without turning; she must have done so to start this kind of business! After all, the clothes in her shop are very popular in the capital, and bringing them to sell in the town—how could young girls not love them?”

The old man’s words inadvertently revealed details that Jiang Wanshu would have needed a long time to uncover. Hearing this, Jiang Wanshu’s ears instantly perked up, and her previous languid state was immediately revived, her entire being becoming energetic.

When Zhou Yan heard what the old man said, his guard immediately went up. Without waiting for Jiang Wanshu to ask another question, he scooped up the bright-eyed girl in front of him and headed straight for the horse.

Jiang Wanshu was bounced onto the horseback by the man, letting out an astonished “Ah.” After that, Zhou Yan mounted the horse, grabbed the reins, and leaned into her ear, “Keep listening, and I’ll cut off your ears, alright?”

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