Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 47

This statement was far too ambiguous, leading Jiang Wanshu to inwardly marvel at how a man entangled in love gains such a silver-tongued ability.

However, she did not love him, so these words held no power over her.

Even so, Jiang Wanshu found herself unsure of how to react. Usually, when someone receives such a direct confession, they are expected to be bashful; yet, perhaps because she had heard such words too many times before, she simply stared at him blankly.

Then, she picked up the soft pillow once more and shoved it against his chest.

Before standing up, she left him with a final warning: “If you keep acting like this, I will truly be angry.”

The sound of her slightly irritated voice reached Zhou Yan’s ears, and he looked up at her with a light chuckle.

Jiang Wanshu didn’t wait for him to get up. She walked quickly toward the door and pulled it open, calling for her maid.

“Yulu, I wish to wash up.”

Yulu, who had been listening from outside, responded promptly.

A cold gust of wind surged into the bedroom through a suddenly opened window. Jiang Wanshu walked over and glanced sideways, noticing that the man on the bed had vanished—an act that was clearly connected to the now-open window.

Zhou Yan had jumped out.

He had actually done well this time, learning to suppress his temper and leaping from the window to avoid being discovered.

Before leaving the spot, Jiang Wanshu pulled the window shut until it was airtight. She rubbed her cold palms together and walked toward the dressing table.

Sitting down, she looked at her unadorned face in the bronze mirror—her eyes were misty like water, and her skin was fair and smooth.

At that moment, Yulu opened the door and placed a copper basin down. Jiang Wanshu picked up her toothbrush, applied a bit of specialized paste, and began to brush.

Once everything was finished, Yulu began to style her hair and apply her makeup. Jiang Wanshu’s face was naturally beautiful, so Yulu didn’t need to exert much effort.

Peering at her reflection in the mirror, Jiang Wanshu listened contentedly to Yulu’s praise: “My Lady, your face is truly stunning.”

In the palace of the past, many envied the princess for her beauty and the favor she received from the Emperor and Empress, calling her a person of good fortune. Looking at it now, it seemed true.

While such a description might seem accurate to outsiders, to the person involved, it felt less so—at least, being sent away for a political marriage could hardly be considered “good fortune.”

Leaving one’s homeland for a strange new place is something no one desires.

But what could she do? Was it not a princess’s duty to sacrifice for her country?

Yulu, of course, did not mention these things. She simply looked up and tucked another hairpin into the styled hair.

When the grooming was complete, Jiang Wanshu walked out with light, graceful steps. Upon opening the door, Zhou Yan’s figure appeared before her once again.

Jiang Wanshu looked up, utterly bewildered.

Didn’t this man just leave? Why is he back?

By this time, several cleaning maids had entered the courtyard. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she was about to whisper her question to him when Zhou Yan spoke first.

“Sister Wan, I almost forgot—before I left, my parents asked me to hand this over to you.” In the countryside, it was common to address others as “Sister” or “Brother.”

Jiang Wanshu lowered her head again and noticed the bundle in his hand. She realized that this man had come prepared.

Without waiting for her to speak, Zhou Yan resumed the boorish persona common to village men in front of the outsiders, ushering Jiang Wanshu back inside.

Seeing this, Jiang Wanshu quickly turned her head to glimpse the cleaning maids.

After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, they didn’t think she and Zhou Yan were intimately acquainted. She noticed some maids looking at her with pity, while their gazes toward Zhou Yan were filled with resentment.

Combining these reactions, one could imagine a little drama: a savior from the village whose son is a crude ruffian, bringing a refined beauty into the city. The contrast between the delicate lady and the boorish man was like a comedic play for the onlookers to enjoy.

However, the “boor” was destined to be despised by the audience.

Any decent person would feel protective of a refined, well-behaved lady being pushed around by such a crude man.

Seeing this, Jiang Wanshu stopped struggling and followed his lead. She thought to herself: Let Zhou Yan be despised by others; at least he hasn’t been exposed. Besides, his ego could use a blow.

Otherwise, her time spent by his side would be quite unbearable.

Once inside, Zhou Yan pushed her down to sit at the wooden table.

Jiang Wanshu looked up; the lashes beneath the man’s brows were thick and long. “Zhou Yan, do you have any idea what those people outside will think after you pushed me in here against my will?”

“What can they think? I’ve already acted quite rudely; they’ll just assume I’m a villager used to being uncouth. As long as they don’t think I’m intimate with you, it’s fine.” Zhou Yan sat down nonchalantly in a chair beside her.

Jiang Wanshu was in disbelief. “Since you know that, why did you do it? Couldn’t you have used another way?”

To lose face in front of others was a great shame to her; if it were her, she would hide in her room and never see anyone again. Yet to Zhou Yan, other people’s opinions were as easy to swallow as a cup of water.

Zhou Yan glanced at her, sensing her suspicion. “I live in my own eyes, not in the eyes of the world. Why should I care how they see me?”

In an instant, Jiang Wanshu felt her years of following the rules and behaving conventionally being challenged.

She forgot to ask why he had returned and simply stared with wide, incredulous eyes. “But if you act like that, won’t you be criticized?”

“Would you criticize me?” Zhou Yan casually picked up a teapot and poured a cup.

Without a second thought, Jiang Wanshu replied instantly, “Of course not.”

The current social climate prized elegance because the Central Plains were growing stronger. However, far beyond the flowery capital, there were still impoverished lands where people struggled for survival. In those places, who could afford to care about “elegance”?

In her view, as long as a person’s heart was good, their temperament—no matter how rough—was only natural.

“The only person by my side is Wanwan, so the only person I need to answer to is Wanwan. As for what others say, I simply do not care.” Zhou Yan raised his cup and downed the plain water in a single gulp.

Jiang Wanshu was struck by a sudden realization, feeling as though her perspective had been elevated.

So, there really are people like this in the world.

Thinking this, she glanced sideways at Zhou Yan again. She hadn’t expected him to be someone who truly disregarded the opinions of others to such an extent.

But on second thought, it wasn’t surprising. After all, it was only natural for a man who would “kidnap” a girl from a respectable family and insist on marrying her to have such startling and unconventional ideas.

The young woman’s gaze was fixed intently on Zhou Yan. He could hardly fail to notice, and feeling a bit self-conscious, he set his teacup down. “Wanwan, why are you looking at me like that?”

He had wanted to use a more teasing or bold choice of words, but fearing that eavesdroppers might take it the wrong way and annoy her, he suppressed the urge.

Snapped out of her trance by his voice, Jiang Wanshu realized she had indeed been staring at him for a long time. With her face still lightly powdered, she quickly regained her composure and changed the subject. “I… I was just wondering why you came back just now.”

Zhou Yan was always relaxed and unthinking in her presence, so he didn’t notice she was diverting the conversation. Recalling the lunch the servants had prepared for him in his courtyard, his voice grew a bit louder with indignation. “Wanwan, do you know what they prepared for my lunch!”

Seeing his expression, Jiang Wanshu looked puzzled. Judging by his tone, had the household staff mistreated him?

But that shouldn’t be possible. Brother Zhou was such a proper and considerate man; how could he treat guests so differently?

Jiang Wanshu shook her head without saying a word.

Seeing that she didn’t answer, Zhou Yan didn’t wait for her to speak again. “They gave me a bowl of rice, a dish of bean sprouts, and a single sea bass!”

Isn’t that perfectly normal?

Jiang Wanshu looked at the huffing man before her and asked in confusion, “What’s so strange about that?”

At that moment, a maid entered the room with a tray, set down the meal, and left. Jiang Wanshu knew this was her own lunch. She washed her hands and picked up her bowl and chopsticks.

She wondered if perhaps the cook’s skills weren’t up to par, and that was why Zhou Yan was complaining?

She picked up some bean sprouts and tasted them. While they weren’t as delicious as the ones Zhou Yan cooked himself, they weren’t bad either. It didn’t make sense.

She pursed her lips and spoke again, “My meal is exactly the same as what you described. Besides, the cook’s flavors are quite good. Why does it displease you so?”

In truth, she felt a bit of a need to defend Zhou Shuan. Although the brief spark of emotion between them had already faded, she knew that without his help, she might not even have a chance to enter the palace tomorrow.

To her surprise, Zhou Yan saw her reaction and immediately called for a maid to bring another set of chopsticks and a bowl. Jiang Wanshu could not guess what he was up to.

Zhou Yan remained sullen, and she found it difficult to ask, so she simply continued eating in small bites.

When the extra bowl and chopsticks arrived, Zhou Yan snatched a piece of sea bass and stuffed it into his mouth. Only after she saw him swallow did she smile and look down at her food. “What are you staring at me for? Eat!”

Jiang Wanshu was suddenly amused by his words. She picked up a few more bean sprouts.

So, he just wasn’t full.

She swallowed her food slowly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Zhou Yan, if you aren’t full, you can just tell the servants. They will bring you much larger portions next time. Brother Zhou isn’t a stingy man.”

She had already stopped dwelling on her complicated past with Zhou Shuan. Since he was letting them stay in his manor and helping them get into the palace tomorrow, she couldn’t help but feel grateful.

She even scolded herself for being so cold and distant toward him the previous day, and she felt a newfound sense of closeness to him—not as a lover, but as a friend.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan glared at her fiercely. “Wanwan, how did you manage to bring the conversation back to Zhou Shuan again!”

“But I’m just telling the truth.” Now that her relationship with Zhou Shuan was straightened out in her mind, she was no longer troubled and was in a very good mood.

However, those words reminded Zhou Yan of the gossip he had accidentally overheard among the maids when he first arrived. Unable to hold back any longer, he blurted it all out to her.

“Why do I feel like ever since we entered this manor, someone is mentioning Zhou Shuan to me all day long? Wanwan, do you know? When I jumped out of your window and went back to my room today, the first servant who saw me actually fell to his knees on the ground!”

Jiang Wanshu was startled. She put down her chopsticks and looked at him intently. “Why on earth would he do that?”

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