Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 58

Zhou Yan nodded. “Is it not so? Look at you—as soon as he asks, you go to see him without so much as a single question.”

The tone Zhou Yan used at that moment actually made Jiang Wanshu want to laugh; he looked exactly like a pitiful little bride who had done something wrong.

For some reason, the anger in Jiang Wanshu’s eyes softened. She explained, “Rest assured, Brother Zhou and I share nothing more than a friendship between gentlemen. Besides, our engagement has already been canceled. Brother Zhou is a refined and elegant man; he knows how to observe proper etiquette with me.”

Although Zhou Yan felt somewhat relieved by her assurance, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disdain when he recalled her praising Zhou Shuan.

Do women just love these hypocrites who disguise themselves so flawlessly?

Standing to the side, Yulu assumed the two were quarreling. Recalling that a young eunuch had just come to deliver a message from the Emperor, she saw an opportunity and hurried forward to intervene.

“Princess, your servant has something to report.” The sudden voice rang through the hall, and Jiang Wanshu quickly turned her attention to Yulu.

Her voice softened, sounding completely different from the casual tone she used with Zhou Yan. “What is it?”

“His Majesty says that the New Year festivities are only a month and a half away. At that time, the capital will be a mix of all sorts of people. If the Princess wishes to go out to see the lanterns or play, she must remember to report to His Majesty in advance. That way, His Majesty can properly arrange for guards to protect the Princess,” Yulu said truthfully.

Jiang Wanshu nodded. It was like this every year; once the New Year approached, a crowd of imperial guards would follow her whenever she left the palace.

Having grown up on the grasslands, Zhou Yan had heard of the Central Plains’ New Year traditions, but he only understood them superficially.

He looked down at Jiang Wanshu, suspicious. “What exactly do you people of the Central Plains do during the New Year?”

Yulu had mentioned that the Emperor would send people to protect her during this time. Since he was currently her guard, he assumed he would be going along as well.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. This was the principle Zhou Yan always lived by.

Jiang Wanshu ignored his question, instead shooting him a glare. “I don’t want you coming along!”

With that, she swept away.

Behind her, Zhou Yan and Yulu were left with very different thoughts.

Zhou Yan sighed inwardly. Great. What I did this afternoon really did incense her.

He had to find a way to make her stop being angry quickly.

Yulu, standing beside him, walked up with a look of reluctance. “Did you make the Princess angry again?”

Currently, Zhou Yan’s status was equal to hers. Even though he still carried an aura that made people hesitant to approach, Yulu asked for Jiang Wanshu’s sake.

Zhou Yan glanced at Yulu. Seeing that she didn’t hide her concern for the Princess, he nodded.

Yulu sighed. She didn’t like this man, but the Princess had to deal with him daily. If their conflict wasn’t resolved, it wouldn’t do.

She spoke up immediately, hoping to give Zhou Yan a chance to win back Jiang Wanshu’s heart:

“The coming of the New Year means the end of the year’s cycle. The capital will be livelier than usual, with everyone out preparing. They buy firecrackers, spring couplets, ‘Fu’ characters, and such.”

Zhou Yan listened intently to this. However, after Yulu left, he realized that the New Year was still a month and a half away. His enthusiasm for waiting that long to make her happy instantly deflated.

With so much time left until the New Year, how could he wait that long to coax her?

Zhou Yan’s resolve hardened. He started to stride toward where Jiang Wanshu had gone, but stopped in his tracks the next second. He turned around and headed back to his own quarters.

He needed to find some wood and head to the Pear Garden to fix the door he had kicked down. Otherwise, if the incident at the Pear Garden came to light tomorrow, given Jiang Wanshu’s temperament, he didn’t know how long he’d have to spend making it up to her.

As night fell, Zhou Yan carried his tools and quietly made his way to the Pear Garden. Under the cover of darkness, he hammered and worked to repair the wooden door.

The door was intricately carved. To restore the patterns perfectly, Zhou Yan took a long time. It wasn’t until the first light of dawn that he felt satisfied and departed.

On his way back to Lanyue Hall, he happened across palace maids waking up to begin cleaning. As Zhou Yan passed by, he overheard their conversation.

The man’s vigorous pace slowed as he heard a topic of interest.

“I heard the merchants in the capital have brought in many new novelties lately.”

Another maid holding shears replied, “Of course. With the New Year approaching, it’s only normal for them to bring out the fresh goods.”

“I even heard that Sister Shuyun’s sweetheart bought a bouquet of flowers outside the palace yesterday. She was so delighted!”

“Girls just love these kinds of novel gifts…”

Hearing this, Zhou Yan had the answer he wanted and continued down the corridor.

His role as Jiang Wanshu’s guard was merely a transition period arranged by Emperor Zhaoming before the military examinations. Because the Emperor believed him to be the son of Jiang Wanshu’s savior, he had been granted the freedom to arrange his own duties. Thus, he chose to take the day off today.

After dropping his heavy tools at his quarters, Zhou Yan took some copper coins from his table and headed out.

He had heard the maids say that girls like flowers. He would follow their advice and go out of the palace to buy a fresh bouquet to make Jiang Wanshu happy.

To win a girl’s heart, one couldn’t just use words or act pitiful; one had to offer a gift to express sincere apology.

So, when Zhou Yan returned to the palace, he was holding a large bouquet of roses.

The merchants outside only sold them loose, so Zhou Yan had spent a long time arranging them into what he considered a beautiful bouquet, wrapped in oil paper.

Anyone would have seen the sincerity in his gesture. He even tried to act like a refined gentleman, handing the exquisitely wrapped flowers to Yulu to deliver on his behalf.

He thought that once she received the flowers and calmed down, he would go in to talk to her. Unfortunately, when the flowers were brought before Jiang Wanshu and Zhou Yan’s intentions were explained, she simply carried the bouquet to him and thrust it back into his hands.

“I don’t want this! You still don’t understand what I truly want!” With that, she went back inside and slammed her bedroom door shut.

Outside the bedroom, Zhou Yan was left standing in thought while Yulu looked on with worry.

Night fell. Jiang Wanshu wanted to eat dinner but refused to see him because he was still standing outside. Only then did he depart.

After Yulu ordered the maids to set the dinner on the round wooden table, she asked, “Princess, I see that the barbarian is sincerely trying to mend things. Why not give him a way out?”

The beautiful girl picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and said calmly, “Yulu, you’ve been with me for so long. Haven’t you noticed something problematic about Zhou Yan since he entered the palace?”

Yulu thought for a moment and shook her head. “I do not know, Princess.”

“He always acts according to his own whims, without considering the consequences,” Jiang Wanshu said, eating the fish.

Yulu was confused. “What does that have to do with you being angry at him?”

“You’ve lived in the palace. You know how strict Father and Mother are with me, especially regarding my marriage. They take it very seriously.”

Yulu nodded in agreement.

“So, if Father and Mother found out that I chose a man for myself without their consent, what do you think they would do to Zhou Yan?”

Yulu began to understand. “So, the reason you won’t forgive him is because he is too conspicuous. There are many of the Empress’s eyes and ears in the palace. If he continues to act as he pleases, the Emperor and Empress will find out eventually, and he will be the one to suffer.”

“You could say that. So, I must remind myself to keep him at a distance for a few days. I have to make him remember that in this palace, he cannot simply do as he wishes.” Jiang Wanshu felt that Yulu was a quick study.

Darkness filled the sky, and the candles in the bedroom burned throughout the night. By the next morning, someone was already waiting outside the room.

After Yulu assisted Jiang Wanshu with her morning wash, she stepped out and saw Zhou Yan again.

Today, what Zhou Yan brought was different from yesterday. In his hand was a fox mask.

Since playing the “refined gentleman” by sending flowers through Yulu hadn’t worked, he decided to deliver the gift to her personally today.

He pressed the fox mask he had bought the night before into her hands and whispered, “Wanwan, I sneaked out of the palace last night. I saw a merchant selling this fox mask and thought it suited you, so I bought it. Do you like it?”

At that moment, only the three of them were present. Following Jiang Wanshu’s orders, the guards Yunjie and Fengshu had already returned to the Empress’s side.

She reacted just as she had the day before, thrusting the mask back into his hands. “You wear it yourself. I don’t want it.”

With that, she walked away.

Zhou Yan watched her slender figure and began to think deeply about the real reason for her anger.

After analyzing it layer by layer, he went back to the streets and bought a pair of adorable porcelain dolls. The merchant said these dolls carried a blessing for a couple to be together forever.

The following day, Zhou Yan did something rare: he borrowed a brush and paper from Yulu. He was quite familiar with Central Plains script and wrote down his sincere apology word by word.

“Wanwan, I promise that before the deadline I gave you ends, I will never again do anything that would make people suspect we are husband and wife. From now on, I will be extremely careful.”

This was the final sentence of Zhou Yan’s letter. As Jiang Wanshu finished reading it, a smile played on her lips.

She gazed at the pair of porcelain dolls neatly arranged on the round table, picked up the male doll, and walked outside.

Zhou Yan was still waiting for her.

As soon as Jiang Wanshu stepped out, Zhou Yan noticed her expression had softened. He was about to recite the words he had practiced for coaxing a woman when he was interrupted by her clear voice.

“As long as you understand.” Jiang Wanshu walked toward him with a smile and handed the male doll to him. “I like this pair of dolls very much. However, if I keep the male one in my room and Mother happens to visit, it would be hard to explain. So, you keep this one for now.”

The girl’s smile was bright and brilliant, like a crabapple blossom in full bloom.

Zhou Yan was dazed. He didn’t even give her a proper response, simply taking the doll she offered and staring blankly as she walked away.

Ten days passed. Once Emperor Zhaoming announced to the world that Jiang Wanshu was alive and her status as Princess was restored, news arrived from the grasslands.

The people of the grasslands had once again requested to marry the Di Princess of the Central Plains, Jiang Wanshu. The letter stated that the ancestral laws must be upheld. The Khan of the grasslands requested to marry the Di Princess again. To show his sincerity, if the Emperor of the Central Plains agreed, the Khan was willing to divorce his current Khatun. As soon as the Princess entered the Western Rong court, she would enjoy the honor of being the Khatun.

However, Emperor Zhaoming was not an easy man to deal with. The day the letter reached him, he tore it to pieces in front of his officials. “The Western Rong go too far! They try this a second time? Do they truly think the Central Plains has no men left!”

In an instant, the officials in the vast Imperial Study fell to their knees.

Among them, the Marquis of Yuanning—the head of the civil officials who had just returned from afar—was the first to speak.

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