Seducing the Heart - Chapter 13

Yun Jin’s prediction proved correct. Less than three days after Jiaoyue entered the manor, that person could no longer restrain himself and made an appearance.

Yuan Yixuan had originally thought he would have no chance to sneak into the Prince’s Manor, but he hadn’t expected the defenses to be surprisingly lax. From the idle chatter of a few maids, he was quickly able to locate Jiaoyue’s quarters.

Yuan Yixuan tapped lightly on the window of Jiaoyue’s room and called out softly: “Jiaoyue, Jiaoyue.”

As if identifying the voice, the door was immediately thrown open. Jiaoyue pulled Yuan Yixuan to a secluded spot. “So, Young General Yuan finally couldn’t help but come looking for me?”

Nangong Ning had heard the movement in the courtyard long ago. She leaned against a corner wall, arms folded, listening to their conversation.

“Jiaoyue, aren’t you just making a mess of things!” Yuan Yixuan scolded gently. “How could you use such an excuse to come to King Jin’s Manor?”

“Yuan Yixuan, shut up!” Jiaoyue had expected him to say something else, but he opened his mouth only to reprimand her. Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m making a mess? Tell me, how am I making a mess? I’m doing this for the poor child in my womb that no one dares to claim!”

“Jiaoyue, don’t cry. I, when did I say I wouldn’t claim it?” Seeing the woman crying so sorrowfully, Yuan Yixuan became flustered. He hesitated before reaching out to wipe her tears. “Jiaoyue, don’t cry. It’s not good for the baby.”

Jiaoyue wanted to have a reckless, good cry, but she remembered she couldn’t let her emotions fluctuate for the sake of the child. “Yuan Yixuan, why did you have to provoke me in the first place? What am I supposed to do now? This child can’t be born without a father. If I didn’t borrow King Jin’s name, would it have goaded you into seeing me?”

Jiaoyue abruptly flung Yuan Yixuan’s hand away, her expression turning cold. “Young General Yuan should please go back. I know the General’s status is noble, and you certainly won’t give Jiaoyue a formal status. From now on, both I and the child in my womb have nothing to do with you. I will explain things to King Jin myself. The Prince is a good person; Jiaoyue won’t ruin the Prince’s reputation.”

“Jiaoyue,” Yuan Yixuan wanted to say more, but his ears twitched, sensitively capturing the presence of others nearby. “Who is there!”

Nangong Ning stepped out, looking at the two in the courtyard with an expressionless face. Simultaneously, a small squad of men emerged and quickly surrounded them.

“Prince.”

“Young General Yuan, I trust you have been well.” Yun Jin spoke with a smile in her eyes, looking at the pair with great interest.

“Prince, this matter has nothing to do with the General. It was entirely my idea. Jiaoyue knows that damaging the Prince’s reputation is an unpardonable crime. Whether I am beaten, punished, or sentenced to life or death, Jiaoyue accepts it all. I only hope the Prince will” Jiaoyue’s eyes were full of pain as she bent down, intending to kneel, “let the Young General go. Jiaoyue is willing to bear all the guilt.”

Xie Lianjing hurried forward to support Jiaoyue before she could kneel. “What are you doing? You are pregnant after all; do not perform such movements.”

“Prince, this matter was my idea. I was momentarily muddled and framed the Prince. Let me bear everything!” Yuan Yixuan knelt readily, willing to lower his habitually proud head for the woman he loved.

Yun Jin’s tone was helpless. “When did this Prince ever say I was going to blame you?”

“Prince?”

Jiaoyue was a child born in a flower house. Like her mother, she did not know who her father was. But her mother and the “aunts” in the flower house treated her exceptionally well. Things that daughters of ordinary families learned, Jiaoyue also learned; things that girls of ordinary families owned, Jiaoyue also owned.

Jiaoyue’s room was set apart on the third floor, a sanctuary within the flower house where no man was permitted to go. Jiaoyue loved to read, so her aunts spent money to build her bookshelves and found many books typically read by scholars and literati.

Jiaoyue had thought she would spend her whole life accompanying her mother and aunts in the flower house, but she hadn’t expected to meet the love of her life, who would also become the demon of her remaining years.

“Hey, the one walking in front, isn’t that Hongmei’s daughter?”

“Looks like her. This girl is quite good-looking. I think she’ll be even more beautiful than her mother in the future.”

“Follow her, follow her.”

Jiaoyue sensed two greasy-faced men tailing her. Her heart skipped a beat in fear. She could only hold back her tears and walk faster and faster. But the two followed closely, refusing to be shaken off.

Seeing that she was about to be caught, in her desperation, Jiaoyue grabbed a passing young general who looked upright and was dressed in bright silver armor. “Please, save me.”

That was the first meeting between Jiaoyue and Yuan Yixuan.

Yuan Yixuan acted like a hero, beating the two bad men until they ran away, and then he wiped away her tears.

“Miss, where do you live? Perhaps I should see you home.” Yuan Yixuan had been to the battlefield with his father; usually, his stern demeanor could intimidate subordinates, but facing this beautiful girl, he smiled rather shyly.

“I” Jiaoyue bit her lip. “Thank you for saving me today, Sir. I can get back on my own.”

“Wait, Miss, at least tell me your name!”

“I am called Jiaoyue.”

Jiaoyue ran all the way back to the flower house and went straight to her bedroom. Thinking of the young general from earlier, her eyes were full of smiles. But then she remembered the gap in their status, and she gradually calmed down.

What else can be done? I must act as if we never met.

She hadn’t expected to encounter Yuan Yixuan again later in the flower house. He was with several other soldiers, and they had selected a few girls to accompany them for drinks. Jiaoyue was surprised to see Yuan Yixuan, and then her eyes filled with disappointment: I thought he was different from other men, but he is just the same.

“Jiaoyue!” Yuan Yixuan approached happily to explain. “So you live here! I was dragged here by those few friends. Ah, rest assured, we are only here to drink, we won’t do anything else!”

“I don’t usually come to such places! No, I never come to such places!” Yuan Yixuan suddenly realized Jiaoyue lived in this flower house and hurriedly continued to explain. “Wait, no, I”

Jiaoyue laughed. “Alright, Young General, there is no need to say more. Jiaoyue understands.”

The youth before her had clear eyes. Upon learning of her origins, he didn’t show the slightest disdain; on the contrary, he was doing everything he could to be mindful of her feelings. Jiaoyue felt that if she wanted to find someone to spend the rest of her life with, it would be the person before her.

Jiaoyue and Yuan Yixuan began to date, and like all lovers in the world, it was warm and beautiful.

“Jiaoyue, tell Mother, you and that young general… do you really like him?” Hongmei looked at her daughter with worry, wondering how to speak to her.

“Mother means Young General Yuan?” Jiaoyue wore the expression one only has when mentioning a sweetheart. “Daughter likes him very much. In this life, I will marry no one but him.”

“But Jiaoyue, the gap in your status is far too great. Even if that young general intends to marry you, his family will not agree. You, you cannot be foolish.”

“But, Mother, I already have his child.” Jiaoyue’s joy vanished, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. Yes, she had been deliberately forgetting that point. She would never be able to obtain a formal status from Yuan Yixuan.

“What? Jiaoyue, you!” Hongmei sighed heavily, not knowing what to do.

“Yuan Yixuan, will you marry me?” Jiaoyue’s gaze was heavy, her previous brightness gone. “I will not be your concubine. If you wish to marry me, I want you to marry me as your only wife with a formal wedding. Can you do that?”

“Jiaoyue, I am naturally willing, but I”

As expected.

Jiaoyue gave a pale smile. “Yuan Yixuan, from now on, let us not have any more contact.”

“Jiaoyue!”

Since then, Jiaoyue had been avoiding Yuan Yixuan, refusing to see him.

“Auntie, can you persuade Jiaoyue to see me? I really want to see her.”

Hongmei looked at the heroic-looking young man and said coolly: “See her? What difference would it make if you did? How do you plan to treat Jiaoyue and the child in her womb?”

“I” Yuan Yixuan’s eyes suddenly widened. “What did you just say? A child? Jiaoyue has a child?”

“That’s right. Will the Young General take responsibility for them? If you do not have the ability to marry Jiaoyue, please let them go.” Hongmei closed the door of the building and issued an order to leave. “Young General, please go back.”

Yuan Yixuan stood dazed at the door, not knowing how he eventually walked back to his own manor.

“Mother, I want to marry someone.”

“Oh? Xuan’er already has someone he likes? Quick, tell Mother, which family’s daughter is she?”

“She, she is not a noble daughter, she is”

“What did you say? You want to marry a woman from a flower house? Xuan’er, I think you’ve lost your mind! I’m telling you, don’t even think about it! You are the only child of our Yuan family. Even if your wife isn’t from a perfectly matched family, she must at least have a clean background!”

It turned out that just as Auntie Hongmei had said, he had no way to marry Jiaoyue and no way to take responsibility for her and the child. Since then, Yuan Yixuan consciously avoided Jiaoyue, not daring to see her. He would never change his mind, but he truly lacked the ability to give Jiaoyue a promise.

Jiaoyue had no other choice, and finally, she set her sights on King Jin. She guessed that if Yuan Yixuan knew of her reckless behavior, he wouldn’t be able to resist coming to see her. Her gamble proved correct.

“So that’s how it is.” Yun Jin blew on the medicine Xie Lianjing had just brewed for her. “The feelings between you two are quite moving.”

“What should we do then? How about you two elope?” Xie Lianjing thought for a bit and offered a solution that wasn’t much of a solution.

“No.” Yuan Yixuan shook his head. “I thought about it before giving everything up and taking Jiaoyue away. But that isn’t a long-term solution; neither of us can abandon our families. Moreover, I am a General after all. If I leave for my own selfish desires, into whose hands would my military power fall? Those are brothers who have faced life and death with me.”

Yun Jin tilted her head back slightly and finished her medicine, then smiled. “This Prince has a plan, though I wonder if the General is willing to try it.”

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