The man was suddenly appointed as the governor of Wuheng, certainly under the directive of King Yan, which was surely not good news for Xie Huai’an.
Ruan Mian was lost in her own thoughts, and when she ca back to herself, she suddenly realized that Xie Huai’an was staring at her, unblinking.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she curiously asked, "Sir, is there sothing on my face?"
That gaze seed as if it could see right through her.
Yet, Xie Huai’an just smiled placidly. Before she could react, he suddenly embraced Ruan Mian’s waist, exerted a force, and surprisingly, leapt onto the rooftop with her using Qinggong.
Once they were steady, he tightened his right hand, enclosing Ruan Mian firmly in his arms.
Ruan Mian was forced to et his blazing gaze, her heart skipping a beat again as her heartbeat beca uncontrollably rapid.
Just as she was about to speak, Xie Huai’an suddenly asked her, "The word ’sir’ sounds too unfamiliar to . Mianmian, when do you plan to change that?"
"Change?" Ruan Mian was taken aback, and her lips moved unconsciously afterwards.
Perhaps it was the habitual way of addressing him, she didn’t think much about it.
Unexpectedly, Xie Huai’an was narrow-minded enough to keep it in mind.
Seeing his eager anticipation, Ruan Mian didn’t beat around the bush anymore and directly changed her address. "Husband."
Xie Huai’an was stunned, clearly not expecting her to change it so easily and without any difficulty.
While he was in a daze, Ruan Mian teased him by calling him "Husband, husband, husband? Why aren’t you looking at ?"
At this mont, Xie Huai’an’s ears turned slightly red, a surge of indescribable emotion rushed over him. Originally intending to tease her, he didn’t expect Mianmian to tease him back.
For a mont, he couldn’t organize his expression, caught by her. Her slender hands directly cupped his face.
Mianmian’s clear eyes, like the brightest stars in the sky, left him utterly srized.
Ruan Mian’s gaze shifted slightly, and after calming herself, she suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the corner of his lips.
Seeing him stiffen all over, the smile on her face grew.
Unable to resist, she pecked his lips again, leaving Xie Huai’an even more dumbfounded.
His entire body turned rigid like a statue. Who knew that the esteed Pri Minister Xie Huai’an was, in private, such a pure-hearted romantic?
She then held his hand, looked at the star-filled sky, and felt that her own blood was boiling.
"Huailang, do you rember the day we walked back to the house by the hot springs and saw those stars? They were just as plentiful as they are now."
"When you return to the Capital City, we will still be under the sa sky. I know you’re returning to the capital not just to help the new emperor with his affairs, right?"
Xie Huai’an turned to gaze at her, for the first ti, truly longing for her to be constantly by his side.
But he knew he couldn’t.
"Hmm, following my teacher’s will to aid the people and the country’s prosperity is a responsibility I cannot shirk. Now that traitorous ministers are in power, I must stand up."
"Furthermore... I also want to avenge my sister, to personally cut down those who hard her."
"Your sister?"
This was the first ti Ruan Mian had heard that Xie Huai’an had a sister.
Xie Huai’an tightly held her hand, taking a deep breath, he revealed things he’d never told anyone.
"Mianmian, there are things I’ve never ntioned to you before."
"I am indeed the son of Marquis Nanping, but I was raised outside, rejected by the Marquis Mansion, never acknowledged because my mother had a low status. The old master declared that I could never be included in the Marquis’s family genealogy."
"My sister grew up with . Her parents were once friends of my birth mother. They always took care of outside until they t with an accident and died a violent death on the street. No one knew the cause of their deaths. So I took my sister away from the Capital City, and on our way as refugees, the teacher took us to his cottage."
"Later, when I passed the exam and entered the capital, I personally saw my sister off to her marriage, but I hadn’t expected to send her into a wolf’s den."
Ruan Mian frowned, a hint of heartache rising: "Your sister... who did she marry?"
Xie Huai’an hesitated, just about to speak, when Vice Minister Dong’s voice interrupted from the courtyard: "Sir! Miss Ruan, the wind is strong on the rooftop. I see Miss Ruan seems tired from molding alone. Why don’t we all go help her?"
Xie Huai’an closed off his gaze with this suggestion and held her hand: "These matters, I will tell you in detail later. Let’s go help my sister."
Little did they know, knowing too much about certain things might not be beneficial.
Xie Huai’an didn’t want Mianmian to get entangled in too many troubles; he just wanted her to safely wait for him in Wuheng.
Soon, he would acquire crucial evidence, and once back in the capital, he could completely dismantle the faction of the Fifth Princess.
The teacher’s wish would ultimately be fulfilled.
anwhile, in Jinsha Village, a group of raggedly dressed people quietly arrived.
They trampled the crops planted by the villagers, recklessly pulling out corn stalks and sweet potato sprouts, and so even ssed up several plots planted with ginseng seedlings.
One person looked at the unearthed large sweet potatoes, angrily saying, "So they’re really living a happy life here. Aren’t they also exiles like us? Yet they get to live so leisurely? The Governor’s words were spot on!"
"If we want to be like them, we must strive for it!" The next morning, when the villagers saw the ravaged land, they felt as if the sky had fallen.
"Oh heavens! Which beasts stole all my crops?!"
Amidst the shouts and curses coming from various directions, when everyone ca out to look, each household suffered so loss.
Village chief Mr. Xue also hurried over from the private school.
Just then, soone discovered several ragged refugees sleeping in the fields, angrily capturing them on the spot and shouting.
"It must be these outsiders who ssed up our crops!!"
"Speak! Who are you and why did you co here to steal?"
The leader suddenly knelt down in tears, hastily saying.
"We are innocent, innocent... It wasn’t us who destroyed your fields, it was so other people. Yesterday we even fought with them!"
"We tried to stop them from sneaking around, but after they ruined the fields, they ran away. We specifically stayed to report to you!"
After saying this, the person crawled in front of Mr. Xue, parted his bangs, and urgently said.
"Sir, do you still rember ? I’m Yuan the Fourth! I didn’t expect to see you here! You must believe ."
Mr. Xue looked closely and indeed recognized the familiar face.
He recalled that this person had been a fellow laborer when they were building the city walls, back when he had been doing hard labor.
Back then, Yuan the Fourth was a strong young man, but now he appeared so emaciated; life must have been harsh for him too.
Back then, Yuan the Fourth had helped him move stones due to his old age, and Mr. Xue had always rembered that.
So he quickly helped him up and asked, and then they learned that these refugees had fled to Longchang Mountain to seek refuge during the ti of a military revolt, wanting to return after Wuheng was reconquered.
Due to the reduced manpower after the military revolt, labor beca heavier. Unable to bear it, they escaped and, by coincidence, ended up here.
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