"Commandery Princess." There was no intention to speak within the carriage, and Ju Nanyi perford his salute with neither servility nor overbearing pride, his gesture limited to the salute, without any desire to engage in conversation.
Zheng Nianru imdiately felt sowhat amused. Was this ignorance?
Indeed, it was possible he did not know; when Wen Zan went to ask for the painting draft, he naturally did not say it was hers. With this thought, Zheng Nianru no longer felt her anger was justified. Perhaps when Fu Gong spoke with Wen Zan, he never even ntioned her na.
"Scholar Ju, is the remaining half of the painting draft finished?" Having reached this thought, Zheng Nianru didn’t feel as angry as she had when she arrived.
"Commandery Princess, this official has recently been preoccupied with the preparation of the birthday exhibition flags for the Hanlin Academy and also had to deal with river channel matters. I have not had a mont.." Ju Nanyi never raised his head; his tone was calm but tinged with difficulty. On one side were official tasks weighing him down, and on the other, the weight of aristocratic family power; he was clearly in a difficult position, seeming to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
"So you are saying, Scholar Ju, that you haven’t finished the painting?" Zheng Nianru was one hundred percent disbelieving; Ju Nanyi had never had the habit of leaving a task half-done.
"Yes." In his experience, and from what he understood, although Prince Duan had fallen out of favor, he was after all Empress Dowager Yan Ping’s most beloved son. Although stripped of military power, Prince Duan still held sway, it’s just that he did not wish to engage with it.
The Crown Prince seed to have also seen this, hence in the past three years, the Crown Prince had indeed put in a lot of effort with Prince Duan, starting from carefully drawing closer without leaving any trace, to now having gained Prince Duan’s trust.
So, what was he doing now? Attracting the attention of the person in front of him with this pitiable thod that was laughably pathetic.
No sooner had Ju Nanyi finished speaking than the curtain in front of the carriage was flung open, revealing a face radiant with anger but still stunningly beautiful, the overly pale skin brilliantly outshining all else.
"It’s really not finished?" Zheng Nianru asked again, suppressing her anger, to confirm if Ju Nanyi wasn’t specifically targeting her. Right, he didn’t even recognize her now, what would he target her for?
Then it must be targeting Wen Zan. When had Wen Zan ever offended him? Knowing his personality, even if he disliked soone, he would absolutely not let it show, garnering a good reputation throughout his official career.
The only person he had ever targeted was probably Zheng Congyuan, no doubt. Zheng Nianru had once suspected that Zheng Congyuan’s death was related to Ju Nanyi, but after reviewing it over and over, apart from suicide, there wasn’t any other clue involving Zheng Congyuan. It was clean, as if everything was just so natural, just so expected.
Zheng Nianru looked at the man in front of her, equally clean to the core.
Dressed in a grey-blue robe, an ordinarily colored garnt that even seed to diminish the man’s attractiveness, the robe was slightly wrinkled, and there were small spots of mud on it. Such an appearance of Ju Nanyi, she didn’t even want to look at, nowhere near as impressive as the deanor of Ju Nanyi in later days, when he stood second to none.
Zheng Nianru hadn’t even witnessed such disheveledness from the man before, narrowing her eyes slightly. Was it that after nearly twenty years of association, she still did not understand him, or should she believe in Ju Nanyi, who was very likely lying through his teeth?
Ju Nanyi stood up straight, feeling the brief attention of her gaze, which caused his composure and calm to suddenly vanish without a trace. This had been too long, so long that Ju Nanyi inadvertently noticed the mud spots on the hem of his robe and felt as if a mountain had collapsed within him upon realizing his current appearance.
Ju Nanyi imdiately felt as though there were tens of thousands of needles prickling his skin, and he wanted to disappear right then and there, stiff and embarrassed.
"If the Commandery Princess has no further business, this official will take his leave..." Ju Nanyi said right away, rembering his current appearance, his earlier poise felt like slapping himself in the face, utterly foolish.
Ju Nanyi didn’t wait for a response before turning to leave.
"Yin He—" Zheng Nianru suddenly spoke up, and Ju Nanyi’s panicked, hasty, and embarrassed mind didn’t even consider why Zheng Nianru would suddenly speak up.
Yin He imdiately responded and charged toward Ju Nanyi’s direction. Xing Yu was taken aback; when Yin He made a move, it was usually lethal. Was the Commandery Princess planning to kill this official?
Ju Nanyi also instantly felt the powerful aura rushing at him from Yin He, but before he could react, Yin He stopped a yard in front of him. Ju Nanyi hadn’t had ti to prepare, and in his surprise, the imposing aura of the youth abruptly vanished. Ju Nanyi tried to open his mouth only to find that he couldn’t speak at all.
Not only that, but his limbs felt as though they were nailed to the ground, completely immobilized.
A flash of terror crossed Ju Nanyi’s eyes, but it was only montary before he cald down.
He had heard of the Mystical Arts and had even co across such books, but in his view, those things were more terrifying in backlash without talent, which explained the unusual feeling the youth had given him from the start.
Seeing that the youth made no further moves, Ju Nanyi cald down, instantly deducing that Princess Chao Ren hadn’t intended to kill him. Otherwise, the youth’s sudden eruption could have claid his life effortlessly.
With that realization, Ju Nanyi cooled down, his eyes regaining their composure.
Sounds of tinkling bells ca from behind him like jewelry on a skirt chiming, and Ju Nanyi slled a familiar fragrance approaching him slowly.
Zheng Nianru stood in front of Ju Nanyi, unafraid of the calm and composed gaze he fixed on her. The sensation seed quite pleasant to her.
Ju Nanyi didn’t speak; in fact, he couldn’t speak. The only part of him that could move was his eyes. The girl before him wore an orange long gown, with blue haiba, purple tourmaline, and azure stones dangling from the hem, each small and exquisitely translucent, tinkling as the girl moved. Ju Nanyi didn’t realize that gems could be so casually used.
Zheng Nianru approached Ju Nanyi, stood still, and looked at him with a childlike innocence, like a child who had found sothing curious, inspecting him from head to toe before reaching for his collar.
The only part of Ju Nanyi that could move, his eyes, suddenly lost their composure, unable to express the panic and sha surging within him.
It wasn’t until Zheng Nianru felt the stiff parchnt at his chest that she smiled. Look, after so many years, how could she not understand him?
Zheng Nianru didn’t look at Ju Nanyi; she deliberately pulled the man’s collar open a bit further, took out the drawing, and turned to leave.
Xing Yu glanced at Ju Nanyi, still standing in place. Seeing that the Commandery Princess had ordered Yin He to prepare the carriage, she hesitated whether to remind him that standing there like that, he might die.
As the carriage began to move, Xing Yu bit her lip, decided she didn’t care, and chased after it, lifting her skirt.
"Go," sounded from behind Ju Nanyi as the noise of the carriage filled the air, and he was left behind as if discarded like a worn-out sandal by the roadside.
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