Zheng Xiao Mistake: The Mistake of Rebirth Provoked the Cold Master

That night, the early summer cicadas had already begun to chirp, adding to the tranquility of the night.

In Tingxiaoyuan's study, An Fengxue placed a single-page book-sized report on the table and reported in a serious tone.

"Since the lord left Beijing, the fourth lady has not come into contact with any irrelevant people."

"I did go to the Dongtan Clinic, but the female doctor said they only prescribed a few medicines to reduce internal heat."

"The things tied to his body were bought in an alley called Qinshuiwan. As for why he did this, it should be because something happened in Zhu's mansion, but it is not easy for subordinates to follow him in secret, so we haven't found out more."

Rong Yan took the official report and read it carefully. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where is Wen Boqiu?"

"The Commander's Mansion was unwilling to cancel the engagement, and the Zhenguogong Mansion put him in solitary confinement, and he has not met the Fourth Young Lady."

Rong Yan hummed, raised his hand and rubbed his brow, "You know her daily habits, so you can take care of her directly for a while, just like before, and report to her every day."

"My subordinate understands."

An Fengxue accepted the order, and when he saw that the master had no other questions, he quietly withdrew.

There was only one person left in the huge study room. He lowered his head and stared at the detailed report in his hand. After a long time, he pulled out a rosewood box from under the desk.

There were dozens of identical stacks of notes neatly placed in the large wooden box, with the year, month and day written on the headers. At a glance, there were probably several thousand of them.

Rong Yan stroked the back of each piece of paper with his knuckles, and when he stopped on a piece of paper, he pulled it out and looked at the words on it.

When the long candle had burned more than halfway and official reports were scattered all over the desk, he finally stood up.

The moon hangs over the western mountain, and its bright light spreads all over the ground.

Rong Yan didn't know how he got to Zhu Zheng's door. He hesitated outside the door for a while, and finally decided to push it open.

A calming incense was burning in the room. The scent of Polygonum multiflorum mixed with pine nuts was slightly bitter, and a wisp of green smoke was floating on the scarlet stars.

Zhu Zheng was sleeping soundly.

Her long eyelashes were tightly closed, and her long black hair was spread on the pillow, a little tangled.

Rong Yan sat down beside the couch, tied her hair up as usual, then reached out, gently grasped her wrist, and listened to her pulse carefully again.

Once was not enough, so he listened to it again. After listening to it three times, he suddenly reached out and gently touched her waist, and sure enough, he felt a tightly tied knot.

Rong Yan's slightly frowned brows relaxed a little, and he stared at Zhu Zheng's sleeping profile in a trance.

For a moment, he actually believed this scam which was full of loopholes.

Although Zhu Zheng is playful and loves novelty, she never behaves inappropriately. She suddenly behaves like this, perhaps because she has suffered some injustice in the Zhu Mansion and wants to leave that place.

She had never been comfortable in that mansion, and he had been trying to find a way to bring her over, but he was afraid that she would not be willing.

Although it would be more straightforward to tell him directly, he knew that Zhu Zheng had always been a bit stubborn and seldom asked for anything. She wouldn't feel awkward unless she had a compelling reason.

Rong Yan could only assume what she was thinking. If that was true, he actually felt a hidden sense of relief because she was willing to use him as her only source of strength.

Although her idea was indeed useful, it was too unexpected.

Rong Yan didn't even want to recall how he felt when he first saw her like this that day. He didn't even have time to be shocked. In an instant, thousands of emotions surged through his mind, tearing a hole in his heart. He even forgot that he had left someone by her side.

He had never known what it meant to be in a state of confusion due to worrying too much before, and it turned out that he was indeed in a state of confusion.

He could no longer think of any words to respond. He could only flash back to that day when he kissed her and she unbuttoned her clothes for him even though she clearly didn't want to, because she felt she owed him something.

With tears on her face, she looks so innocent and gullible.

...I was finally scared.

The world is in such a mess, Shengjing has never been a good place. He was afraid that something unexpected would happen. If he slacked off for a moment, someone with ill intentions would take away her innocence, and there would be no chance to make amends.

It is never easy to get what you want, and it takes even more effort to keep it after you get it. This is a truth that Rong Yan understood when he was young.

Being complacent leads to failure, being conceited leads to stupidity. He has made these mistakes twice in a row.

First, he was complacent and underestimated Gong Yixiu's cruelty and viciousness, thinking that his every step was foolproof. As a result, he almost lost her and watched her suffer from the pain of broken bones and muscles, but he was unable to do anything.

Secondly, he was proud of himself. Cheng Xushan had been with her for several months, and she could only rely on him. From a limited glimpse of her feelings, he thought that she also had feelings for him. At that time, he still thought that even if their feelings were indifferent, there would always be a faint hope that they would take root and sprout over time.

But she pushed him away, saying that she had someone in her heart, leaving him no room for maneuver.

So I thought letting her go would be the best thing for her, just as she hoped. But after letting go just a little, I found that neither of them lived any better.

...Is he wrong after all?

That's it.

Right or wrong, he didn't want to pursue it anymore.

No matter what her reason was or what she wanted to do, she just had to do it. Now that the person was already sleeping peacefully beside him, he didn't know what else he could desire.

The Gongyi family is entangled with the resentment and hatred of two generations, which are as complicated as a thorny nest. He had to join the game for many reasons, and has been planning for many years. The old promises have yet to be fulfilled, and finally the time has come to see the result.

The storm was about to come, the wind was blowing, Gongyi Helu was seriously ill, and the situation was as expected not peaceful.

A month ago, news came back from Fanlin Temple that Gong Yixiu used chopsticks to carve a bunch of bamboo thorns and stabbed the throat of Abbot Jinfa, almost killing him.

The Buddhist prohibition of killing was very popular at the time and the uproar was difficult to stop.

Rong Yan could only go there in person.

In order to eliminate future troubles after the autumn hunt, he crippled the right hand of this "Crown Prince" so that he could no longer lift a sharp blade to hurt people. Naturally, this made Gong Yixiu become even more like a mad dog.

It was he who imprisoned Gong Yixiu in Fanlin Temple, so it was also his fault.

The matter was not easy to handle, as it involved various forces from the imperial sect, causing him a headache for quite some time.

After finally calming down, he felt tired on the way back. The journey was so long that he wished the horse could grow wings, or he could grow wings, so that he could fly back to Shengjing immediately. He was not in a hurry to do anything, he just wanted to go back to where she was.

In the past, just hearing the bits of news written on paper was enough for me, but now... not being able to see her has become a torture, and I toss and turn, unable to sleep at night.

As for the other "Crown Prince", although Gong Yihao's behavior has been bizarre recently, what he said in the palace that day really hit Rong Yan's heart.

In the past, he had warned Gong Yihao more than once that since he only wanted to take back the throne, he should learn to restrain his useless emotions and not let them control his mind.

Rong Yan once thought that this was not a difficult task.

Until now, he was also deeply trapped in the catastrophe of "insatiable desires" and had to swallow back what he had said.

It turns out that there is really no way to relieve the pain. Apart from letting my thoughts run wild, which may make me feel a little better, there is nothing else I can do.

...It is indeed a pain.

The pain has continued since I came back from Chengxu Mountain.

He held the stars in the sky in his hands for a while, generously lending him some light, which burned into bright flames. She only said "misunderstanding" and then slowly took them back.

He was left alone in the wilderness, burned to ashes, surrounded by the raging fire.

But it’s not unbearable, and it’s even a bit unspeakably full. Being illuminated so tragically is much better than being pitch black with nothing in it.

It was already midnight when he returned to Shengjing. His family handed him a stack of letters that had been piled up for a long time. Amidst the tedious and tedious court affairs, there was a green envelope with a picture of a small kite on it.

It was written by her, two months ago.

The letter carefully recalled what happened to Cheng Xushan, and every word was filled with nostalgia.

Rong Yan was distracted for a moment. He thought a lot, but in the end, only one thought remained.

He actually made her wait for two months with this feeling.

Two months that were just as tough as his.

The illusory joy that seemed like a continuation of a dream made him anxious and restless. He could not wait any longer and had to see her now.

So he went.

Covered in dust and night dew, tightly clutching the only piece of evidence, she blinked her dark eyes and almost said to him again, "Sir, you misunderstood."

It turned out that he misunderstood again.

How can we avoid misunderstandings?

He almost felt determined, so determined that he hoped she would speak to him more harshly, say harsher words when she pushed him away, reject him, hate him, so that he would not always be so easily hopeful and disappointed, as if he was in an endless mirage.

But that was not what she would say at all, and it was not what he wanted to hear at all.

What did he want to hear... He wanted to hear her say that she regretted it, wanted to hear her say that she would take back the words "bridges are bridges, roads are roads", wanted to hear her say that she was tossing and turning like him and couldn't forget what happened during those days...

But what he regretted the most was that he had been rude to her and had been disrespectful to her.

If not, the wishful "misunderstanding" can continue.

He then had reason to indulge himself in digging in the bottomless abyss of desire, full of hope all day long that one day he would be able to dig a hole, release the flames capriciously, and burn the person who put him here.

Or... forget it.

The pain of missing someone is like a burning body, and it is enough for him to bear it alone.

He thought so much, so confused.

A letter greeting his master made him lose his composure. He said so many useless words, but the sentence he wanted to say most remained unsaid.

Originally, he just wanted to stand in front of her window.

Intoxicated by the moonlight, I whispered to her.

"Zhu Zheng, I miss you so much."

Day and night, I never stop thinking about you.