Chapter 569

After a good night's sleep, Xue Rui woke up early. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the fan hanging at the head of the bed. Under the green mountains in the distance, there was a yellow river flowing quietly. The river was shallow and there was fine sand on the shore. A white shadow was faintly discernible, like a horse drinking under the moon.

This was the scene he added to the bottom of the fan after he came back last night. It was the scene of the river that he and Yu Shu had seen last night.

After a night, the ink was dried. Xue Rui sat up from the bed, took off the fan, and admired it for a while. Then he called Hōtoku, who was outside the door, to fetch water to wash up.

After he changed his clothes, Xue Rui held the fan in his hand and gestured in front of the mirror. He looked at the man with a dignified appearance who was holding the dark gold fan in the mirror. He felt that even though he had collected so many fans, none of them could compare to this Mu Jiang Fan.

"Young master, you bought a new fan. Which family's handmade? Look at the good quality." Hōtoku had a good eye. He was the one who kept Xue Rui's clothes. When he saw the new fan in his hand, he knew that it was not a common thing.

"Tsk, such an exquisite thing. Only men like me are worthy of it."

Xue Rui smiled and closed the fan. He was about to knock his head, but when he was about to knock his head, he retracted his hand and caressed it lovingly.

"Don't be talkative. I told you to keep an eye on the door. If a lady comes to look for me, reply as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes."

Xue Rui sat down and ate his breakfast. When he thought that it was about time for someone to arrive, he saw Bao De jogging back and panting as he told him that someone had arrived.

Xue Rui arrived in front of the entrance. Just like yesterday, Jiang Rui was wearing clothes made of coarse cloth, and she wore a large conical bamboo hat that covered her face. She had a tall and slender figure, and when she stood far away, it was utterly impossible to tell that she was a woman.

"You're here." Seeing him, Jiang crossed her arms and raised her chin. "Do you want to go in or talk somewhere else?"

Xue Rui said, "Let's go somewhere else."

Last night, he promised Yu Shu to be present when he met Jiang.

Hence, he led Jiang to the Forgotten Opportunity Tower.

Because they took two sedan chairs, there was no conversation on the way.

Yu Shu had been waiting for them in Wangji Tower.

After Jiang followed Xue Rui into the building, she looked around and commented, "This place is good, but it's a little narrow."

Xue Rui saw the maid standing outside the hall on the first floor. He knew that Yu Shu was here, so he led Jiang in.

Hearing the voice outside the door, Yu Shu put away the money on the table and looked outside.

The first to enter the room was Xue Rui. When their eyes met, both of them recalled the scene on the river last night, and their hearts were filled with sweetness. Due to the fact that there were still people behind him, Xue Rui restrained the dense look in his eyes.

"You?" Jiang came in and saw Yu Shu. She recognized her as the one she met at the gate of the Xue family last night. She frowned and looked at Xue Rui.

"Who is she? Why is she here?"

Xue Rui introduced her to them. "Shu is my sworn sister. She is not an outsider. She knows that I have stayed in the northeast."

Jiang raised his thick eyebrows and looked at Yu Shu with a scrutinizing gaze.

Yu Shu stood up with a smile and nodded. "I'm Yu Shu. Nice to meet you, Commandery Princess Chun Wei."

After taking off the bamboo hat, Jiang's facial features looked even more handsome. She was one or two years older than Yu Shu, and they were both tall women. Yu Shu was slender, while Jiang exuded a vigorous aura.

When Jiang heard how Yu Shu addressed her, she knew that Xue Rui must have mentioned her to her last night. She curled up the corners of her mouth slightly and ignored him. Instead, she turned to Xue Rui and said,

"Doesn't that mean my Brother Wang also has an adopted sister?"

Xue Rui paused. Seeing Yu Shu's confusion, he told her, "Prince of Dongjing and I are sworn brothers. He is the elder brother, and I am the younger brother."

Since Xue Rui had sworn an oath of brotherhood, he did not need to go through Jiang Huaiying. In the future, he would also acknowledge Yu Shu as his younger sister.

"…" Yu Shu saw the displeasure on Jiang's face, as if she had gotten a great bargain. She rolled her eyes and cursed in her heart.

Sworn brother and sister? She didn't want to.

Jiang was just unhappy, but she did not make things difficult for Yu Shu. She picked a chair opposite Yu Shu and sat down with her legs spread out.

Yu Shu saw that her actions did not bother with trifles and had the air of a Jianghu woman. Although she was also a junzhu, she was very different from Xi Wen's delicate appearance.

Xue Rui also sat down. In his own territory, he didn't have to worry about talking. He asked Jiang,

"Does your brother know that you are in the capital?"

"Why? Do you think I sneaked out?" Jiang sneered at him. "Without my brother's permission, how can I leave Ningdong City?"

Xue Rui was thinking.

"Don't think about it," Jiang said. "The Emperor is afraid of the 200,000 troops in the northeast. He is afraid that my brother will rebel one day. So he ordered mother and me to go to the capital as hostages."

Such treasonous words were spoken casually by her, and Xue Rui frowned. He actually didn't hear the slightest hint of the Emperor's actions.

"Of course, he won't say it so directly. He used the Empress's mouth to summon us to the capital."

A few generations ago, there was an Empress in the Jiang family. Coincidentally, she was related to the current Empress, Rui. In terms of seniority, Jiang could call Rui aunt.

Such a distant relationship was used as an excuse. The Emperor's intention was clear. Jiang and her mother, Madame Wei, either came to the capital obediently or they didn't. He, Jiang Huaiying, was disloyal.

In this case, before Jiang and her mother entered the capital, it was indeed not good to make this matter public. Otherwise, someone with evil intentions could set up an ambush on the way. If anything happened to Prince of Dongjing's mother and sister, it would be a disaster.

"You just arrived in the capital yesterday. Where is Old Madame?"

"Mother is still on the way. She will arrive soon. I got rid of the escort team last night and came first. Imperial Brother has a secret letter for me to hand to you personally."

Jiang completely ignored Yu Shu who was also present. When she spoke, she didn't hide anything. She took a bamboo tube from her waist and threw it to Xue Rui.

Xue Rui raised his hand to catch it. He unscrewed the bamboo tube and took out Jiang Huaiying's handwritten letter. He saw that there was a layer of wax on it. He looked up at Jiang.

Jiang coldly snorted: "Don't worry. I didn't open it. I don't know what was written on it."

Xue Rui's eyes flashed. He knew that Jiang Huaiying's action clearly told him that the contents of the letter should not be revealed to Jiang.

He lowered his head to read the letter. Jiang then moved her eyes to Yu Shu. Last night, they met in front of the door. She just thought that she was a passerby and didn't take it to heart. Now that she looked at her, she didn't look like the little girls who surrounded Xue Rui in the past.

She looked gentle and quiet. She wasn't beautiful at all, but she was in good spirits.

"Are you Yu Shu?"

Yu Shu was also scrutinizing Jiang. Seeing that she suddenly spoke, she hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen.

Jiang smiled at her, and her expression softened. She was no longer as cold as she had been to her before.

"I'm a year older than you. You look pleasing to the eye. You can call me sister."