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, Ink City had dried. Xue Rui sat up from his bed and removed his fan. He admired and played with it for a while, unwilling to part with it. Only then did he ask Baode, who was outside the door, to fetch water for him 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 packed Xue Rui's clothes. When he saw the new fan in his hand, he knew it was not a common thing.
"Tsk, such an exquisite thing. Only a man like me is 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 talk nonsense. I told you to keep an eye on the door. If a girl 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 discern 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 had promised Yu Shu that she would be present when he met Jiang.
Hence, he led Jiang to the Forgotten Opportunity Tower.
Because there were two sedan chairs, there was no conversation along the way.
Yu Shu was already waiting at Wang Ji Tower.
After Jiang followed Xue Rui into the building, she looked around the courtyard and commented, "This place is not bad, just a little narrow."
When Xue Rui saw the maidservant standing outside the side hall on the first floor, he knew that Yu Shu was there, so he led Jiang inside.
Hearing the voices outside the door, Yu Shu put away the money on the table and looked outside.
Xue Rui was the first to enter the door. The two of them looked at each other and recalled the scene on the river last night. Their hearts were filled with sweetness. Due to the fact that there were people behind him, Xue Rui restrained the intensity in his eyes.
"Why are you here?" Jiang came in and saw Yu Shu. She recognized that she had seen her outside 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 also knows that I have stayed in the northeast."
Jiang raised her thick eyebrows and looked at Yu Shu with a scrutinizing look.
Yu Shu stood up with a smile and nodded as a greeting, "I am Yu Shu. Nice to meet you, Commandery Princess Chun Wei."
After taking off the bamboo hat, Jiang's facial features looked more handsome. She was one or two years older than Yu Shu. They were both tall women, but Yu Shu was slender while Jiang exuded a vigorous aura.
When Jiang heard how Yu Shu addressed Xue Rui, she knew that Xue Rui must have mentioned her to her last night. She slightly curled her lips and did not reply. Instead, she turned to Xue Rui and said,
"Does that mean that my brother also has a sworn sister?"
Xue Rui paused for a moment. When he saw Yu Shu's perplexed expression, he told her, "The Prince of Dongjing and I have become sworn brothers with different surnames. He is the older brother, and I am the younger brother."
Sworn brothers were extremely righteous. Xue Rui did not need Jiang Huaiying to become sworn brothers. In the future, he would also recognize Yu Shu as his sister.
"…" Yu Shu looked at Jiang's unhappy face as if she had gotten a great bargain. She secretly rolled her eyes and thought, "Sworn brothers and sisters?
What sworn brother and sister? Did he think she was willing?
Jiang was only unhappy, but she did not make things difficult. She picked a chair opposite Yu Shu and sat down. Her legs were spread out.
Yu Shu saw that she did not care about trifles. She had the air of a woman in Jianghu. She was also a princess, but she was very different from Xi Wen's delicate appearance.
Xue Rui also sat down. In his own territory, he did not have to worry about speaking. He then asked Jiang,
"Does your brother know that you have come to the capital?"
"Why? Do you think that I sneaked out?" Jiang sneered at him. "Without my brother's permission, how can I leave Ningdong City?"
Xue Rui looked thoughtful.
"There is no need to think about it," Jiang said, "The Emperor is afraid of the 200,000 troops stationed in the northeast. He is afraid that my brother will rebel one day. So he ordered mother and I to come 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 would not 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, Madam Rui. In terms of seniority, Jiang could call Madam Rui aunt.
Such a distant family relationship was also used as an excuse. The Emperor's meaning was clear. Jiang and his mother, Madame Wei, either obediently entered the capital or they did not come. Then, it would mean that he, Jiang Huaiying, had disloyal intentions.
In this case, before Jiang and her mother entered the capital, this matter should not be made public. Otherwise, if someone had evil intentions, they 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 Madam?"
"Mother is still on the way. She will arrive in a few days. I got rid of the escort team last night and came first. Imperial Brother has a secret letter and asked me to hand it to you personally."
Jiang completely ignored Yu Shu who was also present. When she spoke, she did not hide anything. She took a bamboo tube from her waist and threw it to Xue Rui.
Xue Rui raised his hand and caught 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 is written on it."
Xue Rui's eyes flashed. He knew that Jiang Huaiying's action was clearly telling 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 was not beautiful at all, but she was in good spirits.
"Are you called Yu Shu?"
Yu Shu was also looking at Jiang. Seeing that she suddenly spoke, she nodded and said: "Yes."
"How old are you this year?"
"Sixteen.
Jiang smiled at her, and her expression softened. She was no longer as cold as she had been to her before.
"I am a little older than you. You are quite pleasing to the eye. You can call me sister."
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