“Third Miss, be careful!” Chen Guang leaped up, supporting the toppling lantern.
The crowd erupted in waves of screams.
Chen Guang’s feet touched the ground, and when he turned around, Qiao Zhao had already vanished without a trace.
“Third Miss!” Chen Guang’s expression changed drastically. He forcefully pushed through the crowd, blocking his path, searching.
Qiao Zhao felt someone cover her mouth from behind and pull her forward. She tried to struggle but discovered her captor was as immovable as solid rock.
The lantern’s collapse wasn’t an accident—it was deliberately done to divert Chen Guang’s attention!
This thought flashed through Qiao Zhao’s mind, and she simply stopped struggling.
After brushing past countless people, the person finally stopped and silently released his grip.
Qiao Zhao whirled around abruptly.
The man behind her was very tall. He directly raised his hand to remove his veiled hat, revealing familiar brows and eyes.
“Lord Jiang.” Qiao Zhao raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Jiang Yuanchao gazed with deep eyes at the composed young woman before him. Her brows and expression seemed to have appeared in his dreams thousands of times. His heart inexplicably warmed, and he blurted out: “Don’t call me Lord Jiang!”
Qiao Zhao pressed her lips together and asked coolly: “Then how should I address you?”
Jiang Yuanchao looked at her deeply and said hoarsely, “Call me Shisan.”
Qiao Zhao’s heart trembled.
What did Jiang Yuanchao mean by this?
“Why won’t you call me that?” Jiang Yuanchao stepped forward.
Qiao Zhao retreated half a step and said calmly, “You are the distinguished Deputy Commander of the Jinlin Guards. This humble woman dares not address you so familiarly.”
“Dares not?” Jiang Yuanchao moved closer again, closing the distance between them. His eyes seemed to brew a terrifying storm. “Must you distance yourself from me like this?”
“Lord Jiang—”
Jiang Yuanchao suddenly gripped Qiao Zhao’s arm, leaning close to her ear with a soft laugh: “Miss Qiao, you used to call me Shisan.”
Qiao Zhao’s eyes suddenly contracted as she looked at Jiang Yuanchao.
He had confirmed, just like that, that she was Qiao Zhao?
Yes, when they were in the Southern Region, to save her life, she had deliberately called him “Shisan,” deliberately revealing the past between them that only Qiao Zhao would know. But in her view, that would at most make him momentarily confused, and being able to stop him from killing her was already difficult enough. Who would have thought he would keep remembering this?
“Miss Qiao, why aren’t you speaking?” Jiang Yuanchao stared intently at the young woman before him, asking with a smile.
Qiao Zhao slowly smiled: “Lord Jiang can’t even get my form of address right—what else should I say?”
“Get it wrong?” Jiang Yuanchao’s lips curved in a smile as he gently shook his head. “How could I get it wrong?”
He suddenly reached out and grasped Qiao Zhao’s hand.
Qiao Zhao’s gaze fell on their clasped hands, her eyes full of anger.
But she knew that in this place with only the two of them, pointless struggling would only make her look more pathetic.
Qiao Zhao’s coldly observant attitude made Jiang Yuanchao’s heart ache.
Why could she remain so calm? Even though he had recognized her, wouldn’t her heart stir even the slightest bit?
Didn’t this mean that to her, he was just an irrelevant person?
That’s right—she cared about her brother Qiao Mo, worried about the Qiao family fire, and was concerned about the Marquis Guanjun. What was he to her?
Jiang Yuanchao gripped Qiao Zhao’s hand tightly, placing it on his heart, saying word by word: “Even if I might call out wrong, this won’t mistake you.”
Qiao Zhao could no longer endure it and forcefully tried to pull her hand back.
Jiang Yuanchao held on and wouldn’t let go, laughing softly: “Tell me, did I mistake you?”
“Lord Jiang, let go.”
Jiang Yuanchao’s eyes seemed to glisten with moisture as he repeated: “Tell me, did I mistake you?”
How could there be such a heartless woman, making him think of her from his youth until now? She had deliberately revealed her identity before him, yet now she refused to acknowledge it, no matter what.
She was the forbidden territory in his heart that couldn’t be touched, yet he was merely irrelevant in her life.
How could he be willing to accept this?
“Lord Jiang, you’re losing your composure.” Qiao Zhao’s lips were tightly pressed. If not for the vast difference in their strength, she would have wanted to slap this man across the face.
What did he take her for, grabbing her hand so casually?
Jiang Yuanchao closed his eyes: “Tell me, did I mistake you or not?”
Qiao Zhao finally couldn’t help but laugh coldly: “Lord Jiang has mistaken me!”
So what if he didn’t mistake her?
Did he perhaps want to take her home as a concubine?
Qiao Zhao wasn’t a fool. By this point, she naturally understood that the man before her hadn’t forgotten his feelings for her former self.
Hearing Qiao Zhao’s denial, Jiang Yuanchao’s thin lips pressed tightly together, all blood draining from them. His grip tightened further, as if only by desperately holding onto this young woman’s hand could he grasp the beauty in his memories.
“Lord Jiang, please let go.”
Jiang Yuanchao looked down at Qiao Zhao without saying a word.
Qiao Zhao frowned: “Lord Jiang, acting like this—have you considered your fiancée’s feelings?”
“What if there were no fiancée?” Jiang Yuanchao blurted out. Meeting her surprised expression, he awkwardly turned his head away and said slowly: “You’re so clever—you must understand what I’m trying to say.”
Qiao Zhao’s expression remained calm as she said coolly, “Whether there is one or not, that’s Lord Jiang’s choice. And my choice—I believe Lord Jiang knows it as well.”
Jiang Yuanchao suddenly released her hand, letting it fall dejectedly, and smiled bitterly: “Is he that good? Even after he hurt you once, you’re still willing to get close to him again?”
Qiao Zhao smiled: “In my heart, he is naturally extremely good. Lord Jiang, you’re also a clever person—why don’t you understand how to cherish the person before you?”
Jiang Yuanchao said nothing.
Qiao Zhao stepped back: “Lord Jiang, to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings, I’ll take my leave first.”
Staring at the young woman’s slender yet upright retreating figure, Jiang Yuanchao slowly spoke: “So you’re still admitting that you are Miss Qiao?”
Qiao Zhao’s steps paused, but she didn’t turn back and hurried away.
Jiang Yuanchao began to laugh softly.
Cherish the person before him?
There were so many people before him—which one should he cherish?
It was good that she had admitted it.
From now on, what lived in his heart was a living, breathing young woman, and no longer just a handful of yellow earth.
“My lord—” Seeing Jiang Yuanchao laughing continuously, Jiang He emerged from the shadows and couldn’t help calling out.
Jiang Yuanchao looked toward Jiang He.
Jiang He rubbed his hands together, saying hesitantly: “My lord, this subordinate feels that what you’re doing isn’t, isn’t quite right—”
“Mm?”
“If the Grand Commander finds out, you’ll be finished!”
Jiang Yuanchao reached out and rubbed Jiang He’s worried, bun-shaped face, saying coldly: “Whether the Grand Commander finds out and I’m finished or not, I don’t know, but you’ll be finished!”
“My lord—” Watching Jiang Yuanchao stride away with long steps, Jiang He stretched out his hand, then finally held his head and began to cry.
He was on a pirate ship, and the key was that he couldn’t get off! Who would come to rescue him?
Outside, the crowd surged. Qiao Zhao immediately spotted Chen Guang running around frantically and waved to him.
Chen Guang rushed over, and in his excitement, almost hugged Qiao Zhao, but remembering this was their General’s wife, he managed to brake in time.
“Third Miss, you scared me to death!”
Qiao Zhao pulled her hand back into her sleeve and smiled: “I just got separated by the crowd. Let’s go quickly, and remember not to tell your General.”
Jiang Yuanchao stood in the crowd, watching Qiao Zhao gradually disappear into the sea of people under Chen Guang’s protection, and curved his lips in a smile.