“Woof—” Erniu gently barked again, full of affection.
Jiang Si couldn’t help but soften her heart.
Fine, for Erniu’s sake—she patted the dog’s back and returned to Aman. “Aman, give me a dark eyebrow pencil.”
In wealthy households, personal maids like Aman always carried small items like eyebrow pencils and cosmetics, which were delicate and lightweight, sufficient for quick touch-ups.
Aman quickly rummaged through her pouch and handed the eyebrow pencil to Jiang Si.
Why would the young lady need an eyebrow pencil? Could it be that she intended to draw eyebrows for Erniu?
Aman quickly shook her head, dismissing the absurd thought, and chose to remain silent.
Less talk and more action; following the young lady was certainly the right choice.
Jiang Si returned to Erniu and wrote a simple “Thank you” on the back of the note with the eyebrow pencil. After placing it back in the silk pouch, she hung it around Erniu’s neck and ruffled its thick fur. “Go on.”
The big dog was reluctant, grabbing the hem of Jiang Si’s skirt with its mouth and tugging gently.
The master had promised that bringing the mistress back would earn it two bowls of meat bones.
“Go on, I can’t go right now.” A simple “thank you” had already conveyed her feelings; she couldn’t just run over there for no reason, could she?
Erniu released its mouth and stared blankly at Jiang Si, its round, bright black eyes looking pitiful.
“It’s not possible.” Jiang Si sighed, silently reminding herself not to give in.
Erniu simply sat down and raised a paw to cover one ear.
Jiang Si: “…”
“Woof woof.” Erniu seized the moment to press its advantage.
Jiang Si lost her temper: “Alright, I’ll visit when I can.”
Fearing Erniu wouldn’t understand, she waved her hand to explain, “Not right now—”
Erniu was already up, shaking its fur and happily running off.
Jiang Si pursed her lips.
Erniu had even learned to play the pity card! Was that something a dog should know how to do?
In Quezi Alley, a crooked jujube tree stood in front of a house, still full of jujube flowers. A large dog passed by, skillfully raising its front leg to knock on the door.
The door opened a crack, and the big dog nimbly slipped inside.
Yu Jin sat at a stone table, holding a cup of tea, growing impatient from waiting.
If Erniu didn’t return soon, it would lose its meat bones.
“Woof woof.” Erniu placed its front paws on the stone table.
Yu Jin reached out to pinch the dog’s face. “Look at you, all proud. What did you bring back for me?”
Erniu had been with him for a long time. Initially, he only thought it was good at fighting and a great help on the battlefield. But since returning to the capital, it seemed to have become increasingly clever.
His Erniu had probably become a spirit.
Yu Jin felt neither anxious nor excited about being the master of a clever dog; instead, he couldn’t help but feel nervous about the silk pouch hanging from Erniu’s neck.
Surely, it would give him some response?
Yu Jin opened the pouch and took out the note, staring at the hastily written “Thank you” with a smile.
It didn’t seem to be ordinary ink; it had a faint fragrance.
Seeing Yu Jin lean down to sniff the note, Long Dan looked up to the sky in silence.
How embarrassing! He decided to pretend he hadn’t seen anything!
Erniu anxiously tugged at Yu Jin’s sleeve.
Yu Jin snapped back to reality and instructed Long Dan, “Bring a bowl of meat bones for Erniu.”
Erniu barked in dissatisfaction.
Hmm? Yu Jin frowned.
Erniu barked again.
Yu Jin chuckled, “You want two bowls of meat bones?”
Erniu quickly nodded.
“That won’t do. You didn’t invite anyone over, so you can only have one bowl of meat bones.”
Although receiving a few words from her was already a pleasant surprise, he couldn’t spoil Erniu; otherwise, it wouldn’t be as easy to command next time.
Erniu barked a few more times in discontent, running to the courtyard gate and back several times. Gradually, Yu Jin began to understand, his surprise evident. “She agreed to come?”
“Woo—” Erniu barked affirmatively.
Yu Jin was overjoyed. “Long Dan, bring Erniu another bowl of meat bones!”
Long Dan hurried to fulfill the order. Seeing Erniu happily munching on the meat bones while his master stroked his chin, occasionally breaking into an embarrassing grin, he couldn’t help but say, “Master, you’ve only met Miss Jiang a few times. This shouldn’t be happening.”
It shouldn’t be that a young lady had stolen his master’s heart; he wasn’t that shallow!
“What shouldn’t be?” Yu Jin raised an eyebrow.
Due to his different upbringing compared to other princes, Yu Jin didn’t carry himself with an air of superiority towards Long Dan and Leng Ying.
“I just think you don’t know Miss Jiang. You don’t even know what her strengths are, so it shouldn’t be—”
Yu Jin shot Long Dan a sidelong glance. “You don’t know Miss Jiang’s strengths?”
“I don’t know!” Long Dan grinned sheepishly.
Even if he did know, he wouldn’t dare say it. What if the master got angry?
“She’s beautiful.”
“What?” Long Dan rubbed his ears, doubting he had heard correctly.
Yu Jin frowned. “You can’t see such an obvious strength?”
Long Dan fell silent for a moment before asking, “So you only like Miss Jiang because she’s beautiful—”
“Isn’t that enough?” Yu Jin countered.
Did he have to admit that in his youth, he had once been mistaken for a girl and sold into a brothel, only to be saved by A Si, which led him to keep her in his heart ever since?
Such an embarrassing thing, he wouldn’t dare mention it to anyone, not even to A Si!
He was willing to give her everything, but what did it matter what the origin of his feelings was?
A breeze blew, stirring the small, fan-like flowers of the silk tree. Yu Jin squinted, leaning back in his chair, feeling completely satisfied.
He wasn’t in a hurry; he would take his time. Sooner or later, he would make her joyfully marry him.
Long Dan silently looked up at the sky.
He was wrong; his master was still under eighteen, still a youth. What was wrong with being a little shallow?
What young man hadn’t been shallow at some point in their youth?
As Jiang Si prepared to return, she spotted the Earl’s carriage approaching from a distance.
Aman quickly whispered, “Miss, it’s Second Master Jiang and Second Madam. I heard they went to the Marquis of Changxing’s mansion earlier.”
As she spoke, the carriage had already stopped. Second Master Jiang and his wife got out one after the other, with Jiang Qian being the last to emerge.
Aman’s eyes widened in surprise as she tugged at Jiang Si’s sleeve, lowering her voice. “Miss, Second Miss has returned!”
“Not unexpected,” Jiang Si replied calmly.
Only Jiang Qian knew how much she had been involved in the Young Master of Changxing’s brutal acts against women, but one thing was clear: she was not innocent.
Her father was the Earl of Dongping, and considering the reputation of the entire Earl’s mansion, she wouldn’t say much at this moment. But since Jiang Qian dared to return, they would see how things unfolded.
“Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Second Sister.” As the three passed by, Jiang Si greeted them politely.
Second Master Jiang and his wife ignored her, merely nodding perfunctorily as they walked past. However, Jiang Qian stopped, staring intently at Jiang Si.
The young girl in a white shirt and red skirt was more radiant than the peonies blooming throughout the Marquis’s garden.
Jiang Qian clenched her fists tightly.
In the blink of an eye, she had gone from the esteemed Young Mistress to the wife of a murderer. Even if she were to sever ties from now on, she would never be able to hold her head high again. Yet the person before her remained pristine and full of potential.
At that moment, Jiang Qian had completely forgotten her previous disdain for Jiang Si, her mind consumed with one thought: Why her?
“Qian’er—” Madam Xiao called out.
Jiang Qian lowered her head, lifted her skirt, and stepped over the threshold of the Earl’s mansion, softly saying, “I’m coming.”