The ceremony for conferring the title of Prince was still in preparation, and the Yan Prince’s mansion had not yet been refurbished. In Yu Jin’s view, these were trivial matters not worth mentioning, certainly not as important as meeting with Jiang Si face-to-face.
That day, Jiang Si’s tears were like small awls, digging holes in the bottom of his heart.
He desperately wanted to know why she was so heartbroken, but she had moved into the Earl of Yongchang’s mansion and wouldn’t leave!
Thinking of the handsome young man with cold eyes in the Earl of Yongchang’s mansion, the Seventh Prince Yu’s heart was in turmoil.
He had already found out everything clearly – this Young Master of the Earl of Yongchang and Jiang Si were childhood sweethearts, with a bond from a young age. Now that they were both grown up and spending time together day and night, what if Jiang Si made a rash decision?
Indeed, in Yu Jin’s view, Jiang Si having feelings for any man other than himself would be considered a rash decision!
“Master, have some water,” Long Dan handed over a water flask.
Yu Jin reached out to take it, took a sip of water, and suddenly froze, his grip on the flask tightening involuntarily.
Outside the gate of the Earl of Yongchang’s mansion, Xie Yinlou stopped and cupped his hands towards Jiang Si: “Fourth Sister Jiang, thank you for your help these past few days.”
According to custom, those in deep mourning were not allowed to enter other people’s homes.
Jiang Si curtsied in return: “There’s no need for such formality, Brother Xie. Qing’er and I are the best of friends.”
Xie Yinlou’s cold expression softened slightly: “It’s Qing’er’s fortune to have a friend like Fourth Sister Jiang.”
Jiang Si felt ashamed in her heart. She lowered her gaze, avoiding Xie Yinlou’s eyes, and said softly: “Not at all. Brother Xie, I’ll head back to my mansion now, I won’t keep you from your duties.”
In just seven short days, Xie Yinlou had lost weight, his white hemp mourning clothes hanging loosely on his frame, making him appear even more handsome and upright.
Losing both parents at once was undoubtedly extremely taxing for someone who could only rely on themselves, both mentally and physically.
Xie Yinlou gazed steadily at Jiang Si, wanting to smile but lacking the strength, and it would have been inappropriate anyway. He could only soften his voice: “Take care on your way, Fourth Sister Jiang.”
Jiang Si nodded slightly and hurriedly left.
Xie Yinlou stood for a moment before turning to go back inside.
Yu Jin was so angry he crushed the water flask, threw away the stopper, and tilted his head back to gulp down the water.
Long Dan watched, secretly shaking his head: Looking at the master’s behavior, it seemed less like drinking water and more like drinking vinegar.
Water droplets flowed down Yu Jin’s mouth and neck. When the flask was empty, he tossed it aside and strode towards the Earl of Dongping’s mansion.
Sure enough, what he feared had come to pass. Just now, Jiang Si actually couldn’t bear to look at that Xie Yinlou fellow.
“Master—” Long Dan raised his foot to chase after him.
Yu Jin paused and stared directly at Long Dan: “Let me ask you when a girl is shy in front of a man, what does that mean?”
Long Dan blurted out: “It means she likes him?”
Yu Jin’s face turned completely black.
Long Dan blinked.
It seemed he had answered correctly!
Seeing Yu Jin raise his foot to leave, Long Dan quickly blocks his way: “Master, where are you going?”
“To find her and get to the bottom of this.”
Long Dan slapped his forehead: “Master, this isn’t the Southern Frontier! There are so many people watching right now. If you chase her to someone else’s doorstep asking questions, it might not be appropriate, right?”
Yu Jin closed his eyes, then opened them again, trying his best to control the jealousy surging in his heart. He said coldly: “You’re right.”
If it wasn’t appropriate during the day, then he would ask at night, since Jiang Si had gone home anyway.
What? Sneaking into a lady’s boudoir at night isn’t gentlemanly behavior?
Hah, he was a scoundrel anyway, just one who only wanted to act roguishly towards Jiang Si alone.
Yu Jin was the type who, once he set his mind on someone, never looked back. Having made up his mind, he left Long Dan behind and walked back.
First, he’d go home to rest and gather his strength.
Because of the mourning at the Earl of Yongchang’s mansion, the entire street was bustling with activity, with crowds of people shoulder to shoulder, quickly separating Yu Jin and Long Dan.
Long Dan, falling behind, called out hurriedly: “Master, wait for me—”
Yu Jin’s mind was still replaying the scene of the young lady lowering her eyes shyly, paying no attention to his guard’s calls, his steps getting faster and faster.
A man walked past Yu Jin’s side.
The man’s features were extremely ordinary, his clothing equally commonplace. In a sea of people, he would be as unremarkable as a single drop of water – the type of person whose face you wouldn’t remember even if you had just seen them.
Such a person passing by Yu Jin in the crowded throng naturally didn’t attract any attention.
As the two passed each other, a cold glint flashed from within the man’s sleeve, and a bright dagger stabbed towards Yu Jin.
Although Yu Jin was distracted, years of battlefield experience combined with his natural talent had cultivated an amazing instinct for danger. When the man raised the dagger, his body reacted first, dodging to one side while raising his hand to grab the man’s wrist.
The dagger, originally aimed at his heart, barely grazed his forearm.
The dagger cut through cloth as easily as if it were mud. The cyan silk robe was instantly torn, and blood seeped out from the forearm.
A numb, tingling sensation spread.
Yu Jin’s expression changed drastically.
The dagger was poisoned!
“Master!” Long Dan, seeing this strange situation from across the crowd, no longer cared about anything else and forcefully pushed aside the people blocking his way to charge over.
In this instant, Yu Jin and the dagger-wielding man had already clashed several times, their speed so fast that it hadn’t even attracted the attention of those nearby.
Seeing Long Dan charging over, the man made a split-second decision to retreat, diving into the crowd and running away.
“Chase him!” Yu Jin decisively ordered Long Dan.
Although Long Dan was usually cheerful and somewhat informal in front of Yu Jin, when it came to crucial moments, he didn’t dare to disregard his master’s orders in the slightest. He immediately gave chase.
He didn’t know that Yu Jin had already been poisoned.
As Long Dan continued to push aside people blocking his way and run forward, people finally noticed something was amiss. Their love for excitement prompted them to follow.
Yu Jin took advantage of this to move to the side of the road and looked at the wound on his arm.
His reaction had been quick, and the wound was just a shallow cut. However, the blood seeping out had already turned black.
Yu Jin reached for the pouch tied at his waist.
Inside the pouch was an antidote pill he had obtained in the south, capable of counteracting a hundred poisons.
But as his hand touched the finely crafted pouch, he stopped. He suddenly changed his mind and stumbled in a certain direction.
If Long Dan were still there, he would have noticed that the direction Yu Jin was heading was not towards Quezi Hutong, but in the opposite direction.
Passing through several small alleys, Yu Jin leaned against someone’s doorway and knocked forcefully.
“Who is it?” A cautious voice came from inside, the voice of a young man.
“It’s me,” Yu Jin replied simply.
There was silence from within.
“Who are you?” After a moment, the voice inside sounded again.
Just then, there was a thud outside the door, as if something heavy had hit it.
The young man inside was startled.
Could it be some scoundrel coming to cause trouble?
He put his ear to the door to listen but couldn’t hear anything else.
After some thought, the young man still quietly pulled the door open a crack and looked out, only to shudder in shock.
A person was lying outside the door!
The young man instantly threw the door wide open.