Yu Jin rose, blocking Jiang Si’s path.
Jiang Si observed his nimble movement, her beautiful eyes narrowing. He had just been coughing up blood, yet now he could jump up to stop her. Was he deceiving her again?
Anger rose in her heart. Thinking of her recent concern, Jiang Si couldn’t help but silently curse herself.
“Move aside!” she demanded.
“You don’t want to see me anymore?” Yu Jin placed one hand against the wall, lowering his head slightly to look at the young woman before him.
Jiang Si kept her gaze lowered, replying coolly, “That’s right.”
“You’d rather marry anyone else than me?” Yu Jin asked again.
With barely a hint of hesitation, Jiang Si nodded once more, “Yes.”
The young man’s face gradually paled. He slowly withdrew his hand, his thick eyelashes concealing the turbulent emotions in his eyes.
This heartless girl, clearly had feelings for him, yet why did she repeatedly reject him?
Reject only him!
Thinking of Jiang Si’s words, “I’d rather marry anyone else than you,” Yu Jin felt a pain in his chest.
“Why?” he asked.
Jiang Si finally raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
The young man had a pair of delicate phoenix eyes, slightly upturned at the corners, always showing a hint of casual charm. Unlike most people of the Great Zhou, his pupils weren’t light brown, but a deep black, gleaming like the finest ink jade.
At this moment, those bright eyes were brimming with deep emotion and anguish.
“Why?” he repeated.
Jiang Si smiled slightly, her tone gentle but devoid of emotion: “Young Master Yu, you’re a few years older than me. How can you not know that this is the one thing in the world that has no explanation? If any girl expresses admiration for you and you don’t accept, do you have to explain why?”
“No one has ever asked me,” Yu Jin replied.
The women of the Southern Frontier were passionate and bold, quite daring when they saw a handsome man. He usually avoided them before they could get close, never giving them a chance to ask why.
“If someone did ask, would you answer?” Jiang Si pressed.
“No,” Yu Jin responded without hesitation.
Except for A’Si, he would keep his distance from any woman. And A’Si, of course, would never need to ask him why.
Jiang Si looked at Yu Jin, her gaze cold and clear: “You see, Young Master Yu, don’t do unto others what you don’t want done to yourself. I’ll be going now.”
“Wait!” Yu Jin called out.
Jiang Si remained silent.
Yu Jin looked at her, suddenly smiling: “I’ll remember these words. This is your place, so I should be the one to leave. Miss Jiang, farewell.”
Jiang Si gently bit her lip, watching him walk towards the door.
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but in the end, she didn’t speak. And he didn’t look back.
Yu Jin dared not look back. He feared that if he turned and saw relief on his beloved’s face, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
His heart, after all, wasn’t made of iron. It could ache too.
As he walked out of the courtyard, the glaring sunlight shone on him, making the young man’s pale face appear almost transparent.
Yu Jin paused for a moment outside the courtyard gate. No sound came from behind.
He let out a soft sigh and strode forward.
Leaving the alley, and crossing the street, occasional sounds of mourning music drifted to his ears – the Marquis of Yongchang’s household was holding a funeral.
This place wasn’t far from the Earl of Dongping’s residence, just as his civilian home in Quezi Hutong was a place he had eagerly chosen upon first returning to the capital.
He wanted to be close to her, even if they couldn’t be together for now. Thinking that they lived in the same area, and could look up at the same starry sky, made his restless heart feel more at ease.
A teasing voice came from ahead: “Well, Seventh Brother, what’s wrong with you? Looking so lost, one might think you’ve been robbed.”
Yu Jin came back to his senses and looked at the man before him.
The speaker was a man in his early twenties, well-dressed, with handsome thick eyebrows and large eyes. It was the Fifth Prince, the King of Lu.
The Fifth Prince fanned himself, his eyes filled with anger.
How unlucky to run into this bastard today!
However, seeing the other’s disheveled state brought him some pleasure. The Fifth Prince lightly fanned himself: “It seems Seventh Brother is in the habit of getting into fights.”
Yu Jin frowned: “You are—”
The Fifth Prince’s expression froze momentarily, then he exploded in anger: “You scoundrel, you don’t even know who I am?”
This was the ultimate humiliation. For the first time in his life, he had a wine jar smashed on his head. Not only did he fail to receive loving comfort from his father, but he was also punished with confinement in the Imperial Clan Court. He would remember this for a lifetime and hate the culprit forever.
But now the culprit didn’t even remember him? They had been confined in the same “prison” for three days, was he that forgettable?
The more the Fifth Prince thought about it, the angrier he became, his hand shaking as he held his fan.
Yu Jin put on a confused and innocent expression: “I’m sorry, my memory isn’t very good.”
Except for A’Si, he wouldn’t let anyone take verbal advantage of him.
Seeing the Fifth Prince’s livid face, Yu Jin smiled slightly: “Oh, it’s Elder Brother.”
The Fifth Prince jumped up: “Nonsense! Do I look that old?”
The person beside him frantically pulled at the Fifth Prince’s sleeve: “Your Highness, mind your words!”
Even if Prince Qin wasn’t the Emperor’s biological son, the Emperor had always felt guilty about it, and outwardly treated Prince Qin even more gently than the Crown Prince.
Moreover, Prince Qin was only in his early thirties, the most charming age for a man. The King’s words wouldn’t sound good if they spread.
The Fifth Prince realized his mistake and glared fiercely at Yu Jin: “Seventh Brother, do you want to fight again today? You smashed my head for no reason that day, we haven’t settled that score yet!”
Yu Jin put on a look of sudden realization: “Oh, it’s Fifth Brother.”
The Fifth Prince clutched his chest.
He finally recognized him, should he say thank you?
If he didn’t vent this anger, he felt he might die of rage.
The Fifth Prince closed his fan with a snap and sneered: “Seventh Brother, enough with the nonsense. Do you dare to have a proper fight with me? Let’s be clear, this time no matter who gets hurt, we can’t go complaining to Father Emperor!”
Yu Jin shook his head with a smile, appearing calm and unruffled: “Fifth Brother is joking. How can brothers fight and hurt each other? I can’t agree to your proposal.”
“Bah! When you smashed my head with a wine jar that day, why didn’t you think about us being brothers?” The Fifth Prince’s face turned ashen with anger.
The young man’s features were delicate, his clear black and white eyes full of innocence: “I was drunk that day.”
Such a brazenly righteous excuse left the Fifth Prince momentarily speechless.
Yu Jin smiled slightly at the half-dead with anger Fifth Prince: “Today, this younger brother is very sober and can’t indulge in Fifth Brother’s reckless behavior.”
“You—” The Fifth Prince pointed at Yu Jin, fuming with rage, “You’ve said all there is to say, both sense and nonsense. I—”
He wanted to make a move, but the shadow of his recent confinement hadn’t dissipated, forcing him to swallow his anger.
Yu Jin seemed oblivious to the other’s fury and asked with a smile: “What brings Fifth Brother here? This seems quite far from the King of Lu’s residence.”
The Fifth Prince unconsciously glanced at the nearby Earl of Dongping’s residence.
This small movement didn’t escape Yu Jin’s eyes. His face immediately darkened.