Faced with the sudden appearance of a man and a dog, Old Woman Xiao stared blankly for a moment before lowering her head to continue gazing vacantly at the water basin.
For Old Woman Xiao, who was currently enduring the pain of losing her daughter, the appearance of Yu Jin and Erniu was merely a hallucination.
Yu Jin was confused.
He was deliberating whether to silence her permanently or to silence her permanently, so what did this old woman’s indifferent expression mean?
Seeing his master’s lack of response, Erniu bit his trouser leg.
Should we eliminate this old woman, master? Just give the word.
Yu Jin snapped back to reality and made a circular hand gesture with a cold expression.
Erniu immediately panicked.
The master was going to punish him by taking away a bowl of meat bones!
The large dog dejectedly wagged its tail and ran off in one direction.
Yu Jin followed, taking a few steps before turning back to knock Old Woman Xiao unconscious.
Hmm, this felt more reassuring.
Erniu led the way, smoothly sneaking into Haitang Residence.
Yu Jin felt rather displeased: Erniu was even more familiar with A Si’s boudoir than he was. It seemed that once he married A Si, it would be best to sell this fellow off.
Completely unaware of his master’s jealousy, Erniu leaped over the banana grove in front of the window and raised his front paws to bang on the window. He knocked with such righteous confidence.
Yu Jin stood silently at the base of the wall, with only one thought in mind: Man is no match for a dog…
The window opened immediately, and A Man’s delighted voice could be faintly heard: “Erniu, you’re here again! Come in quickly, come in quickly.”
Erniu nimbly jumped inside, and a delicate hand reached out to close the window.
Yu Jin raised an eyebrow.
If he were to be outdone by a dog today, he might as well give up.
He walked over in a few steps and stopped the window from closing with his hand.
The sudden appearance of his face startled A Man, causing her to stutter: “Y-Young Master Yu?”
Yu Jin entered through the window without a word, moving swiftly.
“Oh my, how can you come at this time?” A Man complained briefly before quickly moving aside. “Miss, it’s Young Master Yu.”
A Qiao, who was also serving in the room, was already dumbfounded.
Although surprised by Yu Jin’s sudden visit, Jiang Si quickly regained her composure and gestured for A Man and A Qiao to withdraw.
A Qiao hesitated but was pulled out by A Man.
From behind the door, A Qiao anxiously whispered, “How can we leave Miss alone with a man?”
A Man remained calm: “Miss knows what she’s doing.”
Thinking of her mistress’s composed face, A Qiao sighed.
Alright, as long as Miss knew what she was doing.
It wasn’t yet time to retire for the night, and the room was brightly lit. The wide-open window allowed a cool breeze to blow in, causing Yu Jin’s clothes to rustle.
Erniu wagged his tail and bounded towards Jiang Si, affectionately sniffing her hand.
Jiang Si patted Erniu’s head, her gaze meeting Yu Jin’s.
Yu Jin came closer, pushing Erniu aside, and explained, “Using Erniu to send messages isn’t very convenient, so I came myself.”
Erniu let out a dissatisfied whine.
Jiang Si sat down, gently stroking Erniu’s fur.
“Have you received news about someone willing to redeem Yu’er?” she asked.
“No news on that front yet. I asked to meet you because there are two things I need to discuss.”
Jiang Si’s hand paused, waiting for him to continue.
“Earlier, you guessed that the group pursuing Miss Chu Chu was actually after you. Today, I caught those people, and it turns out you were right.” Yu Jin’s eyebrows furrowed as he mentioned the group.
Those people had a complicated background.
The bearded man had unhesitatingly chosen death, while the man in the long robe appeared frail but had endured severe torture without saying a word. He was now barely clinging to life.
Yu Jin himself was puzzled. As a prince without the Emperor’s favor, what could those people want from him?
This foggy situation was truly irritating, but at least A Si had softened her attitude towards him recently, which made up for all the unpleasantness.
Jiang Si immediately felt guilty: “So you’re saying I’ve implicated Miss Chu Chu.”
Even in her previous life, she had been the type to return kindness tenfold. She would coldly rebuff those who provoked or found fault with her, but for those who offered help, even if she couldn’t repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring, she would still do her best.
Thinking about how a stranger nearly lost her life because of her, Jiang Si felt a chill of fear and earnestly thanked Yu Jin.
Yu Jin stared at Jiang Si with an odd expression.
“What is it?” Jiang Si asked, perplexed by his stare.
“A Si, you thanked me specifically for an outsider.”
He never imagined that not only would he have to compete for affection with men and Erniu, but with women as well!
Jiang Si couldn’t be bothered to banter with him and sighed, “I should still explain things clearly to Miss Chu Chu when I have the chance.”
“What’s there to explain? She’s fine now anyway,” Yu Jin felt it unnecessary.
Jiang Si frowned, “I can’t pretend to be someone’s benefactor after causing them harm.”
Yu Jin smiled and ruffled her hair, “Our A Si is truly a good girl.”
He thought it was perfectly fine to sell someone and still have them count the money.
Jiang Si tilted her head to avoid his hand, “What’s the second thing?”
With the matter of Chu Chu settled and no news about finding someone to help Yu Qi, she couldn’t think of what else there could be.
Yu Jin suddenly leaned in closer, his eyes full of sincerity, “The second thing is even more important than the first.”
“What is it?”
The young man’s dark, bright eyes were filled with tenderness as he said each word slowly, “I missed you.”
Jiang Si’s face inexplicably turned red.
It was strange; when he kissed or hugged her, she only wanted to kiss him back, completely unaware of what embarrassment was. But here in her quiet boudoir at night, hearing him say these words, she suddenly experienced the thrill of a racing heart.
This feeling made Jiang Si a bit flustered.
A large hand reached out and grasped hers.
The young man’s hand was still somewhat thin, while the young woman’s was even more delicate.
Their clasped hands looked like two pieces of white jade in the lamplight.
Jiang Si withdrew her hand, feigning calmness, “Now that you’ve said what you came to say, you should go back.”
“Since I’m already here, you should at least let me have a drink of water,” Yu Jin was determined to linger a while longer. He picked up the teacup from the table and took a sip, immediately feeling as if he had gained a great advantage.
This was the teacup A Si had used.
The young woman’s surprised voice rang out, “That’s the water A Man left.”
Yu Jin’s face stiffened. The sip of water he had swallowed felt like a piece of burning coal falling into his stomach, searing uncomfortably.
After finally recovering, he was furious, “How can a maid be so ill-mannered, drinking from her mistress’s teacup in her room!”
Once A Si became his wife, he’d sell off both Erniu and A Man together.
Jiang Si watched Yu Jin’s anger with an amused smile.
Yu Jin suddenly realized, “A Si, you’re teasing me?”
To tease him with such a disgusting prank, was simply intolerable!
Yu Jin abruptly pulled Jiang Si towards him.
There was a table between them, and the teacup on it fell to the ground.
Yu Jin paid no attention to this, gripping Jiang Si and fiercely accusing her, “A Si, you’ve learned to be naughty!”
“Erniu is still here, don’t get handsy,” Jiang Si warned, noticing the dog approaching from the corner of her eye.
“Ignore it.”
It’s not like Erniu could tell anyone.
The large dog, who had silently come over and watched for a while, hesitated for a moment before biting his male master’s bottom.