At that moment, Jiang Si’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she looked at Yu Jin with an unusual expression in her eyes.
In the summer of the 19th year of Emperor Jingming’s reign, it wasn’t long before the Crown Prince was deposed for the first time.
In that instant, Jiang Si actually had the thought that Yu Seven might also be a person who had lived two lives, like herself.
“Ah Jin.”
Yu Jin smiled and pulled Jiang Si into his arms, gazing into her eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Why do you say the Crown Prince won’t last long?”
Yu Jin snorted, “As the saying goes, ‘The heavens bring rain, men bring trouble, and those who don’t make trouble won’t die.’ The Crown Prince isn’t just making ordinary trouble; it would be strange if he could hold his position for long.”
Jiang Si stared at Yu Jin intently.
“What is it?” Yu Jin asked, puzzled. Suddenly, he had a realization and leaned in to whisper in Jiang Si’s ear, “Are you missing me?”
Jiang Si was stunned for a moment, then rolled her eyes at him. “What nonsense are you thinking?”
In broad daylight, inside a carriage—how could this rascal be thinking of such things? Though, perhaps it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Jiang Si couldn’t help but think of her previous life.
Back then, this man had acted as if he hadn’t seen a woman in several lifetimes, constantly entangling with her. She had gone from initial embarrassed refusal to eventually finding a kind of pleasure in giving in as if she had nothing left to lose.
It seemed that when one met their match, it was inherently a matter of both physical and mental pleasure.
Yu Jin had been watching the person in his arms the whole time.
Seeing her seemingly lost in memories, with a light in her eyes that made his heart flutter, he felt encouraged.
Ah Si must be thinking about his prowess from last night.
He could have done even better if he hadn’t been worried about her body not being able to handle it…
With this thought, it was as if a fire had suddenly ignited in his body, making him feel hot all over.
Yu Jin bit his lip and lowered his head to nibble on Jiang Si’s snow-white neck, boldly moving to undo her clothes.
Jiang Si pressed down on his restless hand. “Don’t be naughty, I’m still sore…”
Yu Jin immediately sat up straight, even pushing Jiang Si slightly away.
Jiang Si laughed, partly amused and partly annoyed. “Why don’t you just throw me out of the carriage?”
Yu Jin looked troubled and aggrieved, sighing, “It’s hard to be a gentleman.”
Jiang Si leaned against the carriage wall, her voice lowering. “Ah Jin, I also think the Crown Prince won’t last long.”
Yu Jin didn’t find this strange and smiled. “We’re thinking the same thing.”
If the Emperor only had the Crown Prince as his son, it wouldn’t matter how much trouble he caused. But the Emperor was exceptionally fertile, with eight princes in total, the youngest of whom was already of marriageable age.
Although he thought his brothers were either stupid or cunning, it couldn’t stop them from eyeing the position of Crown Prince covetously.
With wolves circling and the Emperor in excellent health, it would be difficult for the Crown Prince to safely wait for succession even if he kept a low profile. It would be strange if there wasn’t chaos in the current situation.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with him and Ah Si. He was just a leisure prince after all. Closing the doors and living happily with Ah Si in the prince’s mansion was a heavenly existence. Let those mad dogs fight over that meaty bone of the throne.
Yu Jin thought about last night and felt as if his future days would be steeped in honey. He felt refreshed and content.
Jiang Si now confirmed that Yu Jin was different from her.
She felt a vague sense of regret, yet also relief.
The regret was that the experiences she and Ah Jin had shared in her previous life would forever be known only to her. The relief was that they had met at the most appropriate time, and there was no Ji Chongyi between them, nor the Holy Maiden Ah Sang. Undoubtedly, things would be much simpler and happier.
The relief outweighed the regret, which she considered a blessing.
In her youth, she hadn’t believed in the saying that beauties were ill-fated. After experiencing those events, she came to believe it. Now, she believed even more that fate had to be fought for by oneself.
Jiang Si put aside her doubts, but Yu Jin suddenly asked, “Ah Si, your ability to cure Princess Fuqing’s eyes, is it innate knowledge?”
“Don’t you believe it?” Jiang Si asked with a smile.
“It’s not that.” Yu Jin held Jiang Si’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “You might not know this, but in some tribes in the Southern Frontier, the concept of innate knowledge is quite prevalent.”
Jiang Si’s heart skipped a beat.
Yu Jin continued, “For example, in the Wu Miao tribe, their Holy Maiden is called the Chosen One. It’s said that only girls born with a natural sensitivity to mystical arts can become Holy Maiden candidates. As these candidates grow up, one girl will inevitably possess talent far surpassing others, as if she was born understanding the use of those mystical arts… This person will become the Holy Maiden of the Wu Miao tribe, and after the previous Holy Maiden passes away, she will become the new elder, the leader of the Wu Miao tribe and the surrounding dependent tribes…”
The true leader who controlled the Wu Miao tribe and its dependent tribes, if they were to face off against the Great Zhou Dynasty or other countries, could certainly cause havoc across half the realm.
Yu Jin picked up a plum from the small table fixed in the carriage, popped it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then took a few sips of tea. His mind was still on the affairs of the Southern Frontier.
That was a place where he had spent many years. Though it seemed like a small territory, it was actually mysterious and unpredictable, possessing frightening power.
Seeing this, Jiang Si placed her hand on Yu Jin, smiling ambiguously. “Ah Jin, you seem to know a lot about the Wu Miao Holy Maiden.”
In her previous life, she had impersonated the Wu Miao Holy Maiden for two years. Fearing exposure, she had rarely interacted with people in the tribe, spending most of her time learning mystical arts. The only people she was familiar with were Yu Seven and Ah Sang’s maid.
Thinking about it now, that experience had given her various miraculous abilities, but other impressions left in her memory were few.
“I learned about it by chance,” Yu Jin said, unwilling to say more about the Southern Frontier.
Jiang Si’s lips moved slightly, wanting to ask about the portrait, but not knowing how to bring it up.
Although couples should be honest with each other, how could she explain this issue left over from a previous life?
At this point, she shouldn’t even know what the Holy Maiden Ah Sang looked like, let alone know about the existence of that portrait.
Should she tell Yu Seven that she had been reborn?
Everything else was possible, but this was the one thing Jiang Si had never considered.
The secret of rebirth was like her most intimate piece of clothing. Once removed, she would truly be naked.
Thinking of this, Jiang Si suddenly thought of another question: In this life, was that portrait still in Yu Seven’s study?
This question arose like a stone causing a thousand ripples in the lake of her heart, making her wish she could return to Prince Yan’s mansion immediately.
In what felt like a brief moment to Yu Jin but an eternity to Jiang Si, the carriage finally came to a stop.
They had arrived at Prince Yan’s mansion.
The two alighted from the carriage one after another and walked side by side towards the entrance.
A grayish-yellow shadow rushed over, stopping in front of Jiang Si, wagging its tail pitifully.
Yu Jin’s face darkened as he gritted his teeth, “Er Niu, you dare to show up!”
Er Niu had a red silk ribbon tied around its mouth in a butterfly knot, and whimpered twice, looking quite aggrieved.
Jiang Si’s heart ached at the sight. She glared at Yu Jin, “Er Niu just wanted to eat some braised pork hock. How could you punish it like this?”
Yu Jin’s face grew even darker.
Just wanted to eat braised pork hock? This dog was causing trouble because he hadn’t allowed it to follow when he married Ah Si.
He had almost been scared out of his wits at the time!