20demayo Chapter 26 Hiding Claws in Front of Her
Chapter 26 Hiding Claws in Front of Her
But reason still kept her in check, and she bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you for saving me, young master."
Ning Zhi stood in front of her, smiled slightly, and as their eyes met, it was as if a pebble had been thrown into his heart, causing ripples to spread. His gentle gaze lingered on her face.
He thought to himself, "So this is the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. I've never seen her before, and she's so beautiful."
Dark clouds piled high like snow, bright eyes sparkling. Autumn waters rippled, a single glance captivating the soul.
The fairy he had imagined in the painting was nothing more than this.
I've only heard that she's engaged to the Xie family...
He pulled himself out of his thoughts, pretending not to know her identity, and asked, "I came to this river to fish today, and when I saw the uneven surface of the water, I thought there was a big fish. I never expected it to be a young lady. This river is so wide, how did you drown in it?"
His eyes were smiling, and his voice was soft.
As Jiang Wan listened to his voice and looked at his eyes, countless emotions surged within her, and all sorts of memories surfaced in her mind.
When she first entered the palace in her previous life, she was all alone and helpless. The Empress had chosen Ning Zhi as the Crown Princess, but he insisted on spending all his time with her.
People in the palace called her a vixen and made her suffer a lot, both openly and secretly. Only when Ning Zhi was around did no one dare to neglect her.
It was precisely his complete trust that emboldened her to poison him every day.
The once high-spirited Ning Zhi was poisoned by her and became bedridden, eventually dying at the hands of Xiao Hengzhi.
In this life, she imagined many scenarios of reuniting with Ning Zhi.
But I never expected it to be like this.
Jiang Mian felt a lump in her throat and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
Seeing her expression, Ning Zhi asked with concern, "Are you still feeling unwell, young lady?"
Jiang Wan shook her head, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and said softly, "I'm just a little scared. Today, I was kidnapped by villains and forced to jump into the river. If it weren't for your rescue, young master, I'm afraid..."
Ning Zhi smiled and asked, "Miss, please don't worry anymore. Now that you've met me, I'll make sure you're safe. But I wonder where you're going?"
Jiang Wan frowned: "I can't leave for now. A friend of mine got lost in town, and I have to go back to rescue her."
Cong Shuang was the maid who had been with her since childhood, and the only one who stayed by her side from beginning to end, regardless of whether she was poor or rich.
She was determined to save Cong Shuang no matter what.
Seeing her determined gaze, Ning Zhi replied softly, "Alright, then we'll return to the ship and head back to town immediately."
After saying this, he instructed the boatman to turn around and sat down with Jiang Mian on the cabin chairs.
As soon as Jiang Wan sat down, she heard a noise.
Turning her head, she saw a jade pendant slip off Ning Zhi's waist and gently fall into her line of sight.
That was the Crown Prince's jade emblem, which he had hidden in his belt, but it had accidentally fallen out.
Jiang Wan thought to herself that he probably didn't want to reveal his identity when he was out in public.
She turned her head away, pretending not to see.
......
A gentle breeze from the river, cool and refreshing, felt wonderful against my skin.
Perhaps feeling a little more at ease, Jiang Mian looked at the scenery on both sides of the river and felt quite comfortable.
She walked onto the deck and breathed heavily in the wind.
However, since she was just recovering, she shouldn't be exposed to cold, and soon she hugged her arms and shivered.
Ning Zhi walked to her side and said, "Miss, why don't you go inside and sit down? If you want to see the scenery, I can open the curtain."
Looking at his face, Jiang Mian thought of her past life when she went boating on the lake outside the palace. She wanted to fish, but she could never catch anything. Seeing her listless, Ning Zhi secretly had someone release a bunch of fish into the lake, which made her happy all day.
At that time, she didn't have much affection for Ning Zhi; she simply enjoyed the sense of prestige he brought her.
But gradually, she became dissatisfied with this and wanted to exercise power herself.
Therefore, she never harbored any feelings of favoritism towards Ning Zhi.
"girl?"
Ning Zhi waved his hand in front of her eyes and asked, "Why do you always look at me like that, young lady? Is something on your mind?"
Jiang Mian regained her composure, squinted her eyes, and smiled, "I just feel lucky to have met you, young master."
Ning Zhi was momentarily stunned by her smile, then said with concern, "Go inside quickly, or you'll catch a cold if you stay out in the wind any longer."
Jiang Man nodded, then turned and walked to the cabin.
After she went inside, the boatman nodded and asked, "Your Highness, the Empress is holding a banquet the day after tomorrow. If we send Miss Jiang back to town, I'm afraid it will be too late."
Ning Zhi casually replied as if admiring the scenery, "It's alright. The Empress Dowager already has a choice for the Crown Princess in mind. Sending me is just a formality."
He stroked the jade badge at his waist with his fingers and smiled, "I imagine that after Miss Jiang returns to her residence, Jiang Xun will soon come to the palace to find me. That is the most important thing."
The boatman replied in a low voice, "Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, he rocked the oars twice more.
Suddenly, a sharp arrow pierced the air.
The boatman reacted quickly, immediately using his oar to block the arrow, which embedded itself deeply in the oar with a dull thud.
The arrowhead was aimed directly at Ning Zhi's brow.
"Your Highness, there are assassins! Should we take cover?" The boatman lowered his voice, his eyes showing caution.
Ning Zhi's gaze turned slightly cold as he swept towards the riverbank, trying to find the assassin. However, the riverbank was far away and overgrown with vegetation, making it impossible to see clearly.
Several suspicious names flashed through his mind, but none of them matched such precise archery skills.
Suddenly, another arrow came whistling through the air.
This time, the bullet hit the bulkhead directly.
Jiang Mian's body suddenly trembled, startled by the sudden noise. She turned her head and saw an arrow stuck in the wooden wall beside her, with a piece of cloth hanging on it.
She took it down and saw two bright red words written on it: "Come back".
She recognized it at a glance as Xiao Hengzhi's handwriting, written in blood.
Ning Zhi quickly went to her side, saw the words on the cloth strip, frowned and asked, "Do you know who made this move?"
"It must be someone who was traveling with me. They must have discovered that I was missing and found their way here."
Jiang Wan was somewhat surprised. She had never noticed before that Xiao Hengzhi could shoot arrows, and his archery skills seemed to be quite good.
A hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly dispelled by the cold wind on the river.
Ning Zhi frowned slightly, his doubts deepening.
One-Eyed Zhang is always meticulous and thorough in his work. Who is that person? How did they get here?
But since things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time.
He instructed the boatman to slowly approach the shore.
The boat moved diagonally upstream, getting closer and closer to the riverbank.
Only then did he see a man on the shore galloping on horseback, leaning over his horse, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, his eyes coldly fixed on the boat.
Ning Zhi could see his poised and ready stance, and even across the river, which was neither too close nor too far, he could feel the intense hostility of the man on the shore.
He was certain that as soon as the man let go, the arrow would be aimed at him.
“Young lady,” Ning Zhi spoke, her eyes fixed on the shore, “do you recognize that person?”
Hearing the sound, Jiang Mian went outside the cabin and saw Xiao Hengzhi galloping on horseback. She waved her hands and jumped up and down, calling out to him.
Ning Zhi moved silently behind Jiang Mian, and sure enough, Xiao Hengzhi slowly lowered the bow and arrow he had been aiming at.
......
The moment the boat docked, Xiao Hengzhi leaped off his horse, ran a few steps to Jiang Mian, and pulled her behind him.
His movements were swift yet deliberate, and his gaze toward Ning Zhi was extremely unfriendly.
Jiang Mian thought he had misunderstood, so she hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand, I was kidnapped today and fell into the water. It was this young master who saved me."
son?
Xiao Hengzhi chuckled lightly and did not press further, but noticed that Jiang Mian's clothes had been changed.
Anger surged into his mind, his hands clenched tightly in his sleeves, and he could hardly contain his displeasure.
"Xiao Hengzhi, what's wrong with you?" Jiang Wan asked, noticing his strange expression.
Xiao Hengzhi closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and when he opened them again, he had already put on his usual gentle demeanor: "It's alright, it's good that Miss is unharmed."
Then he turned his head and said to Ning Zhi casually, "Thank you for saving my young lady."
A cold glint flashed in Ning Zhi's eyes. He keenly sensed that this man was deliberately concealing his sharpness in front of Jiang Mian, just like a giant beast that had put away its claws. He seemed harmless, but in fact, he was extremely dangerous.
His intuition told him that this person was no good.
I just don't know why they have such great hostility towards him.
While he was thinking, Xiao Hengzhi turned around, mounted his horse, reached out and pulled Jiang Mian to sit in front of him.
Before she could even bid farewell to Ning Zhi, Xiao Hengzhi shouted coldly, "Giddy up!"
Horse hooves flew, kicking up dust.
Ning Zhi watched the two figures disappear into the distance, his brows furrowing slightly. He instructed, "Investigate the background of this Xiao Hengzhi..."