Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 098

Chapter 98: Passing By

These people lingered for a while, until the young master coughed, at which point they seemed to snap out of their reverie, and the caravan quickly started moving.

As the carriage moved, the young master casually pulled down the curtain and picked up a scroll from the side to begin reading.

Jiang Mi, startled by his sudden movement, had her hair disheveled and her face flushed. She glared angrily at the young master.

The young master turned a page, not even looking up, and asked indifferently, “Are you angry?”

That voice… Jiang Mi shivered.

Jiang Mi suddenly remembered her status as a prisoner. She quickly lowered her head and said, swallowing her anger, “No…”

“That’s good.” The noble young master, while looking at his book, said calmly, “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me about your affairs at Shu Capital over the past two years.” The noble young master’s tone was undeniably forceful. “This Young Master has nothing better to do, so I will listen.”

Jiang Mi looked at him with some confusion.

Although she could not understand why this person cared about these things, after thinking for a moment, Jiang Mi honestly said, “I’ve been living in the Taoist temple for the past year or two and have not had much contact with outsiders.”

Jiang Mi glanced furtively at the young master, who was looking down and seemingly not listening, and continued, “I offended the Shu State’s Emperor, so I went to the Taoist temple to avoid trouble.”

Feeling she had explained everything, Jiang Mi closed her mouth, relieved.

At this moment, the young master turned a page of his book and said casually, “Continue!”

What was there to continue?

Jiang Mi looked distressed. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Well, I caused Shu State’s Her Imperial Highness the Empress to become the former Empress, which was a huge mess.” Then, she added, “Luckily, Cui Zi Xuan saved me. That’s how I escaped with my life.”

Strangely enough, the moment she uttered the name “Cui Zi Xuan,” the atmosphere in the carriage instantly brightened. The young master smiled, and when he spoke again, his voice was noticeably gentler and more satisfied. “Hmm, your memory’s still good. You said you stayed at the Taoist temple for a year or two. Tell me, what did you do all that time?”

Jiang Mi honestly replied, “I learned some music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I read some books like the Four Books and Five Classics and such.”

The young master gently asked, “Did you learn any dance?”

He did not even look up when he asked this, and Jiang Mi did not know what he wanted to know. She could only stick to the point. “No,” she honestly shook her head, saying, “I’ve offended the Emperor of Shu, so I will definitely never marry into a powerful family. That’s why my Three Mothers did not force me to learn it.”

For some reason, the young master seemed dissatisfied with Jiang Mi’s words. After a moment, he said calmly, “You still need to learn to dance.”

Jiang Mi pretended not to hear.

The young master clearly understood her attitude; he placed the scroll aside.

Just then, the carriage outside swayed and stopped. A guard outside called out, “Young Master, we’ve arrived.”

The young master nodded, stood up, and looked down at Jiang Mi.

Upon seeing his outstretched hand, Jiang Mi jumped, afraid he would carry her under his arm again. She quickly and obediently said, “I can get down by myself.”

Unexpectedly, before she could finish speaking, the young master had already reached out and pulled her towards him, then once again tucked Jiang Mi under his arm, and gracefully disembarked from the carriage.

The crowd outside the carriage: “…”

Seeing this beautiful woman, who usually exuded a refined, scholarly air, being carried around like this by Young Master Cui, the crowd felt a mix of sympathy and amusement.

However, despite their sympathy, several of the young masters who had noticed Jiang Mi’s rare beauty quickly averted their gazes—this woman was clearly Young Master Cui’s possession, so it was best to be cautious.

Finally, the noble young master placed Jiang Mi on the ground. Completely ignoring the embarrassed and angry Jiang Mi, he glanced at the welcoming party lined up at the main gate and whispered to his guards, “Protect Young Lady Jiang.”

“Yes!” the guards replied hastily, thinking to themselves, “Did he even need to say that? By tomorrow, everyone in Jiangling City who knew your identity would know that Young Lady Jiang was yours. Who would dare disrespect you?”

Then, the noble young master, amidst the warm welcome of the Chu families, checked into their Mansion.

However, to Jiang Mi’s surprise, after taking a bath upon entering the Mansion, she learned that the noble young master had left on business.

It was afternoon, the sun still blazing brightly in the sky. Jiang Mi, having bathed and eaten, was feeling utterly bored and could not help but think of her elder brother again.

Jiang Mi desperately wanted to see Elder Brother.

Although the noble young master had given her such a stern warning, finding Elder Brother and finding out how he was doing had been a dream she had cherished for the past year or two. Now that she had finally encountered him, it would be a lifelong regret to avoid him.

After some thought, Jiang Mi decided to take a stroll through Jiangling City.

To Jiang Mi’s surprise, even as a prisoner, her request was quickly granted by the guards left behind by the noble Young Master.

Jiangling City, as the capital of Nanping State, and because Nanping State was located precisely in the middle of four major states, was a typical example of surviving in the cracks; hence, the city’s magnificent architecture. The East Gate was tall, its walls as thick as cast iron. Although the city bore the scars of years of constant warfare, it also exuded wealth and splendor amidst its prosperity.

Jiang Mi was visiting Jiangling for the first time. Excitedly looking around, she discreetly inquired about the residence of the Southern Tang envoy.

…While Jiang Mi was racking her brains trying to figure out a chance encounter with Li Wu, as she arrived at the most bustling North Street in Jiangling City, a similarly luxurious procession emerged from the most extravagant restaurant on North Street not far ahead.

Leading the procession was Li Wu, dressed in Southern Tang Prince attire, which exuded an air of dignified nobility.

…Jiang Mi finally saw her elder brother!

Unlike their encounter on the river, this time they met face-to-face, less than fifty paces apart.

Throughout those fifty paces, Jiang Mi stared, her eyes fixed on the man approaching her. To be honest, seeing Elder Brother again felt like a reunion for her.

It was an indescribable sense of unfamiliarity. Elder Brother seemed to have transformed completely, inside and out. Had his appearance not changed so much, no one would have recognized him as the same Li Wu from before.

Seeing Li Wu stride towards her, Jiang Mi’s eyes remained fixed, unblinking.

Just then, a woman’s sweet voice suddenly rang out from inside the restaurant, “Brother Wu!” As soon as the voice faded, a beautifully dressed woman, lifting her skirt, hurried after them.

This woman was slender and delicate, with extremely fair skin and watery eyes that revealed a timid and gentle demeanor. She was a typical girl from a modest family, and yet she was an acquaintance of Jiang Mi.

…She was Chen Xin’er, the neighbor Jiang Mi and Li Wu had had for over a decade back in the countryside of Southern Chu’s Wu City!

Now, Chen Xin’er wore her hair in a traditional Chinese updo, her clothes were luxurious, and she exuded an air of pampered ease. A lingering happiness graced her beautiful face, completely different from the Chen Xin’er that Jiang Mi remembered!

Seeing Chen Xin’er chase after him, Li Wu stopped and turned back. He smiled and reached out his hand to Chen Xin’er. As she rushed towards him, he gently wrapped his arm around her waist. Then, the couple walked hand in hand towards Jiang Mi.

Whether it was the shock of seeing Chen Xin’er suddenly appear or the tension of seeing Elder Brother approaching, Jiang Mi held her breath.

But while Jiang Mi was so nervous she could not even breathe, over there, Li Wu, with Chen Xin’er, surrounded by dozens of guards, brushed past Jiang Mi!

At a distance of fifty paces, Li Wu and his men strode over, and from beginning to end, he did not glance at Jiang Mi once. Clearly, Jiang Mi, without her veil, possessed a beauty that could make all of Jiangling swoon; clearly, Jiang Mi had been watching him with a mixture of nervousness and fervor.

…Watching Li Wu walk past her, watching him drive away without hesitation, watching even Chen Xin’er glance at Jiang Mi curiously, watching Li Wu get into the carriage and drive off without stopping, Jiang Mi felt a tightness in her chest from holding her breath for too long. She stared blankly at the departing carriage for a long time before beginning to breathe heavily.