Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 975 - 973_1

Chapter 975: Chapter 973_1

The day after she returned from her mother’s house, Xiao’er had made plans to meet with her close friends. The fifth princess was the first to arrive.

Xiao’er noticed the urgency in her eyes, knowing that she must want to ask about Jiang Yuheng. Being able to wait until this morning to come over, Fifth Princess was really patient.

But the timing was just right.

Xiao’er went forward and took her arm: "Since the Fifth Princess has arrived, why don’t you accompany me for a stroll in the garden? I have been away from the Imperial Capital for more than a year. I wonder if the garden in the mansion still looks the same as before."

Fifth Princess, with a mind full of thoughts, was not in mood for a garden stroll. However, she still went out with Xiao’er.

The sky was still overcast, looking as if it might rain at any moment.

Xiao’er led Fifth Princess around the garden, talking about the interesting things that had happened on their trip down south. As they walked, raindrops began to fall from the sky. Xiao’er covered her own hair with one hand, and with the other, she grabbed Fifth Princess and ran in a certain direction: "It’s raining, let’s go to the book pavilion over there for shelter!"

Fifth Princess had no objection. Although there was a pavilion not far away, they would still get wet if the rain was heavy, so the two quickly ran to the book pavilion nearby.

In the book pavilion, their clothes got a bit damp. However, that didn’t matter in this weather, after all, only the outer layers were wet, and the inside was dry.

Noticing there was no one around, Fifth Princess could no longer restrain herself and asked directly: "Sister-in-law, how is Brother Jiang doing now? Where is he?"

"Don’t worry, you’ll know soon. Fifth Princess, wait here for me, I’ll go get a set of clothes for you," said Xiao’er, not giving Fifth Princess a chance to speak before she left.

Fifth Princess still had a lot of questions to ask, but Xiao’er had already run off. She didn’t have a choice.

Never mind. She had waited for eleven years already; she could wait a little longer.

Moreover, if her sister-in-law didn’t want to talk about Brother Jiang, it meant that the matter about Jiang must not be revealed to her yet. As long as he was safe, as long as he was alive, she didn’t need to know anything else. Being alive was enough.

After this realization, Fifth Princess began to look around the book pavilion. This was her first time here, as she had never been interested in books.

The book pavilion had three floors. As she walked up, one level at a time, she didn’t expect this book pavilion to be even larger and contain more books than the one in the Imperial Palace. This place was truly an ocean of knowledge! Many books were beyond her previous knowledge, let alone read.

Were these the books that her sixth brother and his wife usually read? Now she finally understood why they were so knowledgeable. They had read extensively! They couldn’t have read all of these books, could they? To read so many books without becoming a bookworm was truly rare!

As someone who didn’t love reading books but loved storybooks, even though there were many books she hadn’t read in the book pavilion, she didn’t feel like taking one out to read seriously.

She just wanted to see if there were any storybooks to read.

Indeed there were! Seeing a shelf labeled "storybooks, novels, and tales", she casually pulled out a book and started reading.

Fifth Princess was absorbed in her reading. The book was a detective novel, the plot was quite engaging. Just as she was becoming engrossed in the story, an excited voice sounded behind her: "Fifth Princess."

The quiet space, combined with the sudden appearance of the killer in the book, startled the princess so much that she dropped the book.

She turned around, about to scold the person, but froze. Her throat felt blocked, she couldn’t make a sound, and a film of mist formed over her eyes.

The two of them were only a few steps apart, but it felt as if they were separated by a vast river of stars. They stared at each other longingly, no one speaking, no one approaching.

Teardrops swirled in the princess’s eyes, then, unable to resist gravity, fell one by one onto her fair little face, leaving two trails of clear tears.

Almost the moment her tears fell, Jiang Yuheng moved. He took a step, rushed over to the princess, and, exerting all his strength, pulled her tightly into his arms. He held on so tightly, as if trying to embed her into his own body.

The princess’s tears flowed continually, soaking a sizable patch of Yuheng’s chest.

Her tears not only soaked his clothes but also his heart.

Unable to resist, he gently pushed her away, bent down, and kissed her.

At that moment, it seemed as if time had stopped and the whole world was spinning.

After a long while, Jiang Yuheng released her. Their eyes met. Her eyes were no longer tearful. They embraced silently, gazing at each other, seeing the affection of past days in each other’s eyes. A thousand words and a myriad of emotions were conveyed in that silence.

"Fifth Princess, I’m back. Thank you for waiting for me!"

Fifth Princess looked at him for a long moment. This once childlike man, now fully mature and stable, had finally returned. She couldn’t help but stretch out a hand to touch his face: "Brother Jiang, thank you for coming back."

Hearing this, Jiang Yuheng nearly broke down in tears. Unable to resist, he bent down again and kissed her.

....

Fifth Princess didn’t come out of the book pavilion until the afternoon. She carried a couple of detective novels, her face full of surprise, as if she had found a treasure: "Sister-in-law, you have so many books in your book pavilion, and they are all so appealing. I will come often to borrow books from now on."

Jiang Yuheng’s martial arts skills had fully recovered, even better than before. He had just returned to the Imperial Capital the night before. He was now a personal guard at Wang Mansion and was waiting to avenge a big grudge before returning to the Duke’s Mansion. Now that the Fifth Princess knew he was here, of course, she needed an excuse to come over regularly!

Now that the person she loved was back, Fifth Princess was the sweet and innocent girl of the past again, even the tone of her voice was different!

Xiao’er fell silent: These book reading sessions were just a pretense, the real deal was dating. But this excuse was too lame. Who in the Imperial City didn’t know that the Fifth Princess didn’t love to read books?

When Gu Qiqi, who loved to read, heard this, she immediately became interested: "So many books? I haven’t visited yet, Fifth Princess, remember to invite me next time you come to read a book! I will go with you!"

The expression on Fifth Princess’s face almost cracked. How could she have forgotten that there was a real bookworm here? She looked at Xiao’er for help.

Xiao’er lowered her head and laughed mischievously: Hmm, she had already helped enough. Anyone who gets themselves into trouble should solve it themselves!

Fifth Princess felt helpless and quickly thought of a way: "Fourth sister-in-law, spare me. The books I read are storybooks and the like, not the same ones you love to read! Besides, the Sixth Prince’s book pavilion doesn’t have the books you love to read. The Imperial Palace’s book pavilion has more of the books you love. It’s better for you to read them there!"

After saying this, Fifth Princess quickly ran off.

Gu Qiqi: "..."