Volume 1: Gathering Winds of Splendor Chapter 54: Mutual Hidden Sorrow

  She quietly stuck to the corner of the wall, not daring to exert her internal force to listen to the movements inside the house, lest she be discovered by An Liancheng. At the same time, she held her breath, and her whole person was as silent and still as a stone.

  In the inner room, An Liancheng looked at Ling Susu, who was emitting an aura that warned people not to approach, and let out a barely audible sigh. He tentatively opened his mouth, "Susu, can't you still let go of the estrangement from nine years ago?"

  "Lian Cheng, our camps are opposed, and one day we will have swords drawn against each other." Ling Susu's heart stung with a thread of pain, but her tone was calm.

  "I can give up for you..." An Liancheng's eyes flashed with a hint of anxiety, his tone urgent as he spoke.

  He hadn't finished speaking when Ling Susu abruptly interrupted him, "No, you can't!" Ling Susu glanced at An Liancheng's complex and changing expression, the pain gradually spreading, she lowered her eyelashes, her face somewhat despondent. "Liancheng, how much longer can you maintain this situation? Three years? Or five years? I know you've tried your best, I've had nine years of peaceful life, I'm already content."

  "No, Su Su, I'm not satisfied." An Liancheng's expression changed, his usual calmness nowhere to be found, his voice full of urgency, "Believe me, I can keep things this way forever."

  "So you married Yun Mingyue and Chu Mengru?" Ling Susu said quietly.

  "Do you know?" An Liancheng's heart was shocked, his mind was stirred up, but his face became calm, and he said in a low voice.

  "Actually, we're both deceiving each other. You have secrets you can't tell me, and I have things I shouldn't share with you. Isn't it laughable that a couple like us, who are suspicious of each other, is together?" Ling Susu's eyes gathered a hint of sadness, her voice filled with endless desolation.

  An Liancheng's expression was somewhat gloomy, his eyes also became dim, and his whole body was shrouded in a gray cloud. "Su Su, marrying you is the most correct decision I've made this lifetime. Are...you regretting it?"

  I didn't, Ling Su almost blurted out the three words, but she circled her mouth and swallowed them back. Her slender hand, hidden in her sleeve, clenched into a fist, and she pursed her lips, saying nothing.

  "But, Su Su, no matter if you regret it or not, this life is destined to be mine, I won't let go. Nine years ago, now, and in the future, it will always be so." An Liancheng looked at Ling Su Su with a determined gaze, his eyes revealing an unclear emotion, speaking word by word.

  "You don't have to..." Ling Susu turned her head away, not daring to look at An Liancheng. Suddenly, she was pulled into his arms, feeling the warmth of a hug that had been on her mind for nine years. Ling Susu's eyes stung, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a large hand, hurting terribly.

  "Susu, who can predict the future? Are you resisting me to torment yourself or to torment me?" An Liancheng's arm wrapped around Ling Susu's slender waist, his nose greedily sniffing the fragrance emanating from her body, and asked in a low, husky voice.

  Feeling relieved up to this point, I suddenly didn't want to listen anymore. The body that was leaning against the wall slowly stood up and walked out of Suqing Pavilion with small steps.

  She rubbed her forehead with a calm hand, digesting the information she had just heard, and returned to Qingxin Pavilion. A faint smile hung on her face, but at the bottom of her eyes was a thick, indelible melancholy. She rushed straight to her bedroom, without even taking off her shoes and socks, pulled over the quilt, and buried her entire body inside, forcing herself into a state of sleep.

  When the body is asleep, does sorrow also sleep with it?

  Si Jin stood in front of the bed, looking at An Xin who had shrunk into a ball and covered herself tightly with the thick brocade quilt. Despite the thickness of the quilt, she could still feel the sorrow emanating from An Xin's bones.

  What's wrong with you, girl? How did you end up like this after just going out for a walk? Si Jin was puzzled, looked at her for a while, then turned and left.

  This sleep, slept soundly until the early hours of the second day, sat up and looked at the sky outside the lattice window, saw the fog was hazy, the dawn was approaching, then got out of bed and sat on the soft couch with eyes closed to meditate.

  An Liancheng said something very right, who can predict the future? Instead of being depressed every day, why not enjoy life to the fullest? Since his mother didn't want to tell them about the twists and turns before, why did he have to torment himself, trapping himself within the walls? Who doesn't have their own bitter helplessness, isn't she one herself?

  It turns out that sleeping is the best way to relieve stress, it's tried and tested, and it brings a sense of security. She prides herself on being able to see through things clearly, but sometimes her habit of nitpicking just can't be changed.

  "Miss, you're awake?" The bead curtain was lifted, and Siyan walked in with a surprised look on her face.

  "Is Yan Niang thinking of me?" An Xin opened her eyes, and the familiar teasing in her eyes made her heart, which had been shocked by Si Jin's words yesterday, suddenly calm down.

  "Miss, are you hungry? I'll bring some snacks for you to fill your stomach first?" Siyan suggested with a relaxed expression.

  "It's still my little smoke, when I get married one day, I'll marry you as my wife, and Jin Niu will be relegated to being the second wife. Let her not appear in front of me at the first time." An Xin laughed wickedly.

  "Miss, what are you saying? I've been guarding you for a whole night. It was me who called in Siyan, who just fell asleep in the outer room. You're really biased." Si Jin entered with a tray, on which were several delicate pastries.

  An Xin raised an eyebrow and drawled, glancing at the embarrassed Si Yan, "Let's demote Si Jin to a lower rank and reduce Si Yan to a concubine."

  Si Jin thought of Si Yan and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. They exchanged a glance, then smiled and exited the inner chamber.

  Anxin gazed out the window, watching as the sky transformed from a faint dawn glow to illuminating all things, until the first rays of sunlight filtered through the window lattice and into the room. Only then did Anxin slowly rise, heading to the bathing area for a refreshing wash, changing out of the Luo skirt she had not removed since the previous day.

  "Miss, Young Master Ning has arrived." Si Jin said as he entered.

  "So early? Are you going to eat or have dim sum?" An Xin pouted, fortunately she got up early today, otherwise Ling Yichen would have come over at this time and she definitely wouldn't want to get out of bed.

  Sitting comfortably in front of the dresser, she lowered her head and chattered with Qi Qi who had jumped onto her lap, fostering a tacit understanding between humans and animals, while Si Jin fiddled with her hair on top.

  It felt like the hairdressing took longer than the previous two days. When Si Jin said it was done, she stood up calmly and walked out of the door without looking back, leaving Xi Xi behind.

  "Miss, don't you see the hairstyle I did for you?" Zijin's slightly resentful voice sounded.

  "It's fine, can I still not trust you? Your craftsmanship is unquestionable." An Xin waved his hand behind him and walked out with big strides.

  Arrived at the gate, saw a carriage with a sapphire-blue roof parked there, with a wooden sign hanging on it, written with the word "Ning", and knew that this was Ling Yihen's carriage.

  Two carters standing by bowed and inquired after her well-being, just as she was about to kneel down and let An heartily step on their backs to get into the carriage. Instead, she took a step forward, grasped the shafts of the cart, and jumped aboard.

  The coachman's eyes widened in surprise, and he was unable to come back to himself for a long time. Which young lady or noblewoman in the capital wasn't assisted by her maid when getting into a carriage? How could Princess Chang'an be so unconventional?