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Xiao Jinyan hardly thought before forcefully flipping open the curtain.

Ordinary horse carriages only had one curtain for cover, and with his forceful action, a hint of light now pierced the original darkness inside the carriage.

Shen Chuwei instinctively shrank back. In her heart, Xiao Jinyan was not such an impetuous person, especially towards an old lady in her fifties or sixties.

"What are you doing?" the hoarse voice asked with a slight tremor, revealing a hint of apprehension upon a closer listen.

Xuetuan hid behind Xiao Jiu, exposing only its fluffy white head. In the dim light, its deep blue eyes shone like jewels, casting an eye-catching halo.

Xiao Jinyan moved closer without a word, and Shen Chuwei, feeling guilty, shifted her back further away. As he approached, her body leaned to an uncontrollable degree.

Her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably with anxiety.

What was Xiao Jinyan trying to do?

Just as she was about to collapse, her slender waist was embraced by a strong arm, and before she could react, she was held in a warm embrace.

Shen Chuwei paused for a few seconds, about to curse in an old lady’s voice, "You..."

Before she could finish, she heard Xiao Jinyan’s slightly hoarse voice by her ear, "Xiao Jiu, you scared me to death."

Shen Chuwei stood with her mouth open, unable to utter a word. She couldn’t understand how Xiao Jinyan had recognized her. She had carefully applied her makeup, darkening and uglying herself to blend in with ordinary people.

If he recognized her so easily, then her disguise was in vain, wasn’t it?

At that moment, a cat’s meow sounded, "Meow."

Shen Chuwei froze, glanced at Xuetuan, and suddenly realized it was not she who had given herself away but Xuetuan.

If only she had known, she should have disguised Xuetuan too, even a smear of soot would have been better.

Xuetuan tilted its head, looking at the two people in front of it, filled with great puzzlement in its little mind.

Xiao Jinyan directly lifted her out of the horse carriage and then mounted his horse with agility.

The carriage driver stood frozen, staring as a strikingly handsome man held an old woman with a face marked by the years and darkened by the sun, petrified on the spot.

What in the world was coming to, for an old woman to be so sought after?

It wasn’t until the two had mounted the horse that he remembered the matter of payment.

"Young master, you haven’t paid the silver yet."

Xiao Jinyan shot a cold glance at the driver and pulled out a tael of broken silver from his waist to give to him.

The driver, having run the whole afternoon, was quite happy with the tael of broken silver and, without uttering another word, cheerfully went back to driving his carriage.

Shen Chuwei watched the driver leave with the carriage, feeling more than a little disappointed. She had finally left the capital, only to be taken back by Xiao Jinyan, her half-day’s efforts were in vain.

Xiao Jinyan gripped the reins tightly but did not move. He looked down at the person in his arms, and seeing her lower her head and unable to discern her expression as the light of day faded, he hesitated.

"Xiao Jiu, I don’t know how to tell you how important Feng Wuyou is to me, and it’s not something that can be explained in just a few words."

"Then don’t speak," Shen Chuwei paused, then added, "I don’t want to listen even if you did."

Wasn’t it just about the bright moon and Green Plums of his youth?

It gave her a feeling akin to listening to a husband recounting his past with an ex.

They say youth doesn’t understand feelings.

Indeed, one shouldn’t trust what a man says.

Xiao Jinyan’s tone carried a hint of helplessness; in truth, he also didn’t know how to talk to her about him and Feng Wuyou. What he could say was that Feng Wuyou was extremely important to him.

"Let’s not talk about it now; let’s head back first."

All of a sudden, Shen Chuwei pressed his hand to stop his following motion.

Xiao Jinyan ceased his movements and asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong?"

Shen Chuwei lifted her head to look at Xiao Jinyan. At this point, the autumn night had fallen quickly, and it had turned pitch black in just a while.

She couldn’t see that familiar handsome face, but she could imagine how splendid it must appear.

"Jinyan, I want to ask you something," she said.

Xiao Jinyan replied, "Ask."

"Have you ever thought about marrying Feng Wuyou?"

It was no wonder Shen Chuwei would ask such a question; ancient times were different from the modern day, where boys of thirteen or fourteen could already have serving maids in their rooms.

Xiao Jinyan was already sixteen when he returned to Daxia, sixteen...

Xiao Jinyan paused for a moment, then nodded, "Yes."

An unsurprising answer.

Shen Chuwei took a deep breath and continued, "So when you say you won’t give up on me, is it because of responsibility? If we could turn back time to four years ago, and you remembered Feng Wuyou, I would be out of the picture, right?"

Xiao Jinyan pursed his lips tightly, her every question striking home, targeting the core of the matter.