Chapter 83 (2/2)
Nan Xun frowned. He put down the cup and gestured for the shadow guard to leave. He shook the jug. There was still wine inside. He filled his cup and took a sip.
Nan Xun sighed. He was a general, and yet he was now brooding over his lackl.u.s.ter conversational skills. He kept drinking until he fell asleep in the pavilion.
The young maid in the manor knew him well. She took a robe and draped it over Nan Xun's body. When it landed, Nan Xun's eyes snapped open and he seized the maid's wrist. She screamed in shock.
The candlelight in the pavilion flickered as if it would extinguish at any moment. The maid's face went pale and her body was trembling. Nan Xun let her go immediately. She dropped down to her knees. ”Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
Nan Xun was a little more sober now. He rubbed at his temple, looking at the sky. It was late. There were no stars in the sky now, leaving only a bright moon. It looked lonely.
Nan Xun got to his feet. His short rest had cleared his head. He looked down at the maid kneeling before him. ”It's fine. Go get some rest.”
”Understood.” The maid let out a sigh of relief as if she had been pardoned for a serious crime. She carefully walked away from the pavilion.
Nan Xun put his hands together behind his back and stood in the pavilion, letting the wind blow against him. When he returned to his room, he had decided that he would visit Jun Huang in a few days.
The candles in Jun Huang's room had not been put out the whole night. Little Girl paced outside the door, but she didn't dare to bother Jun Huang. In the end she could only leave.
Jun Huang sat at the sandalwood desk, staring at the lamp Nan Xun gave her. The five phoenixes on the lamp were delicately done. A more careless pair of eyes would have missed the fact that it was a counterfeit. Jun Huang let out a soundless laugh.
She had thought that Nan Xun was the one who knew her the best! And yet he said something that had crossed the line she had drawn in her heart. She couldn't get past that.
A woman knew other women best.
She didn't want to become a despicable person condemned by others. She knew that if she chose to use Wan'er to her advantage, she would never be able to forgive herself.
The past couple of days, she had been staying inside her place. She did, however, have someone keep watch on Prince Chen's Manor. If anything were to happen, her people would notify her.
Jun Huang trimmed the orchids she had purchased in her backyard. Orchids were the gentlemen among flowers, representing the best of them.
They were also fragile and required a delicate hand. Jun Huang carefully cut off the wilted leaves with a distant expression, as if nothing else in the world could draw her attention.
”Prince Nan wants to see you, gentleman Feng,” Little Girl said.
Jun Huang's fingers trembled slightly, but she didn't look up from the flowers. ”Tell the prince that this gentleman doesn't feel well today,” she said calmly. ”Tell him to please forgive me for not being able to welcome him.”
Little Girl was startled. ”You're not going to see him?”
Jun Huang looked up at her with a frown, her eyes as dark as bottomless pits. Little Girl fell silent when she saw her reaction.
Little Girl walked away and went back to the front gate. She told Nan Xun what Jun Huang had said. Nan Xun's eyebrows drew closely together. Why is Jun Huang being so cold towards me? Is it only because of my careless words that day?
His hands clenched into tight fists and his eyes narrowed. He knew how stubborn Jun Huang was. If he barged in without permission, the distance between them would only widen further.
Nan Xun stopped visiting Jun Huang. On one hand, he was worried that Jun Huang was still mad at him. On the other hand, the emperor had been requesting a meeting with him the past couple of days, asking if the border station was safe and well taken care of. Early in the morning, the emperor would ask him to come and only let him leave at noon.
After a few days, he ran into a man sent by Jun Huang when he returned to his manor. He was still wearing his court attire. ”Has something happened?”
”This subordinate does not know,” the man said. ”But the gentleman ordered me to invite Your Highness back to his place.”
Nan Xun thought for a moment. He told the man to give him some time before he went to change his clothes. He rushed back to the front door and left for Jun Huang's house.
At the front gate, he ran into Qi Yun. He was surprised and even more worried. Has Jun Huang gotten into trouble? He quickened his pace and entered. Jun Huang was sitting in the garden appreciating flowers without even a wrinkle on her clothes.
He went up to her in big strides and checked Jun Huang over for injury. He only started breathing calmly again when he saw that she was not hurt. ”Why did you ask for us to come on such short notice?”