A Lady’s Tranquility Chapter 17.1

Thank you so much to Valerie for your kind support!! ❤

Chapter 17(1): Fierce and Pure

Yan Lin didn’t expect that the bunch of people at the Qing Yuan Earl Mansion could be so noisy. Because the Qing Yuan Earl had personally gone to speak to him, he wasn’t able to get away and was only able to leave when it was near dusk. He was originally going to the Ceng Xiao Tower but once he arrived at the intersection of the street, he discovered that the place was closed off by soldiers. He found out that an assassin had appeared at the Ceng Xiao Tower on a mission to assassinate a court official which nearly caused him to panicky.

He wanted to go inside but because Xie Wei was inside, he didn’t dare to misbehave.

Fortunately, someone went to pass on a message and when they came back, they brought Jiang Xue Ning along with them.

“Ning Ning!” Seeing her come out, Yan Lin was too anxious to care if anyone around them was watching. He took her hand and looked her up and down, “You didn’t get hurt or fall down right?”

Jing Xue Ning had been struck with fright after going through that unexpected situation just then. Although she had walked all the way over, her legs were still a little weak and she wasn’t able to gain her senses even after seeing Yan Lin.

He called several times before she blinked.

She simply said, “I’m fine, I was shocked but not hurt.”

Although she didn’t get hurt anywhere, her palm sized face was so pale that not a touch of blood could be seen and her dazed expression also showed how shocked she had been.

Yan Lin’s furrowed brows didn’t loosen but rather, knitted even more tightly.

He squeezed her hands, feeling how ice cold her fingers were, his heart tightened for a moment but he still lowered his voice to coax her, “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, I’m here now. It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have given that bunch of people at Qing Yuan Earl Mansion any face, I shouldn’t have asked you to wait for me at Ceng Xiao Tower either so that you wouldn’t have had to encounter the assassin…”

How was Jiang Xue Ning afraid of the assassin?

What she was afraid of was that saint-like Imperial Tutor Xie Wei who everyone thought was so great!

Plus, when she thought of that concealed conversation they just had, she realized that Xie Wei actually knew about her relationship with Yan Lin.

When that subordinate came, they only reported that Yan Lin wanted to enter but didn’t mention her at all. Xie Wei though, had directly looked at her then called Jian Shu to send her out.

It must be known that when she went out with Yan Lin in the past, she had always been disguised as a man and the matter had not spread.

How did Xie Wei know?

At this time, Jiang Xue Ning thought of many possibilities. Perhaps it was from the Yong Yi Marquis Mansion, or from her father, Jiang Bo You. But either way, to Xie Wei, it was something that he was aware of.

Then the Xie Wei in the previous life must’ve also know.

If so, then Xie Wei’s respectful and distant attitude to her made complete sense now – she had betrayed Yan Lin, indirectly caused harm to the Yong Yi Marquis Mansion and even later used Zhou Yin Zhi!

Jiang Xue Ning felt the blazing warmth from the youth’s palms as if she could also feel the blazing warmth from his heart. When she raised her head, her eyes met with his sincere and distressed gaze. For a moment, she was afraid to look directly into them.

Because of her cruelness.

Because of her hypocrisy

Yan Lin was still worried about her, “You were frightened today so you should go home and sleep early to recover. Let’s not go to the lantern festival. When another one is organized sometime in the future, I’ll take you then.”

As he spoke, he helped her onto a carriage on the side.

Jiang Xue Ning’s heart however, was filled with an astringent sourness. She pulled his hand, “No, I want to go.”

She resisted that strong urge to cry, curved her lips and shot a smile at him, trying to reassure him and tell him that she was fine.

Yan Lin just looked quietly at him.

After a long while, he laughed, “You’re the one who said you want to go!”

As soon as his words fell, he stepped forward, put his arms around her waist and carried her onto the horse!

How could Jiang Xue Ning have the time to react?

She widened her eyes and couldn’t control herself, immediately exclaiming in a low voice, “Yan Lin!”

Yan Lin burst into laughter and without explanation, put the saddle on the hose and sat behind her. He pulled the rein with one hand and threw the whip with another. With her wrapped in his arms, he whipped the horse and left!

The horse spread its hooves and ran.

The slightly cold autumn wind hit their faces and slipped in through the folds of their clothes as they rushed past the lines of pedestrians and buildings on both sides of the street.

Jiang Xue Ning’s back was pressed tightly against the youth’s broad chest. She could only hear the sound of the wind and his hearty laughter pass by her ears as she felt her heart beating even faster than when she had encountered the assassin and Xie Wei just now.

It wasn’t easy for her to have recovered her senses.

She couldn’t help herself, “Are you crazy!”

Yan Lin’s chest shook as he laughed, and he said in satisfaction, “I am.”

Jiang Xue Ning was speechless in anger.

Yan Lin knew that she was afraid but instead of slowing the horse down, he urged the horse to run faster and asked her, “You’re not afraid now right?”

Jiang Xue Ning thought inside that she was nearly frightened to death and was just about to rebuke him.

But as soon as her words were about to come out, she became stunned.

That’s right.

The moment she was lifted onto the horse and they galloped away across the street, all the things she had encountered at Ceng Xiao Tower became a piece of emptiness and was thrown to the back of her mind and she had forgotten all about it.

As Jiang Xue Ning came to her senses, she didn’t know whether to be touched or if she should continue to scold him.

But as soon as she got off the horse, her legs were went limp and she nearly went off balance.

Yan Lin helped her stand firmly but seeing him snicker with his shoulders shaking, she clenched her fist and hammered him in a fit of anger, “You still can’t stop laughing? Try again and see!”

As a female, her punches didn’t hurt at all.

Yan Lin had been raised by his family in the army barracks since he was little and his wu gong skills were solid so how could he be afraid of her punches?

He stood there and let her hammer him as she wished.

Then, he covered his chest and pretended in a very dramatic way, “Ah, painful painful painful, it’s so painful!”

Jiang Xue Ning glared at him and decided not to continue hitting him.

Anyone could tell that he wasn’t actually in pain.

The chest of the youth who practiced wu gong was also very firm. It was fine if he wasn’t in pain when she beat him but the problem was that her hands hurt.

She turned and walked towards that lively lantern festival, “I’m too lazy to bother with you.”

Yan Lin didn’t mind. He beamed and chased up to her then asked after a while,

“There’s sugar sculptures there, do you want one?”

“Look, they’re releasing lanterns, let’s go and release one too.”

“Ning Ning, look at what she has on her head, it’s so pretty, I’ll buy one for you.”

“Lanterns, lanterns!”

“There are lantern riddles, quick, come with me!”

Jiang Xue Ning was born with a playful nature. After she was reborn, this was considered the first time that she had properly gone out. At the start, she was a little unaccustomed but after being led by Yan Lin who asked questions left and right, she regained her feeling of youth after a while.

She walked through the crowds of people without any restraints.

This side of the world wasn’t cramped like Kunning Palace. It was vast and boundless, allowing a fish like her to swim happily in it.

  Thus, she remembered why she always liked being together with Yan Lin when she was young –

She was a child who had grown up in the countryside but after returning to the capital, she had to follow the rules of the mansion. She was worried she wouldn’t be liked by her ‘new’ parents and that she would be laughed at by others for not being as good as that sister of her’s who was brought up in the mansion. She wasn’t able to go out all day and the people and matters she saw were always the same which was really depressing and boring.

It was Yan Lin who gave her the chance to break free from everything.

Although he was young, he had travelled to many places with his parents and had a lot of knowledge beyond that of an ordinary person. Not only did he take her out to play unrestrainedly in the Capital, he also told her about the magnificent rivers and mountains that she had never known about. He was a bright window that showed her everything that she was curious about.

He also gave her the love she had never received.

He was like the brightest touch of colour on that painting.

Such a great teenager, what kind of ice-cold heart did she have back then to be able to hurt him with such cruel words that year?