Spring Banquet

// Recognizing You

Lujing had an astonished expression as he looked at her.

He hurried over because he was afraid that something might happen between her and Prince Ziyang. After all, Prince Ziyang had previously personally delivered poison wine to her. The two of them had a deep grudge, and with Danyang’s vengeful nature, she would definitely not let Jiang Xuanjin off the hook.

And what happened? Not only did she act as if nothing had happened, but she also fed him the medicine?

Lujing became even more suspicious if he was dreaming.

Jiang Xuanjin glanced at the pill in front of him and said softly, “If there’s anyone in this world who wants me dead, it must be the person standing over there. Are you feeding me the medicine he gave you?”

Li Huaiyu raised an eyebrow, “Are you overthinking? Even if he wants you dead, he wouldn’t directly send poison. What about the people in his mansion? Do they deserve to die too?”

Jiang Xuanjin fell silent, his face darkened, and he exuded a sense of resistance.

Huaiyu found it amusing and turned to Lujing, saying, “Look, doesn’t our wise Prince Ziyang look like a stubborn child who refuses to take medicine?”

Lujing looked at her with a complicated gaze, thought for a moment, and nodded.

“You’ve just regained your consciousness, haven’t you?” Jiang Xuanjin stared at Huaiyu with a deep gaze, “How do you know him? And it seems like you’re familiar and close to him.”

Huaiyu smiled confidently. She had already prepared a lie when she wrote that letter, and now she confidently said, “The Lu Mansion is adjacent to the Bai family. I’ve known him since I was little. What’s so strange about that?”

Known since childhood? Jiang Xuanjin sneered. Who in the capital didn’t know that Lujing was rebellious and detested everyone except for the Princess Danyang? Why would a daughter of the Bai Mansion know him?

“You really don’t speak a single word of truth.”

“Oh, come on, you don’t believe me anyway,” Huaiyu pouted, glanced at the pill in her hand, and smiled again, “Whether you believe it or not, I won’t harm you. Take the medicine first, so that your condition doesn’t worsen later, and Lord Bai won’t come after me.”

“Miss Bai, about this…” a nearby attendant couldn’t help but whisper, “To be taken by His Highness, the medicine needs to be tested.”

Tested? Huaiyu raised an eyebrow, “How should we test it?”

“If you dare not take it, then don’t take it,” Lujing straightened his clothes and disdainfully said, “Why force yourself?”

Li Huaiyu thought for a moment and realized the logic behind it, so she started retracting her hand holding the pill.

However, halfway through, her wrist was grabbed.

Jiang Xuanjin’s palm was scorching hot, like a branding iron, gripping her wrist. Slowly, his other hand reached out and took the pill from her fingertips.

“Hmm?” Huaiyu looked at him in confusion.

The person in front of her seemed to be in a bad mood, with an unpleasant expression. There was a glimmer of darkness in his half-closed eyes. He paused while holding the pill and pressed it directly onto her lips. His thumb pressed against the pill, gently crushing it.

Li Huaiyu stared in astonishment, feeling the round pill rubbing against her lips, releasing a subtle fragrance.

Instinctively, she wanted to open her mouth.

However, just as she was about to open her mouth, Jiang Xuanjin took back the pill, looked at her with calm eyes, put it into his own mouth, and swallowed it.

Huaiyu: “…”

Cheng Xu: “…”

Lujing: “…”

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Li Huaiyu stared at him with wide eyes, and even her usually thick-skinned face turned slightly red.

“What… What are you doing?”

Jiang Xuanjin’s mood seemed to improve after swallowing the pill. He answered her seriously, “Testing the medicine. Since you’re acquainted with Shopkeeper Lu, if there’s a problem with this medicine, you’ll die together with me.”

I see… Huaiyu touched her lips and licked them with her tongue. She turned her head and asked Lujing, “It’s fine, right?”

Lujing took a couple of steps forward, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up from the bedside. “If there’s a problem, I’ll provide the antidote only to you. Let him die. Isn’t it the same?”

Cheng Xu suddenly tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

“Hey, don’t get upset. He just likes to joke around,” Huaiyu quickly reassured Cheng Xu, pointing at Lujing. “You see, he’s stubborn on the outside but soft-hearted on the inside. This medicine must be fine!”

Lujing glanced at her and didn’t release his grip on her arm. “Is there nothing else here?”

“Hmm.” Huaiyu nodded. She knew Lujing had many questions for her, and she had something to discuss with him as well. So she turned her head towards Jiang Xuanjin and said, “Your Highness, rest well. I will take my leave.”

Jiang Xuanjin remained silent, not even looking at them. With half-closed eyes, she quietly leaned against the headboard.

Lujing pulled Huaiyu and left the guest room.

“Release your grip first.” As soon as they stepped outside, Huaiyu whispered, “This is the Bai residence, after all.”

Lujing frowned and slowly let go of her hand. He found a secluded corner and turned back, gazing at her intently.

“I have something to say, so let me go first.” Huaiyu leaned against the wall, looking at him incredulously. “Just based on a letter, how did you determine it was me?”

Her body had already been buried, and Lujing should be well aware that she was dead.

With a light chuckle, Lujing pulled out the Nanyang jade bone fan hanging from his waist and opened it with a “swish.” He shook it lightly. “Only you can write such ugly characters, and the ink hasn’t even dried yet.”

Huaiyu raised an eyebrow. “Based on this, you believe that I’m still alive? Look at me now, in this state, and you still dare to recognize me?”

Lowering his head to look at her, Lujing reached out and gently stroked her eyebrows and eyes. “No matter how you change, I can still recognize you.”

“Heh, truly worthy of Shopkeeper Lu!” Huaiyu couldn’t help but applaud him. “Coming back from the dead is such a bizarre thing. It took me half a day to accept it myself. But you, you believed without a doubt from the very beginning.”

Lujing smiled faintly, and the four characters “High Mountains Yield to Reverence” on the fan swayed lightly, adding a touch of elegance to him.

Casting a sidelong glance at him, Huaiyu said, “Stop pretending. It’s just the two of us here. Who are you putting on this appearance for?”

They had known each other for four or five years and knew each other inside out. In front of others, she was the eldest princess, and he was the foremost merchant in the capital. But when it was just the two of them, they were like old friends. No one understood Lujing better than Li Huaiyu, and of course, no one understood Li Huaiyu better than Lujing.

Closing the fan with a snap, Lujing narrowed his eyes. “You think I look like I yield to reverence? Come closer! Do you see the bloodshot eyes in my eyes? I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for half a month!”

There was no need to ask why he couldn’t sleep well. Huaiyu knew it herself and chuckled in guilt.

“When did you come back to life?” Lujing asked impatiently.

“It happened just these past two days,” Huaiyu said. “Considering my current identity, it wasn’t appropriate for me to come and inform you directly. So I took advantage of Cheng Xu’s hand and sent you a letter.”

“At least you have a conscience,” Lujing sighed. “What do you plan to do next? Your current identity… doesn’t seem easy.”

“Let’s talk about how to live our lives later.” Huaiyu’s expression turned serious as she looked at him. “Right now, I do have a favor to ask of you.”