AWB Chapter 567 Could it be that Miss Suxin really likes Zhao 3?
Chapter 567 Could it be that Miss Suxin really likes Zhao 3?
At this time,
Qin Mu suddenly put down his teacup, looked at Xu Longxiang, and said with a smile, "By the way, which room is Miss Suxin in?"
Xu Longxiang looked at Qin Mu, his smile still gentle, but beneath that smile lay a tension he himself was unaware of.
He sat in a chair in Zhenyue Hall, holding a celadon teacup in his hand, his fingertips touching the warm cup, his posture proper and composed.
But only he knew that the moment Qin Mu asked that question, his heart skipped a beat.
Which room is Su Xin in?
When those words reached his ears, his hand holding the teacup paused almost imperceptibly, and a very fine ripple spread across the surface of the water before quickly subsiding.
He didn't look up, but just stared at the fading ripples in the water, as if confirming something, and remained silent for a moment.
When he looked up again, the smile on his face remained perfectly polite: "Mr. Zhao wants to see her?"
He heard his own voice say.
Calm, natural, without the slightest hesitation.
It was as if he were really just answering a trivial question.
But only he knew that when he said those words, it felt like something had gently poked his heart.
Qin Mu did not answer immediately, but took a small sip of tea, as if considering something, and then smiled: "If it is inconvenient for Your Highness, then that's fine."
His tone was casual, like that of a truly considerate person who was thinking of the other person's feelings.
Xu Longxiang put down his teacup, stood up, and moved a little faster than usual, as if afraid that he might change his mind if he hesitated even slightly: "There's nothing inconvenient about it. I'll go with you, sir."
When he said those words, he didn't even realize that his speaking speed was a few decibels faster than usual, and his voice carried a deliberately flat and steady tone.
The wind outside Zhenyue Hall was blowing in, swirling up a few withered yellow leaves on the ground, making them spin a few times on the bluestone slabs, and then falling back to their original place.
Xu Longxiang walked ahead, his steps steady, his back straight, like a tree that had stood in the autumn wind for many years.
Sunlight streamed through the carved windows of the corridor, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the ground. As he stepped over these patches of light, a fine dust mote would occasionally rise from his robes and float slowly in the beams of light.
As he walked, he suddenly noticed the footsteps following him at a leisurely pace, calm, rhythmic, and unhurried.
His pace remained the same, but his thoughts began to wander.
He suddenly remembered that many years ago, he had walked in front of her in the same way, with Jiang Qingxue following behind.
She walked very slowly and lightly at that time, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Every time he turned to look at her, she would raise her head, give him a slight smile, and say nothing.
But she hasn't been able to follow behind him for a long time now.
A gust of wind blew in from the end of the corridor, cooler than before, pulling Xu Longxiang back to reality.
He composed himself slightly and stopped in front of a quiet courtyard.
The autumn sun slanted in from outside the courtyard wall, spreading a warm glow on the blue brick ground. The withered vines on the wall were gently blown by the wind, and occasionally a few dry, curled leaves fell and landed on the stone steps in front of the door.
He turned to the side, his gaze lingering for a moment on the half-open door before returning to Qin Mu: "This is it. She probably hasn't rested yet."
Qin Mu nodded, his gaze sweeping over the door before turning to Xu Longxiang, as if confirming something.
Xu Longxiang met his gaze and slightly turned his body to make way, saying, "Mr. Zhao, please go ahead. I'll wait here."
He wanted to say, "I'll go in with you," but the words stuck in his throat like an unmelted ice cube.
He didn't know why he hesitated, nor what he was worried about. He only knew that he didn't want to see Chen Ruoyao and Zhao San in the same room right now, even if nothing would happen in that room.
Qin Mu glanced at him, seemingly reading something from his slightly clenched and unclenched fingers, but said nothing, and simply pushed open the door gently.
The moment the gate closed, it made a very soft creak, like an old piece of wood being gently turned in the wind.
Xu Longxiang stood outside the door, listening to the very faint "click" of the door latch sliding into the slot. He suddenly felt that the sound was clearer than the one he had heard in Zhenyue Hall.
He stood by the wisteria trellis where the flowers had fallen. Sunlight filtered through the sparse vines, casting dappled shadows at his feet, like scattered gold on the blue bricks.
He lowered his eyes, looking at the spots of light, and suddenly realized that his breathing was lighter than before, as if he was waiting for an outcome, or as if he was waiting for a verdict.
His mind was filled with images he didn't want to think about, and he was trying his best to dispel them.
His hands hung at his sides, his fingertips slightly curled, as if he were holding some invisible thread, neither daring to tighten them nor loosen them.
The osmanthus trees in the courtyard are still in bloom, their fragrance faint and ethereal, floating in the autumn sunlight like a thin veil.
Inside the courtyard, separated by a wall, the light inside the house was somewhat dim.
The window frames were covered with translucent gauze, which filtered the sunlight into a soft, warm yellow that fell on the blue brick floor like a layer of old silk—not bright, but with a gentle, peaceful feel.
Chen Ruoyao sat on a chair by the window, looking down at a yellowed book.
She heard the door open, looked up, and her gaze brightened slightly when it fell on Qin Mu, but she didn't speak immediately. She simply closed the book quietly and placed it on her lap, as if waiting for him to speak first.
Qin Mu walked over and sat down opposite her, across a small square table. The lacquer on the tabletop had been worn smooth by time, reflecting the light filtering through the window paper and giving it a calm luster.
His gaze lingered on her face for a moment before shifting to the direction outside the window.
Through the window screen, one could vaguely see a dark silhouette standing motionless by the courtyard gate.
He withdrew his gaze, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, as if speaking to the person opposite him, yet also as if deliberately intended for someone close enough to hear: "Yesterday's events were due to my lack of foresight, causing the young lady to be frightened."
His tone was sincere, with just the right amount of apology, like someone who genuinely felt sorry for what happened last night.
Chen Ruoyao tilted her head slightly, as if to match the seriousness in his words, and spoke in a calm and natural tone: "Young master, you are too kind. It was just a misunderstanding, nothing to be alarmed about."
Her answer was just right, neither too intimate nor too distant, like two people who had just met exchanging polite greetings.
But her fingertips lightly brushed the edge of the book page, a subtle movement that only Qin Mu could see.
She was checking if she had answered the wrong question.
Xu Longxiang, who was outside the door, heard the words "You're frightened" and then "It's not that I'm frightened."
His brow twitched slightly, as if he were pondering the possible meaning hidden in those words.
He suddenly recalled her calm and almost emotionless demeanor when she returned last night, and the composure she displayed when speaking to Zhao San just now.
The tone of voice when speaking to him seemed the same, yet also somewhat different.
He stood under the wisteria trellis, his hands hanging at his sides, his knuckles slightly white.
Outside the courtyard wall, a few birdsongs drifted from afar, crisp and clear, like shattered jade scattered by the wind, only to be quickly swallowed up by the tranquility of autumn.
The conversation inside continued.
Qin Mu exchanged a few more casual pleasantries, asking her if she was settling in well in the northern border region and whether she had taken a stroll around the city these past few days.
Chen Ruoyao responded to each of them, her tone neither warm nor cold, as if she were making polite conversation with someone she didn't know very well.
But when she slightly raised her eyelids as she served tea and her gaze fell on Qin Mu, there was a light in her eyes that only the two of them could understand.
There was a hint of laughter and a trace of understanding in that light.
Qin Mu picked up his teacup, using the act of drinking tea to conceal the fleeting smile that crossed his lips.
He knew that the person outside the door was gradually losing patience.
He planned to say a few more words before getting up to leave, leaving Xu Longxiang standing outside the door until he himself felt it was time to go.
The wind outside blew in from the end of the corridor, carrying the fragrance of the osmanthus tree over again, settling near the pillars, turning a corner, and then dissipating.
Xu Longxiang leaned against the pillar, his gaze fixed on the vines swaying in the wind on the courtyard wall, seemingly looking at them intently, yet also seemingly not paying them any attention at all.
He occasionally heard voices coming from inside the house, muffled and indistinct, but every time he heard Chen Ruoyao's voice, his fingers would unconsciously tighten a little and then loosen.
He didn't know whether his reaction stemmed from distrust of Zhao San or unease about his own decision.
All he knew was that he was now standing there, caught in a dilemma. He wanted to push the door open and see what they were talking about, but he was also afraid that if he went in, he would seem too concerned.
The more he suppressed his instincts, the more the lingering excitement in his heart would appear, like a shadow in the morning mist, elusive yet omnipresent.
His hands, hanging by his sides, slowly clenched and unclenched, clenched and unclenched again.
The knuckles turned white for a moment, then returned to normal.
The autumn sun on the roof moved inch by inch, pushing the shadows of the colonnades from the east to the west.
Xu Longxiang finally lost.
He lost to the growing curiosity in his heart, and to an obsession that he himself could not explain.
He intended to stand there and pretend he didn't care about anything. He was the Prince of Zhenbei, commanding hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry in the northern border. He had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, witnessed the upheavals of the world, and had remained unfazed in front of a million-strong army.
But at this moment, his mind was in turmoil because of two not-so-loud voices in a room.
This feeling was somewhat unfamiliar to him.
He stood before the enemy lines like a new recruit who had never been on the battlefield, gripping the hilt of his sword but unsure where to strike.
He stood on the veranda for a long time until a brief silence came from inside the house.
At that moment, his body moved faster than his thoughts.
By the time he realized what was happening, the person had already silently taken a few steps closer.
He leaned against the pillar, turned slightly to the side, suppressed his breathing to a minimum, and then slowly brought his ear close to the window.
If his personal guards had seen this, they would probably have been utterly astonished.
The dignified Prince of Zhenbei would actually do something like eavesdropping.
But Xu Longxiang couldn't care less about any of that at the moment; he just wanted to know what they were talking about.
inside the house.
Qin Mu put down his teacup and looked at Chen Ruoyao in front of him.
"Miss Suxin."
"Hmm?" Chen Ruoyao looked up.
Qin Mu paused for a moment, then said, "I plan to go to Northern Mang in a few days."
His tone was very ordinary, as if he were talking about something completely commonplace, but when his words landed in the air, they were like a pebble gently thrown into the water, rippling outwards in fine waves.
Xu Longxiang, standing outside the door, suddenly stiffened.
If you're going, then why tell Miss Suxin about this?
Before he could figure out why Zhao San had told Su Xin about this, Qin Mu's voice rang out again:
"There are some things to take care of in the Northern Wilderness. It's a long way, and I don't know when I'll be back."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "So I'd like to ask Miss Suxin if she would be willing to travel with me?"
boom.
The moment those words reached Xu Longxiang's ears, it was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind.
Colleagues?
Zhao San actually invited Su Xin to come along?
Moreover, it's going to Northern Mang?
In those kinds of places, we traveled together and spent every day together.
What does this mean?
His breath caught in his throat for a moment, and his hands slowly clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white.
For the first time, a thought that even he found ridiculous surged within him, growing ever more intense.
Don't agree, absolutely don't agree.
She frantically told herself, "Suxin, reject him, tell him you don't want to go, tell him you're staying in the North, tell him you have someone more important here."
The voice grew clearer and clearer, even carrying a hint of almost humble pleading.
Xu Longxiang himself didn't realize that he was now acting like a boy waiting for an answer, rather than the decisive and ruthless Prince of Zhenbei.
He stood there, his ear pressed against the window screen, his heart pounding so loudly it almost drowned out the conversation inside.
Inside the room, Chen Ruoyao was visibly taken aback.
She looked at Qin Mu, seemingly surprised that he would suddenly make this invitation. After a moment, she asked softly, "Northern Mang?"
His voice carried just the right amount of surprise and hesitation, like someone seriously considering the matter.
Qin Mu nodded: "It's dangerous there."
Chen Ruoyao lowered her gaze for a moment, as if weighing something.
She then asked, "Why did the young master go there?"
Qin Mu paused for a moment while serving tea, then replied, "There are some things that need to be handled personally."
After a moment, Chen Ruoyao glanced down at the book in her hand, then nodded gently: "Okay."
The sound wasn't loud, but it traveled clearly out the window and into Xu Longxiang's ears.
In that instant, Xu Longxiang froze completely, as if all the sounds around him had disappeared.
The sounds of the wind, birdsong, and the occasional footsteps from the distant corridor all seemed to have been taken away, leaving only that one sentence echoing repeatedly in my ears.
it is good.
She agreed.
So fast.
There wasn't even much hesitation.
Xu Longxiang stood there, his expression gradually freezing, his fingertips still pressed against the window frame, but he could no longer feel the rough texture of the old paint.
He could hear his own heartbeat repeating itself, as if echoing something he didn't want to confirm.
He had considered many possibilities: he had thought that Su Xin would refuse, that she would think about it for a long time, that she would say that Bei Mang was too dangerous. But he never thought that she would agree so readily.
Could it be that she has really fallen for Zhao San?