Chapter 88
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Five years ago?
Jiang Nian was taken aback, “What about five years ago?”
Gu Puwang asked nonchalantly, “What exactly happened five years ago?”
“…”
Silence, a long silence.
Jiang Nian had been sure that today’s meeting was about his birthday. Now he felt quite embarrassed, and his smile faded a bit.
“What happened?”
Jiang Nian frowned, “Weren’t you kidnapped by bandits, and I found you at Luofeng Mountain?”
In reality, it was much more than that.
Five years ago, Jiang Nian, who had already been reborn, knew that in the near future, Gu Puwang, the only son of the Prime Minister Gu, would be kidnapped by bandits. He also knew that Gu Puwang would be rescued by a local villager at Luofeng Mountain, but Gu Puwang had a high fever and partial memory loss at the time.
So, Jiang Nian had asked his father early on to send him to visit his grandparents. However, he diverted to Luofeng Mountain halfway and took the credit for the rescue.
The reason was simple: in his previous life, Marquis Anping’s ascension to the throne was partly due to Prime Minister Gu’s support. Prime Minister Gu’s son, Gu Puwang, also played a significant role in the court.
By befriending Gu Puwang, Jiang Nian could connect with the influential Gu family, so he timed his arrival at Luofeng Mountain perfectly.
Of course, he wouldn’t reveal any of this.
Gu Puwang was proud and aloof, difficult to approach. Leveraging the life-saving favor, Jiang Nian spent nearly five years getting Gu Puwang to accept him. Although Gu Puwang’s attitude was still lukewarm compared to Xue Congyun and Jiang Qingliang, that was just his unapproachable nature.
Jiang Nian: “Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
Gu Puwang: “Yesterday, someone recognized me. She said… back then, I was saved by a villager from Luofeng Mountain, but I have no memory of it. I only remember waking up in an abandoned temple.”
Jiang Nian’s heart skipped a beat.
How could this be?
There shouldn’t be anyone who know of this matter.
It also shouldn’t be so coincidental.
Jiang Nian’s eyes flickered. “Who told you that? Do you believe his words? That incident years ago—you may not remember everything, but don’t you recall having a high fever that wouldn’t break, and it was I who took care of you in the deserted temple?”
The more he spoke, the less he could control himself, almost becoming aggressive. Yet, throughout it all, Gu Puwang watched him calmly without interrupting.
Only when Jiang Nian finished speaking did Gu Puwang say, “I remember, but—” “Brother Nian, what I want to know is what exactly happened five years ago.”
Gu Puwang slowly continued, “Your ancestral home is in Jiangbei, so if you were returning to visit family, why did you end up at Luofeng Mountain?”
Jiang Nian replied calmly, “We were traveling in haste and encountered heavy fog, and the driver lost his way.”
He had given this explanation several times before, so when Gu Puwang asked, Jiang Nian could respond with ease. However, knowing how astute Gu Puwang was, Jiang Nian dared not elaborate, fearing that the more he said, the more mistakes he might make and expose himself.
“Don’t you trust me?”
Jiang Nian took the initiative, his eyelashes trembling, eyes seemingly brimming with tears. “We’ve been together for five years. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? How could you believe someone else so easily?”
But he forgot that Gu Puwang was Gu Puwang, not Xue Congyun or Jiang Qingliang.
“Brother Nian, I know.”
Gu Puwang looked at Jiang Nian, his expression unchanged. “It’s precisely because I know that I am asking you.”
Jiang Nian’s lips moved, “You…”
Yes.
How could he have forgotten?
All along, Gu Puwang had kept his distance from the three of them. He seemed friendly but never truly opened up. Rather than a participant, he was more like an observer constantly watching. Many times, Jiang Nian felt as though Gu Puwang could see right through him.
But Gu Puwang never said anything, so Jiang Nian didn’t bring it up either, and they had coexisted peacefully for years.
Suddenly, Jiang Nian felt very angry.
He had spent so much time and effort, and what was the result?
The result was Gu Puwang questioning him.
Why couldn’t he just stand by him unconditionally?
Even if Gu Puwang wasn’t the one he saved, Jiang Nian felt he had treated him well over the years. Why did he have to obsess over this? Why couldn’t he just pretend not to know, as he had before?
In an instant, Jiang Nian made up his mind, his eyes filled with tears. “…..You don’t trust me.”
“In these five years, haven’t I treated you well? How could you believe an outsider’s words so easily? You…”
He could barely speak, looking heartbroken. Jiang Nian, pale-faced, glanced at Xue Congyun and Jiang Qingliang.
“And you two?”
Jiang Nian asked, “Are you doubting my character just like him?”
Though he asked, in Jiang Nian’s heart, he believed that Xue Congyun and Jiang Qingliang were not clever enough to doubt him. They had always obeyed him without question. If they had to choose sides, Jiang Nian was confident they would stand by him.
“No…”
Xue Congyun mumbled.
As expected.
Jiang Nian’s eyes flickered; he knew it.
But in the next second, reality struck him hard.
“Brother Nian, just tell the truth.”
Xue Congyun said with a pained expression.
Jiang Nian’s words clearly showed he didn’t want to admit anything, but Xue Congyun wanted to give him a chance. As long as Jiang Nian confessed, as long as he sincerely admitted his mistake, Xue Congyun would give him another chance.
But to Jiang Nian, this meant Xue Congyun was siding with Gu Puwang.
“You…”
Jiang Nian looked at him in disbelief, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time. He trembled slightly, as if suffering a huge blow, and turned to Jiang Qingliang, “Gu Puwang doesn’t believe me, Xue Congyun doesn’t believe me, what about you?”
Jiang Qingliang avoided his gaze, “Brother Nian, it’s not that we don’t believe you, it’s just—” “Do you know that the person who truly saved Gu Puwang was Mr. Bai Xuechao?”
One sentence plunged Jiang Nian into an ice-cold abyss.
“What!?”
Bai Xuechao?
How could it be Bai Xuechao?
In an instant, Jiang Nian’s face lost all color. Unlike his previous pretense, this time he was truly flustered, his meticulously crafted lies and masks ripped away without warning.
It was humiliating, truly humiliating.
“Brother Nian…”
“How did you find out?”
Jiang Nian used all his strength to force out this question.
Jiang Qingliang hesitated for a moment, deliberately leaving out Lan Ting’s part. After all, she was Jiang Juan’s maid. He mumbled, “Mr. Bai’s servant…”
But how could Jiang Nian be so easily fooled? After a moment of silence, he asked, “It was someone from Jiang— the Crown Prince Consort’s people, wasn’t it? I bet it was his maid.”
Originally, Jiang Qingliang didn’t dare to tell the truth for fear of implicating Jiang Juan. Now that Jiang Nian had guessed, he had to say, “Well… she happened to recognize him, but it wasn’t under Brother Juan’s orders, it was just—” Before he could finish, Jiang Nian interrupted sharply, “What did you call him?”
Jiang Qingliang was stunned, “Brother Juan?”
“Brother Juan, oh what a ‘Brother Juan.'”
At that moment, Jiang Nian could no longer control himself. The name Brother Juan sounded both piercing and ridiculous to him.
Clenching his fists tightly, Jiang Nian asked word by word, “Since when did you become so close with him that you call him Brother Juan?”
“Have you forgotten he pushed me into the lake? It was that scoundrel who pushed me into the lake!”
Jiang Nian hated Jiang Juan, but this hatred stemmed from jealousy. He used to console himself that, no matter what, Xue Congyun, Jiang Qingliang, and Gu Puwang were on his side. But now— Jiang Qingliang was calling him Brother Juan!
Gu Puwang and Xue Congyun believed his maid’s words!
“How could you associate with him? Do you know how despicable he is? He caused me to be humiliated at the Eldest Princess’s mansion, he let Prince Li insult me repeatedly, he—” “He deserves to die! He deserves to die—!”
Jiang Nian’s emotions completely collapsed. He shouted and screamed, his face twisted in madness, utterly different from his usual gentle demeanor.
At this moment, both Jiang Qingliang and Xue Congyun were shocked.
Scoundrel, deserves to die.
How could Brother Nian speak like this?
Whether it was his actions or his curses towards Jiang Juan, it completely overturned Xue Congyun and Jiang Qingliang’s previous understanding of him.
“…Don’t speak about Brother Juan like that, he’s really a good person.”
After the shock, Xue Congyun said with a complex expression, “He pushed you into the lake— Brother Nian, Brother Juan has a heart condition, he’s not strong enough to push you. Moreover, he’s so timid; I once gave him a golden cicada, and it scared him to tears. How could he dare to push someone?”
“I always wanted to ask you what really happened, but Gu Puwang stopped me, saying it would upset you.”
Xue Congyun said, “Brother Nian, I’ve always believed whatever you said, obeyed your every word, but today I suddenly realize… I might not have known you at all.”
Jiang Qingliang also said, “You blame Brother Juan for causing you to be humiliated at the Eldest Princess’s mansion… but Brother Nian, that incident was your and the Marquis’s fault.”
Gu Puwang didn’t speak, just frowned at Jiang Nian, clearly disapproving of his words. Their attitudes were all too clear.
Jiang Nian felt the world spinning around him.
Why were these three suddenly siding with Jiang Juan?
When did they start associating with him?
They, they— His mind was filled with countless thoughts, and he was overwhelmed with emotions. Jiang Nian truly didn’t understand what had happened. He had spent so much time getting close to them, used all his efforts to please them, and in the end, it was all for nothing!
“You guys…”
Jiang Nian felt his vision go dark, and his heart was filled with confusion. He bit his lip, suppressing his anger, and said one final sentence before turning to leave.
“I must have misjudged you all!”
They ended up tearing off their masks and creating such an ugly scene. Xue Congyun wasn’t feeling great about it either, after all, it was a friendship that had lasted many years.
Xue Congyun sighed deeply and leaned against the railing, muttering, “How did it come to this?”
Jiang Qingliang also leaned over, saying in confusion, “Have we really never known Brother Nian?”
Xue Congyun, feeling down, replied, “…Yeah.”
Gu Puwang walked over and corrected, “It’s you all, not us.”
Xue Congyun and Jiang Qingliang turned to look at him. This time, they didn’t immediately erupt into chaos as they usually did, given their current mood.
They exchanged glances of disapproval with Gu Puwang for a while, then lowered their heads again, sighing in melancholy. Gu Puwang said nothing more and simply gazed into the distance, looking like— Lan Ting remarked, “Three little dogs with their heads down.”
The tea house and the Lanyue Pavilion faced each other, but the tea house was lower and obscured by bamboo blinds. The three people on the opposite side stood by the railing for a long time, but Jiang Juan was never seen.
Jiang Juan praised her, “…A good metaphor.”
Lan Ting smiled, “I don’t know what they talked about with the Second Young Master, but it ended on a sour note. The Second Young Master looked unhappy, and they seemed quite dejected.”
Jiang Juan was unsure of the exact situation, but he thought it might be related to what Lan Ting had mentioned that day. After all, in their eyes, Jiang Nian was supposed to be kind and good-hearted. This was a major character collapse.
During this period, they had become quite close to Jiang Juan. Although Jiang Juan originally wanted to distance himself from the main characters, he actually enjoyed their company despite his complaints about them being childish. He found their antics quite entertaining.
Thinking for a moment, Jiang Juan said to Lan Ting, “Lan Ting, can you run an errand for me?”
Soon, Lan Ting arrived at Lanyue Pavilion.
“Sixth Prince, Young Master Jiang, Young Master Gu…”
Lan Ting called out gently. The three people leaning on the railing turned around. Lan Ting took her hands from behind her back and smiled, “My Young Master asked me to bring this to you.”
In her hands were three skewers of candied hawthorns, the golden syrup coating the red fruit. Lan Ting smiled and said, “To ease your worries, there’s nothing like candy. My Young Master invites you to enjoy these candied hawthorns.”
Xue Congyun and the others were momentarily stunned but then delighted. Only Jiang Qingliang grumbled, “Candied hawthorns? Do you think we’re children?”
Even while complaining, he was the first to run over and snatch a skewer from Lan Ting’s hand. Jiang Qingliang asked, “Where’s Brother Juan? Where is Brother Juan? How does he know we’re unhappy?”
“At the tea house across the street. You can see him if you look down.”
Jiang Qingliang lowered his head and began searching. Soon, his eyes lit up, and his previously sad demeanor changed to joy. He shouted, “Brother Juan! Brother Juan!”
Hearing the noise, Jiang Juan turned around. Unfortunately, it was all the same to him whether he turned or not, as he couldn’t see anything. However, Jiang Juan still asked, “What’s the matter?”
Jiang Qingliang shouted, “Come over and play with us!”
Just as the last word left his mouth, the bamboo blinds were pulled open, and Xue Fangli turned his head with a warning look that felt like a chill straight to the bone. Jiang Qingliang felt his hair stand on end.
“…Never mind, we’ll come find you to play another day.”
Jiang Qingliang shivered, awkwardly rubbed his nose, and unceremoniously gave in.
Xue Congyun, for once, was quite perceptive. He guessed that his Fifth Brother would not let Jiang Juan act alone and anticipated this outcome. Unable to find Jiang Juan to play, Xue Congyun still had the candied hawthorns sent over. He looked down and took a bite.
So sweet.
The frustration in his heart seemed to have truly eased a bit, and he felt a lot better.
What can truly relieve worries? Only eating sweets.
Clearly, what can relieve worries is Brother Juan.
While Xue Congyun was lost in his own thoughts, someone snatched the candied hawthorn from his hand. Jiang Qingliang, having finished his own, began eyeing others’. He stuck out his tongue and quickly tainted two hawthorns. Xue Congyun went mad when he saw this. “Damn it, that’s the candied hawthorn Brother Juan gave me!”
He lunged at Jiang Qingliang, grabbing him by the neck. Seeing the fight break out, Gu Puwang took a few steps back, clearly reluctant to get involved.
As for the candied hawthorn in his hand, Gu Puwang had not touched it. Seeing this, Lan Ting curiously asked, “Young Master Gu, why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”
Gu Puwang did not answer immediately. He just looked at the candied hawthorn in his hand. After a long while, he slowly smiled and said, “It’s not that I don’t like it.”
“It’s just that no one has used candied hawthorns to cheer me up for a long time. I’m a bit reluctant to eat it.”
Author’s Note: The three little ones: I really want to play with Brother Juan oWo
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