Chapter 041: The Smell Of Alcohol

“Back then, your aunt had such a strong personality. Before she passed away, she held my hand, too sick to speak, and just looked at me with those eyes, shedding tears…”

“Even when she took her last breath, her eyes remained open.”

“In this vast Daqian dynasty, a six-year-old child had to stand up and face the most brutal swords in the world! In the end, I failed your aunt and that child!”

…

The tearful and angry expression of his father in Chengqing Hall still lingered in his mind, accompanied by the hoarse voice filled with resentment and unwillingness.

In the past twenty years, Yan Lin had never seen him like this.

It was as if all the emotions pent up in his chest were released at that moment, ready to turn into scorching lava and burn everything down.

The torrential rain poured down as if the entire Milky Way had been emptied, flooding the world.

The vast capital city was now just a lonely boat.

He looked up at the dark night sky outside the eaves, occasionally lit by flashes of lightning, and walked straight out!

Qing Feng, who had intended to follow him back to his room, was stunned and quickly opened an umbrella to catch up, asking, “Young Master, where are you going?”

Yan Lin’s voice was somewhat muffled in the rain: “Prepare the carriage, we’re going to Cengxiao Tower.”

Qing Feng then realized he was going to see Miss Jiang.

But…

The raindrops fell on the umbrella like ice beads, almost piercing through the umbrella surface.

Qing Feng couldn’t help but advise, “But it’s so late, and it’s already past the agreed time. Moreover, it’s raining so heavily tonight. Miss Jiang must have left after waiting for you. Going now might be in vain. If you’re worried, you can send someone from the mansion to check.”

Yan Lin didn’t look back: “Even if there’s only a slight chance, I don’t want her to wait in vain.”

*

The rain outside was so noisy that after Jiang Xuening closed her eyes, the sound of the rain entered her dream, sketching a scene of a heavy summer afternoon rain.

She and the palace maids hurried along the lotus pond.

The pavilion for sheltering from the rain was just ahead.

But when they arrived, someone was already sitting inside.

So the half-acre pond and the rain-soaked lotuses became the backdrop for this person.

She was wet from the rain as she walked into the pavilion.

It reformed into a village cottage, where she sat on the only dry table, curling her legs and hugging her knees, blinking at Zhang Zhe, who stood coldly in the corner. Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.

Then she heard her own somewhat awkward and slightly nervous voice: “Do you want to come and sit with me?”

Zhang Zhe turned to look at her.

Those were clear, cold eyes that instantly captivated her.

At that moment, she wanted to reach out and touch those eyes, but amidst the overwhelming scent of earth and grass, a hint of alcohol suddenly mixed in, growing stronger and stronger.

Although it was just a faint smell, it felt like a sword cutting through the rain.

Jiang Xuening suddenly fell into a nightmare.

The lotus pond and pavilion at the summer resort were gone.

The cottage she had escaped to after the assassination attempt was gone.

She stood barefoot on the cold floor of Kunning Palace’s bedchamber, poking at the incense ashes in the brazier with an incense stick, lost in thought.

There were no other palace maids around.

She felt cold, lost, and scared.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before she heard footsteps outside the hall.

But this time was different from before.

This time, the footsteps were somewhat chaotic and unsteady.

When the figure appeared at the door and forcefully pushed it open, a strong smell of alcohol was blown in by the wind. Jiang Xuening’s hand trembled, and the incense stick she was holding fell to the ground.

A sharp sound echoed.

Yan Lin’s face, now devoid of all youthful innocence, carried a hint of drunkenness. His eyes were brighter than usual, as if he had returned to his most triumphant days of youth.

He smiled at her, “Ning Ning, don’t be afraid…”

But she sensed an unprecedented danger and retreated step by step.

But Kunning Palace was not large, especially this small bedchamber.

He approached step by step and finally caught her.

The strong smell of alcohol immediately enveloped her, filling her nose and mouth, trapping her like a prison, invading and soaking her…

In a daze, she felt someone’s fingers brush across her cheek.

The cold touch felt like a snake with scales, making her shiver.

When Jiang Xuening woke up from her light sleep on the chaise longue, still trembling from the nightmare, she saw a backlit figure sitting in front of her. The outline of the young man was both familiar and unfamiliar. Even though he was wet from the cold rain, the faint smell of alcohol lingered around him.

At that moment, her pupils contracted sharply.

She instinctively retreated.

The next moment, she recognized that the young man’s outline had not yet been sculpted by the hardships of life, nor did it carry the deep oppression of the borderlands. Although he seemed unusually silent, he was not the Yan Lin from her previous life.

Yan Lin had arrived half an hour later.

The rain outside had not lessened.

When he entered Cengxiao Tower, he saw her sleeping on the chaise longue, her small face buried in a thin blanket, looking even more delicate and adorable. At such a special time, it made him feel even more tender towards her.

She must have waited for a long time.

Yan Lin only said that he had just come in from outside, his fingers too cold. Looking at her, he softly said, “Did I scare you?”

Jiang Xuening blinked, “You drank?”

Yan Lin then realized that he was indeed covered in the smell of alcohol. This thought brought him back to the conversation he had with his father in the mansion. After a moment of silence, he lowered his eyes and said, “I was talking with my father earlier and had a few drinks.”

Zhou Yinzhi had already obtained the position of a Qianhu, and it was the eve of a storm. What could he and the Marquis of Yongyi be discussing?

Jiang Xuening could guess what was going on.

Today, she had intended to speak clearly with Yan Lin, but at this moment, looking at him, she found herself unable to say a word.

There was no one else in the room.

The maids had all left.

It was extremely quiet.

Yan Lin’s emotions were surging, making him feel like a rock on the shore, with waves crashing over him one after another. He couldn’t avoid them; he could only stand there, enduring and bearing it.

If it weren’t for tonight, if it weren’t for Zhou Yinzhi, if it weren’t for the earlier conversation with his father, he might not have realized until the day he faced the destruction of his family and the end of everything, what he had done wrong.

He remembered the night of the Chongyang Lantern Festival.

Ning Ning turned to him and asked, “Yan Lin, you always pamper me and protect me, but have you ever thought about what it would be like if one day I no longer had you? What would I do?”

He was the heir of the Yongyi Marquisate, pampered at home, favored by the emperor, skilled in both literature and martial arts. Compared to the idle and carefree sons of noble families in the capital, he had traveled to many places with his father and seen much suffering. He believed he had no less vision and ambition than them, and he had inherited his father’s aspirations.

Hardships and difficulties never fazed him.

So he thought everything he had was natural and unchangeable. As he once told Shen Jie, “I will marry the one I adore.”

It wasn’t until today that he realized some things, though born with, might not last forever.

He pampered her.

He protected her.

He couldn’t suppress his joyful heart and openly showed his special affection for her, wanting the whole capital to know that Jiang Xuening would be his future wife.

But he forgot that the world is unpredictable, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.

Now, he only regretted not being thorough enough in his considerations and being too reckless in his actions.

Yan Lin dared not think—

With her delicate nature, how would she cope with the difficulties in the mansion without him? She didn’t have to enter the palace as a companion reader, but he sent her there. How would she face the dangers ahead? Everyone knew about their close relationship since childhood. If things changed and the marriage didn’t happen, how would she handle it?

It was a mix of the impending storm, the regret for his own immaturity, and the heartache for the girl he had cherished for years. Yan Lin felt like something was stuck in his throat, making it very difficult to speak.

He pulled her into his arms forcefully.

His hoarse voice trembled, “Ning Ning…”

When the young man’s strong arms embraced her, Jiang Xuening’s body was stiff and tense, “Yan Lin—”

His face buried in her neck, trembling with suppressed emotion, he pleaded, “Don’t speak, Ning Ning, don’t speak. Be kind to me. Don’t speak…”

At this moment, the young man’s posture showed rare vulnerability.

As if he was afraid of what she might say.

Jiang Xuening only felt something extremely heavy pressing on him. Looking out the window, it was pitch black, with only a faint light shining in the room.

Her heart gradually softened.

Her tense body slowly relaxed, and she finally reached out her hand, placing it on the young man’s shoulder, telling him, “It’s okay, everything will be okay.”

Did Yan Lin guess what she wanted to talk to him about today?

Jiang Xuening wasn’t sure.

She just thought about her selfishness and despicableness on this quiet and deep rainy night—

In the inner residence, she had no one she could rely on, and even without Zhou Yinzhi, there would be others involved in the affairs of the Yongyi Marquisate. Since that was the case, using Zhou Yinzhi was better than not using him. At least she knew his background and could inform the Yongyi Marquisate, giving the Yan family some preparation.

As for how she knew the Yongyi Marquisate would be in trouble, she didn’t need to worry.

Zhou Yinzhi was a cunning “smart person” who would guess that she got the information from her father or other powerful figures because there are no walls without leaks in the world. Although Yan Lin was young, he was well-versed in the ways of the officialdom. Even if he knew she had foreseen the trouble, he would think she learned it from Zhou Yinzhi and then had Zhou Yinzhi bring it up.

Smart people don’t like to speak openly.

Moreover, this was not an incomprehensible matter. They would construct the most reasonable explanation themselves, thus hiding her involvement.

Her voice was soft and gentle, inexplicably calming.

Listening to her, Yan Lin tightly closed his eyes.

After a long time, he finally let her go, his eyes slightly wet, and smiled, “You’ve been waiting for me a long time, haven’t you? It’s my fault. I forgot to send someone to inform you in advance. When I came, I hoped that by the time I reached Cengxiao Tower, you would have already left, so I would feel less guilty. But when I saw you still waiting, besides guilt, I couldn’t suppress my joy. Ning Ning, am I funny?”

Jiang Xuening looked at him, not knowing what to say.

Yan Lin, like a magician, pulled something out of his pocket, took her hand, and tied it around her slender wrist, saying, “On the way here, I saw an old woman selling flowers taking shelter from the rain under the eaves. When I saw these flowers, I don’t know why, but they reminded me of you. So I thought, if you were still here, I should have something to apologize for being so late. If you accept my flowers, you can’t be mad at me anymore.”

The young man’s voice was as gentle as a spring breeze.

What he tied around Jiang Xuening’s wrist was a string of snow-white jasmine flowers, each soft and blooming, threaded together with a thin string, adorned with two green leaves. Once tied, they hung like two pieces of jade on her wrist.

In the cold and silent rainy night, a sudden fragrance filled the air.

It was an extremely fresh and refreshing scent.

Few people knew that jasmine could bloom in three seasons.

But it required very good care.

Jasmine in late autumn and early winter was even rarer, as precious as the young man’s feelings.

Jiang Xuening suddenly felt a bit of self-loathing.

Seeing her silence, Yan Lin cupped her face and examined her, asking, “Are you really angry?”

Jiang Xuening shook her head.

It was already very late. Although Yan Lin cherished their time together, he didn’t dare let her return too late, especially in these troubled times, fearing it would damage her reputation. So, he decided to send her back.

The two of them walked down from Cengxiao Tower hand in hand.

Yan Lin held the umbrella and helped her into the carriage.

At this moment, standing under the umbrella, Jiang Xuening looked up at him, her long eyelashes trembling faintly in the shadows. She softly said, “Yan Lin, please don’t drink anymore, okay? It scares me.”

Don’t drink?

Yan Lin didn’t quite understand, wanting to say that a man with ambitions often drinks. But when he lowered his eyes and saw the vulnerability hidden behind her softness, he felt a sudden pain in his heart. So, he smiled indulgently and promised her, “Okay.”