ebookland Chapter 340 Restraint
Chapter 340 Restraint
Before Nianyao could finish her bowl of bird's nest soup, she saw Guyu standing by the screen: "Young Master."
Luo An walked over, and Gu Yu whispered something to him, glancing towards Nian Yao.
Thinking there might be a new clue, Nianyao raised her voice and asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo An said gently, "It's alright, you should get some rest."
Nianyao immediately became unhappy, and her tone was naturally sharp: "What is it that you can't tell me?"
Luo An frowned slightly, and the atmosphere became somewhat stiff.
Gu Yu couldn't stand it anymore and explained, "The jade pendant that the lady gave to the madam of Wenxianglou has been bought by someone else."
Nianyao jumped off the bed and rushed over, angrily saying, "I told the madam I'd use the jade pendant as collateral, and I'll pay to redeem it later. Isn't she afraid of getting sued?"
Gu Yu said objectively, "A brothel is not a pawnshop. There are no pawn tickets or written receipts, so it cannot be used as collateral."
Nianyao lifted her foot and walked out: "Is there no law anymore? I'm going to find her right now."
Luo An pulled her back: "Forget it, it's the New Year."
Nianyao's eyes reddened slightly: "No, I must find this jade pendant, which is so important."
Luo An slowly loosened his grip: "From the moment you took it off, it became unimportant."
Nianyao froze, as if struck by lightning. She dared not look at Luo An, nor even at Gu Yu. In the silence, Nianyao seemed to hear the sound of snowflakes falling: rustling... kill, kill, kill...
Gu Yu said, "Madam, I have already spoken to Lord Xiao, and he will handle it."
There are many people coming and going in brothels, and many people are also going in and out of Bianjing during the New Year. If someone is really bought, the hope of getting them back is very slim.
Luo An waved his hand, and Gu Yu bowed and retreated.
Nianyao lowered her head, like a child who had made a mistake and didn't know what to do.
Luo An smiled and patted her head: "I've said it before, money is just an external thing, once it's gone, it's gone. If you like it, I'll find a craftsman to make you another one."
Perhaps she caught a cold, because Nianyao developed a high fever shortly after noon. She slept on and off during the day, but suddenly became fully awake in the middle of the night. When she opened her eyes, she felt that the bedside was empty; Luo An was not in bed.
Nianyao propped herself up and sat up. Through the gauze curtain, she saw Luo An sitting in a grand chair, staring straight at the painting on the wall, the painting about Qiao Mu.
Only a dim nightlight was left on in the room, and everything was hazy through the gauze curtains. Nianyao stared at Luo An until her eyes were swollen, then she gently lay down.
Nianyao turned her head and stared at Luo An until tears silently welled up from the corners of her eyes, soaking a patch of the bedding.
As dawn broke and the sky gradually cleared, Luo An slowly stood up. Nian Yao quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
Luo An walked to the wall, gently stroking the solitary, proud tree on it, took down the painting, opened the door, and went out.
Nianyao lay in bed until Chenshi (7-9 AM) before getting up. Guanxin brought in medicine and said that Luo An had gone to the palace early in the morning to remind Nianyao to take her medicine on time. He also said that a master from Xiangguo Temple would be coming to perform a ritual later, and since Nianyao was too weak to go, Guyu would be there to watch over her.
Having slept poorly late into the night, and due to the effects of the medication, Nianyao felt groggy and even too weak to stand up. She intended to lie down and rest for a while before getting up to go to the mourning hall, but she ended up sleeping until the afternoon, by which time the funeral service had already concluded.
Gu Yu said that Xi Zhai was not suitable for holding funeral rites, and that using half a day was already an exception, hoping that Nian Yao would understand. Xi Zhai was special, and it was already rare that Nian Yao could use it as a mourning hall, which Nian Yao certainly knew, but she regretted not being able to send Qin Jiu off on his final journey.
Nianyao sat in the warm pavilion and looked out the window. The snow was shining brightly in the sunlight, looking bright and pure, but it hurt her eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, the door creaked open, and someone entered. Nianyao continued to gaze out the window, seemingly oblivious. Luo An stood beside Nianyao for a while before bending down and placing his hand on her forehead.
The cold hand touched the warm forehead, and Nianyao shivered, unsure whether from fright or the cold. She pushed Luo An's hand away: "Stop it, I'm sick."
Luo An closed the window: "You're sick and you still open the window? Don't the concubines you bought know how to serve the First Madam?"
Nianyao was not interested and had no intention of arguing with Luo An.
Luo An waited a while longer, then squatted down and pinned a string of jade pendants to Nian Yao's waist, exactly the same as the original one.
Nianyao's eyes gradually warmed: "You made a new skewer?"
Luo An looked up at her: "The Crown Prince found it."
Nianyao instinctively asked, "Did he send someone to buy it?"
Luo An was slightly surprised, and after a while said, "He has arranged for people to work in the larger brothels in Bianjing City."
Nianyao pressed on sharply, "So the Crown Prince knew that Su Hexiang was at Wenxiang Tower. The Crown Prince knew that Su Hexiang sent Ninth Brother to Wenxiang Tower. The Crown Prince also knew that Ninth Brother was fighting with that noble young master... In short, there's nothing in Bianjing City that the Crown Prince doesn't know?"
Luo An watched her silently.
Nianyao suddenly sneered: "Suhexiang invited Ninth Brother to drink, was it arranged by the Crown Prince? Xu Sheng was absolutely right, An Liangchen never let Ninth Brother go. He started plotting from the moment Ninth Brother accompanied me back to Bianjing."
Luo An placed his hand on Nian Yao's leg and said in a restrained voice, "Don't overthink it. He's just the crown prince, not an omnipotent god."
Nianyao wouldn't listen at all: "And you knew he hadn't let Ninth Brother go, yet you just let it go."
Luo An then stood up, his gaze shifting from looking up to looking down: "What do you mean I'm turning a blind eye? If you told me to go find the Crown Prince, I'd go; if you told me to go to the Duke's mansion, I'd go..."
Nianyao looked up at him, her eyes sharp and cold: "Yes, you went when I told you to go, but if I didn't tell you to go, would you just ignore it?"
Don't you know what kind of person An Liangchen is? If you know him so well, why do you believe that An Liangchen will let Ninth Brother go?
You noticed something was wrong with Ninth Brother at the Duke's mansion, so why didn't you show him the truth then?
And the autopsy... did you really find nothing? Are you really sure it was suicide...?
Is this an attempt to pin all the blame on Luo An? Luo An, naturally, didn't want to listen and simply stood up and walked out.
Nianyao suddenly stood up to pull him up, but then felt dizzy and fell back down.
Luo An turned to look at Nian Yao sitting in the chair, hesitant: he had never been criticized like this before, why was Nian Yao treating him like this? But her head-down, stubborn look was truly pitiful...
Forget it, I can't argue with a patient!
Luo An restrained his emotions and tried his best to keep his voice calm: "You're not feeling well, go and rest first."
Luo An was cured of his illness and his fever had subsided, though he was still very weak. Nian Yao realized she had indeed gone too far, so she supported herself on the table to stand up and obediently walked inside.
There were clearly two people in the room, yet the silence was suffocating. Luo An pushed open the window, gazing at the pristine white snow outside, when An Ran's words echoed in his ears:
Liang Qingcheng and Qin Jiu simply couldn't get along, but she and Jing Ze were deeply in love. Jing Ze was willing to marry into the Duke's family, and the child in Liang Qingcheng's womb was also Jing Ze's. The Princess had no choice but to come to me for help.
Qin Jiu is a talented person, and the Crown Prince values her highly. However, the Eldest Princess and Liang Qingcheng are sisters and nieces, so they can't just ignore it. This matter has nothing to do with the Crown Prince; if anyone is to blame, it's Qin Jiu's unfortunate fate.