Here we go again.
These three words flashed through Qiao Nian's mind at this moment.
The sight of Lin Yuan in this state was what she detested the most.
Noticing Qiao Nian's gaze, Lin Yuan walked forward with a pitiful look. She curtsied to Qiao Nian. "Yuan'er greets elder sister."
Her voice was tinged with sobs. She didn't let the tears fall but held them in her eyes, making her look even more pitiable.
Xiao Qingnuan was the first one unable to stand it. "Yuan'er, why are you so kind? She's clearly trying to seduce your fiancé, and yet you're still greeting her! I say, you should slap her!"
The crowd around them was still moving, but because of Xiao Qingnuan's words, their pace slowed down, more or less.
Presumably, they all didn't want to miss this drama of "two women vying for one man."
Lin Yuan looked at Qiao Nian timidly but said nothing.
Xiao Heng shot a sharp glance at Xiao Qingnuan. "If you want to stir up trouble, go back home by yourself."
Seeing that Xiao Heng was speaking up for Qiao Nian, Xiao Qingnuan was displeased. "Elder brother, why do you keep taking her side? You clearly didn't even bother to look at her before! Don't tell me that after three years apart, you've fallen for her!"
Xiao Qingnuan's voice grew softer and softer as she said the last sentence.
Presumably, even she herself felt that this was going too far.
Under normal circumstances, her elder brother would surely shout angrily, "Shut up!"
And then order Lieutenant Jing Yan to forcefully send her back home, not allowing her to enjoy the lanterns.
However, after her words fell, there was no reaction from Xiao Heng.
Despite the noisy crowd around them, an eerie silence spread among the four of them.
This silence was extremely similar to the one that fell after she had tried to embarrass him by saying she would marry him in the cave that day.
It was as if something was being silently acknowledged.
There shouldn't be such silence.
Qiao Nian slightly furrowed her brows, and her gaze involuntarily landed on Lin Yuan's face.
Sure enough, the tears that Lin Yuan had held back for so long finally fell.
Xiao Qingnuan finally realized what was going on. She stared at Xiao Heng in disbelief. "Elder brother, are you out of your mind? Yuan'er is right here!"
Xiao Heng's eyes darkened, but he didn't look at Lin Yuan.
Just then, a soft, small voice filled with sobs came from Lin Yuan. "Nuan Nuan, don't say that. After all, elder sister and Brother Heng once had a marriage contract."
She wanted to tell Xiao Qingnuan that Qiao Nian and Xiao Heng had a past, so it was normal if Xiao Heng still had feelings for Qiao Nian.
Moreover, that was just the past.
Now, the one with a marriage contract with Brother Heng was her, and the one who was going to marry him was also her. That was enough!
Mother had told her this morning that they had set a date with the Xiao family's parents to discuss her marriage with Brother Heng.
And elder sister was about to marry the Prince of Ming. At this time, she didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Just as Mother said, after elder sister went to Gucheng with the Prince of Ming, they might not even see each other once a year.
There was really no need to quarrel over these things now.
Although she was truly very aggrieved.
Thinking like this, her tears fell one after another like beads with a broken string.
Just by hearing the sound, Xiao Heng knew that Lin Yuan was crying again.
His brows furrowed involuntarily. He then looked at Xiao Qingnuan, his voice stern. "If you say another word of nonsense, I'll have Jing Yan sew your mouth shut."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingnuan seemed to be frightened. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
This reaction was truly strange.
Qiao Nian couldn't help but think of Jing Yan mentioned by Xiao Heng, and the tall figure who had come to deliver medicine outside Fanghe Courtyard. She wondered why Xiao Qingnuan was so afraid of him.
Then, Xiao Heng looked at her and asked in a low voice, "Where's your maid?"
Qiao Nian looked behind her. "She's run off somewhere to play."
"Hmph!" Even though she covered her mouth, Xiao Qingnuan still let out a cold snort to show her disbelief.
Qiao Nian ignored her and heard Xiao Heng say, "There are a lot of people today. It's not safe for you to be alone. Let's go together!"
Was he inviting Qiao Nian to enjoy the lanterns together?
Lin Yuan's eyes widened in shock, and her tears flowed even more profusely.
Xiao Qingnuan could no longer hold her tongue. She shouted, "Elder brother!"
But after being warned just now, she didn't dare to say another word.
Just then, Ningshuang finally returned to Qiao Nian's side. "Miss!"
Qiao Nian turned around and saw that the little girl was holding quite a few things in her hands, such as candied haws, osmanthus cakes, and a small wooden puppet, presumably the one she had mentioned as being interesting earlier.
Qiao Nian let out a helpless sigh. "Have I given you too many rewards these days?"
They had only been here for a short while, and she had already bought so many things!
Ningshuang smiled sheepishly. She curtsied to Xiao Heng and the others, then leaned close to Qiao Nian and whispered, "This servant was wondering why I didn't see Miss coming for so long. Turns out there were some obstacles."
"..." Qiao Nian subconsciously checked Xiao Heng's reaction.
Although Ningshuang's voice was soft, as a military general who had trained in martial arts since childhood, Xiao Heng had extremely sharp hearing.
She knew that he must have heard Ningshuang's words.
Thankfully, Xiao Heng didn't show any reaction.
His usual indifferent face still exuded a sense of coldness.
Only his eyes, for some reason, seemed much deeper than usual.
Qiao Nian secretly glared at Ningshuang, signaling her not to speak recklessly. Then she said to Xiao Heng and the others, "I have an appointment with the Prince of Ming. I won't be accompanying General Xiao."
After saying that, without waiting for Xiao Heng's response, she turned around and left with Ningshuang.
Xiao Heng's gaze followed her all the way.
He watched as she reached out and poked the maid's head, as if scolding the maid for being naughty.
But the corners of her lips were clearly curved in a smile.
How long had it been since he last saw this smile?
A long, long time ago, she used to smile at him like this.
No, it wasn't this kind of smile.
It was a more enthusiastic and brilliant smile.
That was the smile he liked the most.
But...
What had gone wrong?
How had he lost her?
"Elder brother!" Xiao Qingnuan's voice brought Xiao Heng's attention back.
She looked at the figure that had already disappeared into the crowd with some dissatisfaction, then said, "Your eyes are about to pop out!"
Xiao Heng let out a deep sigh and turned to look at Xiao Qingnuan. "If not, why don't you go back home first?"
Xiao Qingnuan was startled. "I don't want to! I finally begged Father to let me out!" With that, she walked forward.
Lin Yuan was worried that Xiao Qingnuan might get lost alone. She sniffed, wiped the tears from her face, and said softly to Xiao Heng, "Brother Heng, let's go too! We can't let Nuan Nuan get lost."
"en." A deep voice replied, and then he called her name tenderly. "Yuan'er."
Lin Yuan was taken aback. Her slightly sad mood instantly brightened. "Brother Heng."
"You were right about one thing."
Xiao Heng still didn't look at Lin Ye. His gaze fell into the crowd, in the direction where she had long since disappeared.
"She was my first fiancée."