Presumably, when Xiao Heng said those words, the affection in his eyes was so intense that even though Lin Yuan was merely standing beside him and couldn't look directly into his eyes, she could clearly perceive the longing in his heart.
The longing for Qiao Nian!
She panicked.
She finally realized that Xiao Heng truly had feelings for Qiao Nian in his heart!
But what about her?
What was she to him?
A wave of grievance welled up in her heart. Lin Yuan quickly lowered her head, allowing her tears to drop one by one onto the ground.
Unexpectedly, a handkerchief suddenly appeared in front of her.
It was Xiao Heng's handkerchief.
Lin Yuan's heart trembled slightly, and she reached out to take it.
Then she heard Xiao Heng say indifferently, "Let's go." And he walked straight ahead.
Lin Yuan stood there, holding the handkerchief, looking at Xiao Heng's tall and imposing back. Another thought emerged in her mind.
It was normal for a man to have several wives. Xiao Heng and Qiao Nian had had a marriage contract for such a long time, so it was natural for Qiao Nian to hold a place in his heart.
Otherwise, wouldn't he be a heartless and ungrateful man?
But his relationship with Qiao Nian was all in the past. The Emperor had already issued a decree of marriage. Even if Xiao Heng had the audacity, he wouldn't dare to compete with the Emperor's son for a woman.
So, there was no possibility for him and Qiao Nian.
The person he was going to marry was always herself!
Just like this handkerchief, it was finally in her hands. That was enough.
Thinking like this, Lin Yuan managed to persuade herself.
She sniffed, tucked the handkerchief into her sleeve, and then quickened her pace to catch up. "Brother Heng, wait for me."
She called out loudly, her voice as gentle and weak as ever.
However, Xiao Heng didn't stop. He continued to walk forward at a steady pace.
Lin Yuan increased her speed and soon caught up.
The Lantern Festival lantern fair today seemed livelier than in previous years. The goods on the street stalls were also more novel than before.
Even Lin Yuan couldn't help but stop in front of a stall. "Brother Heng, look how unique this mask is."
Lin Yuan held up a mask with both hands and waved it in front of Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng was slightly taken aback. He suddenly remembered that Qiao Nian had been wearing an identical mask earlier. Later, that mask had fallen to the ground and was kicked away by passers - by, who knows where.
He involuntarily reached out and took the mask.
Thinking that he liked it, Lin Yuan picked up another men's mask and waved it in front of Xiao Heng. "Brother Heng, does this mask look like you?"
The opera facial makeup on the mask was handsome and extraordinary, with sharp eyes and brows. At first glance, it was obvious that it represented a military general.
It really did bear a slight resemblance to him.
As he was engrossed in looking at it, the stall owner smiled and introduced, "The mask in your hand, sir, and the one in the lady's hand are a pair!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan blushed instantly. She almost dropped the mask in her hand, and she was overcome with shyness.
But she didn't explain. Instead, she stole glances at Xiao Heng from time to time, trying to see his reaction.
However, Xiao Heng's attention was solely focused on the two masks.
After hearing what the stall owner said, he took the mask from Lin Yuan's hand as well and placed the two masks together.
A faint, profound smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.
A pair... indeed?
"Miss, look! It's General Xiao and the Second Miss!"
In the private room on the second floor of Fulei Teahouse, Ningshuang was leaning against the window. People were coming and going downstairs, but Xiao Heng was the most eye - catching. Thus, Ningshuang spotted him immediately.
Qiao Nian was sitting at the table. The Prince of Ming hadn't arrived yet, so at the moment, only she and Ningshuang were in the private room.
Hearing Ningshuang's voice, Qiao Nian also looked downstairs. With just one glance, she saw Xiao Heng and Lin Yuan beside him.
Seeing that Lin Yuan no longer had the grievance and tears on her face from earlier, but instead was beaming with joy, Qiao Nian couldn't help but snort coldly in her heart.
She wondered whether Lin Yuan was deliberately putting on this act for her or if Xiao Heng had used some means to cheer her up in such a short time!
However, it was none of her business.
Just as she was thinking, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open.
Ningshuang quickly stood behind Qiao Nian, and Qiao Nian also stood up. Subconsciously, she was about to curtsy.
But when she saw the people coming in, her movement froze.
It wasn't the Prince of Ming.
Instead, they were two burly men.
Judging by their physiques, they should both be practitioners of martial arts.
Qiao Nian immediately darkened her face. "Who are you? Do you know that I am..."
"The eldest young lady of the Marquis' Mansion!" The other party suddenly interrupted her.
Qiao Nian's heart sank even further.
She had originally thought that these two were just lecherous men who had entered the wrong room, but now it was obvious that they were here for her.
But it was the Prince of Ming who had invited her to meet here!
"Are you sent by the Prince of Ming?"
She asked, holding onto the last glimmer of hope in her heart.
Unexpectedly, the two men looked at each other and smiled. Then they turned to Qiao Nian. "Don't be angry, Miss. We two brothers are just doing a job for money. We're here to solve someone else's problem."
They weren't sent by the Prince of Ming!
Qiao Nian's heart sank to the bottom. Ningshuang behind her suddenly rushed out and pounced on one of the men. "Miss, run!"
Qiao Nian was shocked. Before she could react, Ningshuang was pushed away by the man with a single shove.
It was so easy, as if Ningshuang wasn't a person but a little rabbit. The man pushed her away effortlessly.
Ningshuang fell heavily to the ground, hitting her head against the wall, and she immediately fainted.
Outside the teahouse, the voices of the crowd were still bustling. The commotion in this small private room hadn't attracted anyone's attention.
Qiao Nian thought that even if she shouted for help out of the window at this moment, probably no one would hear her.
Even if they did, given the martial arts skills of these two men, they would subdue her before anyone on the street could see her.
But her back injury hadn't fully healed yet!
Even if, hypothetically, she could escape from the hands of these two men with her own martial arts skills, what about Ningshuang?
All these thoughts flashed through Qiao Nian's mind in an instant. She gritted her molars and then said, "You're after money. How much did the other side pay you? I'll offer you double."
Unexpectedly, her words only drew their mockery. "Double? You're just an expendable adopted daughter of the Marquis' Mansion. Can you afford two thousand taels?"
That meant the person behind this had paid these two men a full one thousand taels!
Did this person really have such a deep hatred for her?
Qiao Nian felt her heart twitching.
Her hands, clasped in front of her, were tightly digging into the back of her hand. She hoped that this pain would help her stay calm.
She couldn't panic. The more panicked she was, the happier they would be!
She forced a smile, trying to appear calm and composed. "It seems you two don't know. Some time ago, the Emperor betrothed me to the Prince of Ming and bestowed a great deal of gold, silver, and jewels. Two thousand taels is nothing. I can give you three thousand taels if you let me go."
The rewards she received were far less than three thousand taels, but at this moment, Qiao Nian was acting as if the Emperor had given her tens of thousands of taels!
The two men seemed to be somewhat tempted. They looked at each other, but after some thought, they said, "We two brothers roam the martial world. We value our word. There's no way we'd take money from both sides!"
So today, Qiao Nian was inescapable doom!