“After we were parted in Jing Province, it’s been so long since I saw you…… How did you end up here?” 

  Ji Man pursed her lips together. “Someone tried to harm me and brought me all the way out here from the capital.” 

  Feeling as if something was wrong with her words, Ning Mingjie furrowed his brow. “Why did you return to the capital?!” 

  Once someone saw her face, only death would await her. Back then, when she and Nie Qingyun had supposedly fallen off a cliff, Marquis Moyu had even specially gone to Foshan to put up a spiritual memorial tablet at that temple to signify that he had believed her death was real. This was why the new emperor hadn’t pursed the matter any further. If she went back again, wouldn’t this be an unpardonable crime of lying to the emperor? 

  Ji Man gestured for Changshan to let go of her. “It’s a long story. I usually don’t go out with this face. Right now…… there was a mishap. General, would you mind helping me return to the capital based on our prior acquaintanceship?” 

  “Of course.” Ning Mingjie opened his mouth. There were so many things that he wanted to say, but when he saw the guarded look in her eyes, he swallowed those words back down. Instead, he took out a handkerchief and said, “Use this to hide your face for now. I’ll send you back myself.” 

  It was a light blue handkerchief, and there were still embroidered snow-capped mountains on it. Ji Man paused, but she didn’t refuse. She took the handkerchief and spread it open, but it wasn’t big enough. She could only press it against her face. 

  “Changshan, lead my horse over here.” 

  Changshan was a bit stunned. “Master, are you going travel through the night to bring her back?” 

  “I can’t let the junzhu see her,” Ning Mingjie quietly said, “Otherwise, her life would be absolutely be at risk.” 

  Changshan assented and left right away. The remaining two people awkwardly looked at each other. 

  Since that time in Jing Province when Ning Mingjie has asked her to come with him, Ji Man felt conflicting feelings towards him. Although she was very supportive that the secondary male character had abandoned the female lead, gotten married, and was run towards a new life for himself, she wasn’t interested in him. Her initial romantic interest in him had dissipated over time. Ning Mingjie was a good person, but he was too sentimental. It would be difficult for him to accomplish great things. 

  She would just treat this incident as owing him a favor. Once she got back to the capital, she would simply resolve it by sending him a gift. 

  Kangyuan Junzhu had naturally noticed when Changshan came over to take Ning Mingjie’s horse. However, Changshan refused to say anything. He took the horse and left. Kangyuan Junzhu followed after him and only saw Ning Mingjie getting onto a horse with a woman that was dressed like a servant. 

  “Who is she?” Kangyuan Junzhu‘s expression sunk. 

  The servant girl by her side looked and said, “Aiya, isn’t that the person who recently borrowed clothes from Luqi?” 

  Ning Mingjie had Ji Man sitting in front of him and was completely blocking the sight of her so no one could see her face. Without even taking the time to exchange greetings with Kangyuan, he quickly fled away with Ji Man. 

  Ji Man shrank her head back and stayed silent as she endured the pain of riding a galloping horse. It felt as if her internal organs were going to be jostled out. 

  Ning Mingjie asked, “Did you go to the capital because you were looking for Yuxuaun?” 

  Ji Man pretended that she hadn’t heard him. The wind was too strong. She really couldn’t hear much. 

  Ning Mingjie smiled as he said, “I though you would hate him. After all, he was the one that ordered the capital’s gate to be opened. I guess I was worrying for nothing. At the time, Yuxuan didn’t have any other choices. If he didn’t order it, other people would have done it. If he ordered it, he would at least be able to ensure the safety of Ning Clan.” 

  Ji Man was stunned. 

  “I didn’t have the chance to tell you this before. You were always avoiding me when we were in Jing Province. I couldn’t even say one word before you would disappear.” Ning Mingjie wryly smiled as he said, “Do you hate me too for supervising the execution of Nie Clan?” 

  “You weren’t in the capital then, so perhaps you don’t know that a lot of things couldn’t be avoided. Yuxuan also did all that he could in order to save you.” 

  There was the clopping of the horse’s hooves, and the whizzing of the wind. Ji Man sneered. She hadn’t heard anything. She only knew that Nie Xiangyuan had died, that Nie Qingyun had been forced to change his name in order to save his life, and that all of the other members of Nie Clan were gone. As for them being compelled by circumstances and difficulties to do those things, she didn’t know and didn’t want to know. 

  The sound of the horse’s hooves striking the ground suddenly became messy. It sounded as if someone up ahead was urging a galloping horse to go faster with a whip. 

  “Whoa -” Both parties stopped on the small road when they saw the other person. 

  “Mingjie?” Ning Yuxuan was gasping for breath. He furrowed his brow as he looked at his cousin. “Why are you here?” 

  Hearing Marquis Moyu’s voice, Ji Man let out sigh of relief. She raised her head and waved her hand at him. “It’s me……” 

  Before she could finish her words, Ning Mingjie pressed her head back down against his chest. He calmly looked at Ning Yuxuan and said, “I’m bringing her back to the capital. Did you come out looking for her?” 

  Ning Yuxuan’s gaze dropped. He moved his horse closer and grabbed Ji Man over so that she was on his horse. “Something happened in my estate. I did come out here to find her.” 

  Ji Man was initially startled by being plucked off from one horse and brought onto another as if they were performing a challenging circus act. However, as she leaned against Ning Yuxuan’s chest, she actually let out a sigh in relief. She nestled herself and decided to not say another word. Since she was able to see Ning Yuxuan, then she would naturally be able to return. It had been quite tiring to rush about all night. 

  Marquis Moyu lightly asked, “How did the two of you meet?” 

  Ning Mingjie shook his head. “I met her when was I was coming back from hunting. Yuxuan, excuse me for overstepping. With her face, it’s not suitable for her to walk around the capital. You……” 

  “There’s no need for you to worry.” As Ning Yuxuan turned the horse’s head around, he said, “Kangyuan Junzhu is probably waiting for you. Older cousin, you should concern yourself with tending to your own affairs.” 

  Behind him, Guibai also turned his horse towards a different direction. 

  Ning Mingjie watched as those two horses gradually moved further away. He furrowed his brow, then decided to follow after them anyways. 

  There weren’t any signs of human inhibition around here except for a shabby city temple that was over 2.5 kilometers from here. Just as they had arrived and was getting off the horses, Ning Yuxuan saw that his cousin had caught up to them.

  Chapter 354 – Intrepid people will inevitably get hurt (1) 

  Ning Yuxuan looked at Ning Mingjie as he asked, “Older cousin, don’t you have to go back to look after the junzhu?” 

  Ning Mingjie shook his head and said, “It’s a bit far. I might as well wait until tomorrow morning and find her then.” 

  There wasn’t much in the city temple. There was only some straw and dry firewood left behind by other passerby. After Guibai tidied up the area, the group could get by with staying here for one night. 

  “What happened to your mask?” Ning Yuxuan calmly asked. 

  Ji Man pursed her lips and said, “I ripped it off in order to escape from them.” 

  “What are you going to do when you get back then?” Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. 

  Ji Man didn’t have a better option, so she could only say, “I’ll have to find someone to make me a new one. I luckily still have the design used to make my face mask. As long as there’s a craftsman that specializes in this trade in the capital, he’ll be able to make me a new one using that design.” 

  Ning Mingjie quietly said, “I know a craftsman that happens to be an expert with this sort of thing. You can find a place to temporary stay in the capital. Wait until the mask has been made before walking about.” 

  Ning Yuxuan swept his gaze over him. “Older cousin, you’re returning from Jin Province. You should be meeting with the emperor first, right? There are also some matters that you need to hand over to the Ministry of War once you return to the capital. As for her matters, there’s no need for older cousin to worry about them.” 

  Ji Man followed along and nodded. “Thank you for offering, General.” 

  Ning Mingjie couldn’t help laughing. “You’re right, it’s none of my business. Yuxuan, I hope you’re not bothered by my offer.” 

  He wasn’t bothered. Why would he be bothered? Ning Yuxuan sat down with his back against a pillar. He swept his gaze over Ji Man, who had come out unscathed, before lightly turning his head away. He felt exhausted after rushing here from the capital. 

  Ji Man’s head was lowered as she blankly looked at the straw on the ground. She was very quiet as she leaned against Ning Yuxuan. When he asked her what had happened today, she remained absent-minded as she answered him. 

  Ning Yuxuan sneered. This person completely didn’t understand how he was feeling. Feeling drowsy, he drifted off to sleep while leaning against the pillar. Ning Mingjie and Guibai also respectively found a place to sleep for the night. It was only Ji Man that stayed awake with her head lowered as she silently thought about something. 

  When her surrounding had fallen into silence, Ji Man finally raised her head. She glanced at Ning Yuxuan and let out a long sigh. 

  ” Loving him, hating him, begging him. None of these things are allowed. Am I not even allowed to die……” Someone quietly sighed in her mind. “Are you really any better than me?”* 

  “Don’t make fun of me,” Ji Man quietly replied, “I won’t fall to your level.” 

  I won’t. 

  * (T/N: These are the words that Nie Sangyu says to Ji Man in chapter 17.) 

  — 

  When dawn had just arrived, Ning Yuxuan took Ji Man with him and resumed the journey back. No one had slept well last night. As for Ning Mingjie, he went back to Kangyuan Junzhu. 

  When they were separating, Ning Mingjie was very worried as he looked at Ji Man for a long time. He couldn’t resist urging Ning Yuxuan, “Make sure to hide her well.” 

  Because of these words, Ning Yuxuan showed an unpleasant face to Ji Man the entire way back. After tossing her into the other estate, he went back to her room in the main estate to look for that design. 

  — 

  It took two full days to make the fake skin face mask. During these two days, Zhangjun Prince had peacefully and calmly returned to his fiefdom. Ji Man heard that the new emperor, who had been having a cold war with the empress, had gone back to the empress’s palace. 

  Ning Yuxuan seemed to be very busy and hadn’t come over to visit her. Still, he had sent over delicious food for her. 

  At the end of the two days, she finally received her protection item. As soon as Ji Man stepped out of the other estate, a crying servant girl grabbed her by the sleeve. 

  “Teacher Ji, please come over to see Miss. She……” 

  The young servant girl’s face was crumpled up because of her extremely distressful crying, so Ji Man couldn’t tell who she was. It took a while for Ji Man to figure out that this was Zhu Yurun’s personal servant, Zhuer. 

  Something bad had to Zhu Yurun during the past two days. After six months of pregnancy, she had lost her unborn baby and almost died herself too. 

  This frightful news caused Ji Man’s face to pale. As she hastily followed Zhuer. she asked, “How could this have happened?” 

  Zhuer was sobbing as she answered, “It was because of that heartless person! It’s totally his fault. He’s worse than a beast! He clearly knew that Miss was pregnant, but he didn’t take responsibility of her and carelessly pushed her down the stairs of a restaurant.” 

  Ji Man was flabbergasted when she heard these words. Her heart felt heavy, but she kept a stern expression as she said, “I already told her to give up on him. The sooner, the better. A man definitely wouldn’t be able to accept a child that came about through that way.” 

  “Teacher Ji, you also view Miss like that?” Zhuer’s eyes were already red as she cried even harder. “Everyone has misunderstood Miss. She’s carrying the burden of so many things by herself. You don’t know! None of you men know anything!” 

  Zhuer was too agitated, so Ji Man hurriedly pacified her by saying, “Let’s go see her first.” 

  What secret burden could Zhu Yurun possibly be carrying? She was a chubby, laughing fool that didn’t have any manners. She didn’t behaved appropriately, and as soon as she saw Qian Yingchen, she didn’t care about anything else…… 

  But, as she pictured that chubby little face, Ji Man actually felt very miserable. 

  Zhu Yurun was merely a doomed minor character in a novel, so why was she feeling bad over this? 

  — 

  The stillbirth had already been extracted, but Zhu Yurun looked as if she hadn’t slept at all. She was sitting up and leaning on her bed with her eyes wide open. There were deep, dark circles under her eyes. She looked quite frail and didn’t look like her normal self at all. 

  As soon as Zhu Yurun saw Ji Man, she grabbed Ji Man’s hand and started crying. She laughed as the tears fell. “Teacher Ji, why have you come? You’re free now. My child is gone. You won’t be encumbered by having to be its dad anymore.” 

  There was still the faint scent of blood inside the room. Ji Man didn’t know why there was no one else around, so she simply sat down by the bed and looked at Zhu Yurun as she asked, “What happened?” 

  Translator Ramblings: Sort of related to this chapter, Ji Man has mentioned several times in the past that she doesn’t believe romantic love is guaranteed to be everlasting. Even though she knows that Ning Yuxuan is in love with her right now, she can’t be sure that he’ll continue to love her in the future.

  Chapter 355 – Intrepid people will inevitably get hurt (2) 

  Zhu Yurun mustered up a weak smile that looked quite ugly. “He was joking around with someone and probably didn’t notice I was there too. He didn’t mean to push me down the stairs. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would have been able to easily roll down without getting injured. Those stairs weren’t that high up. But as I was rolling down, my belly hit the steps……” 

  Ji Man slightly clenched her fist. 

  “It’s okay. I’ve been so distressed lately. Once I saw him, I didn’t want to marry anyone else, but he’s not willing to marry me. So, what should I do?” Zhu Yurun’s voice was somewhat hoarse, and her smile slowly dimmed. “I finally don’t have to feel distress anymore. Isn’t that great?” 

  Her heart ached a bit. Ji Man lowered her head to look. Nie Sangyu was being really kind-hearted. This matter had nothing to do with her, so why was she feeling such a strong sense of empathetic pain? 

  “Take care of yourself,” Ji Man quietly said, “Once your health has recovered, who knows, you might meet a better man.” 

  “You’re just saying nonsense.” Zhu Yurun waved her hand. “There’s no one that would marry a girl like me. I don’t want to get married anymore either.” 

  Ji Man didn’t know what to say. She just comfortingly held her hand and silently sighed. 

  “Your hand is so smooth.” Zhu Yurun smiled as she touched the back of Ji Man’s hand. “I’m tired. I want to sleep. You should go talk to my dad about canceling our wedding before you leave. I don’t want to burden you.” 

  Ji Man stood up and tucked the quilt around her. “Let’s talk about the wedding later. You should rest first.” 

  Zhuer, who had been watching by the side, pulled Ji Man out of the room. Once they were out in the covered corridor, Zhuer said, “Teacher Ji, don’t look down on Miss. Miss is a really good woman. When she first met that heartless person, it wasn’t like what she said……” 

  “Teacher Ji,” Assistant Minister Zhu called out from a distance. When Ji Man turned her head, she saw that Zhu Shuyou was standing at a moon gate with a grave expression and gesturing for her to come over. 

  Ji Man glanced at Zhuer, then she walked over to Assistant Minister Zhu. “Sir Zhu.” 

  Qian Yingchen was also standing there, behind Assistant Minister. There wasn’t any strong emotion on Qian Yingchen’s face, but Ji Man was surprised to see that he looked a bit haggard. 

  Assistant Minister Zhu got right to the point by asking, “Teacher Ji, are you still willing to marry Yurun?” 

  Ji Man nodded without hesitation. “Yes.” 

  It was a series of devastating blows for a woman in this era to get pregnant out of wedlock and then suffer a miscarriage. Ji Man thought that Zhu Yurun was a rare treasure. Even if she was a bit too intrepid, it was worth trying to preserve her splendidly bright smile. 

  Qian Yingchen was left feeling stunned. 

  Assistant Minister Zhu sneered and looked at him as he said, “Sir Qian, did you hear that? My daughter has someone that wants to marry her. Please leave.” 

  Qian Yingchen looked at Ji Man with a furrowed brow. “It’s obvious that she doesn’t love you. Teacher Ji, it can’t be that you’re the type of person who is willing to do anything for fame and profit, right?” 

  Ji Man smiled as she looked at him. “Why does it matter if she doesn’t love me? It’s enough that I love her. Yurun has already suffered a lot. This one believes that Sir Qian isn’t a person that’s suitable to help erase the scars in her heart.” 

  Qian Yingchen pressed his lips together. He still wanted to say more, but Assistant Minister Zhu decided to end the pretense of politeness. “Guards, come here. Escort Sir Qian out. He’s not welcome here.” 

  The guards really did step forward, but Qian Yingchen straightened his back and proceeded to walk out before he was forcefully removed. 

  Assistant Minister Zhu was so furious that even his body was slightly shaking. 

  Seeing this sight, Ji Man quietly asked, “Sir Zhu, why aren’t you willing to allow Sir Qian to marry Yurun?” 

  “Allow him to marry her? Zhu Shuyou sneered. “He was forced over here by Marquis Moyu. Didn’t you see that face full of unwillingness? There won’t be a good outcome if I give Yurun to him.” The tone of his voice showed that he was very angry with Marquis Moyu too. 

  Qian Yingchen was Marquis Moyu’s close friend, and the marquis had also settled his engagement. Now that Qian Yingchen had caused Miss Zhu to miscarry, how could Sir Zhu not be furious? 

  Ji Man made a token attempt to quell his anger, then she left Zhu Residence and went to find someone to send a letter to Wu Yong. 

  Although Zhangjun Prince had left the capital, he had left Wu Yong behind in the Ministry of Rites to make decisions on his behalf. The first prince’s faction still had power in the imperial court. They had just been keeping a low-profile. Since Zhu Shuyou was the Assistant Minister of Revenue, it would naturally be good to gain him as ally. 

  The crucial point would depend on if Wu Yong would be able to successfully draw Zhu Shuyou to Zhao Zhe’s side. 

  — 

  When Ji Man returned to the estate, Haohao pounced on her. After several days of not seeing him, she felt much better after seeing his bright gaze. 

  While hugging her legs and looking like a puppy that was wagging its tail and doing his best to please, Haohao recited a poem, 

  “The moonlight falls at the foot of my bed, 

  and resembles frost on the ground. 

  I look up to see the bright moon, 

  and lower my head as I think of my home.” 

  (T/N: The title of this poem is Thoughts on a Still Night by Li Bai.) 

  Ji Man stroked his head before picking him up and hefting him. “You’ve gotten heavier again.” 

  Haohao giggled. He tugged on her sleeve and pointed at Ning Yuxuan, who was nearby. 

  There were many things that troubled Marquis Moyu recently. He swept his gaze over them before returning to gazing at the flowerbeds as he contemplated. 

  Holding Haohao in her arms, she walked over there and said, “Marquis, Assistant Minister Zhu seems to be very angry.” 

  Ning Yuxuan glanced at her. His brow was furrowed as she said, “You paid a visit to Zhu Residence.” 

  “En.” Ji Man smiled as she said, “I happen to see Assistant Minister Zhu kicking Sir Qian out.” 

  She had originally thought that Ning Yuxuan’s expression would change when he heard these words, but to her surprise, he only let out a relieved sigh and said, “That’s good.”