Chapter 13:- Worlds Apart

Following the main gate’s route, there was only one path ahead. Jiang Rao walked along it, and soon reached a fork, to the right led straight toward the Inner Palace, to the left, toward the Locust Grove Garden.

Naturally, no outside subject was permitted to enter the Inner Palace, so Jiang Rao turned left, heading toward the Locust Grove.

The Locust Grove was not like the Imperial Garden, which was carefully arranged and full of blooming beauty. Here there were only rows upon rows of locust trees. By day, the place was fragrant and peaceful; a pleasant retreat but when night fell and the light dimmed, the shifting shadows of the trees made it somewhat eerie.

The farther Jiang Rao walked, the more uneasy she felt. This place was remote surely no one else would be here so she gathered her courage and called out softly, “Chen Lian… are you nearby?”

“Chen Lian… I’m afraid of the dark…”

Each call of his name was a gamble she was betting that he would not be so heartless.

But perhaps she had lost that bet. Apart from the chirping of insects and the rustle of birds,
there was no other sound anywhere.

Gradually, she stopped walking, wondering if she had gone the wrong way.

There was nothing she could do so she would have to admit defeat this time.

Just as she turned to leave, “Is that all the sincerity you have?”

A voice suddenly rang out, sharp and clear in the still night. Jiang Rao froze where she stood.

He was always like this, never caring for restraint.

Her heart began to pound wildly. Turning around, she clenched her hands tightly and took slow, cautious steps toward him.

When she drew nearer, he stopped her. “Stay there. Speak from where you are. Keep a safe distance. After all, before tonight, I didn’t know you were the future… Crown Princess of Jin Dynasty.”

He deliberately emphasized the last three words.

That title…Crown Princess…was the wound Jiang Rao could never erase.

Anyone else might say it, but the one person she could not bear to hear it from was Chen Lian.

She despised that identity, despised the chains it placed upon her yet Chen Lian had chosen that very title to wound her.

But she couldn’t blame him. He had anger in his heart and resentment for her deliberate deception.

“I had my reasons…”

“Oh? You want my sympathy?” He gave a slight, mocking curl of his lips.

What about her deserved sympathy? Noble birth, extraordinary beauty, or even her future husband was….

At that thought, Chen Lian refused to think further.

Jiang Rao’s eyes glistened with tears; she shook her head, denying it. “No. That’s not it.”

She reached out, as she always used to, trying to tug lightly at his sleeve. But this time, he evaded her coldly, without hesitation.

He was avoiding her.

“I must ask Miss Jiang to keep proper distance in the future. To remain entangled with me like this… would only harm your own prospects.”

Jiang Rao pretended not to hear the irony in his words. She deliberately provoked him instead. “What do you mean by entangled? In what way are we unclear?”

Chen Lian was silent for a moment.

His eyes half-narrowed, showing faint irritation. “Indeed, you and I are perfectly innocent; nothing more than three casual meetings. Miss Jiang is the white cloud in the sky; I am but the mud upon the ground. Heaven and earth apart, so how could we be entangled?”

He was mocking himself.

Jiang Rao froze.

She had only wanted to provoke him a little, but she hadn’t expected him to belittle himself so.

He possessed excellent martial skill, refined bearing, and a handsome, peerless face; he was clearly someone who should belong among the clouds, so why did he call himself dirt beneath them?

Simply because he held no official post, no title?

Was he comparing himself to…the Crown Prince?

Her heart trembled. This time she ignored his attempt to retreat, grabbing hold of his sleeve again and leaning toward him, her slender waist bending softly.

Chen Lian frowned and tried to push her away, but the woman before him raised eyes filled with seductive mist, her breath brushing against his jaw like faint orchid scent.

His body tensed involuntarily.

“Who says we’re worlds apart?” she whispered. “To me, you’re the most unmatched man under heaven.”

Chen Lian said nothing. He gazed at her coldly, trying to discern how much of her was truth and how much was pretense.

The warmth rising in his chest, stirred so easily by her nearness, he forcibly smothered before it could take root. Better to kill it now, while it was still a sprout.

“To speak of ‘unmatched’…in this world, every man stands below the Crown Prince.”

Jiang Rao frowned. “You’re just saying that out of spite.”

“Miss, please go back.” …. Back to the high place that belongs to you.

As soon as his cold words fell, he turned to leave. But before he could step away, Jiang Rao suddenly threw herself forward…

He reacted a moment too late, and she collided squarely into him.

Then, arms slipped around his waist from behind, her head resting lightly against his back, rubbing softly.

Her voice was low and pleading, “Chen Lian… don’t go.”

Her sudden closeness and gentle tone caught him completely off guard. His body went rigid but soon reason returned to him.

His face hardened; his voice was cold. “Let go.”

He told himself again; he mustn’t fall for her beauty.

—–

At Shengde Hall, Princess Chaoyang arrived late.

After entering, she carried herself with practiced grace, formally saluting the Emperor and Empress. The moment she sat down, her eyes began to wander, searching the entire hall for Jiang Rao’s figure.

But after a long sweep, she still saw no sign of that hateful face. Princess Chaoyang’s lips curled with dissatisfaction. She lifted a hand to adjust the elaborate coiffure that had taken two full hours to arrange, feeling a flicker of resentment.

Rumor had already spread throughout the palace that Jiang Rao had come today wearing the White Feather Silver-Thread “Lingering Immortal” Dress, a rare gown sent as tribute from Donghua;
the only one of its kind in the entire world. On her, they said, it was perfection incarnate. Even the concubines and palace maids were praising her as though she were a fairy descended from heaven.

A pack of fools who’ve never seen true elegance.

Chaoyang secretly scoffed.

How could she not be jealous? That magnificent gown; she, the most noble princess of the realm hadn’t even been granted a glance at it, yet her father had bestowed the entire set upon the Marquis of Jing’an’s household.

Three sets in total and today, the Jiang daughters had worn two of them to court.

Who were they trying to show off to!

Jiang Yuan, the elder sister, rarely sought attention so Chaoyang could swallow that.

But Jiang Rao was different. Chaoyang’s face darkened. That fox-faced girl; every hot-blooded young man in the capital couldn’t help stealing a few extra glances at her. Even Brother Shen Zhui, son of the Left Prime Minister…

Thankfully, Father had already arranged her marriage to her brother, the Crown Prince.

That way, she wouldn’t be able to flaunt herself outside anymore or go about seducing others.

“Where’s that little fox spirit?”

The maidservant beside Princess Chaoyang froze for a moment, then quickly lowered her voice with difficulty.
“Your Highness, we are still at the banquet. The Marquis and his wife are present,there are many people here, many mouths. Please be careful not to let words bring trouble.”

The princess’s face darkened.
To think that she of royal blood and noble birth, should have to hold her tongue for the sake of a minister’s daughter.

But there was nothing she could do. That girl’s father was the Marquis of Jing’an, a man of countless military merits who had guarded the empire’s borders for years.

Though unwilling, Chaoyang still restrained herself a little. “How troublesome… Go and find out where she went.”

The maid could only withdraw helplessly. She quietly went to the guards at the door, asked a few questions, then hurried back to report. “It seems she went toward the Locust Grove Garden.”

“She went alone?”

“Yes.”

“How strange. What would she be doing there at this hour, in such darkness?”

Finding it odd, Princess Chaoyang’s competitive curiosity stirred. She rose to her feet, calling for her maid, and decided to go see for herself.

Before leaving, she deliberately walked over to her brother, the Crown Prince Mu Ling, and added sweetly, “Brother, your future Crown Princess has been gone quite a while. Don’t you think you should go look for her?”

Mu Ling turned toward the seat where Jiang Rao had been, only then realizing that she was indeed gone. “Where did she go?”

“The guards said roughly toward the Locust Grove.” Chaoyang smiled lightly. “Since you’re free now, why not come with me to look for my future sister-in-law?”

Mu Ling hesitated for a moment, then glanced toward Prince Chen, who was sitting nearby, a little tipsy. Seeing him that way, Mu Ling felt reassured and said, “Rao’er has always been afraid of the dark. Very well, I’ll go with you.”

“My brother is so considerate.”

—

In the Locust Grove.

Under the dark night, scattered shadows stretched long. By the faint, pale light of the moon, there was barely enough illumination to make out the path.

Beneath the shadow of one tree, Jiang Rao clung tightly to Chen Lian, the more he tried to push her away, the tighter she held on.

In the confusion, his chest accidentally collided against hers, making her tremble slightly.
Jiang Rao lowered her eyes to glance down and when she saw the changed shape between them, her ears flushed crimson. Biting her lip, she still didn’t loosen her grip.

Once Chen Lian realized what had happened, his movements stopped completely. His back went stiff, and he froze.

“You…”

He was momentarily at a loss for words. His voice no longer carried the cold edge from earlier, when he’d tried to push her away. “Are you… unharmed?”

He neither explained nor said plainly what he meant.

Jiang Rao gave a soft huff, thinking that this man was truly wicked… He had felt it. And yet he still pretended nothing had happened.

Suppressing her shyness, she knew he wouldn’t walk away immediately, so she finally relaxed her hold, turned to face him, and asked, “What… what do you mean?”

Chen Lian averted his eyes and refused to answer.

Jiang Rao thought she might have caught his weakness. She took half a step closer, eyes wide and deliberate, and said slowly, “Just now… I was hurt a little from the collision.”

Then she quickly added, “I know you didn’t mean it. I won’t blame you.”

Her words sounded forgiving, but the guilt, she made sure would still rest with him.

When she finished, she gazed at him unblinking, her face even showing a faint look of wounded grievance.

Sure enough, Chen Lian’s whole body grew even more tense. His eyes dropped half an inch before instantly pulling back, as if afraid that even his gaze might defile her.

At that moment, some noise suddenly sounded not far away, it wasn’t small; there were clearly more than one person.

Jiang Rao looked toward the sound. Though she couldn’t make out the figures, she instinctively grew cautious.

A man and a woman, meeting secretly at night and to be seen by others would be improper.

Chen Lian seemed to sense her concern. He coughed lightly to ease the tension from earlier,
then said calmly, “That tree on the right is thicker, shall we hide there?”

Jiang Rao nodded. But when they moved closer, they found the tree backed against an artificial rockery. The narrow gap between could barely fit one person, certainly not two.

Looking around, there was nowhere else to hide, there were only trees and shifting shadows, no room for another body.

Chen Lian gestured for Jiang Rao to go in first. “I’m a man. Even if I’m seen, it’s no matter.”

But Jiang Rao shook her head and grabbed his hand. “Hold me, then we’ll both fit.”

Though the space was too small for two, if they overlapped closely and stood tightly pressed together, it might just be enough.

Chen Lian hesitated.

Then, from not far away, came the voices of a man and a woman.

Their words grew clearer….

“Brother, are you especially pleased with your future Crown Princess? Setting aside the old Marquis’s prestige in court, just her title as Jin Dynasty’s Number One Beauty already makes the match a source of great honor.”

The man laughed softly. “None of that matters. Rao’er and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and are truly fond of each other. That’s what I value most.”

“Brother and sister-in-law are a perfect pair of talent and beauty.”

A perfect pair?

Jiang Rao’s brow tightened instantly. She recognized the voices at once;  the Crown Prince Mu Ling and Princess Chaoyang.

What were they doing here, in such a remote spot, so late? Could they be looking for her?

She turned to glance carefully at Chen Lian, only to find that he was already watching her, his gaze sharp as a blade.

She quickly opened her mouth to explain, “I didn’t know they would….”

But Chen Lian silenced her with a quiet “shh,” cutting her off.

His dark eyes fixed on her; deep, unfathomable. Jiang Rao couldn’t read the meaning in them,
only that they seemed like a murky pond with no light.

Then, he no longer avoided her as before.

There was something different in his expression now. He raised both arms, placing his hands on either side of her, pressing gently yet firmly against her waist.

The sudden contact made Jiang Rao’s whole body tremble.

“You’re the one who said it,” he murmured low beside her ear, his breath rough and close. “Told me to hold you.”

A moment ago he had hesitated but now, he was like a completely different man.

As the approaching voices drew nearer, Jiang Rao didn’t dare delay. She nodded quickly, lifting her arms to circle his waist.

But as soon as her hands touched his back, she felt Chen Lian’s grip tighten sharply at her waist.

He took full control; arms sweeping around her, pulling her close in one motion. In the half-darkness, his nose brushed her forehead.

They were so close their breaths tangled together.

Jiang Rao startled, not expecting him to hold her so suddenly or so tightly. Her soft chest pressed flush against his, their bodies sealed close, leaving no space between. The posture surely was far too intimate.

Now it was her turn to feel flustered. Her knees went weak, her voice trembling, “Chen Lian… loosen up a little…”

Chen Lian didn’t even lift his eyes. He kept his gaze fixed calmly in the direction of the approaching voices, and said evenly, “I have to hold you tighter otherwise we won’t both fit.”

Face burning, Jiang Rao buried herself against his neck, believing him completely.