Chapter 256: He had just left, and she already missed him dearly.

Chapter 256: He had just left, and she already missed him dearly.

Thinking of this, Su Youyue couldn't help but recall the former Grand Tutor Qiu.

When the late emperor was still alive, these officials colluded with bandits, disregarding human lives. How could Great Shen have peace?

Outsiders believed that the new emperor's diligence and determination were what turned things around, bringing the once weak Great Shen back to prosperity. However, Su Youyue always felt that this was also greatly due to Baili Hongxuan's abilities. The mess left by the late emperor would have doomed any other emperor to failure.

Although the course of history had changed, she wasn't sure about the current strength of Prince Rong in Wen City. After all, this anti-bandit operation happened two years earlier than in her previous life. Nevertheless, she quickly asked Chunya to bring her paper and ink and wrote a letter to Xie Yuan.

Due to the inability to be explicit, Su Youyue could only hint in the letter that the bandits' audacity must be due to collusion between officials and bandits. She had heard from one of her subordinates who traveled frequently that a minor bandit in Wen City wielded better weapons than the soldiers. She urged Xie Yuan to be extremely cautious.

Previously, she had directly exposed Master Hongde's true identity, and Xie Yuan did not investigate further. If she directly stated that Prince Rong was behind the bandits in Wen City, even with his deep feelings for her, he might start to doubt her.

After so much effort to get to where they were now, Su Youyue didn't want him to know about their past life together, which was so shameful.

"Young Miss, don't worry. Lord Xie is wise and valiant; he will surely crush those bandits!" Jin'er comforted her young miss.

Su Youyue managed a weak smile.

Prince Rong's power was not to be underestimated. In her previous life, he still held significant military power and plotted rebellion in secret until her death. With such a dangerous person around, how could she not worry?

Thinking of this, she opened the sealed letter again and added a line at the bottom: Be careful of Prince Rong.

So what if she was clear about it? As long as Xie Yuan was safe, she could come up with dozens of excuses to cover it up. But there was only one Xie Yuan.

Watching Zheyin take the letter away, Su Youyue still couldn't fully ease her mind.

In the past, she had worried about Xie Yuan, but never like this.

He had just left, and she already missed him terribly.

Terribly.

Three more days passed.

News came from the palace that the envoys from Dongrong Country were returning home.

This meant that when they returned to Dongrong, they would have to fulfill the terms of their previous bet.

Thus, the people of Great Shen paid close attention to them. When they departed, the citizens no longer avoided them but lined the streets to see them off.

The Dongrong envoys, however, did not look pleased.

Hearing that the Dongrong envoys had left, Su Youyue felt a bit regretful.

Actually, she wanted to kill Tuoba Xiao.

But now, even Xie Yuan was not in the capital, making it even harder for her to act.

It was better to let them return safely and fulfill the bet first.

In the coming days, Su Youyue could only wait quietly while nursing her leg.

The only good news was that her leg was steadily recovering. According to Doctor Ji, if she continued like this, she could attempt to walk and do rehabilitation exercises in about a month and a half.

Old Lady Su and Chancellor Su were particularly pleased upon hearing this news and visited Su Youyue often.

However, whenever they were there, Doctor Ji was never present.

Though Su Youyue hadn't seen it, she could imagine that her father had tried to meet Doctor Ji during this time, causing Doctor Ji to avoid him even more.

To make amends, after mentioning it twice to her father, Su Youyue had people gather fruit wine and send it to Doctor Ji. Jin'er mentioned that Doctor Ji often drank lightly into the night.

After the New Year, spring arrived, and the pear tree seemed ready to bud.

Ji Qingyan, slightly drunk, walked unsteadily to the pear tree and stood there, lost in thought for a long moment.

She suddenly remembered that before she crossed over, there was also a pear tree in the courtyard.

Instantly, homesickness overwhelmed her like a swarm of ants gnawing at her heart, causing unbearable pain.

Wandering alone in this strange world, she had never felt a sense of belonging.

Her homeland, however, was a place she could never return to in this lifetime.

This was an entirely unfamiliar world, completely different from the twenty-first century she remembered.

Even if she had traveled through time, it was not to her own twenty-first century.

If she hadn't been an orphan in that world, with no one to miss her, she might have gone mad by now.

Ji Qingyan wanted to drink more to alleviate her sorrow but realized her bottle was empty.

She shook her head, intending to go back for more wine, then remembered that she had already finished all the wine in her room over the past few days. To get more, she would need to ask Miss Su.

Though she acted boldly in front of Miss Su, as if nothing mattered and she could say whatever she wanted, she always felt a barrier in her heart.

No matter what, these ancient people would likely never truly become her close friends.

Ji Qingyan slowly headed back, deciding to call it a day.

Bothering Miss Su too often was not right.

However, passing through a courtyard, she caught a strong scent of alcohol.

This aroma was irresistible to Ji Qingyan at that moment, drawing her involuntarily toward its source.

But when she entered the courtyard and saw the man inside, she immediately regretted it and wished she could leave right away.

Never would she have thought that it was Su Miss's father, who seemed as fragile as glass, brewing this wine.

However, it was too late for Ji Qingyan to leave; the other party had already spotted her.

"Want some wine?"

Su Zhenyun raised the wine jar toward her, his tone natural and devoid of any of the previous urgency or intense emotion.

This natural tone no longer made Ji Qingyan feel uncomfortable, so she didn't immediately leave and instead walked further in. "Sure!"

Since he wasn't acting as he did before, why should she be overly sensitive and avoid him? It would be much better to treat him like a friend, making future encounters more comfortable.

As she approached, she realized that Su Zhenyun was also drunk, with a hint of redness at the corners of his eyes.

He was an exceptionally handsome man, especially with a unique sense of sorrow that made one curious about his past upon first glance.

However, Ji Qingyan wasn't curious. From the beginning, she had a deeply ingrained impression of ancient people, believing they were hopelessly feudal and beyond redemption. So while she might admire an ancient man, she would never fall in love with one.

Moreover, this was a man who had once had a wife and children.

She, Ji Qingyan, only desired a lifelong, exclusive love. If that wasn't possible, she'd rather not have it at all.

"This is pear wine." Su Zhenyun poured a bowl for Ji Qingyan, his gaze lowered, avoiding hers.

This made Ji Qingyan even more at ease. She lifted the bowl and took a sip, finding the taste indeed excellent.

Previously, although the Su family had given her plenty of fruit wine brewed by Su Shangshu, none had this flavor. Perhaps because she had tasted pear wine in modern times, the taste didn't seem new, as if she had drunk it long ago.

Su Zhenyun glanced at her and quickly looked away. "The other wines are made from fruits bought outside, but the pear wine is brewed from pears grown in the Su residence."

"I see, you must enjoy brewing wine." Ji Qingyan found the topic interesting and didn't find listening to these details boring.

Su Zhenyun stood up, smiling slightly, seemingly reminiscing about something. "Someone in the family used to love drinking it, so I learned how to brew it and haven't stopped since."

With that, he walked out of the courtyard. "Doctor Ji, please enjoy your drink. I'll send more later."

Ji Qingyan instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing the man's quick departure, she felt a sense of relief, no longer feeling as resistant.

His attitude toward her earlier had indeed made her uncomfortable, but now she felt nothing of the sort.

This was good; her days in the Su residence would be much more comfortable.

What Ji Qingyan didn't see was that after leaving the courtyard, Su Zhenyun's steps slowed, and the redness in his eyes deepened.