"You got it!" Ruan Jiaojiao tucked her tail between her legs and dashed out in a flash, conveniently taking An'an with her.
That left Pei Huaiyu all by himself, so angry his head throbbed.
"My father..." An'an looked back every three steps.
Ruan Jiaojiao patted him on the shoulder, telling him to set his mind at ease.
Whether it was two years ago or two years later, she had given Pei Huaiyu plenty of reasons to be furious—no less than she did now.
"Relax, relax. If he were that easy to anger, he would have been ticked to death by me long ago."
An'an had originally felt he shouldn't leave with Ruan Jiaojiao; since his father was injured, it was only right for him to stay and show some concern.
Yet Ruan Jiaojiao always gave him a sense of *déjà vu*.
Vaguely, some invisible force seemed to be pushing him forward, and just like that, he had resolutely followed Ruan Jiaojiao right out the door.
Ruan Jiaojiao noticed An'an stealing glances at her from time to time. For a four-year-old child, his mental composure was remarkable, but some of his little habits were inevitably a bit too obvious.
"Is there something you want to ask, An'an?"
Caught in the act, An'an quickly averted his gaze. "A gentleman says that staring at a woman's face is quite impolite. It was my lapse in manners."An'an kept his eyes lowered, looking apologetic. Being so small and still having a hint of baby fat on his cheeks, Ruan Jiaojiao was completely overcome by his cuteness. Unable to help herself, she caught him off guard, scooped him up, and planted a flurry of kisses all over his face. "Ahhh! An'an, you are just too adorable!"
An'an was completely stunned by the kisses!
Ever since he could remember, his father had always been strict with him, teaching him to exercise self-restraint and observe the proper rites; there had never been any displays of affection. He never imagined that today, he would be kissed by Ruan Jiaojiao.
"If you have any questions, just ask. You don't need to be so polite with Auntie Jiaojiao!"
An'an finally managed to snap out of his daze and struggled to break free from her embrace. "This is against the rules! You are a woman—how can you just go around kissing a male's face?!"
In response, Ruan Jiaojiao caught him off guard and kissed his little cheek again. "But you are still a little boy, not a man. If you don't ask your questions, I’m going to kiss you again."An'an was surprised himself; his heart told him that he did not dislike Ruan Jiaojiao’s intimacy, and in fact... he quite liked it.
"Auntie Jiaojiao must be a very important person to Father, right?"
"However did you come to that conclusion, An'an?"
Ruan Jiaojiao, on the other hand, felt that Pei Huaiyu must hate her guts. If they really had to talk about being "important," well... she was hitting on a sore subject. As for him applying medicine to her wounds, it was likely just to ensure she didn't actually die. After all, he had said he wanted to make her life a living hell.
An'an replied, "Because Father is different toward you. He has never allowed any woman to enter his bedchamber... Regardless, please let me go first; this is improper."
An'an had thought being kissed today was the limit. He never expected Ruan Jiaojiao to lead him to a secluded little corner. He wasn't even sure how he had ended up so muddled and obedient as to follow her there.
Pointing at the dog hole in the corner, Ruan Jiaojiao exclaimed excitedly, "Didn't you say you wanted to go out and learn? Auntie is taking you on an adventure!"
This was a dog hole she had gone to great lengths to find. Since Pei Huaiyu had guards posted strictly at the main gate, she knew she couldn't break through that way and had to find another path.
An'an’s eyes widened. He had lived in this manor for so long and never even noticed there was a dog hole here. "But Father said... I’m not allowed to go out."
"What are you afraid of? You only live once; a person should live in the moment. Besides, you’ve been studying so hard, don't you deserve to reward yourself? You need rewards to have the motivation to study, and you’re going out to learn even better, aren't you?"
"A gentleman adheres to the Way..."
"To hell with the Way! A gentleman also once said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles." Ruan Jiaojiao had already nimbly crawled through, not caring if a gentleman had actually said that or not. She beckoned to An'an from the other side, signaling for him to hurry. "If you don't come now, the patrol will be here soon."
Ruan Jiaojiao rattled off a string of bold statements that An'an had never heard or read in his books. He was so stunned that he couldn't even tell if there was any logic to them.Footsteps from the patrol echoed outside.
Ruan Jiaojiao reacted with lightning speed, grabbing An'an's hand and pulling him over. Fortunately, An'an was small, and crawling through the dog hole took almost no effort at all.
When he finally saw the bustling streets outside, An'an was still somewhat at a loss. It was his first time coming out with so few people; usually, his father feared he might bump or bruise himself, and whenever he went out, he was always made to ride in a sedan chair with a dozen guards openly and covertly protecting him.
Ruan Jiaojiao produced a candied hawthorn from who knows where and handed it to An'an, keeping two for herself. "Have a bite."
Seeing one for the first time, An'an asked, "What is this?"
"Good grief, how much does your dad abuse you? This is a candied hawthorn. It's delicious, hurry up and try it."
Under Ruan Jiaojiao's frantic, blinking, expectant gaze, An'an took a small bite, and his eyes lit up.
Clearly, it was delicious, but as he buried his head in eating, his little mouth muttered, "It's... it's all right."
Only two years had passed, but the Capital had changed immensely.
Times were peaceful, the years were bountiful, and the people lived in prosperity.
It was no longer the chaotic scene from two years ago when Prince Li and the Crown Prince fought for the succession. Back in those years, the people could barely survive; the Capital was somewhat better, but outside the city, corpses littered the fields.
"‘Only by getting close to the people's lives can officials understand the people's needs and bring welfare to the common folk.’ Did Pei Huaiyu write this?"
"Yes, but Auntie, you shouldn't address Father by his given name directly. If others heard you, it wouldn't look good."
An'an acted just like a little adult.
Ruan Jiaojiao didn't take it in at all and laughed heartily. "Fine, fine, Lord Pei it is. Does An'an idolize your father very much?"
"That goes without saying. Father is the youngest and most promising Grand Chancellor, and he is a good official."
Ruan Jiaojiao chuckled softly, thinking of some wonderful memories. Her face inevitably carried a smile—a sincere one.
In the distance, she spotted Daniu.
Daniu's face was wreathed in a happy smile.
He and his grandfather were running a steamed bun shop.
Upon asking around, she learned this was arranged by Pei Huaiyu to provide him with a livelihood and make it easier for Daniu to take care of his grandfather.
"That's true. When he was just in his teens, he said he wanted to be an official to change the lives of the common people, reduce heavy taxes, ensure every ordinary person could eat their fill and dress warmly, let them keep the grain they grew in their own pockets, purge the corrupt officials who sucked the marrow from the people's bones, and uphold justice."
The flourishing and peaceful Capital before her eyes was living proof of a youth walking even further with his original aspirations intact.
In a daze, she saw her past self once again.
She had liked him and wanted to make a home with him.
It wasn't because of that face.
Nor was it because of a system mission.
It was simply because Pei Huaiyu was Pei Huaiyu.
"To be honest, I'm just a selfish, bad person—a crafty and cunning egoist. So when I first heard those words, I was truly shocked by his ambitions, because I could never sacrifice everything to change the lives of a group of strangers. Just living my own life well and protecting my own parents is already terribly difficult for me."
"So, Pei Huaiyu is truly a very, very good person, and a very, very good official."
It was just that she wasn't any good herself.
After walking a few more steps, Ruan Jiaojiao couldn't even enjoy her candied hawthorns properly; she kept feeling a chill down her spine. "An'an, do you feel like someone is following us?"
An'an looked back. He was all too familiar with this sense of oppression—it was Uncle A-Jiu following him.
Yet Uncle A-Jiu still hadn't appeared. An'an looked at Ruan Jiaojiao, unable to decide whether this was his father's arrangement.
However, An'an had guessed one thing wrong.
The person following behind wasn't just A-Jiu; Pei Huaiyu was there too.
Pei Huaiyu watched them from afar. Though he couldn't hear what Ruan Jiaojiao was saying, he could see that she was looking at Daniu.
He let out a cold snort. How could the Grand Chancellor possibly admit that he was jealous? "Fickle and shameless, utterly devoid of shame—what is so great about that man anyway? How can her eyes be so blind that she gets all love-struck and smiles just from looking at that guy?"