DS Extra 21

Reunion When the New Bell Chimes (3)

With that, the complaints that had reached the tip of Jiang Jianming’s tongue could no longer be voiced. He was kissed dizzy and sweet by Ryann, and by the time he came back to his senses, he had already been tucked into the passenger seat of the car.

“Are you cold?”

Ryann closed the car door for him, then walked around to the driver’s seat and sat down, turning up the air conditioning temperature by two degrees.

“Not cold, I’m wearing thick clothes.” Jiang Jianming fastened his seatbelt.

“Can’t tell,” Ryann said. “Your clothes are too thin, or perhaps you’re too thin.”

The car slowly drove into the interior of the White Jade Palace. Jiang Jianming wiped the fogged-up window with his palm and saw flower beds in the snow and marble balustrades carved with elegant patterns. Occasionally, a few round little robots beeped and whirred past in the night sky.

“It’s beautiful,” Jiang Jianming said softly, blinking as the lights dazzled him.

He thought to himself—so this is Ryann’s home. He and Ryann already had a very intimate relationship, yet it wasn’t until today that he had come to his lover’s residence for the first time, seeing for the first time the scenery his lover saw every day upon waking…

“By the way,” he placed the priceless bundle of golden roses on his lap and smiled slowly, “Your Highness’s roses are wonderful, but please don’t pick ninety-nine of them again. They were growing so well, and I’ve ruined them.”

“Once you move in, I won’t pick them anymore.” Ryann glanced at the time. “Wait for me to park up ahead, I’ll take you to eat something first.”

“As for Her Majesty the Emperor,” Jiang Jianming said, “has Your Highness already informed her? When would be an appropriate time to pay respects?”

“…” Ryann’s eyes flickered imperceptibly, though his tone remained casual. “After dinner. At this hour, she’s probably still busy.”

And so the Crown Prince successfully abducted his lover. The White Jade Palace was vast, and before long Jiang Jianming couldn’t remember the way, able only to let Ryann lead him through corridors and indoor spaces, then up layer after layer of stairs. When he came to his senses, they had stopped before a door.

It was a quiet, deserted side hall in the palace. Ryann opened the door for him. The lights were off, and the first thing Jiang Jianming saw was the floor-to-ceiling window, where the glass ambiguously connected the stars in the night sky with the lights of the city.

A dining table and two chairs waited quietly beneath the window.

There was also a neat tablecloth, a pair of wine glasses, two sets of tableware, and more than a dozen beautifully shaped candles.

“A candlelight dinner?”

Jiang Jianming couldn’t help but laugh, then turned his head to look the gorgeously dressed Crown Prince up and down. “You’ve made things a bit too grand tonight, Little Highness.”

Ryann: “It’s your first time here. I wanted to give you the best. I definitely won’t do this in the future.”

“It’s not that it can’t be done, but why didn’t Your Highness say so earlier? I’m dressed like this—the atmosphere is all wrong… Cough, there won’t be any attendants coming up later, will there?”

“No one else,” Ryann picked up a lighter from the corner of the table, struck a flame, and bent down to light the first candle. “Just the two of us. I’ll be your attendant.”

That evening, Jiang Jianming enjoyed the most expensive dinner he had ever eaten in his life. He liked quiet, and honestly, a candlelight dinner for two with the night sky as company really suited his taste.

When they were almost finished eating, Ryann glanced at his wrist device and suddenly asked, “Do you like fireworks? The White Jade Palace sets off fireworks for the New Year festival—they’re quite nice. It’s about to start. We can watch from here.”

Jiang Jianming put down his fork. “But what about Her Majesty…”

Ryann: “It’s fine. The view is good here. If we miss the fireworks, we’d have to wait another year. If we miss the Emperor, can she run away?”

Jiang Jianming: “…”

What kind of twisted logic was that?

——Actually, looking back later, Jiang Jianming had felt something strange at that moment.

But the emotional turbulence of stepping into his lover’s residence for the first time made him overlook this trace of doubt. He only thought: perhaps Ryann had previously tested the Emperor’s attitude and found it unsatisfactory, which was why he was now having second thoughts and didn’t want him to face the Emperor’s harsh words.

Much, much later, after old memories merged with new ones, after even that interstellar race war had settled into dust, one day—

When Lin Ge casually mentioned this matter in front of the Commander, the latter finally learned the truth.

“…So,” the Commander said, both annoyed and amused, his gentle black eyes half-narrowed, “that day when Ryann kept changing the subject and wouldn’t take me to meet you no matter what, it was because he couldn’t find you either?”

“I’d very much like to know,” said the golden-haired, jade-eyed Emperor, his expression extremely grim, “what exactly were you so busy with that night, Lin Ge?”

Lin Ge cleared her throat vigorously. “Cough.”

“Honestly, I absolutely didn’t deliberately stand you up,” she said righteously. “At that time, I was busy having a breakdown.”

…..

At that time, from Lin Ge’s perspective, this was truly a situation worthy of a breakdown.

Having just learned that Ryann was in a relationship, and now, on New Year’s Eve of all times, he was going to bring this “little seductive fox brat” to the White Jade Palace for her to see!

What kind of joke was this? How was she supposed to face this?

Object? Putting aside how uncomfortable that would make her feel, given Kaios’s terrible temper, the more difficult things were, the less he would yield. She might provoke him into rebellion, and from then on Aslan’s imperial capital would have to stage the melodramatic soap opera of “Evil Mother-in-Law Breaks Up Lovers” day in and day out.

But if she were to agree… she couldn’t do it!

Lin Ge wanted nothing more than to bash her head against a pillar in the White Jade Palace.

And therein lay the problem. Ryann had actually sent the Emperor a message long ago, but the breakdown caused the Emperor to go offline. Several hours passed, leaving Ryann feeling uncertain as well.

Afraid that Jiang Jianming would be anxious, he didn’t dare tell him, and only after the fireworks ended did he drape a coat over Jiang Jianming’s shoulders, saying he had some matters to attend to and would leave for a bit, asking Jiang Jianming to wait a moment.

——He would try to find the Emperor one last time. If he couldn’t find her, he’d have the guard squadron search, and he wouldn’t introduce Jiang to her tonight.

“Feel free to wander anywhere in the palace,” Ryann instructed before leaving. “If you get lost, just send me your location and I’ll come get you.”

The Crown Prince was a busy man. Jiang Jianming had long grown accustomed to him having “sudden urgent matters” that required him to leave at any moment, so naturally he nodded in agreement.

Once Ryann left, he began to wander around as His Highness had suggested.

The corridors of the White Jade Palace were winding and complex. As Jiang Jianming walked, he organized his thoughts, imagining the questions or doubts the Emperor might raise, secretly rehearsing his responses in his mind.

It was at this moment that suddenly, he saw the back of a woman.

…How to describe it in words? It was a figure that appeared at a most inopportune time.

From Jiang Jianming’s viewpoint, he could only see that the woman’s black hair was disheveled, looking as if it hadn’t been combed for four or five days, with unruly strands sticking out in all directions. She had carelessly draped a coat over herself and was leaning crookedly against a pillar, sitting on the steps. Several bottles of what looked like expensive alcohol lay scattered at her feet.

This figure would have been appropriate at a late-night bar or on the street—it would even fit in a slum—but it absolutely should not appear here and now.

Looking back later, Lin Ge’s thought was: fortunately, at least she wasn’t wearing pajamas at that moment.

“…………”

Jiang Jianming stood still in silence.

A woman. A woman drunk at midnight.

Given Jiang Jianming’s personality, if this weren’t inside the White Jade Palace, he would have stepped forward to ask with concern, “Excuse me, do you need help?”

But this was the imperial palace. The people who dared to drink so recklessly in the imperial palace could be counted on one’s fingers.

Moreover, he wasn’t someone who didn’t watch the news.

Although the night was dim at the moment, Jiang Jianming still recognized the identity of the person before him.

——So what was this? Jiang Jianming’s mind went into chaos for a second. Was this some new type of test, the kind where you don’t pass and don’t qualify to be friends with the Crown Prince?!

But that didn’t make sense either. For someone as insignificant as himself, was it worth sacrificing the current Emperor’s image to this extent??

But standing here like a post wasn’t going anywhere. How was one supposed to bow to royalty again… Jiang Jianming steeled himself and walked forward, ultimately choosing to place his hand over his chest in the most foolproof universal gesture of respect, saying in a low voice, “Your Majesty the Emperor.”

The black-haired woman’s figure paused briefly. Without turning around, she spat out, “Fuck.”

Jiang Jianming: “…?”

The woman’s tone was unbearably irritable. With a wave of her hand, a glass shattered with a crash on the floor in front of Jiang Jianming. “Goddamn it, who the hell dares to disturb this lady’s mood!?”

Jiang Jianming: “????”

The poor military academy student swayed back a step, his face pale as he steadied himself against a nearby pillar.

Upon entering the imperial palace, Jiang Jianming had actually anticipated many possible difficulties he might encounter.

But they absolutely did not include the “mortal danger” he was currently facing——the question of whether he would be silenced tomorrow.

At that very moment, the woman turned around wearily, her crimson prosthetic eye flashing in the night.

There was snow but no moon tonight, and the light was dim. Jiang Jianming couldn’t see the Empress’s expression at that moment.

He only frowned, vaguely feeling that the Emperor seemed to freeze abruptly.

And immediately after, he saw the woman stand up, the coat that had been half-draped over her falling to the ground with a rustle.

Perhaps because she was truly drunk, the Emperor’s voice was as ethereal as mist. That word didn’t even seem to be spoken by her, but merely drifted unconsciously from between her parted lips, like snow drifting from the sky toward the city:

“…Jiang?”