Xie Jin turned his gaze back to her, only to see the girl in front of him nervously looking him up and down: “Did His Majesty punish you? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?”

Xie Jin felt warm in his heart, and said gently, “Your Majesty didn’t punish me, don’t worry.”

Zhao Shu was skeptical: “Really?”

Xie Jin smiled and said, “Really? His Majesty said that I have made great contributions in protecting Mi County, so my merits and demerits offset each other, so His Majesty will not punish me.”

Hearing this, Zhao Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief. When a person relaxes, his mouth will relax as well: “It seems that His Majesty is also a reasonable person.”

Xie Jin: “Be careful with your words!”

Zhao Shu immediately shut up and looked around: “Will what I said not reach His Majesty’s ears?”

Seeing Zhao Shu’s cautious and nervous look, Xie Jin’s words of warning changed to “No.”

Zhao Shu was still a little worried: “Really?”

Xie Jin nodded and calmed her frightened heart again: “Really.”

Zhao Shu wanted to say something to him, but looking at the imperial guards standing at the majestic gate of the imperial city, she swallowed her words, tugged at his sleeve, pointed at the carriage not far away, and motioned for them to talk inside the carriage.

Xie Jin understood her concerns, and the palace gate was indeed a difficult place to talk, so he followed her strength and got into the carriage.

Zhao Shu sat opposite Xie Jin and secretly glanced at him. When Xie Jin’s life or death in the palace was unknown, she secretly made a bold decision in her heart. When she thought that her decision might make them strangers in the future, she felt uncontrollable sadness in her heart. But even though she was sad, she still had to carry out this decision!
The man opposite put his hands on his knees, lowered his eyes and looked at the bottom of the carriage without saying a word. Zhao Shu looked at his cold appearance and couldn’t help but feel like retreating.

Zhao Shu was in a daze, thinking about random things. Just as her thoughts were wandering, a cold voice sounded in the air.

“Shu’er, I have something to tell you.”

Zhao Shu’s back suddenly stiffened, her hands clenched involuntarily, she swallowed nervously, stared at the person opposite with a pair of big eyes, and said fearlessly: “I have something to say to you too!”

Xie Jin was stunned by her roar, then nodded: “Okay, then you speak first, and I’ll talk after you finish speaking.”

Although Zhao Shu looked like she was ready to die heroically, she quickly retracted her head when she heard these words: “You should speak first.”

Xie Jin paused and nodded: “Okay.”

Xie Jin looked at the fair little face opposite him, feeling indescribable joy and satisfaction in his heart. He thought, if one day the girl opposite him became someone else’s exclusive property, he would probably go crazy!
In order to prevent himself from going crazy, he wanted to keep this little face, this body, and even her heart by his side forever. He would love her, respect her, and protect her, and she would be the only one by his side in this life.

He didn’t want to play Tai Chi with Zhao Shu anymore. He wanted her to know clearly that he had her in his heart for a long time.

Xie Jin rested his hands on his knees and looked at Zhao Shu with deep eyes in the dim carriage.

Zhao Shu felt very uncomfortable with his meaningful look. She moved slightly, not daring to look directly at her cousin Jin: “Just say whatever you want to say. I’m listening.”

Xie Jin didn’t intend to scare her right away, so he said in a roundabout way: “Shu’er, have you ever thought about what your future husband will be like?”

Zhao Shu felt even more uncomfortable when she heard him say this. She said evasively, “Marriage is a big matter. It is naturally decided by parents and matchmakers. How can a girl like me think about it?”

Xie Jin frowned, obviously not satisfied with her answer: “Okay, if you didn’t think about it before, then think about it now.”

Zhao Shu kept pinching her skirt with both hands: “I, I don’t know.”

Xie Jin knew that he couldn’t get the answer he wanted to know this way, so he had to try another way to lure her out. He dug a trap for her to fill herself in: “From now on, I’ll talk and you’ll answer. You just need to answer truthfully.”

Zhao Shu was a little reluctant, but under the pressure of Xie Jin’s eyes, she nodded: “Okay.”

Xie Jin asked directly: “Do you like ugly ones or handsome ones?”

Zhao Shu said shyly: “Handsome.”

“Do you prefer tall or short ones?”

“Tall.”

“Do you like fat or thin ones?”

“Thin.”

“Do you prefer someone who is talented or someone who is not?” “A talented person.”

“Do you prefer someone who knows martial arts or someone who doesn’t?”

“He knows martial arts.”

Xie Jin leaned back suddenly and said seriously, “Okay, I understand.”

Zhao Shu was curious: “What do you know?”

Xie Jin said something shocking: “Combining all the above answers, I know that you like me.”

Zhao Shu stared at him in amazement, then said in annoyance, “You are talking nonsense.”

Xie Jin nodded seriously: “Me too.”

“Ah?” Zhao Shu was stunned.

Xie Jin looked at her steadily: “What a coincidence, I like you too.”

Zhao Shu stared at him blankly. In the stuffy carriage, there were the sounds of their slightly rapid breathing and their heartbeats that were about to jump out of their chests.

Xie Jin couldn’t help but hold his breath and looked at her calmly.

Zhao Shu couldn’t help swallowing her saliva, and asked with a wandering gaze: “What about Miss Wang?”

Xie Jin frowned slightly: “Why are you suddenly talking about her?”

Zhao Shu’s eyes stopped wandering and she turned her head to stare at him without blinking: “You were engaged to Miss Wang, but it didn’t work out due to some reasons. Do you regret it?”

Xie Jin’s eyes were dark, he didn’t say anything, just stared at her.

Zhao Shu felt a little bitter. She looked away and said in a tense voice, “Do you still want to get engaged to Miss Wang?”

Xie Jin turned his eyes away calmly: “What’s the point of saying this now? You just need to know that it’s you I like now.”

Zhao Shu looked at him. He didn’t deny what she had just said. Did he still have a place in his heart for Miss Wang? When the wine was over and the moonlight was charming, would he secretly take out the person hidden deep in his heart and miss her?
Zhao Shu pursed her lips and lowered her head slightly, revealing her fair neck in the dim light.

Xie Jin moved his eyes away from the dazzling white spot, feeling a little impatient. He didn’t understand why Zhao Shu kept pestering Wang Yujin. Wasn’t it enough that he liked her so much now?

Xie Jin adjusted his breath, looked at Zhao Shu and said gently: “From now on, there will only be you by my side, no one else.”

Zhao Shu wanted to laugh but couldn’t. Yes, he promised today that she would be the only one by his side, and she believed him, but what about him in his heart? Was she the only one?

Seeing Zhao Shu’s expression suddenly fade and without any emotion, Xie Jin blurted out in annoyance: “When we were in Mi County, did I ever argue with you about the mess you and Duan Jingheng agreed on?”

Zhao Shu suddenly looked up at him: “Do you know about that?”

Xie Jin held her with his dark eyes and said nothing.

Zhao Shu laughed at herself. He clearly knew the private matters between her and Duan Jingheng, but he never asked her a single question from beginning to end. Did he really care about her as much as he said? If he really cared about her, how could he not be affected at all by this matter?

Xie Jin looked at the sadness on her face that she didn’t even want to hide, and her irritability became even worse, but she still suppressed her anger and said kindly: “Let me make a deal with you. I won’t ask about your relationship with Duan Jingheng, and you don’t want to dwell on the fact that Wang Yujin and I disappeared eighty years ago, okay?”

(End of this chapter)