Chapter 38: ChangGe Tea House.

When the name list was announce, Yan Luan was horrified to see both of her parents’ names but not her nor her brothers.

She knew something like this would happen when he suggested that she should be wary of the Queen Dowager, and that she should be removed from the name list due to her recent traumatic near death experience. She had agreed, but deep within, her actual plan was to beg Princess YongKang to bring her along, but it seems that it’s no longer possible.

Yan Luan pouted miserably as she made her way to ChangGe Tea House, fortunately, House Jiang’s servants were already waiting at the entrance and had immediately led her inside as soon as she stepped off her carriage.

“You’re finally here, come over here quickly!” Jiang FuYuan called out to her excitedly, her best friend had, in fact, reserved the entire Eastern Indoor Garden.

The curtains fluttered elegantly as a gentle breeze ran through it lazily, there was a clear blue pond in the middle while the exotic trees filled the other spaces.

It was beautiful beyond belief.

“Not bad, it’s a really nice place.”

Yan Luan removed her shoes quickly before entering, sighing contently as she moved through the cooling wooden tiles towards her best friend.

“Of course, my taste has always been amazing. A lot of nobles tend to come to this cafe in their free time, mostly because the privacy here is top-notched, plus those lotus flowers were specifically bred to bloom in all four seasons, I’ve heard that the owner of this cafe had brought them back from the Fan People.” Jiang FuYuan explained proudly before passing a cup towards her.

Yan Luan lifted the exquisite tea cup towards her lips for a quick sip, “It’s delicious!” She exclaimed as the fragrant tea filled the insides of her mouth.

“Yo, it sounds like you’ve been eaten thoroughly, huh?” Jiang FuYuan grinned cheekily and immediately came to many conclusions as her friend complained about her unfortunate and tiring life, “Tsk, so that explains why that certain person had been staring at you weirdly… Did you struggle at all?”

“Speak softer! As to your question, I’m depressed as hell, okay?”

“So I was right?? Aiya, if I was in your situation, I would totally embrace it. Do you know that your brother is a being of legend to the other nobles out there? Do you know how many girls would give everything just to be his wife? And here you are, complaining about it.”

It’s true, though. The noble women here would give anything to be Yan Jing’s wife, hell, they’ll even kill for a one night stand with him! But unfortunately, Yan Jing had never shown an interest in other women, at all.

“Eh, stop teasing me already, the situation is worst than you thought. I had initially planned to leave the city on a trip with my mother, and return at least half a year later, but now the plan had been ruined…”

Yan Luan had never given up on her plan of running away from home, but the opportunity had never rose as her brothers had kept their keen eyes glued to her. What’s more, the summer trip was supposed to be her only chance at the attempt, but Yan Jing had seen through her intentions instantly and prevented it.

“See those petals on the ground and the pond, don’t you think they’re similar to us? As a woman living in this era, what we need is survival and reliance on others. Yan Jing might be a ruthless man, but if he truly and sincerely loves you, it’s not wrong to consider it.” Jiang FuYuan said softly, pointing towards the fallen petals nearby.

It is unrealistic to try to be an independent and strong woman in this era, for this is not a Mary Sue world, and they’re most certainly not the main characters of this world too.

(TNote: Jokes on you Jiang FuYuan!! Your bestie IS the MC of this Mary Sue story smh 🤣🤣🤣)

This is an era where war could happen in a blink of an eye, and though both of them were born into prestigious families, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be safe forever.

“This is the rule of survival. And since he had chosen you, he must’ve thought deeply and thoroughly about this, hence, he will surely protect you no matter what, so why do you care so much about what others think? Just go with the flow and see what happens.”

Jiang FuYuan was, indeed, much more familiar with men as compared to Yan Luan, who had been single for life with arriving at this place. For her, what matters the most is stability in life, and nothing else.

Yan Luan paused for a second, staring at her best friend as she thought through her words, before knocking on the table gently with the back of her fingers, “ShaSha, if you cared so much about stability, why did you choose Emperor QiLing?” Yan Luan grinned mischievously at her best friend.

She had heard from her mother that the Queen Dowager had chosen Jiang FuYuan to be the next queen, the official wedding had been arranged and the date will be confirmed after their summer trip.

Jiang FuYuan chuckled nonchalantly at her words, “I understand that the palace is quite the volatile place, but I cannot change the fact that I like him. Furthermore, I’ve already come up with a plan for us, he’s not King material, while I don’t crave to be Queen. All I want is to keep him alive when the dynasty changes and go on a long, stressless trip with him.”

“Pfft! I see you had it all planned out.” Yan Luan wiped off the tea-stain on the corner of her lips, feeling an inexcusable envy in her heart as she stared at her best friend’s proud and excited face, What I would give to live a carefree and easy life like that~

Unfortunately, Yan Jing was not born to be a common man, his destiny was to become the next emperor, meanwhile, Yan Dao……

“That’s enough, they’re all dreams and wishes after all. By the way, I met Wang AnZhi and Chu YunShang just now, you should’ve seen the mega slutty expression on her face as she spoke to him, tsk tsk.”

Yan Luan placed her cup gently on the table upon hearing Chu YunShang’s name, “I personally feel that there’s something wrong with her, seeing the ill intentions she had for me and the fact that she had rejected the position of being the next Queen. Do you think there’s a chance that she’s a reborn person?”

Chu YunShang was not a woman who would refuse such a high position, unless she knew that Emperor QiLing was someone who would die early.

“That’s entirely possible, seeing as we’re both transmigrators,” She nodded slowly, “Be careful, House Wang had grown way too powerful throughout the years that even HuaiYin Hou cannot go up against them directly, I’m sure that bitch is plotting something.”

Both women stayed and chatted through the entire evening, only leaving when the servants reminded them that it’s almost diner time.

Yan Luan had made her way back to her home in her carriage, only to have her way blocked not soon after.

“Elder brother and second brother?”

Both men were on horseback, looking way too handsome and vigilant as they stopped their horses right in front of her carriage, causing the women on the streets to scream and faint.

Yan Luan was utterly confused as she stared at them from her carriage, and it was not until Yan Jing carried her down from the carriage that’s he came back to her senses.

He placed her gently on his horse, carefully placing the veil over her face before riding off into the distance with Yan Dao in tow.

Yan Luan leaned against her elder brother’s strong and firm chest as they rode, feeling the night breeze on her back as she wrapped both of her arms around his waist, she could smell the faint scent of grass on him.

“Where are we going?” This was obviously not the way back to HuaiYin Hou.

Yan Jing grinned as he tightened his arm around her, “There’s a festival in the western market, didn’t you say that you were bored yesterday? We’re taking you out for shopping today.”

She could feel his tender breathe near her face, his words were gentle and heartwarming, sending her into a trance. But she quickly recovered and frowned deeply as she glanced at her second brother, which was following closely behind them.

Something feels off……