Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 129

When they were only two of them left, Wen Zhuojin carried Yan Qinglan to the table in the room and then leaned in to kiss her lips.

“What do you want?” Yan Qinglan turned her head to avoid Wen Zhuojin.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t say anything, continuing to kiss Yan Qinglan’s soft cheeks, then moving to her earlobe, sucking it gently.

It was like a dog seeking its master’s affection.

And the master, whether happy or not, had a visible blush on her fair skin, her face buried in Wen Zhuojin’s neck, her breathing slightly uneven.

“Stop kissing me!” Yan Qinglan seemed to get annoyed, her voice muffled, soft and delicate.

It was already daytime, and they had already done it twice. If they kept kissing…

Yan Qinglan’s legs were still weak, and even if she wanted to, she couldn’t handle it. They had to save some energy for the evening.

“Sister, be good. Why aren’t you happy? Is something wrong? Is it because of the child? Or are you jealous?” Wen Zhuojin hugged her tightly and asked.

“…” Yan Qinglan didn’t say anything, feeling that her jealousy over a pitiful child was a bit ridiculous.

Wen Zhuojin carefully observed Yan Qinglan’s expression and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sister, we’ve been through so much together. Why are you holding back now? If you don’t say anything, I’ll keep kissing you.” Wen Zhuojin said in a low voice.

“You… you treat that child differently, giving her candy, hugging her, helping her wash, and even speaking softly to her. Now you even want to take her as your disciple…” Yan Qinglan closed her eyes and said.

Her tone gradually became more aggrieved.

“Ah, sister, she’s pitiful. It’s my fault, my fault…” After hearing this, Wen Zhuojin leaned in and kissed Yan Qinglan a few more times, until Yan Qinglan pinched Wen Zhuojin’s cheek and glared at her with teary eyes, only then did Wen Zhuojin stop.

“Sister, when I saw that child, I thought of when we first met. You were also locked up, with chains on your feet, your eyes… just now, when I was cleaning her up, I had to remove the poison she had hidden on her body. With her abilities, if not guided properly, she might go astray. If she were captured by the people of Southern Chu or Great Qin, she could become their weapon. That’s why I wanted to take her as my disciple. If you’re not happy, of course, your opinion matters most. We can send her to an orphanage and have someone look after her there. We’ll just keep an eye on her situation. Be good, feel better now? Let’s go see…”

Wen Zhuojin patiently explained, trying to lift Yan Qinglan’s head to see her expression.

Yan Qinglan reached out and pressed her hand against Wen Zhuojin’s face.

In fact, ever since Wen Zhuojin noticed Yan Qinglan’s mood wasn’t right and pulled her aside to comfort her, her emotions had already improved.

Now, after hearing Wen Zhuojin’s explanation, she had completely calmed down.

“There’s nothing wrong, what are you looking at?” Yan Qinglan said.

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong.” Wen Zhuojin also stopped looking, hugging Yan Qinglan and swaying her gently.

“What’s done is done. Don’t think about it anymore. No matter when, we’ve already met.” Yan Qinglan rested her chin on Wen Zhuojin’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, then reached out to hug Wen Zhuojin’s waist.

From Wen Zhuojin’s words, Yan Qinglan also sensed what Wen Zhuojin hadn’t said.

Back when Yan Qinglan escaped from Tianxuan Palace, she had a brief encounter with Wen Zhuojin, who had come to pray. Later, at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Wen Zhuojin had seen Yan Qinglan once before finally redeeming her and bringing her back.

This had happened a long time ago.

But every time the memory was brought up, Wen Zhuojin’s heart would ache with regret, wishing she had taken Yan Qinglan back sooner to spare her some suffering.

Wen Zhuojin let out a low hum, and the two of them hugged each other in the room for a while.

When they heard movement outside, Wen Zhuojin let go of Yan Qinglan.

The two of them held hands and went out, only to see the child from earlier crawling on the ground towards them, chased by the Embroidered Uniform Guard who grabbed her. The child struggled, looking in Wen Zhuojin’s direction with wide eyes.

The chain on her ankle hadn’t been removed yet, and her struggling made even Wen Zhuojin feel a bit of pain.

“Don’t move, I’ll tell them to let go.” before Wen Zhuojin could speak, Yan Qinglan said first.

The child heard Yan Qinglan’s words and stopped struggling. The Embroidered Uniform Guard let go.

Yan Qinglan and Wen Zhuojin walked over.

“What do you want to do? Can you still walk? Does it hurt?” Yan Qinglan bent down and asked softly.

The child, with wide eyes, looked at Yan Qinglan and Wen Zhuojin, her eyes moving slightly, but she still didn’t speak.

Yan Qinglan bent down and picked her up, not minding the dirt on her body.

“Sister, let me carry her.” Wen Zhuojin was afraid Yan Qinglan couldn’t handle the weight.

“She’s very light, too thin.” Yan Qinglan shook her head and walked inside.

“Have the tools to remove the chain been prepared?” Yan Qinglan asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“They’re ready.” the guard replied.

Yan Qinglan carried the child into the room, had the guards bring the tools, and called for the royal physician to be ready to clean and bandage the wound after the chain was removed.

While handling this, Yan Qinglan had Wen Zhuojin go prepare clothes for the child, not wanting her to see and be reminded of her past.

The chain on her ankle had almost peeled off a layer of flesh before it was finally removed.

The child bit down on a piece of cloth, only letting out a few low groans, not shedding a single tear.

After the bandaging was done, when Wen Zhuojin came in, Yan Qinglan took another piece of candy from Wen Zhuojin’s pouch and put it in the child’s mouth.

“There’s no bone injury. Once you recover, you’ll be able to walk. Don’t be afraid, no one here will hurt you. The bad people have already been sent to the authorities.” Yan Qinglan said to the child.

“Later, I’ll have someone bathe you. Be good, and once you’re clean, you can sleep. Do you understand? If you understand, nod.” seeing the child still staring blankly, Yan Qinglan didn’t expect a response but continued, imitating Wen Zhuojin’s way of asking for a reaction.

After Yan Qinglan finished speaking, she looked at the child, who nodded slightly.

Yan Qinglan instructed a guard to bathe the child, avoiding the injured areas.

When Yan Qinglan and Wen Zhuojin went out, they heard a thud. It was the child kneeling on the ground, kowtowing to them.

She kowtowed three times in a row, her forehead turning green.

“Enough, don’t hurt yourself anymore. Be good, come here.” Yan Qinglan quickly turned back and helped her up.

When the guard took the child to bathe, Yan Qinglan and Wen Zhuojin went to the room to change clothes.

Wen Zhuojin helped Yan Qinglan get dressed.

“She knows how to kowtow, but I don’t know if she can speak.”

“Maybe she’s been locked up for too long and needs more time to adjust.”

As they talked, Wen Zhuojin helped Yan Qinglan tidy up, then looked her over.

“You look so good, truly my wife!” Wen Zhuojin said sincerely, then kissed her, looking at her with a smile.

Yan Qinglan, being “teased” by Wen Zhuojin, wanted to glare at her, but when she met Wen Zhuojin’s smiling eyes, she couldn’t help but smile too.

“Sister, you’re not worried that I’ll get too close to that child and leave you alone, are you? If you don’t feel good, I’ll get jealous too. You hugged her, gave her candy, and…” Wen Zhuojin said in a resentful tone, but before she could finish, Yan Qinglan covered her mouth with her hand.

“Shut up!” Yan Qinglan glared at Wen Zhuojin fiercely.

Wen Zhuojin smiled with curved eyes.

When interacting with the child, Yan Qinglan took the lead. Wen Zhuojin knew what she meant—she didn’t want Wen Zhuojin to be reminded of the past.

But now, none of that mattered. Both of their moods had improved.

Wen Zhuojin’s thoughts were a bit different from Yan Qinglan’s. Wen Zhuojin wanted to see Yan Qinglan open up more and form emotional connections with people other than Wen Zhuojin, beyond just love.

But this might be difficult.

There are currently about thirty children around ten years old being raised in the palace.

Among them, seven are from the royal family but not of the Yan surname.

Yan Qinglan regularly meets with them, mainly to check on their studies.

In front of them, she acts as the emperor, not forming any emotional bonds.

The people around Yan Qinglan, from her beloved younger brother Yan Qi, to the maid Jiangxiao who had served her since childhood, to the elder-like Consort Li who had cared for her—all of them had betrayed Yan Qinglan.

Wen Zhuojin knew that in Yan Qinglan’s heart, there was still this barrier. Besides Wen Zhuojin, she wouldn’t invest any emotions in anyone else.

Wen Zhuojin instinctively felt this wasn’t right, that it wasn’t good for Yan Qinglan.

But Wen Zhuojin didn’t know how to resolve it.

Such deep wounds might take a long time to heal.

The two of them talked in the room for a while, then went out to see the child who had finished bathing.

Dressed in a clean, high-quality dress, her face washed clean, her hair tied in double buns, the child surprised both Yan Qinglan and Wen Zhuojin.

She was very beautiful, with a natural stubbornness and seriousness about her.

But she was too thin, lacking the chubby cuteness that a child should have.

Thinking of her experiences, one couldn’t help but feel pity.

“Do you remember your name?”

“Where did you live before? Do you have any family left?”

Yan Qinglan tried asking her a few questions, but the child just shook her head.

“For the next few days, you’ll stay with us and focus on recovering. If you remember anything, you can tell us.” Yan Qinglan said to the child.

The child nodded slightly, her wariness towards Yan Qinglan and Wen Zhuojin gradually fading.

But she still couldn’t speak.

Yan Qinglan wasn’t in a hurry to ask the child about the scent she wanted. She would wait until the child’s condition improved a bit before asking.

Yan Qinglan still had many memorials to read, and Wen Zhuojin needed to continue handling the affairs of the merchant association.

The memorials Yan Qinglan had were sent from Yunjing City, and they had piled up, keeping her busy.

Originally, Yan Qinglan had some free time, but after meeting with Wen Zhuojin, they had spent a lot of time together. While reviewing the memorials, Yan Qinglan kept yawning, clearly exhausted.

After handling some matters, Wen Zhuojin returned to see Yan Qinglan with tears hanging on her eyelashes, still forcing herself to review the memorials. It broke Wen Zhuojin’s heart.

Wen Zhuojin walked over and picked Yan Qinglan up, holding her in her arms.

“If you’re tired, sleep for a while.” Wen Zhuojin said.

“These are all important matters. If I don’t finish them, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will be waiting to send them back.” Yan Qinglan said.

“Then close your eyes first. I’ll read them, and after I finish, I’ll give my opinion. If you agree, I’ll write it down. If you don’t, tell me how to write it.” Wen Zhuojin said.

Yan Qinglan leaned against Wen Zhuojin, nodded, and closed her eyes.

This kind of operation, which might sound outrageous to others, was something they were very familiar with.

There was a time when Yan Qinglan was extremely busy, and Wen Zhuojin helped her handle things, even imitating her handwriting.

If this were done by anyone else, it would be considered treason.

But coming from Wen Zhuojin, Yan Qinglan didn’t feel it was inappropriate.

And so, a stack of memorials was quickly reviewed by the two of them.

After Wen Zhuojin sent the memorials to the responsible Embroidered Uniform Guard to be delivered back to Yunjing City, she returned to find Yan Qinglan had already fallen asleep.

Wen Zhuojin smiled at Yan Qinglan’s sleeping posture, then bent down to pick her up and place her on the bed.

Seeing her clothes were in the way, Wen Zhuojin carefully removed them, leaving her in her undergarments to sleep.

After it got dark, Yan Qinglan still hadn’t woken up, so everyone stayed on the boat, continuing to stay on the painted boat.

Wen Zhuojin went to check on the child, who had taken her medicine and gone to sleep. She seemed quite well-behaved.

After inspecting the boat’s defenses and handling some matters, Wen Zhuojin returned to the room to find Yan Qinglan.