The Young Marquis Regrets Too Late - Chapter 15

“Miss, are you alright?” Huayun, who was by Jiang Jingchun’s side, was a little worried. After asking that, she said, “If the young marquis doesn’t come, then so be it. It must be lively outside today, and we can still go out and have fun without him.”

Jiang Jingchun exhaled a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. Then, she said, “Yes; if he doesn’t come, then so be it. It’s not like I can’t go on my own.”

That was right. Anyhow, it wasn’t as if Jiang Jingchun didn’t have any other company besides him. She had plenty of friends and certainly didn’t need him to accompany her.

It was ultimately youthful temperament speaking. When things didn’t go her way, she couldn’t help but feel a little angry.

Jiang Jingchun said, “I’ll go to the Chen family residence.”

Seeing that Jiang Jingchun had regained her spirits, Huayun quickly nodded. “Yes, Miss! Let’s  go find Miss Chen.”

However, things didn’t go as expected. After arriving, she found that Chen Muqing wasn’t home. She had gone to visit her maternal grandfather today.

Jiang Jingchun couldn’t do anything about that. As such, she turned and went to the Song family residence to find Song Xuan’an. The servant went in to deliver the message, and Jiang Jingchun waited for him at the door of the residence.

After a while, a young man in a flamboyant purple robe came out from the main gate. His steps were free and easy, and his tied-up hair fluttered in the evening breeze.

Song Xuan’an didn’t see Jiang Jingchun when he first walked out. However, he then lightly walked to the pillar near the entrance. Sure enough, he saw her crouching in that corner.

Whenever she came to find him, she always liked to crouch there.

Jiang Jingchun had her head lowered and rested it on her arm. As such, he couldn’t clearly see her expression.

He thought back to what happened when he last went to the Jiang family’s residence. He didn’t know what had happened to her after he left… However, since she was out and about, it seemed like she was fine.

He walked up to her. 

When Jiang Jingchun saw a shadow covering her, she looked up and saw Song Xuan’an standing in front of her.

Song Xuan’an crossed his arms over his chest, looked at her, and teasingly said, “You must’ve come to me because you couldn’t find anyone else to play with.”

Jiang Jingchun felt like he’d seen right through her, so she stood up and retorted, “What? I came to find you out of kindness. How could you say that to me? If you don’t want to go out, then just forget it.”

With that, she turned to leave.

Seeing that she was truly angry, Song Xuan’an stopped joking and quickly followed her.

“I was just kidding. What’s with the bad mood today? Have you eaten gunpowder or something?”

Jiang Jingchun ignored him and kept walking.

Song Xuan’an didn’t continue teasing her. Instead, he asked, “Hey, does your hand still hurt from that time?”

He was referring to the time her father had punished her.

Jiang Jingchun turned her head away. She was still unwilling to acknowledge his presence.

Well, it was his own fault for bringing up something that was a sore spot for her right now. As soon as he said that, her mind immediately went to Gu Huaisheng, and just thinking about him made her bl00d boil.

Song Xuan’an saw she wasn’t responding, so he grabbed her hand and looked at it. 

He remembered that last time, it was her left hand that her father had struck.

Sure enough, there was still bandaging on that hand. Jiang Jingchun was about to curse at him, but Song Xuan’an held her hand and pressed his fingers gently against the bandage.

Seeing that she was only angry and not showing any other reaction, Song Xuan’an realised her injury must have almost healed.

He covered her mouth with his hand to stop the curses and scolding that was bubbling in her throat from coming out. He said, “Alright, stop being so angry already. Haven’t I come out to keep you company? If you scold me and scare me away, then you’re really going to have no one to accompany you.”

He let go of her, and Jiang Jingchun didn’t try scolding him anymore, but she was still glaring at him.

Song Xuan’an found her pouty expression amusing, and his smile widened.

They left the Song family residence and headed down the street. The little road was quiet, and it had only a few pedestrians walking by. 

Neither Song Xuan’an nor Jiang Jingchun spoke while they walked, and the atmosphere between them became much quieter, except for the occasional noise coming from the main street nearby.

The moonlight bathed them as they walked side by side.

Song Xuan’an felt bored, so he looked at his palm, with which he had just touched Jiang Jingchun’s mouth. That palm still felt itchy, and when he raised it, he saw some lip rogue left on it. Under the moonlight, it seemed unusually bright and red. Suddenly, he turned his head to look at her and asked, “Why are you dressed so nicely today?”

It was only then that he really took a good look at her.

Today, Jiang Jingchun wore some powder on her face, which made her skin appear even fairer than usual. Under her slender willow leaf-shaped brows, her eyes sparkled like stars. Her lips were rosy and her nose was delicate, and her lip rouge was also much more vibrant than what she usually wore. Even her clothes seemed to be more fitted than usual.

She never dressed like this when she was with him and Chen Muqing.

Song Xuan’an suddenly turned his voice cold as he said, “You wanted to go with your cousin, but he wouldn’t, so you went to find Chen Muqing. However, Chen Muqing also had something else to do, so you came to find me.” 

So, he was the last option for her, wasn’t he?

Jiang Jingchun’s eyelids twitched.

How did he guess everything? Not only had he figured out that Gu Huaisheng had rejected her, but he also knew she had gone to the Chen family residence first.

She’d never seen him being this clever before.

Song Xuan’an didn’t wait for her to reply, but he could already tell the answer from her eyes. 

His face darkened, and he gave her one last glance before turning and walking ahead.

Jiang Jingchun knew she was at fault, and seeing that he was angry, she quickly ran after him while attempting to placate him.

“Hey, don’t be mad. The first person I thought of was you…”

Even Jiang Jingchun herself wouldn’t believe what she said.

She continued, “Look, I still thought of you…”

However, saying that only made things worse.

Song Xuan’an almost couldn’t stop himself from collapsing from anger. He turned around and snapped, “Can you shut up?”

Jiang Jingchun shrank her neck and obediently fell silent.

At first, she tried to coax him gently, but as they walked down the street, she became distracted by the lively street scene. After being cooped up at home for so long, everything outside felt new and exciting. She couldn’t help but want to buy everything she saw. In the end, she completely forgot that Song Xuan’an was still mad at her and accumulated a bunch of items, which she had Song Xuan’an carry.

Jiang Jingchun skipped ahead, holding a rabbit-shaped lantern, while Song Xuan’an followed behind her with a large pile of things in his hands.

Song Xuan’an was angry, yet helpless against her. He carried the large pile of things with a dark expression, and finally, just as Jiang Jingchun was eyeing another small trinket, Song Xuan’an couldn’t hold it in anymore and said, “Are you still buying things? Are you planning to hang them on my head now?”

Hearing this, Jiang Jingchun finally noticed that his hands were full. She felt somewhat embarrassed, so she gave a dry laugh and stopped herself from buying any more items. 

Seeing that his expression was still not good, she knew he must still be upset. He was already angry before she started buying things, and now that he was carrying a pile of things, he must be even angrier.

Suddenly, she remembered the sachet in her arms that she had yet to give to Gu Huaisheng. Since it was a gift for someone she liked, she had put extra thought into making it.

However, since he didn’t come with her today, how could she give it to him? Moreover, he’d only given her news of his rejection after making her wait for an entire day. How could she not be angry with him?

Jiang Jingchun took the sachet, which was meant for Gu Huaisheng, from her chest and handed it to Song Xuan’an. “Don’t be angry anymore, alright? Here, it’s a mugwort sachet. You can use it to ward off evil spirits and protect yourself.”

The white sachet swayed gently in her fingers.

Song Xuan’an clearly understood her nature. He said, “Don’t think I don’t know. You probably wanted to give this to Gu Huaisheng, but since you couldn’t, you’re now thinking of giving it to me.”

He guessed right again.

Song Xuan’an and Jiang Jingchun had known each other for a long time, and Song Xuan’an had a good understanding of Jiang Jingchun. Just by looking at her outfit today, he immediately guessed that she had planned to go find Gu Huaisheng, not him.

He could also quickly deduce that this sachet was meant for Gu Huaisheng, not him.

Jiang Jingchun had been caught and exposed, but she still stubbornly denied it. “What are you even talking about? I didn’t give it to him, did I? You’re the first person I’ve pulled it out for.”

Song Xuan’an said in reply, “Don’t give me that nonsense.”

“Why do you have to speak so harshly? You know what, just forget it,” she said.

However, Song Xuan’an wasn’t about to let it go. He immediately responded, “Who said I don’t want it? Since you said it’s for me, then it’s mine now.”

Jiang Jingchun didn’t argue anymore and handed him the sachet. However, Song Xuan’an suddenly found himself in a bit of a predicament—he didn’t have a free hand to take it. He had come out alone today, and with no one around to help him carry things, he found himself momentarily at a loss.

Song Xuan’an said, “Why don’t you just tie it on me?”

Tie it on him? Right now? Out here?

Jiang Jingchun looked around at the lively scene. There were so many people, and since they were both good-looking, many people were already watching them. If she hung the sachet on him in such a setting, rumours might spread about them—what would they do then?

Jiang Jingchun refused and said, “No way. There are too many people around.”

Song Xuan’an glanced around and then tilted his head towards a nearby alley. “No one will see us there. Come with me, and help me tie it on.”

Jiang Jingchun looked at the alley with unease. She hesitated and said, “That doesn’t seem…”

Song Xuan’an asked, “What’s wrong? I’m just asking you to tie the sachet on me. What’s the problem? Tell me.”

Jiang Jingchun stammered for a long time but couldn’t come up with a good reason. In the end, she just repeated the old saying, “Men and women shouldn’t be too close.”

“Stop using that excuse on me. I’m not going to do anything to you,” he said. “Or is it that you don’t want to give me this sachet and are thinking of giving it to someone else instead now?”

Seeing that he was about to bring up the same thing again, Jiang Jingchun quickly interrupted him and started walking towards the alley. She said, “Stop trying to provoke me. Just hurry up and come.”

They walked towards the alley without noticing a pair of eyes watching them not far away, from the opposite side of the river.

When they reached the alley and saw no one around, Jiang Jingchun quickly tied the sachet for him. She bent down and focused on tying the knot under the dim moonlight. As she was close to him, Song Xuan’an could smell the jasmine-scented hair cream she had used.

She seemed to really like that cream, and he often smelled it on her.

In the past, Jiang Jingchun had never minded touching him like this. She wouldn’t have found it strange to tie a sachet on him. However, recently, she seemed to have changed a lot.

When had she started changing? 

Perhaps it was when they had grown up, or when she had fallen in love with Gu Huaisheng, or perhaps it was when she began learning proper conduct from her governess, and she started to truly believe that men and women shouldn’t be too close to each other.

But in the past, things were clearly different between them.

Before Song Xuan’an could continue thinking, Jiang Jingchun had finished tying the knot. She exhaled and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

Song Xuan’an glanced down at the sachet on his waist. He wasn’t quite sure about what he was thinking at that moment. It wasn’t until Jiang Jingchun turned around and called to him that he snapped out of it and followed her.

They walked out of the alley, but just as they were about to exit, they ran into someone who shouldn’t be there.

Gu Huaisheng was dressed differently today than usual. He wore a black brocade robe with a round collar, embroidered with golden clouds that made the robe look less plain. His red belt held the jade pendant he usually wore, which gave him an aura of understated elegance.

His nose was sharp, and his presence was as commanding as always, but his lips were tightly pressed and showed a hint of severity.

Jiang Jingchun hadn’t expected to see Gu Huaisheng here. He was standing next to a young girl who, judging from her dress, looked like she came from a respectable family, but Jiang Jingchun didn’t recognise her.

The young girl wore a light blue long dress and had a gentle smile on her face, which gave her a kind and polite look.

Given this, it wasn’t surprising that Jiang Jingchun didn’t recognise her. It seemed that they had different personalities, and it made sense that they wouldn’t have socialised together often.

As for the person standing next to this girl, though… Jiang Jingchun knew him all too well.

Who else could he be but Gu Huaisheng?

He said that he couldn’t go out with her today because he had something else to do. However, he clearly had time to go out with someone else.