In the past few years in Zhuyayuan, it was not like Song Jinyin had never seen the gentle Pei Yanzhou.
It's just that most of them are drunk and not sober.
Now Pei Yanzhou stood in front of her with clear eyes, and his tone was as gentle as another person, carefully telling her not to push him away.
Song Jinyin felt a little ridiculous, but more importantly, she felt unfamiliar and suspicious of all this.
It took her a long time to speak, but she didn't get much response.
"The prince may still not understand. What I want to say is that I will not go back no matter whether I force myself to force it or not. As for whether the prince wants to stay in Luo City or not, it is the prince's choice. The city gate is open every day, and whoever has said it can do it." Can’t count.”
"Just do what you say," Pei Yanzhou tightened his fingertips, fearing that she would turn around again, suppressing the urge to hold her in his arms again.
"Whatever you say from now on will count for me."
Pei Yanzhou's voice became hoarse, and the prayer in his eyes was mixed with hope. The contradictions were like light and shadow, clearly disappearing.
"If you don't like my forcing, I won't force you anymore. I won't do anything as long as you don't want to, so don't push me away anymore, don't avoid me anymore, okay?"
Song Jinyin's lips parted, but instead of feeling excited by these words, she felt a sense of heaviness in her heart.
How could she say it? It was difficult for her to erase the hurt and abandonment she had suffered.
She was just a little bit away from being able to survive her days in Zhuyayuan.
At that time, Pei Yanzhou would never say a humble word to her, "Don't push me away."
He would only remind her of her identity coldly, and even the dark gaze that fell on her was like a sharp sword that hurt people.
But in the end, these only stayed in Song Jinyin's mind for a moment.
I didn’t know where to start, so I simply stopped talking.
Pei Yanzhou noticed that the man in front of him was distracted, as if he was recalling the past that he didn't dare to recall. The man moved his thin lips lightly and finally took a step back.
"If you don't want to talk to me, then I will wait until you are willing to look back at me."
The man lowered his eyes, with self-mockery and bitterness in his voice, "I will protect you and our children, as long as you don't avoid me, Yin Yin... don't avoid me anymore."
A loud sound made Song Jinyin's mind suddenly sober.
These two words were called by my father, by Mrs. Liu, and by Pei Yanzhou when he was drunk.
But these people who were close to her moved away from her one by one, leaving her behind and abandoning her.
Song Jinyin's eyes finally turned red, thinking of Mrs. Liu who was far away in the Duke's Mansion, and of herself as a mother.
"Your Majesty's voice is not etiquette. If your Majesty wants to call me, it would be more appropriate to say Song Ci."
The voice blown in the wind was hoarse than before, with a lower emotion.
Pei Yanzhou's heart tightened, and he only hated himself for reminding her of the past again.
But he just raised his trembling hand.
He didn't dare to hold her, he didn't dare to bring her into his arms, he didn't even have the qualifications to coax her, for fear of offending her.
"It's my fault, Song...Ci."
It is difficult for Pei Yanzhou to call Song Ci.
It's as if after changing this name, the little girl who once had eyes for him has truly disappeared from his world, and will never be found again.
But looking at the red eyes of the girl in front of him, Pei Yanzhou felt that he owed her a lot over the years, and it seemed that even ten thousand steps back was not enough.
After a long time, the man spoke again.
"It's cold outside, I'll take you back to the courtyard."
Seeing Song Jinyin looking over with suspicion, Pei Yanzhou stopped walking again and changed his words: "I'll ask Cang Lin to take you back to the small courtyard."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Before leaving, Song Jinyin hesitated for a moment, and then thanked her again.
She was not someone who could not grasp things clearly. Although she understood that she would never be able to interact with the person in front of her again, with that moment of help, she really had to accept this relationship.
Pei Yanzhou also saw the sincerity in her gratitude.
But the more Song Jinyin refused to dodge, the more his heart sank. He didn't want to expose the reason behind this, so he just pretended not to know and avoided the thank you.
"If anything happens, call Cang Lin."
Song Jinyin didn't respond to these words, she just turned around and left quietly.
But even though she had walked a long way, she could still detect the gaze falling on her back.
She showed no sign of stopping, but her expression became a little more serious without realizing it, and she became more and more sober.
Pei Yanzhou has no intention of leaving Luocheng, he wants to guard her.
Although I don’t know how true or false this statement is, Song Jinyin is worried after all.
She didn't want to run away before, but it was because of Pei Yanzhou's ruthless and stubborn temper that he would not give her a chance to run again.
And she understood at that time that now she also held her own life in hand, and Pei Yanzhou could not threaten her with anything.
But at this moment, although she didn't know why this man was different from before, she thought that if Pei Yanzhou was really crazy and wanted to stop beside her, she would have to find another way.
That man can't stay in this small town forever, he will always go back to Kyoto.
No one can tell what he will plan by then.
Song Jinyin frowned slightly and pursed her lips.
It's just that it's not easy to run to the end, so we can only think about it in the long term.
"Miss Jinyin?"
There was a voice in her ears, and Song Jinyin came back to her senses and looked at Cang Lin, who was calling her next to her.
And his eyes never moved away from her.
Pei Yanzhou stared blankly until the figure behind him got farther and farther away from him.
Although he is clearly standing on the long street, the man seems to have disappeared into the dim light and shadow, and is incompatible with the bustle here.
But the depression lasted only a moment.
Pei Yanzhou watched his little girl walking into the small courtyard, and his whole body felt cold again.
He won't always be hiding behind his back.
He wanted to stand in front of Song Jinyin again little by little. When she recovered, he would personally go to Jiangnan and visit the Shen family.
Thank you profusely for his little girl.
...
That night, Mrs. Liu didn't sleep all night in the Duke's mansion.
Mrs. Liu knew early on that once Yinyin left, it would probably be difficult for her to see her again.
It's just that she should be happy for her, but when she came back from her dream at midnight, she was still on the verge of collapse after hearing the mother's voice.
When he opened his eyes, the sky turned white.
Mrs. Liu rubbed it with a handkerchief. When she went to Fuluyuan, the redness and swelling in her eyes had not subsided.
"What's going on with you?"
The old lady frowned and asked the others to retreat, leaving only Nanny Fu.
"But what happened in the backyard of the big house?"
"It's not a big deal."
Mrs. Liu smiled, but her eyes were tired, and her smile seemed a little weak.
"Aunt Fang is the only one in the backyard who has given me a headache lately, but I can't blame her. Maybe it was because the Duke was in a depressed mood, and that's why I couldn't retain him several times in a row."
"You just have a soft ear, let her cry with you!"
The old lady glared at Mrs. Liu, angry that she was too soft-tempered, "It's just once or twice. Why is she so unlucky every time that whenever the boss encounters trouble, he is in her room?"
"I know what the old lady said is reasonable, but it's really hard to understand. You said that among the women in the backyard, which one doesn't want to serve the Duke well? Auntie Fangfang... If I had known this, I would have saved more. I won’t think about my selfishness for her anymore.”
"She doesn't care about this favor, but you still give it to her!"
The old lady's face became darker and darker as she spoke.
Things have been calm in the house recently, but the old lady always feels that things are not as good as before, and Jinzhi also excuses herself from the house every day, citing a lot of errands.
When Liu mentioned many things, it made people think of Yan Zhou's days in the mansion, how much more practical they were than now.
But right now, no matter how unsteady he is, he still has to take care of the stability of the house first before talking about anything else.
"Aunt Fang, let the maid keep an eye on you."
"Yes, madam."
There was a bit of hesitation on Madam Liu's face, but in the end she felt blessed and agreed softly.
"The old lady still has the final say on matters in this house. There is also lunch on the day before the New Year. The whole family is supposed to gather together, but I am not in good health to ask the second young master about the arrangements, so I am not sure. Can the second young master return to the mansion that day?"
"I will send someone to ask, but the boss is not happy with Jin Zhisheng for some reason. If you are around on weekdays, if you can talk to him, just give him a few words of advice."
"I tried to persuade her a little bit, but..."
"Just how?"
Mrs. Liu sighed and lowered her voice, "I just heard that the Duke's unhappiness is related to the Second Young Master's recent official dealings. After hearing this, how could I dare to inquire about those... Come to think of it, , the prince is still here in the house."
The old lady didn't say anything for a long time. It took a long time for her expression to calm down, and she asked someone to prepare some writing.
A few days ago, I heard that her eldest grandson went to the city in the south. Now that the New Year is approaching, I guess he has no intention of rushing back to Kyoto.
Thinking about this, the old lady inevitably felt a little depressed.
"Like his mother, she is very stubborn. Now I can only write a letter to the family first so that he can take care of himself."
"The old lady still misses the young master."
"You should pay more attention to things in the house these days. If you are too busy, ask your third daughter-in-law to help."
The old lady waved her hand and took the tea cup from Aunt Fu.
"And Aunt Fang, be careful. Don't let her cause trouble for me during this festive occasion."
"Yes, I understand."
Mrs. Liu responded, lowering her eyes to hide her thoughts.
From the moment when Aunt Fang bribed her mother-in-law to frame Yin Yin earlier, no matter whether the fault was found or not, she was left to die.
