Chapter 354: Ran Off Alone
The sun was setting, blanketing the world in a blood-red afterglow.
Jiang Qingli turned around and saw Yi Nuo standing calmly behind her, his gaze as obedient and loyal as ever.
Their eyes met, and she couldn’t help but recall many scenes from the past.
Yi Nuo was only fifteen back then, standing stiff as a wooden doll in his servant’s uniform.
When Jiang Qingli passed by, the other servants had already greeted her, but he would call out "Miss" a beat too late.
He was dazed, and hopeless at everything.
The other servants gave him all the dirty, tiring chores. He would do them sluggishly, without a word of complaint, but because he was slow to react, he always made mistakes. When those servants were reprimanded by Housekeeper Qin, they took their frustrations out on him.
One time, Jiang Qingli even saw someone splash Yi Nuo all over with dirty mop water.
It was the dead of winter, and a cold wind howled through the corridor.
The gaunt boy knelt on the floor, using a soaking wet rag to wipe up the water, bit by bit.
Jiang Qingli thought he was an idiot. She ran up to him, frustrated by his weakness. "Yi Nuo, someone is bullying you! Why don’t you tell Housekeeper Qin?"
As if he didn’t understand her, Yi Nuo just blinked.
Jiang Qingli said in exasperation, "Don’t play mute. I’m being serious with you."
Yi Nuo remained silent.
"Forget it." Jiang Qingli grabbed his arm. "Come inside with me and change your clothes."
"This... needs to be cleaned," Yi Nuo finally spoke, his long, water-beaded eyelashes trembling slightly.
Jiang Qingli frowned. "The robots clean this area. He did this to you on purpose, don’t you get it? I’ll have him fired tomorrow."
Yi Nuo looked at her for a few seconds, seemingly unable to comprehend her anger, and bent down to continue wiping the floor.
Jiang Qingli couldn’t stand it anymore. She snatched the rag away and said unhappily, "If you don’t listen to me, I’m going to spread rumors that you’re a dog." She threatened him fiercely, "I’ll say you’re a mutt, a dirty dog, a gray dog!"
At her words, Yi Nuo went rigid. He shot his eyes up and said woodenly, "I... I’m a wolf."
He was very particular about his species, and Jiang Qingli used that fact to make him obey her.
"So you’ll listen to me now, understand?"
"Mhm." He nodded dazedly.
Only then did he let Jiang Qingli take his hand and lead him inside.
At that time, Housekeeper Qin was arranging flowers. She jumped in surprise seeing Yi Nuo dragged inside in such a sorry state and quickly pushed him into the bathroom to take a shower.
Fog blurred the glass, only to be wiped away by a finger, vaguely revealing a sky full of snowflakes outside the window.
The snowflakes landed on the glass and slowly melted, transforming into the girl’s warm gaze upon him.
"Yi Nuo?"
Jiang Qingli waved a hand in front of Yi Nuo’s face and asked with concern, "Why are you so quiet? How did the check-up go?"
The Gray Wolf Butler snapped out of his reverie and said respectfully, "Very well. Thank you for your concern, Miss."
Jiang Qingli nodded and tucked his suitcase into her Space Ring as well.
Seeing Xie Youchen walking over out of the corner of her eye, she told Yi Nuo to go on ahead to the aircraft.
Yi Nuo’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he followed Chen Mi onto the aircraft.
Once the door closed, Jiang Qingli hurried over to Xie Youchen, holding up a hand to stop him.
"What is it?" Xie Youchen asked.
"Yi Nuo..." Jiang Qingli frowned. "If he goes to the Lower District... won’t he be reminded of unpleasant things?"
Seeing her expression, Xie Youchen understood. "Chen Mi told you everything."
"I’m the one who asked. Don’t blame Secretary Chen."
"It’s fine. It’s not a big secret." Xie Youchen took Jiang Qingli’s hand, explaining as they walked, "Ah Li, Yi Nuo has had fragmented memories surface occasionally over the past few years. He mentioned to me before that he wanted to go to the Lower District, but he never had a legitimate reason."
The Lower District is under strict control. We’re using this as an opportunity for Yi Nuo to go back and try to reclaim some of his memories.
Even if they’re painful, they are still his memories. Whether to reclaim them or not is his decision to make.
Jiang Qingli respected Yi Nuo’s choice.
-
At 7:30 PM, the aircraft landed on time at the military airfield.
According to the schedule, they were supposed to depart at eight o’clock.
But by 7:50, there was still no sign of Qin Yu and Qin Xiangning.
Everyone present was very punctual, and seeing this, they were all quite displeased.
At 7:55, Chen Mi placed a call, but the other party immediately hung up, leaving only a busy signal.
Xie Youchen’s brow furrowed slightly, his expression displeased.
As Xie Youchen’s secretary, Chen Mi felt his scalp prickle with dread.
As he watched the time tick over to 7:58, Chen Mi finally received a return call.
On the other end, Qin Yu said apologetically, "So sorry, Youchen. Xiangning is trying on clothes, so we might be a bit late. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? I heard Muye’s condition has already stabilized."
The sound of soft music could be heard in the background, along with the faint voices of several people offering praise. They were clearly still at their residence.
Qin Xiangning’s dissatisfied voice cut in. "This design is so tacky, and you call it good-looking? Is your designer a widow?"
A chorus of apologies immediately followed.
Qin Yu sighed, feigning helplessness. "Ah, Youchen, you know how our Xiangning is. He has such high standards for his attire. This is his first time visiting the Lower District, and he’s going to see Muye, so naturally he wants to look his best... Heh, you don’t mind, do you?"
Xie Youchen let out a cold laugh. "Of course not."
Qin Yu chuckled. "That’s a relief. We’ll probably need another half hour here. You all can rest for a while."
Xie Youchen didn’t reply, simply hanging up the phone.
Silence descended. Xie Youchen hadn’t used a secure channel, so everyone present had heard the entire conversation.
The air was deathly still.
It wasn’t just Chen Mi; even the military officers who had received them felt their hair stand on end.
Who in the military district didn’t know that Marshal Xie valued rules above all else?
An agreed-upon time was absolute and could not be changed.
But the other party consisted of two members of the Imperial Family. Moreover, His Majesty the Emperor didn’t have many daughters, and Qin Yu was one of the candidates for the throne...
’But Xie Youchen said he "didn’t mind,"’ they thought. ’Does that mean he’ll make an exception this time?’
Chen Mi asked cautiously, "Marshal, should we wait for a while, or..."
Xie Youchen glanced at his wrist-terminal and said, "We depart now."
An officer to the side was stunned. "Huh? What do you mean by that, sir?"
"It’s eight o’clock." Xie Youchen rose, smoothly pulling Jiang Qingli to her feet and heading straight for the military aircraft. "Let’s go."
The officers exchanged uncertain glances. "So... we’re not waiting for Their Highnesses?"
Before he could finish, the young man ahead of them stopped and shot him a cool glance. His handsome, stern features held an unquestionable authority.
The men quickly snapped to attention, saluting Xie Youchen. "Yes, sir! Departing now! We wish you a safe journey!"
Once the door closed, Jiang Qingli asked, feigning ignorance, "So we’re really not waiting?"
Xie Youchen said slowly, "Since they’re busy, they can depart on their own. We can’t delay Advisor Jiang’s time."
’We haven’t even reached the Lower District, and he’s already using my title.’
Jiang Qingli pressed her lips together to hide a smile.
The military aircraft was ten times faster than a civilian model. By taking the military-exclusive corridor, they would likely arrive in about a day and a night.
Drinks were provided on the aircraft. Jiang Qingli chose purified water, and Xie Youchen got her a straw.
She sat by the window, looking down at the landscape of the Empire passing below.
As the sky grew darker, the terminal Xie Youchen had placed on the small table suddenly began to vibrate.
He was still reading a report, so Jiang Qingli casually answered it.
The moment she put it to her ear, Qin Xiangning’s furious roar blasted through the receiver: "Xie Youchen?! You just took off without us?!"