Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 105 Taking shelter from the rain
The streets were getting less and less crowded. Song Yi and Jiang Lanye wandered around aimlessly, with more than half of their snacks still left.

Jiang Lanye glanced at the sky and thought it was about to rain, so he said, "Let's go back first."

Song Yi nodded.

No sooner had he finished speaking than thunder rumbled in the distance.

She froze, then immediately reached out and grabbed Jiang Lanye, saying, "I just finished showering, I don't want to get wet, let's run!"

She wished she could turn into a rabbit and rush out right now.

Helpless, Jiang Lanye quickened his pace and hurried back along the path he had come from.

Immediately afterwards——

"Boom"

Raindrops the size of beans fell instantly, hitting the two of them on the head.

Seeing this, Jiang Lanye took off his outer robe without hesitation, and ignoring Song Yi's obstruction, forcefully covered her head with it, saying, "Go quickly."

At this moment, inside the mansion, under the eaves of a room.

Everyone watched anxiously as the dense rain, like a net, fell continuously and eagerly to the ground, with the sound of rain pouring down all around.

Xichun and Eunuch Cao stood together, watching the heavy rain with great anxiety.

"Where did His Majesty go?"

Xi Chun whispered from the side, "It seems she went out with the Empress. I didn't expect it to rain."

Jiang Lanye and Song Yi had unknowingly wandered quite far. As the rain intensified and washed away the mud from the ground, Jiang Lanye decisively said, "Let's find shelter from the rain first."

Then, he pulled Song Yi to stand under the eaves of a dilapidated house.

Song Yi pulled off his outer robe and, seeing Jiang Lanye completely soaked, couldn't help but say:
"You insist on shielding me from the rain, but I don't need it at all."

After saying that, she raised her arm, intending to use her sleeve to wipe the rain off Jiang Lanye's face.

Jiang Lanye reached out and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from moving.

Song Yi was both angry and anxious. Seeing that he was soaking wet from head to toe, with rain still dripping from his outer robe onto the ground, she said, "Look, I told you Xichun and I would go. As an emperor, it's really unbelievable that you've become so disheveled."

Jiang Lanye said calmly, "If it were you and Xichun who came out in such heavy rain, I would not hesitate to come out in the rain to find you."

Song Yi had mixed feelings and said softly, "At least you can bring an umbrella over."

Jiang Lanye sighed helplessly, watching the raindrops blown by the wind towards her, and pulled her closer, saying:

"You said you wanted to go out, how could I possibly leave without going with you?"

Seeing Jiang Lanye's appearance, Song Yi said, "Bend down, let me wipe the rain off your face."

Seeing her insistence, Jiang Lanye said nothing more and leaned down slightly.

After carefully wiping the rainwater off him, Song Yi couldn't help but say, "It's my fault, I insisted on coming out suddenly."

Jiang Lanye said in a hoarse voice, "Sudden rain is something no one can expect. Besides, all the children who took your snacks were very happy. They did such a good deed, so what does getting a little rainy matter?"

Song Yi had never seen Jiang Lanye in such a disheveled state. Thinking of Zuo Sheng's face, she said, "Now look what's happened. When we get back, if he sees this, he'll definitely blame me, saying that I deliberately dragged his beloved emperor out, causing you to get soaked like this."

She emphasized the words "Your Majesty" very heavily.

Jiang Lanye raised an eyebrow and looked at Song Yi.

Song Yi felt uncomfortable under his gaze and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Jiang Lanye chuckled, "You hate him that much?"

Song Yi pursed her lips. "And he's your dear general. Even if I hate him, I can't say anything."

Jiang Lanye watched as she spoke while taking out the remaining snacks.

"Remove 'darling'." Song Yi glanced at him. "Did I say something wrong?"

Jiang Lanye said, "In my heart, you are the most important."

Song Yi squatted down, watching the pastries get slightly damp from the rain, making them crumbly when picked up. After a moment's hesitation, she put one in her mouth and ate it.

Jiang Lanye's expression changed slightly. He squatted down, reached out and pinched her cheek, forcing her to open her mouth. Then he gently inserted his fingers inside.

"Cough cough!"

Song Yi choked and her eyes welled up with tears, so she had no choice but to spit it out.

What are you doing?

Jiang Lanye frowned and said coldly, "It can't be eaten. Throw it away."

Song Yi looked at the pastries in her arms and felt it was a pity.

"But only a little rainwater got in, so it's still edible. It would be such a waste to throw all of it away if we didn't eat it."

Song Yi would never have considered these issues before.

The imperial kitchen staff delivered so much food that it filled the entire table; she only needed to choose what she liked to eat.

But now, Song Yi was squatting in front of him, holding these rain-soaked pastries. Jiang Lanye only glanced at them and felt as if his heart was being deliberately clenched in his palm, causing him great pain.

"Song Yi".

He suddenly called out in a hoarse voice.

Song Yi looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Now."

His Adam's apple bobbed for a moment, and he spoke with difficulty: "We are not too far from the capital now. I have ordered those people to send you back. It will only take two days for you to return to the Golden Palace."

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Yi's expression changed drastically. She looked at Jiang Lanye and said directly, "Jiang Lanye, I hate you."

Jiang Lanye knew she would react this way, and said seriously:

"Song Yi, you made a fuss before, asking me to bring you out. If things had gone smoothly along the way, that would have been fine. But now, you want me to just watch you end up like this?"

Song Yi knew that Jiang Lanye was worried about her, so she immediately put the snacks on the ground, wiped her mouth, and said, "I won't eat anymore."

Then, she opened her wet eyes wide and cautiously stared at Jiang Lanye, saying:
You can't send me away.

"I'll definitely be useful if I stay."

"Or do you think I'm just a burden to you, like that general?"

Jiang Lanye said in a low voice, "That's not what I meant."

I don't care what you mean.

Song Yi interrupted him, "In short, I've already come here with you, and there's absolutely no way I'll go back."

"Do you think that by keeping me in the Golden Palace and locking me up inside, I should be grateful to you? For you, it's protection, but for me, it's imprisonment."

What she longed for and craved was freedom.

Song Yi hated that Jiang Lanye used the pretense of doing it for her own good to lock her up, leaving her alone in the empty Golden Palace to wait for Jiang Lanye to return.

Her eyes were filled with vigilance, as if she was truly terrified that Jiang Lanye would suddenly issue an order to send her back.

Jiang Lanye sighed silently and said, "Alright, I understand."

Song Yi smiled and then tried to take off his outer robe and drape it over Jiang Lanye.

"We'll go back once the rain stops; they must be getting impatient."

(End of this chapter)