She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jing's body stiffened abruptly. The twilight crept up his pale face along the window frame, suppressing his rebuttal of "I don't believe it" into a broken sob in his throat.

He bowed mechanically to take his leave, his wide sleeves accidentally brushing over unopened gift boxes on the table. Before he could even pick them up, he walked away unsteadily.

Zhu Jing walked out of the government office and wandered aimlessly on the street for a long time.

Lanxiang's words kept echoing in his mind: "Man'er already has someone she loves. Although they are thousands of miles apart, their hearts are connected."

Who else could be so close to her, even though they are thousands of miles apart? Besides the current crown prince!

He should have known this, considering that she had rushed to Rongzhou a few days ago.

Night fell unexpectedly in the border town, and Zhu Jing staggered into a tavern near the government office.

Just as the waiter in the tavern was about to step forward to greet him, he was silenced by a silver ingot that he slammed onto the pine table. "Give me a jar of wine, the strongest kind!"

The waiter picked up the silver from the table, happily fetched him a jar of the strongest liquor, and also brought him two dishes of snacks to go with it.

"Please enjoy your meal, sir!"

Zhu Jing picked up the jar and gulped down the wine. However, the wine had a strong burning sensation, instantly igniting his mouth and throat.

Zhu Jing was choked by the sudden spiciness and coughed incessantly. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his handsome face.

He loosened his collar, trying to cool down from the strong liquor. The jade crown on his head hung askew in his hair because of his movements, making the once aristocratic young master look like a drunken street urchin.

Amber-colored wine trickled down his lips and into his clothes. Zhu Jing gazed at the flickering candlelight, memories surging like a tide.

Shen Man's every smile and frown seems to still be right before my eyes.

"How could she have someone else..." Zhu Jing muttered to himself, slamming his wine bowl heavily onto the octagonal table, causing the candle wick to spark.

The patrons at the next table cast strange glances at him, but were forced to look away hastily by his bloodshot eyes.

"Turns out I was the fool; I threw away the pearl in my hand for a fish eye..."

A metallic taste rose in my throat; I didn't know if it was from the strong liquor or the deep pain in my heart.

After the second watch gong sounded, only Zhu Jing remained in the tavern.

Empty wine jars piled up like a small mountain, yet he continued to pour wine into his cup, spilling it onto his cloud-patterned sleeves and leaving dark stains.

In a daze, he seemed to see Shen Man running towards him, lifting her skirt. He reached out to grab her, but only grasped at nothingness, and fell to the ground amidst the mess.

The waiter cautiously stepped forward to help, but Zhu Jing pushed him away.

He staggered and pushed open the wooden door of the tavern, and the summer wind, carrying the heat, rushed towards him.

Zhu Jing leaned against the door frame, gazing at the dark night sky, and suddenly burst into laughter.

The laughter startled the birds roosting under the eaves and shattered the quiet night of the border town.

He stumbled toward the riverbank, his soaked brocade robe stained with mud, his jade crown lost at some point, and his long hair plastered messily to his face.

"Man'er..."

He murmured to the rushing river, reaching out to scoop up the shattered reflection of the moon in the water, but the waves soaked his sleeves.

The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from afar, and I realized with a start that it was already past midnight.

Zhu Jing slumped onto the riverbank, gazing at the pale dawn breaking in the east, and finally burst into tears.

The crying was heart-wrenching, as if it were releasing all the obsessions, regrets, and resentment of the past years along with the tears.

In the darkness of night, his figure was lonely and desolate, a stark contrast to the spirited young man of yesterday.

Zhu Linyuan woke up in the morning and was shocked to find that his son had not returned home all night. At first, he thought his son was still busy at the government office, so he sent someone to inquire, only to find out that his son had left early the day before.

He was extremely worried and hurriedly sent people to search everywhere.

The Zhu family's servants searched for more than half an hour before finding Zhu Jing lying unconscious by the river.

When Shen Man learned that Zhu Jing was drunk, she was frowning at the pile of official documents on her desk.

When the yamen runner stammered out the story of Zhu Jing collapsing drunk by the river, her brush paused, the ink spreading darkly across the rice paper.

"I understand." She said calmly, continuing to write annotations as if it were just a trivial matter that happened every day in the border town.

By the time she finished her work and returned to the government office, it was already past noon.

Lanxiang sat under the eaves, her folding fan waving unconsciously. When she saw her daughter return, she suddenly stood up: "Man'er, have you heard about Young Master Zhu?"

Shen Man paused slightly as she washed her hands. "It's just from drinking too much. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

Lanxiang looked at her daughter's tense jawline and sighed, "He came to see me yesterday and talked about wanting to marry you. I blurted out that you have someone you like, and that's why he..."

“Mother, you didn’t say anything wrong, there’s no need to blame yourself.” Shen Man’s voice was calm, without a trace of emotion. “Zhu Jing and I are already in the past.”

Lanxiang held her daughter's cold hand. "Mother knows you are strong-willed, but some things kept in your heart will always remain a knot."

She recalled Zhu Jing's red-rimmed eyes as she pleaded, "I just beg you, Auntie, give me a chance." "That child now..."

"Mom, don't worry, Zhu Jing isn't a child anymore, he'll figure it out! Come inside and eat quickly."

That evening, Shen Man sat alone in her study, gazing at the bright moon hanging high in the sky outside the window, her thoughts a jumbled mess.

When Zhu Jing left that year, she stood under the peach tree in the backyard of the clinic all night until the dew soaked her clothes.

Now that time has passed, she has long been accustomed to standing on her own, and those unspoken words have ultimately become like willow catkins drifting in the wind.

The next morning, Shen Man went about her official business as usual.

When the yamen runner came to report that Zhu Jing had asked for leave to rest at home, she simply nodded and continued to look through the files in her hands.

No one noticed that when she was annotating official documents, her pen lingered on the words "缘尽" (the end of their relationship) for a long time, and the ink gradually spread.

In the blink of an eye, Lanxiang had been staying at the government office for five days, while Shen Man was busier every day, and yesterday she didn't even get to see her.

Lanxiang was worried that Shen Man's body wouldn't be able to handle this, so she decided to ask her properly tonight what was going on.

That evening, Lanxiang sat in Shen Man's room until 9 PM before Shen Man dragged her tired body back to her room.

"Mother, why aren't you asleep yet? Is something wrong?" Shen Man asked with concern when she saw Lanxiang.

"Man'er, are there so many things to handle at the government office every day? You seem so busy all the time..."

"Mother, I'll finish up the business at the government office in the next few days, and tomorrow I'll take you for a good stroll in the streets."

Lanxiang took Shen Man's hand with heartache, "Man'er, I know you're filial, but don't overwork yourself. Also, I want to ask you, how far have things progressed between you and His Highness the Crown Prince? He's been back in the capital for so long, why haven't we heard a single word from him? Is he reliable or not?"