Yun Jinnian fell silent.
Putting the book down slowly, he stood up, took a deep breath, and then said to Chu Yu, "Your Highness, the poison in your body has long been cured, and Jinnian should take leave now!"
"Yun Jinnian!" Chu Yu called out softly.
Yun Jinnian looked toward Chu Yu.
He seemed to have grown taller and even more handsome.
"..." Chu Yu sucked the inside of his cheek, suddenly unsure of what to say to Yun Jinnian.
"Does Your Highness wish Jinnian to prepare a few more poisons?" Yun Jinnian ventured to ask.
Chu Yu shook his head, "I wanted to ask, what are your plans for the future?"
"I don’t know, I’m just a child, what plans can I have? Who would listen to my plans? If my maternal grandfather comes to take me to the Han Family, I will go to the Han Family; if the Yun Family sends someone for me, I will return to the Yun Family!" Yun Jinnian said, gazing at the sky, "No one has ever asked me what I want!"
His voice was soft and faint, not sad, but it made Chu Yu’s heart ache terribly.
Letting go of the plum blossom in his hand, he swept Yun Jinnian up in one motion, seated her on the table, leaned in with his right hand resting on the table, and half embraced Yun Jinnian in his arms, "If I ask you, what are your plans, and respect them, what then?"
Yun Jinnian looked at Chu Yu.
Her heart inexplicably began to beat faster, and for no clear reason, became sadder still.
Bowing her head, tears started to roll down, she whispered softly, "Your Highness, don’t treat me , I can’t bear it!"
She didn’t dare to bear it, much less to hope for it.
Chu Yu clenched his teeth.
He was such a fool; hadn’t he made his feelings clear enough these days?
A birthday gift, he had painstakingly prepared longevity noodles himself, and had his handmade earrings, hairpins delivered to her through Si Qin, Luoyi and the others.
During these days, he had been cautiously accompanying her, thinking that someone as intelligent as her would understand.
"Yun Jinnian, you’re a coward!"
Yun Jinnian murmured quietly to herself.
All the dreams felt like real experiences, how dare she boldly wish for anything?
The one thing she longed for was to continue the bond with her son Momo.
She pushed Chu Yu’s hand away, hopped down from the table, and walked toward her room. Once inside, she closed the door and changed into the clothes she had brought from Yingci’an.
She changed out of all her clothes, her long black hair simply braided into twin plaits resting on her chest, and she slipped into green cotton shoes.
She took off her pearl earrings.
Yun Jinnian adjusted her sleeves, pushed the bracelet up her arm, opened the door, and walked out of the room.
The delicate and beautiful Yun Jinnian of an instant before transformed into the unattached Yun Jinnian of Yingci’an.
When Chu Yu looked at her, his hand instinctively reached for her wrist but found nothing; he felt a pang of pain in his eyes.
He turned and walked away.
Si Qin watched her take a deep breath, moving forward a few steps, "Fourth Miss!"
"Are you heading to Yingci’an now?"
"Thank you, Si Qin. I want to walk a while on my own," Yun Jinnian said, and then slowly began her walk out of the valley.
In this place for eleven months, she lived like a princess.
She had no worries about food or drink.
She could spend her days comfortably, with plenty of time to read books, no disturbances, and no persecution.
Once she left, she would still be the Yun Jinnian of the Yun Family, whom not a single person genuinely cared for. She didn’t understand why her parents treated her the way they did or why her grandmother detested her so much. Yun Jinnian didn’t even know what she had done wrong.
In the future, the memories of these eleven months would be enough for a lifetime!
When Yun Jinnian returned to Yingci’an, Mrs. Yuan was overjoyed, smiling from ear to ear. Ming Yang and Ru Yue had also changed a lot.
And Yun Jinnian seemed even less talkative than before.
When she looked at Mrs. Yuan, she said only a few gentle and soothing words before sitting on the kang, leaning against the window, and spacing out.