nucmednet Chapter 58 It's just a meal, no big deal.
Chapter 58 It's just a meal, no big deal.
Jiang Mian's heart tightened.
She has to stop all of this.
She closed her eyes, and memories of her past life surged through her mind, flashing through the faces of many people.
A moment later, she suddenly opened her eyes and thought of someone.
If she wants to stop the expedition, there is one last person who can help her.
That person was extremely difficult to find, but Jiang Mian had heard of his habit in her previous life. Every year at the beginning of winter, he would leave the palace to personally select the Chuming grass that was only available on that day.
This is her last chance. If she misses today, the Jiang family will truly be destroyed.
Without delay, she immediately ran out to order someone to prepare a sedan chair.
Without stopping, Jiang Mian arrived at a pharmacy. She hurriedly went upstairs, checked each room, and stopped in front of the last one.
She took a breath and politely knocked on the door.
The person inside seemed to know she was coming; after she knocked only once, a voice came from inside: "Come in."
Jiang Mian pushed open the door, and the room was filled with the aroma of fragrant tea, with books laid out. Behind the teacup, a person was sitting at the table, his brows revealing a composure and aloofness beyond his years.
"Your subject, Jiang Mian, greets the Grand Tutor."
Jiang Mian swallowed hard, her heart leaping into her throat, a strange sense of nervousness creeping in.
In her past life, she had also crossed paths with Duan Zhi'an.
At that time, she had just ascended to the position of empress, wielding power yet always feeling insecure, especially in front of this Grand Tutor, where all her thoughts seemed to be laid bare.
Therefore, she was very wary of Duan Zhi'an and deliberately dismissed him from his post, sending him back to his hometown.
On the day he left the palace, Duan Zhi'an left Jiang Mian with only one sentence: "You rose to power by relying on your looks, and now you're going to use your looks to maintain your rule?"
He spoke rudely, his eyes filled with contempt, yet he wasn't worried that Jiang Wan would order his execution. Rather than being dismissed, it would be more accurate to say that he left voluntarily because he didn't want to work for Jiang Wan anymore.
Later, in the imperial palace, court officials formed factions, each pursuing their own interests, resulting in predictable chaos. Helpless, Jiang Mian went to ask Duan Zhi'an to return to court. However, seeing the entire dynasty fall apart, he ignored Jiang Mian completely.
In this life, she had intended to keep her distance from this young Grand Tutor. But now, he was the only one she could think of who could help her.
Seeing that she remained silent, Duan Zhian slowly raised his eyes, his gaze as deep as a pool: "Miss Jiang, what brings you here?"
Jiang Mian snapped out of her reverie, curtsied, and clenched her fists.
She knew that in front of Duan Zhi'an, honesty was better than cunning, and he must have already guessed the purpose of her trip.
So she said directly, "This humble woman dares to ask the Grand Tutor to persuade His Majesty to withdraw the decree ordering my father to go to war."
Duan Zhian remained silent after listening, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, producing a steady sound.
Jiang Wan knew he was waiting for her to state her terms.
She took a deep breath and slowly said, "Grand Tutor, you can retire once you've succeeded in assisting the Crown Prince. If I said I could help you clear obstacles for the Crown Prince, would you be willing to help me?"
As Jiang Mian spoke, she handed over a piece of paper.
Duan Zhian opened the cup and glanced at it. His hand, which had been holding the cup, paused slightly and hovered in mid-air.
He then gently put it down and laughed, "Miss Jiang, you dare to give me this letter? Aren't you afraid I'll have you sentenced to death?"
"Does the Grand Tutor know how?"
She clenched her fists under the table, scrutinizing every subtle expression on Duan Zhi'an's face, but found nothing amiss.
A moment later, a faint smile appeared on his face: "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Miss Jiang. I have my own methods of doing things and don't need any extra help."
After he finished speaking, he stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "I've only come to pick up some medicine today. Farewell."
The letter was left on the table. A gust of wind blew a corner open, revealing the words "Third Prince" written on it.
He started walking out, and Jiang Wan quickly followed.
"Too..." she was about to shout, but seeing the crowd around her, she changed her words, "Young master, please wait! Do you not believe me?"
Duan Zhian stopped and said, "Miss Jiang dared to come to me for help today, which means that you have seen through the Emperor's intentions. Born into a family, yet able to understand the politics of the court, you are smarter than your father. However, it is precisely because of your intelligence that I feel you have the audacity to make such empty promises."
His smile carried a hint of arrogance; from the moment Jiang Mian entered the room, he could tell she was guilty and nervous.
But he didn't know that Jiang Wan was flustered because of her fear of him in her past life, and he thought she was lying because she was guilty.
Seeing that he was about to leave again, Jiang Wan hurriedly chased after him and said in a moment of urgency, "What I said can cause the Third Prince to fail at the last moment! From now on, no one in the court can stop His Highness the Crown Prince."
She remembered clearly that in her previous life, the Third Prince was powerful, and his faction in court was on par with Ning Zhi's. Duan Zhi'an had gone to great lengths to suppress him. After Ning Zhi ascended the throne, he settled both old and new scores, and directly demoted the Third Prince to prison.
However, during the search of the house, a huge secret was discovered in the Third Prince's home.
Jiang Wan now knows this secret, and if she were to reveal it, it would be enough to prevent the Third Prince from ever recovering.
But Duan Zhian ignored her and went straight downstairs.
She ran over and blurted out, "If I fail to help the Grand Tutor succeed, I will personally bring my father's head to you!"
Duan Zhi'an paused, standing still for a long time, as if calculating the gains and losses involved.
He then smiled and said, "Since Miss Jiang has spoken so earnestly, how could I refuse?"
His smile was eerie, as if he were lighting an incense stick to extinguish Jiang Xun's life, and when the incense burned out, his head fell to the ground.
Jiang Wan shivered inexplicably.
By the time she came to her senses, Duan Zhian had already walked out the door.
She hasn't finished talking yet!
Jiang Wan hurriedly ran downstairs, but she didn't pay attention and bumped into someone as she ran out the door.
"Wen Qian? Oh no, Princess Consort, you weren't hurt, were you?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Duan Zhi'an, who had just lifted the sedan curtain, suddenly stopped.
Wen Qian shook her head and asked, "Is Miss Jiang here to pick up medicine as well?"
"Ah, no, I came here to..."
Jiang Mian didn't have time for pleasantries and rushed to Duan Zhi'an's sedan chair: "I'm worried that the Emperor will target my father again, and I'd like to ask the Grand Tutor to find a way to save my father's life..."
Her eyes were full of sincerity, hoping that the conditions she had just offered would satisfy him.
After hearing this, Duan Zhian still maintained a subtle smile on his face.
"That's possible, but..." his tone remained calm, "there's one more condition..."
He slowly lowered the sedan curtain, his gaze lingered on Wen Qian for a moment, and then turned to Jiang Mian.
"Let her have a meal with me." Duan Zhi'an smiled slightly and pointed to Wen Qian, who was walking into the medicine shop. "She's all alone."
Jiang Mian was stunned, completely unexpected that it would be such a condition.
Seeing her astonishment, Duan Zhian raised an eyebrow and said, "I will wait at Yueminglou for an hour. If I do not see him after an hour, I cannot guarantee Commander Jiang's life."
Jiang Mian was puzzled—Duan Zhian held a high position, so if he wanted to invite Wen Qian to dinner, he could have just asked directly. Why did he go through all this trouble?
But why did he have dinner with Wen Qian?
Could it be that Wen Qian knows him?
She frantically tried to recall her past life, but couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Coming to my senses, I saw that Duan Zhi'an's sedan chair had already headed towards Yueminglou.
Jiang Mian knew that Duan Zhian was very punctual, and she only had one hour, so she couldn't afford to be late.
Wen Qian walked slowly, still picking and choosing downstairs.
Jiang Wan quickly stepped forward and asked, "Is the Crown Princess here today to choose medicine to nourish herself for winter?"
Wen Qian nodded, picked up a bag of astragalus root, sniffed it, and said, "Hmm, Madam Hou has been feeling a bit weak lately. I'd like to buy some North American ginseng and dried tangerine peel to make medicinal cuisine back at the Hou residence."
Jiang Mian rubbed her fingers together, hesitating about how to begin.
Seeing her stammering, Wen Qian asked, "Miss Jiang, is there something you want to say?"
“…I,” Jiang Wan stammered, “I wanted to ask if the Crown Princess knew the man at the door just now?”
Wen Qian tilted her head: "Is it the one who spoke to you at the door just now?"
Jiang nodded.
Wen Qian thought about it carefully for a moment: "I don't recognize you. What's wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Mian was even more troubled.
How could she possibly ask Wen Qian to have dinner with a man she didn't know?
But she couldn't think of any other way right now.
So he steeled himself and asked, "Could the Crown Princess do me a favor and have a meal with that person?"
Wen Qian asked in confusion, "Have dinner with him?"