Zheng Xiao Mistake: The Mistake of Rebirth Provoked the Cold Master

"Drink it." Rong Yan brought a small jade porcelain bowl, scooped a spoonful and handed it to her lips.

Zhu Zheng didn't move, nor did she even look at the bowl. She just raised her head to look at Rong Yan. Under the candlelight, her little face was pale, with only a small red mole on the cheek that seemed to have a hint of rouge.

Rong Yan paused, his expression softened, and he continued to explain, "It's ginger soup."

Zhu Zheng just stared at him. Rong Yan hadn't changed his wet clothes yet. His hair was disheveled on his shoulders, stained with dead grass and mud. The hem of his clothes was also covered with mottled water stains. He looked more disheveled than ever before.

She wanted to ask him why he appeared in Jinkang River and how they met by chance, but her mind was dull and she didn't know where to start.

Seeing that she still didn't move, Rong Yan's eyes showed a hint of worry. He leaned down and spoke in a tone that sounded like he was negotiating and begging.

“Don’t get sick.”

Zhu Zheng suddenly understood what was said. She really did not have the qualifications to be sick. If she fell ill, she would be unable to do anything.

She stretched out her hand, picked up the bowl and drank half of it. She choked and coughed twice before she stopped.

"Drink slowly."

Rong Yan subconsciously reached out and gently stroked her back. The gentle touch was not yet real, so he suddenly paused and withdrew his hand.

Zhu Zheng was unaware of his actions behind her. She saw him take the bowl away, her wet clothes still dripping with water, and she said something as if she was talking to herself.

"Don't get sick, sir..."

Rong Yan stopped moving, his eyes fell on the figure curled up on his bed, with her head lowered, a snow-white neck exposed on the edge of the blanket. He glanced at her, picked up the bowl in his hand, and drank the ginger soup she had not finished.

Zhu Zheng still had her head down, her face buried in her arms, and her whole body curled up into a ball.

The candle flame flickered, and Rong Yan stood with his back to the light, his small shadow surrounded by his own shadow.

After an unknown amount of time of silence, the candle flame emitted a faint crisp sound, and Rong Yan frowned and spoke, "...Even if you want to see him again, don't humiliate yourself."

Zhu Zheng's eyelashes twitched, as if she didn't hear anything and she was still curled up in a daze.

Rong Yan closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were dark and he tried his best to keep his voice normal. "The engagement has been arranged for the Nie Mansion to cancel. He went to the Hanlin Academy to manage water affairs. He is on duty today. I will ask him to come back to see you tomorrow."

Zhu Zheng's eyes moved slightly, and she turned her head, her pair of dark eyes fixed on Rong Yan's face.

"Sister...are you on duty at the Hanlin Academy?"

Rong Yan was slightly startled, his frowning brows relaxed slightly, and he was silent for a moment, "You left the house to see your sister?"

Otherwise, for whom else...

Rong Yan was very close, lowering his eyebrows in thought. Zhu Zheng looked at the man in front of her and suddenly reached out to grab his sleeve. "Sir, I have been looking for her for a long time. I have searched all over Shengjing but still can't find her... I don't know what else to do, so please, sir, can you tell me where my sister is?"

Rong Yan glanced at her hand tightly grasping his, then raised his eyes and slowly moved them to her eyebrows. After a while, he replied, "Sorry."

Zhu Zheng was stunned, "What are you sorry for..."

Rong Yan groaned, "I don't know."

An expression flashed across Zhu Zheng's frozen face, as if she had heard something incredible, and the dullness in her eyes was quickly filled with disbelief.

"How could you not know?"

She had heard it too many times to know.

The maids and servants in the various houses, the courtesans sweeping the floor in the Jinxiang Tower, the officers and servants on the autumn hunting grounds, the old ladies and children in the streets and alleys, everyone can say "I haven't seen it", "I don't know", "I don't know"...

But how could Rong Yan just reply "I don't know"?

"In the red maple forest, you said she was fine." Zhu Zheng stared at him with empty eyes. "When I woke up, you also said she was fine. I believed it... Sir, I believed it. These days, I know that things are getting worse, but I only rely on this one word 'very good'..."

Towards the end of the conversation, he gradually became choked with sobs and could not continue.

Because of Rong Yan's words, Zhu Zheng has always believed that her sister is really a good person, but she just can't get away to meet her for the time being.

She had always thought that Rong Yan knew about it, but he always hid many things from her. Since he chose not to tell her, begging him might not be of any use unless it was absolutely necessary.

But now, she begged him, but he just said he didn't know.

Rong Yan put his hand on the back of Zhu Zheng's hand, "I don't want to lie to you, so I told you the truth. I really don't know now."

The stove was very close, and the warm steam hit the two of them. Rong Yan's hair was half dry and hung on his brow, showing a bit of extra sincerity.

When he lied, his eyes would wander for a moment, but when he told the truth, he would look into people's eyes persistently. Zhu Zheng actually blamed herself for knowing him well enough to know that he was not hiding anything from her.

The thought that he had managed to maintain collapsed suddenly. Zhu Zheng's eyes were empty, as if she had lost her soul. Suddenly, she smiled while parting her pale lips.

The soreness in her eyes finally turned into moisture and fell down. She suddenly felt extremely tired. How could she be so stupid that she still believed in what others said.

Is it true that no matter how many chances she has, she is still the same person in her previous life? Even if she starts over again, she will still be useless and have not made any progress at all. She will just become a frightened bird that is struggling to stay together, like a string that will break at any time.

Rong Yan heard her sudden laughter, and without caring about etiquette, he clenched her cold hand, "I just don't know for now..."

Zhu Zheng didn't move.

Rong Yan continued, "...I will go find it myself."

Zhu Zheng still didn't respond, she just lowered her head again while hugging the blanket. Rong Yan went to look for her, what was the difference between that and her going to look for her... There was no expression on her face, as if she had accepted everything, she just sat there without blinking.

Rong Yan had seen her in many ways, and every scene was engraved in his mind: the spirited look when she spoke, the cleverness and cunningness when she teased people, and the radiant smile when she laughed.

And after that abrupt kiss...the panic in her eyes finally turned into dark dejection.

Day and night, it flashed back before my eyes more than once, like a nightmare. Every time I thought about it, my heart sank a little, until it sank to the bottom of the dark lake, into the familiar desolate and desolate silence.

If they didn't meet again and she would never show that kind of expression again, Rong Yan thought, it wouldn't be a big deal, it would just be the same as it was a long time ago, he just had to get used to it.

But he tried his best to distance himself from her, but in the end he got lost in the quagmire of the rainy night and almost couldn't find her. He brought her back, but her eyes, which were always full of smiles, had lost their luster, and her thin body was sitting on his bed with her knees folded up, like a porcelain doll, more lifeless than he had ever seen her before, which was frightening.

Zhu Zheng didn't cry, at least she didn't look like she was crying, but the light in her eyes gradually filled up, and a tear that had been accumulating for a long time finally rolled down and hit the back of Rong Yan's hand.

The tiny teardrop shattered into pieces, splashing into a thin wet mark, which really felt like a tremendous force, causing Rong Yan to feel a deep pain in his heart.

He suddenly leaned over, knelt down in front of the couch, stretched out his hand to cover the tears on her cheek, held half of her face and said, "Zhu Zheng, look at me."

Zhu Zheng was forced to raise her head and look at the face that was so close to her.

"I will find her back." Rong Yan said in a deep voice, "Trust me."

His light eyes were burning, bottomless, as if to drown people. His warmth came over her cheeks, and Zhu Zheng trembled her eyelashes and said in a hoarse voice, "...Sir, please don't lie to me again."

She no longer dared to believe anyone's one-sided words. She had experienced the pain of dashed hopes enough times in recent days.

The candlelight flickered on her pale face, and the red corners of her eyes were a bit dazzling. Rong Yan suppressed the urge to pull her over and hold her tightly in his arms. He raised his hand and slowly put it down, only tucking her half-dry hair back to her ears.

"I won't lie to you." Rong Yan wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with his fingers, held them in his hand, and let the warmth permeate his palm.

"I never break my promise to you."

Rong Yan's tone was light and calm, and he made a promise that gave people the illusion of a lifetime.

Regardless of whether it was just empty talk to deceive people, it was definitely the most beautiful sentence Zhu Zheng had heard in these days.

Immersed in his deep eyes and listening to him say this, for some reason, she suddenly felt a lot of grievances in her heart. Thinking back to the long period of fear, she almost couldn't help but throw herself into his arms and cry her heart out.

But she could hardly hold it back, even if she could, Zhu Zheng suppressed her bitter and agitated emotions and said only one sentence, "I should go back to the Zhu Mansion..."

"It's still raining outside."

As if to confirm Rong Yan's words, there was a loud thunder outside the window and bright white lightning illuminated the sky and the earth for a moment.

"If I don't go back overnight, grandma will..." Zhu Zheng choked up, "worry."

Her "worry" has always been unbearable. Thinking of this, Zhu Zheng finally stepped back into reality. She finally remembered that Nanny Guixiang and Fang Xichen were still left alone in Shuiyun Tower. She never came back and returned only in the middle of the night. Her clothes were torn by Rong Yan.

When I return to the Zhu Mansion, I don’t know how many lies I will have to make up to cover up the truth and how much effort I will have to put in to cope with it.

"I'll send you back tomorrow." Rong Yan blurted out.

Zhu Zheng immediately refused, "No..."

"With your sister." Rong Yan continued.

Zhu Zheng was stunned.

"Go soak in the hot water, then have a good sleep. You will see the person you want to see tomorrow morning." Rong Yan leaned over and picked her up with the blanket, whispering softly, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

His tone was very casual, and it didn't even sound like he was making an empty promise. Instead, he was stating a true fact, a fact that would not change in any way.

Zhu Zheng was held firmly, and her anxious heart was also held firmly. No matter what, tonight will pass, and if she can wait for Zhu Qing to come back by staying here, then there will be no loss in trusting him again.

Rong Yan carried her to the Mu room. Zhu Zheng repeated what he had just said in her heart and pulled the corners of her pale lips, "If you can..."

Rong Yan lowered his eyes to look at the person in his arms, his deep and calm eyes were like a quiet pond, covering the pale face in front of him.

"If you don't want to laugh, you don't have to laugh." He suddenly interrupted.

Zhu Zheng suppressed her dry smile and said, "I just want to say something to you, sir..."

"Thanks?"

"Um……"

"Got it." Rong Yan tightened his arms, "I've said enough."