Ha?
Was this man out of his mind?!
“Who wants to be with you?” Di Ronghua eyed him with undisguised disdain, impatiently shaking off his hand. “Go dream your grand dreams.”
“We’re together right now,” the man said, his face taut. “Otherwise, why are you here?”
Her eyes widened even further. “I’m obviously here to take my daughter back.”
Xiao Hanjin had already anticipated her response. Before she arrived, he’d guessed as much. At the time, he thought it’d take him some effort to adjust to her cold rejection, but now he realised he could accept it quickly and calmly.
“She doesn’t know you.”
He spoke softly, “Ronghua, do you think she’d leave with you?”
Di Ronghua’s pupils shrank abruptly.
Indeed, she’d only seen Jiangjiang once, right after her birth, before falling into a coma.
Four years had passed. In Jiangjiang’s mind, her mother was Su Miao, her father was the imperial brother—from beginning to end, Di Ronghua didn’t exist.
“I’ll tell her and take her back to see… her mother.”
Her voice stiffened slightly on those last two words.
“Though she doesn’t know me, she knows Su Miao.”
Xiao Hanjin looked at her pale face, a sudden pang of unexpected heartache surging within him.
“But Ronghua,” he began, instinctively raising a hand to touch her head, only to freeze halfway and retract it. “Su Miao raised her well. She’s obedient, sensible, and won’t just follow a stranger. So even if you tried to sneak her away while I wasn’t looking, you’d need time for her to get to know you. Or do you want her crying all the way back to Xiliang?”
Di Ronghua glanced at him. “Once she’s familiar with me, will you let me take her?”
The man was silent for a moment. “Whether I agree or not, you’ll at least have the chance to take her without hurting her.”
Di Ronghua, “…”
She clearly knew this man might just be stalling, placating her with empty words, yet she found herself unable to argue.
Di Ronghua closed her eyes briefly. “Take me to see her.”
“Alright.”
His Adam’s apple slid quickly as he uttered the single word.
…
When Di Ronghua entered the room, Jiangjiang was napping.
The little girl, delicate as carved jade, had her hair tied into two simple, innocent pigtails. Perhaps Su Miao had warned her in advance, or perhaps after two months with Xiao Hanjin, the young child could now sleep here without any guard up.
Four years had passed, and this was only the second time Di Ronghua had seen her.
Aside from giving birth to her, she’d done nothing.
At that thought, Di Ronghua’s eyes suddenly stung with a fierce ache. “When did she fall asleep? When will she wake up?”
“Probably in about half an hour, she’ll wake.”
He paused, then added, “You’ve travelled so far—you must be tired. I’ll have someone bring some food.”
Without waiting for her refusal, he turned and left.
When footsteps sounded again, Di Ronghua assumed it was Xiao Hanjin and said faintly, “I’m not hungry. I don’t want to eat.”
But after waiting a moment with no response, she frowned and turned around, only to meet a pair of eyes even redder than hers.
Ju Ye held back tears, her voice trembling despite her efforts. “Princess, you’ve finally… finally returned. Please… eat something.”
Di Ronghua, “…”
Clearly, Xiao Hanjin had predicted she wouldn’t refuse Ju Ye and had sent this girl instead.
