Jiang Ning stepped into the moonlight as she returned to her new home with Liu Ming'an in the Capital City.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw warm yellow candlelight glowing from inside the house. Liu Ming'an's silhouette was cast on the paper window, appearing to be bending over writing something.
Jiang Ning felt a warmth in her heart as she pushed open the door and entered, immediately meeting Liu Ming'an's gaze as he looked up at the sound.
"Ah Ning."
Liu Ming'an put down his brush and walked over, looking Jiang Ning up and down to ensure she was just as well as when she left. Only then did he relax.
"There's hot water in the kitchen. Go wash up quickly, it's getting late," Liu Ming'an said, not asking any questions.
Jiang Ning smiled and replied "Alright" before heading to the kitchen.
When she finished washing up and came out, Jiang Ning saw Liu Ming'an still intently sketching something. Curious, she walked over to look and saw it was a portrait of her.
On the snow-white paper, "Jiang Ning" was leaning against a door, facing a sky full of rosy clouds, gazing quietly ahead.
It was similar to the painting that had been burned, but this time the person Liu Ming'an painted didn't have such a cold and distant expression.
This "Jiang Ning" had a faint smile on her lips, a dimple barely visible on her right cheek. Her eyes were slightly curved, as if anticipating something.
It inadvertently brought to mind the phrase "leaning on the door, longing for her love's return."
Liu Ming'an had also written a line of poetry beside it: "The water is the glance of her eyes, the mountains the gathering of her brows."
Jiang Ning's lips unconsciously curved upward, mirroring the expression in the painting without realizing it. "Why did you paint it again?" she asked.
Liu Ming'an, who was in the middle of outlining the hem of Jiang Ning's clothes in the painting, was startled by her words. "Ah Ning, how did you know I painted this before?"
Hadn't he never shown it to her?
"What do you think?" Jiang Ning countered.
"I can't figure it out," Liu Ming'an said after thinking carefully, once again certain he had never shown it to her.
Seeing Liu Ming'an's bewildered expression, Jiang Ning felt inexplicably happy. She explained, "Your furtive movements when hiding things couldn't escape me. Later, I noticed you acting strange, always stealing glances at me. I thought something might be wrong and wondered if it might be an IOU or something, so I opened it to look."
"So... you knew that early," Liu Ming'an said, somewhat embarrassed.
Thinking back to his behavior and words in front of Jiang Ning during that time, Liu Ming'an had thought he was hiding it well. He never expected his little secret to be seen through so completely.
It was... rather embarrassing.
But then another thought struck him - Jiang Ning had known his feelings early on, but had never rejected his advances. Did that mean she had also developed feelings for him early on?
At this realization, a wave of indescribable joy washed over Liu Ming'an, his eyes filled with warmth. "Ah Ning, I'm so glad you're willing to like me."
Jiang Ning's smile deepened. She glanced at the nearly finished painting and urged, "Hurry and finish. I have something to tell you when you're done."
Liu Ming'an guessed Jiang Ning probably wanted to tell him about her background. He quickly agreed and finished the last bits of the painting in no time.
Jiang Ning watched Liu Ming'an set down his brush, organized her thoughts, and tried to be as concise as possible.
"I am the third daughter of Minister Nangong, named Nangong Ling."
This first sentence startled Liu Ming'an. A minister's daughter? Was his Ah Ning of such noble birth? Would he still be able to marry her smoothly?
But soon Liu Ming'an had no time to let his mind wander.
"This July, the steward of the Nangong household handed over Nangong Ling - that is, me - with my hands and feet cut off and my face disfigured, to the human trafficker Wei Fangxiong in the Capital City. After changing hands several times, I was sold to you..."
"After I was sold, rumors spread in the Capital City that I had eloped with a man. It's said my father was so angry he didn't go to court for two days..."
"That's all the information I have at the moment."
Jiang Ning finished speaking and looked at Liu Ming'an, finding his eyes full of pity and distress.
"Ah Ning, how could this be? How could a precious young lady from a minister's family suffer such a fate?"
Liu Ming'an gently caressed Jiang Ning's face, his eyes full of love and pity.
Although she spoke of these things lightly, her expression calm, Liu Ming'an's heart ached terribly just thinking of the suffering she had endured.
Jiang Ning sensed Liu Ming'an's feelings and gave him a reassuring smile.
She had only suffered for two days after transmigrating here. The one who truly suffered was Nangong Ling.
"Don't worry, I'll get justice for myself," Jiang Ning said firmly, holding Liu Ming'an's hand.
"I believe in you!"
Liu Ming'an now understood why Jiang Ning had kept this from him before. As a minister's daughter, even if she had made enemies, those enemies would surely be powerful figures of high status, not someone a humble scholar like him could provoke.
Jiang Ning had kept it from him to avoid dragging him into it, intending to resolve the matter on her own.
However, after the poisoning incident was discovered today, she realized he wouldn't hinder her and thus told him everything to prevent any misunderstandings between them.
Liu Ming'an sighed and pulled her into an embrace, earnestly enjoining her, "Do whatever you need to do, don't worry about me. I just hope that you'll remember to protect yourself at all times. If anything were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do..."
Jiang Ning hugged Liu Ming'an's waist tightly and murmured an "Mm" in response. "I already have a plan. If all goes well, I should be able to resolve everything quickly. Don't worry about me."
How could he not worry?
Liu Ming'an gently stroked Jiang Ning's head. Seeming to think of something, he said, "Ah Ning, sometimes I think, if only you had your current abilities from the start, then you surely wouldn't have been bullied. And with how quickly your wounds healed, you wouldn't have had to suffer all that torment on the journey from the Capital City to Lingshan Town..."
Jiang Ning's body suddenly stiffened.
Indeed, from Liu Ming'an's perspective, it all seemed too illogical!
How could someone with her formidable skills allow herself to be disfigured and have her hands and feet cut off? And how could someone whose body recovered overnight have remained in a dying state all the way from the Capital City to Lingshan Town? Why did she only recover after Liu Ming'an bought her and brought her home?
"But I also have some despicable thoughts. If you had always been this capable, you as a noble lady from the Capital City and me as a country bumpkin, we probably would never have crossed paths in our entire lives... So I find myself selfishly rejoicing that I was able to meet you."
Liu Ming'an seemed to have no desire to probe further. After saying this, he didn't ask any questions, only lowered his head to place a gentle kiss on Jiang Ning's forehead.
Feeling his careful cherishing, Jiang Ning's heart trembled slightly. The thought of revealing everything about her transmigration, her dimensional space, her past and present lives, crossed her mind. After a moment's hesitation, she chose to remain silent, only hugging him tighter.
"Don't think about these things anymore. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, our first one together. Let's go to bed early, get plenty of rest, so we can go out and enjoy the splendor of the Capital City tomorrow."
In the end, this was all Jiang Ning said.
Liu Ming'an knew Jiang Ning didn't want to discuss it further and obediently replied, "Alright."
Outside the house, the moonlight was as cool as water, illuminating the ground with its clear radiance.