Chapter 184 - 184 Enlightened

184 Enlightened

Looking at the man in front of her, Yu Niaoniao had a momentary illusion that she was looking at her former self.

Back then, the Feng family burned down, and Feng Lianghan and the Xie family died tragically. She insisted that the fire had been deliberate, but no one believed her.

Everyone felt that she had fallen into the trap of her own fabricated imagination because she could not accept the painful reality.

But only she knew that she was not wrong.

They had both chosen a lonely path.

No one knew what lay at the end of the road.

Yu Niaoniao placed the roasted skewers on a plate.

She picked up the flask and poured two glasses. She spoke slowly.

“In the past, like the others, I felt that Your Highness and the Eagle Guards were a group of terrifying people who killed without batting an eyelid. When I heard the rumors about me and you in the capital, I was scared out of my wits. That night, I escaped with Dang Gui.

Unfortunately, before we could escape far, we were captured by the patrolling soldiers and locked up. You know what happened after that.

After spending some time with you, I realized that you are not as terrifying as the rumors say. You are fair and impartial. You have principles and a bottom line. You are more responsible than many officials. I’m very glad that the Dayan Dynasty has a prince like you.”

Xiao Juan looked at her in a daze.

The world hated and feared him. There were many people who cursed him to die quickly.

This was the first time anyone had sincerely agreed with him.

Yu Niaoniao stuffed the wine glass into his hand and smiled at him.

“It doesn’t matter what others think. What matters is that we know in our hearts that we did nothing wrong.”

Even if the world did not believe her, even if the path ahead was lonely, she would not give up pursuing the truth. Because she knew she wasn’t wrong.

Xiao Juan looked down at the wine in his cup thoughtfully.

Yu Niaoniao took a sip of wine.

The rich and fragrant wine made her narrow her eyes involuntarily.

She looked up at the stars and sighed sincerely.

“What a beautiful night!”

Xiao Juan looked up.

He glanced at the stars overhead, then back at the girl.

She smiled and said,

“The soldiers guard the border. You and the Eagle Guards guard the law.

“All of you, protect peace together.”

Only when the world is peaceful can ordinary people like me sit here in peace and admire the night.”

She looked away and looked at Duke Lang. At this moment, Xiao Juan felt that her eyes were even more dazzling than the starry sky.

Yu Niaoniao raised her glass at him.

“Here’s to my hero.”

Xiao Juan felt like his heart was filled with something warm and swollen.

There seemed to be a thousand words but no way to speak.

Their glasses clinked gently.

As the wine entered his throat, the last of the haze in his heart completely dissipated. Everything in front of him seemed to open up.

Yu Niaoniao put down her wine glass and grabbed a handful of skewers to put on the fire.

She spoke to the man.

“Hurry up and eat the skewers. They’ll get cold if you don’t.”

Seeing that she had been busy but did not eat much, Xiao Juan reached out to take the skewer and said.

“I’ll roast it. Go eat first.”

Yu Niaoniao did not stand on ceremony. She picked up a roasted bean skin from the plate and took a bite. She ate with relish.

She didn’t forget to guide him. “It’s time to brush the oil. Don’t brush too much, in case it burns.”

It was Xiao Juan’s first time roasting meat, so his movements were inevitably a little clumsy.

Fortunately, he was calm and unhurried.

The last skewer was quite decent.

Yu Niaoniao tasted a small yellow croaker and praised.

“It’s delicious!”

Xiao Juan was still roasting chicken wings. He replied without looking up, “Oh.”

Yu Niaoniao brought the small yellow croaker to his mouth.

“Try it too. It’s really delicious.”

She deliberately aimed the fish on the other side at the man.

Xiao Juan hesitated for a moment before finally opening his mouth and biting off a piece of fish meat.

The fish skin on the surface was roasted and crispy. The fish meat was very tender and fragrant. It was indeed quite delicious.

As Yu Niaoniao ate, she said, “I didn’t expect Your Highness to be so good at cooking.”

Xiao Juan looked up at her and saw that she had finished the entire yellow croaker in a few bites.

Even the place where he had bitten had been eaten clean by her.

She casually tossed the fish bones onto her empty plate and noticed that the man had been watching her. She couldn’t help but touch the corner of her mouth and ask.

“Did I get something on my mouth?”

Xiao Juan looked away. “I dipped it in chili powder.”

Yu Niaoniao hurriedly took out her handkerchief and wiped her lips.

“Anything more?”

Xiao Juan said that it was gone.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two of them returned to their rooms to sleep.

Because she had drunk a lot of wine tonight, Yu Niaoniao woke up in the middle of the night.

Dazed, she reached out and touched the man lying beside her.

Xiao Juan woke up immediately.

He asked what was wrong.

Yu Niaoniao half-opened her eyes and said vaguely.

“I want to go to the toilet.”

As she spoke, she crawled out. She placed her claws on Xiao Juan and moved her knees over his legs.

But because it was too dark and she was half-asleep, she accidentally touched something she shouldn’t.

She did not feel anything, but it was tough on Xiao Juan.

He wanted to say something, but he did not know how to speak. His expression was extremely forbearing.

Yu Niaoniao finally crawled to the bed, but she accidentally fell to the ground.

Xiao Juan was shocked. He quickly got out of bed and lit the oil lamp.

In the dim light, he saw Yu Niaoniao sprawled on the ground.

Xiao Juan hurriedly helped her up. “Where did you hurt yourself?”

Yu Niaoniao’s eyes were half-open, and she still looked sleepy. She frowned and muttered.

“I need to use the toilet.”

Seeing her dazed look, Xiao Juan was really worried and picked her up.

He walked around the screen and placed Yu Niaoniao on the ground. He pointed at the toilet seat beside her.

“See? Take care of it yourself. I’ll wait outside.”

As soon as Xiao Juan let go, he saw Yu Niaoniao swaying and falling onto the toilet seat.

He quickly helped her up. “Can you do it?”

Yu Niaoniao rubbed her eyes and tried to wake up.

“Sure, I can do it.”

Xiao Juan slowly let go. Seeing that she was no longer staggering, he turned around and walked out.

He waited outside for a long time, but Yu Niaoniao did not come out.

He was worried. “Niaoniao, are you better?”

There was no response.

Xiao Juan called out twice more, but there was still no reaction.

Finally, he could not hold it in anymore. He strode around the screen and saw Yu Niaoniao sitting on the ground. Her head was leaning against the side of the toilet seat. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open. She had actually fallen asleep!

Fortunately, she already had her pants on.

Xiao Juan sighed.

What else could he do? Resigned to his fate, he picked her up and placed her back on the bed.

Yu Niaoniao slept until dawn.

After waking up, she completely forgot about how she had touched him last night.

Today was the day of her homecoming. Sister Xiuyan had already prepared her return gift.

After breakfast with Xiao Juan, she brought gifts to the Yu Residence.