Chapter 633: Chapter 632: 632: In the End, He Didn't Make It

“You may dispense with the formalities.”

Jiang Ning raised her hand, smiling as she looked at him, “He Tang, at this time, instead of working in the yamen, how did you come here?”

“I came out to run some errands and passed by here. I heard that there was a happy event at the Prime Minister’s Mansion, and thought that the Princess Consort would return, so I decided to wait for a while. As expected, I was able to wait for you.” He Tang lowered his eyes slightly, “Thank you for having someone send me the money, I will definitely pay it back.”

“Sure,” Jiang Ning put both hands in her cloak and smiled, “but it’s not an urgent matter. You’ve helped me a lot back then, and didn’t ask for repayment immediately.”

When it came to the past, He Tang’s eyes became a bit moist.

Ever since he had memories at the age of four or five, he knew of the pretty little girl with a limping leg in the small noodle shop diagonally opposite.

She really was very pretty.

Her eyes sparkled brilliantly, but she had a limp and couldn’t run or jump.

She would obediently sit under the tree and play with the mud on the ground using her fingers.

One time, a heavy rainstorm and thunder occurred.

Her family members were busy outside, and she was alone sitting under the tree. She was so scared of the thunder that she cried, her whole body soaked in the rain.

Although He Tang managed to carry her into the house just in time, she still fell seriously ill.

Seeing the pale-faced little girl lying in bed, He Tang secretly vowed to protect her all his life, assure her with food and clothing, and always stay by her side.

He would never let her feel lonely and cry because of fear again.

But in the end, he did not succeed.

Just as he argued with his family and studied hard relentlessly, she suddenly became the daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and married the Prince.

In a blink of an eye, she had two children and became the high-ranking Princess Consort.

Everything happened too fast to catch him off guard.

He clutched the official title he had worked so hard to earn, feeling like crying but unable to shed tears.

The feeling of a broken heart, he had experienced it long ago.

However, seeing her healthy legs, her increasingly beautiful and luxurious appearance, her smile and the crowd of attendants around her,

He Tang felt comforted once more.

Everything he had done and strived for was for her to live a better life, wasn’t it?

Now, she was living very well.

He Tang thought, he should be content.

Jiang Ning looked at him, feeling inexplicably warm in her heart, and asked with a smile: “The snow is getting heavier, why did you put away the umbrella? Did you wait here just to say thank you?”

“No, there’s something else.” He Tang took out a letter from his sleeve, “I am now working in the Ministry of Works. I was just at the post station and saw a letter addressed to you. So, I brought it over.”

“A letter for me?” Jiang Ning was somewhat puzzled.

All the people she knew were in the Capital, and she would see them just a few steps outside her door. Who could still write her a letter from another place?

Xiachu immediately stepped forward, took the letter, and offered it to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning’s glance at the handwriting on the envelope, and instantly understood.

It was from Wenren Zong.

Come to think of it, Jiang Ning hadn’t received a letter from him in quite some time.

It had been so long that she had almost forgotten Wenren Zong’s existence.

“I shall take my leave now.” He Tang bowed and retreated, slowly walking away.

Jiang Ning watched him leave, then climbed into the carriage herself. She instructed Gucheng to drive back to the palace, and then opened the letter.

Wenren Zong’s handwriting was still vigorous and powerful.

However, the very first sentence made Jiang Ning frown.

“… I haven’t received your reply for a long time. Is Chang’an well?”

…

Upon returning to the palace, Jiang Ning headed straight for Crystal Frost Hall and slapped the letter on the table in front of Li Hongyuan.

“Crown Prince, are you not going to give me an explanation for this?”

Li Hongyuan raised his head from a pile of documents, glanced at the text on the letter, and spoke indifferently, “What is there to explain?”