Later.
Who knew how many years had passed.
Thanks to the encouragement of his little sister's inner voice, he finally gave her the gift he had prepared so long ago.
Originally, his mind had still been racing, trying to think of a suitable excuse to use after Miss Wan'er rejected him.
But to his surprise, Miss Wan'er's smile bloomed like a flower when she saw his gift.
She teased him for finally being willing to give it to her.
It was at that very moment, as their eyes met, that he sensed something between them had changed.
Miss Wan'er invited him to drink tea she had brewed herself, and even asked him to accompany her to a rolling banquet hosted by literary gentlemen.
She... had finally begun to accept him, little by little.
That night.
Jiang He was so excited that he did not sleep a wink. Before dawn the next morning, he got up and began fussing over his appearance.
I mustn't embarrass Miss Wan'er today, he thought.
But after daybreak, a servant came to tell him that his little sister had suffered a nightmare.
The tears at the corners of her eyes and her cries for help pierced his heart.
From his sister's fragmented murmurs, combined with the inner thoughts he had heard from her before, he pieced together most of what had happened.
The crushing sense of suffocation left him desperate to release it through bloodshed.
And so.
Disregarding all propriety, he took every Hidden Guard under his command and stormed the Court of Judicial Review's Prison.
Though he did not kill Chu Haoze, he left him more dead than alive.
At least he had collected a little interest for his sister and family. The breath trapped in his chest seemed to flow a little more freely.