Sunlight fell over them both, tinting Shen Yangge's face with a faint rosy flush. He looked tense and indignant, utterly torn.
Chu Xuanzhen's wide sleeves fluttered as his other hand closed around Shen Yangge's clean, fair neck.
Tightening his hold, he swept Shen Yangge into his arms.
The hems of their robes brushed together, then parted.
Day had broken.
Chu Xuanzhen said nothing about why Shen Yangge had run away. The more he remained silent, the more frightened Shen Yangge became. He was constantly trying to guess what Chu Xuanzhen was thinking.
It had even reached the point where two versions of himself were arguing back and forth inside his head.
While Shen Yangge was still caught in that fierce internal struggle, Chu Xuanzhen carried him into the estate he had escaped from, only to be brought back again.
A group stood at the entrance. After looking at those figures and clothes for over a month, Shen Yangge could tell who was who without even seeing their faces.
The master of this estate was Ji Guangchun, a prominent merchant known both inside and outside the city. Many connections throughout the northern region were tied to him, though all of that happened behind the scenes.
As soon as Ji Guangchun heard that two highborn "princes" had arrived from Capital City, he immediately sent people to invite them into town. It was not simply that he thought himself important enough; most of his business supplied the imperial household, and many of his enterprises had close ties to the royal family.
Many of the goods offered as tribute each year passed through his hands before reaching other countries.
Perhaps many powerful officials and nobles mocked him for preferring to remain in this little backwater rather than settling in Capital City.
Ji Guangchun often