"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I just... just felt too ashamed to face Yue'er, so..."
Zhou Yunshen looked at him, drenched in cold sweat, and gave a soft snort from the back of his throat.
Jiang An's back had already been damp. Now it was thoroughly soaked, his clothes plastered against his skin.
He had only just managed to gloss over that matter, and now Zhou Yunshen had dragged the Empress Dowager into it.
If people found out he had come to wail in mourning right after the Empress Dowager's birthday, her thunderous wrath would surely split his skull open.
Terrified, Jiang An said, "You jest, you jest. I truly only felt ashamed about what happened yesterday. That's why I knelt here to ask to see Yue'er."
"Please don't read too much into it, Marquis of Zhennan. I had no such intentions."
Zhou Yunshen smiled. "Then I was being oversuspicious. I thought you had come looking for trouble over yesterday's events. I judged you with a petty man's heart, Lord Jiang. My apologies."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. You shame this old man by saying so, Marquis of Zhennan."
Jiang An pretended to look at the sky. "It's getting late. I won't disturb you any longer. Farewell, farewell."
"Oh, Father, don't leave! Why don't we chat a little longer?"
"No, no. Your mother is still waiting for me to return."
Jiang An declined Jiang Shuyue's invitation as he ran toward his carriage, hurriedly climbed aboard, and made his escape.
Zhou Yunshen smiled at Jiang Shuyue, then turned and headed inside.
She followed him, entering the Marquisate of Southern Pacification with a beaming smile.
The surrounding onlookers had felt such overwhelming pressure earlier that they hadn't even dared lift their eyes.
Now that Zhou Yunshen had left, they couldn't