Chapter 319: Why isn't he speaking!

An Qinghe was naturally outgoing; seeing how easygoing the host family was, he quickly shook off his initial reserve, laughing as he ran over to the stone table to look at the game on it.

Not finished yet?

Chen Fang, oh no, mu…… what? You're too focused, I'm talking to you, we're old acquaintances, don't pretend to be aloof and ignore me.

Eh? The white stones here are almost dead.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan simultaneously sucked in a breath of cold air.

He Jinghui, meanwhile, unobtrusively sized up An Qinghe, thinking of how his sister had lately been spacing out and giggling to herself, her eyes and brows seemingly blooming with peach blossoms.

He Jinghui suddenly realized,

Could it be because of this kid?!

At this moment, Gu Xixi watched An Qinghe provoke Mu Nan Zhao on his own initiative, her mind utterly calm.

"Dead is dead" — a calm indifference.

Mu Nan Zhao finally lifted his gaze, unsure whether he was looking at An Qinghe in front of him or at Gu Xixi standing behind An Qinghe.

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'watch the game without speaking,' Boss An?"

He Jinghui, hearing that, unexpectedly gave An Qinghe an approving glance and also walked over to look at the board.

Tonight, Mu Nan Zhao played black, He Jinghui white.

The two had been evenly matched, but when He Jinglan entered the room, He Jinghui's position first showed signs of defeat.

At least another fifteen moves or so were needed to truly decide the winner.

An Qinghe, however, glanced once and saw that the white stones were about to lose?

However, An Qinghe apparently ignored Mu Nan Zhao's words, furrowing his brow as he picked up a white stone, considering where to place it, muttering to himself:

"It should be here; a makeshift move might save them."

Mu Nan Zhao, sitting opposite, narrowed his pupils.

He Jinghui then snapped his head around to stare at An Qinghe, wearing an expression of disbelief.

The sole point of life, and he actually found it so easily?!

Not only that, the losing situation reversed, falling onto the black stones' side.

He Jinglan had never seen her brother like this; out of curiosity, thinking things had come to this, she also pulled Gu Xixi over to look.

An Qinghe came to his senses, seeing He Jinghui glaring at him, realized that playing for someone else was overstepping, and hurriedly apologized:

"Sorry, I just saw it and couldn't help……"

He reached out again, "I'll restore it to its original state for you!"

Mu Nan Zhao stood up, "No need, the outcome is already decided."

The Jade Bamboo Hall's small flower pavilion was brightly lit.

Gu Xixi followed He Jinglan back to the bedroom to wash up, then changed into a fresh set of clothes.

During that time, both of them deliberately lingered a bit longer.

He Jinglan apologetically said, "If I'd known he was here, I ought to have stayed with you at the inn tonight."

Gu Xixi calmly replied, "Mm, I know you don't know."

He Jinglan: "If you have to choose between him and me, I'll definitely side with you."

Gu Xixi turned her head, returning a smile, "I believe you."

He Jinglan silently seethed with tears in her heart, "Too calm! How can she be so calm!!"

She would rather Gu Xixi go mad than be like this now, it's too frightening!

By the time Gu Xixi and He Jinglan slowly made their way to the flower hall, half an hour had already passed.

Yet the Regent Prince remained seated, not knowing how many cups of tea he had drunk.

An Qinghe stood up, "Why are you so slow? On the way here, Xixi said she was hungry."

He Jinglan glanced at Mu Nan Zhao, thinking, "Why won't he speak? If he's not going to talk, he might as well go home!"

She could only force a smile, "Then let's eat."

The servant maids of the Jade Bamboo Hall presented the prepared meal.

Then the four personal maids—Zi Yan, Lu La, Lian Xing, and Guang Zhu—placed the dishes on the table.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan both found the food tasteless.

An Qinghe ate with rapid chopsticks, enjoying himself, "Why aren't you two eating? Have some more."

"Jinglan, you seem to have lost weight these past days."

He Jinglan laughed, "It's the water and soil of our Flower Pool Ford village that nurtures people; I really miss Auntie's cooking."

He Jinghui's heart rang with alarm again: How did An Qinghe know Jinglan had lost weight? Had he been staring at her all along?

And what does "our Flower Pool Ford village" mean?

The more he thought, the stranger it seemed.

It has always been the rule that outside male visitors do not enter the inner quarters.

His sister always knew propriety; even though Mu Nan Zhao, a frequent childhood friend, needed no avoidance, she had never before set foot in the Jade Bamboo Hall.

But tonight they made an exception for this Mr. An, a Hu person…

Upon thinking this, He Jinghui startled, involuntarily glancing at An Qinghe.

Speaking of which, this kid's face is truly not bad; among the many Hu people in the capital, he definitely stands out as remarkable.

Since ancient times, Chang'e loves youths; it's not impossible that his sister would be bewitched by this face.

Besides, from watching him play Go just now, one can see that although his personality is carefree, his inner strategizing is in no way lacking.

No wonder he could bring his business to the capital at such a young age.

He Jinghui himself harbors no prejudice against merchants, but this An Qinghe is a Hu person!

The He family's legitimate daughter is entangled with a Hu merchant; I fear the elders of the family will go mad, opening the ancestral hall and invoking family law is unavoidable.

He Jinghui was still filled with fear.

If I hadn't just happened to feel like going to the Yuzhu Pavilion to play chess tonight, I wouldn't know what would have happened!

At that moment, An Qinghe turned excitedly and said, "You two shouldn't just sit there; come over and have something to eat—it's lively to eat and chat together."

He first greeted the person he thought was more familiar, Mu Nan Zhao, "Mu... Mr. Mu."

Although Mu Nan Zhao still wore a cold expression, he genuinely stood up and walked over.

He sat opposite Gu Xixi and said, "My name is Mu Nan Zhao."

An Qinghe set down the half-eaten chicken leg, nodded with a smile, "Right, you're called Mu Nan Zhao—I've noted it."

After saying that, he realized something, and the chicken leg he had just brought to his mouth fell back onto the plate.

Wait, what did you say your name is?

Mu Nan Zhao said faintly, "You said you would remember it."

An Qinghe stared straight at Mu Nan Zhao, as if seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

At that moment, hearing Gu Xixi say, "Mu Nan Zhao, the current Regent Prince, is exactly the very person you have in mind."

An Qinghe has always trusted Gu Xixi's words without doubt.

He stared at Mu Nan Zhao, speechless, "You... you... you, you aren't Chen Fang, are you? Chen Fang went back to his hometown, and on the way he even had someone bring seeds to Xixi! How could you be him!"

Mu Nan Zhao gazed at him, his eyes as calm as misty waves.

An Qinghe suddenly fell silent.

He lowered his head for a moment, "I understand now—there was never any Chen Fang; it's always been you."

"The one who served as teacher at the village school was you."

"I wasn't in the village; I went back to visit relatives, and frankly admitted that the surname Mu is yours."

"At the Tudimiao, pretending to be a relative of Master Liu, you claimed to be delivering seeds to Xixi for Chen Fang."

"The Northwest Army returned victorious, and the capital now has a renowned Regent Prince—and that's you!"

Mu Nan Zhao said, "There are things you haven't seen with your own eyes, yet you can guess them almost exactly; in the past I underestimated you."

Gu Xixi looked at An Qinghe, "Older brother An, I'm sorry—I didn't mean to hide it from you; I just didn't know how to say it."

An Qinghe smiled at Gu Xixi, "I understand; between us no explanation is needed, and furthermore..."

He turned to Mu Nan Zhao, "It wasn't you who deceived everyone."

The two locked eyes, and the air seemed to crackle with sparks.