Chapter 134: I’m Practically Worshipping You Like an Ancestor
Chapter 134: Chapter 134: I’m Practically Worshipping You Like an Ancestor
And he couldn’t tolerate another man coveting the girl he loved.
Under the guise of ’thinking of her best interests,’ repeatedly showering her with attention.
Cui Lingyao mulled it over for a few moments but still refused. Her reason was, "If I move into the hot spring villa, wouldn’t that be the same as you keeping me as a mistress?"
...
Xie Jinbai’s expression stiffened. "What did you say?"
He never imagined such words would come out of her mouth.
’What on earth is going on in this girl’s head? How could she associate herself with the word ’mistress’?’
’To even make the comparison!’
His face was frighteningly dark. "I’m treating you like a damn queen, and you insist on demeaning yourself just to piss me off, don’t you?"
’Who would want to demean themselves?’
Cui Lingyao felt a little uncomfortable too. "I’m not saying you’re looking down on me. It’s just... it’s just that if other people found out, that’s how they would see me."
Xie Jinbai sneered, "Just how useless do you think I am?"
’If I can’t even keep a small thing like this from leaking, what business do I have eyeing the throne?’
’I might as well just give up and let my older brothers have it.’
Cui Lingyao couldn’t win the argument, but she wouldn’t compromise either. She said bluntly, "In any case, I’m not moving into the hot spring villa."
’I’m a respectable young woman.’
’Why should I live in a villa, waiting day after day for him to visit?’
Even if they both knew they would marry in a year.
That couldn’t hide the fact that for these ten months, her status would be no different from that of a mistress.
Xie Jinbai had always been at a loss when it came to her.
Seeing her refusal, he was angry, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.
He just held her in silence.
Their bodies were pressed tightly together.
It was stifling.
Their palms were still pressed together.
Cui Lingyao struggled a little, but when she saw he wouldn’t let go, she gave up and let him hold her hand.
With his weight on her, she was actually having a bit of trouble breathing.
But he looked so fragile that she couldn’t be cruel enough to push him off.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I’ve been doing my best to keep my distance from Shen Tingyu these past few days. Today was an exception. The Lord Prefect and his wife..."
She recounted in detail what had happened during the day.
How Shen Tingyu had pulled her away from the gathering, and how he had escorted her back.
For the past few days, they had always said their goodbyes at her courtyard gate. The only reason he came into her courtyard today was that he was worried about her health and came specifically to check her pulse.
Xie Jinbai sneered. "He certainly found a good excuse."
He didn’t believe in the so-called ’pulse-checking’ one bit.
Cui Lingyao tried to hold back, but in the end, she couldn’t help speaking up for Shen Tingyu. "He was being completely kind. You don’t have to be so caustic all the time."
She brought up the matter of the seductive powder again.
"The original Pei Shuyao died because she couldn’t withstand the effects of the seductive powder, which is how I got to be alive. Do you really think this body doesn’t have any lingering side effects?"
’After the System sent me here, it went offline immediately. It didn’t even cure the poison, let alone help me recuperate.’
Her words struck Xie Jinbai like a bolt of lightning, a stark reminder.
His body went rigid. He abruptly lifted his head from the crook of her neck, grabbed her shoulders urgently, and scanned her body from head to toe.
"Where’s the problem?"
His face was filled with urgency, all thoughts of jealousy forgotten.
Seeing his reaction made Cui Lingyao’s nose tingle with the urge to cry. "There shouldn’t be any problems."
Thinking of how Shen Tingyu had been unable to get a clear reading of her pulse even after checking it for over an hour, she paused and said, "Let’s get a thorough check-up once we’re back in the Capital City."
’I don’t know how long I’ll have to use this body.’
’It’s always better to be careful.’
"I have a military physician with me. I’ll have him come check your pulse now."
Xie Jinbai couldn’t be at ease.
When it came to her health, he couldn’t be at ease no matter what.
As he spoke, he lifted the bed curtains and was about to get out of bed, but the girl behind him grabbed his arm.
"It’s so late. You’ll wake all the servants in the courtyard if you make such a fuss. Besides, I don’t feel anything wrong. Even if I need some conditioning, it can wait a day or two."
Mrs. Shen’s funeral procession was tomorrow.
The day after tomorrow, they would set off for the Capital City.
’Will there be a lack of opportunity to get a routine check-up then?’
With her arms wrapped around his, and her outer robes having been untied by him earlier, they were now only loosely gathered. Her inner tunic was mostly undone, revealing a large expanse of pale, smooth skin from her collarbones to her chest.
It was a tender, tantalizing sight.
Xie Jinbai glanced down, then reached out to straighten her clothes for her. He then took her by the shoulders and pulled her into his arms. "Are you sure you’re not uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Mmm," Cui Lingyao nodded against his chest. "I wouldn’t joke about my own health."
Xie Jinbai believed her.
He barely managed to suppress the panic in his heart and lay back down, holding her.
Her waist was held too tightly. Cui Lingyao poked his wrist and teased, "You can loosen your grip a little. I’m not going to run away."
"...Alright," Xie Jinbai said, dazed, and relaxed his grip slightly. But he quickly came to his senses and pulled her even tighter. "Yaoyao, you have to be okay. This time, let’s live our lives together, properly."
If anything happened to her, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to wait for another three years.
The man’s voice was hoarse, filled with boundless terror.
Cui Lingyao froze when she heard him.
When she fell into the water three years ago, she had died too quickly to have ever witnessed his fear.
This was the first time she was seeing it.
’So, even an indestructible man could be this afraid.’
A stinging sensation slowly welled up in her eyes.
Cui Lingyao sniffled and reached out to hug him, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the word ’alright’.
’This fool...’
’He’s too foolish.’
She didn’t belong to this world. How could she stay and spend a lifetime with him?
Last time, she had deceived him emotionally to save her brother.
Once the mission was complete, she had decided to go back without a second thought.
If it hadn’t been for that cool-down period, she would have left even sooner.
Her return to Great Yue this time wasn’t because she couldn’t forget their past love.
It was only because she needed a Hundred Diseases Pill to save herself, so she had come to deceive him once more.
And this time, she had to trick him into having children with other women.
Once they returned to the Capital City, she would find a way to make him take concubines, sleep with other women, and continue his bloodline.
She had never thought of spending a long lifetime with him.
Especially since for this mission, the time in both worlds was synchronized. She didn’t even plan to stay long.
After all, if another ten years passed here, her body in the modern world would be thirty years old.
From start to finish, she was deceiving him.
’If only...’
Cui Lingyao’s breath hitched, and a trace of regret bloomed in her heart.
’If, like last time, the System had frozen time in my own world...’
’...couldn’t I have nodded and agreed to this lifetime with him?’
’To spend a peaceful and stable life with him here.’
’In any case, my brother’s leg is already healed. This time, I came for myself, so there’s no rush to go back.’
...But alas, there were no ’if onlys’.
Cui Lingyao closed her eyes, swallowing the surging emotions, and buried her face in his chest.
"Xie Jinbai, I will stay with you for a very, very long time."
’As long as I can...’
The girl’s voice was muffled from his embrace, thick with unshed tears.
She was making a promise to him.
It wasn’t her usual perfunctory coaxing.
She was solemnly promising him their future.
Xie Jinbai felt something explode in his chest, his heart pounding violently.