Chapter 179: I’m About to Be Played to Death by Her
Chapter 179: Chapter 179: I’m About to Be Played to Death by Her
"Alright, alright,"
Mr. Cui had no intention of putting on airs. Hearing his daughter’s words, he took the offered chance and helped Xie Jinbai to his feet.
Once the family was seated, Mr. and Mrs. Cui inevitably asked about what had happened three years ago.
Cui Lingyao was prepared for this and immediately explained, "After I fell into the water, I was in a coma for a very long time. I only woke up a short while ago."
A full three years.
Mrs. Cui was alarmed. "Are there any lingering ailments?" she asked with concern.
"Of course not."
Cui Lingyao stood up and spun around in front of her parents. "Doctor Liu checked my pulse just before I came," she said with a smile. "He said everything is fine."
Her movements were light and graceful, her complexion rosy.
She certainly didn’t look like someone who had been suffering from a prolonged illness.
The mention of her fall into the water...
...made the Cui family once again recall the incident where their daughter, the official Princess Consort, had toasted her husband’s concubine in full public view.
The atmosphere grew somewhat silent.
Unwilling to explain the real reason, Cui Lingyao could only offer a lame explanation. "That was a misunderstanding. My husband treats me very well."
The Cui family: "..."
They shot their daughter a look of exasperation, but with the other party present, they couldn’t very well criticize him to his face. They bit back the lecture they wanted to give.
Just then, Cui Mingrui turned his head to the man beside him. "I recently acquired a fine tin of tea. Would you care to try some, Your Highness? It would also give Yaoyao a chance to speak with our parents."
Xie Jinbai glanced at Cui Lingyao. When she nodded, he stood up and left with Cui Mingrui.
His presence was so powerful that even with no intention of intimidation, just by sitting there, he exuded an imposing air of natural authority.
The moment he left, the air seemed to lighten, and even the servants waiting in the corners visibly relaxed.
Cui Lingyao poured tea for her parents and asked about her father’s health.
Upon hearing that it was nothing serious and that he just needed to rest and recuperate, she breathed a long sigh of relief. "He was in the wrong," she said. "Don’t worry, Mother, Father. I’ll have another word with him when I get back."
"Yaoyao..."
Mrs. Cui shook her head in disapproval. "The incident in the water reminded him of his affection for you as his wife, and he’s become more attentive. But men have little patience. You mustn’t constantly pick fights with him. Once his affection is exhausted..."
’With all that’s happened, a clever woman would use her husband’s guilt, or perhaps his affection, to secure the rest of her life.’
’Even without a son, as long as she keeps a firm hold on her husband’s heart, her position will be secure.’
’But if she constantly squabbles with him...’
Mrs. Cui sighed. "That concubine is still alive and well, waiting for him to visit her at any moment."
...
Meanwhile, the same topic had come up.
In the pavilion, Cui Mingrui washed his hands and began to brew tea. He looked up at the man across from him through the curling steam. "What do you plan to do with Li Wanrong?"
Although Li Wanrong had contracted a strange illness, no one knew it was Xie Jinbai’s handiwork.
To outsiders, it looked as if she, a mere concubine, had brazenly schemed against the Princess Consort.
It had been three years, yet she hadn’t been punished at all.
’What an incredible show of favoritism that must be.’
Xie Jinbai had been so busy lately that he’d all but forgotten Li Wanrong was even in his rear courtyard.
Now reminded, he recalled these matters, and his expression darkened. "I’ll have her put to death when I return."
His tone was decisive. Cui Mingrui’s simmering anger subsided a little, and his voice softened.
"That’s more like it."
He raised his arm to pour tea for the man across from him. "Though I don’t know why you two had such a falling out, Yaoyao must resent you for taking a concubine, even if she doesn’t say it."
’Resent...’
Xie Jinbai lifted his teacup, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp. "She probably wishes for it," he said with a self-deprecating laugh.
...
Cui Mingrui froze, his hand hovering over the cup to refill it. He frowned at the man opposite him. "What do you mean by that?"
He had only returned to the capital yesterday, but in just one day and one night, Xie Jinbai felt as if he were being pickled in bitterness.
Now, hearing his brother-in-law’s question, he pressed his lips together and countered, "Do you think she loves me?"
Cui Mingrui looked at him as if he’d just told a joke. "If she didn’t love you, why would she marry you?"
’A woman’s marriage is the most important decision of her life.’
He was about to say more when he heard his own dear brother-in-law say, "She married me for an ulterior motive, of course."
Cui Mingrui’s eyes flashed with anger. "Is Your Highness suggesting my Cui Family sold our daughter for glory, trying to climb the social ladder by marrying into your family?"
"That’s not it," Xie Jinbai said, his voice choked as he swallowed the bitterness in his throat. "She wants me to take concubines. To have children with other women."
Cui Mingrui’s rage came to a screeching halt. He was stunned. "What did you say?"
"I said, your sister wants to find several concubines for me! She’s forcing me to have my own flesh-and-blood children with other women!"
Xie Jinbai slammed his teacup down. He stared at his brother-in-law, who was frozen in shock, and asked coldly, "Tell me, do you think she loves me?"
’Does she?’
’What wife could possibly be that magnanimous?’
Cui Mingrui snapped back to his senses. "Was it the Empress? Did she pressure Yaoyao to..."
He cut himself off, remembering that his sister had been in a coma for three years, during which Xie Jinbai’s relationship with the Empress had deteriorated to the point where they didn’t even keep up appearances.
’The Empress couldn’t have pressured her at all.’
’So, what was the real reason?’
Xie Jinbai’s voice was laced with bitterness. "Do you even know your own sister? She looks so soft and sweet, but in reality, she’s the most ruthless person I know. She’s going to be the death of me."
"..." Cui Mingrui stared at him, speechless. "Could there be some kind of misunderstanding?"
’His sister was so well-behaved and sensible.’
’How could she possibly be a match for this so-called God of Killing?’
’And she was going to be the death of *him*?’
The girl was full of secrets, and there were many things he couldn’t tell another soul. With no outlet for the bitter resentment filling his gut, Xie Jinbai could only drink his tea in silence.
He was drinking the tea as if it were wine.
He truly looked like a man who had been deeply wronged, trying to drown his sorrows in tea.
Cui Mingrui was utterly shocked. He had always believed his sister was the one who was deeply in love, the one who was wrapped around her husband’s finger and perfectly happy with it.
He never imagined... that wasn’t the case?
"What has Yaoyao been doing?"
Xie Jinbai shot him a look. "She’s full of lies. I can’t tell which of her words are true and which are false."
’Worry clouds one’s judgment.’
He had interrogated countless spies and traitors.
The most devious, calculating criminals had no secrets left once they fell into his hands.
But when it came to the woman he loved, he couldn’t tell which of her words were true and which were lies.
’Is this ’task’ of hers really a matter of life and death?’
He had no way of knowing.
If he didn’t take a concubine and have a child, would her life truly be in danger?
He...
Xie Jinbai threw his head back, feeling as if he were drowning in bitterness.
’This bitterness is killing me!’
Cui Mingrui had never seen him like this before. "...What on earth happened?" he asked, hesitant.
Xie Jinbai shook his head but said nothing.
He couldn’t reveal a single word of those secrets to anyone.
Since that was the case, Cui Mingrui was at a loss.
’As long as my sister isn’t the one being wronged, that’s all that matters.’
He offered a casual consolation. "Don’t overthink it. I may not know the details of what’s going on between you two, but I can tell she cares for you."
Xie Jinbai listened in silence, not daring to believe a word of it.
’It looks like he’s really been put through the wringer.’
Cui Mingrui was truly astonished.
’What on earth had his sister done to reduce this fearsome man to such a state?’