“My beauty~ put away your ripples of emotion.”
Jun Yao gasped, earnestly savoring the pain from his wound.
The strong smell of blood only aroused him, even giving him the leisure to flirt with others.
Jiang Lanyue ignored Jun Yao’s words, instead diligently treating his gruesome wounds with a skill that surpassed many doctors.
For five years, she had suffered immense torment, inflicting new wounds daily. Shen Jiaxue enjoyed slowly tormenting her, then providing her with the finest medicine.
With no one to treat her, she had taught herself, though she admitted her skill in treating external wounds was inferior to Yu Yi’s.
“Why are you mute? Talk to me.”
Jun Yao frowned, wondering what she had been thinking, her entire being radiating a sorrowful aura.
“Does Your Excellency know you have been poisoned?” Jiang Lanyue noticed the unusual color of the blood in his wounds, a clear sign of poisoning.
“Oh.” Junyao reacted calmly, showing no panic at being poisoned, while Jiang Lanyue remained silent.
“Aren’t you worried about dying?”
“You’re worried about me?” Junyao’s eyes crinkled with amusement as he teased, “If this weren’t our first meeting, I’d think I was your lover.”
Jiang Lanyue sighed helplessly, ignoring him, and carefully bandaged her wound before closing her eyes to rest.
Behind Hanshan Temple.
After Jiang Lanyue left, the fervor for flower viewing hadn’t subsided. Shen Jiaxue was sulking, ignoring Wei Chi’s several subtle hints.
A hint of impatience flashed in Wei Chi’s eyes. What tricks was this woman playing now?
Hadn’t she handed him a script, orchestrating a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scenario to embellish their encounter?
He had already humbled himself to accompany her, yet she was acting coy at this crucial moment?
Remembering his own plans, Wei Chi deliberately sought an opportunity to meet with Shen Jiaxue.
“Miss Shen, I wonder what wrong I have done to make you dislike me so much?”
Shen Jiaxue’s heart ached, her mind filled with images of him caring for his ex-wife. She pouted, feeling wronged, “Why did you come to see me, Mr. Wei? Aren’t you with your wife?”
Wei Chi was taken aback, then understood the situation. He gave a perfunctory explanation, finally managing to coax a smile from Shen Jiaxue.
The two deliberately found a place with a stunning view and a wide vista, staging a scene of a beauty falling from a high platform and a hero leaping to save her.
This scene made everyone who saw it envious. Shen Jiaxue thanked him shyly and looked up at Wei Chi at the perfect angle.
Wei Chi’s eyes widened, and he pointed at Shen Jiaxue’s cheeks in shock, “Jiaxue, your face…”
Shen Jiaxue’s almond-shaped eyes flashed with confusion. She gently touched her cheeks and suddenly felt a raised bump. She had a bad feeling, and within two breaths, her whole body began to itch.
“It itches so much! Wei Lang, what’s wrong with me?”
In a very short time, Shen Jiaxue’s exposed hands were covered with red rashes, some of which had turned into blisters.
Only then did Shen Jiaxue realize that her whole body was covered in these bumps, and her screams echoed through the sky. The onlookers, not wanting to miss out on the spectacle, pointed and whispered at her.
“Tsk, did you see that? Doesn’t her rash look like she has a sexually transmitted disease?”
“She’s so beautiful, it would be a pity if she got scars…”
Sexually transmitted disease? Scars?
Every word hit a nerve. Shen Jiaxue was so frightened that her vision blurred. Fortunately, Wei Chi held her back, otherwise, she would have definitely bled.
Shen Jiaxue seemed to see Wei Chi as her lifeline, clinging to him in terror and refusing to let go: “Wei Lang, I have never done anything to betray you, you can’t abandon me…”
The crowd murmured, casting strange glances at the two of them.
They were clearly acquaintances, yet they had just pretended to be strangers; their intentions were not pure.
Prince Ke’s heir’s gaze shifted slightly. He hadn’t realized Wei Chi had such a deep relationship with the Duke of Liang’s family. Now that Wei Chi had the Duke of Liang as his backer, why was he approaching him so frequently?
A question arose in his mind, and Prince Ke’s heir looked at Wei Chi with a meaningful gaze.
From the moment Shen Jiaxue clung to him, Wei Chi’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Especially up close, seeing her face covered in blisters, she looked like the King of Hell descended upon the world.
He wanted to push her away but dared not. The Duke of Liang’s family was useful to him; he couldn’t abandon Shen Jiaxue now.
Wei Chi suppressed his disgust, held Shen Jiaxue protectively in his arms, and led her to the temple’s guest rooms.
Once Shen Jiaxue calmed down, she begged Wei Chi to take her back to the capital. Wei Chi had no choice but to bite the bullet and bid farewell to Prince Ke’s heir ahead of time.
“Miss Shen’s illness is of utmost importance, Zigu, you needn’t worry about me. I’ll return
to the capital on my own later.” Wei Chi breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I will visit the Prince’s residence to apologize another day.”
Watching Wei Chi leave, the Prince Ke’s smile gradually faded.
…
At the foot of the mountain, the carriage was suddenly stopped. The Imperial Guards surrounded the intersection and were checking each carriage coming down the mountain.
Wei Chi’s eyes were dark and unfathomable. It seemed that he had experienced something similar in his previous life, but no one knew the specific reason.
“Why aren’t you leaving yet? My face is so itchy, Wei Lang…”
Inside the carriage, Shen Jiaxue was furious, scratching Chunyu’s face and hands until they bled.
Chunyu gritted her teeth and said in a trembling voice, “Miss, don’t break the blisters, or they’ll leave scars.”
She couldn’t imagine what kind of fury she would face from her mistress and madam when she returned…
“Jiaxue, listen to me. I’ll go ahead and scout the situation first.”
Wei Chi simply reassured her and fled cleanly. He didn’t want to go back and face Shen Jiaxue’s ugly face.
Upon reaching the crossroads, Wei Chi found the leader and introduced himself: “I am Wei Chi, the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination. The woman in the carriage is the daughter of the Duke of Liang. We have urgent business to attend to. Would you be so kind as to let us leave first?”
“Wei, the third-ranked scholar?”
The Imperial Guard sized him up, a hint of disdain in his eyes. This was the heartless man who abandoned his wife on the day he passed the imperial examination? He was handsome enough, but utterly depraved. Wei Chi was secretly pleased; he hadn’t expected even the Imperial Guard to recognize him. His smile instantly became more genuine as he humbly said ,
“It is indeed me, Wei. I wonder if you would do me the honor of doing me a favor? Perhaps another day when I have time…”
“Go away… Don’t even mention the third-ranked scholar, even if the Duke of Liang himself came, he’d have to wait for a screening!”
The Imperial Guard’s merciless words made Wei Chi’s face darken even more.
However, he dared not confront them. After all, the Imperial Guard had direct access to the Emperor and the privilege of acting first and reporting later. Even in his previous life, when he was the Grand Secretary, he still had to give them some face.
Wei Chi could only slink back, continuing to appease Shen Jiaxue.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lanyue and her group had arrived in the capital.
Jiang Lanyue gently shook Junyao awake and said softly, “Young Master, we have escorted you to the city gate. Is there anything else you require?”
Junyao opened his sleepy eyes and glanced at Jiang Lanyue with slight confusion. “When did I say I wanted to enter the city?”
Now it was Jiang Lanyue’s turn to be confused. Where else would he go if he didn’t enter the city? Did he expect them to escort him to another residence?
“We don’t know where Young Master lives, so we can only escort you into the city first.” Seeing that Junyao was unmoved, Jiang Lanyue’s lips twitched slightly, and she asked softly, “Could you tell me your address, Young Master? I will have my servants escort you home.” Junyao closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, lazily saying, “I don’t know, I forgot.”
You didn’t forget, you clearly want to rely on us, Jiang Lanyue gritted her teeth, thinking to herself that she had picked up a big problem.