15

Chu Shuangfeng, who had just returned to the manor, felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason. His nose tingled, and he coughed.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "Do they dislike me that much? They've only just come back and they're already badmouthing me behind my back!"

However, Jiang Yunshu, completely unaware of what was happening, was still drinking her tea in silence.

It took her a long time to tell Ling Jingchu what Jiang Yunzheng had been arguing with her about.

She grew angrier and angrier, and finally questioned Ling Jingchu: "Tell me, why won't Jiang Yunzheng believe me!"

"He also said he could protect the Jiang family, but now that the Jiang family is in the eye of the storm, he couldn't stop it either."

But Ling Jingchu seemed to be lost in thought.

She was absolutely certain, otherwise why would she have held a cup of hot tea in her hand for so long, like a fool who couldn't feel the temperature?

She was a little angry. Ling Jingchu was actually stunned at a time like this. Didn't he know that this was a matter of life and death?

She squinted as she stood up, walked around the table to Ling Jingchu's side, and crouched down to get closer to him.

"You have someone you like?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but because they were so close, she practically whispered it into his ear.

This really startled Ling Jingchu, and he trembled with shock.

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully again: "You really have someone you like?"

After a moment of panic, Ling Jingchu looked at her meaningfully, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

There was just a hint of sweetness in her expression.

She couldn't help but sigh deeply: "It's good that you have someone you love, but the Jiang family is about to be destroyed, and we don't know where our lives will go."

Seeing that Ling Jingchu's face darkened and his eyes dimmed after she scolded him, she noticed that Ling Jingchu's expression had darkened.

She paused, then suddenly realized she had gone a bit too far; Ling Jingchu simply had someone he liked.

The two remained silent, and she sensed a faint melancholy surrounding Ling Jingchu.

Ling Jingchu lowered his lips, not looking at her, his eyelids drooping, his long eyelashes concealing his emotions.

The room was so quiet that she could hear their breathing, light and shallow, as if they were suppressing something.

After thinking for a moment, she still spoke up: "That's not what I meant. I was just too hasty. If you have someone you like, your parents will definitely support you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ling Jingchu suddenly raised her eyes. Contrary to her expectations, they were not filled with sorrow, but rather cold and somewhat eerie.

"Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

Ling Jingchu's aloof and cold aura returned to normal, as if everything she had just experienced was merely a figment of her imagination.

She pursed her lips slightly and sat down somewhat awkwardly opposite him.

His words pulled her back to reality, and she continued speaking in a low voice.

"I couldn't persuade Jiang Yunzheng; he simply didn't believe me."

Ling Jingchu remained expressionless for a long while before finally speaking: "Why would he tell you these things? That day in the dark room..."

Her heart skipped a beat for no reason; how come she hadn't thought of that?

Jiang Yunzheng must have noticed, or... he said it to them that day?

The more I think about it, the more confused I become.

"This makes things even more unclear. Now that he knows what we are thinking, he will definitely be more cautious in the future."

Ling Jingchu's deep voice also made her inexplicably annoyed.

She was only thinking about persuading Jiang Yunzheng, forgetting that he was already the Third Prince's man and destined to be her adversary.

Ling Jingchu frowned and didn't say anything more. She was also extremely annoyed, and soon kicked the person out.

"I need to rest now, you can leave."

Ling Jingchu raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, his gaze then seemingly lingering on her neck.

Her eyebrows furrowed. What was wrong with Ling Jingchu today? Why was he staring at her neck for no reason?

Fortunately, Ling Jingchu, being a man of few words, got up briskly and walked towards the door.

She thought she would go to the bronze mirror later to look at her neck, and she felt that Ling Jingchu had been staring at her neck all day.

If she didn't know what kind of person Ling Jingchu was, she would have thrown a teacup at him. What a lecherous playboy!

“Jiang Yunshu,” Ling Jingchu said, his hand resting on the door without turning to look at her, “if you meet someone you like, you should tell them. What you’re doing now is not the behavior of a gentleman.”

Ling Jingchu's voice wasn't loud, but it sounded cold, as if he was saying it through gritted teeth.

She was a little confused for a moment. Who was this... referring to?

All she did was tell Ling Jingchu to focus on his career, so how is that not the act of a gentleman?

Even if we take a step back and say that she wasn't a gentleman, she was a woman!

She stared intently at Ling Jingchu, her face somewhat grim.

Ling Jingchu hesitated to open the door, his hand resting on it, as if he was waiting for her to say something, or perhaps he was angry with her.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, and she didn't want to say anything more to this person.

After a long while, Ling Jingchu finally opened the door and quickly left.

She was feeling annoyed when she heard Baili Chuan talking loudly to Ling Jingchu not far from the door.

As soon as Baili Chuan saw her at the door, his smile widened even more.

"Miss Jiang." He waved to her, "Ayao just gave me a piece of pastry, saying that you bought it. I thought it tasted very good, so I wanted to come and ask you where you bought it?"

Ling Jingchu glanced at Baili Chuan with a deep and meaningful look, then followed his gaze to Jiang Yunshu.

Jiang Yunshu was already feeling uneasy, and now that she heard that Baili Chuan had gone to see A Yao again, she felt even more upset.

“Young Master Li, if you want some pastries, you can just tell me. You don’t need to get them from A Yao.”

"Even though A Yao is a child, she is still a girl. Young Master Li keeps bothering her, which makes me not understand you."

These words were quite blunt, but Baili Chuan wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he bent down and bowed deeply to her.

He clasped his hands apologetically and said, "It was my oversight, Miss Jiang. Please forgive me."

Jiang Yunshu felt even more uncomfortable, as if she had punched cotton.

Baili Chuan asked with a smile, "I wonder where Miss Jiang bought it? In a couple of days it will be the anniversary of my parents' death. They never ate anything good in their lives. Now that they're in the afterlife, I, their unfilial son, should take good care of them."

Baili Chuan looked sorrowful. She suddenly remembered what had been said in the woods; it turned out he was thinking of paying respects to his mother.

Jiang Yunshu didn't have a good impression of Baili Chuan, but at this moment, she didn't feel that much disgust.

An unfavored prince was sent to another country as a hostage, where he lived like a dog, vulnerable to everyone's bullying.

When I was able to go back, my mother was gone.

Her tone softened: "Heweiju's new product."

Baili Chuan's expression was complicated, a dark light flashed in his eyes, but he quickly smiled again: "Thank you, Miss Jiang. As expected, Miss Jiang is very tolerant."

After saying that, Baili Chuan's gaze fell on her neck again. He paused and said, "I just heard outside that the young master of the Chu family came looking for Miss Jiang. He seemed to be in a hurry."

Did Chu Shuangfeng come looking for her as soon as he got home?

Didn't we make plans to meet up again later?

She nodded and was about to walk towards the front yard when Baili Chuan suddenly spoke up, his expression somewhat strange.

"Miss Jiang, isn't it a bit inappropriate to go see Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang like this?"

She turned to look at Baili Chuan, only to see his strange expression. Then she looked at Ling Jingchu, whose face was even more somber.

What do you mean by this?

Baili Chuan looked at her, and after meeting her gaze, he looked away somewhat awkwardly.

The folding fan in his hand was gently fanning himself, conveying an indescribable feeling.

Qing Shuang then whispered in her ear, "Miss, your neck is covered in red marks..."

She raised her hand to touch her neck, her gaze involuntarily glancing at Baili Chuan. Baili Chuan seemed to sense this and looked at her as well.

She couldn't discern anything in that expression.

Inquiry? Ruthlessness? Killing intent?

Or is there nothing at all?

Baili Chuan is too good at hiding his true nature; she can't see through him.

Perhaps it's better this way, because in less than fifteen minutes she lowered her head and looked shy.

I'm so sorry, Chu Shuangfeng.

"I...I'm going to touch up my makeup."

She lowered her head and spoke softly, looking extremely shy, before turning and jogging into the house.

The moment she turned around, Baili Chuan's face darkened, and the smile in his eyes turned into a chilling coldness.

Ling Jingchu's gaze deepened. Although Baili Chuan had turned away, the coldness in his eyes did not escape his notice.

"Cousin, is there anything else?"

Baili Chuan quickly regained his senses and instantly turned to look at Ling Jingchu with a warm smile.

"Cousin, I haven't seen you all day. Miss Jiang has been quite busy these past few days. Aren't you supposed to be off today?"

Ling Jingchu didn't answer, and Baili Chuan wasn't annoyed. He put his arm around Ling Jingchu's shoulder and headed towards his residence.

"I've heard so much about my cousin's chess skills, and today I've finally caught him! Come on, let's play chess at my place!"

After saying that, he pulled the person away.

Ling Jingchu initially wanted to refuse, but then she remembered the other party's gloomy gaze, and after thinking about it, she went with Baili Chuan anyway.

When Jiang Yunshu came out, there was no one outside the house.

She asked Qing Shuang to apply powder to her face, which slightly covered up some of the red marks.

Thinking of Baili Chuan's deep gaze, she couldn't help but turn her collar up even higher.

“Miss, there are some things I still want to say…” Qing Shuang walked behind her, as if she had made a great decision.

“Miss is doing very well in the Jiang family now. Ayao doesn’t necessarily need a fictitious father. Ayao and Miss suffered a lot of grievances in the Marquis’s mansion before. Now, I don’t think this Young Master Chu is a good match for her.”

Qing Shuang poured out all her thoughts in one breath.

It's not that I want to talk badly about people behind their backs, it's just that the Chu family's inner quarters are no less stressful than the Marquis's mansion.

Moreover, Young Master Chu is idle all day long, with neither fame nor status. If Miss marries him, wouldn't that be like jumping into another fire pit?

Jiang Yunshu sighed inwardly and whispered, "It's not what you think, it's just that..."

"We'll talk about it when we get back!"

She wanted to explain, but then she saw Baili Chuan and Ling Jingchu standing under the porch in the front yard.

"Jiang Yunshu, you're here!"

Before she could even step forward, Chu Shuangfeng strode over, his eyes crinkling into slits with a smile.

"I was wondering why someone as fond of eating and having fun as you wouldn't accept my invitation. Turns out something happened to the Jiang family, and I came as soon as I heard about it."

After saying that, he raised his hand and patted Jiang Yunshu's head: "Don't be afraid. I've learned a lot of skills in the past few years. I'll protect you at the Jiang family these next few days."

His words inexplicably reminded Jiang Yunshu of the three of them when they were young. Chu Shuangfeng was not a steady person. He had read too many martial arts novels and always thought of himself as a great hero who would save the world.

He would often toss his hair, wink at the two women, and say that he would protect them and the people of Jiangnan.

She slapped Chu Shuangfeng's hand away: "Go back to your home. My parents still have to take good care of you here."

The two were laughing and joking, completely forgetting about the two people behind them.

Baili Chuan narrowed his eyes as if he was thinking, while Ling Jingchu turned cold, his gloomy gaze seeming to want to tear Chu Shuangfeng to pieces.