Chapter 123: Xue, Stop Making Trouble

Jiang Xue didn't know when Jing Ye came into her room, nor did she know how long Jing Ye sat in the room while she was asleep.

His Qinggong skills were so good that the guards of Changle Palace and Fu Dong who was keeping watch in the corridor did not notice it at all.

The breathing of the person beside him gradually became even. Jiang Xue's stiff body finally relaxed a little and she turned slightly to look at him.

The moonlight was dim, and through the curtain, nothing could be seen except the faint glow of the silver mask.

Jiang Xue's mind moved, and she gently reached out her hand and slowly took off the mask.

As soon as the mask was taken off, Jiang Xue could only slightly see his frowning brows in the moonlight. The next moment, Jiang Xue's wrist was pinched by Jing Ye.

"Uh," Jiang Xue froze in embarrassment, with cold sweat on her forehead. She whispered, "Don't get me wrong, I'm just afraid that this mask will make you unable to breathe..."

Jiang Xue didn't know if she could get away with such a lame excuse. She was so nervous that her toes curled up.

The people next to him didn't say anything.

She looked up and found that Jing Ye showed no signs of waking up.

She leaned closer to look at the face and found that his brows were furrowed, his complexion looked extremely pale in the moonlight, and even his lips were pale.

Jing Ye's hand was still tightly grasping her wrist, and the mask she had taken off was placed on his chest.

Jiang Xue carefully turned her wrist and tried to pull it out, but found that the every time she moved, Jing Ye held it tighter.

"Stop messing around..." A deep voice came from the side.

Jiang Xue immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at him warily. Just as she was about to explain something, she found that his eyes were still closed.

It turned out to be just dream talk, Jiang Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She tried to look at Jing Ye's face in the moonlight. His nose was as high as a sharp mountain peak. The moonlight cast a shadow on his right cheek. There was a scar about one finger long under the end of his left eye. It was dark in color and winding to the corner of his forehead. Looking closely, it looked a bit like a... protruding centipede?

It's really scary if you look closely.

Jiang Xue frowned. Is this the reason why he didn't want to show his true face?

He said he didn’t like it. Does that mean he didn’t like his scarred face?

Jiang Xue was puzzled. She had heard that Jing Ye was a ruthless and cruel killer. Would such an ambitious regent, who had been hiding for many years and could help the crown prince seize the throne and rule the world with the young master, care about his appearance like an ordinary person?

In fact, apart from the scar, Jing Ye's face is quite good. Jiang Xue nodded affirmatively at Jing Ye's face.

Ji State is in the north, Gan State is in the south. Most men in Ji State have strong and rough looks, thick eyebrows and thick eyes, just like Jiang Xue's two brothers - although they are good-looking and handsome, they are more heroic than delicate.

Jing Ye's appearance seemed to combine the strengths of the north and the south. He had firm eyebrows and sharp edges, and his nose and lips were thinner, which made him look dignified and noble.

She suddenly thought of Xiao Qi.

When she was young, she liked to follow Xiao Qi, not only because Xiao Qi was more patient with her than Jiang Yu, but also because he was really handsome, with eyebrows and eyes of just the right thickness, like a painting, a gentle jade face, and red lips. Everything about him was just right, as if he was a creation of heaven.

This was the second time Jiang Xue saw Jing Ye's true face, and it was also the first time she looked at Jing Ye's face so closely - Jing Ye and Xiao Qi's facial features were really different, Xiao Qi was really too delicate, but -

Maybe it's because they are cousins. Their profiles, seen in the dim moonlight, look somewhat similar.

Jiang Xue was daydreaming alone when suddenly someone next to her muttered something. She couldn't hear clearly and moved closer.

"Axue, stop making trouble..."

The moment Jiang Xue heard the mumbling, she felt as if struck by lightning. The blood in her body froze and her mind went blank.

She suddenly found strength from nowhere and shook off Jing Ye's hand, half sat up, and reached out to touch the skin on Jing Ye's face.

Inch by inch, she touched Jing Ye's entire face, and carefully kneaded the edges of the contours.

It's not fake, there's no disguise.

Jiang Xue's hand suddenly dropped down, tears gathered in her eyes, as if she couldn't believe the whispering she had just heard, and she raised her hand again to try to identify it again.

This time, before she touched Jing Ye, her wrists were grabbed by Jing Ye's big hands.

Jing Ye squinted at her, then saw the mask that had fallen to the side, and asked coldly, "Princess, what are you doing?"

Jiang Xue raised her tearful eyes and looked at him, then suddenly said in a decisive tone, "Xiao Qi."

Jing Ye frowned slightly, and after a moment, he said angrily: "You disturbed my sweet dream just because of that unlucky guy Xiao Qi?"

Jiang Xue's voice was vague, but she asked word by word: "What did you dream about just now?"

Jing Ye showed a look of contempt and said, "Since it was just a dream, how can I remember it clearly?"

"I heard you calling me," she stared at Jing Ye's face, "Axue."

A trace of surprise flashed across Jing Ye's eyes, and then he revealed a look of disdain. He sarcastically said, "Princess, why don't you go and ask around, what's the name of my half-sister, Princess Yunyang?"

Jiang Xue looked at him in a daze.

"Jing Ruoxue, my sister's name is Ruoxue." Jing Ye said coldly, "Even if there were really whispers in the dream, the one calling her Ah Xue is still my sister."

Seeing that Jiang Xue remained silent, he continued to mock, "Why, just because your name has one character in common with your sister, you think I'm calling you?"

Jiang Xue was still in a daze and didn't say anything for a long time.

"I advise you," Jing Ye said with a face as cold as ice, "It's okay once or twice. I showed you the last time you took off my mask. This time you went crazy and called me Xiao Qi in the middle of the night, I don't care."

"But if it happens a third time and you mistake me for Xiao Qi again—" Jing Ye stretched out his hand and pinched Jiang Xue's chin fiercely, saying, "I don't mind fulfilling my responsibilities as a husband for Xiao Qi."

Jiang Xue did not immediately try to please as usual.

She couldn't understand why Jing Ye had a sister named Ruoxue, and why the tone of voice Jing Ye used when calling him sister was exactly the same as when Xiao Qi told her to stop making trouble?

"Then why are you so nice to me?" Jiang Xue's voice was choked with sobs and hoarseness, her eyes full of disbelief, "You helped me to rescue Gu Lin from the siege of the altar, gave me a silver hairpin and even a jade token that could command the Feather Guards, and said you would teach me Qinggong."

Jiang Xue looked at him stubbornly and asked, "If you are not him, why did you come to me for no reason? Why did you come to Gu Mansion to secretly see me? Why did you choose me when you could have directly chosen to discuss the matter of the treason with my brother?"

After the call, Jing Ye hadn't answered yet, but Jiang Xue felt a pain in her chest.

Before she could react, her vision suddenly went dark and she fainted, her head limply resting on Jing Ye's hand.

In a trance, she heard the familiar words again, "Axue."

Then, there was another long sigh.