Chapter 30 Obsession and Madness

Yan Jue nodded perfunctorily. He noticed a small red mole near Shen Pingjin's wrist, just below her palm. Before he could touch it, Shen Pingjin pulled her hand back.

Shen Pingjin looked up, smiling, but her gaze was icy. "Husband, there are two other people in front of us. How could you be so abrupt? Your actions will make Pingjin feel embarrassed."

Yan Jue was taken aback. His tone was hesitant, as if he didn't understand, "As your husband, how can doing this be considered presumptuous?"

The smile on Chen Pingjin's face froze. "But my husband, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are still here..."

Yan Jue seemed to suddenly realize something, and his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed. "I am so stupid that I didn't realize that my queen was shy."

Shen Pingjin nodded like a chick pecking at rice, "My husband truly understands Pingjin the most."

Yan Jue nodded in agreement, "My queen is the one who understands me best."

Shen Ruixue watched the interaction between the two and chuckled sweetly, "Sister and the Regent have only been married for a few days, yet their feelings for each other are so deep. I am truly envious."

Shen Pingjin was taken aback, then blinked her big, watery eyes, "What are you saying, little sister? Didn't I hear that your relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince is also very sweet?"

Shen Ruixue looked at Su Xuanmao beside her, whose gaze was deep and whose eyelids were slightly lowered, as if he was thinking about something. "Brother Su, my sister and the Regent have such a deep relationship, why are you ignoring her now?"

At that moment, Su Xuanmao's eyes were only on Shen Pingjin's sweet "husband." When he heard Shen Ruixue calling him, he finally looked up and asked, "What were you saying just now?"

Shen Ruixue's expression grew even more aggrieved. She pointed at Du Yanjue and Shen Pingjin in front of her, "Brother Su, you and Ruixue have been married for several days now, but you've always been cold and indifferent to Ruixue. Ruixue knows you like my sister, but... but..."

Su Xuanmao's gaze grew increasingly dark, and his voice was as cold as the winter wind, "But what?"

Shen Ruixue seemed startled and lowered her head abruptly. "Brother Su, but my sister has already married the Regent, while Ruixue is your Crown Princess."

These words struck a chord with Su Xuanmao without hesitation.

The gloom in his eyes vanished, and he returned to his usual gentle and refined demeanor. "My Crown Princess, you are right, but isn't all of this what you wanted?"

Shen Ruixue knew that seeing how well Yan Dui treated Shen Pingjin made her momentarily unable to control the bitterness welling up inside her. "Brother Su, have you ever thought that perhaps Ruixue loves you just as much?"

Su Xuanmao nodded. "I know you love me."

Shen Ruixue was somewhat surprised, "Then Brother Su, why..."

Su Xuanmao gripped Shen Ruixue's wrist tightly, his gaze terrifyingly gloomy. "Because the only person I've ever wanted to marry is your sister."

Yan Jue and Shen Pingjin were watching the show when Yan Jue heard this, and he was a little puzzled. "Your Highness, I'm still here. If you want to steal someone away, why don't you just talk to your Crown Princess in private?"

Shen Pingjin remained silent, even pouring a cup of tea for each of them, while she herself picked up a chestnut pastry from the tea table and began to eat it by herself.

It was as if Su Xuanmao hadn't spoken at all from beginning to end.

Su Xuanmao was not annoyed by Yan Jue's direct criticism. He slowly picked up a chestnut pastry from the tea table, just like Shen Pingjin. "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness. I was just stating the facts."

Oh, so now you don't even need to sneak around anymore, you've gone straight to doing it openly, haven't you?

Yan Jue silently made a grudge in his heart. "His Highness the Crown Prince is indeed an honest and upright gentleman. I really admire him."

Su Xuanmao smiled and said, "Your Highness is joking."

Yan Jue waved his hand, "I was just telling the truth. After all, His Highness the Crown Prince has a much better reputation than I do. But I really regret it."

Su Xuanmao asked with some confusion, "I wonder what the Regent is lamenting?"

Yan Jue looked at Shen Ruixue beside Su Xuanmao and sighed, "It's a pity that the princess's sister didn't succeed in marrying me."

Shen Pingjin paused, startled as she put a pastry into her mouth. "?"

What is he saying?

Seemingly noticing the sharp gaze of the girl beside him, Yan Jue continued, "Everyone says that I am a womanizer, and I admit it. I am indeed a womanizer, even to the point of wanting to take both of the Shen sisters into my harem."

"It's just a pity that I can only choose one of the two young ladies from the Shen family."

Upon hearing this, Su Xuanmao suddenly stood up from his seat. His expression was uncertain, and his eyes flashed with a gloomy light. "That day, the Emperor asked the Regent in the palace why he didn't speak. If you had spoken, perhaps my Crown Princess could still be your Princess."

These words are truly devastating.

Yan Jue, however, remained unconcerned. "I was just speaking casually. After all, it's common knowledge that the eldest daughter of the Shen family is renowned for her beauty, while the second daughter is plain-looking and born out of wedlock. I thought about it..."

Yan Jue pulled Shen Pingjin into his arms and said intimately, "This current princess is more to my liking. After all, the second young lady of the Shen family is so frail that she might not be able to withstand my strength."

Shen Pingjin watched quietly as the man beside her uttered some indecent words. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer. With a cold look in her eyes, she stretched out her right foot from under the table, then gathered her strength and kicked hard to the side.

Caught off guard by the kick, Yan Jue glanced at the girl beside him in surprise, a small sound escaping his throat from the pain.

When Su Xuanmao heard a few of the words that made his blood boil, his eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. The woman in front of him had a cold expression, and her black hair fell down beside her thin cheeks. Every frown and movement of hers was still the same as before, but now, for some reason, she was much more charming than before.

Looking at Yan Jue's casual, unrestrained, and nonchalant expression, he wished he could tear it to shreds.

His excitement, anticipation, and joy at his wedding were all genuine.

He was really looking forward to marrying her and having her stand with him at the threshold of the palace to deal with the intrigues and schemes within.

Unfortunately, all of this hope was destroyed by the woman beside him during that day's switcheroo.

How can he say he doesn't hate it!

But this woman had already become his queen, and he had to endure and accept her for the sake of the royal family's reputation.

He initially thought it was just a small mistake that could be corrected later. He trusted Shen Pingjin because she had been so infatuated with him before, and he firmly believed that as long as they were of one mind, they could overcome any obstacles together.

But after that day, everything changed...

Su Xuanmao didn't know why, after that day, Shen Pingjin's attitude towards him was completely different from before.