Chapter 76 Extra Chapter: Clashing

Jinmai's arm was broken by a rock falling from the snow-capped mountain on her way to find the Crimson Flower. She lost consciousness in the snow, and when she woke up, her arm was numb from being crushed, and her fingers were frozen purple.

She wasn't sure if the legendary Crimson Flower really existed, but if they found it, the Sui Kingdom would still have a glimmer of hope.

With his arm completely useless, Jinmai dragged his injured arm and searched for another half a month before finally finding the flower bud of the Crimson Flower on the cliff.

A month later, Jinmai, who had finally recovered her strength, stood on the city wall. No, the credit for Zhu Yanhua went to Zuo Qinghou. She was given the imperial surname Jiang and renamed Jiang Linzhi.

Jinmai took that name; she liked the name very much and didn't want it to be discarded like that.

Before Zuo Qinghou lay the devastated territory of the Wu Kingdom. By the time those in power realized the power of the snuff bottle, it was too late.

Jiang Linzhi draped a coat over Zuo Qinghou and said, "It's windy here, let me help you down."

Jiang Linzhi finally asked the question he'd been asking for so many years: "Why do you give me everything?"

“I don’t need any of that. I can do anything,” she said. When she was running wild in the tribe with a savage, she didn’t need dignity, shame, or achievement. As long as she killed enough enemies, the tribe wouldn’t dare to touch her. But Jiang Linzhi was different. The people here cared about everything: power, status, and morality. Without any one of these, it seemed impossible to gain their respect. “You need these,” she said.

The two boarded the carriage, and Jiang Linzhi let Zuo Qinghou lie in her arms, saying, "Sister will protect you for the rest of your life."

"Will you protect Fan Qi for the rest of your life?" Even though he knew the answer, Zuo Qinghou still asked.

“You are different from him, you don’t need to compete with him,” Jiang Linzhi promised softly.

Zuo Qinghou didn't want to hear her explanation anymore. She nestled in her motherly and sisterly embrace, and as before, slowly closed her eyes and said, "I want to eat sesame cakes."

The flatbread was made using wheat grown in the Sui Kingdom.

Zuo Qinghou just saw that the vast wheat fields in the State of Sui had also been completely harvested; this was probably the last harvest of wheat.

Jiang Linzhi didn't know what Zuo Qinghou was thinking. She wanted to make things clear, so she said softly, "He has no way out. He can only stay by my side. You have to trust him."

Zuo Qinghou did not respond.

Jiang Linzhi said to himself, "We're getting married soon, and it's also to... give the emperor this leverage so he can feel at ease."

Zuo Qinghou slowly loosened her tightly clenched hands in her sleeves, and snuggled closer to Jiang Linzhi, as if she wanted to burrow into her arms and let her shelter her.

"Okay." The faint words dissipated between their intertwined breaths.

Zuo Qinghou settled down in the detached house furthest from the main hall. She planted a lot of wheat in the yard and worked like a farmer every day, day after day.

Even when Fan Qi tried to provoke her, she stopped responding, glancing at him like she was watching a show, and then buried her head in her wheat seedlings.

It wasn't until one day when Fan Qi caught Zuo Qinghou and he almost knocked over a bucket of water that she finally spoke her first words to Fan Qi in a month: "Fan Qi, you like me, right?"

She felt a liking for someone she saw in her sketchbook, for someone she sensed from Jiang Linzhi, and for someone she observed while eating wheat among the myriad beings around her. There are many kinds of liking, and her liking for Jiang Linzhi was absolutely different from Fan Qi's liking for her.

It was clearly an extremely secret and embarrassing thought, but when Fan Qi looked into her emerald-green eyes, he couldn't bring himself to mock her for being delusional. Instead, he laid bare his twisted feelings before her, letting her suffer the embarrassment with him. Fan Qi grinned wickedly and said, "Yes, I like you."

"Disgusting," Zuo Qinghou commented truthfully, then snatched the bucket from his hand as if everything he had touched was exceptionally filthy. She held the bucket firmly as she watered the wheat seedlings.

These words struck a nerve with Fan Qi, and his words grew increasingly vicious, "And there's more, every time I sleep with her, I'm thinking of you before I can bring myself to do it. I get especially excited whenever you're around, and your older sister is with me too..."

A sharp "snap" interrupted Fan Qi's words.

Fan Qi puffed out her cheeks and continued with a cold laugh, "She followed too..."

"Slap!" Another slap.

Even though Zuo Qinghou's expression was calm, Fan Qi could still see the rage in her eyes, burning fiercely as if she wanted to burn him to ashes.

"Enjoy it."

The two stubborn individuals continued to provoke and tear at each other, bleeding from each other's heads, yet still pressing on their wounds to continue their struggle.

With a "thud," Zuo Qinghou grabbed an empty bucket and smashed it on Fan Qi's head. Fan Qi didn't resist; he lay on the ground, letting her beat him until his head bled.

When Zuo Qinghou was searching for Zhu Yanhua, he almost lost his life. She is no longer as strong as she used to be, and her strength is nothing more than a tickle to him now.

With each blow, Zuo Qinghou gritted his teeth, and even though he wasn't very strong, he still managed to smash the ground until Zuo Qinghou's head bled.

When Jiang Linzhi returned, she saw this bloody scene. If she hadn't had someone drag Zuo Qinghou away so she could quickly check on Fan Qi's injuries, she would have been terrified.

Fan Qi's injuries looked truly frightening; it was uncertain whether she would have fully recovered by the wedding in half a month. Even with Jiang Linzhi's good temper, he couldn't help but yell, "What's wrong with you? You're perfectly fine!"

“He’s shameless, he provoked me first,” Zuo Qinghou roared back.

"What is it? Huh? What could it be?" Zuo Qinghou and Fan Qi had previously been at odds, but it was all over trivial matters. What big deal could there be?

If Zuo Qinghou hadn't read those books, she would have told the whole truth. But the books gave her dignity, but also useless manners and shame. She couldn't say it. She knew that if she did, she and Jiang Linzhi would be extremely embarrassed, and only Fan Qi would benefit.

She stared at Fan Qi, panting heavily like a kindergarten teacher, unable to utter a single word.

This silence only confirmed Jiang Linzhi's suspicions. Jiang Linzhi angrily said, "Send her to the house in Nanluo Lane, keep a close eye on her, and don't let her come out!"

Zuo Qinghou had never been treated like this before. In front of Fan Qi, whom she loathed so much, she shouldn't have shown her vulnerable side, but she couldn't help it. She stared intently at Jiang Linzhi's back as he wiped Fan Qi's wounds, and tears streamed down her face.

Jiang Linzhi became increasingly blurry in Zuo Qinghou's sight. In just a moment, she could no longer see the person who had picked her up from the ground, dressed her, and taught her to write.

This side of Zuo Qinghou could only be seen in front of Jiang Linzhi, but he showed no joy in provoking her or winning against her. He slowly lowered his eyes and said, "I was also wrong to take her things."

The house in Nanluo Lane has been uninhabited for years, devoid of any human presence. Even as summer approaches, Zuo Qinghou remains huddled under the covers, fast asleep.

Half-asleep, a figure flickered before his eyes. Zuo Qinghou didn't care who it was and reached out to grab the person: "It's so cold."

The person was warm, but the scent was unfamiliar. However, Zuo Qinghou touched a sword, a sword forged with her blood, the lifeblood of the Wu tribe; anyone wounded by that sword was difficult to heal.

Only Jiang Linzhi possessed this sword. Moreover, Zuo Qinghou was so cold that it was hard to tell whether the coldness came from her heart or her body. She clung to that person, pulling him into her own cave and wrapping him up.

His body grew hotter and hotter, and it heated her body as well. But this heat was accompanied by brief pain, and she clung tightly to the source of heat in front of her as if in self-torture, letting him penetrate her deeply.

All the pent-up grievances of the past few days burst forth. Zuo Qinghou could no longer restrain his desires or suppress his words: "It hurts, it hurts so much."

She used to be very open and honest, and Jiang Linzhi would always comfort her. Why did everything change after Fan Qi arrived? Jiang Linzhi clearly said they weren't the same and wouldn't clash. But why doesn't Jiang Linzhi trust her now that something's happened?

The person in front of her became much gentler, and the warmth slowly enveloped her, like soaking in a hot spring, the warmth soothing her every limb and bone. Gradually, the warmth surged like a tidal wave, finally warming Zuo Qinghou completely.

That warmth turned completely cold at dawn the next day. Zuo Qinghou had a rare good night's sleep, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Fan Qi naked.

Without any romantic thoughts, Zuo Qinghou only felt that he had eaten a pastry that he knew was made of excrement.

Absolutely disgusting.

She scrambled to her feet, stepped on the man's stomach, and walked out. She wanted to tell Jiang Linzhi that the man Jiang Linzhi liked or used was worse than a male prostitute at Chunfeng Tower—worthless.

Fan Qi was jolted awake by the kick. He was still lost in yesterday's beautiful dream, thinking that he would do everything in his power to get her away today, even if it meant using all the spies he had planted.

Fan Qi hurriedly grabbed his coat and chased after her. He grabbed the barefoot Zuo Qinghou, picked her up, and, ignoring her struggles, wrapped the coat around her and carried her back to the inner room.

“Scum! Scum! I’m going to tell her! Tell her you’re scum!” Zuo Qinghou protested almost hysterically.

The person in his arms struggled fiercely, showing no mercy. Fan Qi understood that this was just wishful thinking on his part. He carefully cupped Zuo Qinghou's face, making her look into his eyes, and said, "We haven't wronged anyone. I'll find a way to resolve this. You have to believe me. You don't want to hurt her, right? How heartbroken she would be if she knew."

After struggling for a while, Zuo Qinghou gradually calmed down. Fan Qi knew that Zuo Qinghou's weakness was Jiang Linzhi, and continued, "If you go and talk to her, what will she think of you? Will she believe you or me?"

Once Jiang Linzhi had completely calmed down, Fan Qi gently smoothed her disheveled hair, as if he hadn't said anything at all. He noticed the marks on Zuo Qinghou's body and continued softly, "Would you like to wash up first, or sleep a little longer?"

The warmth of last night had completely faded, and a chill enveloped Zuo Qinghou. She spoke as if she were a puppet: "I want to soak for a while."

Seeing that Zuo Qinghou was no longer as resistant to him as before, Fan Qi asked, "Shall I carry you there?"

When Fan Qi picked up Zuo Qinghou, full of hope for the future, he was unaware that a chilling glint flashed in Zuo Qinghou's eyes as he rested on his shoulder.