Chapter 67 Bloodstained Ship - Someone Bullied Me
Before dawn on the third day, fine white snow drifted on the Luo River, falling silently and melting into the rushing waters.
Qi Sheng held an umbrella over Meng Shutai and advised, "The wind is strong at the bow of the boat, and the snow is falling thicker and thicker. My lord, you should go back to the cabin first."
The enormous sails billowed in the wind. The light was still dim, and the sails resembled a giant whale swimming in the air, dragging the three-story ship deeper into the river.
Snowflakes landed lightly on Meng Shutai's brow bone and nose bridge, cool and slightly tugging at his skin. After boarding the ship, he stood at the bow for a long time, seemingly waiting for someone, refusing to return to the cabin no matter how Qi Sheng tried to persuade him.
Qisheng sighed softly, guessing that her husband hoped his young mistress would come to see him off. After all, there were over twenty magnificent ships lined with relatives seeing them off, all looking reluctant to part. Only her husband, though married, seemed to be all alone, as if he hadn't married at all.
“My lord, the young mistress was still asleep when you left, and she probably hasn’t gotten up yet. Let’s not wait any longer.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Shutai suddenly laughed.
"She's always been a heavy sleeper, and seeing her off is such a hassle, why bother bringing her along?"
If he wanted Le Jin to come, he wouldn't need to tiptoe when he got up, keeping the servants silent as well.
His wife was different from other wives, Meng Shutai silently remembered, and dared not forget.
But the chess game was becoming increasingly puzzling. If he wasn't waiting for the young mistress, then who was he waiting for? Could it be that the young master simply preferred to stand on the bow of the boat, enjoying the cold wind and the scenery?
Just as they were feeling confused, someone suddenly boarded their ship.
Meng Shutai looked in the direction of the voice, then smiled broadly, “Jin’an, the Prince of Zhennan.”
Upon seeing that the person on his boat was this man, Xie Xianheng frowned slightly without showing any emotion. He shouldn't have been part of the procession welcoming the Buddha's relics; this sudden change must have been Meng Shutai's doing.
Xie Xianheng smiled but his eyes were not open. He cupped his hands to Meng Shutai and said, "It is an honor to share a boat with you, Young Master Meng."
After some pleasantries, both men knew the other was displeased. But Meng Shutai was much calmer than Xie Xianheng. With him gone, he couldn't keep Le Jin by his side. If he couldn't take her with him, he would at least keep Xie Xianheng under control.
The creatures he keeps might try to sneak out and play with other people, but they'll never get a chance.
Meng Shutai was overjoyed and took a few steps toward Xie Xianheng, his spirits soaring like a golden sparrow on a branch. He continued to exchange pleasantries: "What is Your Highness carrying? You are carrying it yourself."
Xie Xianheng had an exquisite food box in his hand, black lacquered and gold-painted, which looked somewhat familiar.
"Oh, it's dumplings."
Xie Xianheng answered easily, but his tone clearly carried a hint of boasting. He turned around with the food box in his hand, "This time I will be away from the capital for a hundred days. Someone is thinking of me and specially sent me dumplings this morning. They are not expensive, but they are a token of tenderness and care, which I should cherish."
Xie Xianheng couldn't hide his smile, but Meng Shutai's expression seemed to have been shattered by the snow, as gloomy and cold as the deep sea.
Someone is concerned... The gold patterns on this food box are clearly from the small kitchen in his Zhenyuan Garden.
Xie Xianheng glanced at Meng Shutai's extremely ugly face, then turned around and went into his room on the ship with a smug look on his face.
"The weather is cold, and the dumplings will get cold easily. It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful woman's good intentions, so I won't talk to you any longer."
Meng Shutai gave Xie Xianheng a cold glare, and the temperature around him suddenly dropped, more chilling than the river wind and flying snow.
Qi Sheng felt a chill run down her spine, realizing something was wrong. She quickly scolded Xie Xianheng, "That Prince of Zhennan is really something. It's just a box of dumplings, what's so special about it? He acts like nobody else has one..."
"Shut up."
Meng Shutai gritted his teeth, and two words drifted over, startling Qisheng.
“My love…my lord…”
Moth-like long eyelashes trembled with suppressed emotion. Meng Shutai's breathing became rapid and slow, and a strange emotion gathered in his heart, like a wad of wet cotton blocking his mind, obscure and difficult to express.
Dark, swirling clouds filled the sky, foreshadowing an impending blizzard. Inside the boathouse, the light was dim, with ceramic candlesticks used for illumination throughout.
Xie Xianheng ordered his men to leave, leaving him alone in the room. The food box was gently opened, revealing a stack of plump, steaming dumplings.
He should have eaten dumplings before leaving home. But there were no elders left in the family, and his younger sister was carefree, so no one had prepared dumplings for him for many years.
Xie Xianheng stared at the dumplings, a slow smile spreading across his face.
Although the departure was sudden, it wasn't too bad. Welcoming the Buddha's relics was a major event, involving a journey through six provinces by water and four provinces by land. Such a long journey involved countless officials coming and going. He believed that he could use their own methods against them and find fault with Meng Shutai.
Poke the bulging dumpling skin with his chopsticks, Xie Xianheng smiled and said, "It will be soon. I will definitely save you from this misery."
"Knock knock knock..." The door was suddenly knocked on, interrupting Xie Xianheng's thoughts.
"who?"
"I."
Even a single word, spoken with a voice as melodious as jade beads falling onto a plate, was incredibly pleasant to hear. But Xie Xianheng's chest sank instantly, filled only with disgust.
However, considering that he would be spending every day with him in the future, he still got up, opened the door, and welcomed the person in.
As Meng Shutai, carrying a pot of warm wine, passed by Xie Xianheng, a series of clear bell sounds rang out from his body.
He was all smiles, even the way he poured the wine was calm and graceful. "Your Highness has few attendants. It is the first month of the lunar year, so I am sending you a pot of fine wine to dispel the loneliness."
As the clear wine flowed from the spout into the cup, Xie Xianheng noticed that the bell sound came from Meng Shutai's wrist.
A red string with a small golden bell tied to it was wrapped around his wrist many times, looking from a distance like a bloody knife cut.
Xie Xianheng didn't know why such a delicate and exquisite thing had appeared on Meng Shutai's wrist in just a short while, but he wasn't curious. He simply declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Meng, but I'm taking medicine and need to abstain from alcohol."
Meng Shutai was slightly surprised, then suddenly smiled with self-reproach and replied, "It was Shutai's carelessness. The prince has been fighting for many years and has old ailments. This time of year is particularly difficult for him."
He hurriedly put down his wine cup, but his hand slipped, and the cup bumped against the edge of the food box. The food box was shallow and flat, shaped like a small saucer, and when it flipped over, a plate of dumplings fell to the ground.
Meng Shutai was shocked and at a loss for words, "Your Highness, this..."
Xie Xianheng strode to the table, looked at the dumplings with heartache, and finally glared at Meng Shutai.
Meng Shutai's eyes narrowed into a fox-like smile as he apologized repeatedly and asked considerately, "What medicine is Your Highness taking? Would you like the physician from the Meng family to examine Your Highness?"
Xie Xianheng snorted coldly, looking down on his eager compensation.
"No need for you to trouble yourself, my lord."
His attitude was written all over his face, but the usually quick-witted Meng Langjun pretended not to see it and continued to say sarcastic things to him with a smile.
"Is Your Highness ashamed of the hideous scars on your body? My family physician has some miraculous medicine to remove scars, so that Your Highness will not frighten your beloved lady when you undress in the future."
"you!"
Xie Xianheng's eyes widened, a breath stuck in his throat—Meng Shutai was mocking him!
His face flushed with anger, but his mind inexplicably recalled that after he undressed in front of Le Jin that day, she had indeed preferred to run away rather than stay... His heart was in turmoil, as if pricked by needles. Xie Xianheng was furious, as if his tail had been stepped on, and smashed the wine that Meng Shutai had brought him.
"Get out!"
Porcelain shards littered the ground, and some even bounced off and landed on Xie Xianheng's hand, leaving fine cuts.
Meng Shutai, like an actor on a theatrical stage, raised his sleeve to cover half of his face, then added fuel to the fire with a pity and heartache: "The prince's anger has even caused injury to his hand."
He clicked his tongue lightly, his brows furrowing slightly. "What can we do... Without the beauty, Your Highness's pain is in vain."
After a barrage of sarcastic remarks, Xie Xianheng realized that this person was jealous and had deliberately come to make him unhappy. He and Le Jin might have nothing going on outwardly, but Meng Shutai was her husband; how could she possibly hide it from someone who was paying close attention?
Who would have thought that a simple plate of dumplings could provoke such a sharp and sarcastic reaction from the usually mild-mannered Meng Langjun?
Thinking of this, Xie Xianheng felt a little better, and his anger subsided.
“Young Master Meng need not regret it.” He raised an eyebrow, took out the medicinal powder that Yue Jin had given him from his bosom, and waved it provocatively in his hand.
"The medicine given to me by my beloved is something I always carry with me. With such deep affection, any pain can be relieved."
Medicine? The medicine she gave me? What kind of medicine does she have to give away...?
Meng Shutai's brow twitched, as if a pebble had been thrown into a deep pool. With a "thud," his limbs stiffened.
Yes, the slightly yellow liquid left on Le Jin's fingertips could never compare to the medicine he had carefully prepared for her.
That unfamiliar emotion no longer lingered in his mind; it devoured him from head to toe. Every inch of his flesh and bone, every inch of his soul, was torn and dragged away. A loud boom echoed in Meng Shutai's mind, and he could no longer perceive anything.
The red candles on the table had burned out, and scalding wax was flowing down the candlesticks.
In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the heavy ceramic candlestick and immediately smashed it toward Xie Xianheng’s face!
One, two… Xie Xianheng didn’t react in time; the violent force caused his body to fall backward. Warm liquid quickly welled up from his face, mixing with the still-uncured red wax, staining the entire candlestick crimson.
Meng Shutai remained unusually calm, not even raising an eyebrow. He knelt down like a soulless puppet, pressing his knees against Xie Xianheng's chest and abdomen, and hammering the candlesticks at Xie's head with all his might.
Xie Xianheng didn't even have time to shout before his vision filled with bloodstains. Every time Meng Shutai hit him, a black patch appeared in his eyes.
Death descended starkly. Xie Xianheng drew his short knife for self-defense and stabbed it viciously into Meng Shutai's shoulder. The next moment, blood gushed out from under the blade, soaking Meng Shutai's fine clothes.
However, Xie Xianheng did not expect that the person on his body would only grunt, grab the short knife with one hand, and still raise the candlestick with the other and smash it down.
His eyes were numb yet resolute, as if he felt no pain whatsoever. The last thing Xie Xianheng saw was splattered blood onto Meng Shutai's flamboyant face, trickling down his forehead. But this did not stop his movements; the candlesticks continued to rise and fall rhythmically, rise and fall…
——
Le Jin huddled under the covers, counting down the days until Yuan Jiang's wedding. As she pressed down her last finger, she chuckled twice.
She had originally valued her relationship with Xie Xianheng, but unexpectedly, the court summoned him away, and her mission had to be postponed. Since she had some free time, she might as well do something she enjoyed.
She didn't care about the rules set by Meng Shutai; she was determined to get out on the seventh day, even if it meant crawling through a dog hole. He had already walked dozens of miles away. Le Jin felt relaxed and imagined what clothes she would wear and what gift she would bring to the wedding, and gradually fell asleep.
In the stillness of the night, she didn't know how long she had been asleep when suddenly the flickering candlelight caught her eye.
Le Jin thought she was dreaming, so she rubbed her eyes, only to find that candles were indeed lit in the room.
On the rosewood dressing table sat a dirty candlestick, burning a single red candle. The flame flickered silently, inexplicably coinciding with the beating of Le Jin's heart at that moment.
She looked away and suddenly noticed something covered in blood standing at the head of the bed!
"Ah! A ghost!"
She pulled the blanket over her head, trembling with fear, and burst into tears on the spot.
"Don't arrest me! Don't arrest me! I haven't lived enough yet!"
“Ah Jin…” The “ghost” smiled weakly, pulled back her blanket and sat on the bed. “It’s me.”
Le Jin's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She lay motionless on the bed, "Meng Shutai...you're not..."
Before she could finish speaking, Meng Shutai, covered in blood, collapsed into her arms, his cold arms tightly gripping her waist, his disheveled long hair cascading over her chest.
His voice was gentle and tender, but faint and frivolous due to excessive blood loss. "I only remembered I hadn't hugged you when I left after boarding the ship, so I rode my steed back..."
His tone made it sound like something sweet, but Le Jin's body trembled uncontrollably, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
Crazy! He has important business to attend to, why would he suddenly turn back?!
"What's going on with your clothes...?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Shutai paused, then hugged Le Jin even tighter, burying his head in her chest like a helpless child.
"Someone bullied me and stabbed me with a knife. It hurts so much, Ah Jin, it really hurts..."
With the warm, sweet scent of Le Jin filling his nostrils, Meng Shutai suddenly understood what that unfamiliar emotion was.
—It's a feeling of being wronged.
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Author's Note: Speechless, so I'll just do something cute for you all [sprinkling flowers][sprinkling flowers][sprinkling flowers] peace and love
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