Chapter 11 Restraint: "It's all thanks to my husband's excellent teaching."
Ji Zhonglin failed to get Ning Xian to drink the problematic wine; instead, he ended up drinking it himself.
Seeing the person being helped away by his guards, Ning Xian rose from his seat, brushed away all the fallen flowers that had landed on his clothes, bent down to pick up a wine cup, held it to his nose and sniffed it lightly, then curled the corners of his lips and said to the person behind him, "Go and take a look."
The attendant sighed, "Your Highness, Miss Ruan is alone in the room. This medicine is too strong. What if Young Master Ji loses control and really..."
Ning Xian turned her head and frowned as she looked at him, saying, "Is Ruan's chastity more important, or the lives of thousands of imperial guards and my own?"
"Don't tell me you also think she's cute and can't bring yourself to do it?"
The guard remained silent, bowing his head quietly: "Naturally, Your Highness is more important."
Ruan Yang's image kept lingering in his mind. Ning Xian said coldly, "Don't worry, I will know my limits. Even if Ji Zhonglin really can't help but bully her, I won't despise her."
Inside the Duke's mansion, wine cups were clinked and songs and dances were performed. A night wind rose, rustling down the tung blossoms in the courtyard. Everywhere was bustling, except for a pavilion located in the deepest part of the mansion, which was unusually quiet.
The maids had received Ji Changhuan's orders not to enter the pavilion without being summoned. The lights in the courtyard were turned off, and they hid in the shadows and saw Ning Xian's personal guard supporting a slightly drunk man. They guessed that this man must be Ning Xian, and they all ignored him and let him into the house.
Ruan Yang almost wrung the handkerchief in her hand to pieces, her forehead was already damp with cold sweat, and through her blurry vision she saw a man of similar height to Ning Xian walk in front of her, and Ruan Yang's nose tingled with emotion.
But before her tears could fall, she soon realized that the person who came was not her husband, but a strange man.
Ruan Yang felt a sense of foreboding. She tried her best to make a sound, but found that her throat felt as if it were blocked with a wad of cotton, and she couldn't make a sound at all.
...
With the moon high in the sky, Ning Xian knelt in the center of the brightly lit ancestral hall. He added a stick of incense to the altar and then looked at the rows of memorial tablets in front of him.
The emperor first deposed the empress and installed Lady Ruan as the new empress. Then he wanted to eliminate the Ji family so that he could be completely demoted to commoners and exiled to the border.
The late empress had always lived in the deep palace and never interfered in court affairs, yet she still could not escape being sentenced to death. If he had not done everything in his power to save the Ji family from danger and launched a palace coup just before the imperial edict to depose the crown prince was delivered to the Eastern Palace, he would never have been able to stay here unharmed and confront the increasingly ambitious Ji family.
After half an incense stick had burned out, Ning Xian carried a lantern and returned alone to the small courtyard where her mother used to live.
The guards at the gate were lying unconscious on the ground, and the candlelight inside the window flickered shakily. The soft sobs of a woman could be heard coming from inside.
"Pass the message on to the old lady."
Ning Xianyu stood outside the door, his hands, which were hanging in the wide sleeves of his robe, clenched quietly. After hesitating for a long time, he pushed open the door and saw a woman's blouse lying next to the screen.
After Ning Xian finished speaking, there was no one else in the room except him. The man raised his sinister eyes in the darkness and looked at the two figures in front of him. His slender fingers gripped the vase next to him, and the jade ring touched the vase, making a crisp sound.
He suddenly clenched his fist, walked silently into the curtained area, and then smashed the vase heavily on Ji Zhonglin's forehead.
"bump--"
Blood mingled with shards of indigo porcelain and splattered everywhere. The person who was about to proceed to the next step suddenly fell silent, slumping weakly down beside Ruan Yang and remaining motionless.
Ning Xian gritted her teeth and kicked away the person who touched Ruan Yang. At this moment, the commotion was heard outside, and people rushed over. When Ji Changhuan's maid saw this, she realized that she had caused a big disaster, and her legs went weak.
Just as she was about to flee the scene in a panic, she unexpectedly bumped into the master and mistress as soon as she stepped out the door.
The old lady was the mistress of the house. When she heard someone tell her that there was trouble in the backyard, she rushed over. She thought it was some ignorant concubine causing trouble, but when she pushed through the crowd, she saw her two children whom she had always valued.
The two children were lying on the floor, their clothes disheveled, while a little girl with tears streaming down her face huddled in the corner of the bed.
It seems she was bullied by her own son.
She clutched her chest and looked at Ning Xian: "What happened?"
Ning Xian took off her shawl and wrapped it tightly around Ruan Yang, then picked her up and said coldly, "What's wrong? Aunt, I've only been gone a short while, but my cousin, under the guise of being drunk, entered my bedroom and took liberties with my woman."
"Your Highness, how could Zhong Lin commit such a treasonous act? There must be some misunderstanding..."
Ning Xian said, "Misunderstanding? So many maids and servants saw it with their own eyes, and you're all trying to deny it? Luckily, I arrived in time. If my cousin had really made a mistake, how would you have silenced the gossip? And how would you have faced my innocent Aheng?"
The woman was still in a daze. When she came to her senses, she saw that her son was covered in blood and unconscious. Only then did she tremble and ask someone to fetch a doctor.
The marriage alliance with Shuobei had just been arranged, and this incident would inevitably reach the ears of the King of Shuobei sooner or later. Not only would the marriage be ruined, but it would also offend someone.
Although the dead are the most secretive, there were many people present, and it would be too conspicuous to kill them all.
The Duke of Dingguo arrived late, and looking at his unconscious son on the bed, he sighed, "Why is he suddenly eyeing another man's wife?"
The doctor, after working for quite some time, finally stopped the bleeding. He then bandaged the wound and said to the Duke of Dingguo, "Young Master's injury is too severe, especially on the head. He must rest and recuperate properly, otherwise he may become mentally impaired..."
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Dingguo's expression changed. Why did he have to faint at this critical juncture? Who should be the commander-in-chief in Bashu to put his mind at ease?
The woman vented her anger on the woman in Ning Xian's arms, momentarily forgetting the woman's identity: "Your Highness, we are family! It must be that shameless little slut who has cheated on you! You should beat this unfaithful vixen to death!"
Ning Xian, holding the still trembling Ruan Yang, sneered: "Kill her? You dare touch her and see what happens?"
The woman bit her lip, not daring to say more. Although the Ning family's empire was supported by the Ji family, Ning Xian was not a pushover. He also had the Imperial Guards of the capital.
Ning Xian disdained to engage in a verbal exchange with a woman, so he turned to the Duke of Dingguo and said, "Duke, this woman is my mistress, but my cousin, while drunk, inadvertently took liberties with her. I should have demanded an explanation from you, but please forgive me for the long-standing friendship between my cousin and me, and let this matter rest."
"It doesn't matter if Gu Yuan doesn't forgive him, but what will the soldiers think when so many people know that the eldest son of a duke is trying to take other men's wives and concubines?"
Duke Dingguo asked, "What does Your Highness intend to do?"
"Since my cousin is injured, I will not trouble him. I can lead the troops on the expedition by myself. I hope that the Duke will trust me and temporarily entrust me with the tiger tally for safekeeping."
"But this woman injured my son, we must..."
Ning Xian glanced at Ruan Yang, hesitated for a moment, and coldly said, "Once she wakes up, you can decide how to punish her. As long as she's not crippled, spare her life."
...
After everyone left, the room became quiet again. Ning Xian took the handkerchief she had used to wipe the bloodstains from the corner and threw it into the charcoal fire to burn to ashes.
In the dim candlelight, behind the light blue gauze curtain, a hazy figure reclined on a soft pillow. Even with the curtain obscuring the view, Ning Xian could still vaguely see the undulating snowflakes.
The effects of the medicine had passed, but Ruan Yang was still in a semi-conscious state.
Hearing the commotion inside, Ning Xian frowned, grabbed the curtain, and saw Ruan Yang lying on the couch with her cheeks flushed.
The girl clutched her bodice tightly to her chest with one hand, and muffled groans escaped from her pomegranate-red lips.
Ruan Yang had just escaped danger and woke up to see Ning Xian. Her heart ached. She couldn't care less about her body, which had almost been violated, and even humbly wondered if Ning Xian would suspect her of having an affair and eventually abandon her.
She choked up as she said, "I didn't..."
Seeing Ruan Yang's embarrassed expression and tearful eyes as she looked at him, Ning Xian coldly asked, "Did you take Chinese medicine?"
Ruan Yang tried her best to hide her embarrassment, thought for a moment, and nodded.
Ning Xian's expression showed no sympathy, but rather a hint of mockery: "Who did it?"
Seeing that she remained silent, he scoffed, "You yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Ruan Yang felt a pang of sadness and embarrassment in his eyes. Did he really think that he had used such despicable means to deliberately seduce others?
She bit her lip: "I didn't..."
You want me to be the antidote?
Ruan Yang's breath hitched.
Ning Xian sat down on the edge of the bed and gently rubbed the girl's lips with his fingertips: "But I'm not in a good mood today and don't want to consummate our marriage."
The more heartbroken the girl in front of him was, the stronger his pleasure became. He loved seeing others suffer because of him.
He rested his chin on his hand, looked at Ruan Yang with an innocent expression, and sighed, "Besides, you've already had an affair with someone else, so whether I can keep you by my side is still a question."
Although Ruan Yang was sad, she did not feel that she had nothing left. She had not yet regained her memory and had been poisoned by something comparable to a deadly poison. If Ning Xian were to throw her away now, she would likely face even greater dangers.
To survive, Ruan Yang hesitated for a moment, then put on a pitiful expression and pleaded, "As long as you don't abandon me, you can treat me however you want. Aheng truly loves you and can't live without you."
After speaking, the girl snuggled into his arms. Ning Xian pinched her fair chin, ready to tease her a bit, but the fragrance emanating from the girl gradually smoothed out his slightly furrowed brows, and his lips couldn't help but move towards Ruan Yang's lips and neck.
After a period of intimate caresses, Ruan Yang calmed down considerably, but the man holding her seemed unable to restrain himself.
The red candles cast a warm glow, a subtle fragrance wafted in the air, and moonlight streamed in through the latticed window lattice. Ruan Yang caught sight of something, her round eyes widening slightly. Realizing what it was, she quietly touched it with her finger.
"Beg me."
Ning Xian remained defiant, attempting to force Ruan Yang to submit with an air of superiority. Little did he know he was already utterly defeated. He stubbornly dodged, his face flushed, and grabbed her wrist, gritting his teeth, "How dare you! Who told you to be so insolent? Be careful, or I..."
Ruan Yang didn't understand what he was so shy about. They had been married for three years and it was common for them to have sex before.
Perhaps he feels she was almost taken advantage of and is now looking down on her? Or is he playing hard to get?
Ruan Yang pouted, not caring about Ning Xian's attitude. After all, her own life was the most important thing now. The die was cast, and she had no choice but to act. Seeing his evasive look, she stepped forward, closed her eyes, and kissed the man's lips as he was about to speak.
Before Ning Xian could struggle, she reached down, grabbed the man's belt, and pulled it off with a youthful yet domineering manner, throwing it outside the tent.
The man's clothes slipped off his strong shoulders, and in the dim, warm light, Ning Xian instinctively braced himself with his hands behind his back to prevent himself from being overwhelmed by Ruan Yang so quickly.
"I never expected you to be..."
Ruan Yang was puzzled, and she innocently replied, "It's all thanks to my husband's excellent teaching."
Ning Xian looked down at the girl's clumsy groping, her body completely exposed in front of Ruan Yang. Unable to suppress his anger, he pressed the girl down on the bed and, seeing Ruan Yang's panicked expression, leaned in and kissed her.
Rain pattered on the banana leaves outside the window, and the wind and rain battered the glass. The branches and lush grass, wet with rain, trembled all night long.
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