Chapter 72 Melting Ice "I promise to live with you."
Because of his illness, Ruan Yang was moved from the cellar to the upper room. Although the environment was simple and plain, it was sunny, the air was fresh, and the mattress beneath him was dry and soft.
Her illness was severe, and the aroma of medicine lingered. Ruan Yang stayed in bed for a long time, not even lifting her heavy eyelids, her mind filled with the words the Third Prince had said to her.
He asked her to find an opportunity to leave the palace alone and tell his maternal clan in Lingnan that he was still alive.
However, she was surrounded by Ning Xian's people, and he was watching her every word and action. It was almost impossible for her to meet with the Lin clan members who were thousands of miles away.
Just as they were pondering this, they heard hurried footsteps outside the door, followed by a eunuch respectfully kneeling down to greet the dark figure reflected on the paper window.
Ruan Yang frowned and tightened her fingers. Only when the man's faint fragrance lingered around her nose did she wearily open her eyes.
Her eyes, which were fixed on Ning Xian, were misty with tears. The tip of her nose, which occasionally let out muffled groans, turned slightly red, and her bitten lips gradually turned white.
He looked very aggrieved.
Ning Xian and she remained locked in a stalemate for a while before Ning Xian slowly said, "Stop crying, drink your medicine."
"I forgot to tell you, I didn't want Yanluo. Taking her as a concubine was just a joke, because I hate everyone related to Lu Wenjin."
Seeing Ruan Yang rub his wet eyes, Ning Xian subconsciously turned his back, wanting to escape the face that was about to show him disgust.
But the next second, he didn't expect Ruan Yang to say something.
Am I one too?
Don't you love me anymore?
Ning Xian's heart skipped a beat; how could she not love him?
Ruan Yang was no stranger to his methods of dealing with others—cruel, tyrannical, and cold-blooded. Without a shred of love to sustain her, she might have died hundreds of times over.
Ning Xian paused, swallowing back the words she had been stubbornly insisting on saying: "I love you, I love you very much."
Ruan Yang took a deep breath: "If you love me, why hurt me?"
Ning Xian lowered her eyes and said, "At first, when I met you at the bottom of the snow mountain, I did want to kill you. Later, I found out that you had amnesia, so I kidnapped you and took you home, lying to you that you were my wife. It was indeed to use your identity to capture Lu Wenjin."
"But after acting for several months, it really became real, and I really can't bear to part with you."
He couldn't bear to part with the meals she cooked, the clothes she cut, the light she left on for him in the cold night, or the warm embrace in his bed.
After each lovemaking session, as he held the sleeping girl in his arms, he would always think, "How could anyone be so foolish? So foolish as to be devoted to him without expecting anything in return."
Ning Xian knelt before the bed, regretfully saying, "I was afraid that your kindness was just an act. In order to wear down your patience, I deliberately did some things to anger and annoy you. But no matter how much I made a fuss, you always indulged me patiently."
"Even when you were unhappy, you were willing to hold me when I was down and coax me to sleep. When I made up my mind that I couldn't live without you, it was because you accompanied me through the most difficult three years in Lizhou."
"Ruan Yang, no one has ever treated me so well before you. I want to make it up to you after the three years of suffering I endured away from the prefecture. I want to give you the best things in the world, whether it's wealth and honor or power and status. Just ask, and I'll give you half of this empire."
"But you insist on having Lu Wenjin."
Ning Xian said unwillingly, "After you got him, you stopped paying attention to me. Later, when I found out you were pregnant with his child, I was so jealous that I went crazy watching your belly grow bigger and bigger with his seed!"
“I acquiesce to you serving two husbands, but I will never allow you to completely abandon me.”
Ruan Yang bit her lip and said, "So, you take advantage of my love for you and my dependence on you to keep hurting me without any restraint?"
It turns out that Ning Xian wasn't unaware of her love for him; even after all these years, he still remembered.
The bitterness and grievances that have been hidden in my heart for many years have finally been addressed today.
But it was all too late. The damage was done between her and Ning Xian, and she didn't need any cheap explanations.
Ruan Yang turned her face away, the tears on her face sliding down onto the pillow. She gritted her teeth and muttered to herself, "...Why are you bullying me?"
Ning Xian shook her head and lay down, burying her face forlornly in Ruan Yang's arms: "I won't bully you anymore, I'll never bully you again. I neglected your feelings before, I'm sorry..."
A head pressed against Ruan Yang's chest, making her already congested heart feel even heavier, and it looked like it was heaving violently.
The person is dead, what's the use of saying sorry? Who can pay for Lu Wenjin's life?
Ruan Yang grabbed his shoulder, heartbroken: "You're the one who trampled on my feelings. Whether you regret it or feel sad now, it's all your own fault."
The fingernails dug deep into Ning Xian's flesh, and only when Ruan Yang exerted all her strength did her arm slowly loosen.
Ning Xian grasped her wrist: "I don't ask for much, just a little bit of your love for Lu Wenjin. Once I've fulfilled my duty as a king, I will..."
He placed Ruan Yang's hand on his throbbing throat: "...Go down and atone for the sins of those lost souls. My life is in your hands."
Ruan Yang felt the throbbing pulse in her palm, and a wave of tenderness washed over her. She stared blankly at the bed curtains, the Third Prince's words echoing in her mind once more.
She bit her lip and hugged Ning Xian, then kissed him tenderly.
“I don’t want your life. I just want you to allow me to burn some paper money for Lu Wenjin every year on the day before the Ghost Festival. If you can agree to that, I promise I will never mention anything about him in front of you again. I will continue to love you and bear your children.”
Ning Xian was stunned for a long time by Ruan Yang's initiative to be intimate. Although he knew that the woman's second half of her sentence was just to coax him, he still couldn't resist the temptation of the woman in his arms.
Since the person is already dead and his body is torn to pieces, what's the use of Ruan Yang liking him? What can Lu Wenjin use to compete with a living person like him? He had nothing to worry about, so he sat up, lifted the girl by the back of her neck, and sneered, "I agree to your request."
Ning Xian pointed to her heart and said maliciously, "But I want you to give me everything you have. From now on, you can't refuse me whatever I want to do."
Ruan Yang's eyes were glistening with tears, and her toes involuntarily curled up: "...Okay."
The fireplace scorched their cheeks, and large and small pieces of silk and satin covered the carpet on the ground.
Ning Xian's next move made Ruan Yang feel terrified. She was filled with shame and indignation and tried to refuse, but this sudden storm was not going to stop so easily. Ruan Yang hated herself. She couldn't control her reaction at all. In an instant, her face was covered with tears. She suddenly regretted agreeing to the Third Prince's request.
But she had no reason to back down.
The charcoal in the bronze stove slowly burned out, and the room gradually cooled down. Ning Xian withdrew and then called in a maid to replace the charcoal.
Ruan Yang curled up in bed, closed her eyes, and ignored whatever Ning Xian said.
Ning Xian touched Ruan Yang's forehead: "The hot water is ready. Shall I help you take a bath? Or would you like to sleep for a while first?"
Having just sweated and her fever had subsided, Ruan Yang was much more awake. Looking weakly at the mist on the window, she said, "I can't sleep. I feel so sticky. Can you take me to take a bath?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Xian picked her up without saying a word and placed her in the warm water, the steam enveloping Ruan Yang.
Ning Xian carefully washed Ruan Yang with a soft, damp cloth, while brushing aside the petals floating on the water's surface. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you really sure you want to live a good life with me?"
Ruan Yang looked at him and said, "Compared to the cellar in Luting Prefecture, I still prefer the soft couch in Fengqi Palace."
Ning Xian smiled with relief and poked Ruan Yang's head: "So you're not stupid after all. It's good that you've made yourself clear. I'll take you home in a bit. From this day forward, you will still be the Empress of my Daye."
Ruan Yang carefully recalled Ning Xian's throbbing pulse in his palm, and felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if it were being stabbed.
The cellar was so cold, and the torture instruments on the wall were so sharp, yet he so cruelly took Lu Wenjin's life.
Ruan Yang came to her senses and kowtowed to Ning Xian to thank her for her tremendous "favor".
Pay with one's life? Dying for what one deserves is too cheap. She really wanted to destroy Ning Xian's most cherished possessions and make Lu Wenjin pay back the pain he had suffered, bit by bit!
......
Summer is fast approaching, and the air is filled with a muggy feeling. A rumble of thunder cuts through the sky, but no rain comes.
According to custom, Ji Changhuan should come to Fengqi Palace before Chenshi (7-9 AM) every day to offer tea and pay his respects to Ruan Yang.
But I'm too late today.
Ruan Yang disliked these formalities, but as the empress, she couldn't avoid them.
Although there were only a handful of concubines in the harem, there were bound to be a few who bullied the weak and feared the strong. If one wanted to secure their position, they had to establish rules first.
"May Your Majesty the Empress enjoy boundless blessings and peace. I am sorry for being late."
Ji Changhuan was panting, looking like he had rushed over in a hurry.
Ruan Yang offered her a seat and had Dieyi pour her a cup of tea. Noticing some dust on Ji Changhuan's embroidered shoes, she asked, "You look uneasy. Has something happened?"
Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Ji Changhuan wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and said, "I went back to the Duke's Mansion yesterday and stayed overnight at my mother's house, which is why I was delayed this morning."
"You went to see your brother?"
According to the rules of Daye, once a woman enters the palace and is chosen as a concubine, she cannot return to her mother's home without the permission of the emperor and empress.
"yes....."
Ji Changhuan said, "But there is a reason for this. I left the palace late at night to discuss countermeasures with my brother because I was worried about His Majesty's safety."
"What happened? Is His Majesty alright?" Ruan Yang was stunned when she heard that Ning Xian had an accident.
"His Majesty's incognito inspection tour of Jiaozhou unfortunately encountered a band of robbers. The group was highly skilled in martial arts and well-trained, and their origins were unknown. The robbers' identities were probably fabricated. As for His Majesty's situation, we know nothing about it."
Summer brings frequent torrential rains, causing river dams to breach. Ning Xian told her a few days ago that he would be leaving for a few days to personally oversee the repairs in Jiaozhou, but more than ten days have passed and no news has come from him.
Ruan Yang was filled with doubts. Who on earth would dare to ambush the emperor? She raised her chin, signaling for Ji Changhuan to go back and rest.
After Ji Changhuan left, the rain poured down from the dark clouds, and Ruan Yang picked up the wet leaves by the window.
Jiaozhou is located on the border of Lingnan, and Ningxian is in dire straits. This is a good opportunity to leave the palace and find the Lin family.
She said, "Dieyi, tell the people in the palace that I have caught a cold these past few days and should not show my face."
"yes......."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com