Chapter 60 Swallowing the New Cicada: Jiang Ce held Xue Chan captive, about to kiss her. ...
Jiang Ce held Xue Chan captive, trying to kiss her.
Her pale, delicate face was flushed red, her lips were tightly pressed together, and she gritted her teeth in resistance, her eyes as cold as ice as she looked at him.
Jiang Ce suddenly paused and hesitated for a moment.
I really enjoy seeing her smile, but what is she doing now?
It was only a momentary pause, and Xue Chan seized the opportunity to shove him away forcefully.
"Smack!"
Before Jiang Ce could even stand up straight, a burning pain shot through his face.
Xue Chan slapped him, cleanly and decisively.
His face turned to the side from the slap, and instantly turned red.
Jiang Ce's mind went blank for a moment, and he didn't come to his senses. After a brief moment of confusion, he became more aware and was immediately filled with embarrassment and anger.
He grabbed Xue Chan's shoulder, thinking that since he'd already hit her, he might as well...
"Smack!"
She pressed her advantage and slapped him a second time.
This time she used even more force. In Jiang Ce's blurred vision, he could only see her hand raised high, followed by the tingling, painful sensation on his face.
Jiang Ce turned to look at Xue Chan.
Her pale face flushed crimson with rage, her eyes blazing. She gritted her teeth, gripping her sleeves tightly. Her chest heaved violently from heavy breathing.
"You...you..."
"Smack!"
Xue Chan raised her hand again and slapped him once more.
Then a third slap landed heavily on his face. This time it was harder, more forceful, almost as if it were an all-out effort to knock him down completely.
Jiang Ce staggered from the slap, taking a small half-step back before finally regaining his balance.
Xue Chan used all her strength, so half of her face instantly became red and swollen, with clear finger marks visible.
Jiang Ce was so slapped three times that he saw stars and felt dizzy. His mouth was even cut, and blood was oozing from the corner of his mouth, filling his throat with the sweet, metallic taste of blood.
The initial surge of embarrassment and anger, before it could even take shape, was extinguished by those three slaps.
It had been raining for several days before yesterday, but the sun has finally come out. The waterside is beautiful, with flowing water and a gentle breeze carrying the chirping of newly hatched cicadas.
"Are you done yet? Have you calmed down?"
Xue Chan decisively slapped him three times, each time harder and more vicious than the last. Even when her hand was numb with pain, she never regretted it.
Since she had chosen to resist, she would never give him another chance to retaliate. She would dismantle him time and time again, breaking his spine one by one, so that he could neither straighten his back nor stand up. She wanted to beat him until he had no power to fight back, so that he could no longer force her or go against her will.
If three slaps aren't enough, there will be a fourth, a fifth. Even if he still hasn't given in, she wouldn't mind fighting to the death with him by this stream.
Xue Chan gave a cold laugh and prepared to step onto the stone steps to go back.
But as soon as she lifted her foot, she felt that she hadn't done it thoroughly enough, so she turned back to look at Jiang Ce.
He remained in the position of being struck, his mind blank, his soul shattered by the successive blows, desperately needing to be pieced back together.
I couldn't muster any feelings of shame, anger, or anything else.
I was just at a loss.
Xue Chan slowly walked down two stone steps.
She utterly despised his outwardly strong but inwardly weak behavior, both earlier and now. She simply grabbed Jiang Ce's collar and pulled him close to her.
"I said I don't like you. How many times do you want me to say it? How many times do you want to hear it?"
She was on the stone steps, and he was below. They stood very close, but the scene was no longer the same as before.
"Second Young Master, I can tell you the story as many times as you want."
Jiang Ce was pulled back to his senses by her words, but he was filled with shame and could not answer any of her questions.
The more questions Xue Chan asked, the more embarrassed he became.
Shame is like a knife, each cut slicing through the heart, tearing pride and confidence into shreds. Therefore, one can only lower one's head and remain silent.
However, the more silent he became and the lower his head hung, the angrier Xue Chan became.
She reached out, pinched his chin, and forced him to look up and meet her gaze.
Jiang Ce instinctively tried to dodge, but his chin was tightly gripped and lifted by her, forcing him to look her in the eye.
Xue Chan leaned closer and asked him.
"Weren't you very talkative just now? Why are you silent now?"
She pressed down on us like a towering, imposing mountain.
The immense force pressed down on him, making it impossible for him to straighten his back, maintain his posture, or even raise his head; he could only try to avoid it.
However, the more his eyes lowered, the more Xue Chan lifted his face, causing the skin connecting his jaw and neck to be pulled painfully. As if that wasn't enough, Xue Chan used even more force, her fingertips digging deep into his flesh.
"Is it because everything I say is right and you can't refute it? Or is it because I'm such a weak woman that you haven't been able to subdue me yet, and you feel ashamed?"
"I……"
Jiang Ce was speechless and couldn't even lift his eyes. Xue Chan then pinched his chin and pulled him closer to her.
They were standing very close, closer than ever before. If it weren't for their thin shirts separating them, they would have been embracing tightly.
In the past, Jiang Ce would have been more than eager to do so. But now, all he wanted was to escape.
Xue Chan bent down to look into his eyes. Their noses touched, and if they were any closer, their lips would meet. He had never been so close to her except in his dreams; they were almost about to kiss.
"How many times do you want to hear it? I can tell you as many times as you like."
Xue Chan pinched his chin, forcing him to lift his face further. When he could lift it as high as he could, she scrutinized him for a moment.
The lips parted, and a mocking sound rolled out.
"Oh"
She looked at him and smiled as if she had discovered something interesting, her eyes crinkling.
"With such a tall and imposing physique, you possess such a cowardly and weak heart."
Her words struck so hard that Jiang Ce could barely see, and his senses went blank. A deafening crash followed, and then all was silent.
Xue Chan pushed his face to the side, let go of his hand, turned around neatly, stepped onto the stone steps and walked onto the covered bridge, disappearing into the setting sun.
Jiang Ce collapsed onto the stone steps, exhausted. He crossed his arms and lowered his head, not lifting it for a long time.
Two people slowly walked up from the other side of the covered bridge.
Lanxi stood beside Madam Yu, looking at Jiang Ce sitting listlessly on the stone steps under the covered bridge, and asked with a frown, "What happened? We were just together a moment ago, why did Miss Xue leave alone?"
Lady Yu looked down at Jiang Ce with a calm expression, seemingly lost in thought.
When they came down from the mountain, they saw Xue Chan and Jiang Ce at the head of the covered bridge.
The two stood close together, seemingly locked in a passionate kiss.
Lady Yu stopped walking and did not move forward. Lanxi dismissed the maids who were following her and stepped forward to stand beside her.
She looked at the two of them and sighed, "These two children are really something. No matter how much they can't suppress their longing for each other, they shouldn't be in a place like this. And the young man, Miss Xue is not even married yet. It would be so bad if someone saw them."
Lady Yu did not answer, silently turning away, lost in thought. Only after Xue Chan left did the two of them walk up the covered bridge.
Seeing her slowly walk down the covered bridge, Lanxi couldn't help but say, "Why don't you invite your young master to go back together?"
Lady Yu said calmly, "No need, let him go back on his own."
The group walked back along the stone steps, passing a small hall near the pagoda. They saw Yun Sheng and Chu Tao standing on either side of the wall, while Xue Chan sat on the secluded stone steps of the small hall, weeping.
Lady Yu only glanced at it from afar, then called over one of the maids who was with her and whispered instructions. The maid nodded and quickly left.
As dusk falls and the cicadas' chirping ceases.
Xue Chan sat on the stone steps and cried for a long time. When she left the covered bridge, she was furious and wished she could smash Jiang Ce's head in.
She jogged and bumped into Yun Sheng and Chu Tao, who had come to find her. Seeing that she wasn't doing well, they didn't say anything and accompanied her slowly back.
Perhaps it was the gentle, cool evening breeze that slowly soothed their anger.
A wave of grievance washed over her, and tears streamed down her face as she walked. In the end, she simply found a quiet little temple halfway through the journey and sat down to cry.
She was already feeling down, and when she saw her bright red palms as she tried to wipe away her tears, she felt even more aggrieved, and the tears just kept falling.
The dim, setting sun gradually climbed down the red wall, the junipers overhead swayed for a moment, and then the sky gradually turned blue and dark.
Xue Chan was crying with her head down when she caught a glimpse of a lantern out of the corner of her eye, and someone slowly sat down beside her.
She had assumed it was Yun Sheng or Chu Tao, and was about to say that there was no need to worry.
She had just wiped away her tears when she met that fair and smooth face. Xue Chan was so surprised that tears streamed down her face as well: "Madam Yu..."
The other party smiled slightly and said, "I've had some new desserts made. I wonder if Miss Xue would be willing to be my customer?"
"I......"
Yu Niangzi smiled, took a piece of pastry from the porcelain cup, and placed it in her palm: "Eat something sweet. Eating something sweet when you're feeling down will always make you feel better."
Xue Chan sniffed and choked out, "Really?"
“It should be true,” Madam Yu lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. “I’ve always been a crybaby, and my aunt would make me some sweets, saying that eating something sweet would make me feel less sad.”
Xue Chan finished the entire pastry bit by bit, and Madam Yu asked her, "How old are you?"
"Seventeen"
Madam Yu smiled and said softly, "When I got married, I was sixteen, a little younger than you."
Xue Chan didn't know why she suddenly brought this up, only remembering that she had heard people say that Jiang Ce's parents' marriage was arranged by imperial decree.
"I heard that your marriage to the General was arranged by imperial decree, and that you are deeply in love. I haven't had such good fortune..."
Madam Yu did not argue, but continued to speak.
"I spent the first sixteen years of my life in the small courtyard of my family home. The farthest I ever went was to the capital with my mother. My cousin from the Deng family took me to the Empress's flower-viewing banquet, where I played a piece I had composed myself, 'The Green Plum Tune.' The Empress was very gentle. She said she liked the piece very much and asked if I could play it again."
"Later I went home and prepared to get engaged to the neighbor boy I had known for many years. But two days later, my father and mother said that someone had come to propose marriage and that I should prepare to get married."
"Yes..." Xue Chan hesitated for a moment, but still continued to ask, "The father of Young Master Jiang?"
"Yes, that's right."
Xue Chan didn't know what to say, so she listened quietly as Madam Yu recounted her story.
"The Marquis of Wu'an's family is of high status and noble lineage, while my family is merely a collateral branch of a clan in Jiangnan. I've heard that the young general is a brilliant and spirited young man. I don't know why he would propose marriage to me. Perhaps it's because the Empress likes him, but whatever the reason, my family is very happy about this marriage. My brothers will have better futures, and my sisters will have better marriages. In short, my family is very happy."
Xue Chan asked, "And what about you?"
Yu Niangzi: "I am very frightened."
"Fear?"
She nodded, her eyes calm and gentle.
“I’ve always been timid, neither particularly smart nor outstanding. I really don’t know how to accept this marriage arrangement and marry someone I’ve never met. I don’t want to, and Liangzhou is so far away, but my father said I had to marry him, and my aunt held me and cried.”
"Until I boarded the boat, I didn't know what the person I was going to marry looked like, what his name was, or what he was like. All I knew was that I could never go back to the little courtyard with my aunt, never eat the jade dew dumplings my aunt made again, never see the peonies in my mother's yard again, never have my mother teach me music again, and never touch the rabbits my second sister raised again."
"I was quite apprehensive when I first married into the family, but later..."
Her gentle voice was carried on the wind, and the darkening night obscured her features.
Did you come to like him later?
Madam Yu turned her face around, and this time Xue Chan saw her clearly. She smiled faintly.
Xue Chan thought that Yu Niangzi was telling her these things to comfort her with her own personal experience, but Yu Niangzi said...
"I forgot."
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Author's Note: Xiao Jiang: I want to embark on a journey of love and hate, a story full of entanglements and romance!
Xiao Xue: Don't think that just because you have the character "王" (king) written on your forehead you can be a tiger. Be realistic about your cute and charming persona and stop being out of character.
Xiao Jiang: Why, why, why! I want it, I want it!
Xiao Xue: Stop blabbering and shut up. (Rolls eyes)
Xiao Jiang: Waaaaaaahhhhhhh
(Sorry~ I didn't mean to write a funny little skit at a time like this to ruin the mood...)
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