Chapter 181: Too Feudal (Part 2)
Gong Jiu is still Gong Jiu, irreplaceable Gong Jiu, the Gong Jiu who makes astonishing statements.
His reaction to Xie Huailing's engagement was simply no reaction; he didn't connect it to anything important at all. Whether Xie Huailing was single or not wasn't a crucial issue for him. It was good if she was single, but it didn't matter if she wasn't. He wasn't the type to be bothered by trivial matters. He just wanted to be with her. So what if she had a husband? It didn't conflict with anything.
Does that mean she can't be with him now that she's married? Gong Jiu clearly doesn't agree.
His love, or rather his lust, lacked possessiveness; even if it did, it was consumed by an overwhelming yearning. To put it bluntly, he came to join Xie Huailing's life. Whether Xie Huailing had anyone else in her life was irrelevant to him, and he didn't care about others. Gong Jiu was a person who lived only for himself, a person driven by his own desires.
That's why he could openly ask Xie Huailing what kind of wedding gift she wanted. As long as Xie Huailing said so, he would give it to her. If Xie Huailing's fiancé also wanted one, he would also give him one out of politeness. This part was simply due to his unusual and peculiar way of thinking. Gong Jiu personally believed that it was better to be polite in daily life. As long as things didn't get to the point of falling out, he was always a well-mannered young nobleman.
However, Bai Feifei has a more precise and concise way of describing this kind of person.
"Neuropathy."
Bai Feifei had absolutely no desire to understand Gong Jiu, nor did she want to get involved in Xie Huailing and Gong Jiu's affairs. She had never hidden her dislike for Gong Jiu; from the day she learned of it, they were incompatible, even without knowing his birth chart: "Are you really going to see him?"
"If I don't go, there will only be bigger trouble later." Thinking of Gong Jiu's background, Xie Huailing couldn't help but sigh again that the Zhao Song royal family was really doomed. "His identity is too special."
Bai Feifei also felt that the Zhao Song royal family was doomed. Her eyelids twitched, and she felt that everything was bad. She wanted to know why it was always men like this who provoked Xie Huailing. Was there not a single good one? But then she thought that Xie Huailing himself probably didn't know the answer, so she didn't ask.
If she had asked, Xie Huailing would have told her about Su Mengzhen, but unfortunately, Bai Feifei sometimes just missed out on more discoveries.
She really didn't want to see Gong Jiu again, worried that she would throw up, but she couldn't ignore the other party involved. What if Xie Huailing really got into trouble? So she reluctantly decided to go with Xie Huailing, saying, "I'll go with you, just in case he does something."
Xie Huailing refused her, saying, "No need. I know what I'm doing. Just wait for me."
It was a rare moment when Xie Huailing's conscience, which was usually just a formality, would strike. Considering Bai Feifei's already unhealthy mental state, Xie Huailing didn't want Bai Feifei to accompany her on this trip. She told Bai Feifei to continue doing what she needed to do, and then she went to make an appointment with Gong Jiu.
Gong Jiu's search for Xie Huailing was a matter that required considerable effort from him, while Xie Huailing thought that writing a letter would suffice. He was already there; there was no need to worry about him running away. As long as her letter arrived, he would be there. From this perspective, it seemed like loyalty, but it was a loyalty that could bite. If he couldn't be firmly suppressed, the balance of power would shift instantly, a fact Xie Huailing understood all too well.
For further consideration, she chose the location within the territory of the Golden Breeze and Fine Rain Pavilion, the opera house she had obtained from Jin Banhua. After confirming that Gong Jiu had arrived, she waited for him for half an hour before leisurely pushing open the door.
The timing was perfect; it was daytime, so there was no risk that she wouldn't be able to see anything. After passing a red curtain, she saw someone she hadn't seen for almost half a year.
Gong Jiu was two-faced. On the surface, he was aloof and unapproachable, hanging high on a jade tree, seemingly unworthy of anything. But appearances are appearances, and beneath them lay madness. No matter how handsome his skin, Gong Jiu's soul still harbored fervor and coldness. He followed Xie Huailing's footsteps, looking her up and down, his gaze fixed on her: "Miss Xie."
“Young Master Gong,” Xie Huailing replied.
It was a good thing he didn't fall ill on the first meeting. Thinking this, Xie Huailing slowly walked over. The tea must have been completely cold, no longer steaming. She used her own temperature to gauge the time and the length of the wait. This was the servants' negligence; the cold tea should have been reheated several times. This was also Xie Huailing's coldness; without her permission, who would dare to serve cold tea to royalty?
Unfortunately, that's just how Gong Jiu is. He originally only loved pain and not humiliation, but now his addiction is getting deeper and deeper. If you keep him cold, he'll turn to something else in his heart. Starting from this point, it's hard for anyone to have a way to deal with Gong Jiu.
Xie Huailing paid attention to Gong Jiu, and Gong Jiu liked it. Xie Huailing ignored her, and Gong Jiu liked it too. She continued to reminisce: "I haven't seen you for several months. I miss Miss Xie very much. I think about you day and night and can't forget you."
Xie Huailing didn't want to know what he specifically meant by "want," because it was probably something that couldn't be broadcast or pass censorship, so she replied, "I don't want to know."
"Okay." Gong Jiu nodded and didn't press the matter further.
He didn't ask Xie Huailing if she missed him, firstly because it would be humiliating, and secondly because Gong Jiu didn't want to know. He cared that he loved Xie Huailing, but whether Xie Huailing loved him or not was none of his concern.
Without intending to sit down, Xie Huailing walked straight to the soft couch. Gong Jiu asked from behind her, "I haven't congratulated Miss Xie on her engagement yet, so I'm here to offer my congratulations in person. I wonder if the wedding date has been set? I'd like to ask for an invitation."
Xie Huailing said, "No."
Gong Jiu nodded, seemingly unsure of what he was being so generous about, and kindly said, "If you need help with setting the wedding date, I can make a trip to the Imperial Observatory on your behalf. If you have any other difficulties, please feel free to ask, and the Prince of Taiping's Mansion will not hesitate to help. Since it is Miss Xie's wedding, it should naturally be the most luxurious in the world."
"There's one more thing," the man said, then suddenly remembered something. "I still owe Miss Xie an engagement gift. Is there anything Miss Xie would like?"
Xie Huailing usually doesn't think of herself as conservative or too normal, but when she's with Gong Jiu, she even feels like a normal person: "Can you leave Bianjing?"
Gong Jiu shook his head: "This is impossible. Miss Xie, please think of something else."
"Then I don't want it." Half-lying on the soft couch, Xie Huailing looked up at him with her eyes slightly raised. One of the great advantages of talking to Gong Jiu was that she didn't need to explain to him, and he wouldn't ask too many questions. "As for the engagement, just pretend it never happened. Just tell me, what did you come to me for? I don't have much time to chat with you."
Gong Jiu heard her words but didn't react or speak, instead just staring at her intently. He stared so intently that he seemed to have forgotten he was supposed to answer, but soon, the answer crept into his eyes.
His clear eyes, which always held a hint of arrogance, were now devoid of any such arrogance, for the surging, viscous emotions within them left no room for it. Those emotions couldn't even be contained within his body, allowing one to clearly see how his eyes changed: the light gradually vanished, leaving no concealment within, the exposed truth supporting his physique, and the physique itself transformed.
The Crown Prince, whose nobility is beyond measure, the Crown Prince, who is also driven by desire—this may possess a strange charm, a sinister charm, a fierce and extreme charm.
Gong Jiu was destined not to be serious with her for long.
The things he held in his heart exceeded their limits in a moment. His fervor manifested itself, and his patience paid off. Gong Jiu's face began to turn pale, becoming increasingly as pale as a piece of jade. But why should jade bear such turbidity? Xie Huailing only noticed at this moment that a line of crimson blood ran straight down his left hand, which was hanging down.
Once Yin Hong had written everything down, she understood, turned her head away, and muttered, "How annoying."
Then Gong Jiu apologized to her, apologizing for offending her and for letting her see these things. His calm, straightforward tone crumbled, followed by a rapid, labored breath. She wondered what he had done to her, how long he had endured it, and whether, at this very moment, he was simultaneously savoring the pain, repeatedly seeking sharp pleasure while tormenting himself with self-restraint, the more he restrained himself, the more the pain intensified, until finally, it all turned into a frenzy in his revenge against her.
The red stain left his hands and then spread to Gong Jiu's face, starting as a faint dot, almost imperceptible at first glance. He pleaded, asking her, "May I?"
Xie Huailing said, "No."
She smelled blood, and the smell grew increasingly uncontrollable, connecting her to him and blurring his vision and mind.
Rejected and tormented, Gong Jiu let out another gasp. His blood flowed onto the ground, forming a small lake—the color a lake should be, just as he should be. He took her rejection as a gift, swallowing it all.
But swallowing it wouldn't satisfy him. Desires have varying degrees; it's only a matter of time before he's dominated, and it's also common for him to desire to be dominated. So he asked again, "May I?"
Xie Huailing's answer remained the same, aloof and condescending: "No."
He was overjoyed once more, and pleaded once more. Since it was infatuation, infatuation meant desire. The red thread was already before him; only by crossing it could he shed tears, and he had to let the tears flow from the cracks, like blood flowing from a wound.
"May I?" he asked for the third time.
This time there was no answer. Xie Huailing lowered her eyes, neither answering nor refusing.
Gong Jiu was close; distance meant nothing. He saw only her, nothing else. Blood beads rolled down his face, dripping onto the soft couch. His breath enveloped the air around her, matching his swift, wind-fast approach. He pressed her down, using this to prove that he had endured nearly half a year of separation. He rekindled the incense of love for her. Everywhere he looked, there was no place he didn't love, no place he didn't desire.
Suddenly, he felt hunger, and the emptiness grew stronger. Thoughts broke through the last shackles, and he used these thoughts to prevent himself from completely overwhelming her, as his hand reached into his robes and placed something in her hand. Judging by his intuition, it was a dagger.
"I brought you some things..." Gong Jiu's voice was broken, as if he was waiting to connect the dots, "...some things that you will definitely like and need."
"My master is named Wu Ming. He taught me martial arts on an unnamed island at sea. He was an assassin who loved killing and had extremely high martial arts skills. He formed an organization to do killing. He believed that killing was an art. Because of him, I accumulated some power and wealth, which was not much less than what the Taiping Prince's Mansion gave me."
"As for the part of the Prince Taiping's mansion... because of the idea that I had already given up, I privately trained a lot of private soldiers and also contacted many court officials."
Having faced countless rejections before, he knew Xie Huailing's opinion of him all too well, so he patiently persuaded her: "I'll use these to cooperate with you. Whatever you want to do, I'll cooperate with you."
With each word he spoke, he pressed the dagger harder into Xie Huailing's hand, making sure she held it firmly, and then pressed himself down little by little until the tip of the dagger was against his abdomen, and he could feel the pain.
"It's just a collaboration... a collaboration that doesn't require anything in return, a purely businesslike collaboration," Gong Jiu said. "I promise you, I won't use what I give you to make demands of you. All you need to give me in return is profit. Please..."
The person beneath him remained silent, so he repeated himself, over and over again: "Please."
Xie Huailing raised her hand and pinched the man's face, and Gong Jiu obediently offered his face to her hand. His eyes were already red, and the snow-capped mountains and jade branches were a thing of the past, falling hard into the mud. But in fact, he had always grown there, and he was always made of those things. Dying here today was just a beautiful dream for him.
Still silent, Xie Huailing began to touch half of Gong Jiu's face, from his pale cheeks to his light-colored lips. As blood was draining away, this area gradually began to turn gray. She lightly poked his cheek, and he was instantly overwhelmed, biting her finger.
She didn't move, and he bit upwards segment by segment, leaving teeth marks and a hint of ambiguity. She could still see his tongue, and he wanted to lick it.
How could Xie Huailing possibly agree? He withdrew his hand and extended his other hand, plunging the dagger into Gong Jiu's body without hesitation.
Blood splattered on her body, her clothes, and her hands. Xie Huailing felt the sticky warmth, just like Gong Jiu himself, and a damp, inescapable sensation. The blood continued to flow, and she thought nonchalantly that her clothes were probably ruined; she would have to change them later, otherwise she wouldn't be able to explain it when she got back.
As for Gong Jiu, he had already given his reaction the moment she pierced through him.
His wish was fulfilled. The fulfillment of his wish sent a jolt through him; his blood was his joy, his joy as abundant as his blood, offering her his morbid expression. Gong Jiu gasped violently, swallowing the last syllable, the pain numbing him. The fire within him ignited and then extinguished, embers engulfing his mind, leaving it clouded and unclear.
His body could no longer bear the craving, and the craving finally manifested itself. In the blink of an eye, two lines of tears streamed down his face. He bent down and buried his face in Xie Huailing's body, and tears welled up in his eyes as well. Addicts have the purest tears, flowing only after they have realized it.
Where the tears had burned, a blush gradually spread. The blood he had lost repaid him in another way, rewarding him with a beauty that didn't suit his appearance, and also rewarding him with cries. Gong Jiu's pain was incessant, and his cries began, intermittent and disjointed, as if a part of his being had melted away, needing to overflow from his cracks. The cries were also tinged with his emotions, expressing his longings.
"His crying sounded like decadent music," Xie Huailing commented simply.
She smeared some of the blood from her hands onto Gong Jiu's face.
.
The clothes were obviously unusable; they were completely unwearable. Soaked in blood, their original color was unrecognizable, just patches of red everywhere. Even if you washed them, it would take a whole day to remove the stains. Not to mention, given Xie Huailing's pickiness, even if they were still wearable, she wouldn't wear them back. So, she simply changed them.
Since Gong Jiu had dirtied her clothes, Gong Jiu naturally had to pay for them. After the man's mind returned to normal, he dutifully compensated Xie Huailing, then sent someone to buy similar clothes, and had a serious chat with her about business for a while.
There were many aspects to discuss regarding the cooperation, and nothing could be accomplished in an afternoon, so Xie Huailing didn't keep her for too long. They only talked about the general matters, and after receiving Xie Huailing's promise that he would "definitely come to see you again," Gong Jiu didn't keep her any longer and watched her board the carriage of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou.
Before officially returning, Xie Huailing sniffed herself. She thought changing clothes and showering would wash away all the bloodstains, but that was wishful thinking. She could still smell a very faint trace, like tiny puddles left behind—the kind she could spot after a summer rain, let alone Bai Feifei. This couldn't be hidden, but she didn't intend to. If Bai Feifei asked, she had nothing to hide.
After returning to Jinfeng Xiyu Tower, Xie Huailing took another bath. She still had a lot to do. She returned to Yang Wuxie's arrangements and briefly told Bai Feifei about the day's events. Seeing that Bai Feifei's dislike for Gong Jiu had reached its peak, she wisely chose not to tell her about the cooperation for the time being. She would wait until Bai Feifei was in a better mood before carefully telling her about it.
Then, Lin Shiyin's letter arrived.
In her letter, she wrote that Wuqing had come again after yesterday, saying he wanted to take the chessboard away. Lin Shiyin thought there shouldn't be any problem with it, so she agreed and gave him the chessboard and its box. However, worried that there might be some unexpected incidents, she decided to write to Xie Huailing to let him know.
Xie Huailing immediately realized that Wuqing wanted to study the only possible solution to the sentence she mentioned, and replied to Lin Shiyin, telling her not to worry about it.
Besides the chessboard incident, Lin Shiyin wrote about other things, saying that before leaving, Wuqing inquired about Li Taifu's illness, as well as the situation of her uncle and eldest cousin. She knew that Wuqing probably wanted to help, but Lin Shiyin still vaguely glossed over it, only saying that it was not good, without mentioning the specifics. As soon as Wuqing seemed about to press for details, she would immediately become sad, and Wuqing would have no choice but to leave empty-handed.
Seeing this, Xie Huailing understood that the next meeting would be in the next couple of days, unlike the previous two times when they had to wait several more days. Wuqing couldn't wait; he was simply too compassionate. His conscience tormented him. Once he learned of Li Taifu's predicament, without anyone prompting him, he would recall what Li Taifu and Li Yuan had done for the world, the injustices they had suffered, and their disillusionment, thus creating a vicious cycle.
Not to mention, Wuqing, no, Sheng Yayu, after Lin Shiyin's words, was able to resonate with Li Taifu to some extent. He was facing the death of his loved ones, and Li Taifu was facing the impending death of his loved ones.
Therefore, the more Wuqing understood Li Taifu's change, the more she understood Li Taifu's pain. Seeing that no matter what Li Taifu's stance was, he was still speaking for the people, she simply could not speak out against Li Taifu's choice, as that would be clearly forced.
Consequently, his opinion of the Golden Breeze and Fine Rain Pavilion, which stood with Grand Tutor Li, also became complicated. On the one hand, Wuqing understood that Xie Huailing's ambitions were far-reaching; on the other hand, he knew Grand Tutor Li and Su Mengzhen's character all too well, and vaguely believed in Xie Huailing's character.
Good people are always burdened by their conscience; that's the reason.
In this situation, the only way to break the deadlock is to advance the game and obtain more information through a faster meeting with Xie Huailing.
Therefore, he certainly cannot afford to wait, undoubtedly cannot afford to wait.
As expected, just as Xie Huailing had anticipated, after Shaman finished writing her reply to Lin Shiyin, the ruthless letter arrived. The contents of his letter were exactly as she had guessed, directly stating the time and place he wanted to arrange their next meeting, and listing when he was available and how long he would be available, leaving Xie Huailing to choose.
He wanted it to be as soon as possible, so Xie Huailing simply granted his wish. He chose the afternoon of the next day and asked Shaman to write another letter. This time, he was generous and chose a normal riverside pavilion as the location. He also specified that he would bring someone with him this time, and Wuqing could bring another person if he wanted.
After finishing these tasks, Xie Huailing began to consider specific candidates. It wasn't that she didn't trust Wuqing's character, but tomorrow's meeting would likely involve some rather unusual conversations. Bai Feifei was tied up with the affairs of the Seven Saints Alliance of Mitian, and Yang Wuxie was also out of the question—how could she take Chief Steward Yang out? She should just stick to her clerical duties. After much deliberation, she finally settled on a name.
After asking Shaman to write another letter, Xie Huailing finally breathed a sigh of relief and could finally rest for a while.
Shaman, however, wouldn't let her have her way. She glanced at her and, as if by magic, pulled out another unopened letter from the side: "Reply to this one too."
Xie Huailing looked up and saw that the signature only contained the surname Chen.
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Finally, the extra chapter has been added!
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