Chapter 49: The wine tonight seemed to be enticing him to pick it, and also seemed to be drawing it away...
Yao was shocked when she heard this and staggered back a step.
Cui Jun rushed forward angrily, but Li Lan quickly blocked his advance, preventing him from getting close. A few steps away, Cui Jun's initial panic faded, replaced by rage. He was stopped by a nearby palace guard, who pointed a finger directly at Cui Yiluo's face.
"Cui Yiluo, what nonsense are you talking about? You just don't want us to stay in Shengjing, right? Father's burns haven't healed yet, and you're cursing him to death. You're immoral and shameless! I know you're afraid that us staying in Shengjing will hinder your status, that I might become a high-ranking official and surpass your husband in the future. You don't want us to be well because you're a motherless person who can't bear to see our family of three living in harmony, and you can't bear to see our father dote on me while he doesn't even look at you!"
Cui Jun was so angry that the flesh on his face was shaking. He was in the stage of changing his voice and spoke very fast. These words came out in a crackling sound like the screaming of a frightened wild duck.
Lilan looked at Cui Jun's fat and shameless appearance and wanted to go up and tear his mouth apart, but was stopped by Cui Yiluo.
Cui Yiluo seemed accustomed to hearing this, and her expression showed no resentment. "You are immoral and shameless. If you could show such brilliance in your policy essays, you wouldn't have to worry about failing the exam."
Cui Junru's weak spot was touched, and he jumped up and down. "Cui Yiluo, how dare you say that to me? You don't even have a teacher, you can't even afford to buy books, and you have to borrow them from others. How dare you discuss knowledge with me!"
Cui Jun was just screaming over there, while Cui Yiluo asked Lilan to tell the Cui family to pack their bags.
"etc!"
Yao's voice suddenly rang out in the house, calling Lilan.
Cui Yiluo turned her head calmly and looked at Yao, only to see that the panic on Yao's face had faded away, and she had returned to her previous calculating and shrewd look.
"Yiluo, I know you have complaints about your mother marrying you to Cheng Jiancheng, but Yiluo, there's nothing we can do about it. Apart from Cheng Jiancheng, our family couldn't find anyone with a higher status at the time. Besides, he's already old. Once he dies, you'll be able to enjoy a peaceful and peaceful life. Mother was thinking about you."
Yao spoke earnestly, as if she were truly a poor mother who was misunderstood by her daughter.
"But now you're married to Lord Ling, and we're all family. You know, your father is a reserved man, but he's actually been very concerned about you over the years. Mother was indeed a little negligent in disciplining you in the past. And as for the matter of Zhao Jian, he's a cripple now, but Mother remembers everything and won't forget your injustice. When your father recovers from his injury and your brother enters the Imperial College, we can live a good life in Shengjing, okay?"
Cui Yiluo looked past the two of them and glanced at Cui Qi, who was pinned to the bed by a servant, still trembling and pointing at Cui Yiluo with a terrified face and confused speech. She then turned to look at Yao, who was half threatening and half begging, and smiled.
"Don't you understand yet?"
Seeing Cui Yiluo's expression revealing a cruelty she had never seen before, Yao was subconsciously startled: "What?"
Cui Yiluo's smile faded as she spoke slowly, "Do you think the fire in Luoyun Lane was an accident? Why were all three of you fine, while father was seriously injured and nearly perished in the flames? And why, after so long, and with the intervention of the Yunyi Guards, haven't they found the source of the fire? And why didn't father call for help even after the entire house was ablaze? And today, father almost disturbed the emperor's presence, drawing attention. Do you think you can still survive if you don't leave Shengjing now?"
Yao stood there in a daze, the expression on her face gradually frozen as Cui Yiluo continued speaking, showing a bit of fear and horror, while Cui Qi behind her was still calling "Ayi".
Although she couldn't guess everything, she knew that those people were coming for Cui Qi. But...
After a few moments, she suppressed her fear and became somewhat calm.
"It seems that your father is indeed not suitable to stay in Shengjing anymore. He is sick again. It is indeed more suitable for him to return to Ningzhou for recuperation."
Yao agreed to send Cui Qi back to Ningzhou. Lilan breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing Cui Yiluo's face becoming even more stern beside her, she was startled. Sure enough, the next moment, she heard Yao say:
"Your father's affairs have nothing to do with Jun'er. Jun'er is at a critical stage in his life. The teachers all say that Jun'er is intelligent and will become a great man in the future. Even the fortune tellers say that Jun'er has a unique bone structure and is suitable for becoming a prime minister. Jun'er has entered the Imperial College, and as his mother, I naturally have to take care of him in Shengjing so that he can study with peace of mind. Yiluo, I will go help pack your father's bags and send him away safely tomorrow."
Seeing that Yao abandoned Cui Qi so decisively in just a few moments and let herself and her son stay, Lilan was surprised even though she knew that Yao was a cruel and ruthless person.
The room was silent for a few moments. Yao stared at Cui Yiluo with a faint smile, but her eyes were fierce and she was secretly putting pressure on her.
Suddenly there was a sneer.
"Yao, what makes you think I would leave you in Shengjing?"
Cui Yiluo's expression turned completely cold, and she looked dark and sinister in the sunlight that slanted into the room, making people afraid to approach her for a moment.
A hint of surprise flashed in Yao's eyes. She didn't expect Cui Yiluo to break off the relationship so abruptly and bluntly.
"Tomorrow, take Cui Jun and Cui Qi with you. Never dream of setting foot in Shengjing again in your lifetime. As for Cui Jun wanting to enter the Imperial College? Don't say I won't help. Jiang Yunjin is even less likely to help."
Jiang Yunjin was a fair and strict person, so it was impossible for him to use his power to send Cui Jun, who could not even write a policy paper, to the Imperial College.
Cui Jun immediately jumped up and spoke again anxiously, but was held down by Yao.
The facade between the two of them had been torn, and Yao also revealed a sinister smile. "Cui Yiluo, aren't you afraid that I will tell your husband about Zhao Jian? Tell me, if he knew that not only was your innocence violated before marriage, but you also attempted murder. And it was you who caused Zhao Jian to fall off the cliff, right? If you didn't kill him, you simply made him a cripple. Tell me, if your husband knew you were such a cruel woman, would he kill his own family for the sake of justice and send you to the government? After all, he's not like me who would let you go."
"Do you think you can see him?"
Cui Yiluo spoke in a meaningful tone and turned and left.
Yao finally realized that Cui Yiluo had long controlled her. Otherwise, how could she have received news of Jiang Yunjin's return home only at midnight? She wanted to rush forward and grab Cui Yiluo, but was blocked by several servants. Her fingertips only brushed against Cui Yiluo's plain rose-embroidered shawl, and she grabbed nothing.
"Cui Yiluo!"
Yao's angry and struggling shouts came from behind, and Cui Yiluo walked around the screen with an expressionless face.
But suddenly, it entered the dark, cold, and familiar narrow eyes.
Cui Yiluo stood there in a daze.
The man's tall figure blocked the sunlight and covered her completely. His face was cold and calm, his brows were deeply depressed, and his whole body seemed dim and unclear standing in the backlight.
Cui Yiluo's mind went blank for a moment.
When did he stand here? How much did he hear?
But then she realized that even if he only heard one or two words, her cruelty in front of Yao had already been clearly exposed to him.
There was a sound of footsteps behind her. It turned out to be Yao who broke free from several servants and ran out.
When Yao saw Jiang Yunjin, she was also stunned, then her face turned happy and she ran to Jiang Yunjin excitedly.
Without Jiang Yunjin's order, naturally no one would stop Yao.
Cui Yiluo's expression grew colder.
"My dear son-in-law, you've arrived just in time! Did you hear everything just now? Although Yiluo is my daughter, and I can't escape responsibility for raising her to this state, today, I can't let you be deceived any longer! Two years ago, my nephew Zhao Jian was seduced by her, and the two of them had an affair. But when my nephew proposed marriage, she refused to agree, despising the weakness of my Yao family. She even stabbed my nephew, wanting to kill him! If you don't believe me, you can send someone to check. Just point a few inches to the right of the heart. If it's even a few centimeters off, he'll be dead!"
Jiang Yunjin stood there silently and did not stop Yao.
Cui Yiluo looked at his stern profile and her heart sank.
Seeing this, Yao became even more excited. "My poor nephew will have to lie in bed for the rest of his life. He just arrived in Shengjing, why would he want to return to Ningzhou? And on his way back to Ningzhou, he happened to have an accident. You are always smart and you will definitely see the clues. Yiluo is so cruel and ruthless, and now she has even disregarded human ethics and forced me and her father to return to Ningzhou. My dear son-in-law, I have no other choice. You must help us."
As Yao spoke, she covered her face and cried. If anyone only listened to her plea, they would probably think that Cui Yiluo was a vicious woman who killed her cousin, abandoned her parents, and had a sinister mind and no conscience.
Cui Yiluo stopped looking at Jiang Yunjin. She stood in the hall, as straight and tall as a bamboo, unbending. Her eyes, moist yet as cold as ice, stared at the sun shining through the door frame. The blinding light stung her eyes, and her fingers, hidden in her sleeves, unconsciously pinched into her palms.
The fact that she had deliberately concealed the stabbing of Zhao Jian was now revealed bluntly in front of Jiang Yunjin.
She and Yao had completely torn apart the disguise they had put on for more than ten years. It was impossible for her to get any benefits from her anymore. It would be better to fight to the death. If she was to be sent back to Ningzhou, Cui Yiluo would not have an easy life either.
Yao's sincerity, her mix of truth and lies, made her the most trustworthy. Furthermore, she was not wrong; she was a ruthless, heartless woman who disregarded human ethics.
Jiang Yunjin is humble, kind, and abides by etiquette, so it is naturally impossible for him to accept her like this.
But this is the real her.
"Are you done?"
Jiang Yunjin's cold voice sounded.
Yao's hand that was wiping her tears froze, and she looked at Jiang Yunjin in surprise.
Jiang Yunjin's face was gloomy, and the aura around him became sharp and oppressive. There was a hint of cruelty in his eyes, which was not seen on the gentleman's usually gentle appearance.
"The car is ready. Mother-in-law, please take father-in-law and younger brother and set off tonight."
His tone was indifferent, as if he had just made a casual decision. His words were clearly humble and gentle, but they revealed an indifference and brooking no room for argument. The fierce aura of a superior who controlled life and death was chilling.
Yao was completely panicked and said in a panic, "My dear son-in-law? You don't believe me! There is evidence of all this. Are you going to be deceived by Cui Yiluo, that bitch?"
Jiang Yunjin frowned slightly, his eyes darkened, and he glanced at Wenfeng. Wenfeng immediately stepped forward and pulled Yao's handkerchief to cover her mouth. The other guards also restrained Yao.
Cui Jun, who was inside, was held back by the servants, but upon hearing all the noise outside, he also began to shout, "Brother-in-law, how could you not trust us! Cui Yiluo, you—ugh!"
Cui Jun's mouth was also covered, and all he could hear were whimpering and struggling.
The sharp sounds instantly turned into whimpering sounds of struggle. The man's style was sharp and decisive. Cui Yiluo was still looking out the door. The surroundings were in chaos, but she stood there expressionless.
The tightly clenched fists suddenly felt warm.
The man forcefully pried open her fingers that were pinched into his palm, and then held her with his big hand.
Cui Yiluo seemed to have just come to her senses and reacted, but she also seemed to have not yet come to her senses, and just stared blankly at Jiang Yunjin's actions.
Her palms were cold, but they were suddenly wrapped in warmth. Her hands couldn't help but tremble. She subconsciously wanted to shake them off, but they were held tightly, leaving no room for escape.
"Let's go."
His clear voice flowed like a spring, and when it entered my ears, I felt a sense of nothingness.
Cui Yiluo bit her lip and didn't say anything, but Jiang Yunjin didn't seem to be waiting for her answer. He took her hand and walked out.
The sun outside shone gently on my body, dispelling the chill in the cool room and warming my body a little.
Cui Yiluo thought that he would let go of her hand after walking a few steps, but she didn't expect that he would hold her hand all the way back to Jixuezhai.
The door was closed tightly, and the familiar smell in the bedroom made Cui Yiluo feel a little relieved, but she still felt dazed, and her hand was still held firmly.
Apart from holding hands on the couch, she had never held his hand.
Cui Yiluo didn't dare to think about why he did this. In fact, under the circumstances at that time, if he didn't take her away, would he have stood there and listened to the meaningless abuse of Yao and Cui Jun? Or listened to the nonsense of the mentally disturbed Cui Qi?
Jiang Yunjin pulled her to sit on the couch.
It was inconvenient to hold hands since they were sitting on both sides of the couch, so it was naturally impossible for him to hold her hand.
He loosened his grip but did not leave. He just stood in front of her and looked down at her.
"I have already made arrangements. They will leave the Jiang Mansion soon. I will send guards to escort your father all the way back to Ningzhou. They will never set foot in Shengjing again."
His tone was slow and steady, with a calm strength.
Jiang Yunjin paused, then continued: "As for the rest, you..."
"Husband, don't you want to divorce me?"
Cui Yiluo suddenly interrupted him and then looked up at him. There was no hope in her watery and clear eyes. She just looked at the man in front of her quietly, as if waiting for a judgment.
Jiang Yunjin's expression instantly turned cold, and his voice was also chilling: "Do you know what you are saying?"
Cui Yiluo curled her lips lightly, her voice so soft and faint that it seemed to dissipate with a breeze: "Didn't my husband hear everything?"
"So you think I'm going to divorce you."
He spoke slowly, his tone expressing no emotion, his expression gloomy.
Cui Yiluo's tone was filled with self-mockery: "Yao said so much, don't you think my husband believes a word of it?"
Even a single sentence from Yao's words can show how vicious she is.
"Didn't I say that if you said it, I would believe it."
"What if I say that I did stab Zhao Jian?"
After Cui Yiluo finished speaking, she suddenly turned her eyes away, no longer paying attention to his reaction, and stared at the white jade vase on the small table in front of the window opposite. The white camellia in full bloom was pure and flawless, with an innocent and sincere look.
The room was silent for a while.
"So you think I'll divorce you?"
Jiang Yunjin's voice sounded cold, revealing a hint of annoyance.
His eyes must have been dark and stern at this moment, and Cui Yiluo suddenly didn't dare to look up.
"You're clearly the victim, and what you did was an act of self-preservation in a dangerous situation. Why do you think I'm going to divorce you for that?"
His tone was stern, but Cui Yiluo still stared straight ahead, not looking up at him. "Isn't my husband a man who values propriety and law above all else? Even if what Zhao Jian did was wrong, what I did is still against the law, isn't it?"
"Yiluo, I'm not such a conservative person."
His voice suddenly carried a hint of helplessness, but more of it was determination.
Cui Yiluo's eyelashes trembled slightly as she listened to him continue, "You were only sixteen at the time. I also know why you didn't report him to the authorities and let the law punish him. This world is unfair to women. He did something wrong, so he deserves to be punished. You did nothing wrong."
"As for the rest, I have never believed it."
Cui Yiluo's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
She had thought that Jiang Yunjin, knowing that she had not only stabbed someone but had deliberately concealed the fact from him, would definitely not accept this, given his stern nature. She had even prepared to take the money she had saved and take Lilan with her to find another way out.
But I didn't expect him to say that.
But he had clearly heard everything from behind the screen. Even if he didn't believe what Yao said, what about what she had said herself? She wasn't as gentle and kind as she appeared.
Cui Yiluo had been trying to calmly accept what was going to happen next, but at this moment everything was disrupted by him. She didn't know how to start speaking, and was even more unwilling to look up.
"Since I married you, I have never thought of separating from you. Don't repeat what you just said."
At the end of his speech, his voice grew graver. He remained standing by the couch, as if waiting for her response. But Cui Yiluo remained silent.
Perhaps because he saw that she hadn't spoken for a long time, he had finished speaking and had nothing more to say. It would be better for them to calm down. Or perhaps his patience was exhausted. Jiang Yunjin only whispered, "I'm going to the study."
After Jiang Yunjin finished speaking, he turned around and was about to leave.
My palm was suddenly grasped by slender, cold fingers.
Even though we had been holding hands for so long, her fingers were still so cold, as if she had no vitality at all.
Cui Yiluo pulled him, stood up, took her hand and placed it on her slender waist, and the two of them instantly seemed to be hugging each other.
Then, she put her arms around his neck, and under his deep gaze, she leaned over and kissed his lips.
The hand on her waist froze, and then his arm crossed over to hold her waist. He skillfully held the petite woman in his arms with one arm, and their bodies were tightly pressed together.
Cui Yiluo was not as impatient as before. She just gently licked his thin lips with the tip of her tongue. She closed her eyes and felt the man holding her. The arms around his neck tightened a little, pressing herself deeper into his arms, and her lips also pressed deeper, as if tempting him to pick them, and as if absorbing a sense of security.
The man she was kissing also gently opened his lips, entangled more deeply with her, and skillfully hooked the tip of her tongue.
They were clearly kissing, but it seemed different from every kiss before, and he was clearly responding to her as usual, sucking her lips and entwining his lips and tongue with hers.
In the past, kisses were her teasing, or they were just casual interactions on the couch, filled with desire, but now their lips and tongues touching each other felt like his comfort, and also like another level of entanglement.
Her lips were kissed gently, and Cui Yiluo raised her chin higher and kissed him more closely. At the same time, she felt that he lowered his head even lower and pressed deeper.
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The author has something to say: A'Luo grew up in a complicated environment, so it's not easy for her to trust her cousin. It still takes some time for her to [hug her], but she is slowly gaining trust.
Thanks to the babies who irrigated the nutrient solution [heart]
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