Chapter 61: Should have made it clear earlier
Jiang Lan fell to the side of the bed wrapped in a quilt, with cold sweat oozing from her forehead. Her brows were furrowed so tightly that she could hardly see clearly.
Qi Wuhan walked over, picked her up, and gently put her back on the bed. He heard her mumbling something. He leaned in to listen and heard that she was talking about a liar, a big liar.
This big liar must be him.
Seeing her crying, tears rolling down the corners of her eyes and her brows furrowed even tighter, Qi Wuhan hugged her in his arms with heartache and scolded himself as a big liar with her.
Hearing his voice, Jiang Lan regained consciousness for a moment. She suddenly opened her eyes and stared at him straight. Then, without any warning, she grabbed his head and bit him on the face. She pursed her lips and stared at him, crystal tears welling up in her eyes. Her aggrieved look made him feel that he had done something extremely unscrupulous and beastly.
"I promise I will never lie to you again, and I never lied to you before," he said, his tender words being interrupted by her crystal tears.
Crystal clear tears fell like pearls from a broken string.
Jiang Lan watched him cry, and Qi Wuhan was at a loss. He couldn't even remember his usual skills of coaxing people, and could only clumsily tell her to stop crying.
She cried even harder, trapped in her own inner demons and unable to escape.
She was crying and mumbling incoherently. It took him a while to understand what she was saying:
"...doesn't like me..."
"...big liar..."
“…playing both sides…”
"...I hate you..."
“…I hate you…”
"...I'm not like her..."
"...big liar..."
Jiang Lan cried harder and harder, and Qi Wuhan was in a state of panic. He didn't know what to do. He could only hold her in his arms, pat her back gently, and comfort her over and over again not to cry...
It was unknown how long it was before she gradually calmed down with his repeated comforting words. Her hands were still clutching his clothes, and his chest was warm and cool. His clothes were soaked with her tears.
"The person I love is you, not anyone else." He gently kissed her forehead and looked at her tear-stained face with eyes full of heartache.
…
The afternoon sun shines into the house through the window lattice, casting a grid of light and dark on the ground.
The room was quiet. After a while, there was a slight movement.
Jiang Lan slowly opened her eyes, as if she had had a long dream. The dream was full of strange lights and she seemed to see Qi Wuhan's face... When she opened her eyes, she found herself in someone's arms, and when she looked up, she saw that face.
It turns out it wasn’t a dream.
She actually saw him.
The two looked at each other. Jiang Lan looked away first, but she caught a glimpse of something on his face out of the corner of her eye. She paused for a moment and found that it was a row of teeth marks, which were shallow and had not completely disappeared.
Suddenly she thought of something, her face flushed, and she turned her back to him without saying a word. Qi Wuhan asked gently, "Are you feeling better?" She said nothing. After a while, she said three words coldly, "Get out."
Looking at the back of her stubborn head, Qi Wuhan asked her again if she was hungry. Jiang Lan didn't say anything. He said he would ask someone to make something to eat, then got up and left.
When she heard the door close, Jiang Lan didn't even turn her head to take a look.
After coming out, Qi Wuhan looked up at the sky and sighed softly. At this time, Ye Rushui came over and said, "Is he awake?" Qi Wuhan nodded and said to himself, "What did I do wrong? Why don't you believe me?"
Ye Rushui said lightly, "It's because of you and that woman in the palace."
Qi Wuhan was startled, turned his head to look at him, then looked back at the house behind him, muttering to himself, "Will Xiaolan also believe those rumors?"
Ye Rushui shook her head, feeling that this person was sometimes hopelessly slow, and said lightly, "A fly won't bite an egg without cracks."
Qi Wuhan pondered silently for a long time. When he raised his eyes, his gaze was as firm as iron. He turned around, walked to the door, pushed it open and walked in.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Jiang Lan's heart skipped a beat. She closed her eyes and pretended not to hear anything. After a while, she heard his voice ringing beside the bed. His tone was extremely solemn, as if he was about to announce something earth-shattering.
"Xiao Lan'er."
Jiang Lan's heart skipped a beat. She wondered why they had to shout so formally, as if they were going to the battlefield...
"I have something to tell you." Qi Wuhan sat down beside the bed, his tone solemn and serious, as if he was determined to tell the secrets that had been buried in his heart for many years.
After waiting for a long time, Jiang Lan turned her head and looked at him, saying, "If you want to use sweet words to coax me again, then don't say it." Qi Wuhan shook his head and replied seriously, "No." He paused, his expression rare and solemn, "What I want to tell you is about Concubine Zhen."
After hearing the last four words, Jiang Lan was stunned and didn't know how to react for a moment.
"I should have explained this to you earlier." Qi Wuhan apologized sincerely, "It's my fault."
The ice that had built up in Jiang Lan's heart seemed to collapse all of a sudden. The various emotions that surged out of her chest blocked her voice, making her voice a little choked and her eyes a little red. "It's just that you are not good."
Qi Wuhan gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded, "It's my fault."
He told her everything about Concubine Zhen from beginning to end, without holding back.
Zhen Fei's father, General Zhen, was originally a general under his father's command. He had been with him since his father's death. Later, he was unfortunately seriously injured in a battle with the people of Beimo. Before his death, he entrusted Zhen Fei to him and told him her true identity.
At that time, he had succeeded his father as the commander-in-chief of the army and was a god of war respected by everyone in the barracks.
Concubine Zhen was not General Zhen's biological daughter, but the orphan of his good friend. His good friend's surname was Shen, and he was a Grand Secretary of the previous dynasty. He was implicated in the case of deposing the crown prince, and all the male members of his family were exiled and the female members were cast into slavery.
General Zhen used his connections to rescue Concubine Zhen and adopted her as his adopted daughter.
General Zhen lost his wife at an early age and never remarried. He had no children but Concubine Zhen, his adopted daughter, who loved her very much and chose a husband for her when she reached marriageable age.
But Concubine Zhen refused to marry because she already had someone she loved.
"You are her sweetheart, right?" Jiang Lan asked.
Qi Wuhan answered truthfully: "She did express her feelings to me, but I didn't agree because I already had a lover at the time." Those gentle peach blossom eyes looked at her. Jiang Lan's heart skipped a beat and she hesitated, "It's me...?" He smiled and didn't deny it, and continued to tell the rest of the story.
After General Zhen died, Concubine Zhen asked him to marry her and take care of her for the rest of her life, but he refused.
Later, she was taken into the emperor's harem.
After that, every time he won a battle, the emperor would show more favor to Concubine Zhen.
That's why rumors spread that the two had an complicated relationship.
Although he didn't say it explicitly, Jiang Lan understood about 70% of it. In the final analysis, it was just those four words:
His achievements were so great that they frightened his master.
Concubine Zhen is a bargaining chip in the emperor's hands, used to balance his glorious military achievements.
It was rumored that the emperor favored Marquis Jin'an and treated him better than the prince. He had made him a marquis at the age of fifteen. Even though rumors about him and Concubine Zhen were flying around, the emperor still favored him.
Such a great favor is unprecedented.
Who knew that the rumor was spread intentionally by the emperor?
The more absurd he becomes, the more he is criticized.
His Majesty must feel more at ease.
If he really does something treasonous in the future, everyone can drown him with just a spit.
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