Chapter 28 Chapter 28 The drug is taking effect
Inside the house, the lights flickered and the air was filled with an indescribable heat.
Jiang Ci felt a burning sensation all over her body, and she felt dizzy. She braced herself on the table with both hands and forced herself to stand. Her steps weakened, and her body swayed. She looked up at Ji Xu, only to be met with his burning eyes.
That gaze wasn't as gentle and clear as usual; it held a hint of uncontrolled confusion and struggle. Jiang Ci's heart suddenly tightened, and an inexplicable sense of unease rose from the depths of his heart.
Ji Xu's forehead was covered in sweat, and his breathing became heavier. He suppressed the heat surging in his body and whispered hoarsely, "Quick...quickly, go get someone. There's something wrong with this wine."
Jiang Ci stumbled to the door, holding onto the wall. Uneasy, she said, "Didn't she handle all this food and wine?" She tugged at the door a few times, but it wouldn't open. Her vision went dark, and her voice trembled, "Brother... the door's locked."
Ji Xu also stood up and stumbled over to her side, trying to pull at the door, but it wouldn't budge. The heat in his body threatened to consume his sanity. He yanked at his clothes, a flush on his face.
Jiang Ci's breath was unsteady, and she stumbled backwards, almost falling. Ji Xu subconsciously reached out to help her, but just as his fingertips were about to touch her, he stopped abruptly and forcibly withdrew his hand.
"I can't touch her..." He warned himself over and over again in his heart.
He gritted his teeth, trying his best to suppress the surging desire in his body, knocked on the door and shouted, "Help—is anyone there?"
Outside the door, Shen Ru'an stood under the eaves, holding an umbrella in his hand, listening to the rapid knocking sounds inside the door, his expression calm as water.
"Stop shouting," she said softly but with a hint of sarcasm, "None of you can leave today."
She smiled lightly, her tone tinged with joking, "Mother Zhu has already taken Afan out, and I've also sent Baiyang away. As for the others, I've already told them to go to bed. You two are the only ones left in this courtyard tonight."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.
Ji Xu’s voice was hoarse, but he still tried his best to maintain his sanity: “Shen Ruan…why did you do this?”
Jiang Ci's forehead was covered in sweat, and her fingers were clenched in her sleeves, her knuckles turning white. She lifted her long sleeves, and her arms were covered in red marks. She could hardly stand.
Shen Ruan outside the door seemed not to hear their anger, and continued to speak softly:
"Ji Xu, aren't you the one who cares most about etiquette and rules, the one who prides himself on being upright, the one who never approaches women, the one who claims to be devoted to the country and free from desires?" She gently brushed her hair, her eyes a cold smile, "Then I will make you destroy your integrity."
"Shen Ru'an!" Jiang Ci shouted angrily, his voice almost tearing out, "You are crazy!"
Shen Ru'an laughed softly, as if listening to some insignificant gossip.
"I'm not crazy, I'm helping you." She gently stroked the silver ornaments in her hair with her fingertips, her eyes bright but cold. "Cousin Zixu, the more you try to control yourself, the more you torture yourself. You obviously like her, don't you? I've already found out—she and Ji Yang are not even husband and wife."
She suddenly lowered her voice, as if gently tempting: "If you were her first person, I'm sure your second brother wouldn't mind."
Inside the room, Ji Xu's face was pale, he clenched his teeth, and spoke word by word, almost squeezing out the sound from his throat: "Chen Ru'an, you... are so vicious."
Shen Ru'an seemed not to hear, and continued to smile calmly: "I just... want to give you a farewell that you will never forget."
The rain was still falling, and the wind under the eaves was chilly, but inside the house, it felt like fire was burning.
His legs went soft and Ji Xu fell heavily to the ground, his elbow scraping against the door frame with a dull thud.
Cold sweat continued to roll down his forehead. He gritted his teeth and supported himself on the ground to sit up, his eyes fixed on the figure outside the door. His voice was low and suppressed, almost hoarse:
“Shen Ruan, why are you doing this?”
The woman outside the door slowly turned her head, her expression indifferent, as if everything in front of her had nothing to do with her.
"You are such a self-disciplined and clear-minded person, with etiquette in your bones, and you always say that you must be cautious and measured," Shen Ru'an said softly, but his tone revealed a cold joy, "I want to personally tear apart your so-called perseverance today and remove your gentleman mask."
She took a step forward and stood in the shadow outside the door. Her tone suddenly softened, "I think that rather than killing you, letting you do something that would let your brother and Jiang Ci down with your own hands would be more tormenting. It would let you experience how heartbroken I was when you rejected me all these years."
Ji Xu in the room forced himself to sit up, his whole body as if he was falling into a sea of fire. He suddenly stood up, slammed the door, and roared in a hoarse voice:
"Didn't you say you wanted to marry me? Fine! Open the door now, and I'll go to Xiling right away and ask your father for your hand in marriage. I'll marry you!"
There was silence outside the house.
Immediately, a light laugh was heard, and that laugh sounded shrill and mocking. Shen Ru'an turned around, his eyes falling on the crack of the door, the corners of his lips slightly raised, but his eyes were as cold as iron.
"Brother Zixu, it's too late." She said softly, "Since I can't have you, let's go to hell together."
She seemed to have remembered something, and her voice suddenly lowered, her tone light and airy:
"Oh, right... if two people take this medicine without having intercourse, their blood will flow backwards, their internal organs will burn, and they will die in agony, perhaps in three days, or even five."
After she finished speaking, she turned and left without any regrets, leaving behind the wind, rain and dead silence.
In the room, Jiang Ci leaned against the door, his clothes half wet, his face flushed, his breathing rapid, as if he was trapped in a furnace, his brows furrowed with endurance, and he unconsciously let out a shallow gasp from his throat.
Ji Xu gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot, his ears were filled with the sound of his heartbeat, and his fingertips were trembling.
With his last bit of sanity, he walked to the wall where a long, ornamental sword hung, its blade sharpened. When he drew it, the blade gleamed coldly in the candlelight.
He almost dragged his feet back to Jiang Ci, half-knelt in front of her, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
"Jiang Ci..." He whispered, his voice low and trembling, holding the sword in front of her, "If I really lose my mind later, you can use it to kill me."
"I don't blame you."
Jiang Ci heard these words in his drowsy state, his eyelashes trembled, and he shook his head, as if in resistance.
Her collar had long been loose due to sweat, revealing her snow-white neck and slightly exposed collarbone.
When Ji Xu caught a glimpse of the white, a burning sensation almost overwhelmed his remaining sanity.
He suppressed the intense dizziness, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and suddenly drew out the sword, slashing it across his arm.
Blood gushed out instantly, and the pain was like ice drilling into his bones. He gasped and his body shook.
This sword failed to completely extinguish the medicinal properties in his body, but it was enough to make him sober for a moment.
He gasped and lowered his head, only to see Jiang Ci's lips slightly parted, as if he was whispering something, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, like the remnants of a dream.
At this moment, Ji Xu suddenly felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.
He gripped the sword tightly in his hand, his hands were covered in blood, but he still gritted his teeth and endured.
Elsewhere, the rain intensified. Ji Yang returned to the mansion, soaking wet. He was taking off his cloak as he walked into the front yard, preparing to return to the study to change, when a movement in the corridor caught his attention.
Yin Shuang was sitting under the eaves, weaving wheat ears to ward off evil spirits while looking into the house from time to time.
He stopped, glanced at the open window, and asked casually, "Where's Jiang Ci?"
Yin Shuang heard the voice and looked up suddenly. Seeing that it was Ji Yang, she immediately stood up, put away the wheat in her hand and said, "In the evening, the young lady was invited by her cousin to go to the eldest master's courtyard. It's been an hour and she hasn't returned yet."
Ji Yang frowned and paused as he spoke. He asked in a deep voice, "You said she was going to see Shen Ru'an?"
Yin Shuang nodded, and noticing his expression was off, she added in a low voice, "My cousin came by today and confessed to you that she had framed her and wanted to make amends. After a moment's hesitation, she agreed, saying she was just going to have a meal and didn't want us to follow her, so she went alone."
“When I just returned home, I saw Shen Ru’an standing in the garden.” Ji Yang whispered, his tone slightly deep, his eyes suddenly became a little colder, and a hint of uneasiness was faintly revealed.
Yin Shuang's expression suddenly changed. She clenched the wheat ears in her hand and asked anxiously, "Is anything going to happen?"
Ji Yang no longer hesitated and said, "I'll go take a look."
Raindrops fell from the eaves as he and Yin Shuang hurried through the corridors and arrived at Ji Xu's courtyard. The originally quiet courtyard, which had few servants, was now strangely silent, without even a trace of human voice.
Yin Shuang glanced around, her expression panicking. "Although there aren't many servants in the eldest master's courtyard on weekdays, it shouldn't be this empty..."
Ji Yang felt a faint sense of unease in his heart, and walked quickly into the inner courtyard, calling out in a deep voice: "Jiang Ci——"
There was no one to answer, only the echo of wind and rain.
He strode through the front hall, the rain dripping down his hair, blurring his eyebrows. At the end of the corridor, a closed door appeared before his eyes. The door was obviously locked, and a faint candlelight shone through the crack of the door.
Ji Yang's expression turned cold, he drew his sword and swung it backhand -
"Clang—"
The door lock snapped.
The door opened, revealing the entire situation inside the house.
Ji Yang paused, and his whole body seemed to be frozen in place.
As the dim candlelight flickered, the temperature in the room was obviously unusual.
Ji Xu was half-kneeling on the ground, holding onto the wall. He was tightly holding a bloody sword in his hand. The wound on his arm was bleeding. His face was flushed and his breathing was heavy.
Jiang Ci curled up in the corner, his hair disheveled, his expression dazed, his coat soaked with sweat, his eyes vacant and full of seductiveness.
The house was a mess.
"You!" Ji Yang looked at the two of them in disbelief, while Yin Shuang was so frightened by the scene before her that she lost her voice.
Ji Xu leaned against the door, his face pale. He looked up at the person outside the door. His voice was weak but steady and firm.
"This was a trap set by Shen Ruan. My brother and I are innocent."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Yang's expression darkened. He turned to Yin Shuang and said, "Go, call the servants."
Before he finished speaking, he had already stepped into the house and came to Jiang Ci's side.
She huddled up, beads of sweat oozing from her forehead, her hair sticking to her cheeks. She trembled slightly, one hand tightly grasping her sleeve, her eyes unfocused, but the moment Ji Yang approached, she suddenly reached out and grabbed his collar.
"It's so hot... I can't hold on any longer..." she murmured in a hoarse voice.
The rain was still pattering. Ji Yang leaned over and picked her up horizontally, holding her tightly in his arms. He whispered something softer than ever before: "Hold on a little longer, we'll be there soon."
Jiang Ci curled up in his arms, as if that was the only life-saving straw she could grasp.
In the midst of the wind and rain, he hurried through the courtyard corridor and headed straight for his bedroom. The lights in the corridor flickered, illuminating the person in his arms, reflecting her appearance, stained by sweat and rain, so delicate that it was heartbreaking.
On the other side, Yin Shuang had called the servants and helped Ji Xu back into the house.
The rain on his body and the burning heat in his body mixed together into a violent emotion. He forced himself to breathe and said, "Prepare a bucket of cold water."
After saying that, he drove everyone out, locked the door from the inside, gritted his teeth, took off his outer robe, and jumped into the water without hesitation.
The ice water instantly enveloped his entire body. He shuddered, but he held down the pain in his arm tightly, relying on the biting coolness to suppress the surging desire in his chest.
Outside, Yin Shuang had urgently ordered someone to call a doctor.
At this time, Jiang Ci was gently placed on the bed by Ji Yang.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, her brows were furrowed, and her breathing was disordered. Wanniang, who had just walked out from behind the screen, was startled by the sight and hurried forward to hold her shoulders, anxiously asking, "What...what on earth is going on?"
Ji Yang was about to stand up when Jiang Ci grabbed his sleeve.
She didn't have much strength, but her slender fingers were clenched tightly, as if with a burning persistence.
Wan Niang glanced at Jiang Ci's expression, then looked at Ji Yang, her expression suddenly changed, and she reminded him in a low voice:
"You can't let outsiders see the girl in her current state, or she'll lose her innocence."
Ji Yang's face was so gloomy that it looked like water was about to drip out of it. He said in a cold voice, "Go prepare a basin of water and find some ice cubes."
"Yes." Wanniang stepped back.
Jiang Ci lay on the couch, her cheeks flushed like drunkenness, her eyes hazy like a lone star in the fog. Suddenly, she grabbed Ji Yang's collar, her eyes and eyebrows holding a hint of allure, but unconsciously asking for help:
"Help……"
The voice was very soft, but it carried broken trust and despair.
She was at her wit's end.
Ji Yang was stunned.
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