Jealous
Jiang Mian was sick for half a month. She heard that Jiang Shi was also sick, but it seemed that she was made sick by Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan brought the person she was raising outside back to the mansion. The woman had just become pregnant. When Jiang Shi saw the woman with a big belly, her vision went black and she fainted.
Seeing this, the woman wept bitterly, feeling extremely guilty. Shen Yuan felt sorry for her and didn't want to care about Jiang's life or death, but Zhang Mama brought up the old lady, which angered Shen Yuan so much that she left in a huff.
Whether Jiang's illness was genuine or feigned is unknown, but her fainting spell conveniently blocked Shen Yuan's escape route. If he were to disregard everything and insist on taking her back, then he would be utterly shameless.
There was another matter: the Feng family had committed some crime that suddenly angered the Emperor, and even though His Highness the Crown Prince personally pleaded for them, the Feng family could not escape punishment.
The news spread like wildfire throughout Jeju City. Although the Feng family was spared the death penalty, they could not escape punishment and were exiled as Manchus. The position of the former prefect of Jeju City was suddenly given to Shen Yuan, who was promoted three ranks. This was a great thing.
Shen Yuan turned misfortune into blessing. He was still in fear that he would be implicated that day, but His Majesty was very understanding. Not only did His Majesty not blame him for almost marrying into the Feng family, but His Majesty also promoted him.
Suddenly, he felt much better and stopped complaining about Jiang for driving his beauty out of the mansion.
Jiang Mian didn't care about any of this; the grass and trees were growing vigorously, and the atmosphere of spring was becoming increasingly strong.
She and Shen Ji also grew increasingly close.
He was becoming more and more different from the image she remembered. Sometimes, when Jiang Mian looked into his eyes, she realized that she had never really understood him.
She thought her cousin was a cool and aloof gentleman, upright and dignified.
Unexpectedly, during this period of time, he not only climbed into her bed every night, but each time he would spend several hours with her. If she hadn't been so tired, he probably wouldn't have been able to finish for a while.
His possessiveness seemed to be getting worse; sometimes, even a casual smile from her to someone else could provoke his displeasure.
She didn't know where he got the news from, but every night he would lie in front of her, seemingly tirelessly giving her whatever she wanted. And every time she resisted and refused, she would gradually succumb to his soft and gentle kisses.
Jiang Mian felt conflicted. On one hand, she longed to be cared for and loved, but at the same time, she didn't want her freedom to be restricted.
Jiang Mian didn't know how to face Shen Ji, so she simply made up an excuse, saying that her period had suddenly started that night and she was feeling unwell.
As night fell, Shen Ji, who usually came over around this time, dismissed the servants and sat in the room for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Seeing no movement by the window, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Shen Ji was full of energy, he couldn't possibly do it every night. She was secretly worried for him; if this continued, his body might not be able to handle it.
It seems my cousin won't be coming tonight.
Jiang Mian curled her lips, feeling a little relieved.
After taking a bath, she opened the wardrobe and was about to choose an undergarment when the door frame suddenly moved slightly. It wasn't a loud noise, but the familiar cool fragrance made Jiang Mian freeze involuntarily. She looked at the prism on the table.
The young man appeared at the window at some point. His face was expressionless, but Jiang Mian could read a hint of suppressed anger in his eyes.
What is he angry about?
She didn't know.
She turned around as well. Having just bathed, she hadn't put on any undergarments yet, wearing only a pair of underpants and a bra that barely covered her full, soft breasts. Her translucent, soft skin was as white as jade, and her black hair hung down casually. What he had seen before was her entire bare, white back, but now she looked somewhat wary and guarded.
Shen Ji's dark eyes glanced over indifferently, seemingly devoid of any emotion, yet inexplicably causing Jiang Mian's heart to tighten.
"Mianniang, aren't you happy that I'm here?"
After a long standoff, he suddenly broke the strange atmosphere.
Jiang Mian didn't know how to answer, so she shook her head haphazardly.
"Come here." His eyes suddenly darkened, and his voice carried an unyielding tone.
Jiang Mian stood still, and he kept watching her.
She sighed silently, knowing that she probably couldn't escape it tonight. She put on her inner garment and came to stand in front of him.
The young man sat on the soft couch and effortlessly clamped her legs between his knees. She sat down naturally, her arms unconsciously taking his: "Cousin..."
Shen Ji's expression softened slightly. He extended his warm palm and placed it on her abdomen, gently massaging it. A strange, tingling sensation spread throughout her body. Jiang Mian looked up in disbelief. He was actually massaging her... stomach?
“Cousin…” Jiang Mian felt a little guilty. She hadn’t menstruated yet, and this was just a lie she made up to avoid contact with him. She didn’t expect him to take it seriously. When he looked at her without saying a word just now, she almost thought that he had eyes that could see through people’s hearts and knew that she was lying.
The feeling in his waist and abdomen was strange and comfortable. The temperature of his palms was just right, and the pressure was well controlled. Jiang Mian, who hadn't felt anything before, was now immersed in his gentleness.
Jiang Mian's eyes drifted casually, then suddenly landed on the plate of pastries on the table. She lowered her eyes, somewhat unable to recall who had sent them.
The night was cool and still. The young man's hand, which had been resting on her waist, suddenly loosened her shoulder strap. Jiang Mian tried to stop him, but it was too late. His moist lips slowly moved down, brushing past her ear, and he whispered, "I really want to cut this place open and see how much affection Mianniang still has for me."
"They're all my cousins, of course... um..."
Jiang Mian didn't even blink, but unexpectedly Shen Ji suddenly reached out and grabbed one of them, which was right below her heart.
"Is that so? Is there something Mian Niang is hiding from me?" Shen Ji smiled slightly, but the smile did not reach his eyes, and there was an inexplicable chill in it.
Keep it from him?
Jiang Mian suddenly clenched her fists. Although she had been forced to marry Feng Liangyu last time and had been rescued by Shen Ji, she had some other thoughts after that incident. Although she could not marry anyone because she was still in a relationship with Shen Ji, she could not keep wasting her time on him. Perhaps soon, her grandmother would come back and arrange a marriage for him.
After all, her second and third cousins were already married. Although she didn't know why Shen Ji wasn't married yet, she figured it wouldn't be long before he was.
Her position was somewhat awkward; being with him was almost impossible. Since the final outcome was separation anyway, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to secretly plan for herself.
She shook her head and hugged and kissed him as usual. Whenever he seemed a little off, her kisses would calm him down, and a hint of infatuation would appear in his dark eyes, making him forget everything.
She thought she could fool him this time, but to her surprise, the young man wasn't buying it. He stood up calmly, his tone somewhat cold: "Mian Niang really has nothing to say to me?"
Jiang Mian was somewhat puzzled by the question. Apart from this matter, she had nothing else to hide from him, and this matter was still in her mind but had not yet been implemented. She did not believe that he had the ability to see through people's hearts and directly guess what she was thinking.
"No, my heart belongs to my cousin. If you don't believe me, why do you come every night? I... I cooperated with you..." The last part of her sentence grew softer and softer, and her eyes were filled with pitiful tears.
She seemed very aggrieved.
But Chen Ji remained completely unmoved.
He stood not far away, his gaze cold and dark.
He wished he hadn't received those messages today; perhaps he could still deceive himself that Jiang Mian's heart was filled with him.
But the guard's words were so clear: at noon today, someone brought Jiang Mian a box of pastries, and this person had come three times in a row. He didn't think much of it, at most thinking that Jiang Mian didn't know the person.
But that man was ungrateful and coveted his concubine.
But upon closer examination, he discovered that five days prior, in the lakeside pavilion, Jiang Mian had given him a hairpin.
Three days ago, at the Chang'an Chess Club, she lost her personal handkerchief, which was picked up by a handsome young man.
Also, yesterday, his men intercepted a letter written by Jiang Qiyu; this is the third one this month.
Behind his back, she harbored other thoughts.
What she said about having him in her heart was just a lie she casually told to fool him.
fraud.
They were deceiving him from beginning to end.
Cooperate?
He gently traced those two words with the tip of his tongue, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his chest. He had thought that she was also enjoying herself, but she actually said she was cooperating.
Shen Ji's eyes were somewhat cold. His indifferent gaze swept over the exquisite box of pastries on the table. His fingertips caressed the dagger at his waist, and suddenly he drew it, splitting the box open to reveal the note inside.
Jiang Mian was stunned; she could also clearly see the handwriting on the note.
It was a love poem about a man and a woman, and her heart sank instantly.
Who sent this?!
They deliberately drove her to the brink of despair.
"Cousin, let me explain." Jiang Mian hurriedly pulled him, her tone gentle yet tinged with a hint of pitifulness: "I don't know him, and I don't know who sent it. Maybe it was sent to the wrong person..."
“Mianniang is naughty, lying again.” Shen Ji’s fingertips brushed against the corner of her eye, and he gently leaned down to insert the hairpin that she had given away into her hair.
Jiang Mian's pupils contracted; he even knew this!
She had given this hairpin unintentionally as a thank you to a young man who had helped her in a time of need. At first, she had no other intentions. However, when the young man repeatedly asked her out, she suddenly realized that she was of marriageable age.
"It's so beautiful." Shen Ji looked at the hairpin in her hair with satisfaction and calmly remarked, "Why give such a beautiful hairpin to someone else?"
Jiang Mian's palms were sweating profusely, as if she couldn't understand why the person who had just been gently rubbing her stomach was now so unpredictable. For a moment, she almost thought that the hairpin wasn't meant to be inserted into her hair, but rather to go past her skin and pierce her neck.
"Cousin, I..."
"Shh." He pressed his fingertips to her lips. "I don't want to hear you say anything right now."
Rather than trying to discern the truth or falsehood in her words, it's better to accept that she actually loves him; otherwise, why would she have bothered with him?
"Kiss me." He didn't blink, as if giving a command.
Jiang Mian was forced to kiss his lips. She didn't know what he was angry about. If it was just because of that hairpin, she felt he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Not to mention that there was nothing between her and that young master, even if there was, it was her own business.
He never made any promises to her, so why should he interfere in her affairs?
It's already quite good that they parted amicably and maintained a semblance of dignity.
Does that mean that even if he marries someone else in the future, she will still maintain this illicit relationship with him?
This is absolutely impossible.
Unable to control his thoughts, the moment he held the hairpin, a terrible idea arose in his mind: if he used that hairpin to cut her skin, severing all his attachment, he would be done once and for all, leaving only hatred in his heart.
But he couldn't do it.
His heart was moved by Jiang Mian. It was her appearance that allowed a few glimmers of light to slowly shine through his heart, which was entangled in hatred.
She was the one who said she liked him; she was the one who started it all. It all began with her, and as for when it would end, or whether it should end at all, that was up to him.
“Mianniang, you must remember that some things, once started, cannot be easily ended.”
As they floated and sank, Jiang Mian's tongue went numb from his kisses. She collapsed into his arms, feeling his fingertips slowly moving down and gently parting the soft flesh hidden beneath layers of clothing.
Jiang Mian's mind went completely blank.
He knew that she had never had her period.
He knew everything, yet he still played along, hoping she would tell him the truth herself.
But instead of telling him, she made up another lie to cover it up, which made him angry.
"Don't...don't touch there."
Shen Ji curled her lips. So she could be moved by emotions after all. Now, would she still cooperate?
"Mianniang, you provoked me first. I haven't let go, and you can't take back your feelings, understand?" He gently kissed her ear with the corner of his lips.
Jiang Mian didn't have time to think about what he said. She collapsed into his arms, tears welling up in her eyes. Her clothes were loose and disheveled, and it was obvious that she was in a terrible state. But he was calm and collected, and his fingertips touched the water, causing it to splash.
"Cousin, I was wrong, I'll never do it again." Jiang Mian cried quite hard. She wasn't genuinely apologizing to him, but rather she suddenly realized that Shen Ji was simply a madman.
She regretted it.
Some people, once you get involved with them, are incredibly difficult to get rid of.
"You are mine."
She didn't have the strength to argue with him anymore. How could such a smart man be so stubborn when it came to matters of the heart? Even if she didn't leave him on her own initiative, what if he met someone else and grew tired of her, or what if he married someone else? All the love and affection of today would become a joke in the future.
Rather than parting ways in a mess, it's better to cut ties cleanly from the start.
She and he were never meant to be together.
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