As soon as the words were spoken, a suffocating silence fell over the hall; the air itself seemed to freeze.
Jiang Chuting remained kneeling motionless, while Mo Lin stared in disbelief, unable to believe that he had gone so far.
Pei Jing's temple veins throbbed as he gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Jiang, Chu, Ting."
She raised her hand, ripped off the blindfold, and her dark eyes, glistening with tears, blazed with intense hatred. Her expression was almost ferocious: "You plotted against me?!"
Jiang Chuting said, "Lin Zhi knows nothing and did nothing. If he is implicated because of this, he is truly innocent. I just want to ask you for some protection."
In this matter, he did indeed exploit Pei Jing's feelings. Because he knew Pei Jing wouldn't let Lin Zhi go, he couldn't just watch Lin Zhi die.
Jiang Chuting said softly, "I'm sorry."
Pei Jing's heart pain suddenly intensified. He clutched his chest in agony and spat out another mouthful of blood.
His face, which was originally as pale as paper, was now flushed with a sickly redness. Jiang Chuting's breath hitched when she saw this. She took the silk cloth from his hand and tried to cover his eyes again, but Pei Jing pushed her away.
"So, you took advantage of my feelings for you?" Pei Jing trembled all over, staring straight at him and said, "That day you didn't let anyone report to me, and I thought you just didn't want to ruin the coronation ceremony. Now it seems you did it on purpose, didn't you? You deliberately made me late, so I could see you looking so distressed, worried, and even guilty... I wouldn't have thought twice about or doubted any request you made, would I?"
Jiang Chuting shook her head, her voice noticeably faster than before, and explained, "No, I didn't think that much about it."
"No?" Pei Jing no longer believed him. He gave a bitter laugh and said in a hoarse voice, "Oh, right, to put your mind at ease, I swore a solemn oath that if I dared to break it, I would die a horrible death. So, if I don't agree to let him go today, do you have to curse me to fulfill my oath?"
Jiang Chuting's lips trembled slightly as she said, "I won't curse you. It's just that I share life and death with him."
Pei Jing forced a smile, but tears suddenly streamed down her face, and her eyes began to glaze over.
He pointed to his heart: "My heart aches because of you." He asked softly, "And you, have you ever felt even a little bit of heartache for me?"
The words had barely left his mouth when his already faltering body swayed twice, finally giving way to exhaustion. He closed his eyes and collapsed forward.
Jiang Chuting reached out and caught him in her arms.
Jiang Chuting's face showed pain as she whispered in his ear again, "Xiao Jiu, I'm so sorry..."
Jiang Chuting, Xing'er, and Wei Jia were confined to the inn, while Pei Jing lay unconscious in another room.
Although Xing'er didn't know what had happened, she was a sensitive child and sensed that the atmosphere outside was unusual, so she held Jiang Chuting in her arms all the time.
"Where did Father go?"
Xing'er hadn't seen Lin Zhi and had asked countless times already. Jiang Chuting also wanted to know where Lin Zhi was and how he was doing, so he touched his little face and coaxed, "Daddy went out on business and will be back in a couple of days."
Although Xing'er was disappointed, she did not make a fuss.
By midnight, Xing'er was asleep, but Wei Jia was still keeping Jiang Chuting company. Finally, they heard movement from Pei Jing's room; he must have woken up.
Jiang Chuting immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Wei Jia wanted to go see Pei Jing, and Jiang Chuting thought about it and agreed.
Wei Jia went over, but Mo Lin blocked him with a stern face, about to send him away, when Pei Jing's low, gentle voice came over: "Let him in."
Wei Jia then went inside.
Pei Jing sat on the edge of the bed, wearing only a single garment, his hands supporting him on either side, his hair disheveled, his face pale, and his eyes indifferent and lifeless.
Wei Jia approached and saw that his eyes were still red, so she asked, "Are you alright? Are you still feeling unwell?"
Pei Jing glanced at him and said coldly, "Didn't you run away so easily? Now you know to care about me?"
“I do care,” Wei Jia said. “Although you always scold me, I actually like you quite a bit. Because you are the best person to me besides my master.”
Pei Jing remained silent.
Wei Jia naturally sat down next to him and said, "When I left, I was actually quite reluctant to part with you. But I definitely have to stay with Master."
Pei Jing sneered: "Yes, you all have people you need more, so what am I?"
“There are many, many people who consider you more important, but you simply don’t care. You only look at the person you want to see, just like how Master always looks at Brother Lin.” Wei Jia countered, “If you don’t even look at others, how can you expect Master to look at you?”
Wei Jia usually just eats and sleeps, acting like a complete idiot; this is nothing like something he would say. Pei Jing was silent for a moment, then scoffed, "Did he teach you to say these things?"
Wei Jia scratched his head: "No, I said it myself."
"Then I'll tell you today that human desires are disorderly and irrational. If I want something, I must get it."
Wei Jia, as expected, didn't understand and said, "But I feel like you're always unhappy. Just give up on the things that make you unhappy."
Pei Jing turned to look into his clear, watery eyes and said, "Only someone with your brain could think of things so simply. Giving up? It's not that easy."
If it were really that simple, why would he make himself suffer so much and look so pathetic?
Wei Jia truly didn't understand emotions, and simply asked, "But what can you gain if you don't give up?"
Pei Jing was taken aback by the question.
If he doesn't give up and kills Lin Zhi, what can he get from Chu Ting?
Deep-seated hatred? Heart-wrenching indifference? Most likely, he won't even get those, because Chu Ting said he would live and die with Lin Zhi.
Pei Jing stared at himself as he raised his palm, slowly clenched it, then slowly opened it again, clenching it again and opening it again, repeating this process over and over.
It's empty; there's nothing there.
Just like him now, no matter how hard he tries, in the end it will all be in vain, and he will get nothing.
His only companion was an endless loneliness.
Pei Jing suddenly laughed, but as he laughed, tears streamed down his face. His laughter was mournful and desolate.
Is he really going to give up like this? Is he really going to let him have his way?
But how could he possibly let go of this? How could he be willing to accept it?!
Wei Jia was saddened by what he saw, so she wiped his tears with her sleeve and then quietly stayed by his side for a long time.
Pei Jing's previous recovery was completely wasted due to the relapse of his love potion. He should return to Jincheng as soon as possible to recuperate. Mo Lin mentioned it twice, but Pei Jing ignored him and just leaned against the bedside, lost in thought.
Mo Lin, fearing that he might still be unwilling to give up and do something else that would further damage his body, became anxious and said, "Your Majesty, please don't play with your health. Please return to the palace immediately. This trip was inappropriate and not worthwhile. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
Pei Jing slowly rolled her eyes, glanced at him, and asked, "Not worth it?"
Mo Lin said, "Yes, because no matter how much you hate him in your heart, you can't bear to hurt him in the slightest. Instead, you bring yourself endless pain. It's really not worth it."
Pei Jing twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, as if laughing at himself. So everyone knew that he couldn't bear to hurt Chu Ting at all.
He, who was always ruthless and decisive, became a mere bluff in front of Chu Ting. Because he loved Chu Ting so deeply.
“You can’t see him now because of the Love Flower, and he will never change his mind. Why make yourself suffer?” Mo Lin said earnestly, “Let go, Your Majesty.”
“Let go…” Pei Jing’s eyes were clouded with worry, and he said in a low, hoarse voice, “Everyone is telling me to let go.”
Just thinking about this possibility felt like a pair of hands were tearing his heart apart, leaving only a bone-chilling coldness after the pain had numbed him.
Two days later, Pei Jing ordered the journey back to Jincheng.
He did not see Jiang Chuting again. However, as Mo Lin helped him leave, he stopped outside Jiang Chuting's door and said in a cold voice, "If you want me to spare him, I will not kill him. But I have locked him in a place without food or water. Whether we can find him in time depends on fate."
He left as soon as he finished speaking, without hesitation, decisively and resolutely.
No sooner had Pei Jing's carriage left than Jiang Chuting went out to inquire and search for him. She searched for three days and nights without finding a single clue.
Jiang Chuting was completely clueless, and her heart sank.
On the fifth day, Jiang Chuting still hadn't found anything. That evening, Lu Zhao brought Yuan Xia and Yuan Sang to find him just as he returned to the entrance of the inn.
They already knew from Wei Jia that Lin Zhi was missing. Seeing Jiang Chuting's unwell expression, Yuan Sang asked, "Haven't you found her yet?"
"No."
Yuan Sang, unaware of the details, comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, he's a grown man, he'll be fine."
Yuanxia also said, "We'll help you look for it; we're sure we can find it."
Lu Zhao kept staring at Jiang Chuting without saying a word.
Jiang Chuting frowned, and when she inadvertently met his gaze, she was slightly startled and looked away first, but she could still feel that Lu Zhao was staring at her.
Just then, Yuan pointed behind him and shouted, "I told you it was nothing, look, he's back now!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chuting turned around abruptly and saw Lin Zhi, dressed in dust, staggering towards them. He was exhausted and collapsed to the ground before Jiang Chuting could even reach him.
"Lin Zhi!" Jiang Chuting was surprised and delighted that he would appear on his own. She rushed over and helped him sit up.
After a quick check, I found that he had no injuries, which put me at ease, and my expression quickly calmed down.
Lin Zhi was being held in Jiang Chuting's arms, almost nestled in his embrace. Lin Zhi hadn't felt this way in ages, and she stared at him intently, her eyes unblinking.
Yuan Sang leaned closer and asked, "What have you been doing? How did you get like this?"
Jiang Chuting naturally wanted to know what he had been through these past few days, but Lin Zhi seemed to have no strength left to speak, and said, "Let's go inside first and talk about it."
Lu Zhao glanced over at them expressionlessly, then said to Jiang Chuting, "It's good that the person has been found. We'll head back now. Goodbye."
Lu Zhao left with Yuan Xia and Yuan Sang. Jiang Chuting glanced at their retreating figures out of the corner of her eye and helped Lin Zhi into the inn.
Back in his room, Lin Zhi drank some water and wolfed down some food, finally recovering.
He quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes before taking Xing'er, who had been clamoring for a hug, into his arms and telling Jiang Chuting in detail where he had been these past few days.
It turned out that he hadn't been locked up by Pei Jing at all, but had been bound hand and foot and thrown into the carriage that was going to Jincheng with them.
Lin Zhi said angrily, "It was probably the afternoon of the third day when a guard told me that you were all trapped in the inn and that if I didn't get back before tonight, I would burn it all down."
Lin Zhi only knew that Pei Jing had designs on Jiang Chuting, but he had no idea that Pei Jing was unwilling to hurt him at all. Upon hearing this, he assumed that Pei Jing was seeking revenge because he couldn't have her. He dared not disbelieve it and rushed back home without stopping for a moment.
Before entering the city, the horse was already foaming at the mouth and unable to run. He used the last of his strength to run back, so he was covered in dust and looked disheveled.
Jiang Chuting listened in silence for a long time, then sighed silently, finally feeling the weight that had been hanging over her heart lift.
Because he schemed against Pei Jing, Pei Jing deliberately deceived and tormented them as a small act of revenge in return.
It seems that by doing this, he has completely let them go, and Lin Zhi's life has been saved.
Lin Zhi secretly observed his expression and asked, "Chu Ting, did you...do something?" Although he hated him, he also knew that Pei Jing was not someone who would let such kind people off so easily.
Jiang Chuting quickly replied, "No."
He wouldn't say, and Lin Zhi didn't dare ask any more questions, feeling depressed.
"So... have you been worried about me these past few days?"
Jiang Chuting didn't answer, but said calmly, "It's getting late, go and rest."
She maintained her usual aloof attitude, as if the person who had just been holding her with a worried expression was someone else.
Lin Zhi was not as disappointed as before, because he had discovered that Chu Ting was not as indifferent to him as she appeared.
He felt he had seen a glimmer of hope.
Xing'er hadn't seen Lin Zhi for several days and was very clingy, circling around him. Jiang Chuting naturally assumed that he would sleep with Lin Zhi tonight, but Xing'er held his and Lin Zhi's hands at the same time, shaking them coquettishly: "Sleep together, sleep together."
Jiang Chuting: "..."
Lin Zhi said to Xing'er, "My agreement is useless; your father has to agree first."
Xing'er let go of Lin Zhi and clung to Jiang Chuting with all her might, pleading softly, "Daddy, let's sleep together, let's sleep together, I want Daddy, I want Daddy, please?"
Lin Zhi chuckled inwardly. When Jiang Chuting looked up at him, he immediately pursed his lips tightly, not daring to show it at all.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Xing'er hugged Jiang Chuting's face and kissed him again and again, spitting all over his face.
Jiang Chuting softened her stance and said, "Okay, let's sleep together."
Just like before, the child sleeps in the middle, and the two of them sleep on either side.
Originally, Lin Zhi was a little uneasy because of what the guard had said, and suggested that they change inn. Jiang Chuting said it wasn't necessary, so he didn't insist. He was too tired to even be happy to be able to share a bed with Jiang Chuting again after lying down on the bed. He opened his eyelids a few times and drifted off to sleep.
Even while asleep, she was still holding Xing'er's little hand.
Xing'er was well-behaved and didn't bother him. She lay down next to him for a while and fell asleep on her own.
Jiang Chuting looked at the two people beside her, her feelings complicated. In her original plan, after saving Lin Zhi's life, she intended to part ways with him and give him time to visit the child later.
But nowadays...
Lin Zhi suddenly gasped, tears streaming down her face, and mumbled in her sleep, "Chu Ting! Chu Ting, don't leave me, Chu Ting, I was wrong, I was really wrong..."
Jiang Chuting felt a sharp pain in her brow and forced her eyes shut.
...
Lin Zhi was pleasantly surprised to find that Jiang Chuting and Lu Zhao were meeting less frequently, and, judging from his tone, he was planning to leave Jiaxing.
Finally, I can shake off this group of people!
But he was too happy too soon, because Lu Zhao and the others were also planning to leave, and coincidentally, they were going the same way.
So, in the end, we set off together.
Although they were traveling in separate carriages, Lin Zhi remained vigilant, determined not to give them any opportunity to be alone together.
Fortunately, they didn't spend much time alone together, and they talked less than before.
Meanwhile, Yuan Sang and Yuan Xia were worried about Lu Zhao.
Yuan Sang: "My Lord, what's wrong with Young Master Jiang lately? I feel like he's not as close to you as before."
Yuan Xia: "Yes, Your Majesty, can't you just say what you want to say? If you don't speak up, the person will be taken away."
Both of them could tell that Lin Zhi also liked Jiang Chuting, but it was obvious that Jiang Chuting had been extremely cold to him before, so they weren't a couple at all.
In this way, everyone has a chance to strive for it.
But Lin Zhi kept pestering them, and the Venerable One said nothing and did nothing, leaving them to watch helplessly.
Lu Zhao's dark eyes were filled with a deep sorrow, and his lips were full of bitterness. He said in a low voice, "To be frank... how can I be frank in this situation?"
Yuan Xia seemed to be deep in thought, while Yuan Sang anxiously rubbed her face.
When the carriage stopped to rest halfway through the journey, Yuan Sang rushed up to Jiang Chuting like the wind without hesitation and asked loudly, "Young Master Jiang, our master admires and loves you. What about you? Do you have feelings for him?"
Jiang Chuting was sitting on a large rock feeding Xing'er water when he heard this and looked up in surprise.
Lin Zhi, who was sitting with him, suddenly jumped up and glared angrily at Yuan Sang.
On the other side, Lu Zhao was also caught off guard by Yuan Sang's actions and sat there stiffly, not looking in their direction.
Jiang Chuting paused for a moment before saying gently, "I'm really sorry, I've always regarded Brother Lu as a close friend."
"Close friend? Well... sorry to bother you." Yuan Sang scratched his head awkwardly, took two steps back, turned around and walked back to Lu Zhao's side, took a pancake that Yuan Xia handed him, and started to eat it in a depressed mood.
Lin Zhi was overjoyed and obediently sat back down to feed Xing'er. He knew Chu Ting wouldn't like that person.
Jiang Chuting thought for a moment, then got up and walked over to sit next to Lu Zhao. Yuan Xia and Yuan Sang consciously kept their distance.
Lu Zhao's eyes dimmed, and he forced a smile: "I'm sorry, I was really too abrupt just now."
Jiang Chuting shook his head: "Actually, I've also been looking for an opportunity to explain things to you, Brother Lu."
Lu Zhao glanced at him and said, "To be clear, you already have someone in your heart, and you're not going to change your mind, is that right?"
Jiang Chuting cherished him and didn't want to hurt him, so she carefully chose her words and said, "Brother Lu, you deserve better."
Lu Zhao's throat tightened, and he felt only excruciating pain throughout his body. He whispered, "Better...for me, there is no one better than you. What meaning do others have for me besides you?"
This was the first time he had spoken so bluntly since we met.
Jiang Chuting was taken aback, recalling the look in Lu Chuting's eyes when they first met, and asked, "Brother Lu, if I may be so bold as to ask, do you... take me for something else?"
Lu Zhao seemed to understand what he meant and said, "Who do you think I've been using as a substitute for?"
“Never.” He said firmly, “You are you, and no one knows you better than me.”
For some reason, Jiang Chuting felt extremely heartbroken and suddenly became dazed.
Lu Zhao looked into the distance, his gaze seemingly unfocused: "But I did love someone deeply before. He was very good, really very good, and he loved me very much... However, I had no choice but to leave for a while, and when I came back, he could no longer see me. I could only watch helplessly as he fell in love with someone else little by little, but I couldn't stop him. Later... I didn't dare to stop him anymore."
Lu Zhao said softly, "Because it's my fault. I made him wait too long. I can't let him suffer too."
After a long silence, Jiang Chuting really didn't know what to say.
Lu Zhao turned to look at him, her face slightly smiling, but the sadness in her eyes was impossible to shake off: "I'm sorry for suddenly telling you so much."
"It's okay." Lu Zhao seemed to really love that person. How could someone like him suddenly fall in love with someone he had only thought of not long ago? Something seemed to be about to burst out of her mind, but no matter what she did, she couldn't break free from that tight restraint. Jiang Chuting suddenly felt a little breathless.
There was a moment of silence between them.
Lu Zhao gazed at him and said softly, "Whether you accept me or not, I still want you to understand that the past is the past. You are unique in my heart, and I will not treat you as anyone else."
"Hmm." Jiang Chuting said, "But I will ultimately have to disappoint Brother Lu's kindness. I'm sorry."
"Don't say sorry." Lu Zhao looked at his face, smiled faintly, and said in a softer voice, "You have your own choices, and you have never let me down."
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