Chapter 68 You just think too highly of people [33]
Si Jinye put one arm around A Chu and raised the other hand to gently wipe away the tears on her face.
"Idiot," he said with a smile.
Ah Chu sniffed, looking somewhat aggrieved: "Why did you scold me?"
Si Jinye lowered his head and kissed her lips, which had become even redder from crying.
"Aren't you an idiot? In my situation, you should be thinking about getting away from me."
"With your kindness and gentleness, if you were outside, you would be devoured without even a bone fragment left."
In Si Jinye's heart, A Chu was kind and gentle, and anyone could bully her.
How could he bear to die a man like Ah Chu?
Thinking of what Wu Ming said after taking his pulse today, Si Jinye told A Chu:
"The old man took my pulse today and said that the toxins in my body have inexplicably decreased."
"He will go back and revise the prescription, and maybe I can live a few more years."
Upon hearing this, Achu's eyes were still brimming with tears, but her face was already filled with joy: "Really? That's wonderful!"
Si Jinye hesitated for a moment before telling A Chu the reason why he had kidnapped her and brought her to the East Palace to spend every day and night with her.
The smile on Achu's face gradually faded.
She released her arms from Si Jinye's neck and stood up from his lap.
"So, you brought me to the East Palace, made me sit in your lap while you worked in the study, and made me sleep in the same bed with you at night, just to stop your headaches and tinnitus?"
Si Jinye could tell that A Chu was angry, and he felt a little flustered, so he subconsciously grabbed her hand.
He said somewhat urgently, "That was true at first, but later I didn't just do it for that reason."
A Chu kept a cold face, didn't say anything, and even turned her head away from looking at Si Jinye.
But she didn't pull her hand away from where it was being held.
Si Jinye was initially a little flustered, worried that A Chu would leave him because she was angry.
However, when he looked down and saw that Achu hadn't pulled her hand back, he couldn't help but ask, "You're not angry with me anymore?"
Ah Chu snorted, still with a stern face: "I'm angry!"
Si Jinye asked again, "Then why did you still allow me to hold your hand? Why didn't you leave me?"
Achu turned her head away from him: "If I leave you, won't you suffer from headaches and tinnitus again?"
"You've suffered for so many years, I... can't bear to see you suffer."
Ah Chu spoke the last three words very softly.
But Si Jinye had excellent hearing and still heard it.
For the first time in his life, he experienced what it felt like to be genuinely cared for.
Si Jinye's eyes welled up with tears, overwhelmed with emotion.
He stood up, bent down and hugged Achu tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his body and never separate her again!
If Achu turns on the affection level notification sound at this time, she will hear the notification sound that Si Jinye's affection level has increased to [98].
After their confession in the study, A Chu and Si Jinye's relationship took a qualitative leap.
Si Jinye becomes incredibly clingy in front of A Chu.
He used to cling to Achu because it helped stop his headaches and tinnitus.
But now, clinging to Achu, he really just wants to be with her all the time.
However, Si Jinye was very busy, with official duties to handle every day.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't really stay with Achu all the time.
So Achu still has a lot of time to be alone.
Since that day when she went to pay her respects to Consort Jiang, Shen Jingya has frequently visited the East Palace.
She usually chose to come when Si Jinye was not in the East Palace, ostensibly to keep A Chu company and relieve his boredom.
Shen Jingya would always subtly inquire about A Chu and Si Jinye's relationship, or ask about the situation in the Eastern Palace.
She does have some linguistic skills; if it weren't for the fact that the person she was trying to find out about was A-Chu, she would have actually managed to uncover quite a bit of information.
As for Achu, he would reveal some irrelevant and ambiguous information to Shen Jingya.
That day, Shen Jingya came again.
When Si Jinye returned that evening, A Chu leaned against him and talked about Shen Jingya.
"When I was still living in the manor, I wasn't very close to my fifth sister."
"Why is it that now that she's married, she comes to see me so often?"
"I suppose she was worried that I would be bored if I married you and stayed in the East Palace without being able to go out."
Si Jinye knew, of course, that Shen Jingya had recently come to the East Palace to see A Chu.
He lowered his eyes and looked at A Chu, whose face was innocent.
Si Jinye pinched her delicate, upturned nose, his tone lazy yet doting: "You just think too highly of people."
Achu looked up at him and said, "What do you mean by that? Does my fifth sister have some other bad intentions?"
Si Jinye told A Chu about Consort Jiang and Si Jinxuan's ambitions.
"My dear fifth brother is eyeing the position of crown prince with great covetousness."
Achu blinked and said, "Prince Rui is Prince Rui, but Fifth Sister isn't a bad person, she shouldn't..."
Seeing that A Chu still seemed to trust Shen Jingya completely, Si Jinye sighed.
"Silly girl."
Achu glared at him and slapped him on the chest: "You insulted me again!"
Si Jinye smiled, took her hand and kissed it, and told her about how Shen Jingya had bribed bandits to kidnap her and ruin her reputation.
Ah Chu looked as if she had been struck by lightning.
She sat up abruptly, not even noticing the nightgown slipping off her shoulder.
"How...how is this possible!?"
Si Jinye's gaze fell on A Chu's fair and jade-like shoulder, his eyes darkened, and he sat up as well.
He pulled Achu's nightgown up and said to her, "I'm still keeping those bandits locked up, and I'll also help Shen Jingya contact the bandits' wives."
"If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see it."
After hesitating for a moment, Achu nodded and said she wanted to see it for herself.
Si Jinye then had a palace maid come in to help A Chu change her clothes and took her to the dungeon.
Several months passed, and the bandits were tortured beyond recognition, but Ah Chu still recognized one of them.
Upon seeing Si Jinye and A Chu, the bandit immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, please spare me! I was just doing a job for money..."
Achu was startled, and Si Jinye protected her and led her to the other side.
In the other cell, there was a disheveled old woman.
The old woman begged for mercy from everyone she met: "This old servant was only instructed by Miss Shen Wu to bribe bandits to kidnap Miss Shen Liu. This old servant was only acting under orders! Please, sir, spare this old servant!"
When Achu was taken out of the dungeon by Si Jinye, she seemed to be deeply shocked and unable to recover.
Back in the Crown Prince's bedchamber, Si Jinye said to A Chu, "It's not just you, but also that young lady from an official family who lost her chastity after being kidnapped by bandits and forced to marry far away. She was also harmed by Shen Jingya."
"It's just because Si Jinxuan spoke a few more words with that young lady, and there are rumors that Consort Jiang prefers that young lady."
"Now, do you still believe that Shen Jingya is a good person?"
Achu looked up at Si Jinye in shock: "She...she's really so vicious? Just because of a few words and a rumor, she ruined a woman?!"
Si Jinye nodded.
Ah Chu remained silent for a long time.
Finally, she took a long breath and looked at Si Jinye: "So, her frequent visits to the East Palace to see me are not for a simple purpose."
"She was very likely here at the Eastern Palace to gather information for Consort Jiang and Prince Rui?"
Si Jinye praised her, saying, "Smart."
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