132 · Chapter 132
When he came to his senses, he saw Yan Xiao's face, which was suddenly approaching with a mocking smile. Xiao Che frowned and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing?"
"What are you thinking about, so engrossed?"
Yan Xiao picked up a rabbit hair brush from the table with two fingers and casually played with it in his hand: "Thinking about how to deal with the little princess?"
"If you can't bear to kill her, what else can you do? Of course, you should forgive her."
"Forgive?" Xiao Che chuckled briefly. "She treated me like that, how could I just forgive her like that? What do you take me for? If I really forgave her so easily, the first person I would be letting down is myself."
"So what do you want? You can't bear to kill him, but you're still unwilling to forgive him. You can't get over that hurdle in your heart, and you'll only suffer yourself."
Xiao Che's Adam's apple bobbed as he coldly said, "The victor is king, the loser is villain. Now that Xiao Jue is completely out of the game, she can only be mine. Now that she's in my hands, I'll naturally find a way to torment her and teach her what price she has to pay for betraying me."
"Torment her?" Yan Xiao slowly straightened up and shrugged dismissively. "I think you're torturing yourself."
After Yan Xiao left, Xiao Che sat alone in the study for a long time.
Night had fallen, and the palace lanterns lit up one by one, stretching into a dim, yellowish river of stars in the darkness.
The winter wind, carrying a chill, blew in through the window, scattering the imperial edict papers on the desk into a jumbled mess.
His thoughts were in complete disarray.
How exactly is he going to get revenge on her?
The method I told Xiao Jue that day in the prison, I felt a sense of satisfaction when I thought about it, but it also seemed impossible to do it. If I really did it, would it lead to more revenge or more ruin?
His head began to throb again. Xiao Che reached for the wine bottle, tilted his head back, and took several more gulps. Just as he was getting drunk, a eunuch came to report that the Empress Dowager had arrived.
Xiao Che frowned slightly and shook his head.
Why did the Empress Dowager come over at this time?
He managed to muster a sliver of clarity and said, "Please invite her in."
He then called for someone to serve him, wiped his face with a wet towel to slightly reduce the effects of the alcohol, and then walked towards the main hall.
The Empress Dowager was sitting in the center of the armchair. Emperor Wei Xi had just passed away, and she, a white-haired woman, had aged considerably as she had outlived her son. However, when she saw her beloved grandson, a smile still appeared on her face: "Che'er, come here."
Xiao Che walked over and nodded slightly to her: "Grandmother."
The Empress Dowager was one of the few people in the palace who truly cared for him, and he always respected her greatly.
But no one knew why she had come in the dead of night.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Empress Dowager steered the conversation toward Yan Jiarou: "I visited Chenghuan Palace today. Jiarou, who was originally plump and lovely, has become much thinner today. Her face is sharper, and she looks listless. In short, she doesn't look well."
"There have been rumors in the palace for some time now that your serious injuries and feigned death were related to her. She has loved the Crown Prince since childhood and harmed you in order to help him. But I know that the child truly loves you."
"She is still as sincere to me as ever. When I went to see her today, she told me the whole story. Che'er, although she has wronged you, in the end, she was used by someone with ulterior motives and did not really want to harm you."
"Life is fleeting, like a white horse galloping past a crack in the wall. Look at your father, he was in the prime of his life, yet he suddenly passed away. I know what was on his mind. He made a mistake when he was young, and he regretted it for the rest of his life. He was also trapped by it for the rest of his life. Even when he was about to die, this was still the matter on his mind."
“You can say that he failed your mother and that his current predicament is entirely his own fault, but he risked his life for her. That alone cannot be said to mean that he didn’t love her.”
"But he realized it too late. Che'er, time waits for no one. There aren't many chances to regret in life. Your father and mother are too late, but you still have time. You must not do anything you'll regret for the rest of your life because of a moment of anger."
Xiao Che picked up the teacup on the table, gently brushed it aside, and upon hearing this, he slightly curled the corner of his lips, it was hard to tell whether it was more mockery or consolation: "This little fool has actually been smart for once, knowing to ask you to come and act as an intermediary."
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager changed the subject the next moment, saying, "If you can't be husband and wife, you probably can't be brother and sister either. Just don't become enemies, and I'll be satisfied."
“Since you still can’t let go of this, and I see you still harboring resentment towards her while she stays in the palace, you refuse to give her a kind look. Seeing you like this, she becomes increasingly depressed. If this continues, I fear she will become melancholy and gradually lose weight, which will be bad for both of you.”
"How about this? You allow her to leave the palace and go to the Great Ci'en Temple to practice Buddhism while still keeping her hair. Firstly, she used to be spoiled and willful, and going to the temple can help her cultivate her character; secondly, the temple is austere, unlike the palace. She has been pampered since childhood, and she will surely suffer some hardship. Consider it an act of atonement for her sins, and she can also pray for you at the temple... I visit the Great Ci'en Temple every now and then, so I can visit her often. I think it's a good idea. I wonder what you think, Che'er..."
Just as she was about to ask Xiao Che's opinion, she looked up and saw that Xiao Che's expression was sinister. His fingers tightened, and with a bang, he crushed the teacup. The broken porcelain shards pierced his palm, and blood slowly seeped out. The Empress Dowager was startled and stared at his blood-soaked palm, speechless with shock: "Che'er, you..."
A frosty look settled over Xiao Che's eyes. With his back to the palace lanterns, his face was hidden in shadow, making him appear even more enigmatic: "Grandmother, is this also her intention?"
Inside Chenghuan Hall.
Yan Jiarou changed into her nightgown and was about to go to bed when a commotion suddenly broke out outside. She could faintly hear the sound of palace servants kneeling and kowtowing, as if they were calling out, "Your Majesty."
Yan Jiarou frowned slightly, adjusted her nightgown, and walked out.
As soon as she reached the door, the door to the inner room was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Yan Jiarou was startled and took a step back, clutching her chest.
The lights in the inner room were off, with only a lampshade placed beside the bed. The room was dimly lit, and she couldn't see who had come in at first.
She could only vaguely see a tall, slender figure standing in front of the door, his body swaying slightly. Before she could react, he suddenly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms with such force that it seemed he wanted to meld her into his body and integrate her into his very bones.
Yan Jiarou was startled by his sudden action and was about to cry out, but she felt relieved when she smelled his scent. She tentatively reached out and wrapped her arms around his lean waist, and whispered, "Xiao... no, Your Majesty... you've been drinking?"
Xiao Che leaned down slightly, resting his chin on her shoulder, his breathing heavy. He didn't answer.
Suddenly he straightened up, picked up Yan Jiarou in his arms, and strode toward the bed.
When they reached the bedside, he impatiently yanked back the curtains, threw Yan Jiarou onto the soft mattress, and then covered her with him.
Yan Jiarou behaved very docilely. When he held her, she obediently wrapped her arms around his neck. When he tossed her onto the bed, she also lay obediently on top of him. However, she didn't know what he was going to do, so she was inevitably a little nervous and uneasy. Her heart was pounding, and she looked at him timidly. Her red lips parted slightly, and she softly uttered, "Your Majesty..."
The curtains hung low, and the dim light shone through the gauze curtains, as if shrouded in a thin mist, hazy and warm. //. The sun was setting.
The lights flickered, and everything around lost its sharp edges in the soft light and shadow. Only blurry outlines remained, indistinct and unclear.
Thus, the intertwining of breaths and the rhythm of heartbeats were magnified.
Xiao Che leaned against her side, pinched her chin with one hand, and lifted it up lightly.
She has indeed lost a lot of weight, but she has also become more beautiful.
Her chin has become much sharper, seemingly having lost the baby fat on her face, yet it is still fuller than that of an average woman.
A pair of clear, black and white eyes stared at him intently, her thick eyelashes trembling slightly, revealing a glistening, moist light.
Beneath her innocent charm lies an even more touching and pitiful quality.
Her skin was as white as snow, smooth to the touch, and her red lips were half-open, revealing a glimpse of her soft tongue beneath her teeth, glistening with a seductive sheen.
Every breath she took seemed to be an invitation.
His eyes held an innocent and naive look.
Xiao Che suddenly felt that she was utterly hateful.
His tone wasn't pleasant; he simply asked, "Have you met the Empress Dowager?"
Yan Jiarou was taken aback, not understanding what was going on, but she still nodded and said truthfully, "Yes, she came to see me this afternoon, and we talked for a while."
Xiao Che's gaze instantly turned cold, and he gave an ambiguous "Oh," asking her, "What did you say?"
"Hmm, I already said..." Yan Jiarou was about to answer when she suddenly noticed a lingering, metallic smell of blood around her nose.
Suspicious, she tentatively reached out to touch it, only to find her fingertips brushing against something slippery and wet. She suddenly realized what was happening and exclaimed in shock, "Blood? Xiao Che, you're injured? Your hands are covered in blood… How long has it been? Why is it still bleeding? Why didn't you bandage them…"
Xiao Che raised an eyebrow slightly, as if only now remembering how he got injured. The wound hurt terribly, but he was already numb to it. He simply curled his brow into a slight smile and scoffed, "Whether I'm injured or not, would you even care?"
"Of course I care!"
"Really? But I remember that day in the snow, when you stabbed me, you showed no mercy, it was so satisfying. Do you know that the stab hit my vital point, the pain was a hundred times greater than this? Do you really care about me, hmm?"
Yan Jiarou felt as if her heart was being torn apart, as if the other woman could feel her pain. A deep, relentless ache welled up within her, and tears streamed down her face. Her lips trembled as she repeatedly said, "Don't say anymore... please don't say anymore..."
"Stop talking? What, you can do something like this, but I can't say anything? Now you can't even handle a single word? Do you know how much pain I was in? I don't even know what I did wrong. Just a few hours ago, we were doing the most intimate things in the world. You were warmly holding me, your body so soft and hot. But a few hours later, you plunged a dagger into my chest, so hard and so cold..."
"Do you know what my first thought was? I was wondering...did I do something wrong and upset Yan Yan?"
"But no, I did nothing wrong. Perhaps the only mistake was that I shouldn't have trusted you again and again."
“Yan Jiarou,” he said, emphasizing each word, “you liar.”
Yan Jiarou closed her eyes in agony, her whole body trembling uncontrollably: "Kill me...kill me..."
"Kill you?" Xiao Che chuckled softly, stroking her chin as he slowly leaned close to her ear: "Why are you saying such stupid things again?"
"As I've said before, many times, death is actually a relief."
"You deceived me, you deceived my body, you deceived my heart. You even took my life. My dear sister, ever since that day, I've been thinking, how could there be such a heartless woman as you in this world?"
"What is your heart made of? Even a night of marriage is worth a hundred days of kindness. How many nights have we been married? Can you even count them? With a relationship like ours, how can you be so heartless? Yan Yan, can you tell me?"
"You treat me like this, yet you expect me to kill you and give you a release?"
"My dear sister, where in this world is there such a cheap thing?"
"I want you to live well, and then I will slowly torture you, making you wish you were dead. Only in this way can I quell the hatred in my heart."
Finally, as if eager to vent his intense emotions, he couldn't hold back any longer and bit her soft, white neck, muttering, "Yan Jiarou, I hate you so much."
His voice trembled slightly: "Do you know how much I hate you?"
Yan Jiarou winced in pain, but she bit her lip tightly, turned her head away, and forced herself not to make a sound.
He raised his head, pinched her chin with his fingers, and turned her face towards him, saying in a low voice, "I said I'm going to torture you properly, make you wish you were dead, are you scared?"
Yan Jiarou opened her lips, about to speak, when she suddenly felt something warm flowing across her chest—it was… Xiao Che's blood! His hand had been bleeding…
She quickly said, "Xiao Che, I beg you, let's bandage it first, okay? Your hand is still bleeding, this won't do... Let's bandage it first, and after it's bandaged, you can torture me however you want..."
"Why bandage me? Wouldn't it be better if I died?" His voice fell, faint as smoke, hovering in my ears, so close yet always indistinct, as if separated by thousands of miles: "That way, we'll all be free..."
"No! Not at all! I don't want you to die, I want you to live a good life! To live a happy and joyful life! You can't be unhappy, you can't always say these unlucky things, you are the best person in the world, and you deserve the best of everything in the world!"
She wasn't clever enough to understand Xiao Che's implied meaning, why he said it would be better if he died, when it was clearly not good at all. She could only express her feelings in the most straightforward, clumsy, and passionate way.
"Happy and carefree?" Xiao Che's brow twitched almost imperceptibly, and he gave a self-deprecating smile: "My life, from the moment I was born, was destined to be a mistake, and everything that followed was even more of a joke. I'm afraid I'll never be happy again, unless..."
"Unless what?" Yan Jiarou asked eagerly, looking at him expectantly.
Xiao Che raised an eyebrow, his fingertip caressing her soft lips, and said meaningfully, "Unless something, does my royal sister not know?"
Yan Jiarou looked at him blankly, shook her head and said, "I'm very stupid. If you want me to do something, you have to tell me directly and clearly, otherwise I won't understand and I'll make you angry again, but that's not what I meant..."
"Tell you? I don't even know myself, how can I tell you?" Xiao Che took a deep breath, feeling even more agitated. He grabbed her chin and stared at her intently, saying, "What, can't you think for yourself? What should you do to make me happy? It was clearly your own mistake, how should you make amends? Instead of thinking about it yourself, you come to me for advice! You're not even willing to put in this much effort for me! But back then, you followed Xiao Jue around like a puppy for ten years! You went to great lengths to please him!"
But Yan Jiarou still looked bewildered, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were hesitant. A surge of malice rose within him, and he sneered, "Fine, since you don't know, I'll tell you. What I want to do? Naturally, I'll torture you mercilessly, making you wish you were dead!"
Yan Jiarou lowered her eyes, her long, thick eyelashes trembling slightly. It was unclear whether she had heard him or not, but she finally said weakly, "...Could you bandage the wound first?"
Xiao Che didn't want her to keep dwelling on this, so he just snorted and said, "No. What's the point of bandaging? It's best to let the blood drain out... just like that day in the snow..."
Before he could finish speaking, the words mysteriously fell silent.
Suddenly, Yan Jiarou grabbed his hand. The broken porcelain was embedded in the pad of his index finger, where the wound was deep and bleeding. The rest of his finger was fine. So she opened her mouth and took his finger in her mouth, gently licking it.
Xiao Che was stunned. In an instant, he felt his fingertip being enveloped by a warm and moist sensation. An indescribable feeling spread from his fingertip to his entire body, stirring up those unspeakable desires.
Thus, those countless nights of tender limbs and scenes of lovemaking in western Sichuan inevitably surfaced from the depths of my memory.
By the time I came to my senses, I had no idea how much time had passed.
He swallowed hard, immediately pulled his hand away from that warm, moist place, and hissed, "What are you doing!"
Holding a plum, a faint silver thread connects to it, gleaming with a subtle glow in the dim light.
“I…” Yan Jiarou blinked, her expression bewildered and innocent, with a hint of grievance: “I just… wanted to help you… You wouldn’t stop the bleeding, so I licked your wound this way to stop the bleeding and relieve the pain… When I was little, I was always playing around and would cut my fingers. When I had a wound, it was inevitable that it would bleed and hurt. If I was outside and there was no medicine available to bandage it immediately, this is what I did. It worked very well; the pain stopped immediately, and the bleeding gradually stopped…”
Xiao Che raised an eyebrow and said cryptically, "Really? So your mouth has this kind of use after all."
"Yes! It works really well!" Yan Jiarou looked at him with bright eyes, full of anticipation, and said, "Do you want... me to help you cool down for a while longer?"
"Alright." Xiao Che chuckled and whispered in her ear, "However, I want to try Xia Mian's best one."
Yan Jiarou was taken aback, her face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, murmuring softly, "But...but..."
"What, you're not willing? Didn't you say you'd do anything for me?"
"No!" Yan Jiarou quickly retorted, afraid he would misunderstand. "I didn't mean to refuse! You can do whatever you want to me, I'm willing to do anything for you..."
"Is that so?" Xiao Che smiled, a rare hint of pleasure appearing on his lips, and lazily asked, "Then what?"
"I'm just... worried that this... might be bad for your wound... Saliva can disinfect! But the tax on summer sleep will only..."
"What do you only know?"
Yan Jiarou bit her lip tightly, her cheeks flushed, and said almost embarrassedly, "It will only... soil you and contaminate your wound."
"Who said summer sleep is dirty? It's actually very good for wounds. Once it's cleared up, my wound is healed and doesn't hurt anymore."
"Really?" the little girl asked skeptically, "Who said that?"
Xiao Che smiled with pleasure: "I said it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Ru skillfully and accurately took a drunken hand with her injured and bleeding finger.
The girl, her hair disheveled, looked at the doctor, her forehead covered in fine grime. Her fingers gripped the medical form tightly. She couldn't resist leaning back to kiss him; in this moment, she felt most attached to him: "Brother..."
However, Xiao Che did not lower his head to kiss her or comfort her as before. From beginning to end, he just looked at her coldly, remaining detached and indifferent as an observer.
In just a few breaths, she left in her golden gown.
She could never hold out against Xiao Che for even a moment.
Many times, he only needed to kiss her once, and she would be deeply moved.
Like a newly blossoming apricot on a branch, after a sudden rain, the petals, before they could even bear enough, trembled and fell from the branch—such a useless thing.
But she had no choice; her body couldn't stay still, and it seemed to obey Xiao Che's commands more.
Xiao Che had already taken the first batch of medicine from Chu Lai, which was covered in sleek stains. He rubbed the stains on it and tugged at the corner of his lips: "Tsk, the wound really isn't healing anymore. How about it, am I right?"
Yan Jiarou's face flushed, her breasts heaving gently. She wanted to kiss him and hug him, but she didn't dare. In the end, she could only gently tug at the hem of his clothes. Holding the hem in her hand, a secret joy welled up in her heart. She smiled sweetly at him and said, "Mmm... whatever you say is right, brother!"
Xiao Che's eyes darkened as he looked at her and said, "Oh? Then I'll say it, you were deliberately mishearing me just now, weren't you right?"
Yan Jiarou was taken aback, then shook her head and said, "I...I didn't..."
"No? I think you're deliberately misrepresenting me, otherwise why would you write on my hand?"
"I...I just wanted to help stop your bleeding..."
Xiao Che looked at her: "You're lying. You clearly framed me to make me love you, didn't you?"
"No...no..."
"No? Ha, then let me ask you, do you want me to do that to you, huh? Tell the truth."
"I..." Forced into a corner, Yan Jiarou could only bite her lip and gently nod, saying, "I want to..."
"Oh?" Xiao Che curled his lips, his fingers lightly tracing her fair cheek: "What are you thinking? Speak completely."
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