Chapter 21 Duan Jiuyou, Shall we sleep together?
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Di Jiang looked across the window and saw her come out after turning on the light. He could tell from the sound that she was heading towards the kitchen.
The wind was strong, and she knew it was cold. Di Jiang slightly tilted one ear to listen to her shuffling in her two pairs of shoes, "clack clack clack," as she rushed in and then "clack clack clack" back in.
As she passed through the courtyard, there seemed to be a brief pause. Di Jiang remained seated, while she slammed the door shut and went inside.
Di Jiang frowned silently, truly unable to understand how Duan Jiuyou, who was so fierce, could have so many immortal partners.
—Is it because she's old, or because she has a bad temper?
There was also the kitchen. He remembered that after she finished washing the dishes, she specially warmed four hot water bottles, saying that she would give each person two so they could put them in the bed when they got back.
He recalled the small shadow he had just seen projected onto the window paper, which he guessed had taken everything.
As it turned out, Old Lady Duan did indeed take all four hot water bottles with her. She hadn't forgotten that Di Jiang was afraid of the cold, and thought that if he couldn't leave tonight, he would at least have a warm bed to sleep in.
At that moment, I didn't want to give him any; all I could think was, "He deserves to freeze!"
Her feelings for Di Jiang remain very pure to this day. Before, she regarded him as a "son" in order to ease their relationship and ignore the enmity between them. Now, she sees him as both a ruler and a friend, and she truly wants to wholeheartedly assist him and guide him back to the right path.
But she had served nine different rulers, and even if we add Bai Yanxing, who had a short tenure, none of them were as tactless as Di Jiang! At least they would coax her and even fawn over her, but none of them would openly discuss the pros and cons with her like he did.
But if you say he wasn't sincere, he didn't harbor any ulterior motives. How could the head of a clan not understand the art of imperial power? He didn't use her, and he expressed himself so directly...
Duan Jiuyou pondered these things for thirteen weeks, arriving at a conclusion that infuriated her even more—
He felt that she was simple-minded and there was no need to hide anything from her.
The door was unlocked, and someone pushed it open halfway from the outside. Duan Jiuyou looked into the doorway.
Her "future emperor who can't speak" came over with a blanket and pillow. He still looked like a child in his early teens, and his expression was still serious. He said to her like a little adult, "Duan Jiuyou, want to sleep together?"
"Of course not!" Duan Jiuyou frowned and gave him an angry shove of her back.
What a pipe dream he's having!
Di Jiang walked straight in, sat down on the edge of the bed with a blanket in his arms, looking very calm, but in reality, he was not without inner turmoil.
He is the type of person who refuses to ask for favors. If anyone sees any flaws or weaknesses in him, that person will never be able to breathe a second breath in his presence.
Duan Jiuyou is different from him.
She had witnessed his illness, knew he was sensitive to cold, and had even killed him with her own hands. He organized all these things, and it was unclear whether it was because she was immortal or because Duan Jiuyou genuinely possessed the ability to inspire trust; in any case, he didn't really avoid her.
This lack of avoidance still carries a certain reserve, though Di Jiang hasn't quite figured out exactly where. For example, today, he was freezing to death in that room, so he decided to condescend to come see her. As for whether he'll come again in the future, he's not sure. He's actually quite a conflicted person; he appears quiet on the surface, but the more so, the more inner turmoil he has.
"Why didn't you speak when you came in?!"
He pondered for a long time and remained silent. The "little man" on the bed, unable to make a sound, twisted his body and pounced, turning around angrily, which startled Di Jiang.
—It's incredibly fierce.
He secretly despised him, but remained calm on the surface. Looking at Duan Jiuyou, who was described as "fierce," his hair was messy, like a bird's nest, because it had rolled on the pillow. His small eyes, which were not usually able to express anger, seemed to have their own ideas at this moment, and they forced a space out of their eye slits, like two black beans stuck in a door crack.
She felt he should apologize to her, at least say something like, "Jiuyou, putting aside the pros and cons, I also consider you a friend."
She was genuinely happy when the imperial court protected her today. Few people in the Three Realms worried about her life or death, and she was secretly pleased. But then she was met with a cold shower; she was a delicate person, how could she possibly be happy?
He didn't say a word and just stood there "doing nothing," which infuriated her.
"What should I say?" Di Jiang tilted his head to look at Jiu You, his handsome features revealing a natural lack of warmth. "You'll just get upset if I tell you."
He was stating the facts, and perhaps it was just his imagination, but there was also a hint of bewildered distress.
How do you know I'm unhappy if you don't tell me?
Jiuyou hugged the blanket and argued with him, his posture clearly indicating that he wanted to find fault.
Di Jiang wasn't stupid. He knew that whatever he said now would only lead to her finding fault with him. He stared at the plain, unadorned quilt cover in his hand for a while.
He said, "Let's go to sleep."
"Why are you sleeping?"
These words ultimately did not escape criticism.
Jiuyou straightened his upper body and said with an imposing manner, "Men and women should not touch each other. This is a woman's private room. How dare you come into a woman's room in the middle of the night and say you want to sleep?"
Di Jiang thought for a moment and then said as a compromise, "Then give me two hot water bottles so I can warm myself up under the covers."
He tried to negotiate with her, and his expression and tone were surprisingly obedient.
Duan Jiuyou stared at him for a while, then decided to harden his heart and, with a stern face, gathered all four hot water bottles into his arms.
The meaning was quite clear: she wouldn't give it to him.
Di Jiang frowned in exasperation, finally understanding the meaning of the vassal's words. He had angered Duan Jiuyou, and his days were indeed numbered.
This was the first time in his more than 16,000 years of breathing that he felt he had to depend on others for his life.
Why are you angry?
After a while, he said with a puzzled look, "Just because I told the truth? I can say nice things too, but they're not true. If you want to hear it, I'll think of a few more things to fool you next time."
Duan Jiuyou tilted his head in anger, knowing that Di Jiang had already prepared a message for him.
"Of course you wouldn't want me to fool you. If you don't want to, why won't you listen to the truth? I'll say what I think. I don't treat you like an outsider, and I'm not estranged from you, so why are you picking on me?"
He now has a "childlike face," and although his expression and tone are not aggrieved, his solitary statement inexplicably gives people the feeling that he has been bullied.
Duan Jiuyou was so overwhelmed by his questions that she almost began to doubt whether she was a harsh "stepmother"!
"You, Emperor Jiang—"
How could I possibly accept that?
The dignified ruler of the Desolate Clan, the head of the Four Gods, the biggest villain in the Heavenly Realm, and a wanted criminal in the Three Realms, is he pretending to be a little boy here? If she didn't know him, she would let it go, but she sees him through the most! With a youthful face, he can turn the world upside down with a flick of his wrist, and a simple bad mood can make the entire Heavenly Realm tremble.
"Why are you pretending to be aggrieved with me?" Duan Jiuyou asked with a curious look.
The emperor pretended not to hear.
After a brief pause, the conversation returned to its source.
“You killed me. The entire Great Wilderness Clan was beaten into a pulp by your Ao Clan. Now I have no one to put a coat on me when I'm cold, no one to warm my bed at night. The only one with a normal mind was brought to your side and became a traitor. My grudge against you should be very deep, right? I haven't even been angry with you, so why are you angry with me?”
His explanation and recounting of the past left Duan Jiuyou speechless once again.
She's actually not a very reasonable person; she only considers her own feelings and never thinks deeply about whether she has wronged the other person.
Jiuyou said, "...Why are you talking so much today?"
Emperor Jiang sighed inwardly.
—It's not from the cold. My room is freezing; if I spent the night there, I'd definitely wake up freezing.
Duan Jiuyou added, "Didn't I want to be friends with you? I've been trying to make up for all the bad things that happened before. You see, I took care of you when you were cold, and I even had someone make soup for you when you were hungry. I just wanted to ease the tension. You've never been a petty person, so why are you bringing up these old grievances today?"
Di Jiang noticed that when Duan Jiuyou realized she was in the wrong, she would mix in some comforting words. At first glance, it sounded like she was admitting her mistake, but upon closer inspection, she was also showing off.
It was as if she had shamelessly brought out a book of achievements and was listing them one by one in front of him. She didn't have many achievements to boast about, but because she enlarged the font size, she made them seem very impressive.
Di Jiang looked at her and said, "Do you usually coax your immortal companions like this?"
Jiuyou quickly shook his head: "They don't need any coaxing. They'd be grateful if I didn't find fault with them. You're different from them. You're both a friend and a ruler. I'm more sincere to you than to them."
Therefore, he should be sincere with her, and he should be sincere in matters such as life and death. If he doesn't treat her as a friend, how can she have the authority to plead for Bai Yanxing in front of him in the future?
After thinking about all this, Duan Jiuyou didn't need Di Jiang to persuade him anymore; he calmed down his anger first.
She picked out two of the smoothest, brightest copper kettles from the hot water bottles that had been gathered in front of her and pushed them over, saying, "Take these two with you, they're the warmest."
Di Jiang saw that the hot water bottle hadn't moved. He had already warmed up the room, but when he listened to the howling wind outside the window, even the hottest copper kettle no longer smelled good.
He didn't want to leave and didn't take the hot water bottle. Duan Jiuyou thought he was feeling unwell, so he skillfully stretched out his arm to feel his pale, thin hand.
Is your old ailment about to flare up?
Duan Jiuyou's hands were warm, with soft knuckles that were easy to squeeze. Di Jiang turned his palm over and silently squeezed back, while casually piling the blankets and pillows aside: "No, it's just too cold, I can't stand the cold."
This was the second time Duan Jiuyou had asked Di Jiang this question.
He also said it was cold back then, but this time he unusually added a suffix.
He grasped her hand, his long eyelashes drooped, and the illusion cast on them vanished, revealing their true forms.
He transformed back into the aloof and cold-faced young deity, his luxurious cloak revealing subtle patterns on the cuffs, much like a god residing deep within a grand palace, overlooking all living beings.
It could be said that he couldn't stand the cold. How could such a proud and arrogant person say such a thing and only give two hot water bottles?
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