Chapter 67 Demanding "If there is any loss, the whole world will know."...
The man's eyebrows were lowered, his dark eyes were wide open, and the flickering candlelight reflected in them. Seeing that Shi Wan was probably frightened, he gently repeated, "...I love you too."
He spoke so earnestly and cautiously that for a moment Shi Wan even thought he hadn't heard her clearly, and retorted, "Love? Is this how you express love?" After saying that, her gaze shifted to her wrist, where this guy was still shamelessly trying to pry open her knuckles and interlock her fingers.
"Let me go."
Recalling what the military doctor had said earlier, Jiang Xu stared intently at Shi Wan's face. Seeing her trembling with anger because of his words, he smiled contentedly and changed the subject, suddenly saying, "Summer will arrive in a few days."
After pausing for a few moments, seeing that the person in his arms had no intention of acknowledging him, he slowly loosened his grip on her hand and gently stroked the pulse beating on her wrist. After a while, sure enough, Shi Wan looked at him again.
Jiang Xu's expression remained unchanged. "Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Shi Wan said coldly, "I'm afraid you won't tell me what I want to know." Her words were sarcastic. "In the end, all you say are these nostalgic words."
Summer is approaching? Another summer is coming, and she may have to endure many more summers like this in the future.
"Besides leaving me... do you really not care at all how I've fared along the way?" Jiang Xu said slowly, "Or are all those comforting words you just said to me fake, just to coax me?"
"I haven't really hidden my feud with the Turks from you. You've been going out from time to time for the past month or so, and I've never brought up any settling of scores, have I?"
“I don’t want to.” Shi Wan interrupted him, her amber pupils revealing a hint of indifference and clear hatred in the dim light. “I’m so sleepy right now, I just want to dry my hair so I can sleep peacefully.”
It was nearly 9 PM, the stars were scattered and hidden in the darkness, and the occasional chirping of insects could be heard outside the window.
Jiang Xu paused for a moment, then picked up a handkerchief and began to twist her hair. The woman's long, cascading hair brushed against his fingers, bringing a slight tickle. After a quarter of an hour, once the hair had dried, he said, "You've been in your room for most of the day. Will you be able to sleep tonight?"
It seemed this meant he wanted to have a long talk with her by candlelight. Shi Wan glanced at him, feeling unlucky. "Aren't you going to sleep? Do you expect me to listen to your crazy nonsense?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xu stared intently at her, as if determined to get an answer and not allowing her to change the subject or evade it. "Battle reports should be delivered by special personnel. You've seen them. Don't you really want to ask me even the slightest bit of other questions?"
"What do you want to ask?" Seeing that he kept pressing the question, Shi Wan knew she couldn't escape it, so she simply said directly, "Since you have returned safely, there is nothing to ask."
"Then... what if I don't come back safely?" Jiang Xu put down the handkerchief, stroked the end of her hair, and asked casually, following up on her question, "What if that happens?"
"If there is any loss, the whole world will know."
Shi Wan said in a flat tone, "If it really comes to that, it won't be my place to ask."
Jiang Xu was speechless for a moment. The tender and gentle feelings that had arisen when he was wiping his black hair gradually faded away, and his heart was filled with coldness. However, he smiled and concluded, "You are indeed ruthless."
The man's large hand moved to Shi Wan's lower abdomen and suddenly said, "If you conceive in the summer, the weather will be perfect by the end of winter and the beginning of spring next year."
Shi Wan was extremely tired. Knowing that this person had returned today, she stayed in the room. Her heart was complicated, and she didn't rest much. When she heard the topic turn back to the matter of offspring, her voice unconsciously turned colder. "If you only think about these things all day long, then you shouldn't chat with me."
"What else is on my mind..." Jiang Xu seemed to smile slightly, but didn't continue. He noticed that her eyes were tired, her watery eyes blinked lightly, and she lowered her head slightly, revealing her long, fair neck. The intimacy that had just disappeared reappeared. He said, "If we don't chat, we can do some other fun things."
After saying that, seeing that Shi Wan couldn't help but want to yawn but was trying to suppress it, he chuckled and picked her up to carry her to the bed.
The two were already very familiar with each other. Shi Wan was extremely tired and let Jiang Xu serve her. As soon as she got on the bed, she shrank her body to the inside and decided to turn her back to him.
Soon, all the candles were extinguished. Until midnight, when she was half asleep, the man's kiss gently landed on her. In her daze, Shi Wan even had the illusion that all her senses had been taken over.
Soft, sign language drifted into my ears, mingled with the woman's soft moans.
Half-drunk, spring returns; the bed curtains sway gently; the edge of love and hate gradually dissolves.
......
The next day, the morning light was hazy, and the dappled sunlight gently drifted down, strangely revealing a touch of warmth.
On the bed, Shi Wan just woke up. As soon as she made a move, she was suddenly pulled into a familiar embrace.
She was half-awake, nestled obediently in Jiang Xu's arms. After a moment, she heard a teasing voice with a smile coming from above, "How did you get so tired?"
Shi Wan was still sleepy. Upon hearing this, she didn't even lift her eyelids and subconsciously replied, "Only you can get up at this early hour."
This person is determined to torment her and make her life miserable; he's really annoying.
Hearing the obvious anger in her voice, Jiang Xu was not annoyed at all. He gently stroked Shi Wan's face, gazed at her for a moment, and then got up.
Hearing the rustling noise, Shi Wan knew that this person was about to leave again to get busy. Judging that she probably wouldn't see him again, she coughed lightly twice and asked seriously, "Where's the medicine?"
"What medicine?" Jiang Xu finished dressing himself and then gestured for the maids to wait outside. "You're much better now. From now on, you only need to take this medicine once after lunch."
“You know what medicine I’m talking about.” Shi Wan didn’t like him, but seeing that Jiang Xu deliberately changed the subject, her drowsiness immediately disappeared. “A contraceptive decoction.”
Once, twice, and then a third time? Shi Wan gently rubbed her temples and repeated good-naturedly, "Give me the contraceptive soup."
Jiang Xu remained expressionless. After listening to her words, he raised an eyebrow and tucked the blanket around her, saying, "You've only just recovered. This medicine is cold in nature, so don't drink it anymore."
Shi Wan didn't look at him, remained silent for two breaths, and then said, "I already said it before, Jiang Xu, do I need to say it again?"
Jiang Xu's eyes grew cold as he suppressed his anger, his smile widening. "Don't be stubborn now."
"...If it is the will of Heaven, then we should submit to it."
“Comply with?” Shi Wan took a deep breath and said, “If a child shouldn’t be born, then not letting her be born into this world is what it means to comply with the will of Heaven.”
"You're really that unwilling to have my child?" Jiang Xu had known for a long time that she was unwilling, but during his campaign this time, he let her wander around outside, and heard some words of concern. There was always a slightly different voice in his heart, murmuring and making him fantasize.
What if she actually changed her mind a little?
What if she was just overthinking things?
The greater the hope, the more it will be hurt by Shi Wan's sharp attitude. "My heart's desire has never changed."
"Well said, well said, every word is precious." Jiang Xu's last glimmer of hope was extinguished. The foolishness of self-deception and the anger of being repeatedly refuted swirled in his heart. His face darkened for a moment. Staring at Shi Wan's stubborn appearance that refused to back down, he said coldly, "Then give up on that idea."
"Fate is predetermined." He said no more, and simply turned and left.
Seeing Jiang Xu leave, the maids who were waiting outside hesitated and stood outside the door, peeking out their heads. Only after Shi Wan told them to wash up and have a meal did they hurry into the room.
While the two were entangled, the sunlight outside was just right, casting regular diamond-shaped spots of light through the carved window lattice. Shi Wan sat upright on the soft stool, looked up at the window, and stared wide-eyed as if torturing herself. After a while, she finally closed her eyes.
Is fate predetermined?
Human effort can make a difference, and fate cannot be changed.
*
Inside the study, as soon as Jiang Xu arrived, he began discussing matters with Xiao Chijie, Jing Yan, and others.
"Your Majesty, news of the Jingbei Army's great victory over the Turks has reached Luoyang, shocking the court and the public. According to news from the Directorate of Ceremonial, a peace treaty is expected to be delivered soon."
Seeking peace? Jiang Xu scoffed, recalling the time he waited for a message from the court a long time ago. "Times have changed." When he couldn't get any news, he even sent someone to Luoyang in secret. Although the matter was kept secret, Ning Hong was certainly able to find out something, but the result was the same. Now that things have come to this, there's nothing more to say.
However, as the saying goes, fortunes change every thirty years.
"If a letter arrives, remain still." Jiang Xu was deep in thought. Noticing Jing Yan's uneasy expression, he said, "Wait and see. Perhaps there will be other 'surprises'."
After speaking, he gently patted the other man's shoulder, "I have my own plan regarding Wan Houyi's defection. The fault does not lie with you, so there is no need to worry about it."
This person had already shown some signs of trouble, and now the important question is where to go after escaping.
For a moment, everyone below fell silent. Xiao Chijie and Jing Yan exchanged a glance but said nothing. By the time the meeting was completely over, it was already 11:45 PM.
As night deepened and all around was quiet, Jiang Xu got up and went back to his room. Shi Wan was already fast asleep. As soon as he entered, the maids prepared water and lit lamps. Although the process was simplified, it was still inevitable that some noise would be made.
Shi Wan was woken up by the noise. She opened her eyes groggily and, as expected, saw Jiang Xu had just finished bathing and was walking briskly to the bedside. She pretended to be still half asleep, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly.
Jiang Xu saw her little trick and, in addition to anger, felt a surge of impulsiveness again.
He knew that Shi Wan didn't like being watched by him or seeing him. For more than a month, he stayed away from her and used a gentle approach, making concessions step by step.
Compared to the past, there has been considerable progress.
Can......
She still avoided him.
From operating covertly to now openly evading responsibility, he is even unwilling to have children for him.
They weren't even willing to leave behind the slightest possibility.
This is what she meant by "also having feelings for him?"...
A voice faintly whispered in his ear, bewitching him, listing Shi Wan's crimes one by one: she had deceived him countless times, and given the chance, she would surely escape from him.
Just like the previous two times, he turned his back without looking back, completely and utterly.
In the past, there would always be another voice of rebuttal, but at this moment, it gradually dissipated. Jiang Xu listened attentively, and now, he could only hear silence, followed by a demonic echo.
An endless, protracted echo.
He read each word and phrase carefully, without getting tired of it.
They mocked his feigned magnanimity and exposed the unease hidden in his heart.
A multitude of complex emotions, like threads, tightly bound the two together, leaving no gaps. When Jiang Xu looked up, all he saw was Shi Wan's quiet back.
She remained motionless, as if unaware that he was beside her, and that the two were in the same space.
He... was looking at her.
Jiang Xu stood up, his face cold, and pulled her into his arms. This time, he barely used any force. He remained silent, gazing down at her. Sensing that Shi Wan was feigning composure, he suddenly smiled, as if the clouds had dispersed.
Yes...why bother?
He held power and was at the height of his prestige; whoever he wanted, he could easily obtain.
Moreover, Shi Wan herself admitted it.
She had feelings for him.
If there is affection, that is enough; the remaining hatred is not worth mentioning.
Jiang Xu put his arm around her with one hand, then, regaining his senses, reached out with his other hand to untie Shi Wan's belt.
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