Double Jealousy
Just as his lips were about to touch hers!
"Let her go!"
A chilling voice, filled with boundless rage, boomed like thunder outside the pavilion!
Jiang Wanzhi suddenly came to her senses and looked in the direction of the sound. She saw Zongzheng Hengyu standing at the entrance of Tingfeng Pavilion!
His ankle injury was clearly not yet healed, and his face was paler than usual, but his deep eyes were like ice, sharp enough to pierce through people's hearts, fixed on Prince Zhao and Jiang Wanzhi who were almost touching.
How could he be here?! And to witness this scene! Jiang Wanzhi's heart sank to the bottom.
King Zhao paused, slowly straightened up, and looked at Zongzheng Hengyu outside the pavilion. His face regained its usual gentleness, but there was a hint of displeasure and coldness in his eyes: "Ninth brother? Your injuries have not healed. Why are you here?"
Zongzheng Hengyu ignored his question and walked into the pavilion step by step. Although his steps were slightly sluggish due to his injury, the cold pressure emanating from his body made the air in the entire pavilion almost freeze.
His gaze remained fixed on Jiang Wanzhi from beginning to end, and when he saw her pale and panicked face, the coldness in his eyes intensified.
He walked straight to Jiang Wanzhi's side, and with an absolute possessiveness, reached out and, instead of pulling her, firmly and directly grasped her wrist, lifting her from the stone bench and shielding her behind him. His actions were filled with undeniable domineering power.
"My fiancée is none of your concern, Brother Zhao, with the trouble of instructing her in etiquette." Zongzheng Hengyu's voice was not loud, but each word was like an ice bead falling, carrying a chilling coldness and a clear declaration. He deliberately emphasized the words "fiancée."
Jiang Wanzhi was protected behind him, and the burning heat of his palm on her wrist, along with his strong protective posture, made her heart race and a strange heat surge through her body.
King Zhao's composure finally crumbled, and he said in a deep voice, "Ninth Brother, the ceremony is not yet complete, so it is premature to speak like this. Besides, Wan Zhi and I are merely having a conversation here."
"Does a conversation require such intimacy?" Zongzheng Hengyu's gaze was cold, like an invisible blade sweeping over Prince Zhao. "I understand Prince Zhao's thoughts. But I hope you will remember the importance of propriety."
He paused, his tone carrying an absolute and unyielding authority, "Now that she is betrothed to me, she is my person. No one should have any improper thoughts or overstep their bounds."
These words were an extremely serious warning, almost tearing away the last veil of warmth between brothers.
King Zhao's face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists hidden in his sleeves. He looked at Jiang Wanzhi, who was being firmly protected behind King Heng and whose head was bowed, and then at his elder brother, who was still imposing even when injured. He knew that he had completely lost the battle today.
"Heh..." King Zhao suddenly chuckled, his laughter filled with endless mockery and coldness. "Since that's the case, then I'll wait and see."
He gave Jiang Wanzhi a deep look, his eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions, including disappointment, resentment, and a sense of resolute determination. Then he turned around, flicked his sleeves, and strode away from Tingfeng Pavilion.
After King Zhao's figure disappeared at the end of the bamboo path, only Zongzheng Hengyu and Jiang Wanzhi remained in the Listening Wind Pavilion.
Zongzheng Hengyu slowly released his grip, still keeping Jiang Wanzhi protected behind him. He turned around and looked down at her.
The cold anger he felt when facing King Zhao in those deep eyes had not completely dissipated; instead, it settled into a darker, more compelling emotion, which was locked onto Jiang Wanzhi.
Jiang Wanzhi felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. The guilt and panic she felt when facing Prince Zhao had not yet subsided, and now she was enveloped by this even more oppressive gaze. She subconsciously took half a step back, wanting to create some distance.
This small action seemed to have triggered a switch.
Zongzheng Hengyu took a step forward. Due to his foot injury, his movements were not fast, but his relentless pressure made Jiang Wanzhi feel suffocated.
"He touched you?" he asked, his voice lower and hoarse than before, carrying a barely suppressed yet still leaking surging jealousy and a dangerous signal.
Jiang Wanzhi's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly shook her head, her voice trembling slightly: "No, no... Your Highness saw it, didn't you? It was just... just talking..."
"Do we need to get so close to talk?" Zongzheng Hengyu interrupted her, his tone icy, filled with undisguised doubt and dissatisfaction. "Do we need him to hold your hand?" His gaze fell on the hand that had just been covered by Prince Zhao, his eyes darkening.
Jiang Wanzhi subconsciously pulled her hand back into her sleeve, as if that would shield her from his burning gaze. "Your Highness, I..." She wanted to explain, but found words so inadequate at this moment.
"Jiang Wanzhi." Zongzheng Hengyu uttered her name, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying an emotion that was suppressed to the extreme. "You seem not to have taken my words from yesterday to heart."
Jiang Wanzhi's cheeks flushed, and her heart pounded like a drum. She remembered, how could she not remember? The sensation of that kiss was still vividly imprinted on her senses.
"Or is it," Zongzheng Hengyu's eyes darkened further at her silence, and he moved closer again, so close they could almost feel each other's breath, "that I am not as gentle as him? Not as good as him at... making you happy?"
He had never expressed this emotion so openly before. He had always been cold, restrained, and in control.
He never bothered to compare himself to others, and rarely showed his emotions so openly. But King Zhao's tender probing just now, and Jiang Wanzhi's momentary failure to dodge, were like a tiny but sharp thorn, piercing his usually calm and composed mind.
He couldn't tolerate it. Now that she was engaged to him, and now that he had made up his mind, her heart could only belong to him.
Looking at his handsome face so close to hers, and the intense emotions and jealousy in his eyes that seemed to devour her, Jiang Wanzhi felt extremely flustered.
She could sense the dangerous aura emanating from him, a kind of possessiveness that was different from King Zhao's gentle probing.
Just as Zongzheng Hengyu lowered his head, with an irresistible aura, intending to seize her lips again, to declare his ownership in the most direct way and erase all traces that should not exist...
Jiang Wanzhi abruptly turned her head, avoiding the kiss that was about to fall.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
Zongzheng Hengyu froze. He remained bent over, a hint of disbelief flashing in his deep eyes.
She actually... dodged it?
Jiang Wanzhi herself was stunned. She didn't know why she had dodged. Was it an unconscious reaction to the lingering guilt she felt towards Prince Zhao? Or was it an instinctive resistance to Prince Heng's almost predatory and domineering nature?
Or perhaps, deep down, she still harbors a trace of resentment and confusion regarding this unquestionable possession?
She dared not look him in the eye, and Zongzheng Hengyu slowly straightened up. He did not get angry, nor did he question her; he simply glanced at her with eyes that had returned to their usual calm state, devoid of any warmth.
"You'd better watch yourself." He parted his thin lips slightly, uttering only these two words, revealing no emotion whatsoever. Then, he stopped looking at her, turned around, his steps slightly heavy due to his injuries, and slowly left the Listening Wind Pavilion.
Watching his retreating, cold, and lonely figure, Jiang Wanzhi stood alone, feeling a void in her heart. The early autumn wind blew by, carrying a chill to the bone.
She seemed to... push him further away.
This avoidance hurt his pride as a prince and his true feelings—which he rarely showed to others—far more deeply than any words.
…………
From the unpleasant parting at Tingfeng Pavilion until the autumn hunting party returned to the capital, Jiang Wanzhi was unable to have any further contact with either Prince Heng or Prince Zhao.
On Hengwang's side, there was utter desolation, as if a Siberian cold front had passed through.
The same situation occurred with King Zhao. He left early, returned to his residence, and then secluded himself inside, with no further news coming from him.
The disappointment and pain in his eyes that day at Tingfeng Pavilion seemed to have been locked away in the deep courtyard of the Prince's mansion along with his silence.
This simultaneous "disappearance" from both sides caused Jiang Wanzhi to gradually fall into a deeper sense of unease and self-doubt after her initial relief.
Inside Wanzhi Pavilion, Jiang Wanzhi stared blankly out the window, engaging in her nth profound self-criticism:
Jiang Wanzhi, Jiang Wanzhi, look at the mess you've made! Her inner monologue began again:
One is a ruthless and decisive bigwig in the original work who may wield immense power in the future. You've offended him thoroughly, and before the wedding even takes place, he's already banished to the cold palace!
The other one is a gentle and considerate person with whom you share a lot of common interests and potential. You ignored their feelings, and now they've lost heart and gone offline!
She rubbed her temples in frustration. What kind of master of balancing things is this? Did I just spill both bowls of water?
She recalled her hesitation when facing King Zhao and her avoidance when facing King Heng, and her heart was filled with helpless complaints.
What to do now? King Heng is an unyielding iceberg; even getting close requires courage. Coax him? What can we use to coax him?
His Highness Prince Zhao is good-tempered, but after I responded like that, how can I still have the face to ask for forgiveness?
She lay slumped on the soft couch, like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams. Was my ancient life destined to end prematurely with the cold treatment from Prince Heng and the disappointment from Prince Zhao? Heavens!
Just as she was immersed in the soul-searching question, "I examine myself three times a day: Why am I so awful? Why am I so stupid? Is there any hope for me?"...
Chun Tao rushed in again, her face showing obvious anxiety.
"Miss! Something terrible has happened! It's being said outside... outside, that His Highness Prince Zhao is ill! Very ill!" Chun Tao lowered her voice, but could not hide the shock in it.
Jiang Wanzhi sat up abruptly from the couch, her heart clenching as if gripped by an invisible hand: "Sick? What happened? You were perfectly fine just a few days ago?"
Could it be that she fell ill from worry after the Listening to the Wind Pavilion incident? This thought overwhelmed her with guilt.
“This servant doesn’t know the specifics either. I only heard that His Highness fell ill after returning to the manor. The imperial physician went several times, and he took a lot of medicine, but there was no improvement. He became very thin and emaciated… It is said that… it is said that a heart ailment requires a heart remedy…” Chun Tao said, while carefully observing Jiang Wanzhi’s expression.
Heart disease... Heart medicine...
These words struck Jiang Wanzhi's heart like a heavy hammer. She was almost certain that King Zhao's illness was related to her.
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