Chapter 188 A Knife
"Respect yourself."
These two words, like two invisible ice cones, pierced into Xiao Minglan's ears.
His body suddenly stiffened.
The eyes that had just been filled with ecstasy and pain of regaining what had been lost were now filled with complete astonishment and confusion.
"He'er?"
He called out again tentatively.
The voice was already trembling barely perceptibly.
Shen He did not respond.
She just stood there quietly, three feet away, looking at him coldly with the eyes of a stranger.
That look was more hurtful than her words.
Xiao Minglan's heart sank bit by bit, as if falling into a bottomless abyss.
The color on his face faded away bit by bit.
"you……"
He spoke with difficulty, his throat feeling like it had been rubbed with sandpaper.
"What do you mean by that?"
Shen He didn't even flutter his eyelashes.
She just looked at him calmly, as if she was stating something that had nothing to do with her.
"What it means is that the emperor has issued an order."
She paused and uttered the second half of the sentence clearly.
"I will marry His Highness the Sixth Prince on a chosen day."
"boom--!"
Xiao Minglan felt as if something in his brain exploded!
Get married?
With whom?
The Sixth Prince? That fool?!
He felt as if he had heard a huge joke, or as if the sharpest knife had stabbed him in the heart.
"Just because of that fool?"
Xiao Minglan was stunned at first, then a short and cold sneer came from his throat.
He stared at Chen He intently, his eyes bloodshot, like a trapped beast forced into a desperate situation.
"Chen He, look at me!"
He took a step forward, his voice filled with uncontrollable madness.
"I am a prince now too! I am also His Majesty's son!"
"If you just want the status of a prince's consort, how can I be inferior to him?"
His voice grew louder and louder, filled with resentment and questioning.
"I'm smarter than him, more sober than him, and more worthy of you than him!"
"That idiot, he can't protect you at all!"
Chen He listened to his almost roaring questioning without showing any emotion.
She didn't even raise an eyebrow.
"Minglan."
She called out softly.
These two words were clearly a term of endearment, but when they came out of her mouth, it was like a basin of ice water being poured over Xiao Minglan's head, instantly calming him down, and also instantly... chilling his heart.
"I'm helping you this time because of our past friendship."
She looked at him with a look that was so frank it was almost cruel.
"But to be honest,"
Her voice was soft, but every word was clear.
"It's more for myself."
"You are the most suitable knife to bring down Xiao Jingren and Shen Jiao, that's all."
A knife.
It turned out that he was just a knife in her hand.
Shen He seemed not to notice his pale face and continued.
“We are friends and allies.
She spoke each word clearly, as if she was pronouncing a verdict.
"But there has never been any love between men and women."
With the final blow, she raised her eyes, looked directly into his eyes that were twisted with pain, and spoke the most heartbreaking words in the calmest tone.
"I don't like you."
“…”
The wind seemed to have stopped completely at this moment.
The air solidified into a heavy piece of iron, pressing people so hard that they couldn't breathe.
Xiao Minglan's body shook violently.
"...don't like me?"
He seemed not to understand these four words and kept repeating them in a broken voice.
The blood completely drained from his face, leaving only a dead gray.
He looked at her with complete, undisguised defiance and madness in his eyes.
"You don't like me..."
He suddenly laughed, and his laugh was uglier than crying.
"Who do you like then?"
He suddenly raised his voice, as if questioning, or mocking himself.
"Do you like that idiot?!"
Facing Xiao Minglan's almost crazy questioning, there was not even a ripple on Shen He's face.
It was as if the "fool" she shouted at the top of her lungs was not referring to her future husband.
She even nodded slightly.
"yes."
One word.
Light and fluffy.
But it was as heavy as a thousand pounds and hit Xiao Minglan's heart hard.
He asked.
She answered.
As it should be.
The sarcasm and madness on Xiao Minglan's face froze in an instant.
He seemed to be struck by a bolt of lightning, and his whole body froze there, with only his scarlet eyes staring at her.
"I like him."
Shen He repeated it again, as if stating a very simple fact.
"I like Xiao Jingchi."
Her gaze passed over Xiao Minglan's shoulder and looked at a corner of the eaves on the distant palace wall. Her eyes revealed a hint of fatigue and yearning that she herself had not even noticed.
"He has a simple mind, is kind and lovely."
"When I'm with him, I don't have to guess, I don't have to be on guard, I don't have to constantly calculate what to do next."
"He doesn't go around in circles that much."
She withdrew her gaze and looked at Xiao Minglan again. Her eyes were as calm as a bottomless ancient pool.
"Unlike us."
Not like us.
These three words were like an invisible wall, instantly separating her and him into two worlds.
One is the simple and peaceful future she is about to go to.
The other was the quagmire filled with blood and conspiracy that they waded through together.
"I have exhausted all my strength to defeat Xiao Jingren and Shen Jiao."
Chen He's voice was soft, but it carried a sense of finality.
"Xiao Minglan, I don't want to think about anything anymore."
"I just want to... live a good life."
"I don't believe it!"
Xiao Minglan roared suddenly, and his handsome face was twisted with extreme pain and unwillingness.
"You're lying to me!"
He took a step forward like a madman and grabbed Shen He's wrist!
The force was so great that it seemed to crush her bones.
"Chen He, look into my eyes and say it!"
In his eyes, stubbornness and madness burst out again, like two burning will-o'-the-wisp.
"You said you liked that idiot! Say it again in front of me!"
There was a sharp pain in my wrist.
Shen He frowned, and a hint of cold disgust finally appeared in his eyes.
"Let go."
"I won't let go!"
Xiao Minglan held her tightly, as if this was the last piece of driftwood he could grab.
"Unless you tell me that all this is just your trick! You said it to me on purpose to get rid of me!"
"Sister He!"
Just when the two were in a stalemate, a clear and cheerful voice, like a ray of sunshine, suddenly penetrated the stagnant air.
Chen He and Xiao Minglan turned their heads to look at the same time.
Not far away, a young man in a royal blue brocade robe was running towards this side with light steps.
His eyebrows and features were as delicate as a painting, and his eyes were sparkling, as if filled with crushed starlight.
In his hand, he was holding a crystal clear sugar figure.
It’s Xiao Jingchi.
"Sister He!"
Xiao Jingchi ran over and saw Xiao Minglan holding Shen He's hand tightly.
His handsome brows wrinkled slightly, and his face showed a childish look of confusion and displeasure.
"Bad guy, let go of Sister He!"
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