Chapter 169: The Beast King is Seriously Ill in Bed
The evening breeze blew the fallen leaves in the yard across the stone table. Sheng Ran's eyes were cold and calm.
Tu Shanyi was sitting opposite her, only separated by a table, but it felt like there were thousands of miles between them.
For the first time, he felt that the schemes he had honed so well in the infighting within the fox clan had now become the sharpest knives, cutting him and her apart.
"Wife... I know I was wrong." His voice trembled uncontrollably, and his fox eyes, which usually carried a certain amount of indifference, were now red. "Please don't... don't do this to me."
Sheng Ran suppressed her emotions and didn't look at him. Her eyes fell on the flickering candlelight in the distance. Her voice was as light as thin smoke: "What's wrong?"
Tu Shanyi's Adam's apple rolled violently, "I...I shouldn't have tried to lie to you to get back to you."
"In our fox clan, results and interests always come first."
His voice lowered, carrying a hint of helplessness unique to the fox clan, as well as a denial of himself.
"My father taught me that even if I had to cheat or rob, as long as I could survive and achieve my goal, it was right. I thought... I thought this would be the fastest way to get back to you and protect you, but I forgot..."
"You forgot that what I want is sincerity." Sheng Ran finished the second half of the sentence for him. There was no anger in her tone, only a hint of fatigue.
"Tu Shanyi, you established the Chamber of Commerce and fought against my uncles. I know you did it to protect me. But have you ever considered that what I want is not a president of the Jiuyao Chamber of Commerce who is all-powerful but full of lies, but a Tu Shanyi who will tell me the truth, even if it means admitting that he is temporarily incapable."
Tu Shanyi froze in place, the coolness from his fingertips spreading through his blood vessels to his heart.
His voice was filled with tears. "I shouldn't have used the rules of the fox tribe on you. I shouldn't have thought I was smart by lying to you. My dear wife, you can scold me or hit me, but don't look at me like that. Don't be estranged from me..."
He stretched out his hand and tried to touch the corner of her clothes cautiously, but as soon as his fingertips touched the fabric, Sheng Ran gently pushed it away.
It's not disgust, but a kind of alienation that makes him "dare not get close anymore". This alienation makes him more uncomfortable than beating or scolding.
"I'm not angry with you." Sheng Ran looked at his red eyes, her heart seemed to be blocked by something, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid that what I thought was sincerity was actually all your calculations; I'm afraid that my concern for you is just evidence of your plan going smoothly in your eyes; I'm afraid that I have never really known you."
Tu Shanyi's heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by a hand, and the pain was so severe that he couldn't breathe.
"No." He finally squeezed out a few words, tears sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the stone table, leaving small stains. "My feelings for you have never been fake. I built the Chamber of Commerce to protect you, and I lied to you because I was afraid of losing you. These are all true. My wife, please believe me once, just this once..."
Sheng Ran didn't say anything, just looked at him quietly. The rosy glow emerged from behind the clouds, shining on Tu Shanyi's face, reflecting the panic and regret in his eyes.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Tu Shanyi suddenly took a step forward and gently held her wrist regardless of her dodging.
His palms were cold, with calluses from years of holding a pen and doing accounts, but he gripped them lightly, as if afraid to break a rare treasure. "Wife, I will never lie to you again. I'll show you the Chamber of Commerce's account books. My enemies will tell you, if you're worried, I can give you the seal of the Jiuyao Chamber of Commerce and you can manage it however you want."
His tone was too humble, unlike that of the president of the Jiuyao Chamber of Commerce who was rumored to be a big shot in the Beast World business world. Instead, it sounded like a child who was willing to give up all his armor and weaknesses in order to keep something precious.
Sheng Ran moved her fingertips and looked at his red eyes. The ice in her heart seemed to melt a little, but she still felt blocked.
Seeing that her attitude had softened, Tu Shanyi pressed the issue, adding, "At worst, I'll even tell you about the time when I was a kid and got beaten for stealing fruit from a neighbor's house. My dear wife, please don't ignore me..."
Seeing that he was about to act like a rogue, Sheng Ran finally regained a sense of familiarity.
Yes, this is the Tu Shanyi she knows.
Disrespectful, unreliable, and shameless.
She suddenly couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
She picked up the soup bowl on the table, scooped a spoonful, and handed it to Tu Shanyi's mouth.
Tu Shanyi was stunned for a moment, then quickly opened his mouth and drank it. The warm soup slid down his throat, warming not only his stomach but also his heart, which was hanging in the air.
He looked at Sheng Ran, and the panic in his eyes gradually dissipated, leaving only cautious joy.
"It won't happen again." Sheng Ran put down the soup bowl, her tone calm but firm, "I don't like being deceived, and I don't like facing a fake you."
"Never again." Tu Shanyi nodded immediately, even his voice became lighter. He held her hand tightly, but was afraid of hurting her, so he quickly loosened his grip.
The atmosphere in the yard gradually warmed up.
When Pei Xiaoxing saw her start to drink the soup, he quietly pushed the soup pot towards her, making sure she could reach it.
The other beastly husbands also felt relieved and could finally celebrate their wives' birthdays happily.
Tu Shanyi sat next to Sheng Ran, without saying any sweet words, but just quietly peeled oranges for her.
His movements were gentle, his nails avoiding the white threads on the orange segments, and he only brought the sweetest flesh to her mouth.
Her hair was messed up by the wind, so he took out the jade comb he carried with him and gently helped her to tidy it up. When his fingertips touched her hair, he subconsciously paused for fear of hurting her.
——Only he, who is obviously a male beast, carries a jade comb with him and lives a more refined life than Sheng Ran.
After eating half a bowl of soup, Sheng Ran suddenly remembered something and looked at Tu Shanyi: "You came to Central City early just to hold a banquet for me?"
Tu Shanyi's hand that was peeling the orange paused, then he shook his head. The gentleness in his eyes faded a little, and became sharper.
"Not entirely. Sheng Ci and Situ Yu's power is more solid than it appears. I want to use the banquet as an excuse to test their bottom line."
He lowered his voice, even breathing more gently, and mentioned a suspicious thing he had discovered.
"The Beast Queen hasn't made a public appearance in three months. Rumors from the palace say she's seriously ill in bed, but I've found out that people from the Holy Female Palace are sending medicine to the palace every week. And it's the kind of chronic medication that's under extremely strict control."
Sheng Ran's fingertips suddenly stopped, and the soup spoon splashed small drops of water in the bowl.
"Seriously ill?" Her voice was soft, with a barely perceptible tremor.
"It looks like someone drugged her." Tu Shanyi lowered his voice, his eyes filled with solemnity. "What's even more coincidental is that the shop that supplies medicine to the royal family is owned by the same owner as the one where you bought the aphrodisiac fruit half a year ago."
As soon as these words were spoken, the yard instantly became quiet and everyone held their breath.
Sheng Ran's face paled a little, and some memories flashed through her mind.
The original owner wanted to buy aphrodisiac fruit to knock Situ Yu unconscious, but in the end the medicine turned out to be a deadly poison, and she was sentenced to exile.
No matter how vicious and tyrannical the original owner was, he did not have the courage or means to obtain drugs of this level. There must be something fishy going on.
Seeing that her face was not right, Tu Shanyi quickly held her hand tightly, his tone full of comfort: "My dear wife, don't worry, I have asked someone to check the pharmacy. The owner's background and supply channels will be found out soon."
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