Yan Jue often thought that if he hadn't met Jiang Zhijing, he might have died long ago.
She was like a bright spot that suddenly burst into his dull and monotonous life, abrupt yet dazzling, bringing a rare revival to his decaying and numb soul.
When he first met Jiang Zhijing, the other was being chased and, in desperation, hid in his carriage.
Coincidentally, that day was the anniversary of his mother's death. He had planned to spend the rest of his life on that day, but her appearance disrupted his plans.
Jiang Zhijing was injured, but she was alert and decisive. Before she could grab him, she deliberately showed weakness, her eyes bright and lively, "Could I hide here for a while?"
She blinked pitifully, her face growing paler from blood loss, like a fragile little animal. "I owe so much debt, and they're going to capture me and sell me."
She probably didn't realize that she wasn't suited to a subservient posture; even if she verbally showed weakness, her fierce ambition would still be revealed in her eyes.
Perhaps seeing that Yan Jue was just a weak and helpless young master, she even made up a very perfunctory excuse.
Yan Jue coughed lightly, his pale face covered with a faint blush. Jiang Zhijing smelled a strong medicinal scent on him, the kind that comes from years of exposure.
Looking at him coughing and struggling to breathe, she thought without any pity:
Tsk, he's still a sickly person.
Jiang Zhijing was seriously injured. She had become separated from her guards and was in Daqing territory, where she was practically alone and had no relatives or friends. She didn't even have any money, so she had no choice but to shamelessly cling to Yan Jue's side.
She mistook Yan Jue for a naive, compassionate young master from a noble family who was oblivious to the hardships of life, because his appearance was so gentle and harmless.
Taking advantage of his kind heart, she bossed him around and bullied him without restraint, and took it all for granted.
Little did they know that it was filled with black sesame paste.
Yan Jue knew, of course, that Jiang Zhijing's identity was shrouded in mystery, and that her fabricated background was full of holes and could not withstand scrutiny.
But what does that have to do with him? He doesn't even care about his own life or death, so why would he care about others?
The reason Jiang Zhijing was kept is probably because... she's interesting, like a sudden gust of wind stirring up a wasteland.
Discovering that the other person was a man dressed as a woman was actually a coincidence.
Jiang Zhijing was very weak that day. She had a slight discomfort in her abdomen, but she didn't think too much about it because she was still recovering from serious injuries.
She was bored during her free time, so she would tease Yan Jue whenever she had nothing to do. He would cough when he got excited, and his face would turn red when he coughed. He was very easily teased.
Jiang Zhijing had guessed Yan Jue's identity. He lived alone in such a large mansion, surrounded by servants who were respectful but not close to him, and his family had never come to visit him.
She thought to herself, unfazed, that he was probably the illegitimate child of some wealthy family.
As she stood up, Yan Jue looked at her with a somewhat strange expression. Jiang Zhijing took two steps and heard his slightly hesitant voice:
"you……"
She turned around and saw that his face was very red. Strange, she hadn't teased him, so why was he blushing?
"What's wrong?"
Yan Jue coughed lightly, pressed her lips to her face, and hurriedly turned her face away, her voice muffled: "Your clothes... seem to be dirty."
Jiang Zhijing lowered her eyes and looked down, feeling a chill run through her body—
A small patch of dazzling red stained the hem of her pristine robe.
Although she was raised as a boy, she was not completely ignorant of the physiological characteristics of women.
She lived in a place like the palace, and to prevent her identity from being discovered, her mother secretly gave her medicine to suppress her growth and development.
Therefore, Jiang Zhijing never expected that her first period would suddenly arrive under such circumstances.
The first thought that flashed through my mind was to kill Yan Jue.
She was taught from a young age that she should keep her identity a secret even if it meant death, because if someone found out, it would be a fatal disaster!
She looked up at Yan Jue, a flash of murderous intent crossing her eyes.
Yan Jue keenly sensed something, but the chilling killing intent vanished in an instant. He saw Jiang Zhijing striding aggressively towards him, grabbing his collar, and warning him fiercely:
"You sickly brat, if you dare tell anyone about this, you're dead!"
She looked down at his sickly appearance and suddenly felt deflated.
He didn't know her identity, and even if he did, it wouldn't matter.
His background is so pitiful; it would be too tragic if he were to lose his life because of a moment of kindness.
After playing the innocent little rabbit for so long, the sudden revelation of her fierce nature would surprise most people. However, Yan Jue simply stared at her, his gaze somewhat unfocused. After a long while, he slowly spoke, obediently saying:
"good."
"..."
Jiang Zhijing felt a sense of frustration, like punching cotton.
...
Since that incident, Jiang Zhijing has stopped pretending and her true nature has been revealed. It's become common for her to boss him around.
For example, right now, she came to him in a rage, demanding an explanation: "You sickly brat, do you want to die?"
Yan Jue good-naturedly looked up from her book, her eyes filled with doubt: "What?"
"You dare to say that?" Jiang Zhijing glared at him fiercely. "Why did you have someone prepare women's clothes for me out of the blue?"
Yan Jue suddenly realized, and smiled gently: "I thought you would like it."
Jiang Zhijing took a deep breath: "What do you think?"
Yan Jue: "You kept staring at the maid's hairpins before, I thought you wanted to wear one too."
Her face flushed instantly: "Shut up!"
He tilted his head slightly, puzzled: "You are a girl, why can't you wear a skirt and jewelry?"
Jiang Zhijing's expression shifted unpredictably, but in the end she only muttered under her breath, "What do you know?"
In the end, she secretly changed into that dress and stared blankly at herself in the mirror.
So this is her.
I never knew she could be so beautiful.
"...Is it pretty?"
Yan Jue scrutinized the girl with an awkward expression; she nervously clutched her skirt, her ear tips flushed red.
Seeing the other person's increasingly agitated expression, he nodded and replied with a smile, "It's beautiful."
Jiang Zhijing snorted and raised her chin: "That's because the person is good-looking!" The corners of her mouth turned up in a smug way, but she quickly fell back down, her face looking gloomy. "I'd better not wear it out."
Yan Jue gazed at her silently, offering no further advice.
He thought to himself:
Wearing it only for him to see seems like a good idea.
*
A man has appeared beside the Empress.
This is a recent development in the State of Qi, and everyone is speculating whether their emperor is about to have a good event.
Yan Jue had never been so annoyed by anyone.
His gloomy eyes silently gazed at Liu Yifu, who was discussing political affairs with Jiang Zhijing, and silently tortured him a thousand times with his gaze.
Liu Yifu entered the hall with a calm expression. He paused as he passed by, then nodded and greeted him, "Fourth Prince."
Yan Jue was too lazy to correct his form of address, and smiled slowly: "Doesn't Lord Liu think he's superfluous?"
Liu Yifu's eyes showed a hint of doubt, but he quickly understood and said frankly, "I don't think so."
Ignoring the other person's darkening gaze, he kindly advised, "Your Highness, instead of brooding here, you should express your feelings as soon as possible to avoid missing a good opportunity."
Otherwise, given Jiang Zhijing's slow-witted nature, she probably would never have noticed it in her lifetime.
After he finished speaking, he left gracefully, leaving Yan Jue alone on the spot with a gloomy expression.
Back at his residence, Yan Jue sneered, picked up his pen, and wrote a letter to Shen Tangning, asking her to persuade Liu Yifu to return home.
Others' words might not matter, but if she spoke up, Liu Yifu would definitely waver.
Although, this letter is very likely to be intercepted by that bastard Chi Yan.
But it doesn't matter, if he's unhappy, no one else can be happy either.
...
Yan Jue sometimes felt that his personality was extremely twisted. He was possessive, jealous, and couldn't stand Jiang Zhijing's gaze falling on others.
He would be insanely jealous if she even glanced at someone else!
Sometimes he even thought of building a cage to lock her up, so that she could only live by depending on him.
Because of her pride, once he actually did that, there was no turning back.
She's come this far with great difficulty, how could he bear to destroy it all with his own hands?
Therefore, he could only suppress his desires and firmly bind the beast within him.
But wild beasts always have a time when they break free of their cages.
Recently, court officials have repeatedly advised Jiang Zhijing to expand her harem and select a new imperial consort, a matter that has caused her great distress.
Yan Jue glanced at the pile of portrait paintings, concealing the darkness in his eyes, and asked her gently, "Do you have anyone in mind?"
Jiang Zhijing glanced at her sideways, somewhat displeased: "Why are you joining in the commotion too?" She pouted, her irritation barely concealed in her eyes, "I get annoyed just looking at that pile of documents. Are they all just bored and have nothing better to do? They don't do their jobs, they're always staring at this nonsense!"
She only has her career on her mind now, and she hates being controlled by others. No one can make decisions for her. If she gets married one day, it will only be because she wants to, not because she is forced into it!
Clearly, she thought Yan Jue had also come to persuade her.
He lowered his eyes and said calmly, "If you don't want to, then don't worry about it. They can't force you."
Jiang Zhijing was finally appeased and curled the corners of her mouth: "We still need to find them something to do."
As Yan Jue gazed at her bright and beautiful eyes, a dark thought silently grew in his heart.
Even if she's unwilling now, what about later?
If one day she meets someone she likes...
He didn't want to think about it anymore.
Boiling a frog in lukewarm water is a safe approach, but he doesn't have much time left.
...
"Why did you suddenly decide to drink?" Jiang Zhijing asked curiously. "Is your body capable of handling alcohol?"
Yan Jue remained calm and composed: "The doctor said that my health has recovered quite a bit, and drinking alcohol in moderation is fine."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up, her joy overflowing. "It seems the medicine really works. I'll have someone find some more later!"
She enthusiastically discussed the future, saying, "Once you're feeling better, we'll go out and explore the beautiful landscapes of our country."
Yan Jue gazed at her calmly:
That's wonderful; he's actually in her future.
He rarely reflected on himself and felt that what he was about to do was extremely despicable.
But he didn't want to keep enduring it.
He drank very little, but Jiang Zhijing drank without restraint. She had a good alcohol tolerance, but even she couldn't keep up with this level of drinking.
"Do you know what people outside are saying about me?" She tilted her head back, her dark eyes shining brightly, though it was hard to tell if they were glistening with tears. "She murdered her father and brothers, and forced the emperor to abdicate."
She suddenly laughed, her eyes bright and firm. "But I don't care. I'm the one who decides what kind of person I am."
Yan Jue gazed at her silently for a long time: "It's enough that I know what kind of person you are."
Jiang Zhijing's eyes were slightly hazy with intoxication as she looked at him with a smile: "Then tell me, what am I like in your eyes?"
Those burning, intense eyes made Yan Jue's heart skip a beat, and she involuntarily opened her lips:
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