jealous
"Why are you here?"
After venting for a while, he was left with endless exhaustion. Yuan Ming's eyelids drooped, like a listless cat.
Zhong Yingqi stepped forward, his eyes quickly sweeping over the body of the guard whose eyes were still open. He helped Yuan Ming up and said nonchalantly, "Miss Rulan, I don't know where you've been. You took me wandering around outside."
He gave a bitter smile: "I sent Liu Zizhuang to protect you, but he couldn't catch up with you. Once you climbed over the wall, you disappeared. I had to guess where you went and bumped into you here by accident."
"Sending Liu Zizhuang to protect me, are you kidding me?" Yuan Ming was unwilling to play along. After being exposed, Zhong Yingqi said calmly: "Yes, I was kidding."
"Your Highness, how do you plan to deal with the body?"
Yuan Ming looked at him, examining him carefully, then pushed him aside without leaving a trace and walked over to the body. Under Zhong Yingqi's watchful eye, he grabbed the body's ankles and dragged it to an inconspicuous cave in the right front.
The dark cave entrance stared at Yuan Ming. Yuan Ming picked up a stone from the ground and threw it lightly. There was a hollow and deep sound. After a while, the stone fell to the bottom with a dull "dong" sound.
Yuan Ming grabbed the guard's ankles with both hands and threw the body into the cave like throwing a small stone. His eyes were calm and composed, and his movements were not slow at all.
She turned around, as if she had just seen Zhong Yingqi, and raised her eyebrows slightly. Then, with a nonchalant expression, she approached Zhong Yingqi and said, "Let's handle it this way."
At this moment, Yuan Ming was like a cold-blooded, ruthless and elegant executioner, doing the craziest things and making the most indifferent expression.
"That man looks like a guard under Zhang He."
"That's right." Yuan Ming nodded, picked up a clean leaf casually and wiped the dust off his hands.
Zhong Yingqi just looked at her without saying a word. Yuan Ming threw away the leaves, glanced at Zhong Yingqi, and also said nothing, leaving Zhong Yingqi alone without any scruples.
Did she know what Zhong Yingqi was thinking? Perhaps she could guess, but why should she care about those who stood in her way? She didn't care whether she was ruthless or selfish in the eyes of unimportant people. She just needed to fulfill her obsession.
That’s right, don’t worry about it.
Yuan Ming's body was shaking, and Zhong Yingqi held her hand again.
The rage that had been lingering in his heart made Yuan Ming unable to bear it any longer and he shook off Zhong Yingqi's hand. The distance between them remained at a delicate state, and Yuan Ming leaned forward slightly, as if ready to deal with Zhong Yingqi's attack at any time.
Zhong Yingqi silently took a step back and took the lead in giving in. Only then did Yuan Ming's tense body relax a little.
"Don't follow me anymore." Yuan Ming said this and walked away without looking back. Then he ran faster and faster until his tired feet tripped and Yuan Ming fell heavily to the ground.
Zhong Yingqi also came over. Seeing Yuan Ming fall, he hurried forward to support her, but was pushed away by Yuan Ming. She staggered to her feet, her expression angry but tears in her eyes.
What happened to her? Is she sick again?
Memories flooded Yuan Ming like a tide. She was angry, wailing, and crying in her memories. She was so cruel to herself that she looked so hideous. She wanted to kill herself so that she would no longer feel the heart-wrenching pain.
So she took out the dagger, which was still stained with the guard's blood, and pointed it at her heart without hesitation.
Zhong Yingqi held Yuan Ming's hands in a very dangerous manner, which prevented the sharp dagger from just touching his clothes.
"Your Highness, stop!"
Zhong Yingqi's action of resisting the dagger tightly made Yuan Ming's eyes flash with fierceness. She took advantage of Zhong Yingqi's unpreparedness, leaned on Zhong Yingqi's elbow with her backhand, and made a neat shoulder throw.
Zhong Yingqi felt the pain, but he refused to give in. He kicked the dagger out of Yuan Ming's hand and counterattacked Yuan Ming, reversing the offensive and defensive situation. Yuan Ming had previously exhausted all his strength and was now breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused.
Zhong Yingqi didn't dare to let his guard down. He knew Yuan Ming's abilities too well. He pressed down Yuan Ming's hands with both hands and lifted them above her head to prevent her from exerting force.
The two of them were in a stalemate, neither of them giving in. Yuan Ming tried to break free but to no avail and could only let Zhong Yingqi hold him down. He was as fragile as a fish at the mercy of others, breathing with difficulty, as if he was on the verge of death.
Zhong Yingqi was no less impressive. This was his first time fighting with Yuan Ming. As a general, he actually took advantage of the opponent's exhaustion to subdue him. He was worthy of being His Highness Yuan Ming and lived up to the evaluation given by General She You many years ago: a natural talent for martial arts.
The long period of suppression also made Zhong Yingqi sweat profusely. The two of them mixed their auras and were still competing with each other.
Yuan Ming was a woman of character; as long as she had a shred of strength left, she would never give in. Fortunately, her mind couldn't overcome her body, and Yuan Ming suddenly felt a sharp pain radiate through her body. When it reached her brain, she fainted from the pain.
Zhong Yingqi felt the power that was against him suddenly vanish without a trace, and his tense nerves instantly relaxed. Zhong Yingqi turned over and lay on the ground side by side with Yuan Ming.
The bright moon in the sky was already faintly visible. Zhong Yingqi looked at the moon, then at Yuan Ming, feeling confused in his heart - how should he get along with her in the future.
Before the sunlight completely disappeared, Zhong Yingqi carried the unconscious Yuan Ming on his back and knocked on the half-open courtyard door.
Rulan poked her head out of the house and exclaimed, "What happened to Yuan Ming?"
The two men, dusty and dusty, were ushered into the courtyard by Rulan. Yuan Ming collapsed on the bed, his eyes still tightly closed, but his breathing had become much calmer. Rulan checked his pulse and found he was fine.
Rulan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that General Zhong was still in the yard and hadn't even had a cup of hot tea, so she ran out, only to find that Zhong Yingqi had already left.
Rulan wondered, "Why are they all so busy?"
Zhong Yingqi walked alone on the road, thinking of Yuan Ming. He wondered why she had killed Guard Zhang He, why she was so upset, and why she was so wary of him.
He knew he didn't completely trust Yuan Ming, but he was genuinely worried about her current state of mind. It was just that Yuan Ming's constant hostility towards his concern made him feel...uncomfortable.
Yuan Ming was different from any woman he had ever met.
Although Zhong Yingqi is now staying in a cold and bitter place, he was a legitimate young man from a noble family before and had met many noble ladies in the capital.
He knew that girls liked delicate and exquisite objects. The pearl hairpins on their heads, the beautiful nails on their fingers, and the light gauze dresses they wore were all pleasing to the eyes.
Before meeting Yuan Ming, Zhong Yingqi had a very superficial understanding of women. They were beautiful and fragile, followed the rules, loved beautiful things, and needed strong people to protect them.
Although the reign of the Empress showed the world that women could hold the imperial power like men and no longer live in the backyard, Zhong Yingqi felt that most of the women he had met were delicate, as if they were just there to beautify the world and lacked the embodiment of "liveliness".
It was not until Yuan Ming appeared that he realized how shallow his previous thoughts were.
Compared with men who go out to explore the world, the noble ladies in the capital are protected by and controlled by the aristocratic families. When they are young, they have never really touched power, so they will be trained to become the kind of women that the aristocratic families need.
They are confined in precious cages, deprived of many possibilities from the very beginning. The price of powerlessness is cruel.
Therefore, the empress, standing at the pinnacle of power, allowed Yuan Ming to venture out into the world—a truly insightful decision. And Yuan Ming had no problem wasting this opportunity. She was like a flower blooming amidst ruins, enduring wind and rain, yet displaying more vitality than fake flowers displayed falsely.
It was this kind of Yuan Ming who led Zhong Yingqi to his current path.
After his fight with Yuan Ming, Zhong Yingqi was certain that his connection with her was more than just that. He could never forget the moment Yuan Ming's breath brushed against his lips, causing him to ignore everything else and focus only on the gentle sound of her breathing.
A wonderful soft and lazy feeling arose in his heart. Zhong Yingqi had never experienced this feeling before, and he was so excited that he could hardly breathe.
This should be love, otherwise what else can be called love. But Yuan Ming doesn't seem to like him.
The joy that had just arisen disappeared in an instant, replaced by tension. Zhong Yingqi held his head and thought, how did his parents get along?
The father was always buried in his study, rarely asking about family matters, only occasionally popping out to give his son some pointers on his homework to make his presence felt. The mother was even more indifferent. While the father would occasionally remember her son, the mother wouldn't even ask about him, as if he had never existed.
Zhong Yingqi couldn't find a solution from his parents, but fortunately, he had been raised by his third uncle since childhood and never took his parents' way of getting along for granted. However, his third uncle was an old bachelor, and the only emotional guidance Zhong Yingqi could get from him was loyalty.
My third uncle, also known as the Grand Secretary Zhong, had a crush on a girl when he was young. The girl was going to get engaged to my third uncle, but who would have known that the engagement was mistakenly made with General She You, who was fighting outside at the time.
Zhong Yingqi knew little about the love-hate entanglement of the previous generation. He only knew that the girl did not marry General She You, but died young due to a serious illness. His uncle never remarried.
I remember when Zhong Yingqi was a child, a matchmaker came to the mansion to propose marriage, saying that many people admired his uncle's loyalty, and many young ladies heard about this and wanted to marry into the Zhong family. Although his uncle later rejected them all, this incident left a deep impression on Zhong Yingqi.
Being focused on feelings is the most important thing for men and women to get along with each other.
Zhong Yingqi examined himself and thought that he could be considered focused on relationships. He was now nineteen years old, and some of the young masters he knew were fathers. Apart from holding hands with and hugging Yuan Ming, he had never had any contact with other women.
Zhong Yingqi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had passed the test in this regard. But then again, Yuan Ming was not an ordinary woman. Would she fall in love with him?
Back when Yuan Ming was still the princess, countless young men in the capital admired her. A young master who was familiar with Zhong Yingqi once revealed a piece of news to him.
It is said that the then Prime Minister Wen Cunxiao was deeply in love with His Highness Yuan Ming and once tried to persuade the Empress to give up on allowing His Highness to leave the palace, citing the unsafe conditions for him to travel abroad. This matter initially caused quite a stir, and the Empress almost gave in, but it was only when His Highness Yuan Ming voluntarily requested to leave the palace that the matter was dropped.
At that time, Zhong Yingqi didn't know much about Yuan Ming, so he didn't take the news seriously. Thinking about it now, he felt really jealous.
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