Chapter 233: Acting
At that time, when he saw it, he was so scared that he vomited on the spot.
He also realized that this man sitting in the wheelchair was not as weak as he appeared on the surface, and he could not afford to provoke him.
He could only accept becoming the Fifth Princess’s male concubine.
Otherwise, his fate would be about the same as that man’s.
Lin Ningkun twisted his body violently due to the pain, his wig fell off his head, and his mask also fell off.
Looking at this ugly appearance, Jiang Kui’s eyes showed disdain.
He let go of his hand, took out a handkerchief, and slowly wiped the place he had touched Lin Ningkun earlier, then directly shattered the handkerchief with his internal energy.
“Next time if you act out of line again, your fate will be like this handkerchief, but you won’t shatter into pieces so easily; you will taste all kinds of wonderful things.”
He bit down especially hard on the word “wonderful.”
The deep cold voice entered Lin Ningkun’s ears like a death knell, making him instantly forget the pain, look up in full terror, and see Jiang Kui staring at him like a venomous snake, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His back was quickly soaked with cold sweat.
He reflexively said, “Imperial Advisor, I swear I won’t dare to do it again.”
Looking at his useless appearance, Jiang Kui was full of disdain.
He didn’t know how blind Jiang Xuerou and Jiang Ruanxi were at that time to take a liking to such a thing.
Even looking at him once made him feel disgusted, so he directly instructed the people around him, “Return to the palace.”
The people around him came forward to push him out.
After he left, Lin Ningkun was so scared that he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, his face deathly pale.
Thinking that he had encountered all this because of Wei Chang and Jiang Ruanxi, if Jiang Ruanxi hadn’t refused to come back with him, he wouldn’t have caused such a big commotion and let Jiang Kui know.
If Wei Chang hadn’t appeared, Jiang Ruanxi would already be back with him now.
He harbored extreme malice toward them in his heart.
He thought that if Jiang Ruanxi returned to his side in the future, he would definitely reassert his authority as husband and make her unable to be so unrestrained.
After he accomplished great things, he would definitely make Wei Chang, who stole his woman, pay a heavy price.
＊＊
When Jiang Ruanxi returned to her palace courtyard, she instructed the servants to fill the bathtub with hot water; she wanted to take a bath.
Soon the servants carried the hot water into her bedroom. Jiang Ruanxi ignored the boiling hot water and walked right in, scrubbing hard at the places on her body that Lin Ningkun had touched.
She scrubbed until her whole body was red, and only then did her heart feel a little better.
But thinking of Wei Chang’s attitude, It still felt very stinging., so she directly threw away the towel and viciously used her fingers to rub the reddened areas.
The stinging pain from her body made her feel extremely refreshed.
A smile hung on her lips, but tears kept flowing down her cheeks.
“Bang.”
A sound came from outside the door, and soon a figure rushed in hurriedly.
“What are you doing?” Wei Chang came in and saw her arms and neck bloody, full of heartache.
But he couldn’t help but reproach her.
“You’re here.” Jiang Ruanxi tilted her neck and smiled.
She seemed to be smiling, but her eyes were brimming
Wei Chang felt his smile was as uncomfortable as if it were being tugged by someone.
He picked her up and walked toward the bed, covering her tightly with the quilt.
Seeing the injuries on her body, he felt heartbroken and also a bit angry at the same time, his tone involuntarily becoming much heavier, “Jiang Ruanxi, what are you doing?”
Jiang Ruanxi’s tears fell even more fiercely. She slightly lowered her head and looked at her arm. “It’s gone.”
Wei Chang was momentarily unable to react to these bewildering words.
Following her gaze, he saw that she had been staring at the arm where the skin was pierced, thinking about the matter that had happened not long ago, and finally understood her meaning.
His eyes were full of heartache.
He raised his hand, using both hands to gently lift her head, looking at her face to face, his tone full of tenderness, “Xi’er, don’t do this. I know you two have nothing going on, and I’m not blaming you either. Don’t hurt yourself like this; it will make me heartbroken.”
Jiang Ruanxi’s tears fell even more fiercely.
“But I hate that smell.” Jiang Ruanxi said, her voice choked with sobs.
Wei Chang gently placed his hand, stopping one centimeter away without touching her skin.
“Now my scent has covered it up, so it’s gone.”
Ruanxi immediately burst into laughter.
Wei Chang saw her genuine smile from the heart, and he also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
He tightly hugged her, “Xi’er, don’t hurt yourself like this in the future.”
“Mm.” Jiang Ruanxi nodded obediently.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she struggled violently, trying to escape his embrace.
“What’s wrong with Xi’er? Are you hurting again? I’ll go call the Imperial Physician to check on you.” Wei Chang asked anxiously.
Jiang Ruanxi stopped and shook her head.
After a few seconds of silence, she still voiced the doubt in her heart.
“Wan Qing’s child—is it really yours?”
Wei Chang was stunned, not expecting her to ask such a question.
“No.” Wei Chang said flatly, but thinking of her earlier reaction, he knew she cared deeply about it and couldn’t help explaining, “I haven’t touched them.”
Jiang Ruanxi’s heart was in turmoil now. Thinking of Wei Chang’s reaction when he learned of Wan Qing’s pregnancy not long ago, her tone grew much heavier. “You haven’t touched her—how could she be pregnant?”
Wei Chang had no idea of the struggle in her heart.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s the Empress’s scheme, to drive a wedge between us.”
Jiang Ruanxi thought of how Wei Chang had always cared for her, and also that when Wan Qing announced her pregnancy, Wei Chang had gone to the palace to stand up for her. She immediately believed his words.
“So what do we do now?”
“Play along with their acting, and see what their objective is. It will just mean wronging you, Xi’er.”
“It’s fine. For our future, I’ll cooperate with you in acting.”
Wei Chang hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly. He couldn’t help but stroke her head tenderly. “I’m wronging you. I won’t betray you. There’s always only been you in my heart.”
Jiang Ruanxi was stunned, not expecting Wei Chang to suddenly confess like this.
Her face couldn’t help but flush red.
Her heart felt sweet.
“Mm.” Jiang Ruanxi nodded.
After they flirted sweetly, in order to make the acting more realistic, Jiang Ruanxi directly pushed him away.
With tears streaming down her face, she accused him. “Wei Chang, you big liar! Get out—I never want to see you again.”
Wei Chang was stunned but quickly reacted.
“Jiang Ruanxi, what madness are you on?”
Wei Chang grabbed her hand, carefully avoiding the injury on it.
“Get lost! When you married me, you said there would only be me in your heart. Now not only do you have another woman, but she’s pregnant too. How can you face me?”
Jiang Ruanxi shook off his hand.
Wei Chang was full of impatience. “It’s perfectly normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. As this palace’s Crown Princess, do your duty. Otherwise, let someone else take your position.”
With that, he left without looking back.
