Chapter 44: Utterly Disgusting
Upon arriving at Guangming Temple, the abbot had people arrange accommodations. After everyone was settled, Lin Ningkun was no longer there.
“Where did the Marquis go?” Madam Zhou looked at Jiang Ruanxi and complained, “After such a long journey, so tiring, and he doesn’t even know to rest a bit.”
“Mother, the Marquis just said he had been in the carriage too long and wanted to get some fresh air. He should be wandering around the temple right now,” Jiang Ruanxi said indifferently.
Deep down, Jiang Ruanxi knew very well that Lin Ningkun wasn’t just getting fresh air; he had clearly gone to see Jiang Xuerou.
**
The back mountain of Guangming Temple.
A girl stood there, wearing white clothing, her slender figure with fluttering garments.
Lin Ningkun looked at Jiang Xuerou not far away, his eyes unable to hide a gentle expression.
He stepped forward and took her into his arms. “Xue’er, I missed you so much.”
Jiang Xuerou’s body stiffened.
She turned her head and saw Lin Ningkun still looking as dashing as ever, but for some reason, the image of that toad head from that day flashed in her mind, making her feel a surge of disgust.
Enduring the disgust in her heart, she hugged his waist. “Ning brother, I missed you too.”
“Xue’er, have you been well?”
“I”
Jiang Xuerou was just about to speak, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the churning disgust in her stomach surged out. She quickly pushed him away, but it was too late—she vomited all over him.
Lin Ningkun had always had a severe cleanliness obsession.
Smelling the sour stench beside him, Lin Ningkun’s originally tender face instantly froze.
After vomiting, Jiang Xuerou finally reacted. Her eyes reddened as she carefully glanced at Lin Ningkun, lowering her head slightly as if she had done something wrong, and said apologetically, “Ning brother, I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose. I haven’t been feeling well today, so I don’t know why I just vomited.”
Tears seemed ready to fall at any second.
Seeing her like this, Lin Ningkun’s full belly of anger instantly extinguished.
He reached out to hold her and comfort her, but when his hand was still a few centimeters from Jiang Xuerou, she reflexively dodged, her eyes full of disdain.
Lin Ningkun instantly froze in place, his face as black as if it had been smeared with ink.
Jiang Xuerou realized it wasn’t yet time to tear faces, so enduring the disgust in her heart, she explained, “Ning brother, don’t be angry. I just think this is a temple with many people coming and going, so it’s better to be careful.”
Hearing this, the anger in Lin Ningkun’s heart immediately dissipated.
After withdrawing his hand, he looked around.
Although the trees were dense, it was a small path, and there were still occasional people passing by.
It really wasn’t suitable for doing anything improper.
But he hadn’t seen Jiang Xuerou for a long time and missed her greatly.
Disappointment unavoidably flowed from his eyes.
Misunderstanding that he was dissatisfied with her explanation, Jiang Xuerou, to avoid arousing his suspicion, endured the disgust in her heart, stepped forward, tiptoed, and kissed his cheek.
A smile immediately bloomed on Lin Ningkun’s face.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, directly knocking the hat off Lin Ningkun’s head and revealing his uneven, scabbed scalp.
Jiang Xuerou’s eyes widened greatly, and her stomach churned again.
Lin Ningkun was slightly puzzled, then felt the coolness on his head. Realizing something, he panicked, raised both hands to cover his head, and ran toward the hat.
His comical clown-like appearance had none of the usual dashing high mountain flower poise.
Jiang Xuerou could no longer stay.
“Ning brother, I’ve been out for quite a while too. Xiao Ge’er will be anxious if he doesn’t see me. I’ll go first.”
With that, she left without looking back.
By the time Lin Ningkun picked up the hat and put it back on, Jiang Xuerou’s figure was long gone.
It would be false to say Lin Ningkun wasn’t disappointed.
But he didn’t think it was because Jiang Xuerou disdained him; he only felt it was inconvenient here.
Because this wasn’t the courtyard he had built for Jiang Xuerou, and their identities made it unsuitable to stay long.
Thinking that if he had married Jiang Xuerou instead of Jiang Ruanxi back then, he wouldn’t have to see his beloved like this, his hatred for Jiang Ruanxi deepened.
When Jiang Xuerou returned to the courtyard, the ugly image of Lin Ningkun still lingered in her mind.
Although the wound on his head had long healed, the scabs were uneven and bumpy. Plus, his comical movements when picking up the hat made him no different from a toad in a stinking ditch.
Thinking that she had just kissed such a toad, Jiang Xuerou felt ongoing disgust.
After dry heaving a few times, she couldn’t help shouting to her close maidservant Qing’er beside her, “Qing’er, go get me a change of clothing. So disgusting.”
But her shout received no response.
Thinking Qing’er was slacking off, Jiang Xuerou pushed open the door with some anger.
As soon as she spoke, she saw someone sitting in the room and immediately froze.
“Se-Second Sister, why are you in my room?”
Jiang Xuerou hadn’t expected Jiang Ruanxi to be in her room.
“Third Sister is back. I just arrived and heard you were here too, so I came specifically to see you.”
With a faint smile on her face, she then looked her up and down. “I just heard Third Sister say ‘disgusting.’ Where did sister go?”
“Heir Apparent’s Wife, you’re back.”
Qing’er, who had just returned from somewhere, saw Jiang Xuerou back and felt nervous, a bit surprised she had returned so early.
Jiang Xuerou glared at Qing’er, then, to cover her inner panic, walked into the room and sat down beside Jiang Ruanxi.
“Sister misheard. It’s my first time at Guangming Temple, and I’m not familiar with the surroundings, so I went out to look around.”
Jiang Ruanxi unhurriedly picked up the teacup and took a small sip.
“What a coincidence. The Marquis just arrived at Guangming Temple and also said he wasn’t familiar with the place and wanted to go out for a walk. I wonder if Third Sister happened to run into him.”
“How could I have seen him? I went west, and brother-in-law must have gone east,” Jiang Xuerou explained in a panic.
Jiang Ruanxi set down the teacup, her smile growing even brighter. “Third Sister, I haven’t even said which direction the Marquis went, so how do you know he went east?”
Jiang Xuerou’s face suddenly stiffened.
She already had a guilty conscience, and now her heart was even more tense.
But she quickly reacted.
“Second Sister, I didn’t see brother-in-law when I went out. I thought since I went west and didn’t run into him, he must have gone east.”
Guangming Temple’s north was a cliff, south was the entrance; if walking in the temple, only east and west were possible.
“Oh?” Jiang Ruanxi feigned surprise. “But I just heard your maidservant say you clearly went east. I thought you had seen him.”
Jiang Xuerou’s pale face instantly turned ferocious as she glared fiercely at Qing’er not far away.
Qing’er shrank in fright and quickly knelt down.
