The Salted Fish Has Gotten Over It Chapter 105

Chapter 105:

Jiang Juan was exhausted and only wanted to sleep. The hint was the last thing on his mind.

With a rather perfunctory “oh,” Jiang Juan turned his head to avoid having his face pinched by Xue Fangli. Soon after, he was completely still.

He fell back asleep.

Xue Fangli: “……”

The hand resting on Jiang Juan’s waist pressed down slightly. The next moment, Jiang Juan, who had been nestled in his arms, was now lying on top of Xue Fangli. Xue Fangli brushed aside Jiang Juan’s long hair and leaned down to lightly bite the red mole on his neck.

Jiang Juan didn’t want to respond, but Xue Fangli’s actions were disturbing his dreams. He reached out to push Xue Fangli, saying, “I want to sleep.”

Xue Fangli responded in a neutral tone, “Sleep.”

Jiang Juan weakly said, “Then don’t bother me.”

Xue Fangli looked at him with a faint smile and said, “If you won’t even hint at me, why should I listen to you?”

Jiang Juan: “……”

This was so annoying.

How could anyone want to be hinted at?

Jiang Juan couldn’t understand, but he was really tired and just wanted to sleep. He sighed inwardly, reluctantly opened his eyes, and wrapped his arms around Xue Fangli’s neck.

“Your Highness…”

Jiang Juan lowered his head and nuzzled his face against Xue Fangli’s, like a small animal. He said in a sticky, soft voice near Xue Fangli’s ear, “Can you let me sleep, please?”

Though Jiang Juan made an effort to be affectionate, it was all just to get some sleep. Xue Fangli glanced at him and held his chin, saying, “Useless.”

After a moment, Xue Fangli added two more words: “Not good.”

Jiang Juan asked, “Why isn’t it good? You said you’d grant me anything.”

Xue Fangli replied slowly, “I said if you hint to me properly, I’d grant you anything. It doesn’t mean you can just be spoiled and get away with it.”

Jiang Juan: “……”

This was so frustrating, really frustrating.

Being an empress was too troublesome.

During the day, there were people to meet and tasks to manage, including Xue Congyun’s pig-headed threats. At night, even sleep was disturbed by Xue Fangli, who forced him to hint at things.

Jiang Juan asked, “So what will make you happy?”

Xue Fangli stared at Jiang Juan, gently rubbing his soft lips with his finger, and said slowly, “You figure it out.”

Great.

That was practically the same as saying nothing.

Jiang Juan, irritated, bit Xue Fangli’s finger.

It would have been better if he hadn’t bitten. Now, Xue Fangli took the opportunity to put his finger in Jiang Juan’s mouth and began to tease him inside his mouth. Jiang Juan was completely unprepared and was almost on the verge of crying.

“What are you doing?”

Jiang Juan moaned and pushed Xue Fangli away, his speech unclear. He felt uncomfortable and didn’t actually cry, but his eyelashes were wet and his eyes were teary.

His pitiable appearance, as if he was about to cry, made Xue Fangli watch him for a long time with a rather malicious smile. “Just like this.”

“Whispering ‘husband’ in my ear while crying, and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Jiang Juan: “……”

I want your dog life.

Having been so mistreated, Jiang Juan was almost fully awake. He was extremely frustrated and looked at Xue Fangli. Crying out “husband” was impossible, and he wasn’t happy at all. Xue Fangli wasn’t going to take advantage of him.

With this in mind, Jiang Juan slowly lowered his head and whispered something in Xue Fangli’s ear. His voice was a bit nasal and soft, but the content was far from a hint.

——“You bastard.”

After cursing, Jiang Juan immediately played dead, lying still in Xue Fangli’s arms, afraid to move.

Xue Fangli lifted his eyelids, and even though Jiang Juan continued to play dead, he still raised his face to kiss him. Fearing that Xue Fangli would take the opportunity to retaliate and harass him further, Jiang Juan quickly tried to push him away, but couldn’t.

In a moment of desperation, Jiang Juan had a quick idea and groaned, furrowing his brows.

“…My chest hurts.”

Xue Fangli paused his movements. Jiang Juan hurriedly grabbed the hand that was holding his chin, feeling somewhat relieved.

Xue Fangli frowned and asked, “Why is it hurting again?”

Jiang Juan weakly shook his head, acting quite dramatically. “If it’s hurting, what can I do?”

Xue Fangli embraced him and called out, “Someone.”

Jiang Juan asked, “Why are you calling someone?”

Xue Fangli: “To bring the imperial physician.”

It was already late at night, and his peaceful sleep had been disturbed. He didn’t want to waste the imperial physician’s time if it wasn’t necessary. Jiang Juan quickly said, “No need, it’s just a little pain, nothing serious.”

Jiang Juan placed Xue Fangli’s hand on his chest. “Just rub it a little, and it’ll be fine.”

Xue Fangli gave Jiang Juan several looks, not entirely sure about his heart condition, given that the timing of each attack was always very convenient. But Jiang Juan did have a genuine congenital weakness.

Holding Jiang Juan in his arms, Xue Fangli gently rubbed his chest. After a moment, Xue Fangli said, “You’d better stay like this, close to me. Being a little troublesome occasionally is fine, as long as you’re well.”

Jiang Juan was confused. “Huh?”

Xue Fangli lowered his gaze, his tone very calm. “If something were to happen to you, guess what would happen?”

What would happen?

Jiang Juan was taken aback.

Xue Fangli lowered his head, his chin resting against Jiang Juan’s. His expression was dark. “As long as you’re here, I’ll be a good person for you. But if you dare to leave me, just walk away, I’ll slaughter everyone in the world.”

Jiang Juan stared at him, and after a while, said to Xue Fangli, “I won’t…”

Before he could finish saying “leave you,” Jiang Juan suddenly remembered E’nan’s words about his unstable soul and the third tribulation.

Jiang Juan felt an inexplicable unease, but he managed to suppress it and finished his sentence. “I won’t leave you.”

Meanwhile, at the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, the case of the Eldest Princess was finally resolved after many days of continuous investigation.

One day, Gu Puwang came to the palace to seek an audience.

Jiang Juan was not in a good mood.

Of course, his displeasure wasn’t directed at Gu Puwang. It was that, during this period, Xue Fangli had begun to put into practice what he had said.

— He kept Jiang Juan by his side, never leaving him.

During Gu Puwang’s visit, Jiang Juan was also forced to listen.

“Upon investigation, we found that the Eldest Princess had secretly recruited troops over the years and had set up camps in various places in Jiangnan…”

Gu Puwang detailed the number of troops, the local officials who had dealings with the Eldest Princess, and numerous accomplices. He continued, “Your Majesty, the soldiers sent to search the camps also found gunpowder, and there was also gunpowder buried near the riverbanks in several places.”

Xue Fangli didn’t show much of a reaction but murmured thoughtfully, “Hmm.” Jiang Juan, however, was shocked and widened his eyes.

He knew the plot, so he understood what this meant.

So, in the novel, the flood was caused both by heavy rain and human actions?

Did the Eldest Princess deliberately destroy the riverbanks?

Then, all the events that stemmed from this flood—refugees, plagues, and famine—were essentially the Eldest Princess paving the way for Marquis Anping?

And later, when Marquis Anping profited from the disaster and gained much public acclaim, eventually ascending the throne, wasn’t that quite ironic?

Jiang Juan really hadn’t expected it to be this way.

Previously, he had been complaining, but now he suddenly fell silent. Xue Fangli held Jiang Juan’s hand, pinching his fingers casually and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Juan hesitantly asked, “Why?”

“The Prince Consort—Qi Xiuran is one thing, but why did the Eldest Princess help pave the way for Marquis Anping?”

“She needed someone to push forward.”

Jiang Juan started to understand, “So Marquis Anping is a puppet?”

Xue Fangli lazily replied, “Not necessarily. Ultimately, Aunt has been plotting for years just for revenge; she might not be interested in this position.”

Jiang Juan said “Oh” and seemed to have figured out a bit. Xue Fangli looked at him for a moment and then added, “Do you know how important you are?”

Jiang Juan: “What? How am I important?”

Xue Fangli: “If you hadn’t called off the engagement with Marquis Anping, not just your grandfather, but General Jiang and Minister Gu, and even many high-ranking officials would have followed your grandfather. As for me…”

“Probably dead long ago at the county manor. The Emperor and the Sixth Prince…”

Xue Fangli clicked his tongue with a mocking expression, “Even less useful.”

Jiang Juan blinked, feeling that Xue Fangli was too perceptive, but he shook his head. “That won’t happen.”

Xue Fangli looked at Jiang Juan for a few moments and thoughtfully said, “You’re lazy, but you’re born lucky. Truly, the one who gets you gets the world.”

Jiang Juan: “…That’s not true.”

Prompted by this, Jiang Juan recalled the plot again.

In the novel, the Jiang Juan with the same name and surname committed suicide by biting his tongue right at the beginning. However, the protagonist shou was close with Jiang Qingliang and Gu Puwang. So even though General Jiang and Prime Minister Gu were initially indifferent to Marquis Anping, their attitudes softened somewhat later due to repeated persuasion from Jiang Qingliang and Gu Puwang.

As for the Eldest Princess, she eventually accepted the protagonist shou because of that silver badge.

To some extent, if the protagonist shou hadn’t worked so hard, Marquis Anping might have lost much support.

Jiang Juan sighed and suddenly remembered something. He asked Xue Fangli, “What about my brother? Now that Marquis Anping and his people have been captured, where is my brother?”

For these inconsequential people, Xue Fangli naturally couldn’t be bothered. He glanced at Gu Puwang, who informed Jiang Juan, “Second Young Master is also imprisoned.”

Jiang Juan said “Oh” and didn’t know what else to say, so he fell silent again.

Once Gu Puwang had finished briefing on the discovered matters, he asked Xue Fangli, “Your Majesty, how should we deal with these main culprits?”

Playing with Jiang Juan’s fingers, Xue Fangli took a long while before casually responding, “Bring Qi Xiuran here. I want to see him.”

Gu Puwang replied, “Understood.”

Gu Puwang bowed to Xue Fangli and, before leaving, gave Jiang Juan a calm glance. As a mere bystander, Jiang Juan immediately understood the unspoken message.

— I’m so tired, I don’t want to do this anymore.

Jiang Juan felt a lot of sympathy and responded with a look of equal suffering.

— I’m also very tired and don’t want to be on duty.

Jiang Juan watched Gu Puwang leave, but before he could pull his gaze back, his chin was grabbed, and his face was lifted. Xue Fangli leaned down and, with a half-smile, asked, “Between Gu Puwang, Jiang Qingliang, and Xue Congyun, who are you closer to?”

Jiang Juan: “?”

Although he didn’t understand why Xue Fangli was asking this, he still answered, “They’re all fine…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Juan met Xue Fangli’s gaze. The man’s lips curled with a hint of a smile, but his eyes were extremely dangerous. Jiang Juan shivered, finally realizing that this was a trap question.

“I’m not close to any of them,” Jiang Juan said seriously. “I’m closest to you. I’m the closest to you in the world. If it weren’t for you being so busy and not able to play with me, I wouldn’t bother with them at all.”

After speaking, Jiang Juan sighed in relief, thinking his answer was perfect and would definitely help him avoid trouble.

But the next moment, Jiang Juan realized he had underestimated the situation.

“Just ‘good’ between you and me?”

Xue Fangli lowered his eyes, “Have you forgotten? You are my wife. What we have is far more than just ‘good’ or ‘best’.”

Author’s Note: Salted fish Juan up the exam paper and laments: You’re really going for the fish’s life!

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