Chapter 25
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With just one glance, he felt dizzy and overwhelmed.
Xue Fangli met his gaze, his palm touching a slender waist, as delicate and white as jade, but not quite a handful.
He almost involuntarily tightened his grip.
But all of this was fleeting; the warmth and softness beneath his palm dissipated in an instant.
Xue Fangli opened his eyes again.
The room was silent, the curtains hanging loosely. The young man in his arms slept soundly, his black hair scattered over his shoulders, his breathing steady and deep.
It was just a dream.
His eyes closed lightly, yet the sensation in his palm lingered, and it seemed as if he could still hear that cat-like sobbing.
Jiang Juan had cried many times before, but never once had he made such a sound—filled with sensuality and pleasure, repeated over and over again.
Before this moment, Jiang Juan’s presence had always been able to soothe his restlessness and aggression, but now, despite the lingering fragrance, Xue Fangli could not find peace.
His hand rested lightly on the young man’s waist, perhaps out of regret, perhaps to confirm whether this waist was truly as soft as it seemed. He gripped it tightly.
Truly not even a handful.
Truly…
Soft enough to make one itch.
“… It hurts.”
Jiang Juan slept deeply, but that didn’t stop him from complaining. After mumbling these two words, he turned his head, his curled eyelashes fluttering.
It was clean without a trace of mist.
Xue Fangli watched him for a long time, something gradually becoming clear in his heart and taking root.
He didn’t just want him to stay by his side.
He also wanted— the answer was right in front of him, but Xue Fangli suddenly heard a voice.
“Fangli.”
The woman called softly, followed by a severe headache. He was in the dormitory of the temple, but he saw the woman sitting in front of the mirror, combing her long hair gently.
“Do you know, how can you keep someone by your side?”
In the bronze mirror, she gently lifted her red lips, and the golden hairpin swayed in her hair, “Never, never let your heart be swayed.”
She said, “Break the wings of the sparrow, pull out the fangs of the snake, make it fear you, make it rely on you for survival, and become your puppet.”
“But if you let your heart waver, if you hesitate and start to feel affection, then you can only keep her for a while. Later, when you forget to close the cage, she—”
“She will fly away.”
The woman smiled softly, “My Fangli, do you remember?”
“An unworthy thought arises, the heart moves, and immediately it is pierced by all sorts of thorns, thus experiencing all worldly sufferings.”
Whispering, the woman’s figure faded away, and Xue Fangli once again heard her crying in despair, cursing bitterly.
“I hate you, I hate you so much! Why don’t you just die?”
“You can’t keep me. In this life, you can’t keep anyone, and no one wants to stay for you.”
“You’re a monster, you’re nothing but a monster, you should die, you should die—!”
The sharp screams seemed to pierce his eardrums, and Xue Fangli’s vision turned blood-red.
He wanted to keep Jiang Juan.
Even if he was so weak, he couldn’t stay for long.
But those surging, clear desires were ultimately restrained deep in his heart, and Xue Fangli calmly closed his eyes.
He remembered every word that woman had said.
When Jiang Juan woke up again, he was alone in the room.
He sat for a moment, preparing to get out of bed, but when he reached out to the side, he felt a soft pile. It was only then that he realized there were several layers of fur on the bed.
Jiang Juan felt more comfortable as he touched it, and as he lay back, he couldn’t help but sincerely exclaim, “His Highness is truly kind.”
Steward Gao: “…”
Having heard this kind of remark countless times, he had become numb to it, and now he could maintain a poker face without any change.
Steward Gaoknocked on the door and said to Jiang Juan, “Your Royal Highness, the abbot came by just now, but you were still asleep, and His Highness didn’t want to wake you up. The abbot said he’ll come back when you’re awake. Should I go and call him now?”
With Xue Fangli not around, Jiang Juan naturally chose to escape. He shook his head, “I’ll go out for a walk.”
Then, Jiang Juan asked again, “Where is His Highness? Why isn’t he here?”
Steward Gao replied, “His Highness was summoned by Great General Piao Ji.”
Jiang Juan nodded in understanding. He remembered hearing from Steward Gao earlier that people from the General Residence were also at the Miaoling Temple. He didn’t pay much attention to it. After getting himself ready, Jiang Juan said, “If His Highness asks, just tell him I went for a walk.”
With that said, Jiang Juan walked out, intending to take a stroll, and the guards outside quickly followed him.
Miaoling Temple was similar to any other temple, and Jiang Juan soon grew tired of wandering around. After some thought, he decided to go and see the memorial service for Beauty Yu.
But he didn’t know where it was being held. Jiang Juan looked around and approached a monk sweeping the floor to inquire.
“Excuse me, do you know where the memorial service for Beauty Yu is being held?”
“In the Tianbao Hall.”
The monk pointed in a direction, and Jiang Juan thanked him before heading over. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a voice behind him, “Hey, why are you going to Beauty Yu’s memorial service?”
The voice came from above, and Jiang Juan curiously looked up to see a young man sitting in a tree, about the same age as him, enjoying a peach he held in his hand.
“I…”
Jiang Juan was about to reply when the young man in the tree caught sight of his face, paused for a moment, and then dropped the peach from his hand. It rolled down the tree trunk.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jiang Juan asked.
The young man shook his head dazedly, “N-nothing…”
After saying that, he glanced at Jiang Juan again.
Jiang Juan looked up at him. He wasn’t strikingly beautiful, but there was a kind of purity between his brows and eyes, a color that was purer than moonlight and snow, transcendent and ethereal.
This beauty, he had seen before.
It was all too familiar, but he couldn’t quite recall where he had seen it.
The young man steadied himself and jumped down from the tree, then asked him again, “Why are you going to Beauty Yu’s memorial service?”
Jiang Juan replied, “I’m just going to take a look.”
The young man glanced at him. “Then why don’t you go see someone else’s memorial service?”
Jiang Juan blinked. “I just don’t feel like it.”
The young man retorted, “They’re all memorial services, why go to Beauty Yu’s and not someone else’s?”
Jiang Juan asked him curiously, “Why should I go to someone else’s memorial service?”
The young man pointed out bluntly, “Isn’t Beauty Yu someone else too? With so many options, why pick Beauty Yu?”
Jiang Juan: “…”
This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. It was all just beating around the bush. Jiang Juan politely bid him farewell, “I’ll be on my way.”
“Hey, wait,” the young man caught up with him in a few strides, “You’re going to Beauty Yu’s memorial service, right? I’ll go with you.”
Jiang Juan exclaimed, “Oh, you’re going too?”
The young man responded strangely, “What do you mean ‘you too’? If you can go, why can’t I?”
Jiang Juan: “?”
He had to awkwardly explain, “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just asked casually. I didn’t know you were also going to Beauty Yu’s memorial service.”
The young man, after hearing this, hit him with another existential question, “So, just because you didn’t know I was going, does that mean I can’t go?”
Jiang Juan: “…”
Feeling utterly hopeless, was this guy the king of contradictions?
“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Perhaps he had been silent for too long, prompting the young man to initiate conversation again. “You asked me a question, and now you’re not talking. Is that polite?”
After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Juan didn’t feel like engaging with the argumentative person, so he chose to employ the art of evasion. “Hmm, you’re right, I’m being impolite.”
The young man glanced at him and then slowly said, “Just because you say you’re being impolite, does that mean you actually are? Can you speak for everyone?”
Jiang Juan responded calmly, “Ah, you’re right.”
“Just because you have a mouth, does that mean everything you say is right?”
“You’re right.”
“You——“
“You’re right.”
The young man stared at him. A prime instigator, he was unexpectedly silenced, unable to argue any further. Finally, the world quieted down.
Jiang Juan breathed a sigh of relief.
But he didn’t expect that the next moment, the young man would happily remark, “You have a pretty good temper. I’ve got a few buddies who can’t help but want to punch me when they talk to me, and they threaten that no one wants to lay a hand on me. But you seem alright.”
Jiang Juan glanced at him, wary of being fooled, but before long, the young man asked, “What’s your name?”
After asking, he introduced himself as well, the two of them almost speaking simultaneously.
“Jiang Qingliang.”
“Jiang Juan.”
Jiang Juan was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in disbelief, “Huh? It’s you?”
Jiang Qiangliang wasn’t any better off, expressing his disbelief, “You’re the one who pushed Brother Nian into the lake?”
Jiang Juan: “…”
How could this happen?
With Miaoling Temple being so large, why would he still run into the main characters?
Jiang Qiangliang: “…”
No wonder he felt he had seen this beautiful person before; he really had.
But… How did this Jiang Juan change so much!?
Wait a second.
He’s already Prince Li’s Royal Consort.
With this thought, Jiang Qingliang suddenly looked up, his expression filled with astonishment.
Jiang Juan didn’t notice, he was just recalling the plot.
In the original plot, Jiang Qingliang came from a family of military generals but was forced to abandon martial arts for civil pursuits. He was sent to the Imperial College by the Grand General, feeling resentful and performing poorly in his studies, although he excelled at stirring up trouble.
Later, after some persuasion from the protagonist shou, Jiang Qingliang finally settled down at the Imperial College, but old habits die hard, and he still caused trouble behind the scenes.
This guy has been practicing martial arts since childhood, and he’s still a troublemaker. Jiang Juan hesitated for a moment, preferring to go back to acupuncture. He said, “….. Well, I won’t go to the ceremony. I’ll leave first.”
But Jiang Qingliang said, “Wait a moment.”
Jiang Juan asked, “Huh?”
Jiang Qingliang’s mood was quite complicated. “Let’s talk about what happened with Brother Nian later. Why did you come here— to the ceremony for the Beauty Yu? Who asked you to come?”
Jiang Juan answered truthfully, “I came on my own.”
Jiang Qingliang sized him up and then asked, “What about His Highness?”
“His Highness…” His Highness didn’t want to come, but Jiang Juan still embellished it a bit, “He’s busy.”
Jiang Qingliang sneered, “Busy? I think he’s just too scared to come.”
Jiang Juan frowned. He didn’t like Jiang Qingliang’s tone. Whenever he didn’t want to deal with someone, he would start to bluff.
But this time, even though “You’re right” was on the tip of his tongue, Jiang Juan couldn’t hold back. He said earnestly, “His Highness has his reasons for not coming, but it’s definitely not because he’s afraid.”
“You know that for sure?”
Jiang Qingliang sneered, “Tell me, as the son of the person, how could he dare to come? Not only did he kill his own mother, but he also set fire to her corpse. How could he dare to come?”
Jiang Juan was taken aback.
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