CH 77

Jiang Qingci did not agree to the divorce.

However, he was different from other main characters – he had actually been killed by his own brother Qingyue (the original main character before Ren Shuhan’s arrival) in the storyline. So Ren Shuhan couldn’t be too harsh on him, and since he didn’t agree, Ren Shuhan couldn’t force him. He had to find a way to get him to leave.

“I’m not leaving,” Jiang Qingci resisted at first. “Even though I’m afraid of you, I still want to take care of you properly!”

“You should leave,” Ren Shuhan smiled at him politely. “Nature calls.”

Jiang Qingci: “…”

Damn.

He might not have been very favored before, but he was still somewhat of a young master. His birth mother was alive until recently, and he was her legitimate son. Naturally, he wasn’t psychologically prepared to serve someone to this extent.

“Well, how about you…” Jiang Qingci’s face twisted as he struggled to speak, fearing that he hadn’t properly secured Lu Yan’s favor at the beginning, feeling extremely conflicted.

“Don’t worry, I have someone to help me,” Ren Shuhan blinked politely at him, and also laid the groundwork for his recovery, “And I’m not really deeply poisoned.”

“That’s good,” Jiang Qingci immediately stepped down and turned to leave. “Take care of yourself, and if you need anything, you can come find me anytime.”

Find you?

Ren Shuhan thought to himself, If I did that, I’d probably be dead by now.

During the days when he was being targeted, Ren Shuhan’s original host, Lu Yan, had managed to survive with the help of the secret guards. But the secret guards only came at fixed times, so as soon as Jiang Qingci left, Ren Shuhan immediately had the system detoxify him and then walked around the room.

He found quite a few useful things.

Such as the little trinkets Jiang Qingyue had given him before.

In the original story, Jiang Qingyue was his childhood friend and betrothed partner. He had always liked Ren Shuhan since he was young and had given him many gifts over the years, which Ren Shuhan had also reciprocated. However, all the gifts he had given to Jiang Qingyue had been returned to him a few days ago, along with the betrothal agreement.

These were all inexpensive trinkets, such as clay figurines, wooden dolls, slingshots, and picture books.

Ren Shuhan picked up one of the clay figurines. One was of Jiang Qingyue, slightly damaged and with some color faded, while the other one, representing himself, was intact.

“Make one of him, and one of me,” a blushing young Jiang Qingyue had said to the stall owner, “In the future, we can let them get married with us.”

“Okay.”

A young Ren Shuhan nodded coolly, also looking forward to it.

Originally, each of these clay figurines was for one person. Ren Shuhan used to play with the one representing Jiang Qingyue every day when he was young, accidentally damaging it a bit and causing the colors to fade. Jiang Qingyue, on the other hand, carefully put Ren Shuhan’s figurine into a box, keeping it safe and sound, often repairing and maintaining it. After many years, it returned to Ren Shuhan’s hands in perfect condition.

“My treasure, you’ve been through a lot,” Ren Shuhan couldn’t help but sigh, holding the two figurines face to face and gently kissing them. “Blame me for coming too late.”

Even though he knew that these past events hadn’t actually happened and only existed in his memories, he still felt sad.

He knew that his baby probably had accepted the memories of his original host by now and was probably even more saddened by them than he was. After all, he couldn’t resist fate and could only go along with the script, watching helplessly as the person he loved was poisoned, unable to come to his side to take care of him, and even had to leave him. And in the end, watching him marry someone else…

Just thinking about this storyline made him feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, it was just a thought.

He decided not to wait any longer. After midnight, when the secret guard came, he wrote another letter himself, mentioning the past events related to these items and expressing his longing, instructing the secret guard to deliver the letter to Jiang Qingyue tonight.

“Is that okay?” Ren Shuhan asked symbolically.

Because looking at the secret guard in front of him, he felt very reassured–

Wen Xin, always great.

She barely appeared in the previous world for some reason, possibly because the difficulty level was too low, so she wasn’t needed at all. Ren Shuhan had almost forgotten about her. Now, she appeared once again before him, dressed in a pure black night-time attire, wearing a black face mask, with a long sword hanging from her waist. She looked very reliable, giving Ren Shuhan a glimmer of hope.

“But does she not have a name?” Ren Shuhan asked the system.

The system replied, “No.”

“That’s too generic,” Ren Shuhan said to Wen Xin. “I suddenly want to give you a name. Let’s call you Wen Xin, how about that?”

Other accompanying shadow guards: “……………”

What on earth?

Did they hear it correctly?

The master named their tall and imposing female leader Wen Xin1The characters used in her name mean “Soft and Fragrant/warm”?

After a moment of silence, the shadow guards struggled to contain their laughter. Even those who managed to suppress their laughter couldn’t help but pretend to cough a few times. Only Wen Xin, who seemed to have received professional training and guaranteed professional ethics, remained expressionless as she said, “Thank you, Master.”

“In the future, don’t call me ‘Master,’ just call me ‘Your Highness2The term used by Wen Xin before is used by slaves/servants when talking to their “master”, and Ren Shuhan told her to call him according to his rank as a prince/nobleman instead!.’ ”

Ren Shuhan was not accustomed to being bound by feudal etiquette. He quickly dismissed his subordinates, stopped pretending to be sick, and got out of bed to wander around.

He secretly inspected the entire mansion and went to the kitchen to find some ingredients that Jiang Qingci had bought during the day. He made himself a bowl of noodles and returned to his room after cleaning up. Jiang Qingci didn’t notice anything.

After eating and drinking his fill, Ren Shuhan was about to go to bed when Wen Xin returned.

“Your Highness,” Wen Xin asked from outside the window, “Aren’t you resting yet? I’ve delivered the letter, and Young Master Jiang has replied.”

“So soon?” Ren Shuhan hurriedly lay back down pretending to be sick. “Let me see.”

Wen Xin brought the letter to his bedside and added, “Young Master Jiang instructed me to tell you to rest early. If there’s a reply, I’ll deliver it tomorrow.”

“I understand,” Ren Shuhan urged her. “You should also go and rest.”

After Wen Xin left, Ren Shuhan sat up and opened the letter. Suddenly, he remembered that he shouldn’t be able to move, so why did Wen Xin leave the letter here and not help him open it?

However, upon careful consideration, Wen Xin had always been calm and composed, so it was normal. Ren Shuhan didn’t think much more about it and earnestly read the letter.

Jiang Qingyue wrote a lot, all in response to what he had said in his letter. He recounted the scenes of buying these small items in the past, vividly and movingly, far more vivid than the plain language in his own letter. At the end of the letter, he expressed hope that Ren Shuhan would return these tokens of love and forgive his previous rudeness. It was evident that he also had a system.

That night, Ren Shuhan felt for the first time the taste of the gentleman’s good match and the torment of tossing and turning.

The next day, he woke up early intending to go to the Jiang mansion, but it took him a long time to deal with Jiang Qingci. In the afternoon, another distinguished guest arrived at the Qin Wang Mansion.

“Uncle Emperor,” the present emperor, Lu Bing, arrived, wearing a black brocade robe and disguised for an outing. He brought only a few personal guards and smiled warmly at Ren Shuhan, “How do you like the new Empress?”

Lu Bing came today specifically to gloat.

During his regency, he treated Lu Bing as his own, but Lu Bing thought that Lu Yan was trying to win over the prime minister’s mansion and show his dominance.

He harbored resentment and played the role of a meek and obedient young man in front of Lu Yan every day, even more obedient than a dog. Finally, one day, he poisoned Lu Yan.

Now, instead of killing him, allowing Lu Yan to stay here and linger, was because he had already planned a thousand ways to torture him.

The first thing, to hint to the prime minister’s mansion that he intended to arrange for Jiang Qingyue to enter the palace, regardless of the problem of seniority. The prime minister’s mansion was eager to please, and Jiang Qingyue was savvy enough. As expected, he voluntarily accepted Lu Bing’s apology, sent a message of forgiveness, and sent a little bachelor he didn’t care about. The dowry was not added, and it was sent over with two people carrying a small sedan chair. This made Lu Bing even more delighted.

“I know Uncle Emperor is fond of the younger son of the Jiang family, but after all, there’s a difference between the legitimate and illegitimate sons. Even though the birth mother of the young master was honored before, she was only a concubine when she gave birth to a child. This cannot be changed. Wouldn’t it be better to marry the legitimate son of the prime minister’s mansion?” Lu Bing pretended to console Lu Yan, smiling brightly, and talking endlessly.

“Moreover, the young master is beautiful, but I’ve heard that the eldest son is also excellent. It’s more appropriate to bring him to congratulate you. It’s much better than the former, isn’t it?”

Lu Yan has always been fierce by nature, a superior figure since childhood accustomed to being revered. Now, he has suddenly fallen from grace, betrayed by his beloved, while his newly married queen is being scrutinized by Lu Bing in such a manner…

Lu Bing thought, even if he doesn’t kill him, he’ll probably make him half-dead with anger, heh.

Now, Lu Yan could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, forced to praise the new queen. However, Lu Bing knew in his heart that Jiang Qingyue’s appearance was outstanding, famous throughout the capital city. How could that Jiang Qingci compare? Let the uncle insist on it…

Then Ren Shuhan calmly said, “New clothes may be better, but old friends are irreplaceable. I still think the previous one was sweeter.”

Lu Bing: “……”

Lu Bing: “??????”

Ren Shuhan wasn’t angry at all, really.

When he first saw Lu Bing, he thought to himself:

Lu Bing, is that you?

But you’re not from the Brain Research Institute, are you? Why do you keep appearing?

It was so strange that Ren Shuhan couldn’t even hear what Lu Bing was saying clearly.

Later, when he heard clearly and saw Lu Bing’s ambiguous smile and sarcastic remarks, Ren Shuhan could only look at him with pity, thinking to himself: Although I don’t know where he came from, he’s really dedicated… a bit pitiful.

This child died so miserably in the previous world, appearing as a big villain when he debuted, only to be casually written off midway through, struggling a bit, and still no one paid attention to him. Compared to last time, he’s been demoted this time and become a nephew instead of a cousin. I wonder if he’ll live a bit longer this time.

“Now that I’m not here to help you govern, I suppose you’ll be busy. If there’s nothing else, you should go back first,” Ren Shuhan didn’t bother with the plot, trying to get rid of him quickly. “But let me remind you, don’t set your sights on Qingyue. He’s my person. If you dare to touch a hair on his head, I’ll personally tear you apart.”

Lu Yan was deeply poisoned and all remedies were ineffective. Lu Bing, who had poisoned him, knew this best. But now he was suddenly scared:

How could he be so calm and even dare to threaten me?

Lu Bing was suspicious by nature and thought of Lu Yan’s martial arts skills. His face turned green and white, and he got up and left in a hurry.

Ren Shuhan: Okay, easier to deal with than Jiang Qingci.

Jiang Qingci was very clingy and always came to see him during the day.

Lu Bing left in a hurry and happened to meet Jiang Qingci coming to see him again. After a brief encounter, he was shocked:

This… this appearance, it’s not inferior to Jiang Qingyue, who is famous throughout the capital!

Ren Shuhan heard his thoughts and shook his head on the bed, thinking seriously: Your aesthetic sense is off; it’s obviously far inferior.

In fact, when Ren Shuhan first crossed over without memories, he thought that the protagonist’s appearance wasn’t inferior to Jiang Qingyue’s, who was famous throughout the capital. But now, he treated it as if it had never happened. His Qingyue was the most beautiful treasure in the world, incomparable to anyone else.

Jiang Qingci had a setting to rival Jiang Qingyue in appearance, but with an aura, he was even more attractive. In the original book, Lu Bing had designs on him after seeing him, and later even competed with Lu Yan for him, which led to Jiang Qingyue killing him out of jealousy.

So now Jiang Qingci was very afraid: Oh my god, another person obsessed with me has appeared! They’re so scary… huh?

Lu Bing’s expression was strange, and he hurried away after just one glance at Jiang Qingci.

Jiang Qingci:?

Shouldn’t he be swooning over my beauty? Why is he running away???

Lu Bing was in a state of anxiety, cursing Lu Yan in his heart:

This half-dead guy who’s never serious, after getting such a beauty, he’s still thinking about another one!!!

Does he have nothing better to do?!

Ren Shuhan had just gotten out of bed in the room and, seeing Jiang Qingci return, had to lie back down again, pretending to do sit-ups. He had to do this several times a day. He always felt that this protagonist couldn’t stay in the mansion any longer and had to be sent away. It couldn’t affect his pursuit of Qingyue.

But where should he send him? If he let him go home, he definitely wouldn’t go back. Going elsewhere without money was also not feasible. His power had also been taken over by Lu Bing, and it wasn’t easy to control him now, with only a few shadow guards left…

Finally, Ren Shuhan had a bright idea:

There’s nothing left in this mansion. Why don’t I leave him some living expenses and let him go?

Ren Shuhan is so mean lol

Btw, you may notice that in the previous chapter, Ren Shuhan’s char in the setting was Lan Yu, while in here, it’s Lu Yan???? I don’t know if it was just a typo in the raws or something lol but I kept it as it was because I wasn’t sure what he was really called, but since we got Lu Bing in here, it’s clearer that it’s Lu Yan! I hope that wasn’t too confusing!

Thank you for reading