Chapter 26: Blood Froths and Boils

Chapter 26: Blood Froths and Boils

Having experienced many life and death battles, Prince Li should logically have a heart as unruffled as still water. However, he just didn’t have any resistance to these type of matters at all. He squinted, feeling that this temple and all its surrounding environment were just... beautiful, like a dream or an illusion.

At this time, Song Jiaoyue was also stunned by the great words of the woman within. A girl who could see things so clearly was already extremely rare, but what was even rarer was a woman would use those words to persuade the future mistress of the household to go through with the marriage.

Who in the capital didn’t know of Prince Li and Miss Lin’s impending marriage?

While the Lin Family could also be considered as marrying above their status in this union, Prince Li’s reputation upon returning from war had not been very good. Especially over matters of ill-treating women, the originally jealous family members of the various ladies had felt very fortunate that they didn’t have to wed their daughters to such a beast.

Still, Song Jiaoyue knew that all of these were false accusations.

However, through her words, he discovered that this woman’s breadth of vision was not ordinary, even pointing out that someone was intentionally causing the rumors. This was already not something that an ordinary smart woman would be capable of deducing. Furthermore, she was still a concubine.

Hearing Miss Lin making her escape and Mistress Xiu seemingly having been injured, he gently patted Prince Li’s shoulder. His friend’s entire body tensed up before turning and leaving as though he had not heard anything at all. Seeing that his expression was unchanged, Song Jiaoyue could not help but frown. Was he really not moved? As one said, countries were easy to obtain, but finding those who understand you is harder, and of those, females were exceptionally rare.

Having found such a person, that would be the greatest happiness for a man! However, his friend was so cold, just what was he thinking?

Yet was Long Heng really as cold as he thought? Hidden by his sleeves, Long Heng’s fist was clenched tightly all the way back. Only when he had parted with Song Jiaoyue and was alone in his room did he let out a breath he was holding. Or, to be more accurate, that’s when he woke up from his stupor. He had no idea how he had walked back just now, his heart was beating far too rapidly for him to make any sense.

Sitting alone in his room, he couldn’t calm his mind even by sitting in the meditative position and circulating his qi. His mind was filled with the words that woman had said, her voice like a gentle breeze in his brain, coming to the forefront of his mind again and again.

Originally, Long Heng had wanted to calm his heart and think about something else, but how could he understand the shock of those words wasn’t something so easily brushed aside? She was his concubine, defending him before an official wife. More importantly, she seemed to believe in him to such an extent!

If it was a man, he would not feel so shell-shocked because it would be easy for them to find out the truth behind the rumors, or possessed a broad enough vision to peer beneath the surface of roiling waters. However, a woman? Especially one that came from a scholarly family, how well would she know political matters?

But she had simply believed in him, even to the point of arguing that the rumors had been propagated by outsiders with their own agenda. When a woman chose to believe in a man to this extent, did that mean she liked him?

He’d thought before that a woman who remained at home would never be able to find out the veracity of rumors. Thus, he’d felt that once his wife married in, he would have to find a way to explain it to her, set the situation straight. After all, she was someone he would be spending his entire life with, so no matter what, he needed to show her the truth, right? However, he’d just discovered a woman who seemed to believe in him without any explanation.

But why did his fiancée choose not to believe in him? She was clearly a noble lady hailing from a family of officials, how could her vision actually be inferior to a woman from an ordinary family? How should he face his concubine tomorrow? She had given him a present, so should he give her a return gift as well?

He was incomparably conflicted, because these matters were really too difficult for a man who’d never wandered close to relationships before.

At that moment, he had completely forgotten the matter of his fiancée escaping. He’d actually thrown that thought beyond the nine heavens and hadn’t noticed it at all. It was only on the morning of the second day that he’d remembered that he had gone to visit that woman last night, when she seemed to have been punished to go without food. A strange feeling of guilt crept up within him, and he hurriedly sent his servant to seek out news, sending her some breakfast if she had not yet eaten. Song Jiaoyue arrived just after Long Heng had sent the servant away. He too had not slept well the previous night. While he hadn’t thought too much, an uncomfortable feeling had kept tugging at his heart, a weight that couldn’t be displaced.

“The abbot has already been waiting for a long time. While the two of us are secular people, we still cannot keep him waiting.” Having said that, he smiled, seeing that this friend of his seemed to have a heart made out of steel. Was it that he was not worried about her injuries? Still, with his identity, it would be awkward for him to mention the matter, so he simply kept silent.

But just when they were walking out, the servant returned, saying somewhat frantically, “Your Highness, Mistress Xiu is injured and is currently unable to get up from her bed.”

“Injured again?” Prince Li hadn’t thought that he would hear that first thing in the morning, so he couldn’t help but frown, “Let me go take a look, you help me apologize to the abbot.” He hurriedly took his leave.

Song Jiaoyue laughed, “So, it’s not that he had no feelings about it, but that he actually didn’t hear what happened. What a strange matter.” He shook his head, heading over to the old monk to deliver his apologies.

Long Heng hadn’t thought that the woman would get injured so easily. Wasn’t she a beauty, and weren’t beauties all extremely powerful? He frowned deeply, reaching out to push open the door to the room in which she was resting.

In his mind, she was his woman, and the matter from yesterday had indeed earned her a place in his heart. Therefore, he pushed open the door without thinking too much. He had not considered that this room was unlike his complex. It was very tiny, with the bed visible as soon as the door was pushed open. Xiao Shi was currently applying medicine on her mistress at the bed. The place she had struck and been injured yesterday was the area beneath her neck and a little above her chest.

That place was completely bluish-black, and as Xiao Shi applied the medicine, she had to open her mistress’ clothes, and even push her chest band down a bit. [1. A bit similar to this (warning: potentially NSFW - https://i2.kknews.cc/large/96f0002939b8d0546b7)

Even half naked, her beauty was an alluring sight, her natural fragrance drifting around the room. Bai Xiangxiu had a figure befitting that of a female supporting character, and her beauty was clearly ahead of any other. Even though she wasn’t completely exposed, this was already enough to turn Long Heng completely rigid, sending his blood thrumming through his veins as she hurriedly slammed the door shut.

That neck, white as jade, and those deep valleys that were capped by snowy white peaks almost blinded him. Even spies who had stripped themselves naked trying to seduce him had not caused his body to birth such a feeling. Why was he so aroused even though she was still dressed?

Seeing him in such a state, the servant hurriedly moved his head back as the two nearly collided. He asked curiously, “What has happened to Mistress Xiu?”

“Did you see anything?” Long Heng suddenly stared at the servant’s face, his eyes narrowing.

“This servant didn’t see anything at all,” The servant felt like if he said he saw something, he would definitely be instakilled by his master. Long Heng also didn’t know where this anger had come from, all he knew was that if she was seen by anyone else like this, he would definitely kill that person. In the room, Xiao Shi randomly sneezed, feeling a thread of a chill crawl up her back.

Compared to them, Bai Xiangxiu was much more composed. As a modern day person who had often worn more revealing clothes and shorter skirts, she didn’t think too much of it.

Also, she had actually also not been seen too much of just now. It was Long Heng’s gentlemanly performance which caused her to feel rather satisfied. But, truth be told, she was rather curious about the purpose of his visit, so she pulled on her clothes and gestured to Xiao Shi with her eyes.

Arranging the things in the room a little, Xiao Shi now opened the door, curtseying in greeting, “Greetings to Your Highness, Mistress Xiu invites you in.”