“I’ve known Lu Zhilan for many years. Her father and I are close friends despite our age difference,” Shen Zaiye explained. “So, setting everything else aside, I need to look after her to some extent.”
“Oh,” Taohua nodded. “You’re doing the right thing, my lord.”
“I had planned to come early tonight, but she suddenly asked me to drink with her. Something unpleasant happened on this day five years ago, and she just wanted to get past it. So I had to stay there until she finished drinking,” Shen Zaiye frowned, looking at the person in his arms. “I didn’t intentionally break my word.”
So that’s how it was. Taohua lowered her eyes, “I understand now.”
Tonight’s events had been explained, but why did she still seem unhappy? Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, hesitated for a while, and finally said softly, “About the incident at the Matchmaking Temple, I spoke too harshly. That wasn’t my intention; I was just a bit angry… Can you pretend you never heard it?”
Taohua paused, looked at him, and smiled. There seemed to be a layer of ice in her eyes, but it was thin. If he struck it hard enough, all the warm water beneath would gush out.
He had let her feel wrong for so many days, and only now was he finally admitting his mistake. What took him so long?
Shen Zaiye sighed, pressing her head against his chest. He said softly, “I’ve humbled myself to you. Can you retract your thorns a bit? Now, can you tell me why you were with Li Jin that day?”
Taohua smiled and asked, “No matter what I say, you won’t blame me?”
“Mm,” Shen Zaiye nodded. “Tonight, I give you free rein to speak your mind.”
“Alright then.” Suddenly pushing him away, Jiang Taohua’s expression changed dramatically. She put her hands on her hips, her eyebrows furrowing, “Are you blind or just stupid? That day at the Matchmaking Temple, you were protecting the beauty in your arms, so I could only follow behind. With so many people, I was pushed far away, and you didn’t even bother to look back at me once. Was I not supposed to wait for you outside on my own?”
“This capital isn’t that big or small. I was just squatting by the entrance, who knew I’d run into that beast Li Jin? He dragged me off to seek fortune-telling and hang sachets. I’m not as strong as him, was I supposed to bite him? When you came out later and saw us, you not punching him immediately was already disappointing enough. Why on earth did you end up blaming me instead?”
The resentment came pouring out, choking Shen Zaiye and making him cough twice. He sat up at the head of the bed, wiping the spittle from the corners of her mouth, and chuckled softly, “So that’s how it was.”
“You’re laughing?” Taohua’s eyes reddened with grievance. “How was any of this my fault from start to finish? You blamed it all on me, kept finding fault and causing trouble. Even with my good temper, you shouldn’t treat me like this!”
“I was wrong,” he said, pulling her back into his arms and gently patting her back. Shen Zaiye felt relieved, and his whole demeanor softened. “Why didn’t you explain clearly before? I thought you still had some private affair with him, so… Later, I wasn’t trying to cause trouble. I just wanted to find ways to make you appear more often before me because you weren’t paying attention to me.”
Is that how it was? Taohua’s anger flared up again, and she pounded on his chest, “Are you stupid? If you wanted me to be around you more, couldn’t you have given me some rewards or something? That way, I’d have been happy to linger!”
“…” Shen Zaiye sighed deeply, “I miscalculated.”
“Now I must speak plainly with you again,” Taohua gritted her teeth, looking at him seriously. “Between me and Li Jin, there was enmity in the past and no favor in the present. There’s no possibility of any feelings between us! If you suspect me again, then your brain must have been squeezed by a door!”
His brow twitched. Shen Zaiye looked at her, suddenly remembering what Li Jin had said at Floating Cloud Tower. His heart sank.
“He might not be completely without feeling for you.”
Rolling her eyes, Taohua said, “When a person wants to eat an apple, he doesn’t give it. Later, when they don’t want it anymore, he sends cartloads. That is indeed a kindness, but I no longer need it!”
She doesn’t need it? The poison in her body… Shen Zaiye frowned slightly, wondering if she was unaware of it.
“My lord said that cooperation requires honesty, so let me speak today. Since marrying into the Prime Minister’s mansion, I’ve decided to fulfill my duty as a concubine. I will not engage in any improper behavior outside the marriage.”
Jiang Taohua looked at him earnestly, “Even if the customs of Zhao and Wu are different, I’m willing to accept that you may be fickle and changeable. This is your tradition and habit. I have no power to change it and don’t care to. But there’s no reason for you to turn around and suspect me!”
Is he fickle and changeable? Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes, “In your heart, is that the kind of person I am?”
“It’s not just in my heart,” Taohua raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that how you are?”
It’s normal for men in Da Wei to have three wives and four concubines. She was just adapting to local customs.
Laughing from extreme anger, Shen Zaiye gripped her shoulders, his gaze deep, “Jiang Taohua, are you truly naive or just pretending?”
He treated her so differently; hadn’t she noticed? He was calculating with everyone else but had placed her among those he needed to protect. Hadn’t she noticed that either? She could see through every move of his chess game, how could she not see through his heart?
Taohua blinked, looking at him with surprise, “My lord, are you saying you’re devoted solely to me?”
The words sounded absurd even to her ears, and she couldn’t help but shudder.
His face darkened. Shen Zaiye grabbed the back of her head and kissed her directly. Unlike the usual gentle, lingering kisses, this one carried the taste of blood from their teeth and lips tangling together, hurting Taohua so much she cried out.
“I can’t be devoted solely to you,” he said through gritted teeth between breaths. “If I meet a better woman in the future, you’ll be a discarded wife!”
“Oh,” Taohua nodded, looking at him strangely. “Isn’t that normal? I’m not even angry, why are you so angry?”
What angered him was precisely her lack of anger! Shen Zaiye irritably pressed her down on the bed, gripping her delicate shoulder bones. For a moment, he had the urge to crush her!
“You’re the most magnanimous woman I’ve ever met,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Even more magnanimous than Mei Zhaoxue before. So magnanimous that you don’t even act like a proper woman!”
“Isn’t this what you men prefer?” Taohua smiled. “Intelligent, beautiful, good at managing the household, and not jealous. Such a good wife is hard to find even with a lantern… mmph.”
Before she could finish, her mouth was sealed again. Shen Zaiye closed his eyes in frustration and muttered, “I must have owed you in my past life!”
Taohua blinked, looking at him innocently and pleading pitifully, “My lord, please be gentle.”
(End of Chapter)