CH 98

If other people saw this appearance of his, there would be nothing left of the crown prince’s prestige.

Zhao Zhi didn’t seem to be listening to her seriously, his eyes kept staring straight at her face, “Okay.”

If one had little alcohol tolerance, that person indeed shouldn’t drink alcohol.

Every time Zhao Zhi drank wine, his slumber would become very superficial and he would always be woken up, startled, a couple of times in the middle of the night. He woke up covered in cold sweat, not completely sober yet, with the back of his head feeling heavy and dizzy.

When he looked, in silence, at the woman beside him, his eyes were full of warmth and affection that he himself wasn’t even aware of.

Ming Zhu liked to sleep curled up, like a ball, her entire face was smothered inside the quilt, as if she could this way somehow find a sense of security.

Her face that was smothered was red like a ripe peach because of the heat, so tender that if he used his fingers to gently poke her, it would tear her skin. She was full of softness and her fragrance was intoxicating.

Shrunken into a ball, she looked a little pitiful, with her long black hair scattered around, on the back of her shoulders, making her somewhat look like a sleeping beauty.

Zhao Zhi’s sleepiness had almost vanished, he reached his hand to pull her into his arms, letting her lean into his embrace. He then couldn’t help but pull the quilt down, so that she wouldn’t feel stuffy from being smothered.

Ming Zhu was absolutely unaware of this and continued to sleep in the man’s arms.

Zhao Zhi closed his eyes and rested for a while longer.

When the day dawned, Zhao Zhi got up and after dressing neatly, didn’t forget to cover her up with the quilt. Then he lowered the bed curtains, blocking the glimmer of light that was shining through the window into the room.

He had an important matter to attend to today.

***

The dungeon of the imperial court of justice was dark and damp, the walls were impregnated with cold dampness, as condensed water droplets were rolling down the cracks of the walls.

Wei Chiyu had now been imprisoned for almost three days. There was still undried blood on the ground, from the last convict who had been tortured.

Wei Chiyu hadn’t been tortured to extract a confession out of him, but the days he spent in this place weren’t too good either.

Jiang You used her grandfather’s status and bribed all the guards in the hierarchy just to have the opportunity to get to meet him once.

The young girl had already cried a lot at home, and her eyes were red and swollen. When she reached the cell, her throat got choked with a sob, “Senior brother.”

Wei Chiyu was sitting in the corner, following the sound of that voice, he raised his eyes to look over. There was absolutely no trace of surprise on his face, “Why did you come?”

Jiang You wiped her eyes and, with a red nose, asked him in a fluster, “Are you okay? Did they beat you?”

Covering his wound, Wei Chiyu slowly stood up, his expression was bland, as if he had never suffered any humiliation, “I’m fine.”

Seeing that the man she loved had suffered such great abuse, Jiang You couldn’t help but feel like crying, she wasn’t originally the type to weep and be soft-natured, but she was just too heartbroken to see him like this.

“Senior brother, I will definitely find a way to get you out of here.”

“You don’t have to worry about my business.” Wei Chiyu only regarded her as a little sister and didn’t have any feelings for her beyond those between a brother and a sister. He said, “Go home and tell your family to cancel the betrothal engagement between us.”

Jiang You opened her eyes wide and the tears that were hanging on her eyelashes, after an instant, slowly rolled down.

Seeing the tears on her cheeks, Wei Chiyu said what he had been wanting to say for a long time, “Now that I am in jail, my reputation is ruined, even if you’re the first party to mention cancelling the engagement, no one will say anything about you.”

Jiang You wiped her tears clean and shook her head repeatedly: “I ……”

This time, Wei Chiyu had plotted against her, “The outcome waiting for me won’t be too good, your family most probably won’t be willing to watch you suffer along with me.”

The Jiang family only had this one girl, they pampered her as a treasure and certainly wouldn’t marry her to a man with a ruined future.

This was the reason why Wei Chiyu had never tried to appeal and redress the injustice he was facing.

He did not like her and did not want to lie to her. He also did not want to marry her and live a life where they would only have mutual respect for each other.

He was stubborn and would rather not marry for the rest of his life.

“It was the crown prince’s deci ……” Jiang You mumbled, like she had caught a lifeline.

Wei Chiyu interrupted her, “I know.”

A short pain was better than long pain, it was necessary to speak clearly.

Wei Chiyu’s breath sounded a little weak as he spoke, “Your grandfather will find a way.”

If Jiang Taifu went to the palace and requested it, cancelling the marriage wouldn’t be difficult.

Jiang You held back her tears and opened her mouth to say something else, but the guards were already urging her, “The time is up, you should leave.”

Jiang You sniffled through her red nose, but didn’t easily give up on her heart: “Senior brother, I will see you again in a few days.”

Wei Chiyu said, “Don’t come back. I can only ever see you as a little sister.”