Ren Shuhan had been rising early every day for the past ten years, initially for running but now for sword practice, and nothing had changed.
He enjoyed exercising while contemplating during the early morning hours.
In these past few days, he hadn’t been with his wife as much as before. It was because after his first kill, he wanted some time alone to cool off.
Lu Yan, fundamentally speaking, was essentially him. So, if Lu Bing wanted to destroy him, he could retaliate by killing Lu Bing without much psychological burden. Moreover, unlike the antagonists like Chu Lu and Yan Huan, who were set as villains regardless of whether they received the protagonist’s aura or not, Lu Bing was indeed despicable.
But killing a general who was loyal to Lu Bing and disregarded the lives of his subordinates posed a bit of a dilemma for Ren Shuhan.
Feeling bad about such a trivial matter would be embarrassing to admit.
However, even without saying it, Jiang Qingyue, after hearing the situation at the time, could guess his thoughts and even laughed, saying, “You’ve always been like this.”
Ren Shuhan asked helplessly, “Tender-hearted?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Jiang Qingyue’s eyes softened as he looked at him. “You feel guilty for forcing the vassal princes and generals not to revolt because you interfere with others’ lives. It’s adorable. That’s what I like most about you.”
He was skeptical, “Really?”
Like a saint… so, my wife likes the little princess in my heart?
“Of course it’s true,” Jiang Qingyue explained earnestly, “If women were not compassionate and only thought of themselves, they wouldn’t take such big risks to have children, and humanity would have been extinct long ago.”
Ren Shuhan: … Makes sense!
But understanding it didn’t make him feel any better.
Ren Shuhan realized for the first time that he had OCD. He didn’t even want to kill an NPC and even considered waiting until after the wedding, using the system to be reborn, and fleeing with Jiang Qingyue to cancel this palace-planned marriage. If Emperor Lu was willing to sit on the throne, let him sit.
Not harming others, only harming Lu Bing, to him, was just a fixed role, accompanying him in a fixed storyline. So, although he didn’t like Lu Bing, he didn’t hate him either.
In the original story, Lu Bing was ultimately taught by Lu Yan. He had neither merits nor demerits in governing the country, so Ren Shuhan wanted to be a figurehead and spend his time traveling rather than being an emperor.
Eating through the streets, wandering through the land, that’s life.
This morning, as he was thinking about this, he suddenly received a friendly system reminder:
“Jiang Qingci attempted to poison Jiang Qingyue and failed.”
Ren Shuhan was startled.
He immediately mounted his horse and rushed to the Jiang Mansion, alarming both the palace and the mansion’s occupants.
Because Ren Shuhan was practicing martial arts, the morning court was postponed. Jiang Zhe hadn’t even finished tying his hair properly and stumbled out to meet him, but Ren Shuhan waved his whip, telling everyone not to disturb him.
People in the mansion were always observant. The favored young master had always been cherished, while the eldest son was ignored. Now that the favored young master was gaining imperial favor and was about to enter the palace, rumors spread that praised the favored young master and disparaged the eldest son. Idle gossip soon reached Jiang Qingci’s ears:
“Is His Majesty here to see the young master?”
“It must be.”
“His Majesty has been intimate with the young master since childhood, and now that the wedding is approaching, he can’t even wait a day.”
“Oh, the young master is so fortunate.”
“The eldest son… Haha, I can’t help but laugh when I think of what he said last time. How dare he think like that!”
That person burst out laughing, causing the table to shake.
Jiang Qingci thought and thought, but in the end, angrily stormed towards Jiang Qingyue’s courtyard, intending to find Ren Shuhan and make him see Jiang Qingyue’s wickedness clearly.
But when he reached the courtyard, he suddenly stopped.
Inside the small courtyard, two people were kissing.
Ren Shuhan had his eyes half-open, gazing lovingly at the person in his arms, his eyes filled with affection as his hands caressed the person’s long hair and cheeks.
Jiang Qingci suddenly understood. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t matter.
Lu Yan didn’t love him.
Why?
Although he was very afraid of Lu Yan, he didn’t run away this time!
During Lu Yan’s poisoning period, he stayed by Lu Yan’s side every day to cook for him. Although he wasn’t good at cooking, he tried his best. He even thought about feeding Lu Yan… Why didn’t Lu Yan love him anymore?!
Wanting to return home triumphantly and live without worries about food and clothing, “Lu Yan loves him” was a major premise.
Once Lu Yan stopped loving him, he would have nothing.
Ren Shuhan noticed him coming and slightly adjusted his angle, pulling Jiang Qingyue into his arms, coldly asking him, “What do you want?”
Jiang Qingci opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, forgetting to keep his rebirth secret, and cried out in frustration, “Give me back the Lu Yan from my previous life. He clearly loved me.”
The Lu Yan who loved him deeply and was willing to sacrifice everything for him.
“Do you really want Lu Yan? I am Lu Yan, what you said about the previous life was just a dream.”
Ren Shuhan looked at him indifferently.
“Have you ever thought about why I should like you? In terms of affection, I have my childhood sweetheart in my heart; in terms of gratitude, my secret guards have done much more for me than you. Do you think I should be attracted to your face and personality in just a few days? Sorry, I’ve seen too many beauties, and I can’t even remember your type.”
The more he spoke, the colder his tone became.
After listening to Ren Shuhan, Jiang Qingci felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body, and he couldn’t cry anymore.
Ren Shuhan had always harbored a grudge against the protagonist, as he could hear Jiang Qingci’s thoughts, and he was fed up with always being taken for granted as a tool. So, he finally couldn’t bear it anymore and spoke frankly to him.
As for Jiang Qingci’s hatred from his previous life, Ren Shuhan didn’t need to say much. He simply had the system extract his memories from his past life.
“Take him away,” Ren Shuhan said to the guards who had just followed him.
Jiang Qingci staggered in place, covering his head, and was helped back to his room by the guards.
“Keep an eye on your young master,” Ren Shuhan instructed the maids who had followed him outside, “Keep him confined to his room for a month. If the mansion doesn’t teach him discipline, send him to learn it in prison.”
So, news of Jiang Qingci’s confrontation with His Majesty spread within the mansion.
“Did you hear? The eldest son is so shameless, he went straight to pester His Majesty!”
“It’s a pity that His Majesty only loves the young master. It’s truly enviable.”
“His Majesty is indeed merciful. He didn’t punish him for this, just kept it in mind because of their family relationship. If I were ruined by someone else, I would truly have murderous intentions.”
Jiang Qingci returned to his room in confusion, not knowing what had happened.
He heard others talking about himself in such a manner, feeling indignant. Although he had lost his memories from his past life, he still firmly believed that Lu Yan should have fallen in love with him, not Jiang Qingyue.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, it was no longer relevant to Ren Shuhan.
Ren Shuhan instructed Jiang Qingyue to also use the system to block out the protagonist’s aura and earnestly prepare for the wedding.
The countless rituals of dressing up, putting on makeup, rushing to get married, welcoming and sending off the bride, which usually took a whole day, were streamlined by Ren Shuhan to just half a day. Although even the banquet they were supposed to have was canceled due to the noise, the whole wedding still seemed grand…
Because of the dowry, which was simply too much.
Jiang Qingci sat quietly in the room, feeling bitter to the point of grinding his teeth, as makeup was carried out at the nearby courtyard gate for a whole day.
Drums and gongs sounded joyfully, with bustling crowds and busy streets.
Everything was as romantic and amusing as Ren Shuhan had imagined, especially when he heard the words “sent into the bridal chamber.” Jiang Qingyue smiled secretly at him, and he suddenly tightened his grip on Jiang Qingyue’s hand.
“Darling,” Ren Shuhan whispered softly in his ear, “I’ve come to marry you.”
The vow made in childhood in this world was finally fulfilled after two lifetimes.
Jiang Qingyue closed his eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling.
It’s been a while since Ren Shuhan dished it out to the protag lol
Thank you for reading
