Chapter 260: The Hypocrite
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!”
Jiang Yuan’s voice was sharp with disbelief, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
“You’re going to marry into her family? Become a live-in husband for Xu Shi Yun? How is she even worthy!” Jiang Yuan was livid. She had only just come of age when she ran away from home and encountered danger—Rong Che had saved her.
That same year, Lu Yan Shu had fallen into the river, and Rong Che, worried for Shi Yun, had secretly returned from the borderlands. On his way back, he had rescued Jiang Yuan. From that moment, she had been hopelessly devoted to him.
She swore she would marry no one else.
Whenever the Stabilizing Duke’s Manor arranged a match for Rong Che, she intervened, ruining countless proposals.
Once, a young girl merely praised General Rong’s valor, calling him the perfect match for any maiden. Jiang Yuan had found an excuse and publicly slapped her. The girl had only just come of age and was humiliated beyond measure. Lacking a powerful background to retaliate, she had fled the capital in shame, marrying into a distant land.
Jiang Yuan had always believed Rong Che belonged to her alone.
But now, Xu Shi Yun had appeared out of nowhere.
Rong Che’s expression was cold, his gaze frosty and unapproachable.
“Show some respect to Shi Yun! If I hear you speak rudely again, I’ll break your mouth!” His voice was harsh, his eyes carrying an unmistakable warning that sent shivers down one’s spine.
Jiang Yuan’s eyes turned red as she bit her lip, her tears threatening to fall.
She loved this version of him—the unyielding, distant, iron-blooded general.
With power in his grasp and the Stabilizing Duke’s Manor at his back, not to mention an elder sister who was the Empress, he was one of the most influential men in the capital.
“But you said before—when Northern Zhao was still in turmoil—that you had no wish to marry! That you wouldn’t be distracted by romantic entanglements!”
“I only didn’t want to be entangled with you.”
“With Shi Yun, I want to be entangled!” Rong Che declared, his tone resolute.
“You—” Jiang Yuan trembled with fury.
“You come from a noble house and hold great power. She must only want your influence!” Jiang Yuan refused to accept defeat, especially not to someone from the Xu family.
“There are many powerful men in the world. Why did she choose me? Clearly, I’m different from the rest!” Rong Che had no qualms about flattering himself.
“Stop wasting your time on me!” He dismissed her outright, unwilling to entertain her any further.
Jiang Yuan was so angry that she finally broke down in tears.
“But—but I have loved you for so many years… I have waited for you! I only ever wanted to marry you!” she sobbed.
“You and I bear no grudges…”
“Why must you repay kindness with cruelty?” Rong Che stared at her intently as he asked.
Jiang Yuan was stunned.
She turned deathly pale as if she had been struck down completely.
“What is so wrong with me… that you would rather marry into someone else’s family than marry me?” She gazed at him in agony.
Rong Che didn’t even look at her. Instead, his eyes searched the crowd.
He was looking for his Shi Yun.
“I don’t like women who use heavy incense.”
“I also don’t like yellow. You always wear pale yellow robes.”
“I dislike chatty women. It irritates me.”
“Your scholarly grace only makes me feel like an unrefined brute. You and I are ill-suited in every way. Stop wasting your time on me!”
With every word he spoke, Jiang Yuan’s face grew paler.
“Miss Jiang, my heart belongs to another. I implore you not to interfere with my marriage. And kindly keep your distance—I am here to propose a marriage, and I must remain honorable.”
Rong Che took a deliberate step back, increasing the space between them by three meters. He even had to raise his voice to address her.
Jiang Yuan stared at him, unwilling to accept it.
Suddenly, Rong Che’s expression brightened as he abandoned Jiang Yuan entirely, rushing toward the entrance.
To everyone’s astonishment, the ever-stoic, taciturn General Rong had a grin spreading across his face like a blooming flower.
“Shi Yun… careful, the ground is slippery,” he murmured gently, as if afraid of startling her.
Coincidentally, Madam Xu wore yellow today.
“Shi Yun, yellow suits you—it looks graceful and dignified. You wear it beautifully.”
“Shi Yun, what kind of incense do you use? It smells so elegant, quite poetic in its fragrance,” Rong Che complimented her tirelessly.
Madam Xu held her handkerchief to her lips, sighing inwardly at his foolishness.
“It’s agarwood,” Deng Zhi answered with a smile.
Jiang Yuan sucked in a sharp breath. Agarwood!
She had used the same scent! Worn the same color!
Shi Yun was even more well-read than her! And yet, their treatment was worlds apart!
Rong Che accompanied Shi Yun to her seat.
As a first-rank titled lady, she was seated beside the old madam of the Stabilizing Duke’s Manor.
“Come sit beside me, dear. You must be tired from the journey,” the old madam looked at her warmly.
The entire household had stayed up all night in excitement, clutching their ancestral tablets as they wept tears of joy.
At last, they had a daughter-in-law in sight.
Even if she wasn’t quite secured yet…
“Old Madam, I’m not tired. It was only a short walk.”
The old madam eagerly took her hand in her own.
Rong Che glanced once, then again. He hadn’t even touched her hand yet.
The old madam shot him a smug look, patting Shi Yun’s hand with satisfaction. I got to hold my daughter-in-law’s hand first.
“There are only women here. Why are you still standing around? Leave!” The old madam dismissed him with a glare.
Rong Che reluctantly left, though his eyes never left Shi Yun.
Jiang Yuan’s eyes turned red with fury and resentment as she bit her lip, intending to approach Madam Xu.
Suddenly—
A terrifying wave of killing intent surged toward her, filled with violent oppression. Her heart seized, and in an instant—
Her face turned white, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Her scalp prickled with fear, cold sweat pouring down her back.
It was as if taking one more step would result in her blood spilling on the spot.
She stiffly turned her head.
Rong Che was staring at her with utter indifference, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.
Jiang Yuan trembled, unable to utter a single word.
She had never experienced such pure, unrestrained bloodlust.
Rong Che wanted to kill her.
All because she had intended to approach Madam Xu.
He wanted to kill me!
He wouldn’t even let me be in her presence!
“Tao’er… help me…” Jiang Yuan whispered, unable to meet Rong Che’s gaze.
She found a far-off corner, distancing herself from Madam Xu as much as possible.
Only then did Rong Che’s gaze shift away.
When he looked up again, his face softened, his eyes filled with infinite warmth as he gazed at Xu Shi Yun.
“I thought he was incapable of love…”
“Turns out…”
“He just reserved all his tenderness for her.”
“He was even willing to kill me…”
Lu Chao Chao obediently sat beside Shi Yun, glancing at Jiang Yuan from time to time.
[That woman harbors ill intent toward Mother…]
[But she seems afraid of Uncle Rong…]