Provoke Him - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Thirst.

My throat had gone hoarse.

Tears were being forced from my eyes.

But it was not water I wanted.

I wanted to borrow the faint chill of someone else’s body to cool the burning heat inside me.

There was something wrong with the wine!

My gaze could hardly focus as it swept over every face at the banquet.

Who had poisoned the wine at the feast?

Were they trying to make me disgrace myself in public?

To ruin my reputation completely?

I bit through my lip, using the pain to cling to the last thread of reason.

Then I stumbled out to find Pei Ye, my childhood companion, who had entered the banquet with me.

Under the moonlight, behind the bamboo grove.

Pei Ye stood with another woman.

Before I could call his name in a trembling, softened voice, as if grasping at a lifeline…

Those strange words suddenly flashed before my eyes again.

A chill ran through me.

It even overpowered the scalding heat spreading across my skin.

I recognized the person beside Pei Ye. She was Grand Tutor Shen’s daughter, Shen Yunci, the talented beauty whose name was known throughout the land.

Pure and elegant, learned and gifted.

She was probably the “female lead” mentioned in those floating bullet comments.

She was also Pei Ye’s white moonlight-the woman he adored yet dared not profane.

“Young Marquis, why aren’t you at Miss Jiang’s side?”

The cool night breeze cleared my head a little, and I heard his reply clearly.

His tone was impatient, laced with careless indifference.

“You mean Jiang Su?”

“All she has is a pretty face. She’s a complete airhead. She’s clung to me all these years, so overbearing that she won’t let any other woman take even one step near me. I’ve been sick of it for ages.”

“She even thinks that just because our families have been close for generations, she can marry me. How could I possibly take her as my wife?”

Shen Yunci smiled faintly, refined and graceful.

“Then, Young Marquis, if you don’t wish to marry her, what sort of woman do you wish to marry?”

Pei Ye put away his careless roguishness, his expression turning somewhat serious.

“At the very least, someone like you-dignified and poised, elegant in conduct… Only a woman like that would bring harmony to a household.”

A moment ago, I had still been half-doubtful of the bullet comments hanging in midair.

But now that I had heard Pei Ye say such hurtful words with my own ears,

my eyes still burned against my will.

My heart felt sour and bitter, swelling with a sharp ache.

The drug inside me surged in wave after wave, giving me no chance to breathe.

I couldn’t go to Pei Ye?

Was I truly supposed to beg that man instead?

Though he was my distant cousin, he was the noble Chancellor-cold as snow, pure as plum blossoms, aloof and untouchable. I had never seen him lower his head or bend his back to anyone.

Every time I saw him,

that sharp, frigid aura about him pressed down on me until I did not even dare raise my head. I only dared call him softly, “Ah Xiong…”

And as always, I received no answer from him.

Rong Yuchen, like cold snow atop a mountain peak.

Would he truly, as those words claimed, cry out my name every night…

My ears instantly burned hot.

My blood was like boiling oil meeting sparks, setting me aflame until even the seams between my bones itched.

I gritted my teeth and decided to turn away.

But my foot snapped a dry branch beneath me. The crisp crack interrupted the conversation behind the bamboo grove.

“Who’s there?” Pei Ye looked over sharply.

My eyes were rimmed red.

In discomfort, I rubbed at the fabric of my skirt.

Once Pei Ye saw it was me, his sword-like brows drew together. His thin lips moved, his voice filled with mockery.

“Jiang Su, do you have to be this clingy?”

“I leave your side for one moment, and you have to come looking for me?”

His expression darkened. “Am I not even allowed to speak with Miss Shen?”

“With how jealous and petty you are, no one would dare marry you!”

When I opened my mouth, my voice sounded as if it could drip water. “That’s not it. I… I don’t feel well. I didn’t mean to cling to you.”

Shen Yunci spoke gently and properly. “Never mind. Since Miss Jiang is unwell, Young Marquis, you should go take care of her first.”

Pei Ye dismissed it with a cold snort.

“Jiang Su, stop pretending to be sick! Can’t you come up with a fresher excuse for once? The moment another woman appears by my side, you start making a fuss…”

“Last time, you claimed you lost a jade bracelet. This time, what part of you is supposedly unwell?”

Pei Ye stepped forward and gripped my wrist hard.

But the instant he touched my skin, panic flashed across his face. Frowning, he said,

“Why are you this hot? Did you catch a chill? Are you running a high fever?”

The moment I caught Pei Ye’s scent,

I nearly lost control. My knees weakened, and I almost collapsed into his arms.

I had endured it for too long.

The drug was growing stronger.

It felt as if ants were gnawing through my blood, through the seams of my bones.

At the critical moment, the bullet comments appeared again.

[No, no! Mei Bao, don’t let him touch you! If you fall into this Madman’s hands, your whole life is over!]

[This bastard clearly enjoys it too, but he’ll turn around and say you seduced him and forced him! Then when the Madman and his madwoman have their dramatic reunion years later, you’ll be the tool character kicked out of the marquis household to make room for the female lead, and you’ll die of illness on the streets.]

[After you die, that cousin of yours who never says what he feels will follow you in suicide without a word. Can you two just get together already and stop letting the Madman and madwoman jump around? This is forced angst for the sake of angst!!]

I stared at the flickering words in midair, stunned for a moment.

In the end, Rong Yuchen-that cold, proud man who held power over the realm-would actually die for love after I died?