Sharing One Life with My Nemesis - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The Mother Gu was sealed inside a silver casket by the Imperial Physician Director.

When the Remnant Gu in Xie Huaiyan’s body was extracted, the pain made him pass out several times.

This time, I felt no pain.

I stood outside the folding screen, listening to the stifled groans from within, my nails digging bloody crescents into my palm.

Princess Ningjia leaned against a pillar and watched me.

“You’re not going in?”

I shook my head.

“He doesn’t want me to see.”

“So you won’t?”

“Mm.”

Princess Ningjia stared at me.

“You look like you’ve got quite the stubborn temper. Why are you so obedient now?”

I lowered my head and looked at the bloody marks in my palm.

“Because this time, the pain is his own.”

It was not pain the Soulbound Gu had shared with me.

It was not pain I felt in his stead.

It was Xie Huaiyan himself, truly and completely suffering.

If he was willing to speak, I would listen.

If he was not yet willing to let me see, I would wait.

Half an hour later, the Imperial Physician Director came out and said the Remnant Gu had been fully removed.

When I entered the room, Xie Huaiyan was already awake.

He leaned against the couch, his face pale, yet the first thing he asked was, “Where’s the roster?”

I handed him a bowl of medicine.

“Ask one more time, and I’ll dump this medicine on your face.”

He took the bowl.

“Did Father get it?”

I looked at him.

He immediately changed his tune.

“It hurts.”

I was satisfied.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My chest.”

“Where else?”

“My back.”

“And?”

He paused.

“When I saw you burning the roster, I was so scared it hurt.”

I couldn’t help laughing.

His eyes curved slightly too.

This time, his smile was faint, but he no longer looked as if he might retreat into the shadows at any moment.

Three days later, the old case of the Eastern Palace was tried again.

The Deposed Crown Prince confessed to his crimes from sixteen years ago: coercing the Former Northern Border Troops, embezzling military rations, framing loyal officials, and more.

Princess Ningjia’s father presented the roster of the Former Northern Border Troops. When combined with the half-roster my mother had left behind, it accounted perfectly for the whereabouts of every batch of military rations.

The Jiang Family’s name was thoroughly cleared.

Xie Huaiyan, at last, no longer had to go to the Northern Frontier to repair city walls.

But the emperor still did not let him off.

After court was dismissed, a eunuch arrived with an oral decree.

“Xie Huaiyan defied an imperial edict and refused a marriage. He is fined one year’s salary.”

Xie Huaiyan accepted the decree.

The eunuch then looked at me.

“Miss Jiang spoke out of turn before His Majesty. His Majesty says that, in consideration of your merit in investigating the case, you will not be punished.”

I let out a breath of relief.

The eunuch leisurely added, “But His Majesty also said that if Miss Jiang truly wishes to manage Lord Xie, then take him home and manage him there. Do not come to the palace every day to complain about him.”

The courtyard fell deathly silent.

Father coughed hard enough to shake the heavens.

Mother turned away to look at the flowers.

Jiang Yu’an asked in a small voice, “Does this count as an imperial marriage grant?”

I glared at him.

He immediately covered his mouth.

Xie Huaiyan’s ears had gone completely red, but he still insisted on pretending to be calm.

“His Majesty was merely joking.”

I looked at him.

“Are you very disappointed?”

“No.”

“Then you’re very happy?”

He was silent for a long while.

Then he said softly, “A little.”