dognovel Chapter 119 Jealousy strikes
Chapter 119 Jealousy strikes
Seeing a man appear in the hot spring, she straightened her clothes and lit the Huanyi incense. A light and elegant scent spread, intertwining with the warm water vapor around her.
Yue Tong couldn't wait to see the man's reaction. As she took off her clothes and slowly entered the hot spring, her consciousness gradually began to blur, as if the man in front of her was really Prince Yu.
The fragrance of Huan Yi had quietly penetrated into her heart. Yue Tong felt her legs inexplicably soft, her face flushed, everything around her was spinning, but she felt extremely excited, until the man hugged her into his arms...
"Where did this beautiful lady come from? Please stay and accompany me."
……
Baili Zhao was not interested in such enjoyment in the first place. He indifferently accepted the invitation from local officials and then did not show up in the hot spring on the grounds of being unwell.
He has many such quiet and elegant villages, and he is not interested in things like taking a hot spring bath.
Baili Zhao was reading the secret letter. The officials in the capital who were on good terms with him all advised him to hold off for the time being, avoid the enemy's attack, and find ways to delay his journey to the capital.
Although he won a great victory this time and won the support of the people, it was precisely because of this that he became a thorn in the eyes of the prince, and His Majesty would certainly find a way to suppress him.
The art of imperial power is all about balance. Now that his momentum is so strong, it's natural that his father is becoming more and more worried.
But he had to obey the emperor's order. If he disobeyed the emperor's order, not only would he be in danger, but he would also be in danger of bringing disaster to the thousands of soldiers of the Red Fire Army under his command.
Think about it, every soldier in the Red Fire Army has gone through the flames of war and survived many life-and-death situations before they could return home and reunite with their families.
There was a knock on the door, and it was Jiang Nianwei's voice that came, "A Zhao, are you there?"
Baili Zhao immediately put away the secret letter and opened the door. When he saw Jiang Nianwei, his heavy heart was somewhat comforted. "Sanniang, why don't you take a good rest and come here to look for me?"
Jiang Nianwei saw the fatigue between his brows and asked, "Didn't you go to the hot spring to relax?"
He joked, "I have no interest in this matter, but if Sanniang is willing to accompany me, I am willing to go with all my might."
"I prefer quiet places. There are all kinds of people here. I guess this is why you don't want to go there."
Things were probably going to be pretty much as she expected, so she didn't have to worry anymore. Yue Tong was asking for trouble after all.
Baili Zhao smiled and said, "If Sanniang likes hot springs, I also have several quiet manors with gurgling springs, isolated from the world. I will give all the land deeds to you when the time comes, okay?"
Jiang Nianwei declined politely: "You forgot that you have already given the betrothal gift."
There were countless treasures salvaged from the sea before, and she only used a tiny portion of it for her business. With the help of the Jing family, those shops should have expanded to all parts of the country by now.
"I wish I could bring all the treasures in this world to you."
This sentence made Jiang Nianwei laugh, "Isn't this country the best in the world? Are you willing to give it to me as well?"
At this moment, Baili Zhao was silent. Although he once had the idea of fighting for power, when he knew his father's thoughts, he realized that although the country is good, one step wrong will lead to the abyss and there is no recovery.
"If the kingdom can be exchanged for a beautiful woman's smile, it is worth it."
Baili Zhao sighed and took out the secret letter. "Sanniang, I want you to see this. What do you think?"
Jiang Nianwei glanced at the secret letter and said, "Of course we have to go back, and we have to go back openly and let the people welcome the Red Fire Army back! Although the capital is a tiger's den, you can't get a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den."
Baili Zhao smiled and said, "You think the same as I do. I have already sent people to the capital to praise the heroic name of the Red Fire Army and spread the word of their military exploits. In this way, even if the high and mighty prince wants to do something wrong, he will have to think twice and weigh the pros and cons."
As for his father, Baili Zhao really had no idea and could only take things one step at a time.
Jiang Nianwei secretly thought that everything in the world can be used to praise virtues and also to criticize tyranny.
Although there are no natural disasters in the capital city for the time being, many cities in the world have suffered from wind and frost. There are disasters such as flying snow, terrifying ground cracks and mountain collapses, and thousands of miles of barren land and raging drought.
Jiang Nianwei leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words, "This way, if these doggerel poems are spread out, Your Majesty will be even less likely to act rashly."
Baili Zhao's eyes lit up when he heard this. "Great! You are absolutely right. This is a great plan. I will immediately order my men to prepare carefully and make sure these poems become a hot topic of discussion on the streets."
The two of them were very close to each other, and it seemed that if he moved a little closer, Baili Zhao would be able to kiss her ear.
Seeing that he suddenly fell silent, Jiang Nianwei asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like this?"
Baili Zhao's hand was lightly suspended in the air, about to gently brush the silky smooth hair, but at this moment, the sudden noise outside the door was like thunder, interrupting the tranquility.
"Your Highness, I need to see you urgently. A woman is making a loud noise outside the door. In her words... she is accusing your Highness of committing an inappropriate act towards her. Her words are very convincing."
Baili Zhao suddenly felt puzzled. He was in this room, discussing important matters with Sanniang, and had never taken a step out of the room. How could he be accused of insulting a woman? This unfounded accusation was simply ridiculous.
"Your Majesty, that woman also said that she was someone close to Miss Jiang..."
Jiang Nianwei immediately understood who the woman was, "Don't panic, let her in!"
Yue Tong thought her plan had succeeded, but when she woke up, she found herself alone and naked beside the hot spring. The man she had made love with was gone, and five taels of silver were left beside him.
There were still marks on her body, so what happened just now was definitely not an illusion.
Clearly the prince had already had a fleeting relationship with her, so why didn't he take her away and only leave money to humiliate her? She was left with only a surge of shame and resentment in her heart, which surged like a tide.
In a fit of anger, she came up with this idea. Prince Yu had never been involved in any romantic affairs, so she became the first person to do so.
When someone came to ask to see the prince, she deliberately complained about her in tears and accused how she had been innocently forced by Prince Yu, which attracted everyone's attention and discussion.
"Is this true? Prince Yu openly humiliated an innocent woman in broad daylight. Wouldn't this behavior make his reputation for being upright in the past go up in smoke? People all say he is a man of high moral character, but now it seems that he is just seeking fame and reputation."
"Prince Yu has never been interested in women. Such behavior is totally inconsistent with his past demeanor. It makes people sigh with regret."
"Please wait for a moment to make a conclusion. How can you easily comment on what you have heard with your own ears? Before the truth is revealed, you should remain rational and tolerant and wait for the truth to come out."
Until someone took Yue Tong away, she did not show any shame on her face. Instead, she said boldly: "If I, Yue Tong, really have misfortune, I am afraid that the powerful prince is trying to cover up his unspeakable deeds in the name of death. Let me ask, what woman in this world would easily joke about her own innocence?"
When Yue Tong's eyes fell upon Prince Yu's stern figure, unspeakable grievance and sorrow welled up in her heart. She involuntarily wanted to move forward, wanting to pour out all her thoughts.
But Prince Yu took several steps back and ignored her completely. Instead, he watched coldly, as if his previous tenderness was all fake.
It wasn't until she saw Jiang Nianwei beside Prince Yu that Yue Tong's heart seemed to be tugged by something.
She knelt down in front of her and cried timidly, "Miss Jiang, I know that you and the prince are deeply in love. Please don't blame the prince. It is normal for ordinary men to have three wives and four concubines. What's more, the prince is a noble. I have no other wishes but to stay with the prince. Even if I am just a maid, I will be satisfied."
Jiang Nianwei smiled playfully, "My Lord, what do you think?"
Baili Zhao's face stiffened a little. "I don't know her at all, let alone touch her. Besides, I was in the room with Sanniang just now and never went out. Do you want to deliberately put the blame on me?"
He did not have a trace of pity from beginning to end and looked at Yue Tong with disgust, just afraid that Sanniang would misunderstand the matter.
Yue Tong knelt on the ground crying, "Your Majesty just said so many sweet words to me, why are you pretending not to know me now?"
Although her consciousness was hazy, she still remembered those words.
Jiang Nianwei looked at the mark on Yuetong's neck. It seemed that she had indeed had sex with someone just now, but it definitely couldn't have been A Zhao.
"How can you be sure that the person who forced you is the prince in front of you?"
"That's right... I saw it clearly. Yuetong would not joke about her own reputation!"
Jiang Nianwei took a bite of the cake slowly, and then asked slowly, "Where did those things just now happen?"
Yue Tong lowered her head, her cheeks flushed, "It's...it's at the hot spring."
When the guard next to him heard this, he quickly said, "That must not be the prince. The prince has never been to the hot spring. He has never left this room!"
"Miss Yuetong, I think you should stop humiliating yourself here. I guess you used Huan Yi Xiang, right?"
Seeing the other party's nervous expression, Jiang Nianwei continued, "This fragrance was modified by me in the past with special techniques. Its effect is quite mysterious. It can not only induce people to dream, but also plant illusions in people's hearts, making it difficult for people to distinguish between reality and illusion. Although I don't know how this fragrance ended up here, judging from your current condition, I'm afraid you mistook the man who insulted you for the prince."
Yue Tong was shocked as if by a bolt from the blue. "Impossible, this is impossible, Miss Jiang, I beg you to be merciful and let the prince take me in!"
She didn't believe these words at all, "I left traces on that person's back! The prince must have some too!"
Baili Zhao's patience had run out. A hint of impatience flashed across his brows, and he ordered in a deep voice: "Act quickly, seal off this place, and make sure to search for the person with scratches on his back. No mistakes!"
After half an hour of investigation, three men were found, all of whom had tiny scratches on their backs.
Two of them were elite soldiers in the Red Fire Army. Facing the doubts, they calmly explained, "Your Highness, please understand. The scratches on our bodies are actually caused by poisonous insects. You can see that there are many bite marks not only on our backs, but also on our limbs, which can serve as evidence."
Jiang Nianwei went up to take a closer look and found that it was true. She shook her head and said, "It's not them."
The man in the army was indeed strong and sturdy, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances at him.
Finally, only a shivering middle-aged bald man was left. Under the silent gaze of several soldiers, the man finally collapsed, knocking his forehead heavily on the cold stone slab, making a dull sound, and begging for mercy: "I really don't know the inside story... I am just responsible for cleaning here. Seeing that there was no one in the hot spring, I was greedy for the comfort of the hot spring, so I tried it. Unexpectedly, a strange fragrance hit me, and it seemed like a fairyland in front of me. A beautiful woman appeared. She...she took the initiative to invite me, and I was confused for a moment, so..."
Yue Tong almost collapsed when she saw the ugly man: "It's impossible, it can't be him, I don't believe it."
She knelt in front of Baili Zhao and begged bitterly: "My Lord, that is obviously you, please keep me!"
"Girl, I have just given you all my savings of five taels of silver. Otherwise, I will definitely take responsibility. Otherwise, you can marry me! I don't mind that you are not innocent."
Yue Tong sat on the ground dejectedly. After hearing the last sentence, she finally accepted the fact.
Then, Shuangshuang brought Hu Lianxue over. Seeing that she was so stubborn, Hu Lianxue slapped her hard and said, "I thought we had at least a little sisterhood, but I didn't expect you to want to kill me."
"Miss Jiang, I didn't know her well at first, but now I know who she is. From today on, I will sever my sisterhood with her."
Baili Zhao coughed a few times and asked, "What do you think we should do with this woman?"
"Yuetong, since the person who insulted you is willing to take responsibility, you should marry him and live a peaceful life from now on!"
The middle-aged bald man was immediately overjoyed, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, young lady!"
Yue Tong had a blank expression on her face. She sat on the ground like a lost soul, without any reaction. She might as well die than marrying a man like this.
I had planned so much, but I never expected this would be the outcome.
After the middle-aged man dragged the distraught Yue Tong away, Jiang Nianwei helped Hu Lianxue up, "Do you think I'm too cruel?"
Hu Lianxue shook her head. The moment she learned that Yue Tong wanted to kill her, there was no friendship between her and Yue Tong anymore.
"Miss Jiang didn't let her die directly, which was already a great tolerance for her."
Jiang Nianwei didn't let her die because maybe Yue Tong was still useful. As long as she lived an peaceful life, she could at least survive in the future... But if she continued to be stubborn, she would be asking for trouble.
After everyone left, Baili Zhao looked at Jiang Nianwei with resentment, "Sanniang, you stared at the bodies of those two soldiers for so long just now, is it because they have good-looking bodies?"
Jiang Nianwei was startled. She didn't expect him to observe so carefully. She quickly collected her thoughts and smiled gently.
"No, no, how could that be? I am not such a shallow person. It's just that when I saw the scars on their bodies and their heroic appearance, I couldn't help but think of the times when we fought side by side in the past. I was filled with emotion, so I took a few more glances at them. I had no other intentions."
Baili Zhao was still furious and filled with jealousy. He refused to listen to her explanation and started to undress.
Seeing this, Jiang Nianwei's heart tightened and she had a bad feeling. She wanted to turn around and escape from the atmosphere that was about to get out of control, but her way was blocked by Baili Zhao's figure that suddenly stood in front of her.
Jiang Nianwei felt something was wrong and wanted to leave, but Baili Zhao blocked her way. "You, what do you want to do? Although you and I are already married, you promised that you would not force me. What's more, the current situation is really inappropriate."
Baili Zhao stretched out his hand and domineeringly trapped her in the corner, revealing his upper body. His muscular lines looked particularly strong and attractive under the candlelight.
"Don't you like to watch, Sanniang? Today I will let you watch enough!"