Chapter 9
Edward Quan ·
Fury rushed straight to my head.
I ordered the driver to hurry to that estate.
The moment we reached the gate, I stormed inside and kicked open the bedroom door.
Well done, Cui Yu!
Clothes lay scattered across the floor. Behind the bed curtains, a figure moved indistinctly.
I raised my new leather whip and shouted, “Come out and die, you faithless husband!”
The lash fell. The person on the bed groaned.
Wait.
Why was this… Xie Hui?
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I froze, staring.
He looked up, the corners of his eyes red, something seductive in their depths.
His skin was white as snow. Nothing covered him.
I swallowed without thinking, then suddenly came to my senses.
Damn!
A trap!
He had deliberately lured me here?
I turned to leave. Xie Hui suddenly sprang up and caught me from behind.
“A-Li, why did you deceive me?”
I struggled.
“Let go. Let go! My husband has a sharp nose. If I go home smelling of someone else, he'll have a jealous fit.”
Xie Hui sounded aggrieved and held me tighter.
“No. I won't. I should have been the one beside you.”
I turned and slapped him.
“Beside me? I threw you that ball with my own hands, and you tossed it aside. Later, you belittled me at every turn and insisted on making me your bedchamber attendant. You call that being beside me?”
“You were clearly about to marry, yet you planned to lock me away on another estate and forget about me!”
He hurriedly lifted my hand and blew gently on my burning palm, his voice humble and earnest.
“Does it hurt? If you're still angry and your hand hurts, punish me with the whip. I won't complain.”
“Before, all I thought about were case files, criminal law, and official duties. I was foolish. I understood nothing of love. By the time I woke up and realized I'd already fallen for you, you were long gone…”
“Wait. I never meant to send you away!”
Furious, I replied coldly, “Liar! I heard it myself. You said a mere bedchamber attendant had such extravagant demands, so you might as well send her to another estate!”
Understanding flashed across Xie Hui's face.
“That wasn't about you! It was a case I was handling. The victim's bedchamber attendant was scheming to extort fifty thousand taels. Everything I said concerned her. It never had anything to do with you.”
What?
So… I had misunderstood him?
But then, too much bitterness had already taken root. Whether it had been a misunderstanding no longer mattered.
“Even so, you say you love me? Then why did you marry Miss Zhou's memorial tablet?”
Xie Hui looked up, his eyes bright.
“A-Li, that tablet was yours. I never discussed marrying Miss Zhou. I'd already made that clear to her family. From beginning to end, the only person I married was you.”
My heart trembled.
He had married my memorial tablet?
While I was distracted, Xie Hui bent and kissed me.
His voice was hoarse against my lips.
“A-Li, I've taken a drug. If you leave me today, I'll truly burst and die.”
“This estate is deserted. There's not a house within ten li, much less a doctor. Right now, you're the only one who can save me.”
“If you're cruel enough to watch me die, then turn around and go.”
I stared in alarm.
“You!”
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An angry shout suddenly came from outside.
“Who is it? Who dares seduce my wife? What shameless vixen is hiding in there? I'll skin you!”
Damn!
He had lured Cui Yu here to catch us too?
Cui Yu burst in.
Three pairs of eyes met.
Silence filled the room.
“X-X-X-X-Xie Hui!”
His eyes widened, fury blazing.
“You shameless seducer! I wondered why you kept pestering me with questions about my wife. So you were trying to steal her!”
His gaze swept downward, and his face darkened further.
“You! Put your underclothes on before you speak!”
The drug surged through Xie Hui. Sweat dripped from his chin, and he cursed under his breath.
“Damn it.”
He looked up at Cui Yu, his tone stubborn.
“Cui Yu, I'm A-Li's husband. At best, you're the one she's keeping on the side.”
Cui Yu immediately sneered.
“On the side? Who brings a lover home in a bridal sedan carried by eight men?”
“I heard you married a memorial tablet. Was that supposed to be Miaoli?”
“Xie Hui, you're the one on the side!”
“No, you're not even fit for that. You're nothing but a deluded fool nursing a secret passion for my wife!”
“Shameless! You wretch! Put your clothes on!”
He stepped forward and snatched up the garments from the floor, intending to wrap them around Xie Hui.
With the drug nearly crushing his reason, Xie Hui snapped back, “You're the wretch!”
“You're vile!”
“You… you… you… how dare you!”
“You… you… wretch!”