Chapter 45  

Many nights, Jiang Lian regretted saving Jiang Huai…

If only he had let him die back then.

Now, Jiang Lian is dying, his time running out.

Jiang Huai’s apology, so harmless, means nothing to him. What he truly wants is to make him suffer, paying for every bit of pain Jiang Lian endured.

Eight years ago, he made his move at Wat Pho.

Unfortunately, only one wet nurse died.

But that incident caught his attention, particularly someone… the eldest daughter of the Xu family, Xu Lianqiao.

She was the one who saved Jiang Huai.

At that time, Jiang Lian had no grand plan; he just remembered her.

Later, they planned to use the marriage to honor their grandfather.

Jiang Lian would never forget how Jiang Huai looked when he met Xu Lianqiao. Though Jiang Huai claimed she was nothing special, the smile in his eyes told another story.

Jiang Lian knew his brother well and could see that Jiang Huai was content with the marriage.

But Jiang Lian couldn’t allow that. How could he let Jiang Huai have both good health and a happy marriage? How could he let him marry a woman he didn’t even like?

So, he manipulated Lu Siqing into revealing the truth about the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. He knew Lu Siqing not only liked Jiang Huai, but was also naive enough to believe his misleading hints.

But that wasn’t enough…

It wasn’t enough to make Jiang Huai hate Xu Lianqiao.

He had another trick to play, involving some witchcraft ^[1]which means involves using magical practices for influence or manipulation. to frame Xu Lianqiao.

It worked. Finally, Jiang Huai looked truly angry.

But when Jiang Huai woke up, his relationship with Xu Lianqiao had improved. Jiang Lian realized, after observing for a while, that a soul swap had occurred.

However, when Jiang Lian tried again to switch the souls back, things went wrong.

Jiang Huai had learned the truth about that year.

Even though Jiang Lian had been careful and made sure everything was clean, it still wasn’t enough. His goal was to make Jiang Huai irreversible—beyond redemption.

So, he caused Lu Siqing’s premature birth ^[2]refers to a baby being born before full term, which is before 37 weeks of pregnancy..

He hoped it would force Jiang Huai to handle the situation with Lin Rou’s son and mother, giving him an excuse to file a complaint to the court.

At first, it seemed foolproof.

It was supposed to make Jiang Huai irreversible.

But then, Lin Rou unexpectedly retracted her confession. Somehow, someone returned Lin Rou’s daughter to Yangzhou.

It was absurd. Lin Rou’s husband had been willing to sell his wife and children for money, but someone was brave enough to rescue them for Jiang Huai.

How ironic.

After Jiang Huai’s release from prison, he asked Jiang Lian why.

Jiang Lian chuckled.

Such a foolish question.

Who had made him look like this, neither human nor ghost?

Now, all Jiang Lian regretted was saving Jiang Huai at that lake…

If he had another chance, he would have let Jiang Huai drown there.

_

Xu Lianqiao crouched next to the bed, too scared to show her anger. After quietly listening to Jiang Lian’s muttering, she began to understand.

I’m sick. I’m really very sick.

Why hadn’t she realized before that Jiang Lian was a hundred times crazier than Jiang Huai?

It would have been less tiring to just take a knife and stab Jiang Huai directly.

She… and Lin Rou had really provoked him.

“Jiang Huai and I have made up, why are you tying me up?”

Xu Lianqiao wanted to say this, but her mouth was sealed, and she could only make soft whimpering noises.

It seemed as if Jiang Lian understood her sobs, for he sat at her feet, gazing at her with empty eyes, and slowly said:

“I want to know what Jiang Huai would do if he found out that I wanted you.”

His tone was casual, as if he were discussing something normal. “Tell me, when he sees you and me lying together, unable to separate, will he kill me?”

Xu Lianqiao broke out in a cold sweat… and her whole body trembled.

Her stomach suddenly twisted.

How disgusting.

With that, Jiang Lian moved closer, pushing her down.

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t believe that a sick man like him could have such strength.

She kept resisting… and even managed to kick over a candlestick that Jiang Lian had placed beside him during the struggle.

The candle flame… slowly caught the bed curtains on fire.

_

In the dark night, on the muddy ground, a heavy rain from the previous night had soaked the land in the suburbs.

Jiang Huai, who had been carried on horseback, eventually vomited out all the alcohol he’d consumed over the past few days.

After he returned home, Ah Qiao was gone, and the eldest brother he had always respected had secretly used so many tricks.

Two things completely crushed Jiang Huai.

Only in his drunken state could he find any peace.

Suddenly, Jiang Huai vomited again, feeling a burning sensation in his stomach.

“Prince Jiang, you’re awake.”

Though the visitor addressed him as “Prince,” there was no respect in the tone.

Jiang Huai raised his eyes, seeing two or three guards around him.

“Who are you?”

He asked. He had never seen them before.

Yang Pingwei had been ordered to watch Jiang Huai, but he was not given any instructions to answer his questions, so he ignored him.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves approached.

Jiang Huai looked up, his eyes blurry, but he seemed to recognize the approaching figure.

“General.” The others around him addressed the newcomer respectfully.

Jiang Huai’s eyes showed a mix of confusion and curiosity.

Ning Yuan had no time for Jiang Huai’s confusion. He rode directly to Jiang Huai’s side, raised his hand, and pushed him back onto his horse.

It must be said that while Jiang Huai had martial arts skills and was no weak scholar, he was no match for Ning Yuan, who had lived by martial arts all his life.

“Tell me, where else could Jiang Lian go?”

Ning Yuan asked, his voice harsh.

He had searched both Jiang family estates in the suburbs, but there was no sign of Ah Qiao.

“I don’t have time to waste here with you. Tell me, where else could Jiang Lian and Ah Qiao be?”

This statement contained too much information, leaving Jiang Huai more confused than shocked.

“Ah Qiao…” he murmured.

“What’s wrong with Ah Qiao?”

He quickly pieced together the important details.

Jiang Lian had taken Ah Qiao.

Ning Yuan, no longer willing to explain, grabbed Jiang Huai and said, “He’s your eldest brother. Tell me, where else could Jiang Lian hide?”

He almost spat Jiang Lian’s name through clenched teeth.

As they traveled, Ning Yuan’s mind was focused on one thought: to bring Ah Qiao back.

He wanted to take her away, back to the northwest.

However, each time he searched Jiang Mansion’s courtyard in a panic, there was still no trace of Ah Qiao. The thought of never finding her again nearly broke him.

“Say it.” In the end, Ning Yuan shouted, his voice hoarse.

The shout startled the birds in the nearby forest.

“General, there’s a fire over there…”

Ning Yuan and Jiang Huai looked at each other and immediately turned toward the source of the smoke.

It was a Taoist temple next to the Reclining Buddha Temple.

Ning Yuan didn’t hesitate, spurring his horse toward the temple.

As long as there was even a little hope… even just a tiny chance.

Ah Qiao, you must survive…

_

Xu Lianqiao choked on the thick smoke and coughed, but since her mouth was still covered, it felt like she was being suffocated by endless water.

To her horror, Jiang Lian, the madman, still pressed her down, as if he didn’t notice the fire that was quickly creeping toward them.

Eventually, after some time, the flames spread throughout the room.

A single spark could indeed start a massive fire.

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

The house, full of old wooden beams, was soon engulfed by flames.

Finally, Xu Lianqiao managed to push Jiang Lian’s shoulder and tear the tape from her mouth.

“Jiang Lian, don’t go mad, it’s on fire! It’s on fire!” she shouted in desperation.

She was so anxious she nearly cried.

She didn’t want to be caught in either the violence or the fire.

She was still hoping to return home and have dinner with Brother Ning.

She had prepared lots of delicious food, even bought tea…

and was looking forward to serving Brother Ning the tea she made.

She had just found someone she wanted to spend her life with, and she didn’t want to die.

Was this what the ancients meant when they said that extreme happiness brings sorrow? Was this really what it felt like…

But she hadn’t been that happy. She was still thinking about having a child with Brother Ning, wanting to hear their little one call her mother and Brother Ning as father.

Was she really never going to experience motherhood in this life?

She had always thought that if she didn’t have parents to love her, she would give her children all the love. She would make clothes for them, cook for them, take them to school, and watch them grow.

And then, they would take care of her when she got old.

But now… she had never even seen a glimpse of that future.

“Jiang Lian… Jiang Lian, please let me go.”

But Jiang Lian either couldn’t hear her or didn’t care. He continued to press her down.

He even held her hand behind her back.

It was painful, and her hands began to cramp.

“Otherwise, we’ll die in this fire…” he muttered crazily.

His words echoed in her ears.

“It’s perfect. His ex-wife and his eldest brother are dying for their love. Jiang Huai will never hold his head up again.”

“Shut up!” Xu Lianqiao yelled.

_

For the first time, Xu Lianqiao was forced to utter harsh words.

“You miss Jiang Huai so much, why don’t you drag Jiang Huai down with you?”

She questioned herself, wondering if she had wronged the Jiang family.

She had never been affected by the conflict between Jiang Lian and Jiang Huai.

“I originally wanted to drag him down with me,” Jiang Lian’s voice echoed like a ghost. “Eight years ago, I wanted him dead. If he had died then, nothing would have happened after that… You know, I pushed him into the water.”

“But… Why did you save him?”

“Why did you save him?”

“If you saved him, then you should die for him.”

Jiang Lian even touched Xu Lianqiao’s lips.

“The road to hell would be much better with you as my companion than walking with him, don’t you think?”

Yes, yes, you are a ghost.

Xu Lianqiao didn’t have time to think about what Jiang Lian said eight years ago.

Cough cough cough.

The smoke… was getting louder and louder.

_

Xu Lianqiao couldn’t bear it anymore, and her consciousness began to fade.

She even thought that maybe she and Brother Ning were not meant to be together.

Maybe… that was her fate.

But… she couldn’t rest easily. She didn’t know if Brother Ning found out she was dead, whether he would die in such a tragic way.

Would he be sad?

She didn’t want him to be sad. She wanted him to live happily.

But she couldn’t hold on any longer.

Her consciousness slowly sank, just like it did during the flash flood eight years ago.

“Pa…”

Xu Lianqiao saw a figure in the raging fire.

Just like when her life was at risk…

He rushed towards her.

***

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