Chapter 30: Utterly Detestable

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Utterly Detestable

Waking up once again, she caught the faint, familiar scent lingering in the room.

Cui Lingyao’s heart was filled with alarm and uncertainty.

Before he knew her, that man hadn’t liked to use fragrances, carrying only the clean scent unique to a young man.

It was she who thought his cold, proud face was a perfect match for a cool, woody fragrance.

After they married, she would frequently give him scented sachets, filled with spices she blended herself.

Sandalwood, cedar, chamomile...

Every one of them suited him perfectly, blending with his natural scent to create an aroma that was simply addictive.

For a very long time, Cui Lingyao truly loved to nestle in his arms, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

She knew the scent on his body all too well.

So well, in fact, that she couldn’t possibly convince herself it was just her imagination.

Suppressing her alarm, Cui Lingyao got up and began to meticulously inspect the room.

From the bed to the windowsill, the door, and even the vanity, she examined everything thoroughly for a long time.

She found nothing.

Other than the lingering scent, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

But Cui Lingyao was almost certain: Xie Jinbai had been here.

Still in her nightclothes, she stood before the window, somewhat dazed.

’I’ve only been back in Great Yue for two days, and that man has already snuck into my chambers at night.’

’Is he suspicious of something?’

’But I’ve only seen him once in total.’

’Could it be? That look we shared... did my eyes give something away?’

’Or was it my reliance on my brother that made him suspicious?’

’How could that be...’

’Rebirth after death, a soul inhabiting another’s body—it’s all so fantastical.’

’A normal person, no matter how brilliant, wouldn’t easily jump to that conclusion.’

’Besides, he wasn’t familiar with the original owner of this body.’

’Has he... already confirmed my identity...?’

’Or is he just suspicious?’

The question had barely formed in her mind when Cui Lingyao instantly had the answer.

’It had to be the latter.’

’Having been his wife, and with my mission being to win his heart, I felt I understood Xie Jinbai quite well.’

’He was of noble birth, the old Emperor’s most favored son.’

’He went to the battlefield at a young age, gained military authority at sixteen, and by eighteen, he was already the renowned young Great General of the Capital City.’

’He was proud, haughty, and cold. Used to having his way since childhood, his dominance was etched into his very bones.’

’Words like negotiation, compromise, submission, or humility would never be associated with Xie Jinbai.’

’In the two years it took for the affection rating to go from fifty to one hundred, he barely changed in their daily interactions, aside from being more passionate in bed.’

’When the affection rating was at fifty, he was able to defy all opposition and ignore the Empress’s objections to insist on giving me the status of his wife.’

’And when the affection rating was at one hundred, he could just as easily propose taking Li Wanrong as a concubine.’

’He was a man who had perfected the art of inscrutability. If the system hadn’t announced that the mission was complete, that I had reached the ’unwavering heart’ milestone and triggered the cool-down period, I would never have been able to tell from his expressionless face that his heart was unalterably mine.’

’Even when we quarreled and he held me on his lap to coax me, he was always unhurried and in complete control.’

’I could never read his emotional fluctuations.’

’In fact, unless Xie Jinbai himself wanted it, no one could ever tell what he was truly thinking.’

’A natural-born ruler.’

’Three years ago, he already had a domineering, self-centered personality. After these three years...’

’I recalled what the system said: after I died, he had completely lost the will to live.’

’He looked like a man doomed to a short life with no heirs.’

’He hadn’t even buried my body.’

’Xie Jinbai had never let me go.’

’Under these circumstances, with his domineering nature, if he were truly certain that my soul had been reborn, how could he tolerate me staying at the Duke Shen Mansion?’

’Therefore, he must only be suspicious.’

’And what I have to do is eliminate his suspicion.’

At this thought, Cui Lingyao took a deep breath, reached out, and pushed open the window, letting the summer morning light wash over her face.

The light was blinding. She squinted slightly, her mind clearing.

Having figured everything out, even with her eyes closed, Cui Lingyao could feel that right now, in the shadows, there were likely many eyes watching her.

’What is Xie Jinbai waiting for...?’

’Mrs. Shen is gravely ill, and my marriage is imminent.’

’Is he waiting for me to become desperate and reveal my identity on my own?’

A flicker of anger and resentment ignited in Cui Lingyao’s heart.

She loathed his calm composure, that air of having everything under his control.

She also hated his eternally superior, unhurried demeanor.

They met when she was fifteen and she left this world by drowning at twenty; the only time she ever saw him lose his composure was the day she fell into the water.

Other than that, he was always perfectly calm and collected.

’How utterly detestable!’

’What was even more detestable was that he had almost been right.’

Cui Lingyao had indeed considered that if Mrs. Shen’s illness worsened and circumstances forced her to marry a stranger, her only way out would be to find her brother.

She would reveal her identity and have her brother find a way to get her out of the situation.

’Looking at it now, if I had actually done that...’

’...I would have fallen right into Xie Jinbai’s trap.’

’And what would have awaited me was re-entry into Prince Yu’s Mansion.’

’This time, would he make me his wife or his concubine?’

’Given his temper, to punish me for not seeking him out after my rebirth, he would most likely make me a concubine.’

’Then it would be the same endless push and pull between us all over again.’

That kind of love was heartbreaking, and even though Cui Lingyao never felt she had truly fallen for him, she had no intention of throwing herself back into that game.

A rebellious urge rose within her. Cui Lingyao just wanted to do something, anything, to quickly prove that she was by no means the Princess Consort Yu who had been dead for three years.

Besides, when she left this world three years ago, she had already made up her mind.

When a relationship was over, it was over. She would not go back and rekindle their past romance.

Her only mission in the Da Yue Dynasty was to get Xie Jinbai to have children with another woman.

...

On the morning of her second day since returning, she had already been struck by lightning.

Cui Lingyao warned herself that from now on, even when she was alone, she had to be extremely careful and not reveal the slightest clue.

As long as there was no conclusive evidence proving she was Princess Consort Yu, then she was only Pei Shuyao.

She mulled over the many details she needed to pay attention to until Zhiqiu, who had been waiting outside the door for a long time, knocked. Only then did she compose herself and call for her to enter.

After getting dressed and finishing her breakfast, Cui Lingyao went to the main courtyard to visit Mrs. Shen.

Nanny Qian was standing guard outside the door. Seeing her approach, she said in a low voice, "The mistress just woke up. She said that when you arrived, you could go straight in."

Cui Lingyao gave a slight nod, lifted the beaded curtain, and walked inside.

The thick smell of medicine immediately assaulted her nostrils.

Cui Lingyao’s breath hitched. She walked around the screen and into the inner room.

Mrs. Shen was half-reclined against a soft pillow while a maidservant fed her medicine.

Seeing her daughter enter, she pushed away the medicine spoon that was already at her lips and beckoned to her. "Shuyao, come here."

Cui Lingyao walked over in a few steps, sat down by the bed, took the medicine bowl from the maidservant’s hands, and scooped up a spoonful. She brought it to Mrs. Shen’s lips and said, "Mother, whatever you have to say can wait until after you’ve finished your medicine."

Mrs. Shen gave her a helpless look and obediently drank the medicine.

Soon, the bowl of medicinal soup was empty.

The servants all withdrew.

Mrs. Shen coughed softly a few times and said, "Regarding your marriage, your aunt has put in a great deal of effort. Yesterday, she mentioned several young gentlemen to me. From what I heard, they all sound quite good. Two of them, in particular, I am especially pleased with."