Chapter 31: Emotions Stirred

Pei Yuanshao narrowed his eyes, his smile dangerous: “Are you here to declare your intentions towards my wife-master? You originally schemed to stay here, having ulterior motives all along!”

It had just rained yesterday, and the sky was now cloudless. At this moment, two crows flew past the window, cawing twice.

Jing Huan put down the ladle in her hand, picked up a pebble from the ground, and flicked it with her finger. The internal force in her body vibrated the stone, shooting it out through the window.

Of the two crows flying side by side outside the window, one was struck by the pebble and fell straight to the ground, its body a bloody mess.

The other crow, having lost its companion, circled in the air for a while before flying off alone into the sky.

Jing Huan turned her head, staring fixedly at the red-clad man leaning against the wooden door.

He curled his lips, his smile cold: “Even animals are fickle, aren’t you even worse? The lady doesn’t like things that are too noisy and willful. Do you think someone with your temperament is worthy of her?”

Jing Huan’s eyes contained a hint of disdain, her full lips moving, enunciating each word, though no sound came out.

But Pei Yuanshao understood her lip movements. She said: “She is mine.”

Pei Yuanshao couldn’t help but laugh angrily: “Don’t you find yourself ridiculous? Who she likes is her own freedom. You can love her, but you have no right to forcibly possess her in the name of love. A few years ago, I personally witnessed a lady rejecting someone, saying, ‘Emotions have nothing to do with gender, they can’t be forced. If there’s no love, there’s no love.'”

He suddenly remembered a scene he had witnessed in Qianqing Palace after his death in his previous life, when his soul was floating.

The Empress Jing Huan of the Jin Feng Dynasty knelt before a female official, humbly begging, only to receive that person’s cold rejection.

The mighty emperor, the supreme ruler, willingly gave up honor and dignity, kneeling and pleading for just one person.

But what she received wasn’t moved feelings, but that person’s straightforward rejection: “You see, we are so close, yet do you see any affection for you in my eyes? Love has nothing to do with gender, it can’t be forced.”

In his previous life, this was the scene that left the deepest impression on him before his death.

If one loves someone, there must be traces of it.

Yet today, a strange man was in front of him, forcibly claiming possession of that person in the name of love.

That person wasn’t an object, how could they be forcibly claimed as one’s own?

Pei Yuanshao felt angry. Although he didn’t understand love, in his previous life’s final moments, a sentence was branded on his heart like a scar. Now, the scene from that time echoed in his mind, lingering.

“You see, even at such a close distance, do you see any affection for you in my eyes?”

“…affection stirred.”

As that calm voice kept spinning in his mind, Pei Yuanshao suddenly froze in place, his face turning pale.

Leaning against the wooden door, he had no thought of confronting the scheming man before him. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

In his peach blossom eyes, as if greatly shocked, his pupils constricted, his heart in turmoil.

If a person can’t control the desire in their heart when another person gets close, wanting to be touched, is that affection stirred?

If when she praises oneself, the joy in one’s heart almost overflows the chest, is that affection stirred?

When she mocks coldly, unwilling to pay attention to oneself, and there’s a heavy pain in one’s chest, is that affection stirred?

Frequently paying attention to her lips, if the corners of her mouth slightly curve into a subtle arc, and oneself follows suit and remains happy for a long time, could that be affection stirred?

If she laughs and talks happily with other men, and one’s heart feels sour and heavy. But love?

…

The sun was particularly glaring that day. Pei Yuanshao raised his head, wanting to use the scorching sunlight to eliminate the intense, bursting answer in his heart.

But there was no way. In the face of that “affection stirred,” he was almost exposed.

He leaned against the wooden door in disarray, no longer able to hear what the man opposite was saying.

His mind was buzzing. He remembered what his mother empress had always impressed upon him: “As the eldest, you must be like a knife. You can’t have extra emotions, and you especially can’t be swayed by women. If a man falls in love with a woman, he can no longer remain calm.”

How laughable. He was also capable of loving someone. How could he, with such a notorious reputation, unfit to be a husband, burdened with a deep blood feud and deep scheming, have any right to love someone?

Pei Yuanshao lowered his head, his ink-black eyes filled with self-loathing.

He wasn’t worthy! How could he be worthy?

At this moment, his chest was filled with inferiority. The most painful thing in this world isn’t watching oneself being rejected, but knowing from the start of falling in love that one isn’t worthy and doesn’t deserve to have it.

When Liu Changning entered the kitchen with heavy footsteps, she met Pei Yuanshao’s heavy, world-collapsing eyes.

Had he been bullied?

But it shouldn’t be that bad. With her cheap husband’s combat power just now, that white lotus flower opposite was almost completely defeated.

She coughed once, her tea-colored eyes fixed on him: “Are you alright?”

But he just shook his head blankly, immersed in a heavy sadness.

“If you’re not feeling well, shall I help you back to the room?” Liu Changning asked gently.

The cheap husband pressed his lips together, stunned for a moment, and then changed the subject, saying hoarsely: “Are you hungry? I’ve prepared a big table of dishes, let’s go to the main hall to eat.”

“Are you really okay?” Liu Changning looked at him suspiciously again.

The man before her, in red clothes and black hair, his skin appearing particularly fair. He seemed naturally unafraid of the sun, and under direct sunlight, his skin was translucent with a faint white glow.

His usually flamboyant expression was completely withdrawn, as if he had suffered a great blow. His peach blossom eyes held a dusty gray color.

He met her gaze and curled his lips at her, that smile uglier than crying: “It’s nothing, let’s go eat.”

After speaking, Pei Yuanshao walked alone to the stove, brought out two plates of food, and fled the kitchen with hurried steps.

He feared he couldn’t help but pour out the gushing emotions in his heart. She deserved better, and he, born with too many heavy burdens, didn’t deserve to have such casual care.

—

In the kitchen.

Jing Huan clenched her fists. She lowered her head, looking at her toes, a pair of eyes glowing with a blue light, staring intently at the mouth of the stove. The flames inside the stove had not yet extinguished.

The flickering firelight reflected in the bottom of her eyes, driving away and chasing away all the little thoughts.

Liu Changning walked very slowly. She stood in front of her, coldly sweeping a glance at the top of her head, and said coldly: “Raise your head!”

Her voice was very cold, carrying a hint of the pressure that Jing Huan was familiar with.

An ominous feeling suddenly arose in her heart. She raised her head and met those tea-colored eyes with a hint of injury. Her legs trembled involuntarily.

Liu Changning’s gaze fell on that face. She rubbed her chin, not knowing if it was an illusion, but this face gave her a particularly familiar feeling.

But thinking carefully, she couldn’t remember.

She had lived for too long, seen all kinds of people. If they didn’t leave a deep impression, others were just shadows.

Liu Changning put her hands behind her back, paused for a while, couldn’t remember, and didn’t dwell on it too much.

She pointed at the fallen crow’s body outside the house and said calmly: “You said one thing wrong. Humans and animals are different. There are fickle people, but they are not common. That husband of mine, though sharp-tongued, is soft-hearted. His thoughts may not be purely kind, but he has principles. He should be two points kinder than you.”