.5 – Something that had belonged to her disappeared...

The carriage was driving along the street. It was quiet inside. Zhan Shaoxi was silent for a long time before he suddenly opened his mouth to speak. "Lady Wife, you grew up in the palace, and have never been outside. Thinking about it, perhaps you have also never eaten any delicious food from out of the palace. Why don’t we have lunch outside?”

Xue Ling was flipping through a book with his cheek propped up against the back of his hand. He looked over when he heard the words, and although there was no expression on the man’s face, Xue Ling could still sense the tension and hesitation under his calm facade.

He calculated the time and discovered that today was the day when the heroine found the male puppy on her way back from the palace. There was a luncheon in the palace today, and so the female protagonist could not leave until after the event was over. He thought about it, nodded and said, “That’s fine.”

When Zhan Shaoxi saw him nodding, he couldn’t help showing a trace of a smile. He leaned out and asked people to book a private room and prepare some dishes and wine ahead of time, looking very happy.

In fact, he really was very happy. After all, it was the first time that he and his wife formally had lunch together since their marriage. After the wedding, they ate together only once, and Xue Ling’s indifferent face made him feel deeply distressed.

He was driven away by the other party’s mocking words, and never entered the Lady’s house again. If they returned to the General’s Palace just like this, he didn’t even need to think to know that he would have no chance to see his wife again today.

The General was very happy to find an excuse to accompany her.

Xue Ling was not a picky eater, but knowing that he lived by the principle that he should enjoy life more whenever the opportunity arose, Zhan Shaoxi made a reservation at the best restaurant in the Capital. Even if it was currently lunchtime and there were no spare private rooms, the restaurant would still do everything possible to get them one.

After all, it was the Zhenguo General and the Royal Princess!

When the carriage arrived at the restaurant, the manager was already waiting outside the door. Seeing how Zhan Shaoxi purposely slowed down after getting out in order to support Xue Ling, he could not help but sigh over the General’s affection for the Royal Princess.

Xue Ling did not hide his appearance, but the passersby did not dare to look directly at him. It wasn’t until they went upstairs that the people on the roadside began to gossip. So that was how the new couple from that big wedding the entire Capital was celebrating a few days ago looked like. Sure enough, it was a man with talent and a woman with beauty; they were all kinds of well matched.

The restaurant did not dare to make the two noble personages wait for too long. All the dishes were served soon after they arrived at the private room, and the waiters discretely retreated. Xue Ling’s gaze swept across the dishes and his cold expression thawed slightly, which eased Zhan Shaoxi’s nervous mood significantly.

“What does Lady Wife want to eat? I’ll get it for you.”

Xue Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, finding the man’s flattering appearance somewhat amusing. In the past, he had been domineering yet tender, standing in front and blocking everything for him. Sometimes he was soft and yielding, making Xue Ling alternate between intimidation and bribery. Xue Ling enjoyed that kind of interaction with him, but his current attitude made him a little distressed. “The General doesn’t need to act anymore, there are no outsiders here.” Although his heart was soft, he still needed to say the words that needed to be said. If the man did not properly explain himself about what had happened on their wedding night, Xue Ling absolutely would not back down a single step.

Zhan Shaoxi gripped his chopsticks tightly and his eyes were dark. “Wife, your husband is not acting.”

Xue Ling’s face was mocking, and the indifferent look appeared again, which made Zhan Shaoxi, who had watched him be meekly obedient all morning, feel suddenly apprehensive. "The General is not addressing me as Royal Princess?"

Zhan Shaoxi sighed helplessly, realizing that if he did not explain the original matters clearly, he would never be able to get close to this person in his life.

“Wife, I know you still remember the words that I spoke on our wedding night.”

Xue Ling leisurely picked up a piece of meat and chewed it slowly. Zhan Shaoxi stopped speaking, and he used his eyes to indicate that the other party should continue.

Perhaps his casual attitude inspired the General, because Zhan Shaoxi’s words began to flow steadily as he spoke out all the things that he wanted to say.

He spoke about his background, the rules of the Zhenguo General’s Mansion, the things that he had seen and experienced from childhood, his dissatisfaction with the royal family, his lack of respect for the Emperor’s behavior, and his original unwillingness when he discovered he was being forced to marry.

Everything was brought up and laid bare. His analysis was very distinct, and he also expressed his mood and emotions very clearly. “That was why I would say those things to you on the night of our wedding."

Xue Ling lifted his gaze to look at him. His words were sincere, and he seemed very afraid that Xue Ling would still be cold and indifferent towards him after hearing such a confession. “So?” But this was not what Xue Ling wanted to hear. He didn’t want to be bothered with the other party’s private difficulties, because those troubles could not be blamed on him. According to the man’s meaning, he was an innocent party who was implicated for no reason. He also had a large pile of grievances; who should he cry to? "What is it that you want to express? Is it that your family suffered tragically, or that you are unhappy with me?"

Zhan Shaoxi saw that he was completely unaffected and was somewhat frustrated, but also felt various kinds of unwillingness. This was the first time that he had been so eager to get close to and obtain such a person. If this type of words had no way of making her moved, he could only resort to expressing his feelings to the other party.

After all, this was in ancient times. Although the man’s soul had followed Xue Ling and transmigrated over, to him, he really existed in this world, and so in every world, he would inevitably be entangled by some of the world’s characteristics.

Back then, in the world with the substitution plotline, it was probably because the people there had been more open-minded that Bai Hao’s desire to get his ** became higher than his rationality, to the point where he had to be with Xue Ling regardless of any obstruction. This world’s Zhan Shaoxi was ultimately still a man from a patriarchal society. For a big adult man to yield to his ’wife’, he would have to be extremely determined.

Fortunately, he was very determined right now.

“No... I’m not asking for your forgiveness either. I know what marriage means to a woman. On the night of the wedding, for the groom who has never met you to say those kinds of heavy words, your heart would definitely have been hurt." He looked down, his expression filled with an unspeakable sense of regret. “I also know that it was not a good thing to do, but once the words have been said, the damage has already been done. The only thing I can do now is to lay out my true feelings in order to make myself a little less guilty."

Xue Ling laughed, but the meaning behind it was unclear. “Well, and then? Live a life where we are courteous and distant, treating each other politely like guests, and ensuring that outsiders or my brother the Emperor can find no fault in our relationship?"

“No!” What he wanted was definitely not a polite and courteous distance! “Although it has only been three days, I know that I am in love with my wife!"

“From the moment you lifted your veil on our wedding night and looked at me, I was unwittingly attracted to you! I unknowingly wanted to be close to you, want to care for you and love you!" At this point, the General who had lived for more than 20 years and yet had never touched upon relationships suddenly blushed. “I know I hurt your heart, and I am not asking for your forgiveness. I just want to tell you that I want to be close to you not for any other reasons or interests, but simply because I can’t hold back my own heart, and want to get to know you."

Xue Ling secretly cursed that the man’s ability to say sweet words of love was fully levelled up. If it had been a young woman instead of him, she would definitely have been tricked away by him. Fortunately, Xue Ling had already been entangled with him for several lifetimes, and while such honeyed words could make his heart beat faster, it was unable to make him lose his reason. “Three days?” He pursed his lips. His smile was a little enchanting. "According to the great General’s worlds, it should be that you’re attracted to this face, right?"

Zhan Shaoxi froze, and raised his eyebrows, unhappily saying, “Don’t say it like that."

Although Xue Ling was smiling, his eyes were still cold and filled with resistance. “Even I don’t know what kind of person I am, and yet the great General could still become enamored with me?" His fingertips were pressed against the table, and as he spoke, they slid slowly towards the back of the hand Zhan Shaoxi rested there. His smile was somewhat tricky, but also carried a sense of indifference and alienation. That kind of cold indifference pricked at Zhan Shaoxi’s heart.

“You should at least give me a chance to get close and get to know you.” He flipped his hand, and caught the other party’s hand that was playing with fire. But, that person’s hand was slippery, and slid out of his grasp. Zhan Shaoxi waved his hand somewhat regretfully and continued, “How can I enter your heart if you alienate yourself from others?”

With this, Xue Ling found his interest in the man piqued all over again. Although the man had entered his heart a long time ago, falling in love all over again in every world made gave him a particularly novel feeling, and every time he had adapted to the world, he could play and tease the man. It made him very happy whenever he saw the man’s expression when he wanted, but could not obtain him.

System: “...” Host, you’re really broken.

Xue Ling shrugged his shoulders. In any case, regardless of how the man changed, he would still like him. As for himself, what he liked was that soul, and everything that happened in the middle could just be considered as entertainment.

This time, he did not intentionally ignore the other party. It seemed that they really needed discord in order for some things to be brought out into the open. Also, he had been humiliated by the man when he first came into the world, and Xue Ling had said that he would not let the man into his bed anytime soon. It had only been three days now, and at most, he would be allowed to enter his room.

So, he narrowed his eyes, snorted once, and then pointed to a dish. "This Princess wants to eat that, come and serve it."

Joy instantly jumped into Zhan Shaoxi’s gaze as he let out a sigh of relief, and his whole body was vibrating with happiness. "Good."

System: “...” Was its host’s tendency towards pride and arrogance getting worse and worse? And it seemed like the direction it was developing in was somewhat skewed...

Now, he didn’t only enjoy making the protagonists suffer, he also liked to toy with his man...

The system thought for a while, but finally decided not to meddle, after all, no matter how much they toss and turn, or how bitter or painful it got, that man would ultimately still get his revenge in bed with the host. If it interrupted now, it would definitely get chopped up...

In a sense, this was also another way of showing their love... but from the perspective of the two parties involved, one did not feel that it was the case, and the other had no memory of it.

When they left the restaurant, the atmosphere between them seemed to have changed a lot, but the restaurant manager lowered his head and pretended not to have noticed. He was already very lucky that these two noble personages had not done anything in his restaurant; he couldn’t afford to gossip about noble personages like these.

The carriage slowly began move again. Xue Ling looked out through the curtains, and suddenly said, “Have them take another route and tour around. Although I went around the city on the day of the wedding, I couldn’t see anything with the veil on."

Zhan Shaoxi naturally would never say no to her words, turning to tell the coachman to circle around the city. Xue Ling either by design or accident pointed in a certain direction, and Zhan Shaoxi allowed them to go that way. In a short time, the carriage arrived at a small lane where a young man covered in blood was lying in the middle of the road.

There were very few people on this road. The area was filled with the houses of ministers or noble personages, and was quiet and elegant. The coachman pulls on the horses’ reigns and the carriage stopped as the guards behind the carriage rushed forward to check on the teenager’s condition. The maid on the carriage steps took in the situation, and entered to give them an update.

There was a moment of silence in the surroundings, and then a person’s voice was heard, faint, but carrying a sense of irresistible arrogance.

“Bring him back and save him.” He was not very loud when he spoke, but his words carried a lot of weight. The maids and guards heard his demand, and they quickly picked up the teenager and brought him into the carriage before cleaning up the blood on the road. The carriage then moved steadily towards the Zhenguo General’s Mansion.

Zhan Shaoxi had an ugly expression on his face as he looked from the teenager lying in the carriage to his wife’s cheerful appearance, feeling his head begin to pound. It seemed that something he would find very unpleasant was about to happen.

After the Empress’s banquet, Wenren Yingyue was on the way home with her mother when they travelled past a small lane. As though she had received some sort of signal to her soul, the heroine opened the curtains and looked out.

Unfortunately, the road was empty and there was nothing to be seen.

“Strange...” She muttered to herself as she let the curtain fall, feeling an emptiness in her heart. It was as though something that belonged to her had disappeared...