“Forgive me for being presumptuous, but… how old are you, Your Highness?” Xiao Ruyi asked as she continued adjusting the fresh bandage on Qin Wujing’s leg.
“Twenty-eight,” Qin Wujing replied curtly.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ruyi nodded in understanding, then went back to her own thoughts.
All right… that meant she and Qin Wujing were eleven years apart—a considerable difference. She was only seventeen at the moment. Qin Wujing could practically be considered too old for her.
“Do you know why this marriage decree was issued?” Qin Wujing asked, his eyes directly meeting Xiao Ruyi’s for the first time.
Xiao Ruyi lifted her head and looked at Qin Wujing’s handsome yet cold face. “Because Elder Sister—”
“Not that,” Qin Wujing interrupted.
“This was all the Empress’s plan. She didn’t want you to enter the Imperial Harem, because once you did, her position would be threatened. You were formerly a Junzhu, the Empress Dowager’s beloved niece. If you entered the Imperial Harem, the Empress Dowager’s influence would grow even stronger. With your background, you could also easily eliminate all your enemies. That was why the Empress didn’t want you to enter the Imperial Harem. Knowing how malicious your elder sister was, Her Majesty secretly took advantage of this. She threw you here to dim your light.” Qin Wujing gave her a lengthy explanation, leaving Xiao Ruyi stunned. It was the longest speech she had ever heard from him, and… how did Qin Wujing know all this information? Hadn’t he shut himself away from the outside world long ago?
As if he knew what Xiao Ruyi was thinking, Qin Wujing added indifferently, “I have eyes and ears scattered throughout the Empire.”
Xiao Ruyi lowered her head slightly, then smiled faintly. After tying the final knot, she got up to put away the medicine chest and said, “Ruyi doesn’t think being sent here will dim her light.”
“What do you expect from the Qin Prince’s Residence?” Qin Wujing asked directly. Privately, he was curious. Xiao Ruyi treated him with such care, as though they had married without coercion. She had also escaped the assassin’s dagger that had terrorized his princely residence. This had changed Qin Wujing’s indifference into curiosity.
“I only want to become an amazing couple with you,” Xiao Ruyi replied. She wasn’t joking.
Qin Wujing frowned. “Are you crazy?”
“Do I look crazy?” Xiao Ruyi shot back, staring seriously at Qin Wujing.
“What could you possibly expect from a crippled prince?” Qin Wujing said before closing his eyes indifferently.
“There must be a way to recover,” Xiao Ruyi replied.
“The physicians said I’m permanently paralyzed,” Qin Wujing retorted.
“Then I say you’ll recover. You definitely will.” Xiao Ruyi refused to back down. They were both stubborn. The difference was that one had long since been swallowed by despair, while the other still burned with determination.
“What makes you so insistent? Shouldn’t you be as desperate as the people around you, who cried over this marriage? The Empress Dowager opposed your marriage to me, and even your father fell ill because he refused to accept reality. It’s as though marrying me were the end of the world for you.” Qin Wujing opened his eyes again and looked at Xiao Ruyi, who was still sitting beside him.
“Your Highness, do you want to keep enduring their contemptuous looks? Their insults, abuse, and baseless mockery—do you want to keep putting up with all of it? Don’t you feel angry? Don’t you want to retaliate against what they’ve done? Just because you’re paralyzed, they look down on you without remembering your contributions on the battlefield. And I was slandered with accusations about things I never did. My good name was ruined and stained by their vile actions. What they did was unfair. I can’t accept it!”
The emotion flashing in Xiao Ruyi’s eyes was plain for Qin Wujing to see. He closed his eyes again. “What do I gain by joining your plan?”
“You’ll regain everything you’ve lost—the respectful looks, the awe, all of it. You’ll get it all back,” Xiao Ruyi answered. She tried her hardest to convince Qin Wujing, who had been drowning in despair for a long time.
“What if I’m unwilling?” Qin Wujing countered, opening his eyes again and staring coldly at Xiao Ruyi.
Xiao Ruyi nodded. “Then I’ll work to earn Your Highness’s trust. I’ll be a good wife to you. I promise.”
Qin Wujing smiled coldly. “Do you love me?”
“Not yet, of course. But I’ll do my best to nurture sincere feelings for you, Your Highness. If you’ll give me just one chance, I’ll try. I promise I’ll repay everyone who hurt you and me.” Xiao Ruyi sat up straight and faced Qin Wujing. She was completely serious, not joking in the slightest.
At the moment, Qin Wujing was her only weapon, and she had to make use of him. The nobles might look down on Qin Wujing now, but without him, she would have nowhere to stand. Compared to being punished in prison, becoming Qin Wujing’s wife wasn’t such a bad path.
She didn’t look down on Qin Wujing at all. Xiao Ruyi was certain that he was an extraordinarily precious treasure. He had simply sunk into grief because no one had pulled him out of that sea of sorrow. But now… Xiao Ruyi was here. She would be the one to pull Qin Wujing out of it.
“What do you say, Your Highness?” Xiao Ruyi asked after Qin Wujing had remained silent for too long.
Qin Wujing looked away from Xiao Ruyi, then tried to settle into a reclining position and pulled up the blanket. Turning his back to her, he said, “You may go to sleep.”
Xiao Ruyi frowned. “But, Your Highness, what about—”
“It can begin tomorrow morning,” Qin Wujing replied.
Xiao Ruyi was stunned when she heard this, then smiled. Although Qin Wujing’s personality and behavior were aggravating, this was quite promising.
Xiao Ruyi climbed down from Qin Wujing’s bed and slowly placed the medicine chest on the table.
She straightened Qin Wujing’s bed canopy, then bowed toward her husband and said, “In that case, Ruyi will take her leave. Good night, Your Highness. Ruyi will return tomorrow morning to attend to you.”
After receiving Qin Wujing’s brief reply, Xiao Ruyi quickly turned and walked toward the exit. But just as she was about to open the door, she suddenly remembered the assassination attempt earlier.
Xiao Ruyi froze in front of the door. Qin Wujing noticed and immediately said, “Come back. Everything’s been cleared out. I guarantee it.”
“But, Your Highness—”
“Coward.” That single word sparked Xiao Ruyi’s courage. She hated being underestimated, so she easily gathered her nerve to prove Qin Wujing wrong.
“All right, Ruyi will come back. And one more thing—Ruyi isn’t a coward!”
After that, Xiao Ruyi quickly opened the door and walked out. When Madam Su saw Xiao Ruyi emerge from Qin Wujing’s room safe and sound, she smiled broadly in relief and hurried over to her.
“Your Highness…”
“Let’s go back, Madam Su.”