Le Jianghu de Feng Qingcheng et Mo Xibei

Chapitre 115

"Whether it's worth it or not, I know for sure. But I will get back every penny of the money you cheated me out of!"

Xuanyuan replied through gritted teeth, his face dark.

The icy, emotionless voice instantly froze Leng Jie's overflowing emotions. She trembled involuntarily. Did he hate her? She had finally fallen in love with a man who loved her; how could she let him hate her? The defiant Leng Jie was back. She abruptly stood up. Looking down at Xuan Yuan, she glared at him with a sharper, colder gaze than his own, and said fiercely:

"You want to collect a debt from me? What gives you the right to do that? What do I owe you?"

First, I have already stated that I am not your queen.

Secondly, even if I used her body, you were the one who gave her up first, weren't you?

Third, if I hadn't forced Qingfeng to help me conceal my identity, I might have been killed by you in some other way long ago! Tell me, what makes you an empress? Fourth, although I took your secret service without asking, I didn't neglect any of the duties the secret service was supposed to perform for the royal family! Furthermore, there are verifiable records: in the three years I managed it, the secret service's total assets more than doubled. And your national treasury's tax revenue increased by more than 50% as a result! In addition, a large portion of the supplies for the Xiping war came from the secret service. Do you really think others would donate supplies for your 100,000-strong army without expecting anything in return?

Fifth, you are not allowed to bring Qingfeng into our affairs anymore. I already feel extremely guilty for not being able to reciprocate his feelings. You are not allowed to involve him again.

Sixth, as I just said, the child in my womb is yours. This happened the night before I went to Beifeng, because you disagreed with my going to rescue my senior brother. So I used hypnosis to seal your memories of that night. If you don't believe me, I can help you retrieve those memories.”

Ignoring Xuan Yuanzheng's jaw-dropping expression, Leng Jie continued her tirade:

"Seventh, the reason I'm telling you all this now isn't because I want to leave. It's because after you fainted, to stabilize the court, your royal uncle has already revealed my identity to the world. Everyone in the world knows that I, Leng Jie, am your destined empress, the lucky star of Jinghe and the empire!" Having said this, Leng Jie cupped Xuanyuan's face in her hands, making him look at her. Then she sternly questioned him:

"Answer me now, what makes you demand a debt from me?"

Xuanyuan let Leng Jie cup his face, and he stared up at her, stunned. Every word she said shook his soul. But what left him most speechless was the sixth point Xiao Jie mentioned. The child was his? And he didn't know! The reason was that she had erased his memory! What was most infuriating was that even after he said he would accept the child no matter whose it was, she still hadn't told him the truth. If he had said he didn't want the child, wouldn't she have forced his child to marry someone else? Thinking of this, a surge of anger suddenly welled up inside him. He grabbed Leng Jie's hand, glared at her, and demanded:

"You heartless woman! Is your heart made of stone? How could you be so cruel to me? If Yin'er hadn't interfered, were you planning to keep this from me forever? Were you planning to make my child marry someone else? You dare ask me why I should ask you for money? First you stole my family heirloom, then you stole my heart and body. Now you've stolen my child. Tell me, do I have any right to ask you for money?"

Before Leng Jie could react after yelling, he suddenly pulled her hand forcefully to his side. Leng Jie swayed and fell onto the bed. Afraid of aggravating his wound, she instinctively braced herself with her arm as she fell. To maintain her balance, she tried to lift her head. But as soon as her face tilted up, a pair of thin lips, dry and cold from excessive blood loss, tightly enveloped her cherry-like mouth.

After a moment of stunned silence, Leng Jie understood. This was his way of collecting debts. He could never truly be ruthless, which was why she had unknowingly fallen in love with him, wasn't it? Seemingly noticing Leng Jie's distracting thoughts, Xuan Yuan punished her by leaving two neat rows of teeth marks on her lips.

The sudden pain drew Leng Jie's attention back, and she couldn't help but bite Xuan Yuan's lower lip. Feeling the dryness of his lips, her nimble tongue involuntarily slipped out, gently moistening them. Xuan Yuan's body and mind trembled as if struck by lightning. He took her tongue into his mouth, sucking hard at the nectar it brought. Leng Jie felt a tingling sensation run through her body. Her body slowly went limp, collapsing into Xuan Yuan's warm embrace. Her two slender arms naturally encircled Xuan Yuan's neck as he bent down.

In an instant, their lips met tightly, their tongues intertwining and exploring. The kiss deepened, their breaths quickened. Their two hearts, deeply in love, clung together ever tighter…

Finally, just before they suffocated, the two reluctantly separated. Leng Jie took a deep breath, then suddenly looked up and asked:

"Xuanyuan, do you want me to help you recover your memories of that night?"

Xuanyuan gently kissed Leng Jie's upturned cheek, then whispered in her ear, "Yes, but only after you've left me with the memory of today." As he spoke, his hand already reached for Leng Jie's clothes. Xuanyuan's ambiguous words had already made Leng Jie's heart flutter, and when she noticed his outstretched hand, she abruptly slapped it away and jumped up, shaking her head repeatedly.

"No! You're injured, and I have a child!"

"What are you thinking, Xiao Jie? I just wanted to help you remove a hair that was stuck to your clothes." Xuan Yuan looked at Leng Jie with a knowing look and asked seriously.

Swish! Leng Jie's already rosy cheeks instantly turned bright red, then purplish-red...

Chapter 142 The Finale (Part 10)

Xuanyuan gently stroked the little girl's delicate face, gazing deeply into her eyes. He softly asked:

"Xiao Jie, is everything you just said true? Are you really from another world? Or are you actually a deity from heaven?"

"What do you think I am?" she asked softly, leaning against Xuan Yuan's warm embrace.

"Whether you are human or immortal, you are my wife." He said, gently kissing her forehead. Then, confidently, he added:

"I think you must have come here specifically for me."

"You're just being vain!" she said softly, coquettishly, as she slowly stood up, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards the window.

Night had fallen. Unbeknownst to her, she had spent the entire day in the medicine hut with Xuanyuan. Apart from Eunuch Fu bringing them medicine and food, no one had disturbed them. For the first time in her life, Leng Jie experienced a peace and happiness she had never known before!

"Xuanyuan, you should rest!" After pulling the blanket up for Xuanyuan, Leng Jie began to tidy up her clothes, which were already in a complete mess.

"No, I can't fall asleep without you here with me."

Xuanyuan clung to Xiaojie's clothes, looking like a child needing his mother's love. His playful and adorable antics made Xiaojie laugh involuntarily.

"Hehe, stop fooling around! I'm going to check if my senior brother has woken up yet, and also to find out about the situation in Beifeng."

Xuanyuan's expression changed drastically, and he commanded in a deep voice:

"You're not allowed to go! You're not allowed to see Qingfeng alone anymore."

Leng Jie was startled by Xuan Yuan's sudden change in tone! After a moment of stunned silence, she smiled knowingly:

"Don't be so petty, okay? He's my senior brother. And he's also your brother."

“I don’t have a brother like him!” Xuanyuan replied coldly.

Leng Jie smiled and comforted her:

"What did Qingfeng do to you? I was the one who lied to you, why are you blaming him? You two are brothers who have risked your lives for each other."

Xuanyuan, still relentlessly pressing the issue, said bitterly:

"How could he treat me like a brother? If he did, he wouldn't have fallen in love with you knowing your true identity! I always thought you were childhood friends and fellow disciples, which is why I let you two be together. Turns out we met at the same time, so why is he the only one who gets to be your senior brother?!"

Leng Jie was somewhat amused and exasperated by Xuan Yuan's resentment. Just as she was thinking about how to explain things to him clearly, an indignant voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Then what makes you Xiaojie's husband?"

Leng Jie and Xuan Yuan both looked towards the doorway in astonishment. A figure in cool white appeared beside Xiao Jie, following the sound. Who else could it be but Qing Feng? Before Xiao Jie and Xuan Yuan could react, another voice came from outside the window:

"Since Xiao Jie is not the real Empress, Your Majesty, don't forget your promise from Jianzhou! Our opportunities are equal."

This time, the three of them looked toward the window together, and saw Shi Yu, dressed in black, swoop in through the window.

After a moment of amused gaze sweeping over Qingfeng and Shiyu, Leng Jie asked them teasingly, "Senior brother, Shiyu, when did you two develop a habit of eavesdropping?"

Shi Yu and Qing Feng were speechless. She was clearly trying to change the subject for Xuan Yuan. The two of them stared at Xiao Jie with resentful eyes.

Xuanyuan wouldn't stand for it. He pulled Xiaojie back onto the bed, wrapped his arms around her waist, and yelled at Qingfeng and Shiyu, "Hey! You two aren't allowed to look at my Xiaojie like that. She's your sister-in-law now!"

"Xiao Jie doesn't belong to you! She belongs to all of us," Qingfeng replied indifferently to Xuanyuan.

"Yes, she belongs to all of us!" Shi Yu had already stood on the same side as Qing Feng.

Leng Jie stood up abruptly and solemnly declared:

"You're all wrong. I don't belong to any of you. I am just myself."

“You are my empress! My wife, so of course you belong to me,” Xuanyuan retorted defiantly.

"She isn't!"

"Your empress is Leng Xinrui, not Xiao Jie," Qingfeng and Shi Yu replied coldly at the same time.

Damn! They even heard that? Leng Jie was stunned! How long had they been spying on her? Luckily! Luckily, she and Xuan Yuan had only kissed a few times, otherwise... Thinking of this, Leng Jie's cheeks unconsciously turned red again.

Xuanyuan was also stunned for a moment. However, he quickly found a weapon to retaliate. He pointed to Xiaojie's belly proudly and said:

"But the child in Xiaojie's belly is mine! And in Xiaojie's heart..."

"Enough! Stop with this pointless chatter!" Leng Jie interrupted Xuan Yuan. She didn't want to cause a rift between the brothers because of her. Leng Jie changed the subject:

"Senior brother, Shi Yu, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? Come on, let's go to the kitchen. I'll make you some knife-cut noodles." He said, dragging one of them by each hand and walking out. When they reached the door, Shi Yu and Qingfeng turned back and gave Xuan Yuan, who couldn't follow, a meaningful smile.

Seeing them stop, Leng Jie turned around and winked at the astonished Xuan Yuan, saying:

"Just lie there quietly. I'll have Eunuch Fu bring you a bowl when it's done." With that, he turned and left the medicine hut.

"I want you to bring it here!" Xuanyuan shouted at Leng Jie's retreating figure, snapping out of his daze.

All the cooks at Qingfeng Residence stood trembling at the kitchen doorway. Inside, their Empress was wrestling with a basin of flour, her sleeves rolled up. Their formidable master sat at the stove, tending the fire. Meanwhile, their wise and powerful prince was washing vegetables. Such an unprecedented display of power and authority naturally filled them with dread.

But the people inside were thoroughly enjoying themselves, completely absorbed in their work. After Leng Jie had mixed the dough evenly, she kneaded it vigorously while saying to Qingfeng, who was sitting opposite her on the stove:

"Senior brother, who will be the emperor of Beifeng now that you're gone? You're not going to hand it back to that wretched old man, are you?"

He tossed a piece of firewood into the stove, and Qingfeng raised his hand in reply:

"No, after you left, I consulted several influential ministers and asked them to choose one of the many princes to inherit the throne. In the end, everyone unanimously chose the Fifth Prince, who held most of the military power. I found him and made him swear a solemn oath that Beifeng would never send troops to Jinghe. He readily agreed. Therefore, five days after you left, Ziying and I came to catch up with you."

"With a ready-made emperor as her, of course she would gladly agree." Leng Jie shook her head and sighed, "In this world, you are probably the only one who would push away the throne that you have already obtained."

Isn't he acting like this all because of you?

Shi Yu, engrossed in washing vegetables, suddenly blurted out a resentful remark, leaving Leng Jie and Qingfeng speechless. Immediately, two sharp gazes pierced him. But Shi Yu, without looking up, seemed oblivious, continuing to mutter to himself:

"Back in Jianzhou, the three of us agreed to compete fairly. Even if you reluctantly acknowledge your status as Empress, we can still take you away from the palace at any time if you agree."

A sudden tremor ran through her, and the sharpness in her eyes was instantly replaced by shock! Her hands, which had been kneading the dough, involuntarily stopped. She had never imagined that Shi Yu and Qing Feng's feelings for her were so deep and unwavering. After a moment of stunned silence, she buried her head in the dough and began kneading it frantically. Perhaps the answer could be found within the dough?

Seeing Xiaojie's helplessness, Qingfeng felt a pang of pity. He shook his head helplessly and looked at Shiyu, saying, "Shiyu, don't pressure Xiaojie!"

"If we don't push her, she'll really become someone else's!" Shi Yu replied with the same helpless look.

The three of them remained silent. The only sounds in the large kitchen were the crackling of firewood burning in the stove, the tinkling of water washing vegetables, and the thuds of porcelain basins hitting the stove.

"Xiao Jie! The water's boiling!" Even though the pot of water was almost half full, Xiao Jie was still kneading the dough vigorously. Qing Feng finally couldn't help but break the silence and reminded her.

"Oh!" Leng Jie responded, but her hands showed no sign of stopping.

"Xiaojie, your noodles are ready to be cooked," Qingfeng reminded her again.

"Oh!" she responded in kind, but this time her hand made a different move. She casually reached out to put a whole lump of dough into the pot.

Qingfeng, who had been watching her expression intently, seemed to have anticipated this. He reached out and took the dough, then picked up a slicing knife and quickly shaved noodles into the pot. Shiyu put the washed vegetable leaves into the pot and helped Qingfeng cook the noodles as well. Leng Jie, however, remained standing to the side, lost in thought.

"Xiao Jie, come check if it's done!" Shi Yu called out loudly. He finally managed to bring Xiao Jie back from trying to come up with a solution. Looking at the empty bowl and the noodles bubbling in the pot, Xiao Jie exclaimed in surprise:

"Uh! You've all finished slicing?"

"You've finally come back to life!" Shi Yu said, staring at her. "We were all worried that your soul might fly away and never come back."

“That’s entirely possible.” Leng Jie nodded seriously. “My soul entered this body inexplicably in the first place, so it’s normal for it to leave suddenly now!”

"Xiao Jie, don't you dare follow Shi Yu's nonsense!" Qingfeng roared with a stern face.

"I was just joking, how could you take it seriously?" Shi Yu immediately explained.

"I was just joking. My master said my original body was cremated a long time ago," Leng Jie replied with an embarrassed laugh. Then she added salt to the pot, stirred it a few times, and tasted the soup. She nodded and said:

"Alright! It's ready to be taken out of the pot."

She ladled the noodles and vegetables from the pot into the prepared chicken soup. Her gaze, however, never met Qingfeng and Shiyu's. Leng Jie deftly filled four bowls, handing one to Qingfeng and one to Shiyu, then holding a bowl in each hand, she said:

"I'll send it to Xuanyuan."

"You guys eat first, I'll go deliver it." Before Xiaojie could finish speaking, Qingfeng had already snatched the bowl from her hand and leaped out of the kitchen. Leaving a stunned Xiaojie behind, she helplessly carried the remaining bowl of noodles to the table.

After waiting for more than two years, Shi Yu finally got this opportunity to be alone with Xiao Jie. Naturally, he wouldn't give it up so easily. Shi Yu followed her and sat down next to her, the two of them silently eating their noodles.