After Rebirth, My Aloof Husband Can Hear My Inner Thoughts [Transmigration & Rebirth] - Chapter 38

Without overthinking it, Lin Shengshen reached her hand under the bed.

However, after Xie Zhizhou took her hand, he didn’t immediately use it to pull himself out. Instead, he held it for a while.

[Huh? Does he not even have the strength to come out?]

Lin Shengshen couldn’t help but lower her head to look again.

Just as she peered under the bed, Xie Zhizhou suddenly tightened his grip, using a bit of her strength while pushing off the wall with his legs, sliding his upper body out from under the bed.

Their noses brushed past each other, startling Lin Shengshen. “You!”

The tension that had gripped Lin Shengshen’s body from seeing the large pool of blood and Ningxiang’s death state suddenly eased a little.

She withdrew her hand, retrieved the veil hat from under the bed and put it back on.

Xie Zhizhou straightened his clothes, brushed off nonexistent dust from Lin Shengshen’s skirt, then used his sleeve to wipe the bloodstain on her collarbone.

Lin Shengshen retreated two steps, took out her own handkerchief to wipe it clean, then asked, “What do we do now? Your injury…”

Although she was eager to arrest Xu Wulin, it seemed better to deal with Xie Zhizhou’s wound first.

“The matter is clear now. I’ll leave this place to Yuan Zhen to handle first. You and I should return to the residence.”

“But… how do we go back?”

Although Lin Shengshen had come upstairs under the pretext of

Meichun suddenly came to her senses. “Forget it, Miss Lin. If a man’s heart truly isn’t at home, there’s no way to keep it tied down no matter how hard you try. We should just collect ourselves and live our own lives properly!”

Lin Shengshen nodded, her expression desolate. “If my husband’s heart has been stolen by someone else, it must be because I’ve failed in some way.”

Meichun felt frustrated by her lack of spine and sighed. “My dear Miss Lin, you’re such a celestial beauty – who wouldn’t feel weak in the knees at the sight of you?”

Suddenly realizing she had been too vulgar, she quickly coughed twice. “I noticed many people heading to the third floor, I should go check. Miss Lin, you should hurry home.”

Lin Shengshen watched her retreating figure disappear into the distance, shrugged, and left.

It wasn’t until the carriage had traveled quite a distance that Lin Shengshen suddenly understood the meaning behind Meichun’s words. She immediately sat up straight, thinking to herself: How vulgar! Unbelievable!

Then she thought of Xie Zhizhou today…

Shameless scoundrel! Wolf in sheep’s clothing! Hypocrite!

Before she could finish cursing, the carriage arrived at the Xie residence. Peilan, who had been following outside the carriage not daring to ask questions, helped her down. “Miss, what exactly happened? Why is there blood on you?”

Baidou circled around her, looking her up and down.

“I’m fine. Let’s hurry back to Tangli Residence before anyone sees us.”

As the three of them returned to Tangli Residence, they saw Xie Zhizhou sitting by the small couch, allowing a physician to tend to his wound.

Peilan’s face turned pale with fright. Could it be that when the miss went to gather information, she encountered Young Master Xie visiting brothels, they argued, and even came to blows with knives?

Lin Shengshen could tell what she was thinking at a glance and nudged Peilan. “Don’t let your imagination run wild. I’ll tell you tonight. Go on now.”

With only three people left in the room, Xie Zhizhou raised an eyebrow. “That maid of yours has probably cursed me ten thousand times in her heart by now.”

Lin Shengshen snorted coldly without responding and walked behind the screen.

[Cursed you ten thousand times? I’ve already cursed you thirty thousand times just now!]

Xie Zhizhou’s expression turned serious, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense. The physician kept his head down while writing the prescription, not daring to make a sound.

After his chest wound was bandaged, Xie Zhizhou stood up and walked toward the screen. “Lin Shengshen, what’s wrong with you?”

Lin Shengshen didn’t answer, merely focusing on changing her clothes.

Hearing the rustle of fabric, Xie Zhizhou stopped at the edge of the screen and didn’t proceed further.

After thinking for a moment, he said sincerely, “I was wrong today.”

The physician suddenly spoke up. “Young Master Xie, the prescription is finished. Take it as directed, and you’ll recover within half a month. Don’t strain the wound or get it wet, and avoid certain foods recently.”

Xie Zhizhou had no mind to listen and waved the physician away before he could finish speaking.

Only two people remained in the room.

“Lin Shengshen, I’m sorry.”

Lin Shengshen didn’t respond. After changing out of her bloodstained clothes, she draped a thin robe over herself and headed toward the bathing room.

Xie Zhizhou grabbed her arm.

Lin Shengshen said coldly, “Young Master Xie, please have some self-respect.”

He released her.

Watching her back disappear behind the screen.

Today, when Lin Shengshen overcame her fear and pressed herself against him, Xie Zhizhou thought she was concerned about him.

That Lin Shengshen had him in her heart.

Xie Zhizhou thought he had a chance to slowly make his way into Lin Shengshen’s heart. Just the possibility made him uncontrollably excited, instinctively wanting to be closer to her, and he naively began imagining their future together.

But these were ultimately just his delusions.

Lin Shengshen wasn’t concerned about him – she just didn’t want him to lose too much blood and ruin important matters.

He had lost control today and inadvertently offended Lin Shengshen. It was only natural for her to be angry.

Lin Shengshen had never taken half a step toward him; in fact, she would even retreat whenever he approached.

Xie Zhizhou understood that this was his just deserts, the bitter fruit of his own actions. Yet, he couldn’t control his ever-growing possessiveness or his heart sinking deeper into obsession.

After bathing, Lin Shengshen changed into fresh clothes and happened to see Xie Zhizhou standing under the corridor listening to Yuan Zhen’s report. They were too far away for her to hear clearly.

Shortly after, Xie Zhizhou entered the main room and glanced at Lin Shengshen, who was earnestly flipping through ancient texts while preparing spices.

[What exactly happened? Surely they won’t forbid the arrest…]

Xie Zhizhou walked over and sat at the desk. “By the end of today, Xu Wulin will be captured and imprisoned in the Dali Temple dungeon.”

Lin Shengshen gave an indifferent “oh” without looking up from her book.

–

In Linglong Residence, Concubine Jin fanned herself while eating watermelon, trying to persuade Xie Yunshuang. “Actually, the marriage your father chose isn’t completely without merit.”

“Xu Wulin shows promise, having followed General Lin in numerous campaigns. He’s bound to be promoted further. Moreover… although he serves under the Crown Prince, he isn’t the most prominent. Whether the Crown Prince or Prince Su eventually rules, Xu Wulin won’t be implicated.”

“Yunshuang, why not trust your father’s judgment this once?”

Xie Yunshuang wore a cold expression, devoid of her usual timidity, and sneered. “Trust him? If he were trustworthy, how could Mother’s child have been aborted by Xie Zhizhou back then?!”

“Besides, I don’t want what Xie Zhenhuan has rejected.”

Concubine Jin sighed. “What happened back then can’t be explained in just a few words. In any case, we must look forward. He will eventually head the Xie household, so we must be more submissive, or we won’t have good days ahead.”

“It’s also my fault—after all these years, I still haven’t managed to persuade your father to make me his official wife.”

Xie Yunshuang gritted her teeth. “I heard Father has already prepared the marriage documents and such? This matter hasn’t been made public yet, has it?”

Concubine Jin replied, “Of course not. If it were public, Xie Zhenhuan would have come crying to our door long ago.”

At the mention of Xie Zhenhuan, Xie Yunshuang scoffed. “Only she would treat Xu Wulin like some priceless treasure. If I were the legitimate daughter, I wouldn’t even glance at a down-and-out family like the Xus!”

Concubine Jin let out a deep sigh. “If you truly dislike the Xu family, then take a good look around at the lantern festival in three days. I’ll speak to your father.”

Xie Yunshuang said, “Even that dull-witted girl from the Zhou family managed to enter the prince’s household. Why shouldn’t I be able to?”

Concubine Jin advised, “No one knows what will become of Prince Su in the future. Entering his household might not necessarily be a good thing. Besides, I’ve heard the Princess Consort of Su is quite formidable. If you really went, you’d surely suffer.”

Xie Yunshuang dismissed this. “Even three-year-olds on the street know Prince Su is a great hero now. Who even remembers the Crown Prince holed up in the Eastern Palace all day? Prince Su will definitely ascend the throne.”

Concubine Jin quickly put down her watermelon to cover Xie Yunshuang’s mouth. “Are you trying to get yourself killed, daring to discuss such matters?!”

“You’re excellent in every way, my child—clever and beautiful—but your ambitions are too high. I was young once too, so I understand that drive. But Shuang’er, reaching the heavens in one step is hard, while falling and never recovering is easy. You can’t always aim so—”

Before she could finish, Xie Yunshuang had already risen and left.

She only tossed back, “I’ve had enough of living under someone else’s thumb!”

—

For two days straight, Lin Shengshen hadn’t spoken to Xie Zhizhou. She was genuinely angry, but at the same time, she felt somewhat puzzled. Thinking it over carefully, Xie Zhizhou had been acting quite unusual these days—what exactly was going on?

Xie Zhenhuan had come crying for two days in a row.

“Brother, what exactly happened to Brother Wulin? Why was he arrested?” Xie Zhenhuan sobbed, gasping for breath, her eyes swollen and red.

Xie Zhizhou had been in a foul mood these past two days. Though he pitied his sister’s distress, he had no patience to comfort her. Besides, it was time for Xie Zhenhuan to wake up to reality.

He said, “He committed a serious crime and might be executed.”

That made it worse. Xie Zhenhuan nearly cried herself into a faint. Xie Zhizhou never spoke idly—it seemed Xu Wulin had truly committed a grave offense!

Lin Shengshen held her in her arms, soothing her, “Don’t cry. Xu Wulin killed several people. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, heartless and ungrateful. Our Zhenhuan is such a wonderful girl—it’s fortunate you weren’t betrothed to him.”

“Sister-in-law, it must be a misunderstanding. He’s not that kind of person.”

Xie Zhizhou watched Xie Zhenhuan sobbing uncontrollably in Lin Shengshen’s arms, refusing to listen to reason, and his anger flared. “He will definitely die, and it won’t be beyond this year.”

Xie Zhenhuan burst into loud wails.

Lin Shengshen shot Xie Zhizhou a glare and continued to comfort her, “There’s something I haven’t told you yet, afraid it would upset you. Father arranged a marriage for Yunshuang a few days ago. Do you know who it was?”

Xie Zhenhuan shook her head.

“It was Xu Wulin! I heard he didn’t refuse either. So why are you here grieving for him?”

That Xu Wulin hadn’t refused was something Lin Shengshen made up. After all, Xu Wulin was in prison, and Xie Zhizhou would never allow Zhenhuan to see him again, so whether he refused or not didn’t matter.

Xie Zhenhuan didn’t believe it at first, but after seeing Lin Shengshen’s confident expression, she wilted completely, murmuring, “How could he do this?”

Lin Shengshen seized the opportunity to coax her, “Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Let’s go release some lanterns to lift our spirits, alright? We can even take a look at the young masters of Yunjing!”

Hearing this, Xie Zhenhuan regained her senses and suddenly remembered General Wen, whom Lin Shengshen had mentioned some time ago. Alarm bells rang in her head, and she glanced at Xie Zhizhou.

Just then, she noticed Xie Zhizhou was also staring at her.

In that instant, the siblings understood each other perfectly.

Xie Zhenhuan nestled deeper into Lin Shengshen’s embrace, wiping her tears and cooing, “Sister-in-law, let’s bring Brother along. The three of us can go together.”

“…” Lin Shengshen suddenly lost interest, but seeing Xie Zhenhuan’s tear-streaked face, she had no choice but to agree. “Alright.”

No sooner had she spoken than Xie Zhizhou shot Xie Zhenhuan a glance. “Go back and rest.”

Xie Zhenhuan reluctantly extricated herself from Lin Shengshen’s embrace. The warmth and softness were gone, and she thought bitterly: Xie Zhizhou, that petty man who discards people once they’ve outlived their usefulness!

She stamped her foot, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and left Tangli Residence.