Waiting for You for a Long Time, But You Haven't Arrived - Chapter 24

Do you think I actually care for you?

“Ming Yishu!”

Jiang Qionghua’s scream echoed through the snowy night. Everyone in the Prime Minister’s manor froze in shock, looking toward the direction of Ming Yishu’s sleeping quarters.

Bo Lu closed his eyes tightly, his weathered face etched with profound sorrow.

He still hadn’t managed to stop it.

The servants finally rushed to the quarters. Bo Lu, acting as the manor’s steward, led the crowd closer, his grief hard to conceal.

In this season of falling snow, white paper money paved the way, and pale funeral banners fluttered to guide the soul—all dissolving into a sea of white. A funeral held now would only seem more desolate.

Alas, now that the two have come to this, I fear the Prime Minister still harbors resentment. I wonder if she is even willing to arrange the funeral rites for Miss Ming.

Bo Lu stepped forward and knocked on the door: “Prime Minister.”

The door opened quickly. Jiang Qionghua, her face icy, threw Su Qian’er out and immediately ordered everyone not to disturb her for the rest of the night.

With a loud bang, the door slammed shut. Jiang Qionghua had returned inside.

Bo Lu looked at Su Qian’er in confusion, unsure whether to be more shocked that she was still alive or by the Prime Minister’s reaction.

Su Qian’er, eyes red, shook her head: “Miss Ming is fine for now.”

When Ming Yishu had resolutely downed that cup of wine, Jiang Qionghua was struck by a sudden, violent fright. A massive wave of panic clouded her vision. Screaming her name, Jiang Qionghua swung her hand and dashed the cup from Ming Yishu’s grasp.

The liquid splashed onto the floor, emitting the harsh, acrid hiss unique to poisoned wine. Even the short-piled rug that was splashed began to smoke under the corrosion…

Jiang Qionghua stared at the sight, the veins on her forehead throbbing. Her terror and shock in that moment outweighed everything she had felt in thirty-four years combined. If she hadn’t knocked that cup away in time, Ming Yishu would be gone by now.

Utterly mad! How could someone be even more crazed than herself?

Jiang Qionghua felt like a drowning person suddenly returning to shore; after a missed beat, her heart began to thump, and her breath finally returned.

Ming Yishu’s hand remained empty. Her fingertips curled slightly, and she leaned down to pour the wine again.

“Stop. Do not use your life to threaten me; I will not fall for your trick,” Jiang Qionghua said to her viciously. Amidst her suppressed rage, she wasn’t sure what emotion was taking hold. She said, “Ming Yishu, you have no spine. To seek death over such a trivial matter?”

A trivial matter.

“Then what is a significant matter?” Ming Yishu’s lusterless eyes looked at her as she asked, “Why did you stop me?”

Jiang Qionghua was left speechless by the question.

Because she didn’t know herself. She didn’t know why, seeing Ming Yishu about to drink that cup, she felt such overwhelming horror—or why she had knocked the cup away without a second thought.

“Don’t ask. I don’t know,” Jiang Qionghua lowered her eyes, talking to herself. “Even if I did, what of it? Don’t think you can test me to find out anything.”

Ming Yishu watched her for a moment before abruptly speaking: “Qionghua, this is a conflict between us. Let Su Qian’er go. Do not let your subordinates harm her.”

How did she still dare to demand things of her?

Jiang Qionghua looked up: “In such a situation, you… speak to me like this?”

Ming Yishu did not deny it: “Yes.”

Jiang Qionghua said nothing; she still hadn’t quite recovered from the shock.

“The poisoned wine was meant for me to drink, but you dashed it to the ground. Therefore, there is no need to look at the other cup. Just release Su Qian’er,” Ming Yishu said. “Qionghua, you cannot go back on your word again.”

Jiang Qionghua also knew there was no longer any point in pressuring Su Qian’er, so she relented: “Fine.”

She threw Su Qian’er out, gave instructions to her men, and then returned to see Ming Yishu.

The other cup, filled with water laced with an aphrodisiac, remained where it was. Jiang Qionghua stood in silence for a moment, then said: “Testing is indeed unnecessary, but I said you would each have a cup. Now that she is gone, this one belongs to you.”

At a time like this, when the two were at such a bitter standstill, Ming Yishu found it incredibly bizarre that the other woman could still find the “interest” for such things. But she was merely surprised; she didn’t show it. Instead, she compliantly took the cup.

“Don’t drink it yet.” Jiang Qionghua was naturally suspicious, so she carried tools to test for poison. She took the cup, tested it, and handed it back to Ming Yishu. “Alright, you may drink it now.”

In any case, the other woman’s love was unattainable. Ming Yishu stopped yearning for it. She simply numbed herself, no longer considering the things she could never have.

Without a heart, but able to share the “clouds and rain” with her—it could be considered a wish fulfilled.

Ming Yishu loved her, and naturally, she craved her body. She was quite open-minded about it. When she drank the laced water, she showed no sign of dissatisfaction or resistance.

Jiang Qionghua watched Ming Yishu finish the drink. She was unexpectedly obedient. Stunned for a moment, Jiang Qionghua couldn’t tell what she was feeling in her heart.

“This medicine takes effect quickly and its potency is…”

Halfway through her sentence, Jiang Qionghua was suddenly pulled by Ming Yishu. A kiss fell upon her, drowning out the rest of her words.

A faint, sweet, and cool moisture wetted her lips and tongue. Her throat moved, and she accidentally swallowed something.

“Audacious!” When Jiang Qionghua was released, she realized too late that Ming Yishu had fed that substance to her as well. She was instantly annoyed and angry, a crimson flush rising behind her ears. “Ming Yishu, you still dare to play such tricks.”

Ming Yishu admitted it just as readily: “Yes.”

Jiang Qionghua:

Her scolding words died out. Feeling frustrated and helpless, she could only glare at the other woman.

“Qionghua, this medicine takes effect quickly and its potency is good. Why don’t we try it together?” Ming Yishu had clearly already forced her to drink it before asking mockingly, likely out of spite. “Since you are in such high spirits, why not use this to add to the excitement?”

Anyone can speak cruel words. The intent to humiliate in the other’s speech was deliberately exposed. Jiang Qionghua never knew Ming Yishu could be so mocking, but since she had initiated the act, she couldn’t snap back. She could only swallow her frustration.

“Do you think I actually care for you?”

As Jiang Qionghua spoke, the substance she had swallowed quickly brought a surge of heat. Even her cold words seemed to carry a feverish warmth.

“It matters not. It is I who loves you,” Ming Yishu stopped hiding her feelings and told her directly. “It is I who, for all these years, has indulged in the wishful thinking of possessing your body and your entire love. But I am unworthy; it was all just my own passion, my own suffering.”

Whether it was the medicine or something else, Jiang Qionghua felt lightheaded from these blunt words. A strange sensation bloomed in her heart, like a fire burning from her feet to her head, making her feel so hot there was nowhere to hide.

“Is your interest piqued?”

Ming Yishu seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps asking Jiang Qionghua. After speaking, she began to undress herself. Layers of light, thin garments piled onto the floor like the petals of a blooming flower. She stepped on them ruthlessly, using her slender ankles to push them aside.

Once finished, she walked to Jiang Qionghua and reached out to hook the fine luan-patterned silk belt at her waist. The belt was very thin and not tied very tightly. With a slight tug, Ming Yishu created a gap a few fingers wide. Her nimble fingers pressed along the edge, easily undoing the gold-engraved buckle.

She had imagined this scene countless times; she hadn’t expected it to be so easy in practice.

Seeing her clothes being undone, Jiang Qionghua immediately pressed down on her hand: “I will not remove my clothes.”

Ming Yishu frowned: “Without removing your clothes, how can we…”

Jiang Qionghua said coldly: “You need not touch me. Do not worry about anything else.”

She could not possibly let Ming Yishu see her body. She found her own broken and scarred form loathsome, let alone letting an outsider see it.

In such a moment of fulfillment, she didn’t want scars to ruin the mood, nor did she want to face Ming Yishu’s shocked gaze—that would make her feel deeply uncomfortable.

However, in Ming Yishu’s eyes, this behavior took on a different meaning. Ming Yishu thought Jiang Qionghua was intentionally humiliating her, facing her nakedness while remaining fully dressed herself.

So be it.

Ming Yishu asked for nothing more. She picked up a clean, soft cloth meant for wiping water, stood up, and went to the bed.

Jiang Qionghua stood there for a moment. Her throat moved, and she soon followed.

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