Waiting for You for a Long Time, But You Haven't Arrived - Chapter 40

“Forgive me; I missed you.”

Ming Yishu was exhausted to the point of collapse. She didn’t want to ask anything more, nor did she want to think anymore. After all, thinking too much was merely a form of self-torture; it was better to let go of these messy affairs early and find a few moments of peace before her departure.

Su Qian’er had been taken into the Kang Manor. Ji Zijun said she would find someone to rescue her and told Ming Yishu not to worry.

Ming Yishu nodded, but she could not truly set her mind at ease. Although Su Qian’er was merely a character in a book, she had been by her side for so many years that Ming Yishu had long since regarded her as her own younger sister. She would have to see it with her own eyes—she would not rest until she saw the girl escape safely.

She would not entrust Su Qian’er’s life to Ji Zijun.

No one could be trusted; Ming Yishu only trusted herself now.

“Yishu, your teacher will take you to the Kang Manor; you need not doubt this.” Ji Zijun led her onto the carriage, gripping her hand tightly as she spoke. “Are you tired? Why not rest for a moment?”

How could Ming Yishu possibly sleep? She shook her head, indicating she was not tired.

The carriage looked ordinary from the outside, but only upon entering did one realize how luxurious and well-equipped the interior was. Ji Zijun lit some incense and draped a cloak over Ming Yishu’s shoulders.

A long, lingering scent of orchids drifted between the two of them. Ming Yishu had smelled this scent once before at Shangshifang; she disliked it somewhat. Orchid scent was supposed to be light and elegant, but for some reason, this version always felt pungent and unpleasant to her.

Accompanied by the curling wisps of orchid smoke, Ji Zijun began to sip her tea. Setting down her teacup, she looked at Ming Yishu with a bright, beaming smile—

Ming Yishu’s gaze fixed on Ji Zijun. She heard the woman’s lips move as if saying something, but she couldn’t hear clearly. It felt as if a layer of gauze were draped over her ears, and her vision began to grow misty and blurred…

“Sleep,” Ji Zijun said. “Be obedient and sleep. Waking up too early will only accelerate the onset of the poison.”

Ming Yishu could not hear the woman’s words at all, but she knew in her heart they weren’t anything good. She tried in vain to grab onto something to force herself to stay awake, but it was to no avail.

The incense was too strong; even covering her nose and mouth could not stop its effects. Ming Yishu could hold on no longer and collapsed.

Ji Zijun took a light sip from her tea lid, set the cup down, and caught the other woman as she fell.

She traced the features of the woman in her arms with obsession; no matter the time, she utterly adored Ming Yishu’s face.

She had lied to her. Sleeping would not delay the onset of the poison, but this incense was potent enough to let Ming Yishu suffer a little less.

Ji Zijun admitted that Ming Yishu’s previous questioning had indeed softened her heart. She was somewhat reluctant to let Ming Yishu feel too much pain; even if it affected the final outcome, she had still thoughtfully used sleeping incense on her. Sparing her even a little pain counted for something.

When the incense burned out, chaos would erupt in the Kang Manor, and Su Qian’er would run out. It would be best if Jiang Qionghua could catch up soon.

Once that person entered the carriage and woke Ming Yishu, the poison would take effect. Jiang Qionghua would surely witness Ming Yishu’s death first-hand. At that time, she would have Su Qian’er distort the truth, lying that Ming Yishu had long ago been drugged and broken by Jiang Qionghua…

Ji Zijun knew best how to provoke Jiang Qionghua.

Sixteen years ago, during their first meeting, she had seen that woman wielding a blade to take revenge on her enemies. With so many people present, not a single one was a match for Jiang Qionghua. Jiang Qionghua was only eighteen then, having been forcibly sent by her family to be a “ghost bride” for a dead man. Her family had drugged her unconscious in a carriage, intending to use a white silk cord to ferry her to the deceased at the wedding hall. To their surprise, Jiang Qionghua woke up early… At that time, Ji Zijun stood not far away, watching with her own eyes as Jiang Qionghua, dressed in wedding robes, slaughtered everyone who stood in her way. The woman’s features were cold and heartless, and her strikes were ruthless. Though she was young, one could clearly see the venomous heart beneath her beauty.

Ji Zijun had been too busy watching the show then and forgot to seize the opportunity to snatch the blade away.

—That was the greatest mistake she had ever made in her life.

If she hadn’t just watched from the sidelines back then, things wouldn’t have become so troublesome later.

Jiang Qionghua saw that she wanted the blade, so she refused to give it up. Ji Zijun could only swallow her pride and become her subordinate, helping her seize power and influence for many years.

For ten years, they overthrew the entire Jiang family, and she helped Jiang Qionghua become the supreme Prime Minister.

She had lied to Jiang Qionghua for ten years, claiming the other woman was the person she had been searching for. She never expected that even after ten years, she would fail to gain that woman’s trust, leading to a wretched end once they fell out.

Ji Zijun did not pretend to be a good person, but Jiang Qionghua wasn’t necessarily any better. One incited murder, while the other tacitly allowed her subordinate to kill. When they seized power, they wiped out the entire Jiang family, even accidentally involving the nanny who had treated Ji Zijun well.

Jiang Qionghua had always resented her incitement; she likely knew the weight of guilt and regret.

In the middle of the night, Ji Zijun did not believe the woman could remain entirely unmoved.

Ji Zijun took one last look at Ming Yishu, then turned and walked out of the carriage—she needed to choose a good vantage point to watch the show once Jiang Qionghua reached the brink of collapse.

Ming Yishu’s face felt slightly cool; she felt a few drops of water.

In her half-awake state, she heard the sound of an elderly man sighing by her ear. That person took her pulse and fed her something.

The aged voice was not very clear, but he spoke for a long time.

“Yishu, Ming Yishu, Ming Yishu, Ming Yishu…”

Someone was calling her name incessantly by her ear as if summoning her soul, eventually waking her up.

Ming Yishu opened her eyes numbly. The first thing she saw was Jiang Qionghua’s face. This person looked as though she hadn’t closed her eyes for a long time; her eyes were bloodshot, looking like a vengeful ghost coming to claim a life—frighteningly so.

A bad woman.

A madwoman.

These were the only two evaluations Ming Yishu could muster in her mind. She had been found by this person again. She wondered what she would have to face this time.

“What are you doing here?” Ming Yishu asked softly and weakly, allowing the other to hold her. “Have you come to take my life as well?”

Seeing that the woman in her arms had woken up, Jiang Qionghua let out a sigh of relief. She said nothing, but with trembling hands, she pulled a medicine bottle wrapped in a handkerchief from her sleeve: “You… you didn’t take your medicine when you left.”

Ming Yishu: “…”

This was truly an insignificant matter. Hearing such a bizarre sentence, it was impossible for Ming Yishu not to be confused. She asked without emotion: “Only for this?”

Was she really not going to scold her? If Jiang Qionghua didn’t act crazy, Ming Yishu felt that the woman was being abnormal. Because the person before her was in a terrible state, looking as if she were on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Though her words were understated, the madness in her eyes could not be hidden.

“I…” Jiang Qionghua uttered only one word before suddenly turning her head away, unable to make a sound. She gritted her teeth in a long silence, and when she turned back, her voice was shaking. “Ming Yishu, you are so cruel. You actually truly abandoned me and left.”

Ming Yishu was not surprised by this accusation at all.

She knew Jiang Qionghua would ask this. The woman could not tolerate such an action; it was a betrayal and an abandonment. With a prideful character like Jiang Qionghua’s, she would never let her go.

“Back then, you forced me to swear a poisonous oath, complaining that my oath wasn’t harsh enough, thinking that if I broke my word, it would be best if I died—wasn’t that it?” Ming Yishu smiled faintly, having come to terms with it. “A prophecy fulfilled; it seems it’s about to come true now. Jiang Qionghua, leave. If you stay here, I won’t even have my last bit of dignity before I die.”

“How long has it been since Ji Zijun forced the poison on you? Can you try to throw it up?” Jiang Qionghua’s mind was in a mess; she couldn’t afford to scrutinize the previous statement. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t. Just now, the divine physician gave you medicine to neutralize the poison. You won’t die. Believe me, I won’t let you die.”

“Before, you wished for my death. Why have you suddenly changed your mind now?” Ming Yishu laughed at her unpredictability. “Fine, the two of us are even now. What you think has nothing to do with me.”

Jiang Qionghua lowered her head, still unable to bear the other woman’s cold and indifferent tone.

She had lost the gentle and obedient Ming Yishu of the past; they could never return to how they were at the beginning.

“I was wrong. Don’t mention the word ‘death.’ It’s bad luck.” Jiang Qionghua didn’t dare look into Ming Yishu’s cold eyes, yet she couldn’t help but want to keep staring at her. “Don’t leave. I can explain everything to you properly from now on. I wasn’t a good person before. I can’t be without you. After you left, I couldn’t close my eyes day or night. I need you.”

Ming Yishu didn’t want to hear it anymore.

At this very moment, this person still had that same self-centered attitude. Jiang Qionghua didn’t love her; she clearly just relied on her to be able to sleep.

Before her death, Ming Yishu had also let go of all her grudges. She mocked the woman: “Jiang Qionghua, you will never learn how to love someone. You always speak to people in this high-and-mighty tone. I can’t feel even a hint of your desire for me to stay.”

Jiang Qionghua truly did not know how to coax someone. Facing these words, she looked helplessly at the divine physician Xuan Ji standing beside her, who was keeping his head low. It was clearly a look for help.

The elderly Xuan Ji: “…”

Ming Yishu: “…”

Xuan Ji didn’t dare leave the carriage, nor could he pretend not to see. He could only speak with difficulty to mediate: “Young lady, the Prime Minister wants you to go home. She wants…”

Jiang Qionghua held Ming Yishu tightly. After a long time, as if she had made a monumental effort, she squeezed out a difficult sentence: “I… I missed you…”

Was it that hard to say “I miss you”? Jiang Qionghua didn’t know. Once spoken, those few short words seemed like a sharp blade prying open a blocked barrier, causing the dam in her heart to suddenly crack. Countless emotions found an outlet; her longing surged forth, bringing the feelings she had deliberately ignored out into the open.

Jiang Qionghua’s eyes suddenly turned red. She no longer seemed like the stiff and serious Right Prime Minister, but rather like a girl confessing to her lover for the first time, her ears turning red after just a few words.

Ming Yishu looked into Jiang Qionghua’s eyes with some surprise, watching as they grew wet with tears. The person before her actually had moments of embarrassment; it seemed as if saying those four words would cost her her life, and having said them, she buried her head and ignored everyone.

It was truly ironic. Only after she had left did this person learn how to speak like a human.

Ming Yishu forced a bitter smile, not accepting the gesture: “Qionghua, we have broken up.”

“What?” Hearing the unfamiliar term “broken up,” Jiang Qionghua frowned in confusion. “Broken up? What does ‘broken up’ mean?”

“If we were husband and wife, it would mean ‘divorce.’ But since I have no status, I only need to inform you: this is our final parting.” As Ming Yishu gradually regained her strength, she tried to pull away from the embrace. “I said it before: I don’t like you anymore. Lord Prime Minister, do not be persistent and clingy, lest you lose your dignity.”

Jiang Qionghua: “You are speaking out of anger. I don’t believe you.”

Ming Yishu: “Believe it or not.”

Jiang Qionghua: “I was wrong. Don’t be so heartless. I will marry you as my legal wife. Don’t go.”

Ming Yishu: “I have already taken the poison.”

Jiang Qionghua pointed at Xuan Ji beside her: “He will save you. Don’t be afraid. You won’t die. Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Angry words, nonsense, crazy talk.” Ming Yishu repeated the words slowly, one by one. “I am the one talking wildly; you are always right.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Jiang Qionghua explained frantically. “Don’t think of me like that.”

Ming Yishu said: “I don’t love you anymore. Why can’t I look at you with prejudice? You are a bad woman. Am I wrong about that?”

How considerate Ming Yishu used to be was how aggravating she was now. To Jiang Qionghua’s ears, every word the other said was a deliberate stab to the heart, meant to make her suffer intensely.

Jiang Qionghua couldn’t win the argument, so she could only resort to being persistent: “I don’t want us to be strangers. Ming Yishu, can you give me a chance and forgive me? I will treat you well. Didn’t you want to be my legal wife? Weren’t you going to make the sixth jade hairpin for me? How could you have the heart… Tell me, what do you want? I will grant you anything.”

“I don’t want to see you,” Ming Yishu said. “I want you to leave.”

Jiang Qionghua refused to let go: “I won’t! No matter what you think of me, I am definitely taking you back today!”

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