Waiting for You for a Long Time, But You Haven't Arrived - Chapter 58

Ming Yishu says: “Get out!”

Ming Yishu had been living in the Southern Lands for several months, and gradually, Wan’an’s injuries had completely healed.

Wan’an was a restless creature by nature. Once recovered, he was unwilling to remain cooped up in a small corner. Seeing that he truly desired to go out and play, Ming Yishu allowed him to flutter about as he pleased.

During the first few days of his recovery, Wan’an would not fly far; he usually returned to find Ming Yishu at dusk. Gradually, however, he was no longer satisfied with the immediate vicinity. On this day, after Ming Yishu let him out, he did not appear again for several consecutive days.

Crucially—the rain in the Southern Lands had not stopped recently. Word had reached her that floods had broken out in several places, submerging many people and houses. It wasn’t just land animals affected; some had seen the corpses of many birds in the surging rivers. The rain was too heavy, and with occasional lightning strikes, birds flying in the sky were also in danger.

Ming Yishu grew anxious. She worried that Wan’an’s old injuries might have relapsed or that he had encountered danger. Consequently, she searched for him for days and nights on end, but she never saw him again.

That was the beloved pet of Princess Xieyang. Ming Yishu had always cared for it diligently, just as she did with Heyi. Yet now, she had actually lost Wan’an—how could she face Xieyang?

Ming Yishu was consumed by worry, unable to eat or sleep for days. Seeing her waste away day by day, Jiang Qionghua finally could not sit still any longer.

“It wasn’t I who ordered people to lose him. How would I dare do such a thing now?” Jiang Qionghua, always worried about being suspected, cleared her name over and over. “I knew you would be sad if he was lost, so I instructed my subordinates not to touch that falcon. But if others coveted that hunting hawk, I cannot control that; it has nothing to do with me.”

Ming Yishu kept her back to her, unwilling to speak a single word.

Jiang Qionghua grew frantic: “It really isn’t my fault. Yishu, you must believe me.”

“When we were at Duanhua Residence, wasn’t it you who injured him?” Ming Yishu, seeing her unrepentant manner, gradually lost her patience. “Jiang Qionghua, I thought you wouldn’t be this shameless. He is merely a falcon; did he interfere with your business? Was it necessary for you to lay a hand on a small creature that isn’t even human?”

Jiang Qionghua truly had not done it this time. She was so wronged she couldn’t defend herself, because that incident at Duanhua Residence was indeed her doing. Back then, Princess Xieyang had used the falcon to send letters to Ming Yishu; she had loathed the other woman so much and wanted to seize the letters Xieyang gave to Ming Yishu, so she had injured that cunning falcon.

But the problem was—though she had done such a thing in the past, this time it really wasn’t her. She didn’t know where Wan’an had gone either.

“I am in the wrong; I have no credit left in your heart, so naturally, I am unable to defend myself.” Jiang Qionghua felt wretched. She had finally gained a bit of standing with Ming Yishu, and during this time, she had even been allowed into the other’s room. As a result, this suddenly missing falcon had caused her status to plummet again, and she was to be shut out by Ming Yishu once more.

Ming Yishu questioned her: “Jiang Qionghua, it is not that I am deliberately framing you. It is that you are habitually cold-hearted and truly capable of such things. Have you forgotten? Back at the Prime Minister’s Manor, you even thought of laying hands on Heyi, harming the wolf cub we raised together. Is there anything you aren’t capable of?”

Jiang Qionghua sat on her bed and spoke softly: “But do you have evidence to prove I did it?”

“No,” Ming Yishu admitted. “I am only speculating. I have no way to prove you sent someone to harm Wan’an.”

Jiang Qionghua smiled, tilting her head to look at her: “Then why are you still arguing with me?”

“That is also why I haven’t driven you out immediately. If there were evidence, you likely wouldn’t be sitting here so peacefully.” Ming Yishu looked at her coldly. “Wasn’t this argument provoked by you? Your proactive mention of it is far too much like ‘protesting too much.'”

Jiang Qionghua was speechless: “Fine, fine, fine. Blame me. You just find me an eyesore and are looking for an excuse to drive me away, aren’t you?”

Ming Yishu gave her a look, seemingly confirming her self-awareness.

“Seeing you unable to eat or sleep these past few days makes my heart ache, so I had to mention it to find a way to solve your troubles.” Jiang Qionghua wanted to find another excuse to beg for a “sweetener.” She bargained with Ming Yishu: “How about this—I will have my subordinates find Wan’an. If he can be found, would you be willing to reconcile with me?”

Ming Yishu turned around, her expression grim.

Jiang Qionghua knew what she was thinking: “Are you thinking once again that this is a case of ‘the thief crying thief’? That I deliberately hid the falcon and am now negotiating with you to return it?”

Ming Yishu asked her: “Did you think about doing that?”

“I did. I’ve thought of everything.” Since the two were well-acquainted and knew each other’s thoughts, Jiang Qionghua did not hide it and spoke plainly. “But I only fantasized about it briefly. I don’t think you would forgive me. It’s just a falcon; it isn’t worth you forgiving me.”

Ming Yishu’s tone was calm: “Then why do you even ask?”

“Set the goal higher to make it easier to bargain.” Jiang Qionghua’s eyes were full of ambition. When she stared at Ming Yishu, it was as if her gaze could drag the person over and strip them bare. “How about this: I’ll have someone find that thing, and you sleep with me once.”

“No.” Ming Yishu frowned, her will resolute. “Jiang Qionghua, is there nothing else in your head?”

Jiang Qionghua shook her head. Her hairpins shimmered with light, and the beautiful tassels on her ears swayed, showing a bit of irrationality. “I traveled thousands of miles from the Capital to the North and then to the South. The only person I seek is you. Day and night, I think of personally disrobing you…”

Ming Yishu still said no.

“Then would it be alright if you proactively kissed me once?” Jiang Qionghua’s demands lowered step by step as she began to probe Ming Yishu’s bottom line. She said in a self-deprecating tone, “This is the lowest requirement. If you truly loathe me, then just treat it as if you kissed a dog; you won’t lose anything.”

“You need not debase yourself so.” Ming Yishu’s face was full of worry. She looked at the misty sky outside the window and the rain that had never stopped, sighing slowly. “I do not know why you insist on being close to me, but I do not wish to be entangled with you anymore. It is best not to create too many complications. Wan’an is Xieyang’s beloved pet. If you find him, even if you gain a moment of closeness from me, you will only loathe Wan’an more afterward. You might even involve Princess Xieyang, feeling that I value them more, which is why you were able to steal a bit of favor.”

She had truly hit the mark. Jiang Qionghua, having her mind read, lay on the bed propped up on her elbow and laughed.

“Yishu, you truly understand me. I cannot hide anything from you. If you really relented and agreed, I would indeed be displeased. I would inevitably retaliate against and torment Xieyang in the future. After all, I have pestered you for so long and you haven’t softened, so why should she be able to make you willingly bow to me just because of a falcon?”

Ming Yishu looked at her calmly.

Although Jiang Qionghua occupied her bed in a relaxed posture, she spoke those words with a slight clenching of her teeth and a hint of resentment. She was, after all, an arrogant and ruthless person. When she slightly raised her chin, she was thinking of either murder and arson or something utterly unscrupulous.

This wicked woman was beautiful, but she was indeed “snake-hearted.”

Ming Yishu didn’t know what to say about this person. She had said it over and over again, yet she couldn’t change the other’s nature. She didn’t want to say anything more; she was tired.

“Therefore, stop having such fantasies. I will find Wan’an myself; I don’t need you. You will only cause trouble.” Ming Yishu closed the window, shutting out the sound of the rain. “Have you stayed long enough today? Can you leave now? Don’t linger on the bed; I want to rest.”

Jiang Qionghua was relentless and refused to leave: “The rain is so heavy outside these few days; where are you going? Don’t pick this time to go looking. It’s just a beast; if it’s dead, it’s dead.”

Ming Yishu clenched her hands, looking at her with hatred: “Get out. Don’t speak such unlucky words.”

“That wild woman’s falcon can earn such concern from you, yet I, a living person of this stature, cannot even get a common greeting from you!” Jiang Qionghua pointed outside the window, her eyes churning with emotion. “Eh? Ming Yishu, why would you rather care for those low-life things than turn your head to look at me even once? How long have I been waiting for you? Turn your head!”

“Did I beg you to come here and pester me every day? Jiang Qionghua, it is you who are shameless and refuse to let go.” Ming Yishu was finally provoked by these shameless remarks. “Was it not enough for you to kill me once? Do you want to ensure my peace for the rest of my life is never settled? Yes, you are noble. You are the high-and-mighty Prime Minister of the Right. You gave up the power of the Capital for a woman and came to this small place. You have suffered a great grievance! I am sorry for you! Now, hurry up and give up! Get back to your Capital Prime Minister’s Manor! I have truly had enough!”

Ming Yishu rarely used such a harsh and fierce tone, let alone shouted at someone. Jiang Qionghua was suddenly stunned by her outburst and immediately realized she had angered her again.

Loving someone is like standing under a waterfall—you brought the soaking upon yourself. It was her, Jiang Qionghua, who had stakes everything to chase her from the Capital, thinking of winning her back. It was her fault. How could she have dared to be so stubbornly pestering just now?

It was her fault.

Jiang Qionghua panicked a bit and quickly apologized: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Calm down.”

“If you get out, I can calm down.” Ever since coming to the South and seeing Jiang Qionghua, Ming Yishu had uttered almost all the harsh words of her lifetime. She pointed at the door, gritting her teeth. “Can you get out? Let my eyes have some peace.”

“I’m not leaving. I won’t speak anymore. I won’t make you angry again. Just treat me as if I’m not human, but don’t drive me away.” Jiang Qionghua shamelessly wrapped herself in Ming Yishu’s silk quilt on the bed, refusing to leave with thick-skinned persistence. “Don’t drive me away, okay…”

In three lifetimes, Ming Yishu had never encountered such a person. It was simply beyond words. Like a piece of sticky dog-skin plaster, once she stuck to you, she couldn’t be pulled off, and she would consume a lifetime.

How could there be such a person…

Ming Yishu was so angry her vision dimmed. She covered her forehead, only wishing she had monumental strength so she could pick the whole person up and throw her off the pavilion. Let her die wherever she pleased, just as long as she wasn’t an eyesore here.

“Yishu, I’ve wrapped myself a bit too tightly. Come help me loosen the quilt; I can’t quite breathe.” Jiang Qionghua suddenly found the joy in being a “rogue.” Ever since casting aside her dignity, she had gained the purest pleasure in the world. With Ming Yishu, she was so at ease; she was willing to shed all her defenses and suspicions, even to wait naked. This was the person she loved most in the world. They were so familiar with one another that they could guess each other’s every thought.

Jiang Qionghua was extremely satisfied. Even if she was scolded, she was happy. Wrapped in Ming Yishu’s quilt, she smiled with genuine sincerity.

But Ming Yishu’s face remained dark. She found her truly unbearable to look at.

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