The Young Marquis Regrets Too Late - Chapter 21

However, when Jiang Jiachun suddenly got up from her leaning position, the abrupt movement left her dizzy and light-headed—perhaps because she had been leaning down for too long. She staggered a few steps forward, then tripped over a rock and fell to the ground.

Her palms scraped against the rough surface, and the skin tore open. Tiny beads of bl00d seeped out of the scratch wound. Jiang Jingchun frowned, but she didn’t let the pain stop her. She got up to run again.

However, someone grabbed her arm.

Gu Huaisheng hadn’t expected her to run. He had already rushed to her side when she fell, but to his surprise, she scrambled up with full intent on fleeing again.

He gripped her arm firmly. His voice was deep and slightly stern as he asked, “Why are you running away?”

Jiang Jingchun didn’t want to answer him. She struggled to free herself from his grasp, but he was too strong, and she couldn’t break free from him.

Her frantic struggle only made Gu Huaisheng’s expression darken further. His gaze grew sharp, and after letting out a cold laugh, he said in a cutting tone, “What now? If I let you go, are you going to try jumping off into the river again?”

He rarely spoke so harshly, apart from the last time when he had called her ‘shameless.’ He hadn’t said anything cruel to her before or since. 

However, right now, his words carried an undeniable anger, and his tone had a harsh edge to it.

The river’s current was rough and weltered.

When he saw her leaning by the edge of the bridge earlier, he had genuinely feared she might fall in.

Hearing his words made Jiang Jingchun frown. She hadn’t expected him to think of something so extreme. Jump off into the river? Why would she throw her life away like that?

Yes, she wasn’t really her mother’s birth daughter. She wasn’t really the eldest miss of the Jiang family.

But why would she need to die because of that?

She replied to Gu Huaisheng, “You’re overthinking it. I wasn’t trying to kill myself.”

She was simply suffocating inside and had come out to get some air. How had this turned, in his eyes, into her wanting to kill herself?

Her voice was cold and sharp. It caught Gu Huaisheng off guard. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

She was indeed stronger than he had imagined. She had told him she wasn’t a child anymore, but he hadn’t believed her. 

He thought she would scream and cry over what’d happened, but she hadn’t.

He had made the assumption that she was trying to kill herself, as seeing her lean down the bridge earlier had made him leap to conclusions. However, she said that she wasn’t trying to kill herself.

Now, it seemed she really had just come out for some fresh air.

Neither of them brought up the incident at the teahouse again, but from Jiang Jingchun’s attitude, Gu Huaisheng could tell she no longer liked him.

Her first reaction upon seeing him had been to run.

Everyone had their pride. She had given him her heart and soul, only to be met with his cruel words. It would be impossible for her not to feel anger over this.

Now, she had clearly decided to give up on him. 

But, he’d dreamed of her—in that dream, she had stirred his heart.

When did it start? Was it then or sometime earlier?

Jiang Jingchun took advantage of Gu Huaisheng’s distraction and shook off his hand. Before he could react, Jiang Jingchun had already freed herself from his grasp and flung his hand away.

Jiang Jingchun began walking back towards the Jiang family residence. His sudden appearance had yanked her back to reality. She had nowhere to go, and this was as far as she could run. In the end, she still had to return to the place where she had been raised for over a decade.

Her fall had dirtied her clothes and injured her palms.

She dusted off her dirty clothes as anger rose in her heart.

This was all Gu Huaisheng’s fault. If he hadn’t appeared so suddenly, she wouldn’t have fallen.

She lowered her head and busied herself with fixing her clothes and tidying her dishevelled hair. All the while, Gu Huaisheng trailed behind her. Perhaps he feared she might still make an attempt on her life.

His footsteps were light, but they grated on Jiang Jingchun’s nerves. She suddenly turned around.

Seeing her stop, Gu Huaisheng also paused.

What he heard next was Jiang Jingchun’s resentful voice, saying, “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have fallen. Now look at me—I’m all dishevelled. Are you satisfied now? Weren’t you the one who pushed me away first? So why are you following me now? Sure, I was young and naive back then, but now, I won’t shamelessly cling to you anymore. You don’t need to worry about me doing something foolish because of what happened. Even if I had died there, it wouldn’t have anything to do with you!”

She rattled off this long tirade, and by the end, her eyes were reddened.

It must have been because of the pain in her palms. Yes, that must be it.

All the grievances she had bottled up over the past few days came spilling out. She directed them at the person who had hurt her the most, without caring if he’d get angry over it.

Gu Huaisheng listened quietly and never interrupted her. His gaze remained calm, without a trace of anger within it. After a moment of silence, he parted his lips and asked, “Do you feel better now?”

Did venting her frustrations make her feel better?

If she kept everything bottled up, it might lead to worse consequences. He didn’t mind if she yelled at him and cursed him a few more times if it meant she would feel better.

Jiang Jingchun hadn’t expected him to respond like that.

Ah, of course. 

In his eyes, she must seem like a child throwing a tantrum right now. Her words, her actions—they must be nothing more than inconsequential fussing to him. Why would he get angry over something so trivial? 

Once again, he spoke to her with the tone of a tolerant elder indulging a younger one.

Jiang Jingchun couldn’t understand it. After everything that had happened, how could he still act so nonchalantly?

Suddenly, she felt drained. What was the point of scolding him?

He was completely unfazed by it, anyway.

She let out a long breath and finally said to Gu Huaisheng, “I’m not your real cousin. I have nothing to do with you now. From this point on, you don’t need to meddle in my affairs anymore.”

With that, she turned and ran off without looking back once.

This time, the sound of Gu Huaisheng’s footsteps didn’t follow her.

When Jiang Jingchun returned, the banquet had already ended. She didn’t go back to the back garden but headed straight for the southern courtyard of Chongming Hall.

Unexpectedly, in the corridor, she ran into Jiang Runchu and Jiang Jinghui.

The moment Jiang Runchu saw her, he frowned. His tone was far from pleasant as he asked, “Where have you been running off to again? Why can’t you just behave yourself even on a day like today?”

Today was Jiang Jinghui’s formal recognition banquet. What was Jiang Jingchun doing, running around wildly like this?

Jiang Jingchun heard his question, but instead of getting angry, she merely smiled indifferently and replied, “I was sitting properly, but Lou Yanyan came to make trouble with me. If I didn’t leave, she would’ve continued bothering me.”

It was their choice to invite the Lou family. Was it not obvious Lou Yanyan would seek her out for trouble?

Since no one would help her, and she couldn’t just start a fight with Lou Yanyan, what else could she do? Other than leaving, what option did she have?

She clearly didn’t make any scene, so why was he blaming her?

Jiang Runchu was momentarily silenced by her response, but he quickly retorted, “You’re always finding excuses. Look at yourself—your hair and clothes are a mess, and you still claim you didn’t misbehave?”

Indeed, Jiang Jingchun did look a bit dishevelled after all the running around earlier and even falling down. 

To Jiang Runchu, this was further evidence of her misbehaviour.

Jiang Jinghui didn’t have the energy to talk to Jiang Runchu anymore. However, Jiang Jinghui gently interjected by saying, “Brother, don’t say that to Sister. She knows her limits.”

Though Jiang Jinghui’s words were meant to smooth things over, they only seemed to make Jiang Runchu angrier. He snapped, “She knows her limits? Do you have any idea what she’s done in the past…?”

Jiang Runchu was about to say something more, but he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching from outside the corridor.

It was Shuliang, Gu Huaisheng’s personal attendant.

Seeing Shuliang appear, the group was taken aback. Why would Gu Huaisheng’s servant come here? Moreover, where was Gu Huaisheng, anyway? He had abruptly left the banquet midway through.

Shuliang bowed politely to the three of them, then walked up to Jiang Jingchun and handed her a small box of ointment. “My young master said you fell and injured your hand, so he asked me to bring you this medicine.”

Jiang Runchu would be a fool if he couldn’t piece things together even now.

So Gu Huaisheng’s sudden departure was related to Jiang Jingchun?

And she fell? He looked at Jiang Jingchun more carefully and noticed faint scuff marks on her clothes, around her knees, that confirmed the claim.

Jiang Runchu stayed silent for a moment while Jiang Jingchun coldly replied to Shuliang, “I don’t want it. I have my own ointment to use.”

Hadn’t she made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with Gu Huaisheng anymore? Why was he being so annoying?

What a saint he was, indeed. Even after she had scolded him so harshly, he still sent her medicine.

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Jiang Jingchun turned on her heel and walked back to her quarters. She left the other three people standing there.

Jiang Runchu found himself momentarily speechless. Had he heard wrong? Did she really just refuse Gu Huaisheng?

In the past, she had clung to him eagerly. What had changed? Why was she reacting like this now?

It was evident something had occurred between the two of them that no one else was privy to. Otherwise, how could Jiang Jingchun have suddenly become a practically different person?

That night, when it was nearly the third watch, the Jiang family residence had gone quiet. There was only the faint hum of cicadas. No human sounds could be heard there.

Jiang Jinghui, who had already been lying in bed, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

She slipped on her shoes, draped a cloak over her shoulders, and walked out of her bedchamber. Upon reaching outside her bedchamber, she found her maid deeply asleep.

Jiang Jinghui walked to the window, tapped lightly on the sill, and within moments, a shadow appeared. She stepped aside as the figure dressed in black slipped silently into the room through the window.

“Did anyone notice you?” she asked softly.

The man chuckled darkly. “What are you afraid of, when I’m the one taking care of things? I even drugged your maid with extra incense to make sure she wouldn’t wake up.”

The two moved to sit at the table inside the room. Jiang Jinghui said, “Next time, let’s meet outside. It’s too risky to meet in the Jiang family residence.”

“Fine. Coming here does take quite some effort,” he replied. Then, after a brief pause, he asked, “How have you been holding up? No one’s caught on to anything, right?”

Jiang Jinghui sneered disdainfully. “They’re all fools. What could they possibly figure out?”

The man was satisfied with her confidence. He didn’t press further and merely reminded her, “Still, be cautious.”

“Understood,” she replied.

The man shifted the topics. “I saw you getting close to Gu Huaisheng earlier today.”

At the mention of his name, Jiang Jinghui’s lips curled into a sinister smile. The laugh she let out was chilling, like the hiss of a venomous snake. “So what? Everything that girl has should have been mine in the first place. Since she took everything from me, I’ll make sure she’s left with nothing. Whatever she likes, I’ll make sure she can’t have it.”

She wasn’t entitled to anything—not even the man she liked.

The man in black fell silent for a while before cautioning her, “Don’t act out of spite. Gu Huaisheng isn’t someone to be trifled with.”

It wasn’t clear if Jiang Jinghui took his warning to heart. She replied indifferently, “I know. What about the family you were tasked with handling? Make sure there are no loose ends.”

“Don’t worry. Master has taken care of everything. If anyone leaks anything, they will die.”

The two sat in silence for a moment before the man stood and said, “Alright, that’s all for now. Next time, let’s meet at the teahouse.”

Jiang Jinghui nodded. The man rose, climbed through the window, and disappeared into the night.

After he left, Jiang Jinghui didn’t immediately return to bed. She walked to the window and gazed into the darkness. The man’s figure had long since vanished.

Her gaze lifted to the night sky, where a bright full moon hung suspended like a silver disc.

She had seen Jiang Jingchun run away earlier today.

What was that all about? She couldn’t take it anymore? A cold smile crept across Jiang Jinghui’s lips. 

But that was not good enough for Jiang Jinghui. After all the years of luxury Jiang Jingchun had enjoyed, how could she break after just two days of Jiang Jinghui being back?

How utterly weak and useless.

Her weakness came as no surprise to Jiang Jinghui. After all, with such a pampered upbringing that her mother provided her, what resilience could she possibly have?

When Jiang Jingchun had been brought home that day, Jiang Nan had ordered her to give up her courtyard. Jiang Jinghui had expected her to break down right then and there. That she lasted two days was almost commendable.

However, Gu Huaisheng chasing after Jiang Jingchun earlier today was indeed unexpected. Their intelligence suggested that Jiang Jingchun was clinging to Gu Huaisheng hopelessly, while he remained entirely indifferent.

But from today’s events, things didn’t seem that way.