Chapter 766: Real feelings, false feelings (1/2)

Lady Tang was watching Ning Jing as well, but she still hadn’t moved after her third lash against Tang Li. Her glanced showed that Ning Jing even looked like she was enjoying seeing Tang Li suffer!

How could she bear it? This woman’s heart is simply made of stone. Tang Li’s efforts have all been in vain!

“Ning Jing, how dare you come!” Lady Tang pretended to just notice her and rushed over with a lash of her whip. Ning Jing barely avoided being hit herself and had a scare.

“It’s all because of a slut like you! You seduced my son, but my Tang Clan gave you face and married as his proper consort. What else do you want? You won’t be satisfied until you throw the Tang Clan into disorder, is that it?” Lady Tang was stirring up a fight as well as being sincere. She lashed out again, but Ning Jing avoided that blow, too. A crafty gleam stole into her eyes before she rushed into the room and hid by Tang Li’s side.

This…

Both Lady Tang and Tang Li knew that things had turned back. Lady Tang turned back and had to keep on acting. “Tang Li, get out of the way! This old mother’s going to teach that little vixen a thorough lesson today. Otherwise, she’ll forget that the Tang Clan goes by ‘Tang,’ not ‘Ning!’”

“I won’t let you!” Tang Li declared bravely.

“Are you getting out of the way or not?” Lady Tang asked again.

“I’m not. Even if you kill me, I still won’t!” Tang Li said loudly. Ning Jing simply hid behind him while holding tightly onto his clothes.

“This old mother’s giving you one last chance! Are you moving or not?” Lady Tang was waiting for her son to figure out a way out of this mess! But Tang Li had no ways to compromise. He was waiting for Lady Tang to give them a way out instead.

In the end, Lady Tang whipped him three more times before pretending she’d angered herself into a heart attack. Tossing the whip aside, she clutched at a table while her hand grasped her chest and gasped for breath. She strained to speak while Tang Li panicked.

“Mother, mother what’s wrong? Someone come!”

A servant girl immediately arrived on the scene. All of Lady Tang’s servants were astute people, so as soon as she saw her mistress pretending to be ill, she put on a worried expression and helped her into the inner chambers without calling for a doctor.

“Jing’er, don’t be afraid. You go back first while I take a look at my mother,” Tang Li said seriously.

But Ning Jing wasn’t interested in his injuries or Lady Tang’s health at all. Instead she asked, “And what about the assassination weapons?”

Tang Li almost wanted to spit up blood. In the end, he bore it, refusing to believe his “wife-spoiling” tactics had failed. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry! I’ll definitely do what I promised you!” he declared.

“Mm, then I’ll stop worrying!” Ning Jing smiled happily. It was obvious she was doing it on purpose. Her smile widened as she left Lady Tang’s courtyard. Tang Li can keep dreaming if he wants me to fall such some petty tricks. Only an idiot would buy it!

It was nighttime by the time Tang Li made his way back to his quarters. Ning Jing had long retired to the bedroom and was lying on her side with her back to him. Tang Li hadn’t treated any of his wounds, looking as if he’d just dashed over from Lady Tang’s quarters. He looked down at Ning Jing and saw that she was really asleep.

A self-mocking smile rose to his lips. Although it was only playacting, where the two of them raced to see who could conquer the other first, the sight of Ning Jing sleeping left his heart cold. Instead of waking her up, he took off his outer robes and went to wash up in the back courtyard. A big pail of cold water splashed over his head to chill him thoroughly and sting his cuts, clearing up his thoughts.

“Tang Li, are you seeking death?” Behind him, Ning Jing’s voice filled the air.

Tang Li turned and saw Ning Jing standing on the steps, dressed in a thin nightgown. Her loose hair fell past her shoulders, framing her small but tenderly sleepy face. Even after marriage, she had insisted on wearing men’s clothes, so Tang Li didn’t get to see her feminine side except during bed. If he ignored what she just said, he could simply pretend she was a delicate and fragile girl, gentle and demure, who stirred up protective instincts. But it wasn’t just any man who could protect this woman.

Tang Li quickly recovered his senses and said with a chuckle, “Did I wake you up?”

“Yes!” Ning Jing said crossly. “It’s the middle of the night, can’t you wash up in another courtyard?”

Tang Li’s temper was unimaginably good as he said cheerfully, “Hurry back and go to sleep. Be careful not to catch cold, I’ll switch spots right now.”

Before he could leave, Ning Jing demanded, “Come back! After waking me up, I can’t fall asleep again!”

Tang Li obediently came back. “Then I’ll stay and chat with you.”

Ning Jing rolled her eyes at him and took his hand to pull him inside. She was neither gentle nor soft, but very forceful as she pressed him down on a chair and went to get a hand towel. As she wiped him down, she was careful to use less force around his injuries. The Jinchang medicine she’d secretly hidden away was applied to Tang Li’s back. Aside from their activities in bed, this was the first time Tang Li had seen her caring side.

Soon enough, all of his wounds had been taken care of. He looked at his soaked trousers and laughed in embarrassment.

“Take them off, quickly!” Ning Jing knit her brows unhappily. She didn’t know whether it was because he woke up her, or because his wounds were untreated. Tang Li stripped soon enough, leaving him dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers. Ning Jing knelt down and began to treat his injuries there too. Tang Li wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard her sigh.

But what in this world could make your ironhearted self sigh?

After she took care of his leg whip scars, Ning Jing tossed her medicine onto the table with a cold warning. “If you wake me up again, prepare to shoulder the consequences!”

Then she rolled herself back under the covers again, leaving Tang Li sitting almost naked by himself. His cold heart had finally warmed as he quickly went to lie down next to her. At first, he was very careful, but soon grew restless. First he laid on his side to get closer to her, then threw his arm over her waist.

“Tang Li!” Ning Jing warned.

Tang Li turned a deaf ear to her voice, his hand roving restlessly over her body. “Jing Jing…” he coaxed, “Jing Jing…”

The silent night gradually grew heated with their embrace and lovers’ cries. What was real or false, who was acting or watching, all became meaningless details. Once the candles were out and the bed curtains drawn, their movements grew restless and indistinct. At the height of her passion, Ning Jing crooned. “A’Li, your injuries…”

Tang Li covered her lips. “Even if I die amongst the daisies, I’ll still be an amorous ghost.”

He had never forgotten that daisies were her favorite flower…