GTB Chapter 67

Chapter 67: A Respectful, But Fake Couple

Chapter 67: A Respectful, But Fake Couple

Shí Yan ignored the confusion and fear on Jiang Jiuchu’s face. He sat on a square chair beside her, leaning back against the chair with his head tilted, looking at Jiang Jiuchu. His voice was casual and indifferent.

“At Ning Yin Temple two months ago, you were captured by the Black and White Devils?”

Jiang Jiuchu’s pupils constricted, her face turned white, and her whole body froze instantly. She stared directly at Shí Yan.

After a moment, her eyes moved slightly. *So, he knew about this, and that’s why he suspects my purity and is angry with me?*

*But if that’s the case, why did he choose me in the first place? Could it be that he only just found out? But how did he find out?*

No one knows about this. Those who do are her closest family members, and they would never spread it.

She suppressed her thoughts and shook her head at Shí Yan. “No, I went to Ning Yin Temple with my mother two months ago to pray for blessings, but I wasn’t captured.”

Jiang Jiuchu felt that no matter how he found out, she couldn’t admit it. Brother Fu told her to forget about it, as if it never happened.

Shí Yan sneered. “But your expression just now tells me that you are… lying.”

“No, if I had been captured by flower-picking thieves, how could I still be pure? How would I dare to hide that from you and marry you?”

Jiang Jiuchu thought, *Anyway, I didn’t lose my purity. I just need to deny it to the death.*

Shí Yan casually picked up a folding fan from a nearby shelf, opened it, and fanned himself gently. The light breeze made him feel much better.

“I didn’t say they were flower-picking thieves. Does Miss Jiang know these two very well?”

“I don’t know them, I’ve only heard of their names.”

Shí Yan ignored her denial and said to himself, “I didn’t expect Miss Jiang to kill an innocent woman for the sake of her reputation.”

As he spoke, his handsome phoenix eyes stared directly at Jiang Jiuchu, not letting go of any expression on her face.

He wanted to determine if she was a cruel woman who would kill others to protect her reputation and prevent future troubles.

Jiang Jiuchu was startled by his words and immediately understood who he was talking about.

That day, the scene of the girl lying in a pool of blood in the mountain forest under the setting sun was still vividly imprinted in her mind.

Looking at Shí Yan leaning back in his chair, lightly waving his folding fan, although he seemed casual and lazy, the look in his eyes was extremely serious and indifferent.

Her gaze fell on the handkerchief in his hand. Thinking about his actions just now, it seemed to have started because of this handkerchief.

She thought hard for a while and quickly found the root cause.

*So, that girl is his person? His sweetheart?*

Looking at the man in front of her who seemed to have made up his mind, and the girl’s tragic death, she decided to tell the truth.

“I didn’t kill her. She was killed by the white-clothed man, one of the Black and White Devils you mentioned.”

Shí Yan paused slightly with his folding fan, and continued, “But as far as I know, the Black and White Devils only rob women of their beauty, not their lives. Why would they kill her?”

Jiang Jiuchu knew that according to this person’s nature, if she didn’t explain clearly, she would be bearing the blame for murder today.

She explained the whole story clearly, but she changed Song Fuge’s identity to her brother, Jiang Jiuche.

Afraid that he wouldn’t believe her, she quickly got up, walked to the side, opened her box, and took out the peach blossom hairpin from inside.

She walked to Shí Yan, handed it over, and said, “It’s this hairpin.”

Shí Yan had already believed her words. After all, in such a short amount of time, she couldn’t have made up such a reasonable explanation, and it matched the situation of being stabbed in the back.

Plus, her expression and tone, even without taking out the peach blossom hairpin, he would have believed her.

He took the exquisite and delicate peach blossom hairpin and looked at it from all angles. Then, he pressed the button with his fingertip, and a silver needle instantly pierced into the window lattice on the side.

“This hidden weapon is not bad, very suitable for young ladies. Did your brother give it to you?”

Seeing that he was saying something irrelevant, Jiang Jiuchu knew that he believed her. She nodded and replied:

“Yes, my brother loves me. Knowing that I like these things, he got them for me and gave them to me.”

As she spoke, afraid that Shí Yan would see through her lies, she quickly turned around and walked to the window sill on the side, and pulled out the silver needle with force.

Then, she walked to Shí Yan, and opened her hand to him, “Give it back to me!”

Shí Yan paused, looking at the open, fair palm in front of him. He put the hairpin on it. *Why does it feel like this girl is afraid he won’t return it?*

Jiang Jiuchu put the silver needle back into the stamen of the flower. Seeing that Shí Yan didn’t ask any more questions, and his expression didn’t seem so cold anymore, she wanted to sit back on the bed.

However, as soon as she turned around, the big red wedding bed made her stop. *If I sit back on the edge of the bed, wouldn’t it be like waiting for something?*

She turned back and sat opposite Shí Yan, picked up an apple from the table, and began to eat it.

Shí Yan glanced at the two wine cups on the table, looked at Jiang Jiuchu who was happily eating, paused, and also picked up an apple, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely ate it. The cold and indifferent expression from before was gone.

The apple was not only sweet but also very crisp. For a while, the sound of crunching echoed in the room.

The two had different thoughts. Jiang Jiuchu was thinking about what Shí Yan had said just now, wondering if it was his true thoughts, or just because he suspected her and said it on purpose. But since he said it, he wouldn’t be allowed to take it back.

Shí Yan was thinking about how to lower his face and drink the nuptial wine with her. He had never been so embarrassed before.

Jiang Jiuchu finished eating the apple and started eating pastries. She hadn’t had dinner, and she was a little hungry.

Seeing this, Shí Yan directly ordered outside, “Go to the kitchen and bring some food over.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiuchu quickly waved her hand, “No need, no need, I’m not hungry. I’ll just eat some pastries. It’s not good to eat too much at night. Even if you bring it, I won’t be able to eat it.”

As she spoke, she quickly finished the pastry in her hand, then drank a few mouthfuls of tea to rinse her mouth. Then, she said to Shí Yan:

“That… I know, the Empress Dowager forced you to marry me, and you couldn’t refuse, so we got married. It’s normal that you don’t like me, after all, you and I didn’t know each other before this.”

As Jiang Jiuchu spoke, she observed Shí Yan’s expression. Seeing that he didn’t have much of a reaction, she continued:

“So, I can cooperate with you to be a respectful, but fake couple.”

Although she was mentally prepared for sharing a bed, looking at the person and the bed in front of her, she suddenly felt a little scared.

Perhaps it was because of his extremely indifferent gaze and cold, emotionless questioning just now.

She was afraid that if she accidentally offended him in the future, did something that made him unhappy, or if he had someone he admired one day and married a beautiful concubine.

She couldn’t imagine how ruthless he would be to her at that time?

Wouldn’t she then become a pitiful woman with children, unloved by her husband?

No, she didn’t want that. Anyway, he has someone in his heart now, although she’s dead, he should agree to her proposal!

After all, this person clearly doesn’t like her very much either. Maybe she was just one of the many portraits that he didn’t dislike so much.

Shí Yan snorted coldly in his heart, thinking, *I’m afraid she’s the one who doesn’t like me! She’s talking as if she’s so understanding, thinking of me in every sentence.*

“Okay.” He closed his folding fan, got up and walked towards the bed, and began to undress.