Chapter 1 A Heart That Remains Cold

Chapter 1: A Heart That Can Never Be Warmed

"Your Highness, I beg you..." Jiang Shuning pleaded pitifully, her body tensed, fragile as a flower about to break.

"Can't take it? Wasn't it you who schemed so hard to marry me back then?" His tone suddenly turned icy and indifferent. "Even if you can't bear it, you will endure it!"

She lay prone on the bed, too ashamed to lift her head.

Her husband, Xiao Lingchuan, had never intended to marry her; he wanted her half-sister, Jiang Yaozhen.

It was she who had forced him to marry her by claiming her reputation was ruined.

This was the only scheme she had ever devised in her life, and in the end, it had brought her a decade of a tormenting marriage.

When she awoke, the sky was already bright, and she felt as though her entire body had fallen apart.

If he had married Jiang Yaozhen instead, Xiao Lingchuan would probably have been reluctant to make her suffer like this in intimate matters, wouldn't he?

A husband obtained through scheming—his heart could never be warmed.

It was just a pity that she had no way out now.

The maid, Dong Mei, approached with a bowl of dark medicinal soup. "Consort, please drink this fertility tonic."

Jiang Shuning frowned slightly and pushed the bowl away. "No, it's useless."

For a full ten years, she had drunk countless fertility tonics, yet she had never conceived Xiao Lingchuan's child.

If she had a child, no matter how poorly Xiao Lingchuan treated her or how lonely the inner chambers were, she would at least have some solace.

Dong Mei urged, "Consort, please drink it. Last night, you and His Highness were intimate—perhaps you are already with child!"

Jiang Shuning smiled bitterly.

In the eyes of the servants, they were a loving couple.

After all, except when she was ill or during her monthly cycle, Xiao Lingchuan always came to her room.

But there was a difference between love and the absence of it.

Despite their nightly, desperate entanglements and sleeping side by side, she knew better than anyone that Xiao Lingchuan did not have her in his heart.

He still loved Jiang Yaozhen, even though she had long been married to another.

At this thought, a sharp pain stabbed through Jiang Shuning's chest, almost suffocating her.

Not wanting to reject Dong Mei's kindness, she picked up the bowl of medicine and drank it all in one go.

Today's fertility tonic was exceptionally bitter.

Dong Mei helped her wash up. "Consort, His Highness told you to go ahead and eat this morning; he has matters to attend to."

"I have no appetite either. Come with me back to the Jiang family home!"

Accompanied by her maid, she left the courtyard but inadvertently caught sight of a familiar figure in front of Xiao Lingchuan's bedchamber.

It was actually Nanny Liu from Jiang Yaozhen's side!

Jiang Shuning froze, feeling a suffocating tightness in her chest.

Had Xiao Lingchuan actually brought Jiang Yaozhen... into the prince's residence?

Her face suddenly paled. She wanted to go and confront them but hesitated.

Xiao Lingchuan's bedchamber had always been a place even she, the consort, was not allowed to enter. She feared she wouldn't be able to barge in now either.

Pursing her lips, she circled around the front hall and made her way to the rear door of the bedchamber.

A soft, delicate voice came from the room behind the screen. "Brother Lingchuan, will you really protect Zhen'er?"

Jiang Yaozhen never addressed Xiao Lingchuan as "Your Highness" or "Prince"; it was always "Brother Lingchuan"—more intimate than his own wife's address for him.

Jiang Shuning's stomach churned, and she instinctively took a few steps forward.

"I will, Zhen'er. Don't worry." Xiao Lingchuan's voice was unbelievably gentle.

"But what if Sister objects?" Jiang Yaozhen's tone carried a hint of worry. "After all, she is Brother Lingchuan's lawful wife. If Brother Lingchuan wins the throne, she will become the Empress of Daye. By then, she might not tolerate Zhen'er."

Jiang Shuning halted her steps.

Although Xiao Lingchuan had never told her anything, as Consort Jing, how could she be completely unaware?

The emperor was on his deathbed, and the struggle for the throne of Daye was growing increasingly fierce. Those princes with even slight eligibility for succession had been successively assassinated, leaving only Xiao Lingchuan and Xiao Xiuzhan locked in a rivalry.

Prince Rui, Xiao Xiuzhan, was Jiang Yaozhen's husband and the man who had stolen the love of Xiao Lingchuan's life.

What Xiao Lingchuan was fighting for was not just the throne of Daye.

He was clearly fighting for Jiang Yaozhen.

"She will not bear my child." Xiao Lingchuan's voice carried a cold edge.

"That's true. Fortunately, Brother Lingchuan has been giving her contraceptive medicine all these years. If she had a child, coupled with Father and Mother's favoritism toward her, wouldn't she sit securely on the throne as empress..."

Jiang Shuning felt a buzzing in her head. So, the reason she couldn't conceive wasn't because her body was too weak, but because Xiao Lingchuan had been giving her contraceptive medicine all these years?

How could he scheme to this extent for Jiang Yaozhen?

A sharp pain shot through her chest. Clenching her teeth, she entered the bedchamber and forcefully pushed aside the screen.

This sudden action clearly startled the people behind the screen.

A flicker of emotion crossed Xiao Lingchuan's handsome face. "Why are you here?"

In the past, Jiang Shuning had been very submissive; even when bullied and belittled by him, she never complained.

But at this moment, she found courage from somewhere and shouted at him, "If I hadn't come, wouldn't I have missed this scandalous farce of adultery between uncle and sister-in-law, corrupting human decency?"

Xiao Lingchuan's face instantly darkened. "Jiang Shuning, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Jiang Yaozhen also teared up. "Sister, it's not what you think..."

"Not what I think? Then I'll call for Prince Rui right now and see what he has to say!"

With those words, Jiang Shuning turned to leave but was abruptly grabbed by the wrist by Xiao Lingchuan.

His grip was so strong it felt as if he would crush her hand bones on the spot, and his face was as dark as storm clouds.

"Jiang Shuning, haven't you caused enough trouble!"

Jiang Shuning had no time to answer before a wave of coppery sweetness surged in her throat. Unable to hold back, she spat out a mouthful of dark red blood!

Xiao Lingchuan’s face turned ashen. He immediately shouted toward the door, “Someone, get the imperial physician, now!”

Only then did Jiang Shuning realize she had been poisoned.

No wonder she had long been done with Xiao Lingchuan, yet still felt gut-wrenching agony upon discovering his secret rendezvous with Jiang Yaozhen.

So the pain in her organs was due to poison—that was a relief.

She gasped in great, ragged breaths, the sweet, metallic blood continuously flowing from her mouth and nose.

The pain was unbearable…

She wasn’t going to make it until the physician arrived.

For some reason, she felt unusually calm at this moment.

Xiao Lingchuan despised her so much; once he became emperor, he would surely treat her harshly.

Rather than watching him and Jiang Yaozhen be affectionate, it was better to be free this way.

Xiao Lingchuan swept her up into his arms and rushed outside, his voice tinged with gritted teeth, “Jiang Shuning, you’re something else—daring to take poison to kill yourself!”

Jiang Shuning clearly felt his body trembling slightly, even his voice carrying the faintest tremor.

She lifted her gaze and saw near-frantic panic and disbelief churning in his eyes.

She had never seen him so out of control before, and a thread of grim satisfaction welled up in her heart.

Who said she had no way out?

Wasn’t death the best way out?

“Xiao Lingchuan… if there is a next life… I will never marry you, nor… fall in love with you…” She closed her eyes, a red stream flowing from them—part blood, part tears…

“Jiang Shuning—!”