100: Chapter 100: Living Better Than You: The General Male Supporting Character 18 [An Qi, the Official, Owes 7 Chapters]

After finishing his feigned sigh by the window, Meng Zhu realized it was already late.

The sky had long since darkened without him noticing, and the twilight was like a rising tide.

Meng Zhu rubbed his temples. Since returning to the manor that afternoon, he had been immersed in sorting through his memories and planning his strategies, never realizing that time had passed so quickly.

Just as he was preparing to leave the study, the tightly closed door was gently pushed open.

Nan Jin walked in, carrying an exquisite food box.

It seemed she had been having someone keep watch; only after seeing Personal Guard Mo Yu leave the study did she feel that Meng Zhu must have finished his work.

She had already changed out of her martial arts attire and back into a gentle, elegant dress.

As she entered, her beautiful figure eased Meng Zhu's fatigue.

"Husband."

Nan Jin walked over gracefully, a smile on her face.

"Husband has more and more secrets. You've stayed in the study for so long that you've even forgotten to eat."

She was clearly smiling, but there was heartache and worry in her eyes.

Yet, her husband wouldn't say, and she wouldn't ask, only using the word "secret" to secretly express the dissatisfaction in her heart.

She guessed it must be that the Emperor had troubled Meng Zhu again; Meng Zhu should have told her so she could share the burden.

She hadn't expected that upon hearing this, Meng Zhu would chuckle, extend his long arms, and directly clasp Nan Jin's slender waist. With a slight exertion of force, he swept his startled wife up into his arms.

"Ah! Husband, this is the study!"

Startled, Nan Jin's face turned bright red; one hand protected the food box, while the other pressed helplessly against his chest.

"Don't panic, Madam. Your husband isn't going to do anything."

His gaze was teasing as he looked at her.

Nan Jin's face was flushed, and she avoided his gaze.

Meng Zhu laughed again and, still holding her, sat back down in front of the desk.

"Since you are curious, Madam, I will tell you a secret."

Nan Jin was indeed curious, but Meng Zhu eating was more important. She pricked up her ears to listen, but her hands didn't slow down as she placed the food box on the desk and set out dish after dish of food.

Meng Zhu wrapped his arms around her waist, watching her tenderly.

She scooped a spoonful of porridge, carefully blew on it, and then brought it to Meng Zhu's lips.

Meng Zhu obediently ate it, enjoying the moment of having his warm, fragrant, and soft wife in his arms.

"What secret does Husband want to tell me?"

After eating half a bowl of porridge, Meng Zhu pulled her hand down and gently kneaded it in his palm.

"Madam, your husband had a dream a few days ago."

Meng Zhu looked into her eyes, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"In the dream, I dreamt that you married Prince Yu, and I married Nan Li."

He deliberately mentioned Nan Jin marrying Prince Yu first to show how much he cared.

Nan Jin's action of picking up food froze instantly.

Even Meng Zhu, who was holding her, felt her entire body go rigid.

"Is... is there more?"

She murmured in response, but in reality, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

She knew clearly in her heart that this was no dream; it was clearly a memory of a past life.

Meng Zhu pretended not to notice her abnormality and, without concealing anything, slowly recounted the five years of time in his mind.

As he spoke, Nan Jin's previously tense body quietly relaxed a little.

She keenly noticed that when Meng Zhu mentioned his "dream" life as a married couple with Nan Li for five years, his tone was indifferent, as if he were reading a play script that had nothing to do with him.

Even when mentioning Nan Li's name, there was a faint sense of distance.

However, this small sense of relief that had just arisen vanished completely upon hearing the next sentence.

"Today I went to see Nan Li, and I also confirmed one thing."

Nan Jin's pupils constricted.

Meng Zhu still pretended not to see.

"She was indeed that little girl who gave me two steamed buns when I was a child and saved my life."

This sentence exploded like a thunderclap in Nan Jin's ears.

Without a doubt, this was information that Nan Jin had not known in either of her two lifetimes.

It was even so important.

A savior from childhood, added to a wife of five years.

Even if Meng Zhu treated his past life as a dream, the debt of saving his life was not; that was real.

This realization was so heavy it almost crushed Nan Jin's reason.

She only felt an unbearable bitterness in her heart, and her mind went blank.

Her whole being felt as if she were in the middle of a stormy sea, relying only on a single, precarious boat.

She began to worry about gains and losses.

She began to be afraid; Meng Zhu had a dream, but what about her?

She had also been dreaming all along; now, it was time for the dream to wake up.

Just as Nan Jin's eyes turned red and her fingertips couldn't help but tremble.

Meng Zhu suddenly chuckled and pulled her a little tighter.

He amusedly scraped her pert nose, his tone gentle but carrying an indescribable teasing.

"What's wrong, Madam? What are you overthinking again?"

Nan Jin bit her lower lip, looking at him with teary eyes.

"Nothing. It's just a pity that Husband only knows now; you can't marry Princess Consort Yu to repay the debt of gratitude."

She couldn't help but throw a little tantrum, her tone sarcastic.

But it was because her heart was in a panic, and she was desperate to prove whether Meng Zhu still loved her.

She was desperate for Meng Zhu to coax her.

The jealousy, fear, worry, and possessiveness in her heart all surged up together.

Making her unable to resist turning her words asking for love into sarcastic, mean knives.

Meng Zhu saw that it was enough; he couldn't really make her get angry.

So he quickly put away his smile, speaking every word clearly, hitting Nan Jin's heart heavily.

"Jin'er, don't be afraid. Let your husband tell you another secret: in the dream, although Nan Li and I were together for five years, from the time we married until the five years were up, we never shared a bed."

"Ah?"

Nan Jin's tears stopped abruptly, and she even wanted to hold them back.

This sentence exploded in her mind once again.

Never shared a bed.

These four simple words instantly shattered all the panic, grievance, and unease in her heart into pieces.

She still remembered the flickering red candles on their wedding night; this man had taken her body and even teased her about being physically weak.

After that, except for when she had her period, he was like someone who had tasted the sweetness of the marrow, indulging in pleasure every night.

Thinking of the partiality and madness between the bed curtains, where he wished he could knead her into his very bones and blood.

Those scorching scenes flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, burning Nan Jin from her cheeks all the way down to her neck.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, when Meng Zhu held her and flew with light steps in front of everyone, she had felt something was not quite right.

She didn't understand love before, but now that she understood, she realized that the public affection between Meng Zhu and Nan Li in the previous life had always lacked something.

Now it seemed it was just too polite.

So they had actually been pure and innocent for the five years they were together in the previous life.

While she and he had been intimate on the very day of their marriage.

This strong contrast made Nan Jin's previous overthinking vanish like smoke, and her heart, which had been hanging in her throat, fell back into place.

An indescribable sweetness welled up from the deepest part of her heart, almost drowning her entirely.

"Husband is used to teasing people..."

After the sweetness came a tingling numbness.

Nan Jin was so shy that she buried her face deeply into the crook of his neck, her hands subconsciously clutching his lapels tightly, unwilling to let go ever again.

Meng Zhu saw how cute she was and was in a great mood.

He couldn't help but turn her face and kiss her moist lips.

Nan Jin tilted her head back, her face flushed, her eyes dazed, clutching his collar tightly.

"Husband, carry me back to the room."

Who could resist this?

Meng Zhu immediately picked her up; he wouldn't even eat the meal—he wanted to "eat" the person!

Just as the door closed, the two of them were entwined, lips and tongues tangled, their breaths merging.

Nan Jin jumped, her legs wrapping around Meng Zhu's waist.

She was exceptionally proactive today, as if the roles of attacker and defender had reversed, and it was her turn to storm the city and seize the land.

Even though she had been practicing martial arts for some time, the result was that the next day, she was still weak all over and almost couldn't get out of bed.

...

Having stabilized the backyard and cleared away potential future hidden dangers.

The following days returned to peace.

About half a month passed.

The incident that caused a stir at the flower viewing banquet a few days ago finally had a result.

Just as Meng Zhu had thought, The Old Emperor handled it lightly and let it end without a conclusion.

After founding the country, The Old Emperor had always favored civil officials and suppressed military generals; now that he was dying, he was even more wary of military generals.

And what about the Prince of Zhenbei?

He was still an imperial relative and prince holding heavy troops.

The Emperor would absolutely not allow the Prince of Zhenbei to be involved in partisan strife.

The Prince of Zhenbei was also a smart man.

He knew his own situation; since ancient times, there had never been an emperor who did not guard against imperial relatives.

Since his granddaughter was fine and there was no evidence, and the Emperor and Empress gave some compensation, he just went with the flow and let it pass lightly.

As for the woman's purity, Li Ruolan had originally wanted to marry Prince Yu anyway.

The Prince of Zhenbei was Prince Jing's maternal grandfather, not Prince Yu's maternal grandfather; as long as she didn't marry Prince Jing, it was fine.

So, after thinking about it, the Emperor didn't care anymore and simply granted the marriage.

Whether it was the woman's purity, a dispute of pride, or who was wronged or not.

These matters were all not worth mentioning in the face of the stability of the empire.