Chapter 460
The fragrance of plum blossoms in the courtyard permeated the heart and spleen. The woman was wearing a white fox fur coat, her small face nestled in the white fox fur collar, competing with frost and snow in fairness.
The swaying paper lanterns in the corridor emitted creaking sounds, the warm yellow light shone on the woman's porcelain white skin, making her look celestial.
She stood under the eaves, smiling at him faintly, giving a very unreal and illusory feeling.
At this moment, Jiang Yin finally understood that in his previous life, though endowed with fame and fortune, he ended up with nothing. And in this life, what he pursued was merely her waiting under the lamplight and a warm smile on her face in the snow.
Across the wind and snow, gazing at her from afar, the surging feelings in his heart, Jiang Yin walked over happily, his eyes burning as he looked at her.
As if presenting a treasure, he held out the wooden box in front of her eyes, like a lovestruck fledgling, "The hairpins from Treasure Pavilion are loved by the young ladies in Bianjing City. This is a gift I brought for you. Take a look, A Ying, do you like it or not?"
His tone was a bit fawning and humble.
Gu Ying glanced at him lightly, took the wooden box from his hand without opening it, and handed it directly to Haitang.
Then she said to him, "Sit down. Knowing that you were coming back today, I made your favorite food."
Jiang Yin looked strangely at her calm little face and walked into the room to sit at the table.
The room was set with a table full of food and wine. Gu Ying took off his rain cape and conical hat for him and hung them outside. She also asked Haitang to take out the pre-warmed sweet plum wine and put it on the table.
"Haitang, go out first. I have something to say to him."
"Yes." Haitang bowed slightly and walked out of the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door closed, the sound of wind and snow outside became fainter. A hot brazier was burning in the room, and the heartwarming aroma was slowly drifting in the air.
It warmed up the whole body.
Jiang Yin rubbed his frozen hands. His eyes swept over the food on the table and the corners of his mouth raised. His eyebrows and eyes were gentle. "Eight treasures duck soup, stir-fried chicken with winter bamboo shoots, fatty chicken slices with tofu skins, cabbage stir-fried with chicken oil, crystal meatballs, bird's nest soup with three delicacies, eight treasure cake. Hmm, all my favorites. A Ying is thoughtful."
Gu Ying didn't speak, picked up the wine pot and poured Jiang Yin a cup of wine sitting opposite her. "This is sweet plum wine." The smile at the corner of Jiang Yin's mouth froze. His big hand paused for a moment before taking the porcelain cup from her hand. He raised his pitch-black eyes and looked at her deeply.
Gu Ying said lightly, "It's been so long. It's admirable that you still remember."
Jiang Yin lowered his eyelashes. He froze for a while without speaking and put the wine glass down.
The atmosphere was somewhat stagnant.
Jiang Yin raised his eyes again, staring at the woman's calm and clear eyes. There was a dull pain in his heart. His throat felt clogged, making him restless.
How he wished time would pass a little slower. But now it seemed that God was not on his side.
Jiang Yin restrained his eyes. His heart ached for a moment. He said sarcastically, "On the fifteenth year of Tianqi, you and I got married. That night in the bridal chamber, these dishes were placed on the table.”
Gu Ying said, "It’s been so long. It’s admirable that you still remember."
Jiang Yin raised his eyes and said, "I have never forgotten for a moment that night. Under the dragon and phoenix candles, I saw my bride blushing with shyness, her brows and eyes picturesque."
Gu Ying sneered. "What I only remember is that you were iron-hearted with a cold expression. In the end, you flung your sleeve and left, leaving me alone to keep the empty room company."
By this point, Jiang Yin knew his plan had completely failed.
The room was dimly lit with only a faint light source hanging over them.
Jiang Yin sat under that small patch of shadow, his eyes dark and shining, yet swirling storms raged within.
"When did you regain consciousness?"
Gu Ying said casually, "Just a few days ago, thanks to your sister, I discovered the problem with the medicine."
Otherwise, she would still be kept in the dark by him, controlled by drugs, and imprisoned in this villa like a prisoner.
Jiang Yin ground his teeth. His eyes turned cold. "Jiang Ling'er."
Gu Ying smiled mockingly, her eyes showing ridicule. "Don't you think it's very ironic?"
The person who once hated her so much that she wished her dead, went through so much trouble in this life to move her out of the Duke's mansion, not hesitating to spend heavily to feed her medicine and tamper with her memories to take them back to before anything had happened in their previous life.
Didn’t he think he was very childish, ridiculous and ironic?
"Is it meaningful for you to delude yourself like this?" Jiang Yin's lips tightened silently with a sneer.
The dim light outside the window shone through the half-open window lattices, shining on the man's pale handsome face, brightly intermittent, gloomy and unclear.
"I'm not deluding myself," he said. "I know you love me."
Gu Ying looked at him amusedly. The numerous intense hatred also became extremely calm at this moment. "I don't love you and I never did."
Jiang Yin's expression changed slightly, but he still pretended to be calm. "You just refuse to admit it. A Ying, isn't it good for us to be like now, forgetting the past and starting over? There will no longer be only resentment between us like in our previous life. I will be good to you and love you all my life. Anything you want, I can give you. Isn't this what you wanted in your last life? "
Facing the man's humble eyes, Gu Ying felt nothing but disdain in her heart.
"I know you still have Zhao Changdu in your heart," Jiang Yin said. "But you also know that now that he knows about your past, there must be some concerns in his heart. Even if you like him and love him, will he be able to spend the rest of his life with you without any qualms?”
Gu Ying's eyes turned cold. "You despicable man!"
Jiang Yin smiled slightly with a gloomy face, revealing an expression that was both joyful and painful, looking somewhat hideous at first glance. "I said, A Ying, you can only stay by my side."
"Impossible." Gu Ying sneered, pulled out a dagger from her waist, and slowly aligned it with the bridge of his nose. "Tonight, I will perish together with you again, and die a second time."
After saying that, she flipped up onto the table nimbly, lifted her long legs, and kicked towards Jiang Yin.
She advanced step by step with killing intent in every move.
"A Ying, I don't want to hurt you!"
Gu Ying's eyes were bloodshot. "You may not necessarily beat me!"
Jiang Yin said worriedly, "A Ying!"
Gu Ying's eyes turned red. Without wasting words with him, she gripped the dagger tightly. Every move was extremely accurate and ruthless.
Jiang Yin knitted his brows. He had no choice but to fight back reluctantly.
His injury was serious and not yet fully recovered. After a few moves, he was already panting for breath with several cuts on his body.
He covered the wound on his left arm with his hand. His eyes were angry, but when he met her blood-red eyes, he still had to raise his hand to block the slash.
"A Ying, do you really want me dead?"
"Otherwise, keep you, this treacherous beast, to celebrate New Year?”
Gu Ying exerted force with five fingers. Every joint was turning white.
Just as the two were fighting fiercely, there was also the sound of blades clashing outside Jinyin Villa.