Chapter 83
The Wei family indeed had another spectacle unfolding. After learning that the refugees had been subdued with ease, Jiang Rou incited the Fourth Prince to send his men to kill them.
The refugees had come to rob the Wei family - if even one died, the blame would fall on the Wei family.
As Jiang Rou put it, even if these refugees were here to plunder, they were merely desperate commoners. Wei Yunzhao, as an imperial official, should have shown compassion by offering his family’s grain instead of slaughtering them.
If the Wei family killed even one refugee, others would seize the chance to condemn Wei Yunzhao. The best outcome would be a life for a life, but even if that failed, Emperor Changde, who loathed the Wei family, would ensure Wei Yunzhao suffered.
After all, the dead were just refugees, and the ones in trouble were the Wei family, no loss to them.
The Fourth Prince agreed, assuming the Wei family wouldn’t deploy many guards against mere refugees. His own men were skilled, killing a few refugees would be effortless. So, he followed Jiang Rou’s advice and sent them all out.
These men, adept at qinggong (lightness skill), scaled the Wei mansion's rooftops from different directions. Upon locating the refugees, they dropped down, only for the entire courtyard to suddenly blaze with torchlight. The Wei family's servants surrounded them, some aiming bows.
Wei Yunzhao, seated in his wheelchair under the eaves, declared coolly, "My wife said no survivors are needed."
Without asking who they were or their purpose, Wei Yunzhao gave the order, and the Wei family's servants struck.
The black-clad intruders, caught off guard in this "jar-catching-turtles" trap, had no time to flee. Forced to fight, they were swiftly overpowered, not a single one left alive.
[瓮中捉鳖 (wèng zhōng zhuō biē): lit. catching a turtle in a jar; fig. an inescapable trap]
The bound refugees witnessed firsthand how the Wei family dealt with killers. Whatever their initial intentions, all that remained now was regret. Some, terrified, even wet themselves on the spot.
By the time Jiang Lin and Chu Ba returned, the "tail" they had expected to deal with was long gone, even the corpses had been cleared. Only tranquility remained in the Wei mansion.
And Wei Yunzhao, still waiting beneath the eaves.
Jiang Lin grinned, patting Chu Ba. "Know why I didn’t tell you what I discussed with Jiang Rou earlier?"
"Such important matters must reach my husband first. I’m a good man, after all."
This "good man" bounded over to his beloved, first hugging him, then wheeling him toward Zhaoyun Courtyard. "Come on, let’s go sleep."
Wei Yunzhao had no chance to speak before being whisked away.
Chu Ba, predictably, was forgotten. He even wondered if his master had noticed he’d returned with the young madam.
Xun Qi descended from the rooftops, consoling him. "Don’t worry. Stay longer, and you’ll get used to it. The young master and madam are just… enviably affectionate." His tone wasn’t envy but pride.
Chu Ba eyed him twice.
Xun Qi hugged himself. "Uh… Chuuu Ba… do you… like me? I mean… I—"
Chu Ba rolled his eyes, ignoring the nonsense. "Does the young master know you talk about his marital bliss like a proud parent?"
"Just a friendly reminder, unless you want him to beat you to death someday."
With that, Chu Ba left. Xun Qi stood frozen. Had he… really been so bold as to play father to his master?!
No one witnessed Xun Qi’s existential crisis. Meanwhile, the loving couple reached their chambers, calling for hot water to bathe together.
Jiang Lin was in high spirits, not just from crushing the Fourth Prince and Jiang Rou, but because the system had declared that all future enemies seeking their deaths would perish.
Peace, it seemed, was within reach.
Since Chu Ba had overheard the system, Jiang Lin decided to come clean to Wei Yunzhao. Seated beside him, he ran his hands over Wei Yunzhao’s body, pausing to pat his firm thighs. "Wei Yunzhao, I have a secret."
Wei Yunzhao’s gaze dropped to Jiang Lin’s wandering hands. "Do you… want to?" he murmured.
Skin contact in water felt different, more sensitive. The suggestion alone stirred desire, but Jiang Lin restrained himself, sliding his hands down to Wei Yunzhao’s calves. "Be serious. This is important."
Wei Yunzhao’s eyes followed Jiang Lin’s hands. If your hands were as honest as your words, I might believe you.
Jiang Lin's demeanor was sincere, however his opening words were: "Wei Yunzhao, do you believe in gods descending to earth?"
His claim: "I’m one, and I came here to endure tribulations."
In Chinese mythology and cultivation lore, a tribulation (天劫, tiānjié) is a deadly trial. Often lightning strikes, illusions, or karmic punishment - imposed by heaven on immortals or cultivators who seek to defy natural limits. Surviving it grants greater power or immortality; failing means death or ruin]
Wei Yunzhao played along. "A love tribulation?"
"No wonder you’ve been so eager lately, trying to devour me whole before returning to heaven?" He spread his arms. "Go ahead. Don’t let me delay your ascension."
Jiang Lin smacked him. "You’re worse than I am!"
Wei Yunzhao chuckled. Now you admit you’re not serious?
"Fine, the real truth, I’m not Jiang Lin. Or rather, not the one you knew."
The story was long. Jiang Lin started with the pre-apocalypse world - a golden age shattered overnight into a hellscape of fleeing survivors and flesh-eating zombies.
He was among the lucky, not only uninfected but gifted with a spatial ability. Initially ordinary, his physique transformed thanks to the space’s spring water and ingredients. To survive, he trained with soldiers, honed his skills killing zombies, and fought for years, until dying in a mutual kill with a high-level zombie king.
"The night I woke in this world, you were lying beside me. That Ye Juxiang, Ye Momo, she tried to force me to sleep with you."
Jiang Lin raised a righteous finger. "But I took no advantage!"
Wei Yunzhao nodded. "Mm." (I had still been ogled during the bath, with commentary on my size. I still remember.)
"Your world is actually from a novel, like the scripts I write. You were a cannon-fodder character. In the original novel, ‘Jiang Lin’ was also substituted into the marriage, but he hated it, made a scene, and left. Soon after, you fell into a coma and never woke up. The Wei family faded into irrelevance."
"The original ‘Jiang Lin’ was also murdered. The protagonists were Jiang Jinyue and the Crown Prince…"
Jiang Lin detailed Jiang Jinyue’s system-assisted rise, concluding, "They thrived, while ‘Jiang Lin’ and ‘Wei Yunzhao’ died early. But now, thanks to me - your brilliant, kind, and capable wife, everything has changed. We’re alive and well. Once we crush the so-called ‘protagonists,’ we’ll do even better."
Wei Yunzhao grasped the gist: the system’s new host was Jiang Rou, who’d chosen to back the Fourth Prince, making them new enemies.
It was fantastical, something he’d never have imagined without Jiang Lin’s confession. He’d known his wife had secrets, but nothing this extraordinary.
As Wei Yunzhao processed this, Jiang Lin clung to his arm. "Now you see why ‘offering yourself’ isn’t enough to repay me?"
Wei Yunzhao nodded. "Understood. I’ll offer as many times as it takes to satisfy you."
Pulling Jiang Lin close, he murmured, "I’ll do anything you ask, just don’t vanish suddenly. I wouldn’t know how to follow you to another world."
Jiang Lin was unmoved. "Tsk, other transmigration stories have partners desperately chasing their loved ones across dimensions. You can’t just say you’re afraid you won’t find me! You should vow to search the cosmos if I disappear, or it means you don’t love me enough!"
Under Jiang Lin’s intense stare, Wei Yunzhao solemnly amended, "I’ll stay with you for this life, and every next one. Wherever you are, I’ll find you and say, ‘I’m here.’"
"That’s more like it," Jiang Lin approved. "Here, let me tell you more transmigration tales. Memorize the methods, might come in handy."
Wei Yunzhao agreed readily, but as Jiang Lin cleared his throat to begin, he suddenly cupped his face and kissed him. "Are you… nervous?" he asked softly.
Or scared.
Jiang Lin didn’t answer. An inexplicable anxiety gnawed at him.
Wei Yunzhao kissed him again. "You’re my wife, the one I’ve chosen. I don’t care where you came from, what you know, or what powers you have. You’re mine. That’s all."
Gently squeezing Jiang Lin’s cheeks, he added, "Honestly, I prefer the ‘descended god’ version. You’re here for a love tribulation, because you’re obsessed with me."
Jiang Lin, thoroughly soothed, conceded, "That’s mostly true. But I do like you a little."
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