The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 187 : Fear

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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Jiang Ruan had no clear recollection of how she finally managed to fall asleep that night. Since Zhao Mei's death, she had almost never had the opportunity to sleep in the same bed with someone else. Lying on the large bed, with someone sleeping next to her, should have been cause for alarm. Yet, after she took up the dagger Xiao Shao had gifted her, she did not stash it under her pillow. Insead, she stored it in a small box. From her perspective, sharing the bed with someone (i.e. getting married) was not a warm experience. For example, in her previous life, Zhao Mei and Jiang Quan lay in the same bed but had very different dreams. Furthermore, she herself had hoped to do the same with Xuan Li, but the bedfellow that she dreamed of was the very person who had hoodwinked her in the end.

She was very nervous at first, but Xiao Shao had closed his eyes very quickly and slept peacefully and quietly, such that Jiang Ruan could not help being surprised. Since he was the leader of the Jinyi Guard, Jiang Ruan could not believe that he was someone who could let down his guard. However, this young man was totally at ease as he slept, as if being beside her was the safest place in the world. As she continued to observe him, Jiang Ruan felt herself gradually calming down, and her complicated thoughts and emotions settled into a state of tranquillity that she had never experienced before.

The red wedding candles wept silently, and time moved on. At this moment, the bridal chamber held no air of flaming affection, nor of romance, but a kind of neutral warmth and comfort. It was as if all the deep-seated hatred and inhuman cold-bloodedness had been tamed by the brightness of the celebration to become a mere wisp of smoke and flame.

At dawn, Jiang Ruan opened her eyes when the first faint ray of light entered the room, and was surprised that she had slept soundly through the night. Unconsciously, she turned her head, and the first image that met her eyes was the incomparably handsome visage of that young man.

Perhaps because she had just woken up and was still at ease, Jiang Ruan didn't think about why she didn't look away, and so naturally turned her body and propped her chin up with one hand so that she could assess the young man before her in detail. Xiao Shao slept peacefully, and his sleeping posture was very good, possibly due to good training when he was a child; even in his sleep, he exhibited an air of noble elegance. On top of that, this elegance was a few degrees less cold and detached than when he was awake, and had a kind of gentle grace. Her gaze slid down, following the line of Xiao Shao's long, delicate, and perfectly straight eyelashes, skated across the line of his extremely straight nose, down his thin lips, his knife-cut jawline, and finally landed on his fair, jade-like collarbone.

This man had truly been born good-looking. The sunlight slanted into the room, adding a faint golden glow to his appearance, and causing him to look almost god-like in his beauty. At some time during the night, his snow-white inner clothes had parted, exposing his skin, as white as porcelain and as lustrous as jade. Because his skin was mostly concealed under his clothes, there was an irresistible urge to reach out a hand and touch it. Jiang Ruan stared at his skin in a bit of a daze, her mind seemingly muddled, as her hand stretched out to touch. Where her hand made contact, the skin was smooth and firm, slightly cool to the touch, like a first-rate bolt of silk; it was a truly comfortable feeling.

"Like what you see?" A low, husky voice sounded abruptly in her ear, causing her to start in shock and retract her hand like lightning. When did Xiao Shao wake up? He glanced at her with a half-smile before sitting up and gathering his collar. Jiang Ruan had already been somewhat ashamed, but when she observed his final movement she felt a little anxious – why did this situation look like she had lustily forced herself on a young man from a good family? What was with that expression on Xiao Shao's face- had she come on to him aggressively?