The Twin

22. The 'Snake'

---

Yizheng felt the knife at his throat, but he just smirked.

"I knew you would try to kill me." He said.

Ruoxing pressed the knife against his skin, deliberately drawing some blood. "Kill you? That would only hurt my family.

"Since you've ensured that I need your name, how about I just cripple you and leave more than a few scars?!"

His eyes roamed over her face. "Your words don't match such a pretty face."

"Your actions at Black Palace don't match such a handsome face!" She retorted, but that only made Yizheng grin.

"I'm happy my appearance is to my wife's liking."

"You-!!" Ruoxing fumed. "Don't ever call me that!"

"Hao. At least when we're alone. As for your knife..." He glanced downwards, and Ruoxing's eyes followed to find he held his own dagger poised to stab her heart.

'Again!'

Her anger had made her forget their little fight in the prison Cell, so he had pulled the same trick again!

He smirked, guessing her thoughts.

"Even if you weren't careless, you still won't be able to stop it." In a swift move, he straightened, deliberately letting her dagger nick him just a little more.

Ruoxing gasped as she watched the blood flow down to his collar. She planned to threaten him and make it clear that they should keep their distance, but never intended to take it further.

Yizheng used her shock to his advantage, and he leaned around her and yank the *purity cloth off the bed.

(A light coloured handkerchief spread on the bed, so the Bride would bleed on it as a sign of her virginity 🫣 )

"Since you already drew blood, you've saved me the trouble." He said, using the cloth to clean his neck and then tossing it back on the bed.

It was a strange marriage, and most would ignore such a thing under the circumstances, but Yizheng knew at least one person that would make an issue out of it.

Ruoxing overcame her shock and shot to her feet, pointing the dagger at him.

"You certainly hid yourself well, and you were even absent from the engagement!" She accused. "If your conscience is clear, why didn't you reveal your identity earlier?!"

Yizheng turned serious.

"I owe you two apologies... For hurting or scaring you in Black Palace, and for deliberately hiding my identity before marrying you.

"However, I'm not the only sinner. I'll acknowledge you had your reasons for keeping silent, but I also have my reasons for chasing the culprits of the Salt Smuggling.

"Through the years, I've met villains that will shock you, and they were women. I had no reason to believe you were innocent.

"After all, if I did those things to Shao Linjin, it would be considered fair, right?"

There was a glint of wickedness in his eyes, as if he wholeheartedly looked forward to punishing Shao Linjin.

"You only feel wronged because you were innocent, but how was I to know that?"

He turned to leave, but stopped at the small table, and Ruoxing watched as he poured wine in both liquor cups on the table, and drank both, making it seem like they had shared a cup of wine.

"As for the wedding issue," He began, when he was done. "It was the only way to get you out of Black Palace... Or did you think General Wei would read your letter and suddenly abandon you?"