Reborn Spoiled Girl Tames the Regent

Chapter 11 And your feelings for me are not love.

The two hurriedly followed the sound into the inner courtyard, only to find Li Zhijing standing before them.

He was soaking wet and was throwing a punch at the man on the ground.

Wen Qian covered her mouth, wanting to rush over and pull him away, but then Jiang Wan ran out of the room and shouted, "Li Zhijing! Stop it!"

Li Zhijing's fist, which was suspended in mid-air, suddenly stopped.

Then, he stood up angrily and walked towards her, saying indignantly, "Second sister, do you know that he deliberately tripped me up!"

Xiao Hengzhi stood up and rubbed his shoulders: "Your Highness was walking in a hurry and accidentally tripped and fell into the water. How can you blame it all on me?"

"You!" Li Zhijing glared at him angrily, then turned to Jiang Wan and said, "Are you really going to marry someone of such questionable character?!"

Jiang Wan saw that he was soaked from head to toe, with water still dripping from his sleeves. She wanted to take him to get himself ready, but his words made her frown.

"Li Zhijing, how many times do I have to say it? You're already married, and who I marry is none of your business! Don't ever come looking for me again!"

Li Zhijing raised her voice: "Xiao Hengzhi has nothing, she can't give you what you want! Besides, there will never be a man in this world who likes you more than I do. If I get a divorce..."

"Snapped--!"

Before he could finish speaking, a crisp slap landed on his face.

Everyone was shocked.

Several timid maids' legs went weak on the spot, and several older female servants also gasped in shock. After all, that was the heir of the Marquis of Pingnan's mansion, and their young mistress had just slapped him...

Wen Qian's heart skipped a beat, fearing that the young master would be angered.

She instinctively took a step forward to try and dissuade him, but then slowly stopped.

Seeing that Li Zhijing did not react, she only pursed her lips and looked at Jiang Mian... Her eyes were full of sorrow, without a trace of anger.

She clenched her hands, her fingertips trembling slightly, a pang of sadness rising within her.

It turns out that the usually willful young master was so tolerant in front of Miss Jiang.

......

Jiang Mian clenched her fists, her tone cold and hard.

"If you say such things again, I will pretend I never knew you!"

A burning pain shot through Li Zhijing's face, bringing him back to his senses somewhat.

Xiao Hengzhi, with bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, looked at him with a half-smile, his eyes full of mockery.

He wanted to make Li Zhijing give up and see reality—there was absolutely no possibility between Jiang Mian and him.

Li Zhijing's voice trembled slightly: "...Why? Second sister, can you really be so heartless to me?"

Jiang Wan could see the complex emotions in his eyes and knew that he was feeling frustrated.

But she had lived for decades, and looking back on her relationship with Li Zhijing, she only knew how to play, enjoy herself, and drink. There was never a time when she was down on her luck, or when she was troubled and confused.

Young people are most likely to mistake pleasure for joy.

She calmed herself down a bit and said in a gentler tone, "We've known each other since we were little. I know you're good to me, but do you really know what I want? What you mean by 'I like you' is just wanting to travel with me to see the mountains and rivers and admire the flowers and the moon."

If one day you see me with a tarnished reputation, ruthless in my methods, and abandoned by everyone, would you still say you 'like' me?

“You are the legitimate daughter of a military family, of unparalleled nobility. How could you possibly have a shameful moment?” Li Zhijing retorted, puzzled.

Jiang Wan smiled self-deprecatingly: "Life is unpredictable, who can be certain?"

A pang of sadness flashed in her eyes, and memories of the past involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

There are many people in this world who have witnessed her glory days.

But the only one who truly witnessed her humbled state and remained steadfastly loyal was probably Ning Zhi.

She continued, "When you truly like someone, you feel joy even in the midst of a thousand trivial matters, and you are willing to do your best for their happiness, to share their joys and sorrows... But your feelings for me are not those of liking."

Her gaze lingered, as if she were lost in memories of the past.

Li Zhijing felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

The words, "But your feelings for me are not love," struck him hard.

His eyes were filled with bitterness as he stared at her in disbelief.

After a long silence, she asked in a low voice, "Is this how you see me?"

His voice choked in his throat, trembling uncontrollably, his tone filled with restraint and bitterness.

"How could you..."

How can you so casually dismiss all my feelings?

Li Zhijing's lips moved slightly, but she ultimately turned her face away and did not continue speaking.

He had considered countless possibilities, but he never imagined that he would be pushed away like this.

Jiang Mian snapped out of her reverie, glanced at his soaked clothes, sighed softly, and ordered, "Alright, you really don't look right. Cong Shuang, have someone bring you some clothes."

Cong Shuang stood still, only stammering as she looked towards the opposite bank: "Miss... I'm afraid we don't need to go..."

Jiang Mian followed her gaze and saw on the opposite bank that Wen Qian was carrying a brocade bag containing clothes.

She was taken aback, then instantly understood.

Xiao Hengzhi, that bastard, really did trip him up into the water on purpose. Otherwise, how could Wen Qian have happened to arrive with the clothes?

It seems Wen Qian heard everything that was said. She's very sensitive and perceptive; I wonder if she'll overthink it...

Jiang Wan hurriedly ran over, but when she got to the bridge, she saw her father and Jiang Li walking this way, and they were about to cross.

Her heart sank. Today was already a mess; she absolutely couldn't afford to cause any more trouble!

She quickened her pace and rushed to Wen Qian, saying urgently, "Princess Consort, please allow me to explain to you later."

Before he finished speaking, he snatched the brocade bag from her hand and quickly handed it to Cong Shuang, whispering, "Quickly take the young master inside to change into clean clothes! No one is to say a word about what happened today!"

"Yes." Cong Shuang accepted the order and quickly went to carry it out.

Then Jiang Wan urged Xiao Hengzhi into the house, saying, "Don't sit there, get up quickly!"

Seeing that he didn't move, she kicked him twice, but unexpectedly he just lay down on the ground.

"Xiao Hengzhi! What are you pretending for! Did he break your leg? Get inside right now!"

Xiao Hengzhi leaned against the steps, rubbing his ankles with both hands, and said with a pained expression, "Second Miss, my leg is practically broken from the young master's beating."

Jiang Wan pouted: "Serves you right, who told you to tease him?"

After saying that, she glared at him again: "If you don't get up, then fine, you'll kneel here until I tell you to get up."

Xiao Hengzhi rubbed his legs. Jiang Wan thought he was going to stand up, but unexpectedly he knelt down in front of her with a thud.

Jiang Wan shuddered, then clicked her tongue and said, "Looks like you've been having too much of a comfortable time lately? Just you wait, I'll definitely teach you a lesson."

"I will obey your orders, Second Miss."

He calmly straightened his clothes, a faint smile on his face.

At that moment, Jiang Xun and Jiang Li also arrived.

Jiang Wan went over and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Father and Eldest Sister."

Jiang Xun gave a soft "hmm," looked around, and asked, "What happened in the back just now, with all that commotion?"

After he finished speaking, he glanced to the side and saw Xiao Hengzhi kneeling on the ground, with a clear injury on the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Xun suddenly recalled the scene at the willow pond last time.

So he coughed lightly and reminded Jiang Mian with a meaningful tone, "You shouldn't play around with punishment and amusement too often. What if you get health problems?"

Having said that, Jiang Wan closed her eyes, nodded, and simply admitted it.

Then Jiang Li asked, "I just heard from the servant that the Crown Princess has arrived? Why did she come so suddenly?"

"...This, the Crown Princess is..." Jiang Mian quickly racked her brains for a way to respond.

Then a voice rang out: "The Crown Princess came with me. Please come and have a seat at the residence."

Jiang Mian looked over and saw that Li Zhijing had changed into clean clothes and was walking this way.

He had a smile on his face, showing no trace of the emotions he had just displayed.