Chapter 15: A Heated Argument

Chapter 15

A Heated Argument

The next night, while Nie Shuang was bathing, the General suddenly stormed into her room.

“Wait! General, the Young Furen is bathing.”

Xiao Tong cried out in alarm, but the sound of heavy footsteps continued to draw nearer. Nie Shuang exchanged glances with Xiao San, signaling her to quickly grab a towel, so she could rise from the bath and dry herself. However, before she could even move, the door was opened.

Song Qilin stood there, his face dark and thunderous as he looked at her with anger in his eyes.

“Nie-Shuang!”

He pronounced her name with a weighty emphasis. Nie Shuang signaled for Xiao San to leave the room. With the door closed and the room still filled with the scent of fragrant flowers and warm steam, Nie Shuang turned to him, her voice calm and leisurely.

“What urgent business brings you here, General?”

He stood at the edge of the bath, fists clenched, staring at her beautiful face through the lingering steam. Her indifference only fueled his rage.

“Nie Shuang, even if you don’t intend to attend the banquet, there’s no need for such a method!”

“What method?”

She raised her eyebrows, already suspecting that Chen Yuelan had likely slandered her.

“You offended Yuelan so much that she refuses to come back and teach you. Do you plan on entering the palace without any knowledge of court customs?”

“General, the person you invited never intended to teach me properly. Whether she comes or not makes no difference. Besides, whatever state I’m in at the banquet shouldn’t be your concern.”

“What exactly did you say to her to make her refuse to teach you?”

“I simply pointed out that she was deliberately teaching me the wrong way. Every tutor my father hired for me since I was young has more knowledge and skill than she does.”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

Song Qilin didn’t believe her, thinking she was merely causing trouble for Yuelan. After all, hadn’t she been the one to say she didn’t want to attend the palace banquet in the first place?

“I’m telling the truth, but if you don’t believe me, that’s up to you,”

Nie Shuang continued to wash herself, completely ignoring his presence.

Suddenly, she was lifted from the water, his hands sliding under her arms. Nie Shuang gasped in shock as her wet, glistening body was hoisted out of the bath, water and flower petals clinging to her fair skin.

“Nie Shuang, don’t test my patience!” He growled through gritted teeth.

Nie Shuang tilted her head defiantly and challenged him, her anger rising to the surface. In her eyes, this intimidating lion had shrunk to the size of a mouse.

“And what if I do? What will you do? Beat me? Force yourself on me? Song Qilin! Let me tell you something—you’re not fooling me. A person like you has no conscience. You’ve been avoiding me because you’re terrified I’ll get pregnant and bear your heir, aren’t you? For the past few days, the only reason I’ve escaped your grasp is because you’re pathetic. You’re good at bullying others but refuse to take any responsibility!”

His icy gaze was filled with cold fury, but Nie Shuang, ablaze with anger, refused to back down. Her only weapon at that moment was her sharp tongue, and she wielded it mercilessly.

“You blame everything on my father! Every failure, every disappointment in your life, it’s all because of him, isn’t it!? If you had handled things properly, the army wouldn’t have run out of supplies, and my father wouldn’t have had to step in and help. If my father had turned a blind eye, wouldn’t those two hundred thousand soldiers have become nothing more than corpses on the battlefield by now? You’re an ungrateful coward!”

Instead of behaving sensibly, he went and provoked her, giving Nie Shuang the perfect opportunity to vent her frustrations and defend her father. After unleashing a tirade of insults, she felt a weight lifted from her chest.

Song Qilin’s face turned red—whether from shame or anger, she couldn’t tell. Nie Shuang stretched her legs to stand in the wooden bath and tried to shake off his grip, but he tightened his hold on her arm, staring at her with sharp, intense eyes.

"Are you done speaking? If so, please leave. I need to finish my bath."

She expected him to lash out in anger, but instead, he leaned down and kissed her. The kiss was fierce, burning with intensity, and left her trembling. Her body, wet from the bath, was chilled by the draft coming in through the cracks in the door and windows, contrasting sharply with the fire that had been ignited within her. His kiss was a whirlwind of emotions—tender and sweet, but also fierce and passionate, mirroring the confusion in his heart. Just when she was gasping for air, he finally released her and walked away.

Nie Shuang slumped back into the wooden bath, her body weak from the intensity of it all. When she regained her composure, she wiped her lips, her beautiful face flushed.

That scoundrel! When he couldn’t win an argument, he resorted to silencing her with a kiss. How unfair!

After that night, they didn’t see each other again until the day of the banquet.

Once Nie Shuang finished dressing, she headed to Song Qilin’s Xu Yang Quarters. Today, she wore a light blue gown that radiated a fresh, lively aura. Her makeup was delicately applied. Even with her calm expression, she looked as though she was a celestial being. The pearl accessories she wore shimmered gently, perfectly complementing the soft blue of her gown, highlighting her graceful face features. Her beauty was soft yet captivating, making it hard for anyone to look away after seeing her.

When Song Qilin emerged from his quarters, he saw her waiting. He glanced at her briefly before quickly averting his gaze, his heart pounding uncontrollably. There hadn’t been a single night where he didn’t think of her. The image of her in the bath, flower petals adorning her skin, haunted him both day and night. As much as he desired her, he still couldn’t let go of the bitterness in his heart, and so he continued to restrain himself.When they finally met again, neither of them spoke. Silently, they walked together to the carriage. Outwardly, Song Qilin remained the same proud, aloof heir of Yong An Hou, the perfect man everyone envied. But today, at the palace banquet, there would surely be many eager to humiliate him, focusing on the one flaw in his life—his principal wife, who came from a mere merchant family.