Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 194 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (98)

"Is that so?" The more casually Ji Shumin responded, the more annoyed Lu Liruan became.

“When I saw you, you weren’t doing much better!” Lu Liruan retorted, then realized she was being a bit petty, but the words were already out.

Ah,

"Heh." Ji Shumin snorted lightly through his nose, acting as if he didn't take it seriously.

"What, you don't believe it?"

“Of course I believe you.” Ji Shumin raised his hand and pinched Lu Liruan’s nose: “Liruan is right.”

His gesture was clearly perfunctory, but Lu Liruan was instead aroused to express herself.

"When I first met you, you never spoke properly. You were suspicious and petty, completely stubborn and inflexible. You couldn't stand it whether someone was nice to you or not," Lu Liruan pouted.

"There are times when Li Ruan treats me badly?" Ji Shumin suddenly looked up and asked quite seriously, catching Lu Li Ruan off guard.

She asked herself honestly, and realized that her initial treatment of Ji Shumin was not exactly good. At best, she only continued to get close to him out of necessity for the mission.

When I'm in a bad mood, I might even be thinking, "Let's see how much more difficult you can be, let's see what you'll end up like."

This inexplicable sense of antagonism.

Looking back now, Lu Liruan feels a little guilty. At the time, she didn't understand Ji Shumin and judged him based on superficial appearances.

Although Lu Liruan felt no guilt, and even now, looking back, she had never done anything to wrong Ji Shumin, she still felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

This is probably what it feels like to fall in love with someone: you reflect, you ponder, you think about how you can treat them better.

“I never felt that Li Ruan treated me badly…” Ji Shumin’s voice pulled Lu Li Ruan back to reality.

"Li Ruan is very good to me, it's me who's not good to Li Ruan." Ji Shumin leaned forward, looking into Lu Li Ruan's eyes, his words filled with tenderness.

"Ok?"

Lu Liruan wanted to say, "You know that yourself?" but she couldn't say it. In Ji Shumin's beautiful eyes, there was a rare, faint vulnerability and sadness that Lu Liruan had never seen before.

The last time I saw him like this was in the carriage on the way back to the capital from the mountain temple. That expression flashed by, but was quickly dissipated by the bustling atmosphere of the capital.

"Don't say that... It wasn't that bad, really. You were nicer to me later, weren't you?" Lu Liruan held up her finger, indicating a small distance to Ji Shumin.

Her serious and meticulous manner amused Ji Shumin, who chuckled quietly, took Lu Liruan's fingers in his palm, and leaned in to place a light kiss on each fingertip.

"really?"

“Really…” Lu Liruan was held in his arms, smelling the familiar scent of incense on his soft fabric. Now she couldn’t even remember the resentment she had felt back then.

When exactly did things start to turn around between me and Ji Shumin? And... how did things get to this point?

More than once, when Lu Liruan looked at Ji Shumin in the same storyline, who was completely different from the one she had initially imagined, she felt in a daze that it wasn't real.

How did he become like this?

"It's like a dream...being with Li Ruan." Ji Shumin murmured, his voice like a sigh, as if he had spoken Lu Li Ruan's thoughts.

“Like a dream of wealth and glory, I never knew I would have such a destiny in this life.” Ji Shumin looked down at Lu Liruan. For a moment, Lu Liruan felt a sense of panic, as if she had been seen through.

"How could it be a pipe dream?"

"That's good then." Ji Shumin sighed softly.

“I know myself; I want too much.” He looked at the gray window paper.

It's going to snow again.

“I want everything. Although I live here with Li Ruan now, I will still go back in the future.”

Lu Liruan knew where he was referring to.

"I want the throne, and I want Li Ruan too... I want a vast empire, and I also want to live a long life. How greedy I am."

This was the first time Lu Liruan had heard him express his desire for the throne so clearly.

“Many people think this way, right… Only you think it’s greedy, but everyone else thinks it’s not enough, right?” Lu Liruan’s words were not meant to comfort him, but rather because she had indeed seen it with her own eyes and read about it in history books.

“How does Li Ruan know what others want?” Ji Shumin raised an eyebrow.

"Otherwise, why would the court shout 'Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!'?" Lu Liruan said in a low, affected tone, "You're the one who wants to live to be a hundred years old, that's not excessive."

Seemingly comforted by Lu Liruan's seemingly nonsensical yet strangely reasonable words, Ji Shumin nodded: "Yes, I don't want to live forever."

"It would be enough for Yu Liruan to live this life." His voice was very soft, as soft as snowflakes falling on the roof.

Lu Liruan could hear the sound of falling snowflakes, and she could also hear Ji Shumin's voice, both of which were soft and pleasant to the ear.

"Don't you pray for the next life?" Lu Liruan suddenly thought. Most of the so-called cultivation is about the next life, praying for a smooth and worry-free next life, or praying that one can become an immortal in this life, escape the three thousand worlds, and no longer suffer.

People like Ji Shumin are focused on the present and their own future; they generally have no interest in anything else.

"I don't ask for anything. I think it would be best if, after this life, my very consciousness vanished into nothingness." As he shook his head, cool strands of hair brushed against Lu Liruan's face.

"When this life ends, everything ends. There is no reincarnation, no next life. Li Ruan and I will completely dissipate into nothingness, vanishing utterly and completely, leaving nothing behind. That's for the best, so that Li Ruan and I can be together forever..."

What he said didn't seem fake; it was his true feeling.

Ji Shumin looked at the girl leaning against him, whose expression still held a touch of natural naivety. No one knew the unease and violent state of mind he was trying so hard to suppress.

Before the day is over, before the day is over and we return together, things may change and the future is uncertain. Even someone as intelligent as Ji Shumin cannot foresee the slightest thing, so how can he feel at ease?

Li Ruan seemed to genuinely believe that if the two wanted to be together, they could stay together forever...

What she didn't know was that on countless nights, as she tossed and turned, unable to close her eyes due to her illness, she looked at her peaceful and innocent sleeping face, and countless thoughts that she couldn't tell anyone arose in her heart, growing desperately with the night.

He gently stroked Lu Liruan's hand, but a feeling of hatred welled up inside him. Complaining and blaming others was not something he would do, but he truly hated it.

He hated that he couldn't live much longer, hated the impermanence of everything, hated the passing of time... but he felt no hatred towards Lu Liruan at all. Ji Shumin never knew that he would have such a personality. It was ridiculous.

He was tired of self-destruction and defied fate, so he was forcibly twisted into a different form.

Lu Liruan was filled with anxiety, unsure whether she could help save Ji Shumin.

What she didn't know was that she had been saving him all along.

“Li Ruan, don’t be afraid of me, and don’t blame me… I blocked Li Ruan’s path, I am indeed not a good person, I have treated Li Ruan badly…” He said this, but his actions showed no intention of letting go.

“That’s good too… Then you won’t have to think about me, and I won’t have to think about you. You won’t have to be sick, and I won’t have to worry about you every day.” Lu Liruan squeezed his wrist, which had become thinner in the past few days, and said from the bottom of her heart.

After the last attack, the doctor advised Ji Shumin to rest for a while.

When Ji Shuqin saw his younger brother again, he was stunned: "How did you get so thin?"

Ji Shumin set up the chessboard: "It's like this every winter, but my imperial brother Wangnian hardly ever sees me."

Hearing his seemingly casual yet intimate words, Ji Shuqin was immediately appeased by his younger brother and didn't press the matter further.

"I will visit Min'er more often from now on," he promised.

"No need, I've heard that my brother has been very busy lately." Ji Shumin smiled slightly.

Even without leaving the palace, one can hear a lot about Ji Shuqin, which shows that the eldest prince is very popular with the emperor and enjoys unparalleled favor.

The Emperor gradually entrusted many matters to Ji Shuqin, and now it seems that he is the only prince left in the court who can be relied upon.

The seventh prince finally survived.

When Ji Shumin got into trouble, he was secretly pleased, but he never imagined that he would end up in the same situation as Ji Shumin.

But he wasn't as lucky as Ji Shumin.

Even after Ji Shumin was injured, he remained firmly in the position of Crown Prince. His father’s affection for him was evident to everyone. Some even speculated that the Emperor might not care about Ji Shumin’s physical condition and still want to make him the heir apparent.

But the Seventh Prince is in a terrible state now.

The Empress punished Consort Rong according to palace rules, but the Emperor did not intervene.

This has always been the case in the palace; when things are good, it's a riot of color, but when things are bad, it's cold and deserted. Their ability to change course with the wind is unparalleled.

Seeing that Consort Rong had fallen out of favor, everyone was too busy trying to please the Empress to care for Consort Rong.

Besides, over the years, Consort Rong has been arrogant and domineering in the palace, and no one has ever truly been on her good side...

"They're all laughing at me! How dare they! No matter what I am, it's not their place to bully me!" Consort Rong felt stifled in the palace.

Unable to stay by the side of the Seventh Prince, she spent her days in tears. Upon hearing that the Seventh Prince had finally recovered, she suddenly fainted.

When she woke up, she found that only her nanny was by her side, and even the imperial physician had not come.

"Where's the imperial doctor?"

"Your Majesty, it's late. The imperial physicians on duty... have all gone to see the Empress. The Empress isn't feeling well tonight, she says..."

"say what!"

"They say the illness started on the mountain, and sometimes the bones in his arms and legs ache terribly, so they even invited the imperial physicians over."

Seeing that Consort Rong was panting with anger, the nanny hurriedly stepped forward to help her sit up: "Your Highness, please calm down!"

"She...she did it on purpose!"

She's not saying her bones hurt; she's just deliberately poking at her sore spot!

"Your Highness, please...please be more tolerant! The Seventh Prince's injuries haven't healed yet!" The nanny pleaded earnestly, fearing she might do something impulsive.

Consort Rong sighed dejectedly: "How could it have turned out like this... Your Majesty, Your Majesty has become unlike Your Majesty!" She was puzzled as to why the Emperor had changed so much since the return of the First Prince and the Empress.

The Emperor is indeed different now.

He is now completely controlled by drugs and increasingly absurd thoughts.

He sought immortality and believed that as long as he cultivated himself and attained enlightenment, he could live forever.

The second prince is still under house arrest; the emperor seems to have forgotten about this son.

He even forgot about Ji Shumin.

He praised Ji Shuqin lavishly, without any suspicion whatsoever.

"Father has been..."

"Let's not talk about these things today, let's play chess." Ji Shumin interrupted him, seemingly not caring at all about the Emperor.

Ji Shuqin assumed that Ji Shuqin didn't like what he was hearing and didn't continue.

We used a hot pot in the evening, and the three of us sat around it, creating a lively atmosphere.

Ji Shumin and Ji Shuqin said that now that it is deep winter, he is always sleepy and no longer entertains people.

Although Lu Liruan was lazy and impatient when he told Ji Shuqin what to do, there was a lot of advice on how to deal with the situation in the court.

After Ji Shuqin left, Ji Shumin flipped through a book and enjoyed a couple of drinks with Lu Liruan.

"Get some rest..." Lu Liruan urged him, lifting the empty wine jug.

"Wait a little longer..." Ji Shumin, as he himself had said, had an excellent alcohol tolerance, and was not even slightly drunk or out of it.

With a smile in her eyes, she said, "Li Ruan's face is all red."

Lu Liruan touched her face: "I'm just thin-skinned, I'm not actually drunk!"

No, Lu Liruan now has a vague feeling that she speaks a beat slower than usual.

"If you're not drunk, keep me company and talk some more. After all, who knows when we'll be able to sit together like this again after tomorrow?"

Lu Liruan pursed her lips.

Starting tomorrow, I will begin the continued withdrawal treatment, which will also be the most dangerous period.

"Don't overthink it, you'll be alright." Lu Liruan took a deep breath and looked at him: "You promised me that you would always think of me... Remember all the things you said to me, if there's even one thing you can't do, I will hate you forever!"

"Okay, I promise Li Ruan."

Even after falling asleep, Lu Liruan felt that his promise was too perfunctory, yet she also felt that she was being unreasonable.

The next day, after taking the two doses of medicine, Lu Liruan noticed that Ji Shumin was trembling slightly at dinner time.

They forcibly turned his shoulders around. His lips were bright red, torn open by his teeth, but he didn't feel any pain at all; blood even seeped between his teeth.

"Can you still hear me?" Lu Liruan tried to help him up, but his body was much heavier than usual because he couldn't exert any strength on his own.

All the strength in my body seemed to have been drained away through my meridians, leaving only an endless, lingering numbness and pain. From the beginning, everything was in a daze, and even the sounds I heard were like those in water, muffled and unclear.

"I'm not deaf yet." As soon as he opened his mouth, a metallic taste rose in his throat.

Lu Liruan could tell from his clenched teeth and the way he spoke as if he were fighting against himself that he was in great pain.

However, Ji Shumin realized his tone was too harsh after speaking, so he coughed twice and said, "Li Ruan, don't mind me."

Lu Liruan took the honey water that Qinghe had just ordered to be prepared: "If I don't care, who do you care about?"

"If you can't eat anything, just drink some honey water... You can argue with me, but don't argue with yourself, otherwise I'll be the one who feels sorry for you." Lu Liruan coaxed him with sweet words. Ji Shumin usually loved to coax him like this, but now he could only curl the corners of his mouth and close his eyes wearily.