Chapter Fifty-Five: So He Was Truly This Indifferent

Cen Changjing was stunned by the slap. She looked up at Yan Heru, unable to find any words to say.

Shen Hezhi, hearing the sound of the slap behind him, paused, turned, and glanced at the scene. When he realized it was his princess who had struck Cen Changjing, a smile crept onto his lips.

“Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry. I must have accidentally hit you—I was only trying to swat a mosquito.” Yan Heru smiled sweetly, her demeanor starkly contrasting with Cen Changjing’s current vulgar appearance.

“You—!” Cen Changjing pointed at Yan Heru, wanting to hurl insults, but seeing Shen Hezhi behind Yan Heru, she swallowed her words.

“Sister, why are you treating me this way? Did I do something wrong to displease you?” Cen Changjing covered her face, tears glimmering in her eyes, looking as if she had been bullied.

Yan Heru knew well the sort of tricks Cen Changjing played—always feigning weakness, always acting pitiable, hoping to saddle her with a reputation for being shrewish.

Very well, as she wishes.

Without any explanation, Yan Heru gave her another slap. “You did something wrong, and you made me unhappy.”

This time, Shen Hezhi couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing even Shen Hezhi laugh, Cen Changjing felt utterly humiliated. Even crawling into a hole wouldn’t conceal her embarrassment now.

“My lord, I truly don’t know what I’ve done to make my sister so unhappy that she’s struck me twice.” Cen Changjing realized there was no way to get Shen Hezhi to stand up for her today.

Yet, if she stayed in front of Yan Heru, she would only be slapped again, so she ran to Shen Hezhi—only for him to smoothly step aside, avoiding her.

“She already told you, didn’t she? Clearly, you upset her. If you want to know what’s wrong, shouldn’t you ask her? Why ask me? How would I know?” Shen Hezhi replied coldly.

Yan Heru was quite pleased with his attitude. Shen Hezhi finally wasn’t like those scoundrels in the books, who only blindly protected naïve girls.

Cen Changjing, clutching her face, looked at these two standing beside her and felt there was no place for her here.

But…

She couldn’t abandon her task.

Taking a deep breath, she approached Yan Heru, lifted her head, and gazed steadily at her.

Yan Heru expected more drama, but Cen Changjing spoke directly: “I know you’ve always thought I stole your affection, but that’s not my intention. I did all this because I am carrying the lord’s child! I cannot let my child be born without a father, as I once was!”

Her words struck like lightning. When Yan Heru first heard it, she felt a pang of sorrow for reasons she couldn’t explain, followed by astonishment.

Shen Hezhi, upon hearing this, frowned and glared at Cen Changjing with murderous intent. He strode over, seized her by the throat, and lifted her off the ground.

Cen Changjing’s feet dangled; the suffocation intensified. She frantically slapped at his arm, but he showed no sign of letting go.

“If you keep spouting nonsense here, I’ll kill you.” Just as Cen Changjing thought she might die at his hands, Shen Hezhi released her.

She collapsed to the ground, gulping air greedily, the taste of fresh breath making her tremble with fear.

Shen Hezhi had truly wanted to kill her…

He truly disliked her…

Realizing this, she knew her task was doomed, but either way, death awaited her—only a matter of whose hands it would come by.

Cen Changjing kept her head down, panting heavily, not daring to look at Shen Hezhi.

But he wasn’t done; his voice came from above, chilling as if it would freeze her, “Do you not know that my reputation is what I value most?”

Cen Changjing was startled.

Indeed, in the capital, it was rumored that Shen Hezhi was incapable of intimacy. She knew very well that he was in perfect health, save for the cold poison that haunted him.

She was one of the few who knew his secret.

Yet now she forgot—Shen Hezhi claimed he could do anything, but others could not.

“My lord… that’s not what I meant… but what I said is true!” Cen Changjing steeled herself, refusing to recant.

“True? I have never touched you. And yet you claim this is true?” Shen Hezhi reached for her again, this time grabbing her hair and yanking her upright from the ground.

Yan Heru frowned at the scene, recalling the scoundrels in novels.

Those men showed no mercy to the heroine, and soon after, the heroine would be reborn and seek vengeance.

But Yan Heru was certain Cen Changjing was no such heroine, and there would be no rebirth or revenge.

Although her own rebirth into the body of the Sixth Miss Yan was astonishing, she believed women like Cen Changjing could never be reborn.

“My lord, why won’t you let me finish? Are you afraid of something? Afraid you can’t explain yourself to your princess?” Cen Changjing, having reached a point of desperation, was no longer afraid.

Either way, she was doomed; clinging to this excuse might be her only chance at survival.

“I have never done anything to betray my princess, so I have nothing to fear. Cen Changjing, I remember you weren’t always like this. If your brother knew what you’ve become, how disappointed would he be? Have you thought about that?”

His words stabbed her heart like a dagger.

Her brother…

He was one of the few who cared about her, but she could not betray the Sixth Prince—the man she both loved and hated.

“What I say, I say with a clear conscience, before heaven and earth. Why should I worry about shaming my brother? My lord, your reaction is so strong—do you simply not want to admit it? If you answer ‘yes,’ then I will leave!”

Cen Changjing glared at Shen Hezhi.

A tense silence fell over the scene.