Chapter 850: You’re Inferior to Her

　　“Nothing.” Jiang Yucheng calmly looked up. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

　　It seems to be a painting… What painting would make him so flustered though? I’ve never seen him trying to hide something so hurriedly before. I thought there were no secrets between us. Shangguan Wan eyed him suspiciously as she took a step forward and probed, “It must be a masterpiece if you’re admiring it even at night. Why don’t you take it out and let me have a look as well?”

　　However, Jiang Yucheng blandly replied, “It’s just something I found by accident. It’s nothing precious, nor is it worth seeing.”

　　The smile on Shangguan Wan’s face stiffened as she glanced at the table where Jiang Yucheng had kept the box containing the scroll. The fact that he’s refusing to show it to me proves that something is wrong!

　　Jiang Yucheng frowned.

　　Upon realizing that Jiang Yucheng was seemingly in a bad mood, Shangguan Wan quickly retracted her gaze. Her expression lightened up at the thought of the purpose of her visit. She wasn’t here to pick a fight with him. “I came here secretly this time. Don’t worry. Nobody will know about it.”

　　The servants in this courtyard were all Jiang Yucheng’s trusted aides, so she wasn’t afraid that they might leak the news of her visit.

　　She took a few steps forward. “Actually, I—Have you been drinking?”

　　I didn’t notice it earlier, but now that I’m standing closer to him, I can smell that he reeks of alcohol. Upon a closer look, his eyes are bloodshot and blurry. He seems a little tipsy too. That’s strange, given that he’s usually a very restrained person and won’t overindulge himself in alcohol, much less allow himself to get drunk. What happened to him? Shangguan Wan frowned slightly in concern and moved to reach out to him. “What’s wrong, Yucheng?”

　　Jiang Yucheng, however, avoided her touch. “I’m fine. Just say what you have to say.”

　　Feeling a little down that she wasn’t able to hold his hand, Shangguan Wan bit her lower lip. To be honest, she had recently realized that Jiang Yucheng was getting more and more impatient and perfunctory with her. Although he was acting a little estranged, he still dutifully and flawlessly did everything he needed to do as her fiancé. This made her feel increasingly aggrieved as she couldn’t even vent her anger at him.

　　“I…” She clenched her teeth and suppressed the dissatisfaction and resentment within her. “I’m here to get the Nine Clouds Yuan Recovery Pill back from you.”

　　Jiang Yucheng frowned. “Pardon?”

　　Shangguan Wan felt embarrassed saying this. “I know I shouldn’t be doing this, b-but I’m just one step away from healing my Yuan meridian. With only three days left before the wedding, there’s nothing much I can do about it. Even if I did, my Yuan meridian would only be a Dijing Yuan meridian at most…”

　　“So you want to use the Nine Clouds Yuan Recovery Pill to raise the grade of your Yuan meridian?” Jiang Yucheng interrupted.

　　Shangguan Wan nodded.

　　She hadn’t thought about this at first. It was only after ‘that person’ reminded her that she belatedly realized that it would be very hard for her to lift the Tianling Power Staff even if she managed to heal her Dijing Yuan meridian. Thus, the easiest method was to use the Nine Clouds Yuan Recovery Pill. “I know that you’ve given it to Xiahou Rong and that he definitely won’t be willing to give it back to us, but… I can use other things to exchange for it! As long as—”

　　“It’s gone,” said Jiang Yucheng coldly.

　　Shangguan Wan froze. “W-what is gone?”

　　“The Nine Clouds Yuan Recovery Pill has been stolen.”

　　Shangguan Wan naturally didn’t believe this, but she could tell that Jiang Yucheng didn’t seem to be lying. Resentment filled her heart. “When can we get it back then?”

　　Jiang Yucheng lowered his eyelids. “I don’t know.”

　　“What am I going to do then?” Shangguan Wan ran out of patience to continue putting up an act. “If I can’t lift the Tianling Power Staff on that day—”

　　“That’s your business. You’re the one with the Tianling royal family’s bloodline, so that’s something you should solve on your own.” Because his mind was a little fuzzy from the alcohol, the way he spoke was a little more curt than usual. “A’Yue wouldn’t be troubled by this sort of thing.”

　　Dead silence instantly descended on them.

　　Thunderstruck, Shangguan Wan stared at Jiang Yucheng in wide-eyed disbelief. “W-what did you just say?”

　　Realizing that he had misspoken, Jiang Yucheng spoke a little gentler this time. “It was just a casual remark. You don’t have to take it to heart.”

　　“You still have feelings for her, right?” Shangguan Wan’s eyes shone with resentment and jealousy as she grabbed his wrist and questioned him. “You think that I’m inferior to her, don’t you?!”

　　Jiang Yucheng tried his best to be patient. “You’re overthinking it… If things are really as you say, I wouldn’t have done all those things in the first place.”

　　The thought of the fire back then made Shangguan Wan clench her teeth and release Jiang Yucheng’s wrist. “You better remember what you promised me, Jiang Yucheng!”

　　She then angrily turned around to leave.

　　Jiang Yucheng stopped her. “Wait. Did you go to visit His Majesty? How’s his condition?”

　　Shangguan Wan didn’t answer him, for she hadn’t taken this matter to heart at all. She had only gone there twice and had only stayed for a short while each time.

　　Jiang Yucheng warned, “Don’t you know how important His Majesty regaining his consciousness is for us—”

　　“Enough—I get it! I know what to do!” Irritated, Shangguan Wan sidestepped him and quickly left the room.

　　All that fuss had made Jiang Yucheng sober up. He walked back to the table, took out that wooden box once more, and stared at it for a good while. Actually, there’s no point in me keeping this thing…

　　He tried to burn the box with the painting but ultimately couldn’t bear to do it after a few failed attempts. Thus, he put it back in its original position.

　　Someone knocked on the door just then. “Eldest Young Master, Lord Xiahou is here!”

　　Xiahou Rong? Jiang Yucheng sat down in his chair before saying, “Let him in.”

　　Xiahou Rong entered the study moments later. He was wearing a black outfit that completely hid his figure; one wouldn’t be able to recognize him in the dark if they didn’t look at him closely.

　　Someone else—looking equally concealed—was behind him, and that person was none other than Xiahou Tingan.

　　Jiang Yucheng leaned back in his chair as he regarded the father-son duo coldly. “It looks like you’re here to return me something?”

　　An awkward expression appeared on Xiahou Rong’s face as he gulped his saliva down with much difficulty. Then, he turned to his son and scolded, “Hurry up and apologize to Eldest Young Master Jiang!”

　　An injured-looking Xiahou Tingan went down on his knees. “E-Eldest Young Master Jiang—”

　　“Save the talk.” Jiang Yucheng had no patience for him and just wanted to get straight to the point. “Return it to me first, and we can talk about the other things afterward.”

　　Xiahou Rong’s countenance grew pale. “I-it’s missing!”