Chapter 142: Don't Make Me Hate You!

Returning to the palace, it was precisely midday. Jin'er asked a maid and learned that the crown prince's medicine had not yet been delivered, so she went to the kitchen to brew it herself.

Lightly waving a cattail leaf fan, Jin'er found Chu Yifan's words echoing relentlessly in her mind. It turned out that the seemingly peaceful Five Spirits Continent was already churning with undercurrents, ready to erupt into a storm of blood and slaughter at any moment.

Although she considered herself capable of living a carefree life, if wherever she went became a landscape of devastation and the smoke of battle, that was certainly not the beautiful rivers and mountains she wished to see. Yet, if that day truly came, what could she possibly do?

Once the medicine was brewed, Jin'er carried the tray to Heling Feng's room.

"You're back? I was just waiting for you to eat." Heling Feng sat by the table, looking at Jin'er with a faint smile as he spoke.

Jin'er paused, somewhat puzzled by his sudden change in attitude. Choosing not to ask or overthink it, she simply set down the tray, drew the jade token from her bosom, and handed it back to him.

Heling Feng merely glanced at it without taking it. "Keep it with you for now, lest you come looking for me to ask for it every now and then."

Perplexed, Jin'er gave him a couple of looks before finally taking the jade token back.

The two ate in silence, neither uttering a single word. After the meal, Heling Feng quietly drank his medicine. Seeing Jin'er turn to leave, he hastily stood up and grabbed her wrist.

"Jin'er." That soft murmur was laced with yearning, pain, and helplessness.

Jin'er's heart trembled, inexplicably growing tense.

Heling Feng stepped forward, walking up behind Jin'er. He raised his hands to grip her shoulders, turning her around to face him. "Are you still angry with me?"

Jin'er averted her gaze, refusing to look at him, and reached up to brush his hands from her shoulders, only to be suddenly pulled into his embrace.

"I don't believe you don't like me at all! I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have put you in such a difficult position, and I certainly shouldn't have said those things to you that day... I was just too angry, too heartbroken." Heling Feng closed his eyes, holding Jin'er tightly as his cheek brushed softly against her temples, speaking with deep affection and remorse.

"Let me go." Jin'er bit her lip, trying to push him away, but he only pulled her tighter.

"Jin'er, you'll forgive me, won't you? I only want you to know that whatever I did was because I love you too much."

Jin'er frowned and struggled, saying, "Let go of me. I told you, it is impossible for us to be together."

Hearing this, Heling Feng opened his eyes and slowly loosened his grip. Jin'er hurriedly stepped back from his arms, maintaining a safe distance of two paces.

"As long as you wish it, nothing is impossible." Heling Feng gazed steadily at Jin'er, speaking with absolute earnestness.

Jin'er gave a helpless, wry smile and shook her head. "Too bad I simply don't wish it right now." Before he could speak, Jin'er continued, "The lingering poison in your body will be completely eradicated in about a month, and I will leave then. Rest assured, before I go, I will leave prescriptions for the imperial physicians so they can recuperate your health. In six months at most, you will recover the physique of a healthy man, and then you can go out and see the splendid world outside like any normal person."

"I don't want the splendid outside world; I only want you!" Heling Feng said with some agitation, his narrow eyes burning with determination.

Jin'er tilted her head back and let out a helpless sigh. "Forget it, I don't want to say anything more. In any case, we are impossible. You should just forget about me." With that, Jin'er turned and walked straight toward the door.

"What if I insist that we be together?" Heling Feng's tone suddenly turned somewhat stern.

Jin'er paused in her tracks without looking back, replying coldly, "No one can force me to do what I am unwilling to do."

"Is that so? What if I use Qingyue and Shiyuan's lives as bargaining chips?"

Hearing this, Jin'er felt a jolt in her chest. She whipped around, looking at Heling Feng in disbelief, and raged, "What have you done to them?!!"

Seeing her look of profound anxiety, Heling Feng's heart twitched with pain.

"Rest assured, they are fine. I've simply hidden them away somewhere. Once you become my crown princess, I will naturally let them leave." Before his voice faded, he felt a blur before his eyes and a chill of wind sweep past; Jin'er had already vanished from her spot and flashed directly behind him.

At this moment, she had one arm looped around his neck, holding three silver needles pointed at his throat. The sharp, black tips of the needles were practically brushing against his skin—the slightest movement on his part could pierce his flesh and end his life instantly.

"You underestimate me far too much. Taking your life is as easy as turning my hand for me!" Jin'er said coldly, though her heart ached inexplicably.

"Do you think I would be afraid? I never expected to survive anyway. If I could die by your hands, I would have no regrets." Heling Feng's expression remained calm, as if he had long anticipated this reaction from her.

"Don't make me hate you!" Jin'er ground her teeth, nearly shattering them, an unspeakable anguish gripping her heart. She never imagined Heling Feng would treat her this way.

"Since I cannot make you love me, hating me isn't a bad alternative either." At least that way, he could still keep her, couldn't he? "Don't plot against my imperial father; you can't get close to him now anyway. You have only two choices now: either agree to marry me, or... you can kill me, but the two of them will soon follow me down to the netherworld."

"You!!" Jin'er was consumed by both fury and heartache, her hand holding the silver needles trembling slightly...

Faced with his readiness to die and his utter composure, Jin'er suddenly burst into laughter.

"Heh... Hahaha..." She withdrew her hand and laughed wildly. At the same time, she began to reach for her sash.

As the sound of her outer robe hitting the floor echoed, Heling Feng turned around, his brows instantly knitting together tightly.

Jin'er stood there, watching him with a smile while untying the buttons of her inner garments. Though she smiled, there was not a trace of amusement in her eyes, yet her demeanor was strangely bewitching and irresistibly alluring.

"What are you doing?" Heling Feng turned away in a panic, not daring to look at her.

"What am I doing? Isn't this what you wanted?" Jin'er stepped forward, leaning against Heling Feng's back, and wrapped her arms around his waist. She could feel his suddenly stiffened body trembling slightly. "I can give you what you want right now."

Before the words fully left her lips, Heling Feng suddenly spun around, grabbed Jin'er's arms in a fury, and roared, "Am I really that despicable in your eyes?! What I want is not your body, but your heart!!"

"Then do you think forcing me like this will win you my heart?!!" Jin'er glared at him and shouted, her beautiful eyes burning with the flames of wrath.

Heling Feng was momentarily at a loss for words. He clenched his jaw, staring at her face—which remained extraordinarily mesmerizing even in anger—before stubbornly turning back around. He gripped the edge of the table with both hands until his knuckles turned white and muttered in a deep voice, "It will. After we are married, I will make you slowly fall in love with me."

From childhood to now, he had never craved something so frantically, nor had he ever been so terrified of losing something. He could no longer care about anything else; he only knew he could not lose her!

"By forcing me like this, you will never make me truly love you."

Heling Feng felt an indescribable agony in his chest, but he only clenched his teeth tight, refusing to offer her another word in response.

After a moment of silence, Jin'er closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Then, she bent down, picked up her outer robe from the floor, put it back on, and turned to leave without casting another glance at him.

So, love could also be this deeply wounding...

Pushing open Qingyue's door gently, she found the room impeccably tidy, erasing every trace of what might have happened here.

With sorrowful steps, Jin'er walked over to his bed and sat down slowly. Her slender, jade-like fingers caressed the white bedsheets lightly as Qingyue's smiles, frowns, and the scenes of last night seemed to materialize before her eyes.

Yue... Did they hurt you? Did they make things difficult for you? I'm sorry...

Slowly lying down, Jin'er stared unblinkingly at the canopy overhead, her thoughts drifting to Shiyuan, whose injuries had yet to heal. She had intended to visit him this afternoon, but now it seemed impossible. She wondered how his recovery was going. If only she had gone to visit him in the dungeon yesterday afternoon.

With a faint, melancholic sigh, Jin'er closed her eyes, frowning as she tried to untangle the chaotic threads in her mind.

Over the next few days, Jin'er remained locked in a cold war with Heling Feng. Although she never verbally agreed to his demand, Heling Feng took her silence as acquiescence.

True to form, the imperial decree for their marriage was soon to be issued. The wedding date was set for the following month, precisely when Heling Feng's poison would be completely purged.

With twenty days left, these days dragged by like years. She almost wished the wedding could happen tomorrow, sparing her from this lingering melancholy and the feeling that every day was an eternity.

Now that the princess had been escorted to the Kingdom of Jin, Jin'er no longer bothered to brew medicine personally, which afforded her a certain leisure—though more importantly, she simply wished to avoid seeing him. If he didn't occasionally seek her out of his own accord, she wouldn't glance at him even once all day.

Thinking of the happy times they had shared before, an unspeakable ache gripped Jin'er's heart. Why had things turned out this way? Although he couldn't trap her forever, she truly detested the feeling of being coerced—especially by someone she cared about.

She only hoped Qingyue remained unaware that the crown prince was about to marry her; otherwise, she dared not imagine how shattered his heart would be, or whether he might do something foolish.

Surveying the room filled with gold, silver, jewels, and fine silks, Jin'er sighed helplessly, decided to leave the room, and headed toward the palace gates.

Her exit pass remained in her possession. Heling Feng knew she wouldn't run away, and he also knew whether she had the pass made little difference to her freedom; it merely offered convenience.

Leaving the imperial palace, Jin'er went alone to the capital's largest tavern—Xiangrui Tavern—to drink and drown her sorrows.

Hardly had she finished two cups when a flash of bright colors fluttered over to her table. It was Chu Qing.

"Stumbled upon something unpleasant, have you?" The newcomer casually sat down across from her, flipped over a wine cup, seized another flask of wine, and poured himself a drink.