Chapter 607 - 213: He Can’t, I Will
He stiffened noticeably. Jie Jingchen patted the back of her head, his lips curving into a strained smile. "You’re absolutely right," he said gently. "Don’t say it again."
"..." Qin Mei was speechless. ’What am I supposed to do? I really want to punch him right now.’
The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. She channeled her urge to punch him into pinching his cheek instead. She put some force into her fingertips and didn’t let go until his face was red from her manhandling. Only then, satisfied, did she release him.
"Jie Jingsi, I have a secret I want to share with you." Qin Mei changed the subject. ’Sitting under a crooked-neck tree talking about hanged ghosts is just too creepy,’ she thought.
She didn’t think Jie Jingchen was the type to enjoy discussing ghost stories, and he didn’t like to gossip either. She, however, loved to.
’Discovering a secret and having to keep it bottled up is so frustrating!’
"Go on." Jie Jingchen’s face wore an expression of rapt attention, but his eyes showed he had no interest at all.
It wasn’t that he was uninterested in a secret of Qin Mei’s; he just knew that the secrets she shared were always about other people, and he really had no interest in the secrets of others.
Qin Mei shot him a sidelong glance. ’He’s being so fake.’ But Jie Jingchen’s lack of excitement didn’t matter. It did nothing to dampen her own enthusiasm for sharing her secret.
Qin Mei’s almond-shaped eyes glittered. Adopting a casual tone, she asked, intentionally testing him, "Do you know Zhao Hong?"
Jie Jingchen glanced at Qin Mei, his eyes filled with confusion. "I do. She’s Jie Anlin’s wife."
Qin Mei raised an eyebrow, a smile lacing her voice. "She’s pregnant."
Jie Jingchen was silent. ’Is that the secret? Everyone knows that. Can’t we talk about something else?’ he thought. ’If there’s really nothing to talk about, just sitting here quietly would be better.’
A flash of displeasure crossed Qin Mei’s eyes. "I’m trying to tell you something, Jie Jingsi. Would it kill you to play along a little?"
Jie Jingchen hesitated for a moment. "I know."
"Know what?" Qin Mei asked through gritted teeth.
"That she’s pregnant." Jie Jingchen’s eyes deepened. Ruffling the top of her hair with his large hand, he gave her a faint, enigmatic smile. His tone was deep and mockingly cold. "It was your handiwork, after all."
Qin Mei faltered. ’Okay, fine, I was just rambling. That whole build-up was totally unnecessary.’ She took a deep breath. "Hold on, it’s not my accomplishment."
"You cured Jie Anlin’s ’hidden ailment’," Jie Jingchen reminded her. His amber eyes were devoid of emotion, but a shadow of grim displeasure crossed his bewitching face.
Qin Mei’s expression was conflicted. She touched the tip of her nose. "Well... the final prescription, which was the most crucial one, I hadn’t given it to him yet. I was thinking of using that last prescription to really shake him down, to make Jie Anlin cough up everything he has. I never expected him to ignore my instructions. After only one month of treatment, he just couldn’t wait to start making a baby with his wife."
Jie Jingchen recalled Qin Mei’s instructions to Jie Anlin: one month of treatment, followed by a one-month break during which they were not to have intercourse. Only then would she give him the next prescription. Apparently, Jie Anlin had heard her but hadn’t taken it seriously.
"And his wife got pregnant," Jie Jingchen countered, now feeling that her final prescription couldn’t have been that crucial. "One should follow a doctor’s orders, but occasionally, disobeying them leads to unexpected surprises."
Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen. Thinking about the scars on his body, she realized he was also the type to let a doctor’s words go in one ear and out the other.
A mocking expression crossed Qin Mei’s face, her tone casual. "For him, there will only be a shock, no pleasant surprise."
"Be clear," Jie Jingchen said, his gaze deep and penetrating as he stared at her.
With a mocking curl of her lip, Qin Mei stopped beating around the bush and said bluntly, "The child in Zhao Hong’s womb has nothing to do with him."
"The child isn’t Jie Anlin’s?" Jie Jingchen was utterly shocked.
"What are you getting so worked up about?" Qin Mei asked with a displeased arch of her brow. She had figured that with Jie Jingchen’s typically indifferent nature, he would just treat it like some story. His agitation was completely unexpected.
"This concerns the Jie Family bloodline," Jie Jingchen said.
Qin Mei gave him a cold stare and retorted sarcastically, "Does your Jie Family have an imperial throne to inherit?"
Jie Jingchen faltered, then asked, "Are you sure?"
"I wasn’t sure at first, but after I took Zhao Hong’s pulse, I was certain," Qin Mei said, her tone both proud and boastful.
When she’d first learned of Zhao Hong’s pregnancy, Qin Mei had been both surprised and confused. She had even doubted her own medical skills, never once suspecting that Zhao Hong would be unfaithful.
Jie Jingchen fell silent.
Qin Mei didn’t disturb his deep thoughts, instead busying herself playing with his fingers. After a while, she asked, "Are you going to tell your Granny?"
"Why would I tell Granny? What does it have to do with me?" Jie Jingchen adopted an air of nonchalance, as if the matter was of no concern to him.
"It concerns your Jie Family’s bloodline," Qin Mei reminded him sarcastically. ’If Jie Anlin were told, Zhao Hong would probably just turn the tables and make a false accusation. The medicine of this era is too backward; a paternity test can only be done after the baby is born. Granny is another matter, though. Once a seed of suspicion is planted in her mind, it’s guaranteed to take root and grow.’