SWHCBB 14

Chapter 14: Can You Stop Being Mad at Me, Husband?

Jiang Chuang took the veiled hood Changning handed over and gently placed it on Wen Jue’s head. Without it, his stunning appearance would already draw attention, let alone those sightless eyes that always invited judgment.

Whether from curiosity or sympathetic pity, it was all the same to Wen Jue, an invisible thorn. Out in public, it was better to wear the hood.

Jiang Chuang moved with care, smoothing down Wen Jue’s hanging hair before pulling the veil over. The fine gauze draped down to his shoulders. When the wind blew, it lifted slightly, revealing the lower half of Wen Jue’s face.

That brief glimpse made one want to look closer, yet not dare disturb him. Just standing there, he seemed like an immortal descended to earth, untouchable and sacred.

After securing the veil, Jiang Chuang stared at him in silence for a long while.

He didn’t speak at all, and Wen Jue’s heart grew uneasy. Was Jiang Chuang still upset that he’d mistaken someone else for him?

Jiang Chuang had always been talkative around him, this kind of quiet was rare. He really might be angry.

If he was mad, and it was his own fault, then Wen Jue knew he had to coax him.

Just as Jiang Chuang was about to take his hand and lead him downstairs, a hand gently slid down his forearm, tracing down to his palm and lacing their fingers together.

“I was wrong,” Wen Jue admitted earnestly. “I shouldn’t have mistaken someone else for you! I know I was wrong.”

Jiang Chuang raised a brow slightly, lips twitching upward—he was already pacified, absolutely thrilled!

Still, he held it in, curious to see how Wen Jue would keep pleading.

But Wen Jue couldn’t help but defend himself a little. “I just wanted to rely on my instincts to find you, didn’t want Changning to guide me. I overestimated myself… But since I can’t see, can you stop being mad at me? Husband~”

That last word struck Jiang Chuang right in the heart, so hard his smile froze, and the hand holding Wen Jue’s tightened involuntarily, painfully squeezing his palm.

That line overlapped with something Wen Jue had said on his deathbed in their past life, and for a moment, Jiang Chuang’s heart ached so much it rang in his ears.

Wen Jue asked, “What’s wrong?”

Had his excuses only made Jiang Chuang angrier?

While Wen Jue was spiraling into anxiety, Jiang Chuang suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him so tightly he could barely breathe.

Wen Jue didn’t understand. Jiang Chuang’s breathing was erratic, and his body trembled. Why?

Nervously, Wen Jue reached up and patted his back. “Yunchuan, what’s going on?”

Jiang Chuang clung to him desperately. After a moment, he shook his head, his voice hoarse. “Nothing… Nothing’s happened yet. It’s not too late.”

Wen Jue couldn’t grasp the meaning but silently committed it to memory.

Jiang Chuang let him go, but couldn’t help placing a gentle kiss on his cheek through the veil.

Standing nearby, Changning observed all of Jiang Chuang’s strange behavior. Something was off. He’d have to find a chance to report to His Highness.

The two descended the stairs. As they passed the main hall, they happened to overhear a group of scholars loudly debating current court affairs.

These low-ranking scholars who couldn’t pass the exams loved to gather at bookhouses, boasting and theorizing as if they were the only ones in the empire with clarity of thought—blaming fate for their lack of success.

With the current dynasty favoring literature and open thought, scholars were bold and unfiltered. As long as they didn’t openly curse the imperial family, their loose tongues were usually tolerated. Tales about royalty? They had plenty.

This time, it just so happened they were talking about them.

“That Fifth Prince really has it rough, blind since birth, and now he’s even marrying a man, submitting beneath another man!”

Jiang Chuang and Wen Jue paused mid-step. Jiang Chuang turned to see the speaker, a scholar in coarse hemp robes.

Across from him, another scholar scoffed, “You don’t know the half of it. Word is, this marriage was something the Fifth Prince begged for!”

“What? But the Fifth Prince is a man! Why would he want to marry another man, even if it’s General Jiang?”

The second scholar shook his head mysteriously. “Ah, Brother He, you just don’t understand. The Fifth Prince has never been favored, blind, bullied in the palace. If not for his full-blood sister being favored by the Emperor, he might’ve quietly died in the palace one day. But princesses eventually marry. Once she’s gone, who would protect him?”

The first scholar hesitated. “And what’s that got to do with him proposing the marriage?”

“Everything! He needed to find backing, right? Let’s be blunt, he’s a cripple. His life’s over. What family would want to marry their daughter to someone like him? He may be a prince, but he’s worse off than a court minister’s illegitimate son!”

Jiang Chuang sneered, releasing Wen Jue’s hand and lifting a foot, ready to beat the man senseless. But just then, Wen Jue grabbed his hand. Jiang Chuang turned back and saw him slightly shake his head.

“Don’t go,” Wen Jue said. “Let’s hear what else they say, see what their aim is.”

The scholar’s teasing air did draw a crowd. Who wouldn’t be curious about royal gossip?

The scholar continued, “The best support he could get was marrying General Jiang, wasn’t it? He knew General Jiang is honest and would treat him well. So he threw a fit before the Emperor, shamelessly insisting on marrying the general!”

A bystander couldn’t help but comment, “How could the Fifth Prince be so shameless? Marrying male consorts is a folk practice. The imperial family never marries or takes male consorts—he’s bringing shame to the throne!”

“Exactly! And he’s making General Jiang cut off his bloodline! Shameless!”

Jiang Chuang couldn’t bear it any longer. He lowered his voice, coaxing Wen Jue, “Zhiyu, go wait in the carriage. I’ll deal with this trash and be right behind you.”

But Wen Jue chuckled softly, surprisingly the one to calm Jiang Chuang. “I’m not angry. It’s just that someone is using these people’s mouths to splash filth on me. I can’t let the one behind this go.”

Jiang Chuang ground his teeth. “When I find out who it is, I’ll make them kneel, kowtow, and slap themselves in front of you!”

Beneath the veil, Wen Jue smiled faintly. Kneeling and slapping? Far too light. If they wanted to atone, offering their head would be better.

But he swallowed those thoughts. If Jiang Chuang ever saw the cruel side of him, he wouldn’t be able to accept it.

Right now, the Jiang Chuang who liked him, liked only the gentle, charming facade he wore. If he ever saw the real him, he’d surely keep his distance.

Someone asked, “I heard the Fifth Prince is breathtakingly beautiful. Even blind, he’s the most stunning beauty in the capital. Maybe General Jiang was seduced—willing to lose his heirs for that face?”

This time, Jiang Chuang chuckled. “Finally, someone speaks some sense. But Zhiyu, it’s not just your beauty that I’m willing to give up everything for.”

Wen Jue didn’t respond.

Through the veil, Jiang Chuang couldn’t see his expression and assumed he was simply shy.

Then the scholar sneered again, “Breathtaking beauty? Heh. Over twenty years ago, wasn’t there another famed beauty who entered the palace? And what became of her? Favor fades, and beauty dies. No matter how pretty, you get sick of it eventually.”

“You mean… Consort Chen? The Fifth Prince’s birth mother?”

The crowd erupted at once.

Wen Jue’s heart sank in an instant. Here it comes, just as expected.