Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Why Did You Come Only on My Big Day? "What Jade Disc?" Jia Qingcheng feigned ignorance. In her past life, she had privately sought Old Master Hu's help to get him appointed as an imperial physician, and the Jade Disc was the token by which Old Master Hu recognized Pei Wuliang's identity. There were many candidates today. If Pei Wuliang didn't have the Jade Disc on him, Old Master Hu's people wouldn't pay him any attention, let alone personally select him. The selection of imperial physicians wasn't done through public announcement but through direct selection by the Imperial Medical Institute. Over a hundred people stood in the courtyard, waiting to be chosen by the Institute's staff, and without the Jade Disc, there was no way he would be selected. "Enough, stop fooling around. I know you have the Jade Disc Old Master Hu gave you—give it to me!" Jia Qingcheng didn't move, and seeing her dawdling, Pei Wuliang grew even more irritated. "Qingcheng, this is a matter of lifelong importance for me. Don't mess around. Give it to me now." With that, Pei Wuliang moved to snatch it, and seeing him about to use force, Jia Qingcheng stepped back a few paces. "I don't know anything about a Jade Disc. Don't talk nonsense." "Qingcheng, if you keep this up, I'll really get angry. Isn't this it?" Suddenly, Pei Wuliang spotted the Jade Disc hanging at her waist and immediately reached out to grab it. "What are you doing?" Pei Wuliang snatched the Jade Disc, which infuriated Jia Qingcheng even more. "Give it back! This is something Old Master Hu gave me." As he snatched it away, Jia Qingcheng suddenly fell to the ground. In her past life, he had never treated her like this. And now, for a tiny Jade Disc, he had actually pushed her down ruthlessly? "Miss, are you alright?" Seeing her fall, a flicker of guilt passed through Pei Wuliang's eyes, but it quickly returned to normal. "Enough, stop making a scene. My time is precious. Stay here obediently and wait for my good news. I am your future husband, and my future naturally concerns yours as well. Qingcheng, you're a smart woman—you know what I'm saying. Only if I have a future will you have one. Do you understand?" Seeing Jia Qingcheng silent with a deeply wronged expression only made him angrier. "Don't look at me like that. You forced me into this. You know I disdain raising my hand against a woman—unless you go too far." "I'm the one going too far? You stole my things and you say I'm going too far?" "What's yours and mine? In the future, your things will naturally be the Pei family's things. Qingcheng, a person should know their place. I said I'd take care of you, but you can't be unreasonable. Go back now and don't wait for me. Go prepare a celebration banquet for me—make it lively. I want to shut the mouths of all those who look down on me!" A celebration banquet? Jia Qingcheng was almost amused to the point of laughter. In this life, what made him think he could still become an imperial physician and catch the emperor's eye? "If you say nothing, I'll take it as you admitting your mistake. Prepare well." With those words, Pei Wuliang left smugly with the Jade Disc, not sparing a single glance at Jia Qingcheng still fallen on the ground. "Miss, are you alright? He's gone too far." Jia Qingcheng, however, remained calm and unhurried, her expression complicated as she watched Pei Wuliang's retreating figure. "It's fine. I'm alright." "Miss, how could Pei Wuliang treat you like this? He's getting more and more outrageous!" Chunyan was indignant on Jia Qingcheng's behalf, but Jia Qingcheng slowly stood up, gently brushing the dust off her clothes. Her palm was already stained with blood, stinging terribly. But that pain was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. She had thought she'd already seen through her worthless husband's true face and had given up on him long ago, yet seeing him treat her so cruelly, she couldn't help but recall her past life. In her past life, even if she scraped a bit of skin, Pei Wuliang would be beside himself with worry. But now, he didn't care at all that he'd pushed her and she was hurt. Ha, he'd completely stopped pretending. "Oh no, miss, you're bleeding." "It's just a small wound. It doesn't matter. Chunyan, we'll wait for him here." "Miss, after how he's treated you, why still wait for him here? Let's just leave. His eyes and heart are full of Song Jiaojiao now—there's no room for you at all." No room for her? A sharp glint flashed in Jia Qingcheng's eyes, but she said nothing. Instead, she looked across with a complicated expression. On the other side, Pei Wuliang was elated to have obtained the Jade Disc and hurried off to find Song Jiaojiao. "Jiaojiao, wait here obediently for me. Wait for my good news." "Wuliang gege, did you just bully sister? She seemed to be crying." "How could that be? She's thick-skinned and tough—not that fragile. Wait for me." Before entering the palace, Pei Wuliang even reached out and hugged Song Jiaojiao tightly. He'd thought about coming over to hug Jia Qingcheng too, but then remembered she hadn't wanted to give him the Jade Disc, and he didn't feel like coaxing her. With so many people here, her showing up with such an ugly face was simply embarrassing him. So he turned to look at Jia Qingcheng. "I'm going into the palace now. Don't bully Jiaojiao." Hearing this, Jia Qingcheng was nearly laughed out of anger. So in Pei Wuliang's mind, she had always been a woman who bullied the weak? In her past life, she had also arrived early at the palace gate just like now, waiting for his good news. And now, the situation was the same, except this time there was a Song Jiaojiao by her side. At this moment, she could be certain that her worthless husband had already been involved with Song Jiaojiao in her previous life, and had simply been deceiving her all along. Because she was ugly and insecure, she had mistakenly believed that Pei Wuliang's devotion to her was already a rare blessing, so she never once considered that he might betray her. Now, having been reborn into a new life, everything had changed. "Sister wouldn't bully me. Brother Wuliang, you're too harsh—look, sister looks so wronged." "Hmph, she brought it on herself!" Brought it on herself... Jia Qingcheng was almost amused enough to laugh. She truly had brought it on herself—she had chosen the wrong person, and that was what had led to her current situation. Did she hate him? Of course she did. She had been deceived for an entire lifetime—a lifetime, such a long stretch of time. How could he have had the heart to deceive her for a lifetime? Soon, Pei Wuliang entered the palace, while Song Jiaojiao slowly walked toward her. "Sister, don't take Brother Wuliang's words to heart. He's just too concerned about me—he always thinks I'll be bullied by you. But we're sisters, so how could you ever bully me? Don't you agree?" Jia Qingcheng remained silent, and Song Jiaojiao looked her up and down. Noticing a gold bracelet on her wrist, her eyes lit up briefly before a flicker of contempt passed through them. "Sister, you've finally brought yourself to wear that gold bracelet. What a pity—it doesn't flatter your complexion. Yellow is generally something only fair-skinned people can pull off. With your darker skin, you should stick to bracelets made of white jade or the like, so your skin doesn't look so dark and rough." Song Jiaojiao's words never once mentioned ugliness directly, yet every syllable revealed the fact that Jia Qingcheng was an ugly woman. Not far away, many other women had also gathered to wait for news of their husbands. They were all watching her make a spectacle of herself, whispering among themselves. As for such mockery, Jia Qingcheng was clearly already accustomed to it—ever since she had begun playing the part of the ugly woman, she had grown used to others judging, criticizing, and rejecting her. But Chunyan was protective of her mistress and disliked the Second Miss humiliating her master. "Second Miss, what nonsense are you spouting? What does it have to do with you what the Eldest Miss wears?"