You Look Like You’re Made of Money

He knew that the original body had a lover? How could he tolerate it?!

“Although this marriage wasn’t what I wanted, I intended to get along nicely with you. Even so, your attitude remained the same. It was normal for me to have doubts so I had it investigated. I knew that my actions were unscrupulous, of course, but I don’t like to be kept in the dark. Indeed, when I came to know about Shen Peiran, I was furious. However, I also thought that as long as you raised the matter of divorce, I would absolutely not stop you. I would also give you proper alimony……”

When Jiang Jingchuan mentioned this, it rendered Su Yan dumbfounded. She didn’t expect that Jiang Jingchuan would have such thoughts.

It really hadn’t been that long since they started to get along with each other, and she only had a superficial understanding of him. She knew that after getting drunk he sounded like a broken record and felt that he was a person who very much bore grudges. It was unexpected that regarding the original body’s matter, he would be so magnanimously calm– more than any other person.

Jiang Jingchuan disdained forcing others to do something and also scorned toying with the intentions of his nominal wife. In this respect, he was more open and aboveboard than any other person.

“After Shen Peiran returned to China, you looked for him and got together with him again. I knew. I was waiting for you to raise divorce all along. You must be thinking, if it was so, then why didn’t I raised divorce? You think I don’t know why you wanted to marry me? Once I raised divorce, what situation would you be in? You think I don’t know?  Su Yan, as I said before, even if you don’t believe me, I never wanted to force you to do anything from the very beginning.”

Su Yan trusted Jiang Jingchuan’s words. Since the start of this marriage, she believed in Jiang Jingchuan’s strictness regarding his private life. Such a man, when he came to know of his wife’s cheating, what did he feel? In no way could the words he said be touched on lightly, mentioned casually[1].  Whether or not the husband loved his wife, when it came to cheating, it wouldn’t be tolerated. But, Jiang Jingchuan, on the contrary, did not say anything, for whose sake would he have done that?

1. Touched on lightly; mentioned casually- It is an idiom which means to play down a circumstance

“I gave you the chance to speak about divorce, from the moment we married till that night. In the last six months, you had many opportunities to ask for a divorce but you didn’t. Su Yan, I can’t agree to divorce you now. What’s more, I can’t turn a blind eye to your and Shen Peiran’s association like in the past. You are no longer merely my wife in name. Do you understand?” Jiang Jingchuan turned around to face Su Yan, his tone and expression serious.

Naturally, Su Yan understood what Jiang Jingchuan meant. Frankly, he had respected and safeguarded the original body only because she was Mrs. Jiang. No matter who she was, as long as it was Mrs. Jiang, Jiang Jingchuan would do it. This was the role of a man to his wife. Now it was different: She was his wife in name as well as reality. Mrs. Jiang was already no more than a title. At this moment, Jiang Jingchuan hoped to become a couple with her, which was different from the usual.

Given the change, Jiang Jingchuan wouldn’t tolerate her future involvement with Shen Peiran or any other man for that matter. This was a reminder as well as a warning.

Su Yan knew this moment was pivotal. If she and Jiang Jingchuan were probing around each other before, then from tonight everything would change.

Whether or not she could gain Jiang Jingchuan’s romantic love all depended on her following actions and words– they were extremely important.

There was no hysterical quarrelling, nor indifferent fighting with each other for mastery over another. Su Yan felt that Jiang Jingchuan was actually brushing up her good impression of him.

Under Jiang Jingchuan’s attentive gaze, Su Yan slowly and firmly embraced him. She lightly leaned her head against his chest and said softly, slowly, “I admit, previously I didn’t devote my heart and denied what I had once done. As I said, I have already straightened out my thoughts regarding many matters. Jingchuan, I also have the same thoughts as you. You are not my husband only in name. I want to live a great life with you, establish a family with you. Of course, I know that you might doubt what I am saying and doing right now. I hope you will give me a chance. Allow me to prove that what I said today is completely true.”

Since she had seen her whole clan being wiped out in her childhood, she desired supreme power the most, yet inwardly longed for stability. It was contradictory. She hoped to live a comfortable life; for that to be possible, she required stability which could only be built on financial security. She had lived in the Imperial Harem in comfort and a high position for many years. She simply did not yearn for an ordinary or average life. If one had to rush about for the sake of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation could it still be called comfortable? At least that’s how Su Yan thought. She never avoided her heart’s innermost wishes. Now, in this world, you couldn’t talk about things like the power of a person beneath one and above ten thousand. What kind of life did she want? Everyday someone would prepare delicacies for her, the wardrobe would be filled with many different kinds and types of coloured clothing, she would be able to buy buy buy unbridled– that kind of life.

That kind of life can be given to her by Jiang Jingchuan, and she was also Jiang Jingchuan’s wife in name and reality. Although Su Yan had negligible moral integrity, she didn’t think that it was necessary to spend her whole life with any man she married or had sexual relations with, keeping watch over each other. It was merely that, until she fully understood this world, she had no intention of parting ways with Jiang Jingchuan.

Upon hearing Su Yan’s words, although Jiang Jingchuan wasn’t shocked, he still felt moved. The reason why he didn’t get excessively angry was because: First, because of the way he was raised as a person, which in no way allowed him to lose his temper at his wife. Second,  because he believed in Su Yan, she had no reason to deceive him. It could be seen after more than half-year of marriage that she was quite a headstrong person. She disdained catering to him therefore the way she treated Shen Peiran’s approach must be true.

Why would he want to have a deep talk with Su Yan? Jiang Jingchuan discovered that this time he had intentionally ignored Shen Peiran, but it did not mean that bast**d didn’t exist. He wanted to make his stand clear with Su Yan and hoped to receive a response.

“Su Yan, I don’t have any right to investigate whatever happened between you and Shen Peiran in the past, after all, you and I were unwilling to become husband and wife. Now, since we have reached an agreement, I hope you can promise me one thing.” Jiang Jingchuan unconsciously reached out and strongly embraced Su Yan. This made Su Yan realise that he had been restraining himself earlier.

Su Yan thought on her feet[2] and realised what Jiang Jingchuan would say next, but she wouldn’t expose him. She held him more tightly before speaking softly: “You speak; I will listen.”

2. Thinking on one’s feet- An idiom meaning to think quickly.

Jiang Jingchuan was silent for a few minutes. He knew his request was reasonable, but when he was about to say it he felt quite different.

Halfway through today’s situation, he abruptly realised that he wasn’t foolishly oblivious of Su Yan.

At least, if she had contact with Peiran in the future, he would be miserable.

In the past years, Jiang Jingchuan hadn’t experienced any romantic love. He was only together with his ex-girlfriend because he was encouraged by his friends. It was extremely cruel to say but he didn’t even remember their appearance. There was no shortage of women by his side from the time he entered into puberty. There were many girls who expressed their good opinions to him. Only, the Jiang Family upbringing was very strict. Since the beginning, he was ignorant regarding the opposite sex. Mother Jiang had time and again warned him that it wasn’t the time to fall in love. Although he was born with a golden finger, there was a sentence that was 100 percent fitting: To wear the Imperial crown, one needed to be able to endure the weight of that.

Esteemed Grandfather Jiang and Father Jiang had told him many times that if his efforts failed to match his status, to the world he would just be a second-generation wastrel who was depending on his family’s backing. He would have to work many times harder than the average person to obtain the recognition of people. Only then could he truly consider himself as the next master of the Jiang Family.

As a result, Jiang Jingchuan simply didn’t dare to slack off even the smallest bit. Even when he went abroad there was no time to be in love. He had broken up with his ex-girlfriend after only talking for a few months because he didn’t have the time to take her to dinner, the movies, or on a date. For Jiang Jingchuan, enjoying the success brought by his career was much more alluring than dating.

Su Yan was different from other women. Realistically speaking, she was his wife and they are tied together by emotion that will linger till death.  Fundamentally speaking, her position was different from other people. So he was able to take time out from his busy schedule to spend time with her.

A wife needs to be respected, needs to be cherished; Mother Jiang had instilled this in him.

Jiang Jingchuan deliberated inwardly for a moment then said with a long face: “I expect that in the future you won’t meet with Shen Peiran, okay?”

Su Yan wasn’t surprised to hear that. It was entirely expected and reasonable. Jiang Jingchuan had laid so much groundwork just to say this sentence to her. His request was not too much. She and him had already, in due form, become husband and wife. A husband asking his wife to not meet up with her previous boyfriend was quite normal.

Su Yan released him and increased the distance between them. She smiled at him and bit her lower lip before saying: “In fact, even if you did not ask it, I would have done the same. I have not met with him these days. I only received a phone call and I had made it clear to him at that time. Jingchuan, I am already prepared and intend to become a good wife.”