Chapter 64 My failure to find you in time for our wedding led to you ending up stranded...

Su Panyue sat by the bed until dawn, then let out a deep breath and looked down at the sleeping man on the bed.

Even in his sleep, he had a furrowed brow.

She raised her hand to smooth the wrinkles between his brows, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

The man slowly opened his eyes, still somewhat dazed from just waking up, and took her wrist, pressing her hand against his face.

"Why did you wake up so early?" His voice was a little hoarse.

Su Panyue leaned over and lay on top of him, pressing against him to feel the slight rise and fall of his chest.

"Are we continuing the search today? Can I come with you?" she asked softly, her voice somewhat somber.

No, it's too dangerous.

Xie Lanzhou didn't answer verbally, but Su Panyue could hear him rejecting her in his heart.

She buried her face in his chest, taking a deep, greedy breath of the ambergris mixed with his unique fragrance.

"Please, I really feel guilty and need to find something to do." She said earnestly.

Xie Lanzhou remained silent for a long time before saying, "He should have already been locked up."

"The fastest way to save him is to just fight your way in."

Su Panyue looked up at his chin and asked, "What if Shan Mingyuan uses him to blackmail you?"

Xie Lanzhou snorted coldly, "No one has ever been able to blackmail me."

"What if you take me?" Su Panyue's voice was very soft, as if she were testing the waters.

Xie Lanzhou rubbed his chin against the top of her head and said, "Even more impossible."

Because I would never give anyone that chance.

Su Panyue heard his inner thoughts, but still stubbornly said:

"If someone uses me to blackmail you, don't act impulsively. You have to believe that I can come back to you on my own, okay?"

Xie Lanzhou remained silent, and kissed her tenderly, as if she were a rare treasure.

*

At Su Panyue's insistence, she still followed Xie Lanzhou into the border city of Lu.

This place has been occupied by the soldiers of the Great Qi. Although Xie Lanzhou gave the order, no civilians have suffered as a result.

However, the streets were unusually quiet, with all the doors of every house tightly shut.

Occasionally, some ignorant children would peek out from a cracked window, curiously observing the Qi soldiers searching outside, only to be quickly dragged back inside by their frightened parents who would pull them by the ears.

To avoid attracting attention, Su Panyue wore the uniform of a Daqi soldier today, along with an unremarkable mask, so she wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

Xie Lanzhou turned around and tried to take her hand, but she deftly dodged it. She whispered a reminder: "Your Majesty doesn't want to be known for having homosexual tendencies, does he?"

Xie Lanzhou chuckled, "When have I ever cared about my reputation?"

"I care!" Su Panyue insisted, so Xie Lanzhou had no choice but to give up and walk ahead alone.

Su Panyue followed him at a distance, and as expected, she saw the city wall in the distance and the densely packed Lu State guards on it.

She knew that was the city wall of Juyong Pass, and a hundred miles further in was the capital of the State of Lu, where she had lived for more than ten years.

Following Xie Lanzhou, the two gradually approached the city wall. Su Panyue raised her eyes and scanned the area, her gaze finally lingering on a certain spot on the city wall for a moment.

Juyong Pass was not as sturdy as the original city walls, and some soldiers of the State of Lu were already carrying logs and repeatedly ramming the city gate.

Several soldiers stepped forward to report the situation to Xie Lanzhou, and the tall, burly man completely obscured Su Panyue's view.

Still no trace of Ji Hongxi, and no news whatsoever. Xie Lanzhou listened to their report with a furrowed brow and a gloomy expression.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Panyue quietly moved away, and in the blink of an eye, her petite figure disappeared into the crowd and left Xie Lanzhou's sight.

She walked quickly, and in her military uniform, she blended seamlessly into the crowd of busy soldiers.

She quickly removed the mask from her face and walked straight to the city wall with the most guards. Among the vigilant archers, she indeed saw Du Jian's figure.

She looked up at him intently, not daring to utter a sound.

Perhaps her gaze was too direct, for Du Jian seemed to sense something and looked down.

Their eyes met, and Su Panyue silently mouthed: I'm here.

Du Jian personally went down from the city wall and let her in.

Su Panyue cut to the chase and asked, "Where is Shan Mingyuan?"

Du Jian corrected him, "You should call him Your Majesty."

Upon hearing the words "Your Majesty," Su Panyue pursed her lips and didn't reply.

She was escorted onto a carriage by two guards and quickly taken to a large mansion.

She looked around curiously and asked Du Jian, "Isn't he in the palace? What is he doing living here?"

Du Jian rolled his eyes at her. "Look at those treacherous dogs from Qi outside the city. Why do you think His Majesty came?"

Hearing his unfriendly tone, Su Panyue didn't take it to heart and followed him into a side room in the backyard.

"You wait here and behave yourself," Du Jian said, then locked the door and left.

Su Panyue walked to the table, poured herself a glass of water, and then glanced around. The furnishings and items in the room were of the highest quality, but she had seen too many good things in Xie Lanzhou's palace, so she didn't look at them for long before lying down on the bed.

She agonized all night and finally decided to walk right into the trap and exchange the valiant general for him.

She knew that this was a crucial time for the siege. With Ji Hongxi by her side, Xie Lanzhou's burden would be greatly reduced, and she herself should be able to keep her life here with Shan Mingyuan, and perhaps even have a chance to escape.

If there was really no chance to escape, she would try her best to survive until Xie Lanzhou conquered the State of Lu.

Just as he was making plans in his mind, there was a knock on the door.

She rolled out of bed and asked through the door, "Who is it?"

The knocking stopped abruptly, and after a moment, Shan Mingyuan's voice came through: "Yue'er, I'm coming in."

Su Panyue was speechless for a moment. She didn't expect that he would still be like this after becoming emperor. She was locked up and became a prisoner, and he still had to knock on the door to come in. It was completely unnecessary.

But precisely because of this, she never doubted that he was a man of his word, and that's why she dared to bet that he would keep his promise and release Ji Hongxi safely.

The door was pushed open, and Shan Mingyuan, dressed in white, stepped in. He paused for a moment when he saw Su Panyue.

His tone betrayed his surprise and anger: "He actually sent you to the battlefield?"

Su Panyue looked down at her military uniform, not intending to explain, but asked in a low voice, "Young Master always keeps his word. You said you wanted me to exchange for that person, so you won't go back on your word?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice of "Prince," Shan Mingyuan's eyes softened even more, and he said gently, "Of course, I will send someone to send General Ji back right now."

"I need to see it with my own eyes," Su Panyue said, raising her eyes to meet his gaze without flinching.

Shan Mingyuan looked at her for a moment, saw the determination in her eyes, and finally agreed.

However, he did not intend to leave immediately, but said, "I have prepared a few clothes for you. Change into them first. The kitchen will bring the food right away. They are all your favorite dishes. It's not too late to go after you have eaten."

Su Panyue frowned, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on him, and slowly said, "No need, just release them now."

Her voice wasn't loud, but her tone carried an undeniable firmness.

After a brief standoff, Shan Mingyuan sighed and said, "Let's go." As he spoke, he reached out to pull Su Panyue, but she subtly dodged him.

She followed Shan Mingyuan to the dark prison and brought Ji Hongxi out. Although he was covered in wounds, he seemed to be in good spirits.

The moment he saw Su Panyue, he opened his mouth to call her "Your Highness," but she put a finger to her lips and shook her head frantically, so he closed his mouth in suspicion.

They took Ji Hongxi to the top of the city wall, tied him with ropes, and then lowered him down from the wall.

Su Panyue stood to the side watching, and as if sensing something, she slightly turned her head to meet Xie Lanzhou's gaze, who was not far away from the city wall.

Looking into the man's deep, sharp eyes, which were staring at her with an ambiguous expression, Su Panyue's eyes suddenly filled with tears. She quickly turned her head and secretly wiped them away with her sleeve.

Shan Mingyuan, who was standing nearby, noticed her movements and asked softly, "What's wrong, Yue'er?"

"It's nothing, just some wind in my eyes," she answered indistinctly.

Shan Mingyuan offered her a clean handkerchief, but she didn't take it. She turned away and didn't look down at the city wall again, only saying, "Let's go."

She walked down the city wall, and when she reached the last step, she couldn't help but look back.

Xie Lanzhou was still looking at her, his eyes seemed a little red.

She pouted, feeling like crying but holding back.

She returned to the mansion with Shan Mingyuan, who arranged for two maids to help her change her clothes, and then it was lunchtime.

Shan Mingyuan had the meal delivered to her, wanting to dine with her.

Su Panyue looked down at the dishes on the table. They were indeed the dishes she had liked before, but she had no appetite for them.

Seeing that she hesitated to eat, Shan Mingyuan picked up a piece of food and put it in his mouth first, then said, "Eat it, it's not poisoned."

Su Panyue ate a couple of bites and then stopped. Shan Mingyuan didn't insist and had the dishes removed.

The two remained silent for a moment, until the man finally spoke first: "I have found out that what happened back then was all my uncle's idea. I'm sorry you've suffered all these years."

The uncle he mentioned was the Prince of Chang Le who adopted Su Panyue. Recalling the past, she felt a mix of emotions and didn't know how to speak.

Shan Mingyuan continued, "It's all my fault. I failed to find you in time, leaving you to suffer in the hands of that tyrannical ruler of Daqi."

Upon hearing the word "suffering," Su Panyue blinked guiltily but remained silent.

"I've finally found you. This time I will never lose you again. We will choose a date to get married, and you will be the Queen of Lu. No one will dare to bully you again..."

Shan Mingyuan spoke earnestly, and even a suspicious blush appeared on his ears, but Su Panyue's heart skipped a beat as she listened.

She swallowed hard, and finally couldn't help but interrupt, saying, "I can't marry you."

Shan Mingyuan was taken aback. "Why?"

Su Panyue's eyes darted around, and finally she came up with a reason: "Because, because I've already been with Xie Lanzhou..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shan Mingyuan understood. His gentle expression was replaced by anger. "How dare he! He's a beast!"

As Su Panyue listened to his scathing rebuke of Xie Lanzhou, she silently apologized to herself. To prevent Shan Mingyuan from using her as leverage to blackmail Xie Lanzhou, she absolutely could not expose their relationship, so she had no choice but to resort to this tactic. After all, he had said himself that he didn't care about his reputation...

Shan Mingyuan cursed a couple of times, then noticed Su Panyue's somewhat guilty expression. Suddenly realizing something, he softened his tone and said, "You've been wronged. I will personally take his head to avenge you."

"We don't need to give up the heads; let's call off our marriage," Su Panyue hurriedly said.

“It’s alright, I don’t care about these things. Reputation is nothing but a constraint on women, a shackle imposed on them by outdated ideas. You don’t need to worry about it,” Shan Mingyuan said sincerely, looking at her with pity in his eyes.

Su Panyue was speechless for a moment, then heard him continue, "Let's set the wedding date for the beginning of next month. I'll have the Ministry of Rites choose an auspicious day, what do you think?"

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Author's note: Zhou, your wife has run away! Wipe away your tears and go after her!

I'm a little late today. I had a burst of inspiration and wrote a new book summary, "What Happened to the Promise of Mutual Respect?" It's about a fake lady and a hypocrite, a couple who stop pretending, an arranged marriage that blossoms into love and a reconciliation. Anyone interested? Please add it to your favorites! [pleading]