Chapter 61 Sweet Candied Fruit "Wanwan, you have me in your heart, it can't be hidden..."

A red glint appeared in the eyes of the usually calm man, before they dimmed and went dark. He felt a lump stuck in his throat, a sharp pain that made him feel suffocated, and the remaining poisonous blood in his body surged, forcing him to clench his fists tightly to suppress it.

Lou Yanxu turned her eyes away, ignoring the increasingly pale face, and coldly and arrogantly accused that arrogant idea, without realizing that her eyes had become resentful and aggrieved. "You think you have everything under control, but do you know that I am a living person? I have my own thoughts and I am not someone who follows your ideas."

A sudden, sharp pain shot through his heart, and his gaze towards her was filled with an unbearable heartache. When he spoke again, his voice trembled slightly, "I respect your thoughts. Do you feel like I'm controlling you?"

If he truly wanted to control her, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to collect evidence of the British Duke's dereliction of duty and bribery to blackmail him and force the British Duke's family to abandon their original plan to marry her. However, he didn't expect that his trip to Lingzhou would lead him into a desperate situation, causing Du to become so desperate that she decided to kill him.

Lou Yanxu was completely unaware of all this; she only knew that he had inflicted hatred upon her and imprisoned her in this world. Thus, her anger surged, and she gritted her teeth, asking, "When have you ever respected my thoughts?"

Her gaze was so cold and piercing; he had never seen her look at Lu Hengzhi like that before. Xu Congjing felt as if his heart was being pierced by countless needles. He knew that his previous actions were despicable and unworthy of being compared to Lu Hengzhi, yet he still couldn't control the overflowing jealousy in his heart. His calloused fingertips clenched until they were red, and in a moment of impulse, he said, "You're right. I can only force you and make you angry. Lu Hengzhi is much better at winning your heart. But his marriage to the Ning family is already arranged, so there's no point in thinking about it anymore."

"Why bring him up in our business?" Lou Yan frowned slightly. She never thought that the problems between the two of them were anyone else's business. It was just that he always seemed to be comparing himself to Lu Hengzhi, intentionally or unintentionally. In other words, although he was stubborn, he was actually ashamed and self-deprecating. He felt from the bottom of his heart that she should choose Lu Hengzhi, but he also hoped that she would have a change of heart and go back to her ex.

Having caught sight of his little scheme, her anger subsided by half, and her clear, bright eyes stared intently at him.

"It's not that you think he's perfect in every way, but you can't stand the sight of me." He avoided eye contact, turning his head away, his words contradicting his true feelings. "If that's the case, what are you still doing here? Go find him!"

These were just impulsive words; he didn't really want her to leave. He regretted it as soon as he said them. Seeing that she took it seriously, before she could even take a step, he turned around halfway and hugged her, his arms tightly around her slender waist. He pressed his cheek against her back, feeling her warmth, and became more and more greedy for this moment.

He said softly, "I was just saying it out of anger, I didn't really want you to leave." He couldn't care less about anything else right now, he just wanted to shamelessly beg her. She had finally softened her heart, and he was afraid that if he said something inappropriate, she would leave and never come back.

The two stood in silent confrontation. Yun Lu, holding a bowl of medicine, hid behind the door to observe the situation. He seized the opportunity to step in and break the deadlock.

"Let go." What kind of behavior would this be if his subordinates saw this? His shameless behavior infuriated her, and in her anger, she slapped him without hesitation, making his hand turn red. But he just grinned and acted all serious.

Lou Yanxu had a cold face, but she was unsure of herself.

That's it, it's like he's caught us by the nose.

"Do you still remember when you were unconscious for several days after being poisoned by snake venom, and I took care of you day and night, feeding you medicine?" He affectionately took her hand, a smile spreading across his lips as he recalled the past. "Back then, you were so delicate; you needed two candied fruits to coax you to drink it."

Indeed, without candied fruit, she would throw a tantrum and refuse to drink even a sip. But this tactic didn't work on her brother, so she took advantage of his favor to "act out astray." He constantly brought up their past relationship, simply to rekindle her buried feelings and rekindle their romance. She knew this perfectly well, but dared not take the risk. Their trust had crumbled; why force themselves to conform and suffer further?

So he said, "It's all in the past, why bring it up again?"

“But I still remember it all,” Xu Congjing said hurriedly.

She always avoided the topic, and he didn't want to leave those issues unresolved forever. So he pressed his advantage, grabbed her hand and slapped her face, pleading pitifully, "Wanwan, if you're still not over it, hit me a few more times and scold me a few more times, but please don't push me away anymore, okay?"

She was clearly moved, but she just couldn't accept it for the time being. No matter, he had plenty of time. He would chase her to the ends of the earth without hesitation.

However, Lou Yan seemed determined not to say more. She withdrew her hand, glanced at the medicine Yun Lu had put down, and abruptly changed the subject, "If you don't drink it now, it will get cold."

Xu Congjing looked somewhat deflated. The slightly simmering medicine reflected his absent-minded expression. The bowl was dark and intimidating to look at, yet he picked it up and drank it all in one gulp. Finally, he casually asked, "Is there any candied fruit?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lou Yanxu produced a packet of candied fruit from who-knows-where. Although his face was still cold, his expression was much calmer. He took the candied fruit and put it in his mouth. The sweetness melted in his mouth and spread straight into his heart.

She glanced at his gradually rising smile, glared at him, and said, "What are you grinning about? I didn't prepare this for you."

"At least I got to eat it." He was extremely proud of himself, and even more so because he thought that Lu Hengzhi must have never tasted the candied fruit prepared by Wanwan. He laughed even more happily.

"So delicate!" she scoffed, curtly rebuking him, and then fell silent. Later, a doctor came to examine her and adjusted the prescription. This doctor appeared and disappeared without a trace, and Lou Yan had never seen him before. She only noticed that everyone in the Xu family treated him with great respect, addressing him as "Master Rong."

Time flew by in this busyness, and as curfew approached, Lou Yanxu packed her things to leave, but was stopped.

"Madam Lou, where are you going?"

She looked up and saw that she had only met the person in front of her twice before. He was the guard who had escorted Xu Congjing all the way to Chang'an, named Yun Ji. She wondered what his relationship was with Yun Lu. She didn't bother to think about it and turned her gaze away, walking straight ahead. If she didn't leave now, she would have to wait until tomorrow. "Your husband is out of danger. I should go."

“You can’t go.” Yun Ji took a big step forward and stretched out an arm to block the way.

Lou Yanxu stopped, her bright eyes blazing with anger.

Does he want to keep her trapped again? Does he want her to be his mistress, someone who can't be seen in public?

My mind was buzzing, and I blurted out, "What, is he going to imprison me in the house again?"

If Xu Congjing were here, he would know that things are very dangerous right now. The two have been at odds for more than half a year, and it was only with great difficulty that things had eased up a bit. This incident will inevitably make their relationship as cold as ice again.

But Yunji, unaware of what had happened, remained unmoved. "I was just following orders. I'm sorry, Madam."

Unable to leave now, she had no choice but to turn back and immediately walked towards Xu Congjing's room. When she pushed open the door, her expression was tense and her eyes were sinister.

Xu Congjing was discussing matters with Master Rong when he noticed something was wrong. He dismissed everyone and leaned over to pull her aside to coax her.

"What's wrong? Who made you angry?" he said, then carefully examined her expression. Seeing no change, he cautiously asked, "Did I make you angry?"

Lou Yanxu felt as if she had punched a pillow when he made her so agreeable. Her face turned even uglier, and she grabbed his collar and demanded, "Why won't you let me leave?"

"You've misunderstood!" He pulled back his collar, which had been slightly exposed from being pulled, and gently wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. "Come here, I'll tell you."

"It's getting late, and tonight is going to be unsettling. I'm really worried about you. If you want to leave tomorrow, I won't stop you, okay?"

In her haste to discuss things with Master Rong, she hadn't had time to explain in detail. Yun Ji's reckless actions inevitably led to her misunderstanding, and she was filled with lingering fear, as it almost caused a major disaster.

Lou Yanxu had thought he was going to use this opportunity to trap her here again. After hearing what he said, her expression softened a little. She wasn't an unreasonable person. Knowing that he had a plan, she didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

She stopped at the door, turned around, and said with a dark and unreadable look in her eyes, "Be careful."

At this moment, it seemed as if they had returned to the time when they were in love. She knew that he would say what he wanted to say, so she never questioned what he did, but only reminded him to be careful again and again.

Xu Congjing was slightly taken aback, his eyes welling up with tears. He smiled, his smile as gentle as a spring breeze bringing everything back to life. He said with certainty, "Wanwan, you have me in your heart, it can't be hidden."

"You're far too confident." She refused to admit it, and stepped out the door, her steps unsteady.

At night, the heavy darkness enveloped the courtyard, and the moonlight flickered and dimmed. Lou Yanxu tossed and turned in bed, listening intently to what was happening outside.

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew by, and the tall trees in the courtyard swayed wildly. The shadows reflected on the rustling window paper looked like ghostly shadow puppets. Then a few dark shadows swept by, and she knew that someone had come.

Immediately following was the sharp sound of swords clashing, followed by heavy, overlapping footsteps that echoed through the blood-red night. Each muffled cry sent chills down Lou Yan's spine. Her heart tightened, and she clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.

Gradually, silence fell outside the door, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog, which was quite eerie.

Lou Yanxu knew very well that the thief had been captured and the mission was accomplished.

She waited another incense stick's time before pushing open the door and stepping out. To her surprise, she saw Yun Ji bound and kneeling under the eaves, while Xu Congjing, draped in a thick cloak, leaned against a pillar.

Yun Lu held a sword to Yun Ji's neck, his face contorted with grief and indignation. "Yun Ji, my lord has treated you well, how dare you! How could you!"

But Yunji showed no remorse, stubbornly refusing to back down, saying, "Things have come to this point, I have nothing to say. Do with me as you please."

"You!" Yun Lu exclaimed in exasperation, kicking him in the lower back. "You're unrepentant!"

He then pleaded with Xu Congjing, "My lord, please hand Yunji over to me, and I will not let him off lightly."

The man remained silent throughout, his eyes gleaming with calculation. He neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying, "Take him away first."

As the crowd dispersed, Xu Congjing slowly walked towards her. Seeing that her face was pale from the wind, he rubbed his hands together to warm them and placed them over hers. "Why aren't you saying anything? Were you frightened?"

Lou Yanxu didn't reply to him, but frowned and shook her head. "You used yourself as bait to find the person who poisoned you, but if Yun Ji really wanted to kill you, why would he escort you all the way here? He could have easily ended your life with a single blow when you were on the verge of death."

"I had the same question." He smiled faintly as the night wind blew, pulling her inside to warm up. "Could Wanwan offer some guidance?"

She glanced at him. In all these years of navigating the officialdom, what storms and schemes hadn't he seen? Why would he need her guidance? He was just making fun of her.

She pondered for a moment, then changed the subject, "It must have been one of her lovers who came to her rescue."

"?"

Xu Congjing panicked and hurriedly grabbed her hand to explain, but when he turned his head, he saw her smiling slyly.