Chapter 40 She hardened her heart

Lu Yuan's temple veins throbbed.

She actually longed for his death.

They not only wished for his death.

Even her future and her new identity were paved for her by another man.

Song Yan!

Lu Yuan narrowed his dark eyes dangerously, and a violent aura surged around him.

"What a... widow."

He spoke in a low, hoarse voice, each word seemingly ground out from between his teeth. His thin lips curved slightly, but beneath the surface, they remained icy cold.

Xu Ming held his breath and lowered his head, not daring to utter a sound.

He felt the air in the study suddenly become thin, and just when he thought he was about to suffocate, he realized he was going to die.

Lu Yuan slowly loosened his grip on the document.

He carefully folded the light piece of paper back to its original shape, placed it back into the brocade, and tied it tightly again.

This series of actions was excessively calm.

But the more this happened, the more uneasy Xu Ming felt.

"go out."

Lu Yuan's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Xu Ming felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and he almost tiptoed out, gently closing the door behind him.

Only Lu Yuan remained in the study. His back was to the candlelight, and his tall figure cast a huge shadow on the wall, almost swallowing the entire room.

He did not go to the main courtyard.

He simply sat there in silence until the candle on the candlestick burned out.

The last glimmer of light faded away, and the surroundings were plunged into complete darkness.

-

The next day, when Mingwu woke up, it was already broad daylight.

The sunlight after the rain was exceptionally clear, casting a bright patch of light through the windowpane in front of the bed, making her squint slightly.

Chunnan brought in warm water to help him wash up, her expression showing a hint of cautious trepidation.

"Madam, you're awake. The Prime Minister... went to court early this morning."

Mingwu gave a faint "hmm," showing no concern for his whereabouts.

Chunnan opened her lips, but ultimately said nothing.

After having breakfast, Mingwu sat by the window, gazing absently at a newly transplanted magnolia tree in full bloom in the flower garden.

Suddenly, a noise came from outside.

The butler himself led a group of people in, carrying in several sandalwood chests and placing them gently in the outer hall.

The butler smiled obsequiously and bowed.

"Madam, the Prime Minister knows that you cherish the past, so he ordered that all your old belongings that you left in the courtyard be moved here. There are also some new clothes and jewelry."

The wooden box was opened, revealing a few familiar old items, but mostly shimmering silks, satins, and jewelry.

One of the pieces, a piece of sky-blue soft silk gauze, was so exquisite that every inch of it was worth its weight in gold; it was clearly an item used by the imperial harem.

The servants all looked on with envy.

However, Mingwu's gaze was fixed only on the box containing a few old books.

These are some of her insights into making medicinal cuisine over the past year. They are the culmination of her hard work and will be her foundation for a better life in the future.

She walked over, carefully picked up the book, and gently ran her fingertips along the edges of the pages.

The steward noticed that Mingwu hadn't even glanced at the silks and satins that the Prime Minister had specially ordered to be delivered. He grew anxious and hurriedly said...

"Madam, these are..."

Mingwu said calmly, "I don't need it, just return it all."

The butler's smile froze: "Madam, this is the Prime Minister..."

Mingwu looked up at her: "What? Does my word not count?"

The steward's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed his head: "This old servant wouldn't dare, this old servant will have someone put it away right away."

After the Prime Minister's stern reprimand yesterday, who in the manor doesn't know the position of the Madam in the Prime Minister's heart? Didn't you see that the one in Lan Courtyard, so badly injured, yet the Prime Minister didn't even go to visit her once?

This morning, someone took that person away.

Despite the Prime Minister's blatant attempt to curry favor, the Madam didn't even bother to glance at him.

After everyone had left.

Mingwu pulled out a sachet with somewhat clumsy embroidery from the bottom of the old book box. The color had faded, and the crooked twin lotus flowers embroidered on it were almost unrecognizable.

She embroidered this secretly when she first met Lu Yuan.

At the time, I never thought I would marry him, and I never even hoped that I would meet him again.

This small sachet carries the secret thoughts hidden in the heart of a young girl just beginning to experience love.

Mingwu clutched the sachet and stood by the window for a long time.

Just then, Chun Nan's voice rang out from outside the door, tinged with panic: "Madam, Granny Chen is here."

Granny Chen was the old lady's dowry maid, and had been in the household for many years, holding a very high position. Even Lu Yuan usually gave her some face.

Mingwu's fingertips trembled slightly as she tucked the sachet into her sleeve.

It seems that the old lady stood up for Qi Lan because of what happened yesterday.

Before anyone could announce her arrival, Granny Chen strode in through the door with a stern face.

"This old woman greets Madam."

She gave a perfunctory curtsy, her tone stiff.

"I heard that Madam was unwell yesterday, and even smashed the medicine that the Prime Minister personally delivered?"

She didn't mention Qi Lan falling from the pavilion; instead, she brought up the incident of Qi Lan knocking over the medicine bowl.

Mingwu curled her fingertips, lowered her eyelashes, and made a docile gesture.

"I made a mistake, and I'm sorry to have troubled you, Granny Lao."

"lady."

Granny Chen's voice suddenly rose.

"It's not that I'm being nosy, but now that you've returned to the manor, you should be mindful of your wifely duties and serve your husband well. The Prime Minister is busy with countless affairs of state and still has to worry about matters in the inner quarters. How can you be so willful and reckless as a wife?"

Mingwu slowly raised her eyes and said with a smile.

"Even the old nanny knows so much about my affair with the Prime Minister. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the old nanny had someone planted in the east courtyard."

Granny Chen's face turned pale.

She was clearly implying that Mingwu was morally deficient and disrespectful to her husband. This would allow her to demand that Mingwu apologize to Miss Qi.

The old lady could also take the opportunity to bring Miss Qi back to the mansion.

However, Chen Mama never expected that Ming Wu would act in such an unconventional way.

They even cleverly turned the tables and accused me.

Granny Chen panicked: "You're lying, I didn't..."

Mingwu deliberately stopped her from finishing her sentence: "Oh? No? Then how do you know so much?"

It's an unspoken understanding among the residents that the upper-class families keep people in their courtyards. There's no malice involved; it's just that the elders are concerned about the living conditions of the younger generation.

But how can this be so openly discussed?

Granny Chen, enraged and embarrassed, exclaimed, "You...!"

"Who gave you permission to disturb Madam's rest?"

Lu Yuan was standing at the doorway at some point, backlit, so his expression was obscured; one could only sense the oppressive atmosphere that seemed to foreshadow an impending storm.

He's back.

Granny Chen was startled and quickly turned around to bow: "Prime Minister..."

Lu Yuan stepped in, his gaze sweeping over Ming Wu's bloodless face before finally landing on Granny Chen.

"go out!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it sent a chill down Chen Mama's spine.

"Prime Minister, the Old Madam..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Yuan glanced at him coldly and said, "Go back and tell your mother that she no longer needs to interfere in the affairs of the manor."

They actually seized the old lady's power to manage the household!

Granny Chen's heart skipped a beat, and then she heard Lu Yuan say, "Also, Granny is getting old and should enjoy her retirement."

Granny Chen's face turned deathly pale, and her legs went weak, causing her to collapse to the ground.

The Prime Minister is trying to expel her from the Prime Minister's residence.

She tried to beg for mercy, but Xu Ming gave her a look and had two old women half-support and half-drag her out.

The room returned to silence.

Lu Yuan looked at Ming Wu, the sunlight shining on her, gilding her with a layer of gold.

Like a fairy who accidentally fell to earth, about to be swept away by the wind in the next moment.

Lu Yuan felt a tightness in his chest, wanting to say something to break the suffocating silence.

"Have you eaten?" he asked softly.

Mingwu continued to gaze at a butterfly that had landed among the flowers outside the window, a faint sneer playing on her lips.

Imprisoning her and then showing concern for her is a tremendous irony.

"No need for Your Excellency to worry."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

He would rather she jumped up and argued with him than leave him a thousand miles away like this.

I saw her standing in the wind wearing only a thin shirt. Although it was early summer, the temperature wasn't high. Plus, it had rained the day before.

It's still somewhat cool.

Lu Yuan took off his black cloak and intended to drape it over her shoulders.

Just as his hand was about to touch her, Mingwu turned around abruptly as if touched by a venomous snake, avoiding it.

That dark cloak lay there alone, drifting on the ground.

The air inside the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Looking at his empty hand, Lu Yuan felt the restless fire in his chest flare up again.

He wanted to grab her chin, to force her to look at him, to tear apart her lifeless appearance, and to find a trace of the warmth he once had in her beautiful eyes.

think……

But in the end, he did nothing.

He simply withdrew his hand slowly, his knuckles clenched white inside his sleeve.

He simply looked at her lowered eyelashes, the fine shadows falling on her pale cheeks, as if they were falling into his heart as well.

"Mingwu, what exactly do you want...?"

What does she want?

She wanted to leave, to leave him forever.

But Mingwu also knew that, given Lu Yuan's personality, while he still had some interest in her...

it's out of the question.

Her words backfired.

Mingwu turned around, showing him her back: "Prime Minister, please go back. I'm tired."

Lu Yuan frowned deeply.

Looking at her distant back, it felt as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping his heart, causing him a suffocating pain.

He realized for the first time that when she was ruthless, she was far more decisive than he was.

The words "widowed" on that document resurfaced in his mind once again.

He lost Mingwu, who once had his heart and soul completely devoted to him.

It's possible... we'll never find it again.

Lu Yuan's eyes flashed with intense anger again, and he struggled to control himself so as not to lose his composure.

Even if she hates him, even if she sees him as a ghost, he will never let go.

She can only belong to him.

Lu Yuan slowly bent down, picked up the fallen cloak, and gently placed it on the soft couch beside him. His tone remained gentle.

"Are you feeling bored? Tomorrow, I'll take you to Lingyin Temple. Didn't you say the lotus flowers there are in full bloom? Let's go see them together, okay?"

Mingwu's eyes lit up.

This is her chance, as long as she gets rid of him...

Trying her best to suppress her excitement, Mingwu nodded with a straight face: "Okay."

Lu Yuan took in her expression, his eyes darkened, and his fingers slowly tightened in his sleeve, but his face remained expressionless.

He smiled and gently patted Mingwu's head, saying softly, "I still have official business to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer. Get some rest."

The moment he turned around, all the gentleness on his face froze, replaced by a terrifying gloom.

Ah Wu, this is the last chance I'm giving you.

Don't let me down.

If you insist on escaping...

A fleeting crimson glint appeared in Lu Yuan's dark eyes.