Chapter 378 Mutual Torture

Wei Mansion.

It was late at night, and most of the people in the mansion had already retired for the night.

A stunningly beautiful woman sat blankly in front of her dressing table, holding a jade comb in her hand, slowly combing her not-too-messy hair.

It was as if she wasn't combing her hair, but rather tidying up her chaotic heart.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in his thirties came in. He saw her sitting expressionlessly in front of the dressing table, like a soulless puppet. He immediately frowned, his face showing displeasure and his eyes revealing hostility. He walked towards her, and when he reached her, there was another person in the mirror, but she did not notice.

These two people were none other than Prefect Wei of Huzhou and his wife, Mei Qingyun.

Seeing that she hadn't noticed his arrival, and wondering who she might be thinking about, Lord Wei became even more annoyed. Not wanting her to feel good, he asked mockingly, "After more than ten years, to see the person you've been longing for again, but he's already married with a beautiful wife by his side. Madam Gu is young and beautiful, and the couple is very loving. I wonder how you feel, Madam?"

Hearing the sound, Mei Qingyun came back to her senses and saw that there was suddenly someone in the mirror. She was startled and also a little confused. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't know when her husband had come over, let alone what he had said.

Seeing that she seemed not to have heard what he said, Lord Wei was annoyed, but not wanting to miss the chance to provoke her, so he repeated himself.

Mei Qingyun's expression changed drastically: "Wei Heng, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Seeing her face change drastically, Lord Wei smiled maliciously and continued, "Mei Qingyun, no matter how well you hide it in front of others, you can't fool me. Don't think I didn't see it. You watched for a long time when he helped Madam Gu into the carriage. After you turned around, you almost tore your handkerchief to shreds. Now, are you regretting breaking off the engagement?"

Mei Qingyun looked at her husband in the mirror. He was plump, and his face was round too. She remembered how her husband used to be a gentle and refined gentleman, but now he was no longer the same. Everything had changed, and he had become someone she found repulsive. Even she herself was no longer the person she used to be.

Now when they get together, they torment each other, poking at each other's sore spots. Neither of them wants the other to have an easy time, but they ridiculously put on a loving couple act in front of others, making everyone else think they really are a loving couple.

Occasionally, she would recall the handsome and talented young man from her memories, but upon seeing her husband, she would not want to remember him anymore. More than a decade had passed, and things had changed. The handsome young man in her memory had probably become like her husband now, middle-aged and overweight, his handsome face no longer present.

However, when she saw the boy from her memories today, he had not become the way she had imagined. He was just more mature and composed than he had been more than ten years ago, but he was still handsome and even more charming with the passage of time.

Even though Gu Jingxi has a hidden illness and is not a normal man, young girls still look at him shyly, while Wei Heng, as a normal man, does not receive the same treatment.

Mei Qingyun scoffed, "Yes, I regret breaking off the engagement, but I regret marrying you even more. Even if Gu Jingxi has a hidden illness, he's still more like a man than you. You're just a coward. I really despise you!"

"regret?"

Lord Wei's expression changed. He reached out and pinched her chin, stabbing her directly in the heart: "Mei Qingyun, the person who has the least right to say you regret it now is you. You were the one who disliked his hidden illness and made your parents break off the engagement. You were the one who abandoned him first. Even marrying me was your own choice. The person you've been longing for has been unwilling to marry for over a decade. The person who has never forgotten you has ultimately married someone else and is very caring towards that other person. You will never have him in this lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Mei Qingyun felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart. She had genuinely liked Gu Jingxi back then. Gu Jingxi was a brilliant and upright young scholar who had become the top scholar in the imperial examinations. Everyone envied her for having such a fiancé. However, Gu Jingxi had developed a hidden illness, which meant he would be a eunuch for the rest of his life. No matter how much she liked him, she couldn't marry him and live a life of widowhood.

After breaking off her engagement, she married Wei Heng, who promised her a lifetime of monogamy. However, this marriage turned out to be retribution for abandoning Gu Jingxi. Wei Heng broke his promise and took a concubine less than two years after their marriage. He had children with his concubine, saying that she couldn't have children and couldn't stop others from having them.

She suffered, cried in the dead of night, felt resentment, felt jealousy, and even stained her hands with blood.

Her ex-fiancé has not remarried since she broke off their engagement. Given the family background of the Marquis of Changxing, many people would be willing to marry into such a family and live a life of widowhood, but Gu Jingxi did not marry her, and many people said it was because of her.

Whether it was really because of her, she didn't know, but she truly regretted it. If she had known she couldn't have children, it would have been much better to marry Gu Jingxi in the first place and then adopt a child. She didn't have to let her trusted maid have a child, then bring it over to raise and register it under her name. That way, even though she had a child, her husband wouldn't only have her.

But it was too late for regrets; everything was irreversible. Her beloved had already married someone else. She could tell that Gu Jingxi really liked Meng Jinyao, which was why he was so gentle and considerate towards her. All of this could have been hers, but she had lost it.

Seeing that her eyes were moist and tears were welling up, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall, Lord Wei released her chin and smiled maliciously: "Mei Qingyun, let's just stay like this for the rest of our lives!"

Mei Qingyun glared defiantly at the man before her, his eyes brimming with resentment, and sneered, "I killed your favorite concubine, and the child you had with her. Don't you hate me? If you're so capable, then divorce me!"

Lord Wei gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "You poisonous woman, divorcing you and setting you free would be too easy for you. Let's just torment each other for the rest of our lives."

After he finished speaking, he roughly pulled Mei Qingyun up from the chair. As she stumbled and almost fell, he picked her up without saying a word, ignored her resistance, walked to the bed, and then forced her to have marital relations.

Mei Qingyun disliked him and naturally did not want to have this kind of contact with him. She initially resisted, but after her clothes were torn off, she realized that resisting was futile, so she lay numbly and let the other party do as he pleased.

Upon seeing this, Lord Wei instantly lost interest, raised his hand and slapped Mei Qingyun across the face. The slap made a loud cracking sound, and his voice followed: "What? Even now, you're still thinking about Gu Jingxi?"

Before Mei Qingyun could reply, he continued, "Not to mention that Gu Jingxi has another woman lying next to him, even if there were no one else beside him, a man like him, who is practically a eunuch, could not give you this kind of pleasure!"

Mei Qingyun had been slapped by him before, and said indifferently, "Wei Heng, you make me feel sorry for you."

Upon hearing this, Lord Wei stormed in, seemingly intending to torture her and inflict pain.

Mei Qingyun frowned, then clung to him, struggling fiercely in response. Not only did she respond, but when she wrapped her arms around his neck, she opened her mouth and bit his shoulder hard.

Lord Wei felt the pain in his shoulder and cursed under his breath, "crazy woman," but he didn't push her away. Instead, he tormented her fiercely.

A moment later, Mei Qingyun tasted the blood and then released her mouth.

However, at that moment, it also came to an end.

Mei Qingyun looked at the bloody marks on his shoulder, gave a mocking smile, her teeth stained with blood, making the smile look somewhat eerie, like that of a madman.

Then, she said sarcastically, "Wei Heng, you're quite the man with connections. You're not a eunuch, but you're not much better than one. You're a useless piece of trash!"

Wei Heng used to be quite useful, but later he often frequented the rooms of his concubines for pleasure, which depleted his health. In addition, he got older and became less useful.