Chapter 10 Bewitching the Heart "Don't worry, I mean what I say."...

Meng Yuqiang suppressed the discomfort that welled up in his heart and took two bites.

Even though the taste was no different from what she had eaten before, she always felt that this bowl of cheese wasn't as sweet as the previous one.

Meng Yu smiled and wrote two words: "Delicious."

When she smiled at him, Lu Xiuyi felt as if the world had blossomed. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, took a deep breath, and his deep, mellow voice slowly spread in her ear: "If you like it, I will have someone make it for you every day."

When he lowered his head, Meng Yu got goosebumps all over her body. She quickly shook her head and wrote, "No, even the most delicious food loses its flavor if you eat it every day."

When Lu Xiuyi lifted his head from the crook of her neck, he looked refreshed, rested his chin lightly on her shoulder, and said with a faint smile, "That's true."

Such intimate gestures are usually reserved for lovers. Meng Yu couldn't stand him anymore, so she made up a reason: "I've been sitting for a long time, and my back is a little tired. Can you put me down first, sir?"

The ink slowly seeped onto the white paper. Lu Xiuyi glanced at it, then tightened his grip on her waist. He smiled leisurely, seemingly in a very good mood, and teased, "You're already tired after sitting for so long? You need to work on your body, otherwise how will you be able to withstand my power in the future?"

Meng Yu: "..."

His words made her feel so disgusted that they gave her goosebumps all over.

Didn't she say she'd think about it? When did she ever say she agreed to him? How can he be so shameless as to say she's already his possession?

Even so, Meng Yu seized the opportunity, immediately covered her face, got up, and ran out without looking back.

Let him think she's just too shy!

***

After lunch, Lu Xiuyi, in a moment of kindness, let Meng Yu go back to her room to rest until the next morning. Before leaving, he removed the nonchalance and intimacy from his eyes and coerced her with a stern expression: "Meng Yan, remember this well, I don't have that much patience, and I have never liked people refusing me a second time."

Meng Yu stopped in her tracks, her heart leaping into her throat. She paused for a moment, then quickly nodded and withdrew.

Did he give her time to consider it?

This is clearly an act of robbery that oppresses her.

When Meng Yu returned to the side room, she saw that Aunt Chen and Huaiyin were taking a nap. She quietly took out the map from her bundle, moved a chair to the window, and carefully examined it by the sunlight.

The map was old and yellowed, and even the words on it were barely visible, but it recorded the geographical locations of all places in the Yu Kingdom, even marking every remote path.

This map was obtained by Meng Yu two years ago after spending nearly half a year's worth of monthly silver. He never expected it to be put to use so soon.

From here, following the Chunjiang River upstream, before reaching Longtang, there are endless plains all around. If they escape, no matter how far they flee, as long as someone takes a quick look with binoculars, they can be found without any difficulty.

Meng Yu lowered his head and examined the map closely. After pondering for a long time, he looked dejected and came to a regretful conclusion: before reaching Longtang, running away was definitely not the best option.

The entire ship is now under Lu Xiuyi's control. Although Meng Yu is reluctant to admit it, there is only one path in front of her: to obey Lu Xiuyi and try her best to lower his guard.

Huaiyin turned to her side, groggily opening her eyes. She saw Mengyu sitting blankly, looking out the window as if she had something on her mind. She quickly sat up, propping herself up on the edge of the bed, and asked in a low voice, "Miss, why did you come back so early today?"

Hearing this, Meng Yu snapped out of her reverie and lazily gestured, "He gave me half a day off and told me to go back to work tomorrow."

Hearing her words, Huaiyin instantly sobered up, quickly put on her shoes and got off the bed, poured a glass of water and handed it to her: "It's rare for the young marquis to show such kindness, this is a good thing! What's troubling you, young lady?"

Meng Yu glanced at Aunt Shen, who was resting with her eyes closed, sighed silently, and raised her hand: "When we return to the capital, he wants to take me as a concubine."

Huaiyin raised her eyes slightly, her gaze widening in shock, and she couldn't help but raise her voice: "What? The young marquis wants to take you as a concubine?"

Startled by her scream, Meng Yu involuntarily looked at Aunt Chen and immediately raised her hand to ask her to lower her voice, but it was too late.

Aunt Shen was a light sleeper, and upon hearing Huaiyin's scream, she immediately sat up in shock, her eyes bulging. She stared at Meng Yu with a horrified expression and asked in disbelief, "Yu'er, tell your aunt that this isn't true, right?"

Sooner or later, Aunt Shen would find out about this, and now that she had heard, Meng Yu had no intention of hiding it. She sighed, sat down next to Aunt Shen, squeezed her hand, and gestured firmly with her eyes: "It's true, but Aunt Shen, don't worry, I have a plan. Just one thing: before we reach Longtang, I must pretend to submit to him. The three of us should know about this, but you must not let a word of it out. Otherwise, I will surely be unable to escape his grasp."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Shen's brow remained furrowed for a long time, and a hint of unease appeared in her eyes: "You and he are together day and night, walking and sitting together. If he truly harbors such intentions, how can you avoid it? Yu'er, your aunt does not wish for you to become a concubine. Moreover, the gates of a noble family are as deep as the sea. If you go in, your status will be so awkward, and you will surely suffer a lot in the future. It would be better if we told him about this matter. In front of everyone, he is a renowned nobleman from the capital, and he certainly cannot do anything to us. After we arrive in Longtang, we can disembark and stay far away from him."

She was being too naive. Meng Yu shook her head with a wry smile: "My aunt also said that he couldn't do anything to us in front of everyone, but there are too many unexpected things that can happen behind the scenes. Who can prove that our accident was intentional on his part? If I were to speak out, he would give up on this idea. Then he shouldn't have had this thought after I rejected him in the first place. Besides, based on my interactions with him these past few days, his temperament is unpredictable, he is narrow-minded, and he acts eccentrically and ruthlessly. When he smiles, you can't tell if he's really happy or if he's just pretending to deceive others."

Her analysis was very reasonable. Aunt Shen frowned even more as she listened. She didn't want Meng Yu to take the risk, but it seemed that there was no better way than this.

After pondering for a while, Aunt Shen finally gave in. She held Meng Yu's hand, suppressed her unease, and said gently, "Since that's the case, Aunt Shen has nothing more to say, but just one thing: you must take good care of yourself."

Meng Yu's eyes welled up with tears. She nodded and raised her hand, saying, "Don't worry, I will. But before that, I need my aunt and Huaiyin to put on a show with me."

***

The next day.

As dawn broke through the thick clouds, it shone on the rippling water. A furious shout suddenly shattered the tranquility of the cabin, waking everyone from their slumber.

When everyone rushed over upon hearing the commotion, they saw Aunt Shen with a fierce expression, pointing at the tearful Meng Yu and shouting angrily, "Get out! My Meng family daughter would rather be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine. I don't have a daughter like you who only knows how to cling to power and has no shame."

Meng Yu covered her face with one hand and supported herself on the floor with the other. She seemed a little dazed from being slapped. She stared in disbelief for a long time before she came to her senses. She slowly raised her head and typed a sentence with difficulty: "I love the young marquis. Even if I am a concubine, I am willing to marry him."

The bright red handprint seeped onto her cheek, making it particularly noticeable.

Among the crowd were elderly women who could read sign language. Seeing that Meng Yu was to marry the renowned nobleman of the capital, they were seized by a desire to curry favor. They pretended to be moved to tears and spoke up to persuade Aunt Chen on Meng Yu's behalf: "Regardless of whether the Marquis of Jiangyang's family is a high-ranking household, just based on the young marquis's handsome appearance, if your daughter can catch his eye, even if she becomes his concubine, it will still bring honor to you parents, won't it? Why do you have to hinder Miss Meng's good marriage?"

When the crowd heard her say this, they finally understood what Meng Yu meant by sign language. There was an uproar, and their gazes toward the mother and son were filled with envy, jealousy, admiration, indifference, and a look of watching a good show.

When Aunt Shen saw that the old woman was wearing a plain hairpin, she couldn't help but sneer and curse her: "You speak so viciously. I guess you are a widow with no children, so you naturally don't understand the hardships of being a mother."

"you……"

The old woman was so angry at her words that her face turned red and her neck bulged, and she couldn't utter a single word in response.

As they were talking, Aunt Shen suddenly caught sight of someone walking from the corner of the stairs.

She quickly moved her eyes and caught sight of a celadon vase in the corner. An idea immediately came to her. She turned around, grabbed the vase, and changed the subject: "Now that everyone is here, there happens to be a witness. I'm going to beat this unfilial daughter to death today."

As she spoke, Aunt Shen raised the vase and was about to smash it at Meng Yu. Although the mouth of the vase was round, judging from her expression as if she wanted to beat her daughter to death, the force must have been considerable, and she would definitely suffer a head injury if she hit her.

"Whoosh..."

The onlookers gasped in surprise. Some dared not watch any longer and hurriedly covered their faces, afraid that blood would splatter on them. Others, however, kept their eyes wide open, waiting for the show to end. But at the last second, the vase stopped less than two inches away from Meng Yu'e Tower.

Upon seeing the newcomer, everyone gasped in shock.

Lu Xiuyi exuded a cold aura, his icy eyes fixed on Aunt Shen. He gently pulled the vase from her hand and tossed it aside without even turning his head, speaking in a deep voice: "You are her mother, and I will not hold it against you today. But if there is a next time, I will not let you off lightly."

The vase was caught by the quick-thinking Chuze and put back in its original place.

His clear, crisp voice rang in their ears, and everyone fell silent.

After saying that, Lu Xiuyi turned around, bent down and picked up the person who was supporting himself on the ground, and walked away amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the crowd.

Meng Yu buried her head in Lu Xiuyi's chest, feeling him walking steadily towards the side room on the second floor.

The soldiers guarding the door of the side room saw it from afar and quickly pushed the door open. Lu Xiuyi helped her sit down on the couch and said gently, "It's alright. With me here, no one can hurt you in the slightest."

His rough fingertips fell on Meng Yu's face as he spoke, gently wiping away her tears, stroking her chin, and pressing her head up slightly.

Lu Xiuyi's eyes, brimming with deep affection, were fixed on her tear-streaked face as he slowly parted his lips: "Don't worry, I keep my word."

Tears welled up in Meng Yu's eyes. She looked at him tenderly for a moment, then couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly threw herself into his arms.