"Yes!" Su Wanwan glared at him. "So, you can't stand it?"

"..." Lu Xingjian's temples throbbed, but he tried his best to suppress his anger.

"Were you bullied? Did someone mistreat you? Or are you feeling unwell?"

He reached out and touched her forehead.

It was cool, not hot.

Is your period about to start?

Su Wanwan pushed his hand away, "Are you just going to let Yan-ge'er suffer like this?"

Lu Xingjian's jawline is taut.

After a few moments of restraint, he asked, slowly and deliberately, "How did you manage to make him suffer such injustice?"

"Do you really have to argue with me? Is it fun?"

Su Wanwan's tears fell instantly.

"This is so interesting!"

“When my child came to me and asked what ‘bastard’ meant, I should have told him that he was a bastard and that even his father wouldn’t acknowledge him!”

Lu Xingjian froze.

He didn't want to see Wanwan's tears unless she was under him, being bullied by him, crying and begging for mercy.

She has always been strong.

Despite the difficult circumstances, she quietly gave birth to the child alone and raised it with great hardship.

He hugged Wanwan and kissed away her tears.

"It's my fault."

"I've made you angry again. I'll apologize. How much silver do you want? One million, or two million?"

Su Wanwan pushed him away, "Take your money and go!"

The man's handsome face pressed against her neck. "I'm not Yinzi's husband, I won't live with it."

Her voice softened, "You're a mother now, and you still cry all the time? Aren't you ashamed?"

Su Wanwan choked on her breath.

Neither up nor down.

The man smiled and said, "The imperial physician said you've been in good health lately and are recovering very well. Shall we have another one?"

Su Wanwan: "..."

"You still want a son? Take a few young and beautiful concubines and have them bear you children."

"In both the imperial court and the harem, everyone was very happy."

Lu Xingjian's smile froze.

His eyes turned cold: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Don't you understand?" Su Wanwan asked sarcastically.

"You're so young, there are plenty of women willing to sleep with you."

Lu Xingjian instantly threw off the covers and got out of bed.

I tried to put the shoes on, but my hands were shaking. After several unsuccessful attempts, I simply threw the shoes at the opposite wall.

His breathing became increasingly heavy and rapid.

"Are you ever going to stop?!"

What else do you want from me?

"Haven't I been good enough to you?!"

Su Wanwan sat up, her tone sharp and confrontational: "It was my fault for being ungrateful!"

"You are a truly wonderful person, one of a kind in the world!"

"My child is not worthy of your noble status and surname!"

The man's forehead veins throbbed, his neck flushed, as he stared intently at the woman on the bed.

Su Wanwan looked at him without fear, their gazes clashing in the air.

The atmosphere was tense.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Xingjian relaxed his shoulders, his tone helpless:

"I just don't want my child to live as stressful a life as I have. Is that wrong?"

Su Wanwan wiped her eyes: "How do you know he won't be even more tired?"

Completely unable to communicate.

The man took a deep breath. "You go to sleep first."

He left, carrying his outer robe.

The room fell silent again.

Su Wanwan felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she collapsed limply onto the pillow.

...

Gu Ziyu yawned and glanced at the food and wine on the table:

"What brings you to the palace in the middle of the night?"

Lu Xingjian picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and without even lifting his eyelids, said, "If you had even one leg holding you down, you wouldn't have arrived so quickly."

Gu Ziyu chuckled silently, then sat down and drank a glass of wine to warm himself up.

"What's wrong? Did you have a falling out with Lord Qian?"

Lu Xingjian lifted his eyelids and kicked out: "Get lost!"

Gu Ziyu dodged: "Don't touch me, I don't like men!"

He spoke with feigned seriousness, yet managed not to chuckle, “If you’re tired of Lord Qian, you can go find the Duke of Dingguo.”

“He’s also a homosexual.” Gu Ziyu lowered his voice and winked.

Lu Xingjian said expressionlessly, "If you can't speak, I'll have someone sew your mouth shut."

"No," Gu Ziyu said, taking the opportunity to back down, "Someone like you who can get someone to assassinate a minister, what could possibly keep you up at night?"

Around this time last year, Lu Xingjian outwardly agreed to Liu Jin's request in court to appoint Hu Ruli, a fellow townsman of Liu Jin, as the new Minister of War.

He then immediately sent him to assassinate Hu Ruli.

The position of Minister of War became vacant, and power temporarily returned to the emperor's hands.

This led to Zhang Yong and Yang Yiqing going to Ningxia to quell the rebellion and then eliminating Liu Jin after returning to Beijing.

It was also divine help.

Liu Jin recommended Shen Ying as the commander-in-chief to quell the rebellion, but unfortunately, before the main army arrived, Ningxia had already quelled the rebellion in eighteen days.

Gu Ziyu's admiration for Lu Xingjian reached a new level.

Because Qiu Yue, a key figure in suppressing the rebellion in Ningxia, had been summoned by Lu Xingjian to Yansui to besiege the second prince of the Northern Yuan, he had become acquainted with Lu Xingjian.

With the emperor's pragmatism, the consolidation of border reserves, and the restoration of military farms, the future prospects are very bright.

This is the cornerstone that prevents most border troops from rebelling.

Lu Xingjian snorted coldly.

"What is a Minister?"

"You can't hit him, you can't scold him, and you can't coax him. He's much harder to please than the Minister!"

Gu Ziyu stopped talking and picked up her chopsticks to eat.

Lu Xingjian watched him eat with a cold eye.

All they know is eating.

Still eating?!

"I'll stuff you until you're stuffed!"

Gu Ziyu choked and coughed for a long time. "You wouldn't let me eat? You should have said so earlier!"

"Wanwan isn't as stingy as you."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!