Chapter 143 He's Late
"Apologize?" Lü Ruhui's voice was low and hesitant, seemingly puzzled. "Why apologize?"
Liu Xiangze stood up, faced Lü Ruhui, and bowed deeply to her: "I was wrong, I misunderstood you."
Looking at Liu Xiangze, who was solemnly apologizing to her, Lü Ruhui finally asked softly after a long while, "How did you know?"
She was so calm and composed, neither mocking his blindness nor mentioning Liu Yu'an, who had caused all this trouble.
"Those around Yu'an overheard his conversation with his birth mother, and that's how I learned that the child mistakenly believed you were pregnant and, fearing being sent away, listened to his cousin-in-law's words..."
Before he finished speaking, Lü Ruhui already understood the reason for her misfortunes.
Call her selfish or cold-hearted, she always viewed people from the worst possible perspective. After the child was adopted, Wang visited her frequently, and she began to suspect that Wang and even Liu Xiangze's second uncle's family harbored ulterior motives.
Liu Xiangze would neither believe nor be willing to listen to such attempts to sow discord among family members, so she never said it, but she was always on guard.
Unexpectedly, that child, who is not even grown up yet, is already able to scheme against her.
She continued Liu Xiangze's words: "If I hurt him, given your personality, you would definitely handle it fairly and feel even more guilty towards him. Even if I am really pregnant, you wouldn't allow me to send him away, and you would even treat him better, right?"
Liu Xiangze lowered his head even further, feeling ashamed, but still answered truthfully, "Yes, that's what they think."
"Get up. What does this have to do with you? You've just been deceived."
Liu Xiangze insisted, "It was my fault. I believed what others said before I had investigated the matter thoroughly. I wronged you because I judged you based on my own prejudices."
It turns out, he found out the truth without me having to tell him.
He didn't cover for them and admitted his mistake, which was exactly what Liu Xiangze, whom she had known and liked for many years, would do.
Looking back on her choice back then, she has to praise herself for her excellent judgment; no wonder Lü Ruxin was so jealous she was practically going crazy.
Lu Ruhui once longed to see this scene.
If she lets Liu Xiangze know that he has wronged her, she can mock him to her heart's content, watch him apologize, and watch him admit that he was blind.
But now, he felt no emotion, because she was dead, and he was too late.
"Okay, I accept your apology, and... I forgive you."
Liu Xiangze looked up, a hint of barely perceptible unease in his eyes: "Really?"
Given Lü Ruhui's personality, she would find it difficult to forgive someone who had wronged her to this extent.
But she has always been clear about her likes and dislikes, and if she is unwilling to forgive, she will not lie to him.
"Really." Lü Ruhui shifted her gaze from him to the vase in the corner.
In previous years, the vase would have been filled with winter plum blossoms at this time of year, but now it's just a bare vase, and she's not used to it.
Liu Xiangze noticed her gaze and turned to look at the vase as well.
"How did you settle Liu Yu'an?" After turning her gaze away, Lü Ruhui asked calmly.
“I have already reprimanded him and brought him home to be disciplined. From now on, we will keep an eye on his behavior. If he becomes unbearable, we will take further action.”
Lü Ruhui twitched the corner of her lips. That's really his style.
If it were her, she would never have kept the child, but Liu Xiangze would not. He has always been very tolerant of the Liu family.
“It’s fine,” she said.
"Yu'an feels very guilty about our divorce. On the fourth day of the month, he even offered to go with me to apologize to you, but he didn't go because he was afraid you would be unhappy to see him. He should be in his room right now. Would you like to see him?"
Liu Xiangze was puzzled. Since she had heard the knocking that day and was curious about his purpose, why didn't she open the door for him?
"There's no need to meet. I'm an adult; how could I stoop to the level of a child?"
Despite saying that, Liu Xiangze sensed that she didn't like his way of handling things.
If this had been discovered before their divorce, she probably wouldn't have given Yu'an a second chance.
However, Yu'an is still young and doesn't know how to distinguish between good and bad. At the very least, he shouldn't be denied everything because of one thing. As his father, I should give him a chance.
Seeing that she seemed somewhat weary after speaking, Liu Xiangze remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "If you feel it's not enough, I can..."
"No need," Lü Ruhui interrupted him, preventing him from saying what he hadn't yet uttered.
"I'm narrow-minded and lack vision; sometimes I like to go to extremes when I do things."
Listening to her self-analysis, Liu Xiangze did not offer any comments, but listened quietly.
“I only seek pleasure, while you seek balance, so we always quarrel after we get married.” Lü Ruhui leaned back in her chair, seemingly recalling something, her gaze somewhat distant.
"It's not your fault, it's me... for being too petty." In the days after discovering the truth, he began to reflect on their life together over the past ten years. He had shown most of his tolerance to others, but left very little for Lü Ruhui.
They argued, but always made up easily, so he always felt that making Lü Ruhui angry wasn't a serious matter.
They will always make up.
Lü Ruhui smiled and said, "You don't always have to admit you're wrong. In fact, most of the time, you're right. I only sought pleasure, but besides temporary pleasure, I gained nothing and couldn't solve the problem."
"But you will be unhappy if I solve the problem this way."
Looking at his eyebrows and eyes, and at his serious expression, Lü Ruhui slowly lowered her eyes: "Whether I am happy or not is none of your business anymore, Liu Xiangze. We are already divorced. You should think more about yourself. If you want, you can keep him."
Liu Xiangze's expression darkened slightly; he didn't like hearing her mention the word "divorce."
This will repeatedly remind him of what he has lost because of his arbitrariness and arrogance.
Lu Ruhui seemed oblivious to his emotional fluctuations and added, "However, when you remarry in the future, you'd better be careful to avoid Wang Shi from doing anything again."
"Lü Ruhui!"
"What's wrong?" Lu Ruhui looked puzzled, and his face looked very unpleasant.
"I have never thought about marrying anyone else," Liu Xiangze said in a deep voice.
"Now you can think about it."
He had already risen to the rank of fourth grade official before reaching the age of forty, and was handsome and dignified, but both his parents had passed away.
Even though they had divorced, the house was clean, and she hadn't given him any children, so an adopted son wasn't considered a major problem. For many families, he was still the best choice for a son-in-law.
"I don't want to!" he said, as if he were sulking with her.
Seeing her fall silent, Liu Xiangze couldn't help but recall the day his teacher's wife asked him, "Why don't you explain yourself since you have a mouth?"
Because the innocent are innocent, and because he considers himself to be of good character, he disdains to explain his actions to others. But if he doesn't speak up, the misunderstanding will always exist.
Finally, he said to Lü Ruhui, "That day you asked me if I dared to swear to God that I had never liked Lü Ruxin, and I did not answer you. When I learned of our engagement, I had seen her, and I was happy in my heart."
When you first married me, I... treated you coldly because of the arranged marriage, but later, I remembered all the good things you did for me. I swear, all these years I have never thought of anyone else, and I have never imagined that my wife would be anyone but you.
This was the first time she had heard Liu Xiangze speak about their relationship from his perspective.
He never revealed a single thought of his.
“I know.” Seeing him staring straight at her, Lü Ruhui said, “The day I hit Lü Ruxin, she told me that she did it on purpose, deliberately approached you, and deliberately provoked me.”
Liu Xiangze showed little surprise. After all, he had been an official for many years, and if he calmly observed, he could actually see the clues.
Initially, however, he did not apply his political acumen to his personal life to target the woman he had once treated with special favor.
Seeing that he didn't react, Lü Ruhui thought about his usual attitude towards Lü Ruxin and said, "You may not believe me, but it's true..."
“I believe you,” he said. “I believe you wouldn’t hit someone for no reason.”
Liu Xiangze said to her apologetically, "It was my inappropriate words and actions that caused you to misunderstand, but I refused to explain it to you. It was my fault."
“But I never believed you back then,” Lü Ruhui said.
"It's okay, it's all my own fault."
He gradually removed the weight from her heart, and she felt much lighter.
The conflict that once nearly turned them into bitter enemies has now been discussed openly, and it turns out it wasn't so serious after all.
But when they were arguing, neither of them thought about backing down.
Those things that prevented her from resting in peace even after death were resolved so easily.
Liu Xiangze thought Lü Ruhui would say something more, but in the end she just stood up and said to him, "It's getting late, I should go back."
"I'll see you off." Liu Xiangze didn't really want her to leave like this. This was originally her home, and she could have stayed. But he knew that Lü Ruhui wouldn't agree.
Liu Xiangze didn't just see her to the door; he accompanied her through the long street, walking side by side in silence, just like many times before.
The Liu family's carriage followed at a distance, ready to take them home when they got tired.
The shops along the way were all decorated with lanterns, and as they walked under the lanterns, their shadows were reflected in the ground.
Halfway there, they took a carriage back to Lü Ruhui's house.
Standing outside the tightly closed door, Lü Ruhui neither went forward to open it nor invited Liu Xiangze into her home.
She turned to him and said, "Curfew is approaching, you should go back."
Liu Xiangze nodded, and was about to turn around, but then seemed to remember something and said to her, "The day after tomorrow is the Lantern Festival."
"Um."
"I made a revolving lantern myself. Would you... like to come to my house to see it?"
Lü Ruhui was somewhat surprised. She used to like his calligraphy and paintings, and every Lantern Festival she would ask him to write words or paint a small picture for the lanterns.
Then, she made a pair of lanterns herself and hung them in the courtyard.
He doesn't agree every Lantern Festival; last year he just wrote two perfunctory words.
This year, I made the lantern myself.
"OK."
She thought that her last Lantern Festival should also have a proper beginning and end.
Having received a reply, Liu Xiangze finally felt relieved. He turned and got into the carriage. Sitting inside, he urged Lü Ruhui, "Go back quickly."
Lü Ruhui nodded to him.
As the Liu family's carriage gradually drove away, Lü Ruhui's figure finally disappeared into the dark courtyard.
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