Chapter 273 You lied to me for three whole years!
"Your Majesty...why are you here?"
Liu Yuetang's voice rang out in the silent hall.
As soon as she finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of the book in Xiao Heng's hand. Her breathing suddenly stopped and she froze in place.
The emperor slowly raised his scarlet eyes.
Our eyes met, and there was a bone-chilling coldness in them, and the feeling of unfamiliarity remained as it was when we first met.
Xiao Heng walked up to Liu Yuetang step by step, his eyes seemed to want to gouge holes in her face.
He lifted the page with his fingertips and placed the row of circled words directly in front of Liu Yuetang.
"Now, love yourself alone and don't be bound by emotions. I believe this is exactly what you want in your heart."
Liu Yuetang's eyelashes trembled, and she forced herself to calm down. "No, I just saw this poem and I've never seen it before, so I circled it."
Xiao Heng said nothing, just stared at her blankly.
Just like before, looking at the love in her eyes and listening to her sweet words.
Seeing Xiao Heng remained silent, Liu Yuetang smiled faintly, pulled the corner of Xiao Heng's clothes, and said softly: "Your Majesty, did you misunderstand, or... did you hear something from others?"
"Yes, I just heard an extremely ridiculous joke." Xiao Heng smiled coldly and stared at Liu Yuetang.
"Some say your affection for me is all fake, and I'm nothing more than a pawn in your quest to a higher position!"
Liu Yuetang's breathing hitched, and she unconsciously clenched her fists. She frowned slightly and met Xiao Heng's gaze: "So, Your Majesty, you believe it?"
"I don't believe what others say."
"Liu Yuetang! I want you to tell me in person whether your feelings for me in the past were true or false."
His eyes were covered with a layer of blood-red mist as he stared at her fiercely.
Liu Yuetang's eyelashes trembled.
"Look into my eyes!" Xiao Heng threw the book to the ground with a bang and grabbed her jaw fiercely.
"Tell me! Do you love me or not?"
Liu Yuetang was forced to raise her head and meet those eyes filled with turbulent waves.
The ferocity and strangeness in his eyes made it difficult for her to remain calm. Her dry lips moved for a long time before she finally uttered the word - "love".
He originally heard the words he wanted to hear the most, but at this moment, Xiao Heng just felt that the word "love" had become a huge joke.
His lips trembled, "Liu Yuetang, are you still lying to me?"
"I only see anxiety and fear in your eyes, not even a hint of love!"
He suddenly realized that all her past actions, her sweet words and affection were just like what she was doing now, all fake.
In her heart, he was just a tool for her to climb up. No wonder... No wonder he felt that he could no longer see through her, no wonder he felt that he was getting further and further away from her.
Yes, how can loving and not loving be the same?
The word "love" is something that cannot be hidden from others.
If he tried to feel it with his heart, he would feel the coldness and indifference of the woman in front of him.
His fingertips pinched her jaw harder and harder, causing it to hurt.
Liu Yuetang's head seemed to be filled with a tangled mess of threads. The more she tried to sort them out, the tighter the thread became.
As their eyes met, she knew that no matter what she said at this moment, he would not believe her.
Which link went wrong?
Is it because after I had Yue'er, I no longer care about him as much as before?
Or...or did someone say something in front of Xiao Heng?
Yes, someone must have said something in front of Xiao Heng.
Otherwise... today in the Qinzheng Palace, Xiao Heng would not have said those words to Princess Duanrou for no reason.
Just as he was thinking, he heard Xiao Heng's sad smile, "Why, are you planning how to deceive me again? How to continue to act in front of me?"
He clenched his fingertips hard, pressing Liu Yuetang against the palace pillar, suppressed anger mixed with hoarse pain.
"Liu Yuetang, do you really think I'm a fool?"
His chest heaved.
The severe pain from her jaw made Liu Yuetang unable to utter a word, and her pale cheeks flushed.
Just when Liu Yuetang's eyes were moist with pain, Xiao Heng could not help but flick his sleeves and let go of her hand.
"Why don't you say anything? Aren't you always trying to please me? Aren't you always pretending to be nice?"
Liu Yuetang staggered back half a step. After she regained her balance, she looked up at Xiao Heng and said in a low voice, "What about you, Your Majesty?"
"Do you love me?" Liu Yuetang asked him.
"In the past three years, regardless of whether I was sincere or not, have I ever given you anything in return for your sincerity?"
Liu Yuetang shook her head gently, tears welling up in her eyes: "No!"
"As you said, I am just another concubine in your harem. Without me, you will have the next Concubine Zhang, Concubine Ming, or a whole host of others to replace me."
"Tell me, in this state, do I still dare to be sincere to you?"
Liu Yuetang had said these words many times in her heart.
But she never thought that one day she would say it to the emperor in person.
"But I am the emperor! The relationship between you and me is destined to be unequal!" Xiao Heng's face turned pale, his mind was in chaos, and he was unwilling to explain those words anymore.
"Why is it unequal?" Liu Yuetang asked.
"People are divided into high and low, but feelings are not. Feelings are only about sincerity, not about low status."
"Your Majesty, you have no sincerity towards me, so why do you ask me to be wholeheartedly devoted to you?"
She looked up at Xiao Heng's oppressive cold eyes, and every word she said echoed in the hall.
A storm of heartache surged in Xiao Heng's eyes, and his heart was tightly clenched into a ball.
He was afraid that she would have a difficult delivery and that he would lose her, so he would rather give up the royal heir to keep her safe.
Knowing that she was depressed after giving birth, he tried every possible way to make her happy.
He devoted unprecedented attention to the woman in front of him.
I was also afraid that I would not give her enough love and honor.
But in the end, what I got in return was a word without any sincerity...
Xiao Heng's Adam's apple rolled, as if he was suppressing something. He looked at her with red eyes: "Liu Yuetang, you really have no heart."
"Everything I have done to you is worthless in your eyes."
"And you, actually deceived me for three whole years!"
"Do you know what the crime of deceiving the emperor is?!"
Liu Yuetang lifted her skirt and slowly knelt down.
At this moment, there was not a trace of sadness or fear.
On the contrary... there is a feeling of relief.
Maybe she was too tired from acting and fighting in the past three years.
Now that it's been exposed, it feels like a relief.
She no longer has to live her life wearing a mask.
She knelt on the ground and said calmly, "I will accept the punishment from Your Majesty."
Xiao Heng looked at the tassels in her hair swaying gently, and his throat felt more and more blocked.
Punishment?
What punishment could he offer? Banish him to the cold palace? Demote him? Or even flogging him?
Oh, her voice was like broken jade, and every word was crisp and clear. Even if I had a hundred palace rules in my mind, I couldn't bear to punish her.
Xiao Heng was silent for a long time before he managed to utter a few words: "Stay in Yaoyue Palace and repent for me!"
After saying this, he turned around and left.
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