Zhu Jiayu's heart jumped, but she remained expressionless, her clear eyes looking at Rong Heng without any emotion.
What are you trying to say?
She knew Rong Heng too well, and she knew all too well that this man wouldn't speak without reason.
Rong Heng looked at her and chuckled, “I have heard that in this world, there are enlightened monks or immortal sorcerers who can use wonderful methods to allow people to be reborn after death and still remember their past lives; or to allow those who are reborn to seek out the causes and effects of the past.”
"I have made many friends since I was a child, but few are close confidants. Apart from Miss Zhu, I'm afraid there is no other person in this world who knows my many secrets."
"But I don't know which one Miss Zhu is."
As he spoke, he slowly approached Zhu Jiayu, lowered his head, and scrutinized Zhu Jiayu's expression.
However, Zhu Jiayu remained standing there calmly, letting Rong Heng scrutinize her.
"Have you finished speaking? If Young Master Rong sent someone to invite me here just to say this, now that you've finished, shouldn't you let me leave?" she asked calmly.
Rong Heng was slightly taken aback, then suddenly laughed and said, "I know even if you don't say it. I heard that Wei Qinglou proposed to you? Zhu Jiayu, since you know so much about me, you must have a close relationship with me. If that's the case, how could you still be interested in Wei Qinglou? Isn't that absurd?"
"Could it be that in your heart, I am not as good as Wei Qinglou?"
Zhu Jiayu suddenly didn't know what to say, so she could only look at him with a mocking expression.
Rong Heng seems to have always been used to having victory in his grasp. In his view, he should be the one who is firmly chosen, without any reason or cause and effect. No matter what happens, he is the best.
It was this kind of confidence that allowed him to so brazenly ask Zhu Jiayu, "Am I not as good as Wei Qinglou?"
Zhu Jiayu looked at him calmly without saying a word.
However, Rong Heng did not need her to speak.
He continued, "Indeed, there are many misunderstandings between us, but Miss Zhu, I have seen your skill and courage, and I admire you very much."
Rong Heng looked at her gently. The pity that usually lingered in his eyes had disappeared at this moment, replaced by an affirmation. Although this affirmation, expressed by him, was closer to encouragement, it undeniably meant that this time, he truly took Zhu Jiayu seriously.
"What will you gain by marrying Wei Qinglou? Wei Qinglou is the youngest son in the family, and he won't be the one to inherit the Duke's mansion's business in the future. He's only the Minister of Justice right now. Can he enter the cabinet before he's forty? But I'm different..."
He paused, then said very sincerely, "Whatever you want, I can earn it for you—immense wealth, inexhaustible riches, and the prestige and status that everyone envies. What do you want?"
In his view, the conditions he proposed were irresistible.
He didn't even need Zhu Jiayu to do anything; he just wanted her to marry him.
Or to put it another way, he didn't want Zhu Jiayu to marry Wei Qinglou.
He was destined to be Wei Qinglou's enemy, without a doubt, and he never regretted or hesitated about it. However, he did not want to confront Zhu Jiayu.
There was no other reason; he simply felt that there were too few women like Zhu Jiayu in the world, and it would be a great pity if she were to fall into his hands like this.
Of course, he also had to admit that he simply couldn't bring himself to harm Zhu Jiayu.
Otherwise, she would have been dead long ago in King Hu's courtyard.
He didn't have time to think about why, simply attributing it to his compassion. He thought it was probably because Zhu Jiayu, who had gone to the outskirts of Heling City to clear her mind after her grandmother's death, looked so pitiful, like the kitten he used to have.
When he was injured, the kitten would snuggle up to him and look at him obediently.
Back then, Zhu Jiayu appeared quite docile, far from the aggressive and scheming woman she is now.
Because of this, he didn't mind letting Zhu Jiayu go again and again.
Zhu Jiayu finally couldn't help but chuckle.
She looked at Rong Heng with pity: "In your eyes, these are the only things you can use as bargaining chips, aren't they?"
"But unfortunately, though the yokan is delicious, it's not what I want. What I need, you don't have."
Rong Heng gazed at her beautiful face and asked, almost word by word, "Then what do you want?"
“Sincere.” Zhu Jiayu shook her head with a smile. The more she smiled, the more alluring her eyes and brows became, and the more vibrant her complexion became. “You don’t have it. Rong Heng, people who value profit too much have no sincerity to speak of.”
Rong Heng was stung by her words. He turned around and said, "It seems you've made up your mind to be my enemy. In that case, I won't hold back next time we meet."
"But I'm very curious, what kind of deep-seated hatred exists between us that you would treat me like this..." He paused for a moment, finally finding a suitable word, "deeply hate."
Zhu Jiayu slowly raised her eyes: "You want to know? When the day comes that we are dead or alive, I will definitely warm a pot of wine and tell you everything."
Rong Heng stood by the window, snowflakes fluttering up outside and landing on his robes: "I used to think you were a smart man, but now it seems you're quite lacking. A smart man wouldn't use the sword of the previous dynasty to behead an official of this dynasty."
Zhu Jiayu sneered.
Between her and him lay the lives of countless members of the Zhu family. Such a deep-seated hatred made her wish she could push him into the deepest hell. It couldn't be easily summarized by the phrase "using the sword of the previous dynasty to kill the officials of this dynasty."
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