Chapter 18 Xu Congjing is advising her to divorce?
The wind raged, threatening to destroy the forest; the rain raged, threatening to flood the mountain. Inside the cave, the firewood had been extinguished. In the darkness, a man's scent mingled with the damp, chilly air. His deep, alluring eyes, like those of a predator eyeing its prey, held a fierce possessiveness.
Through her blurred vision, Xu Congjing's gaze lingered on her lips. A sudden rush of cold air from the cave entrance sent a chill down Lou Yanxu's spine.
When did he begin to harbor thoughts of possession?
Thinking of this, she pushed him away, panting, and stood up, retreating half a foot away.
She's completely out of her mind! Even if he really is her brother Zizheng, she's already married and should abide by the proper separation between men and women, let alone the fact that he isn't.
She thought to herself, "Brother Zizheng won't disown her."
Xu Congjing groaned and leaned weakly against the side. As lightning flashed across the dark sky, her changing expression was clearly visible.
“Madam Lou, with your intelligence, there are plenty of places in the world better than the Marquis’s mansion. You can still bring the Lou family into the elite circles. Why do you have to wrong yourself?”
Lou Yanxu's fingers tightened. Xu Congjing, was he advising her to divorce?
Where would be a better place to go? Back to Suzhou, or... to his side?
She dared not look up, dared not answer, hugged her knees and huddled up, her gaze fixed on the holly-patterned gardenia-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) she wore, patting the bloodstains on the hem of the skirt.
About half an hour later, the rain subsided, and the fragrance of leaves filled the air in the forest after the rain.
From afar came Qingrui's voice, and Lou Yanxu exclaimed joyfully, "They've come looking for us!"
Xu Congjing did not move, his pale lips parted slightly, "You go first, I will follow secretly."
Why?
“If we, a man and a woman, were to be seen together, it might cause gossip and ruin your reputation.”
He was so considerate of her that Lou Yanxu was momentarily dazed. Wasn't it him who almost took liberties with her just now?
"Then...then you'd better stay close."
She ran out as if fleeing, and seeing torches lit in the distance, she covered her mouth with her hands and shouted, "Qingrui! I'm here!"
As expected, Qingrui came looking for them, along with Kong Kai behind her. Lou Yanxu slowed her pace. She had originally sent Qingrui to find Wan Qing'an, but now that there were other men around, she subconsciously glanced back, but Xu Congjing was nowhere to be seen.
"Second Mistress, are you alright?"
She breathed a sigh of relief, shook her head, grasped Qingrui's hand, and looked over, "Thank you for your trouble, Deputy General Kong."
Kong Kai clasped his hands in a fist and said, "It's nothing, my lady, you don't need to be so polite."
Qingrui held up an oil-paper umbrella to protect her as she left, but she couldn't move an inch before she was startled and stopped.
Why is Sheng Yan here?
He lowered his head and asked gently, "Is Madam injured?"
"I am fine, sir."
Lou Yanxu had never known he could care about her, so she immediately became alert and saw him lean his head behind her, asking, "Where is Xu Situ?"
Her heart skipped a beat, and she froze, not daring to turn around. "How would I know where Minister Xu is?"
"I heard he went up the mountain, and I guessed you ran into him."
In the dim light, his eyes, hidden in the darkness, looked particularly dangerous. Lou Yanxu wondered to herself if he suspected something, but then reassured herself that there was nothing between her and Xu Congjing, so there was no need to panic.
But she could feel Sheng Yan's gaze sweeping over her entire body, her heart gradually growing cold, her nails digging into her flesh, and she forced a smile, "This mountain isn't big, but it's not small either, it's not easy to run into it."
Fearing he might ask too many questions, she urged, "Let's go back while the rain stops."
As she expected, Sheng Yan had no intention of caring about her life or death. He might even have thought that if he caught her in an ambiguous relationship with Xu Congjing, he would have a chance to divorce her.
Before they even reached the gates of the Lou residence, he got out of the carriage. Lou Yanxu opened her mouth slightly, but couldn't say a word, and finally let out a sigh.
The stars were few and far between, and the night was cold. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, thanked Kong Kai again, and hurried into the mansion.
She delivered the medicine to her grandmother's courtyard, and then secretly went to check on her grandmother a few more times before returning to her room.
Qingrui helped her bathe and cleanse herself. The warmth gradually seeped into her bones and blood, and she felt as if she had been reborn.
Qingrui added hot water and brought up the topic, "Today, Young Master Wen was assassinated, and Madam Wan was unable to spare the time, so she asked me to go and find Deputy General Kong."
In the misty atmosphere, Lou Yanxu remained silent, realizing that Xu Congjing and his entourage were facing numerous crises on their disaster relief mission.
First came river bandits, then assassins, what will come next?
She asked in a hoarse voice, "How is Young Master Wen?"
"I heard that there is no longer any danger, but the person is still unconscious."
"It's good that you're alright," she nodded inwardly. Then she heard Qingrui say, "I met you on the road and heard that you were trapped on the mountain, so I immediately wanted to go with you."
Sheng Yan had no such good intentions. He merely offered a perfunctory greeting, knowing that Xu Congjing was far more important to her than she was. It seemed that she had only ever been after him from the beginning.
Lou Yanxu was still uneasy, staring blankly at the holly-patterned gardenia-colored dress hanging on the rack, a section of the hem of which had been torn off.
She instructed Qingrui, "Find a secluded spot and throw this dress away."
The strip of cloth was still wrapped around Xu Congjing's leg; anyone with a discerning eye could easily tell by comparing it to the cloth that it had been torn from her body.
She meant it to put her mind at ease, but she never expected that Sheng Yan would actually remember it.
The next day, after she had finished getting ready, she went around the screen and saw Sheng Yan already sitting in the main room waiting for her.
He said he wanted to visit the Xu family, and she agreed.
Yunlu led the two into the mansion. Sheng Yan glanced at the bandages in the courtyard that hadn't been dealt with yet, and asked as they walked, "Are those the strips of cloth that Situ used to bandage his wounds?"
Lou Yanxu followed his gaze, squeezed her eyes shut, and her breathing became erratic. Those were the tattered pieces of her clothes from yesterday.
Yunlu, not understanding, agreed.
"It looks familiar." Sheng Yan looked at her with a half-smile. "My wife wore a dress like this yesterday."
Lou Yanxu felt scared. If she were divorced because of this, she would never be able to hold her head up again, and it would bring shame to the Lou family for generations to come!
Her breathing quickened slightly, her hands clenched tightly, and she instinctively wanted to deny it.
Wan Qing'an, however, walked out carrying a basin of bloody water. She glanced at him coldly, then collapsed in front of Sheng Yan, scaring him back a few steps.
“I bought the same ruqun as Yanxu, so naturally it’s the same style. It’s a pity I tore the hem of the skirt yesterday to save Situ, so I can’t wear it anymore.” As she spoke, she threw the ruqun with bloodstains by the door and ordered the maid to take care of it. She complained, “Yunlu, you brought so many people but didn’t even bring a medicine box. You have to pay for this dress.”
Yunlu's eyes darted around, and he said in a childish voice, "Then you'll have to ask your husband for compensation."
Lou Yanxu watched the two of them exchanging pleasantries, her breath coming in short gasps, her thumb lightly rubbing against her palm. Hadn't she asked Qingrui to throw these clothes away last night? How did they end up in Wan Qing'an's hands?
Sheng Yan asked suspiciously, "Is this strip of cloth yours?"
"What, you want to pay compensation?" Wan Qing'an scoffed.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Congjing arrived in a wheelchair. Sheng Yan asked him a few questions about his injuries, and they went inside together.
Wen Jie had woken up, and a maid brought over the medicine that had been prepared. Wan Qing'an took it and helped him up to feed it to her. What kind of behavior was this? He refused and reached for the medicine, but Wan Qing'an coldly slapped it away, and the two remained locked in a stalemate.
Lou Yan observed the two closely, fearing they might start arguing, and was about to step forward. But then she heard a few thuds, and her subordinates unloaded a large cart of grain at the gate, and the two carried a sack into the mansion.
Governor Zhang Yuanwen rushed over, lifting his official robes. "I heard that the Minister of Works found a granary on the mountain yesterday, so I came here in a hurry... It's true!"
"This is the disaster relief grain allocated by the imperial court a month ago." Xu Congjing said casually, which made Zhang Yuanwen break out in a cold sweat. The disaster relief grain had been hidden in the mountains for a month, and he, as the prefect of Suzhou, was primarily responsible for it.
It turned out he went up the mountain yesterday to look for grain. Lou Yanxu lowered her head in thought, trying to figure out the mystery, when she heard Sheng Yan angrily say, "That old scoundrel Feng Hong must have stolen the disaster relief grain and hidden it there!"
She rubbed her forehead; Sheng Yan shouldn't have said that.
If it was indeed Feng Hong's doing, the grain could easily have been transported back to Lingbo Island. Furthermore, the imperial court knew nothing about this matter; the only possibility is that the grain was transported to Suzhou but not distributed to the people.
Who must handle the grain from Suzhou? The prefect.
Sheng Yan's actions were either extremely foolish or a case of the thief crying "stop thief!" In any case, saying this one more sentence would inevitably make him suspected of being an accomplice.
Without a second thought, seeing that Wen Jie's complexion had improved considerably, she decided not to linger any longer and returned to the mansion with Wan Qing'an.
At night, the two shared a bed and lay facing each other.
"Qing'an, thank you for helping me today."
A gentle voice reached her ears, and Wan Qing'an patted Lou Yanxu's shoulder, "It's nothing. I couldn't help yesterday, so I can't let you down today."
"You've helped me so much, how could you let me down?"
The two smiled.
“Last night I ran into your Qingrui, so I took her old clothes and exchanged them for mine. Remember this, don’t arouse the prince’s suspicion.” Wan Qing’an said solemnly, and after hesitating for a long time, she said, “After thinking it over, I still have to remind you that Xu Situ is a very cunning person, so you must be careful.”
Yes, Xu Congjing is extremely cunning. She clearly doesn't want to get too involved, but he's like a persistent thorn in her side, impossible to shake off. Lou Yanxu thought about it and became even more worried. "Well, don't worry."
The crescent moon hung silently high in the sky, but the dogs around the mansion barked incessantly. The two paused their conversation, and Wan Qing'an turned her back to him.
"How are things between you and your cousin?" Lou Yanxu stared at that thin back, hesitating for a long time before asking. She could tell that Wan Qing'an usually listened to Wen Jie the most, and today's argument with him was because she was too lazy to keep it a secret any longer.
Wan Qing'an sighed, "You must have seen what I was thinking. He's just pretending to be confused. Not responding is already a choice he's made."
She had been in love with her husband for many years, but never dared to confess. Now, she was going all out; she wanted a clear answer, whether he lived or died. But her heart was filled with bitterness; her unrequited love, hidden deep within her for so many years, was finally coming to an end.
She smiled wryly, then heard rustling behind her. A hand rested on her shoulder, and a firm yet gentle voice said, "I'll be behind you."
Both of them slept very well that night.
When she woke up the next day, Lou Yanxu was all alone. After Qingrui helped her rinse her mouth and wash her face, she went to the side room to tidy up.
Lou Yanxu sat at the round table, her mind uneasy. She turned around and saw Sheng Yan striding over, her face filled with anger.
With a clang, the beaded curtain fell heavily.
Sheng Yan kicked over the drum stool and pointed at her nose, angrily scolding, "Lou Yanxu! How dare you! Slapping Chuchu first wasn't enough, you actually dared to hire someone to commit violence in broad daylight!"
Confused, she frowned and said in a low voice, "What do you mean, my husband? I have never done such a thing."
Hiring someone to commit murder? What a huge accusation! Sheng Yan really won't let her have a single day of peace.
He flicked his wide sleeves and looked down at her, "Stop making excuses! Chu Chu has always been kind to others. If it wasn't you who stabbed her in the street today, who else could it be?"
Lou Yanxu laughed in anger. Such an impulsive and brainless person, if not for offering money, would never have been able to sit in the position of Minister of Works. "In that case, my husband has no evidence, yet you slander me simply because you favor Madam Weng. Even if you report this to the authorities, there is no reason for it to happen!"
"Shut up!" Sheng Yan roared. In her fury, she trembled involuntarily.
His massive body was large enough to envelop her entirely, as if he could crush her with a single slap. "A wife should obey her husband, without suspicion or disobedience. Which of these has you done?"
Lou Yanxu gritted her teeth, tilted her head back to confront him, her eyes wide open, "A husband should respect and love his wife, he should be understanding and tolerant, how have you done any of that..."
"Smack!"
Before she could finish speaking, she was knocked to the ground. She held onto the sideways drum stool, her head buzzing from the blow, only Xu Congjing's words echoing in her mind: "The world is vast, there are always better places than the Marquis's mansion, why should you wrong yourself?"
Why should you wrong yourself?
Why bother?
Sheng Yan lowered his voice and uttered each word one by one, "For every word I say, you always have ten more to say. Talking back to your husband deserves punishment."
The rain kept freezing and melting over the days, so he ordered someone to bring a basin of it. The cold air rising from it was enough to make her shiver.
"What...what are you going to do?"
She looked up.
She is a husband, a prince, and a person in a superior position.
Where could she run to? She had nowhere to run.
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