Chapter 47 The Imperial Mausoleum Collapses. From this point on, Xu Congjing and I are even. ...
The clay sculptures depicted a man and a woman sitting opposite each other. The woman smiled gently with lowered eyes, exuding a graceful and prosperous air, while the man held a fan with an air of elegance and clapped his hands in laughter. Lou Yanxu glanced at them briefly, then turned her head away in refusal, saying, "I don't want them." In any case, these things would be discarded in the future anyway, so it was better not to have them in the first place.
"Why not?" Xu Congjing looked at it from left to right, and was still satisfied. He smiled and held it out to her. "Look, I have the male statue and you have the female statue. Let's each have one."
She rejected it, saying, "It's too ugly! I'm not that ugly."
Where was it ugly? He thought it was extremely beautiful. He wanted to give her more tokens of their love, preferably filling the entire house, so that she could see them as soon as she got up, and think of him when the first rays of sunlight streamed in the morning, and never forget him for the rest of the day.
He put on a stern face and shoved the male figurine into Lou Yanxu's hands, "It's not ugly, one for you and one for me, don't lose them."
Lou Yanxu stopped and followed his gaze, just in time to see Wan Qing'an and Wen Jie brushing past each other.
The two didn't notice and walked forward side by side. Wan Qing'an held a sugar figurine in her hand, turned her head to look at him sideways, and said, "You invited me out but didn't say anything. What's the meaning of that?"
Lou Yanxu and Xu Congjing followed slowly behind, clutching their clay sculptures tightly. They bumped shoulders simultaneously, and saw Wen Jie turn aside and wipe the sugar frosting from Qing'an's lips. The latter froze, a blush creeping up her fair neck, "You..."
Xu Congjing thought to himself with a hint of mockery. The six words "hypocritical, cowardly, and incompetent" had finally woken Wen Jie up. Fortunately, he hadn't caused his lover any great harm before, but he... He stared at Lou Yanxu beside him for a long time before lowering his head in shame.
The burning gaze was too obvious, and Lou Yanxu uncomfortably twisted her sleeves, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
Wen Jie carefully cleaned it up, a dreamy look in his dark, deep eyes. "What I said earlier wasn't a lie. What have you thought about it?"
Qing'an pondered for a moment, then rolled her eyes and asked, "Let me ask you, if that Xu guy bullied Yan Xu, whose side would you be on?"
The voice wasn't loud, and it reached Lou Yanxu's ears intermittently. A thought flashed through her mind, and she heard Wen Jie say directly, "Naturally, I'll stand on whichever side you're on."
"!" You, Wen Jie, have forgotten your brothers now that you have a wife!
Xu Congjing glanced over discreetly and, sure enough, saw the person beside him giving him a sidelong look. A guilty look welled up in his eyes, and he said with a wronged expression, "I won't bully you."
She didn't respond, but then Wan Qing'an put her hands on her hips and threatened, "You better be, or I won't let you off easily!"
"Yes, I'll do as Madam Wan says." Wen Jie replied good-naturedly, startling Wan Qing'an, who involuntarily took two steps back, her eyes looking at him as if he were a stranger. "You... what happened to you? Why are you suddenly calling me Madam Wan?"
Lou Yanxu realized that Wen Jie was treating Qing'an as an ordinary young lady rather than his student.
As the two drew closer, Xu Congjing let out a laugh and called out, "If you don't call me 'Madam Wan' now, you'll have to call me 'Little Jun' from now on."
"Xiao Jun is what my husband calls her!" Before Wan Qing'an could even be surprised to see her behind him, her ears turned red and her eyes widened as she glared at him. Lou Yanxu was on her side, nudging him with her elbow and sternly scolding, "Don't try to take advantage of Qing'an."
Xu Congjing dared not refute, and eagerly came over to flatter her, "How could I take advantage of her? If anyone would take advantage of someone, it would be you."
Seeing his frivolous behavior, Lou Yanxu got angry and stomped down with her foot without holding back. He glared up, his face flushed red, and he clutched his foot, groaning in pain, which made the others laugh for a while.
"Serves you right!" Wan Qing'an retorted, then ran to Lou Yanxu's side. The two leaned on each other and talked, leaving the two young men far behind.
The wide street was lined with neat buildings, the ground was gleaming, and the sounds of drums and music were deafening. After weaving through the crowd, Wan Qing'an leaned close to his ear and asked after a long hesitation, "Are you really going to do this? I see that you are actually happy when you are with him."
When Yan Xuyan came up with the plan, she was actually a little worried. For someone who is deeply in love, even if it becomes a so-called revenge, it is still a kind of torment and waste of time. It is better to never see each other again and forget each other in the world.
Lou Yan understood her intentions and had tried it before, but she couldn't forget the pain of the past. She thought it would be better to be even more ruthless and make the wounds bloody and mangled. "But such happiness is numb. It's better to take revenge."
Qing'an lowered her eyes and nodded, taking her hand in hers. "I'll listen to you."
A dense crowd of people had gathered ahead, and several Pyu actors occupied a street corner, their melodies vibrant and loud, drawing the crowd in. The two men pushed their way through to see what was happening, only to bump into someone whose distinctive masculine scent filled their nostrils.
Sheng Yan's face loomed large in his eyes. He narrowed his long, narrow eyes and looked down at Sheng Yan, scrutinizing him. "You've really made something of yourself now, but what good is an official position if you have no power or influence in Chang'an? Who knows how long you can last?"
This was the first conversation between the two since returning to Chang'an.
Lou Yanxu clenched her fists tightly, and in a daze, she recalled the cold rain soaking her face and senses, and the piercing wound from the hairpin still lingering in her abdomen. Former husband and wife, seeing each other again, only heartache, fear, and hatred remained.
She glanced at him coldly, her eyelashes frosted with a cold mist, and casually swept her eyes over him. "Minister Sheng, just take care of yourself. Why bother with other people's business?"
Normally, she was always meek and submissive, but now, even though she's only been given a minor official position of the seventh rank, she acts as if she's a head above him. How could he be content with that? So he said sarcastically, "Do you really think Xu Congjing will marry you? He's just playing around. He's got his eyes on the Meng family."
It's just for fun.
Xu Congjing had said similar things before, and at that time she was heartbroken, but hearing it again now stirred no emotion. She raised her eyes contemptuously, her pupils suddenly turning cold, "What does it matter to you whether he marries me or someone else? Do you perhaps want him to marry you?"
She deliberately provoked him, and sure enough, he became enraged and immediately raised his body, as if to completely envelop her. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Undeterred, she met her head head-on, her words piercing to the heart: "Isn't that so? Otherwise, with your crippled body, who could you possibly marry?"
This matter had been kept extremely well hidden, and no one had mentioned it for a long time. Now, upon hearing it again, Sheng Yan's chest heaved rapidly, and sparks ignited within him, growing ever stronger. He was so enraged that he couldn't help but raise his hand to slap her, shouting, "Shut up!"
Wan Qing'an stared intently, and seeing the situation was not right, she flashed in front of Lou Yanxu, her face held high, her right hand poised to strike, "What do you think you're doing under the clear sky?"
"I advise you to stop messing with me. I have nothing to lose anyway. If you push me too far, I'll make your 'reputation' spread far and wide." Lou Yanxu curled her lips in a mocking smile. She was just a merchant, and not many people respected her. Sheng Yan, on the other hand, carried the reputation of the Marquis of Chenghua's mansion and was cautious in every step, not daring to make a single mistake.
Knowing this, and with Wan Qing'an in front of him, he had no choice but to suppress his resentment, glare fiercely at the two of them, and leave in anger.
At this moment, the two young men behind him searched for a long time and finally rushed to his side, just in time to see Sheng Yan's disheveled figure.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his lips trembled involuntarily. He asked, "Did he cause you trouble?"
He couldn't hide his panic. Lou Yanxu sensed that he must know something. Recalling that she had heard Sheng Yan was being hunted down, she felt heavy-hearted but didn't want to think about it anymore. She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts she shouldn't have and simply said, "He wouldn't dare to do anything to me."
"Don't worry about him, someone will take care of him," she added. Sheng Ling had an irreconcilable feud with the Zeng family, so she didn't need to lift a finger. Sheng Ling had her own clever plan, and she wanted to take advantage of the situation to drag Xu Congjing down with her.
After thinking it over, she glanced at Xu Congjing seemingly casually, then lowered her eyes to hide the ruthlessness in them.
When she returned to the mansion, a light rain began to fall. Lou Yanxu stood by the window, feeling a chill, and the sound of raindrops hitting the bricks filled her ears.
As raindrops fell, Wan Qing'an stood beside him, her eyelashes veiled in mist, and murmured, "I wonder when this rain will stop."
"The longer it rains, the better." The longer it rains, the greater the chance of success.
Lou Yanxu's eyes were lifeless, and she felt lightheaded. Unconsciously, two lines of tears silently streamed down her face, wetting her makeup and blurring her vision.
The rain continued for three days, gradually intensifying from a light drizzle to a torrential downpour, accompanied by howling winds that resembled a stampede of horses. Withered branches and tiles flew everywhere, and houses teetered on the brink of collapse.
On the seventh day, Wan Qing'an rushed over, her calm expression concealing a hidden excitement.
"Yan Xu".
"The imperial tomb has collapsed."
The imperial tomb has collapsed; it's time to move it.
From now on, he and Xu Congjing are even.
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