Chapter 50 A Good Husband "Xu Congjing, I'm getting married."...
A gentle night breeze rustled through the bamboo grove. Lou Yanxu struggled to open her eyes, her hands bound behind a pillar. She glanced around, momentarily bewildered.
The tables and chairs inside were covered in dust, and two beautiful landscape paintings hung on the moldy wall. Moonlight shone through the window of the Hibiscus Pavilion, casting a shadow.
With a loud bang, the door was flung open, and a strong masculine scent wafted out. Lou Yanxu's eyelids twitched wildly as she watched Meng Lingwei stride closer. Her heart skipped a beat, and she scooted back, her back pressed against the cold pillar, only then realizing she had nowhere to retreat.
She didn't know how she had been targeted, but being kidnapped by such a lecherous man, she knew almost immediately what kind of situation she was about to face. Her face remained expressionless, but her entire body trembled uncontrollably, and her throat felt as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand. "You... what are you going to... do?"
Meng Lingwei whistled crookedly, approaching with interest. Her increasingly obvious panic and fear excited him even more. "What do you think?"
"To forcibly abduct a woman in broad daylight, is there no law left!" Lou Yanxu's eyes blazed with fury, but the other party grinned and sneered, "Law? Even the sages don't care, and you're talking to me about law?"
If there were any laws in this world, he wouldn't have kidnapped any woman he fancied. Meng Lingwei laughed at her naivety and maliciously reached out to stroke her left cheek.
"Don't touch me!" A wave of nausea washed over her, and she turned her head away in disgust, forcing herself to remain calm and try to reason with him. "I can give you money, I have a lot of money, I'll give you everything, as long as you let me go!"
The Meng family was already close to the pinnacle of power, and the only thing she could offer was a small amount of property from the Lou family. However, Meng Lingwei was blinded by lust and would not be so easy to talk to. He immediately grabbed her chin and said fiercely, "When have I ever needed your money? I want you, I want you!"
"I've never tasted what it's like to be a female official..." He laughed incessantly, "Any woman I set my sights on who could escape my grasp is already dead."
The maniacal laughter echoed in the room for a long time. Lou Yanxu's hair stood on end. She realized that this person was beyond saving. Fortunately, the ropes were not tied too tightly. She struggled to break free and seized the opportunity to kick him in the stomach. She stomped her foot and ran out.
But for Meng Lingwei, that kick was nothing more than a tickle. He reacted in a moment, stretched out his long leg, and Lou Yanxu was tripped and fell forward, her internal organs aching from the shock.
"Slam him!" She was lifted up and forced to slam her forehead against the wooden pillar, which immediately turned red. Waves of pain washed over her, bringing tears to her eyes. But she had no other choice but to grit her teeth and curse him, "Madman! You madman!"
"Madman? You're right, I am a madman!" He suddenly released her, causing her to fall rapidly. Looking at her disheveled yet beautiful face, he traced the small black mole at the corner of her eye with his thumb, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "That mole of yours is really an eyesore..."
Another woman with a mole at the corner of her eye was the biggest blunder in his life. Three years had passed, but the memory was still vivid. At that time, his father was besieged on all sides. He had caused a death and it took him a lot of effort to smooth things over, but he still couldn't escape the family's punishment. He wasn't allowed to leave the house until more than half a year later.
Seeing him in the same spot today, though the color was different, still felt extremely displeasing to the eye. A fierce light flashed in his pupils. He casually picked up the knife on the table, the cold tip slicing across his skin and circling around the corner of his eye.
Lou Yanxu's face turned pale, her whole body was convulsing, and her shoulders were pressed so hard that she couldn't move an inch.
The knife lightly sliced through her skin, and blood seeped out. Her face twitched, filled with a despairing sense of waiting to die, but she refused to submit! She turned and bit Meng Lingwei's hand until it bled profusely, then kicked him in the groin while he was in pain, and ran away as fast as she could.
Looking back, Meng Lingwei's footsteps drew closer, casting a sinister shadow over her. She trembled, her mouth agape, her eyes revealing resentment and despair.
Just then, in this moment of despair, the door was broken open, and Lu Hengzhi rushed in, his clothes billowing out.
Lou Yanxu asked in surprise, her voice hoarse, "Why are you here?"
He punched her, knocking the knife from her hand and onto the ground. Taking advantage of Meng Lingwei's unconscious state, he grabbed her hand and said, "Let's leave first."
Pain spread throughout his body, and his hands trembled, leaving him momentarily powerless to resist. After only a moment, he mustered all his strength and jabbed his elbow backward, his neck suddenly freed from its restraint. He gasped for breath, and a "thud" sounded behind him. When he looked back, he saw the vase rolling on the ground. Lou Yanxu had somehow slipped past and knocked Meng Lingwei unconscious.
"Hengzhi!" She covered her bleeding wound with her trembling hand, swallowed hard, and her eyes were blurry with tears.
"I'm fine..." Lu Hengzhi's eyelids were heavy, but he couldn't bear to see her sad, so he forced himself to prop up his hand and wipe away his tears.
Fortunately, Qingrui was quick-witted and instructed the coachman to follow Lu Hengzhi, which allowed them to quickly move Lu Hengzhi into the carriage and head towards the clinic.
The blood kept gushing out, and there was no way to stop it. Lou Yanxu's hands were covered in sticky, wet blood. When she coughed violently, tears streamed down her hands. The blood and water mixed and flowed, drawing a bright red line on the car floor.
"Don't die, don't die..." At this moment, the worry was real, and the fear was real. Last time, her father passed away in front of her, and the nightmare haunted her bedside for a whole month. If Lu Hengzhi were to die because of her now, she was afraid she would never be able to forgive herself for the rest of her life.
Lu Hengzhi smiled reassuringly, his face pale. He had never seen her so distraught. He was both happy and reluctant to let her go. "I will not die. I will still marry you."
She took his hand and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I'll wait for you to marry me. You have to hold on!"
Night had fallen, and the autumn wind was blowing. The carriage traveled along the wide road, inevitably waking the doctor at the clinic.
The strong smell of blood permeated the entire clinic. Two doctors were busy changing the water and stopping the bleeding. Lou Yanxu waited outside with a pale face, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly and twisting it. Her thin back rose and fell with each sob.
The bleeding stopped in the middle of the night, at cockcrow.
She finally managed to release her strength, but lost her balance and sat down hard, only then realizing that her back was soaked.
She stayed up all night by the bedside until dusk, when the sky was ablaze with rosy clouds. After the intense emotional turmoil, she was exhausted and dozed off, her hand supporting her face. The wound from hitting the pillar the night before was now bruised and black. She had hit her head on the bed and the pain was so intense it felt like her soul was leaving her body.
When she regained consciousness and found that Lu Hengzhi was awake, she was overjoyed. "You're awake!"
She helped him sit up against the headboard, saying, "Be careful of your wound."
"I'm fine. Look at the dark circles under your eyes, you must not have slept all night. Go and rest." His voice was hoarse as he tenderly touched the bruise on her forehead, but she shook her head. "I'll stay with you."
Lu Hengzhi knew she was worried, and a sweet feeling spread through his heart. He tried to force a smile and teased her lightly, "You said you wanted to marry me, how could I bear to die?"
Lou Yanxu was still shaken and couldn't hear anything else. Seeing his pale face, her heart sank. Perhaps she really should come out and see what was wrong with looking at others?
When he came to his senses, he had already instructed Qingrui to take her away, "Take your wife back to rest."
She couldn't refuse, and Qingrui pushed her away, turning back every few steps to instruct her, "If anything seems amiss, be sure to let me know."
Lu Hengzhi nodded, but called out again as she stumbled out the door, "Wanwan."
Wanwan.
Lou Yanxu was somewhat dazed. Nowadays, apart from Xu Congjing, no one else called her that. She paused for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.
“I’m afraid Meng Lingwei won’t be doing well these days. I’ll be picking you up from your post in the coming days, so you need to be extra careful,” Lu Hengzhi said.
“No need…” she instinctively refused, but was interrupted. He looked at her seriously, his expression unusually brooking no refusal, “I am your future husband, I am worried about you.”
Upon closer reflection, it didn't seem so bad. Since she had already agreed to the marriage, she would eventually have to get used to him being by her side, so she accepted.
Lu Hengzhi watched her leave, finally suppressing his smile and collapsing onto the bed. Meng Lingwei's bullying and abusing of power was nothing new; how to resolve this matter would require careful consideration to avoid further trouble.
Lou Yan and Xu Tong were somewhat uneasy. They almost fell off the stool when they stepped onto it. After getting into the carriage, they shook their heads and temporarily put those trivial matters out of their minds.
Qingrui draped a shawl over her shoulders, her brows furrowed tightly. "If you have no interest in Prince Lu, why did you agree to this marriage?"
"He is a good man and will be a good husband."
A weak voice rang in her ears. Lou Yanxu's eyes were clear, but Qingrui didn't understand. Just because the prince is a good person, does that mean she has to fall in love with him? Just because the prince is a good husband, does that mean she has to marry him?
He pondered all the way back to his residence but still couldn't figure it out.
It was already dusk when Lou Yan asked her to inform Qing An and Yun Bing, and then she went back to her room along the corridor in a daze.
A row of gauze lanterns hanging on the veranda swayed gently in the breeze, lengthening and shortening the shadows of people and trees. She rubbed her dry eyes and, in her drowsy state, gazed at the tall figure at the end of the corridor.
Xu Congjing, she's already treated him like this, what's the point of coming here?
Exhausted, she walked over resignedly, instinctively turning her head to hide the bruise on her forehead in the darkness.
A thin layer of frost covered his body as he rubbed his hands together and approached in two quick steps. "Where did you go last night?" His eyes were filled with anxiety and unease, as if the demotion had never happened.
But she had no time to guess his intentions, and walked straight past him, leaving only a light "It's none of your business." But he insisted on getting to the bottom of it, gripping her slender wrist tightly and refusing to let go, asking again, "Where did you go last night?"
“I spent last night with Lu Hengzhi.” Her wrist ached, her whole body ached, and a fire inexplicably ignited in her heart. She flung him away violently, her eyes icy as she uttered two words, “One night.”
Two sentences were enough to break Xu Congjing, who involuntarily took a half step back, a breath stuck in his throat, unable to breathe. After a moment, he shook his head with a bitter smile, "Impossible." He could beat and scold her as he pleased, and even if she dragged him down with her, he would have no complaints. But he couldn't accept that Wanwan would really leave him.
He dared not think about it; the thought would break his heart.
Her heart was already riddled with holes, yet she cruelly stabbed herself again, each word deadly: "If you don't believe me, why don't you smell me to see if I have his usual Du Heng fragrance?"
Finally, she smiled beautifully and said to him, "Xu Congjing, I'm getting married."
He stood there, a layer of sorrow filling his eyes, and a tear silently fell to the ground.
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