Chapter 68 True Feelings Revealed: Xu Congjing, you're taking advantage of my affections for you...
Lou Yanxu took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off her face. She leaned closer to take a look and wiped Xu Congjing's mouth clean. But she felt a hand pinch her cheek. A faint smile appeared on her almost pale face. She teased, "What, scared out of your wits?"
"You're not dead!" A slight pain shot through her face, and she exclaimed in surprise. She reached out with trembling hands and hugged him tightly, only relaxing when she felt his warm body. "You scared me to death! I thought you were dead!"
As night deepened, her thoughts became slightly hazy. When she saw him spit out a mouthful of blood, she really thought it was a final burst of energy before death. Thankfully, it wasn't; he was still alive! He was still alive! She was overjoyed and bit her lip to try her best to suppress the excitement within her.
"My chest feels congested, but it feels much better after vomiting." He withdrew his hand, clutching his chest, and propped himself up, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain as he moved slightly. She noticed something was wrong and couldn't help but remind him, "Be careful with your wound."
"What, are you afraid I'll be in pain?"
It was meant to be a joke, but Lou Yanxu kept a straight face and didn't respond. She lowered her head and blinked silently for a while, then mumbled, "Yeah, I'm afraid you'll be in pain."
Xu Congjing stopped smiling, looked at her deeply, and lovingly wiped away the remaining blood from her temple with his thumb. He spoke slowly and gently, "It's my fault, I scared you."
Lou Yanxu retorted, "If it weren't for me, why would you risk going there?"
Her brows were furrowed, and her eyes were gradually reddening. He saw this and felt very sorry for her. He cupped her face and gently stroked it, his eyes softening as he smiled gently. "Listen carefully, it's my own choice. Don't overthink it."
She couldn't stand his frivolousness, but once he got serious, she felt her face burning and uncomfortable. So she touched the back of her neck and looked away, teasingly asking, "What, you think I'd offer myself to you?"
Let alone her offering herself to him, he wouldn't hesitate for a second, even if she asked him to offer himself to her. He would clap his hands and exclaim, "Excellent! Excellent!" Xu Congjing, almost without thinking, perked up, leaning forward, his eyes revealing anticipation and excitement, "If it's possible..."
“Xu Congjing…” Lou Yanxu interrupted him with a smile, mimicking his tone as she replied, “Don’t overthink it.”
He immediately lost interest, muttered "This is boring," closed his eyes, and feigned a pitiful expression, "Ouch... my wound hurts."
But after waiting for a long time without any reaction from her, he couldn't help but slightly lift his eyelids and half-open his eyes, only to be caught red-handed. Enraged, he lightly grabbed her neck with both hands, "You still have the mind to joke? You still dare to joke with me!"
"I was wrong, I was wrong!" He warmed those cold, delicate hands and apologized earnestly, "I was wrong."
As he spoke, he pulled her into his arms, his chin gently rubbing against the top of her head, his fingers lightly pinching her earlobe until it turned bright red. She looked up and saw a black mole slowly rolling on his throat; her face flushed instantly, and she struggled to pull away a little.
Xu Congjing didn't react much. He licked his dry, pale lips and suddenly asked, "Is everything going smoothly with Wen Jie?"
"He was injured, but he arrested quite a few people. It's just a pity that he hasn't been able to interrogate that corrupt official yet." Lou Yanxu's expression returned to normal as she recounted the events of the past few days.
"No need for further interrogation, I already know his identity." The more he listened, the more gloomy his face became, and the corners of his mouth drooped. "That day, Meng Lingchang confessed to me that the person my father investigated back then was Meng Shicheng."
Lou Yanxu was slightly startled, "It's the Meng family again." Her sister Rou was harmed by the Meng siblings, and Uncle Xu was being hunted down by the head of the Meng family. The Xu and Meng families were destined to be enemies to the death.
"It's a pity she escaped." She got up and paced back and forth, suddenly remembering what Yun Lu had reported a few hours ago. "Today I ordered Yun Lu to secretly relax the guard, and Yun Ji did indeed escape just now. Our people tracked him down and found that he had approached Meng Lingshang, but since you are still unconscious, we held back."
This explains why Meng Lingchang was deeply in love with Xu Congjing and didn't want him to fall into Chen Qian's trap, but she was also worried that Xu Congjing would find out about the Meng family. That's why she resorted to this desperate measure of shooting a poisoned arrow to buy time.
Xu Congjing coughed a few times, his voice a little hoarse, "Wanwan, you did very well."
She had been keeping an eye on him these past few days, and now that he was awake, she no longer had to worry. Looking out the window at the pitch-black night, she advised, "It's still early, go back to sleep."
He agreed, reached out and grasped her slender wrist, his fingers squeezing so tightly that there wasn't a single gap. Lou Yanxu cursed him inwardly for being a scoundrel, but let him go. The two tacitly agreed not to mention their past grievances again.
On that day, the sky was painted with thick ink, with funnel-shaped clouds covering the entire sky, and a cold wind howled, stirring up a mess on the horizon.
Inside the room, Wan Qing'an stood guard by Wen Jie's bedside, staring intently. Suddenly, she saw Wen Jie's brows furrow in pain, his fists clenched and pounding the bed board, his expression contorted, his lips moving as if he were saying something.
She tried to wake him, "Wen Jie? Wen Jie!"
His breathing was heavy and rapid. Wen Jie broke out in a cold sweat and opened his eyes abruptly, his eyes filled with lingering fear and panic.
Wan Qing'an was both happy and worried. "Are you alright?"
Upon seeing her, Wen Jie's heartbeat slowed down, his pupils gradually returned to calm, and his voice was hoarse and weak as he spoke, "Where am I?"
"You were at the Xu residence, during the battle when we entered the palace, you were injured."
Upon hearing this, he nodded in a daze. It took him quite a while to remember that he had been shot by a hidden arrow in the carriage. Just as he was relieved that it had not been fatal, the two men rushed into the cramped carriage and attacked him from both sides, which is why he couldn't hold on and fainted.
As he regained consciousness, his calm heart suddenly tightened, and he hurriedly sat up halfway to ask, "How's the interrogation of those people going?"
Qing'an tucked the blanket around him, "Yunlu is watching, don't worry."
"What about Congjing? How is he?"
He woke up a while ago, so you don't need to worry about him!
Seeing his deathly pale face and obvious weakness, yet he was worrying about others, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She couldn't help but feel angry and said sarcastically, "You ask this and that, but you don't even care about me."
Wen Jie snapped out of his daze, noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and felt extremely guilty. He reached out and grasped her slender fingers. "It was my fault. I made you worry."
Unexpectedly, such a gentle tone not only failed to appease Wan Qing'an's anger, but even fueled her fury. She suddenly stood up and accused, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be the bait? Did you think I would disregard the bigger picture and stop you?"
"I never thought that way! The situation was urgent, and I didn't have time to tell you." He seemed to think she was really angry with him, and in his haste to get up, he inevitably aggravated his wound. The bright red stain on her white undergarment felt like an invisible hand clenching her chest. Her heart clenched secretly, and she cursed Wen Jie inwardly for not understanding the unspoken pain in her words.
"You blockhead!" she glared at him, then rubbed her forehead. "Forget it, why should I get angry with a patient like you!"
She was really angry. She walked out with a sour face, but after taking five steps, she heard a "bang" and the door was slammed shut and locked.
Wan Qing'an rushed over and shouted towards the door, "Xu Congjing, what are you doing! You heartless bastard, I saved you for nothing!"
Xu Congjing, draped in a cloak, his face slightly flushed, leaned casually against the door. "Madam Wan, you flatter me. I'm just repaying a life-saving debt. There's no such thing as holding a grudge overnight. If you're still not satisfied, just give him a beating!"
Unable to reason with him, Wan Qing'an turned to shout, "Yan Xu! Open the door, Yan Xu!"
"She's not here! Shouting until the sky falls won't do any good." He gave a nonchalant smile, then saw Lou Yanxu already on the veranda. Clutching her wound, she rushed to her side and pulled her away. He had just received the news and rushed over; she wouldn't allow him to make the decision. "Let go of me!"
“What if he does something to Qing’an…” Lou Yanxu said, but she was still worried, so she turned around and walked back. However, she was stopped by him after taking only two steps. “You should be completely at ease. Not to mention that I am bedridden now, even if Wen Jie is fine, the two of them might not be able to beat Lady Wan.”
"That won't do either!"
"Listen to me, let's go!"
Before, he would have been trembling with fear every time, but now that he dared to stop her and make decisions for her, she suddenly stood up, sparks igniting in her heart. In the struggle, she slapped his head and stared at him with a sinister look, reminding him, "Xu Congjing, you are being far too presumptuous, taking advantage of my affection for you!"
Normally, he would have coaxed her gently, but now he was a little dazed from being slapped, and only four words were flashing through his mind.
I love you.
He had noticed her changes over the past few days, but it was all just speculation. Now, in her haste, she blurted out her meaning, causing his fingertips to tremble, his eyes to well up with a thin layer of moisture, and his voice to be filled with a silent satisfaction.
He couldn't believe it. "Really? You still have feelings for me?"
Lou Yanxu then realized her slip of the tongue, but words spoken are like spilled water that cannot be taken back. She could only lower her head in embarrassment. Just then, she heard Wen Jie pleading softly from inside the room. Without saying a word, she quickly left, fiddling with her sleeves.
Xu Congjing wouldn't let her escape, so he chased after her relentlessly, clinging to her shamelessly. As the saying goes, even a good woman can't resist a persistent suitor. She might not admit it now, but one day she'll open her heart.
Rain fell like broken pearls from under the eaves, and a cool breeze blew away all the withered leaves from the trees. He held up an oil-paper umbrella and pulled her into his arms, unaware of the smile hidden beneath the young lady's long eyelashes.
The rain continued for several days, falling harder and harder, lashing the ground and enveloping the green bricks and tiles in a vast white net.
The rain had stopped for the first time that day, and the sky was filled with brilliant sunshine. Lou Yan returned home from her official duties and saw Qingrui directing the servants to move things out of the house. She casually asked, "What's going on?"
Qingrui gently placed the stack of books on the ground, wiped the fine sweat from her temples, and frowned. "Second Mistress, the rain was too heavy last night, and many things in the house got wet."
"I bought this house in a hurry and didn't consider this point. I'll look for a new house when I have time." Lou Yanxu glanced at the wet things, picked some out and had the servants throw them away, leaving only the various ancient books to dry.
"What is this?" Yun Bing murmured to herself, fiddling with the wooden box in her hand in the corner. Only then did she notice that there was another person in the corner. She remembered that he had been holed up in the mansion for several days, and had not been seen since Xu Congjing woke up. She wondered what he was thinking. After thinking it over, she let it go. He had his own ideas.
She walked over, quickly looked through the box, and said calmly, "These are my brother's belongings, but I don't know the art of divination, so I can't open this wooden box."
She always carried the wooden box with her as a memento, not because she was particularly interested in finding out what was inside, and thus paid it little attention. However, Lou Yunbing, whether he heard her or not, focused his gaze on the strange Bagua lock, fiddling with it from side to side, and soon after, with a "click," the lock opened.
"It's a letter." He opened the wooden box, opened the letter, and handed it to Lou Yanxu. She had just recovered from her shock when she took it and read it. Her face darkened and she became furious.
It turns out, the truth was right beside her.
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