Chapter 108 Lanterns
"What nonsense!" Xie Wuqi interrupted her immediately, his tone filled with the irritation of being misunderstood. He reached out and grabbed her slightly cold wrist, "I'm telling you this because I'm afraid you'll hear it from somewhere else and start to suspect me! I no longer have any feelings for Luo Zhaohan!"
He emphasized his tone, his eyes locked on hers, "I, Xie Wuqi, have always been straightforward in my actions. Now that I've chosen you, I won't waver!"
Liu Yueli's tears hung on her eyelashes, about to fall, and she looked at him pitifully.
Xie Wuqi's heart softened, and he pulled her closer, lowering his voice: "After the welcoming banquet, I met a nobleman in the wax plum forest."
He stopped at that point, but it was enough for Liu Yueli to understand that he was referring to Prince Jin.
"Your Excellency promised that if I could prevent the Pei and Luo families from marrying successfully, you would grant me the position of Deputy Commander of the Beijing Guards!"
He squeezed her hand tightly, his eyes burning: "Yue Li, everything I do is for our future! You should understand what the position of the Jingwei Suo means! With power and a future, I can marry you in a dignified manner and give you the best! Instead of having you hide in this small courtyard like you are now!"
Liu Yueli leaned on his shoulder, her body trembling slightly, as if she was moved, but also as if she was afraid.
She raised her tearful face, with a hint of worry, and tried again: "Brother Wuqi, are you...are you really willing to do it? Sister Luo..."
"There's nothing to be reluctant about!" Xie Wuqi interrupted impatiently, avoiding the answer that he might not even know clearly in his heart, and only emphasized the fact, "I have never lied to you! Yueli, you just need to remember that everything I seek and plan is for you and me! The only person I care about the most is you!"
He held her tightly in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, and comforted her with the warmth of his arms.
Liu Yueli silently curled the corners of her mouth in his arms, but quickly suppressed it.
She looked up with feigned worry, "But Pei Shaoqing is a powerful figure, and the Fuyuan General's Mansion has deep roots. How can this marriage be easily stopped? Brother Wuqi, what are you going to do?"
Xie Wuqi's eyes moved slightly, thinking of his mother's failed attempt to frame Aunt Zhang and her daughter. The idea seemed to come from Liu Yueli.
He lowered his head to examine her face, then deliberately threw the question back: "This matter is indeed difficult. Yueli, you have always been smart, do you have any ideas?"
Liu Yueli's mind raced, but a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. After a moment, she spoke with a hint of uncertainty and hesitation, "I... I just remembered that Sister Luo has a habit of going to the Lantern Festival every year, rain or shine. I guess she will go with Pei Shaoqing this year?"
She paused, looked up at Xie Wuqi, and added meaningfully, "After all, Brother Wuqi, you were once Sister Luo's closest person, and you understood her preferences and habits best. During this Lantern Festival, the crowds are surging, and the lights are blurry..."
A gleam of light flashed in Xie Wuqi's eyes!
"The Lantern Festival..." he repeated in a low voice, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up into an arc, "Great! The crowds, the lights, the surprises... It really is a great opportunity!"
He seemed to have just been enlightened, his tone excited, "Yueli, you reminded me well! This matter requires careful planning. Let me think about how to proceed."
He thought of the upcoming Lantern Festival and looked at Liu Yueli apologetically: "It's just... I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you on the night of the Lantern Festival."
Liu Yueli was secretly delighted, this was exactly what she wanted!
An extremely considerate and gentle expression immediately appeared on his face, and he shook his head gently: "Brother Wuqi's important matter is more important. I understand. That night, I asked Cui'er to accompany me to walk around the neighborhood casually, just to look at the lights and shadows, to appreciate the scenery and get some fresh air."
She lowered her eyelashes, hiding the glimmer of longing for freedom deep in her eyes.
She was already tired of staying in this small courtyard.
Xie Wuqi looked at her with her head lowered and her face submissive, and a complex emotion of pity and vigilance surged in his heart.
Her gentleness and thoughtfulness were so comforting, but her deep scheming made it impossible for him to completely let down his guard.
He hugged her tightly again, as if trying to dispel the uneasiness in his heart with a hug, or as if trying to convince himself, and whispered in her ear: "I'm sorry for wronging you. But don't worry, I will make it up to you when I succeed. After all, you are on my side."
Liu Yueli nodded meekly in his arms, her cheek pressed against his slightly cool official robes, her voice so soft it could drip water: "Of course I'm on your side, Brother Wuqi."
However, there was only cold calculation in the depths of those eyes buried behind his shoulders.
The candlelight danced restlessly in the lampshade, lengthening Liu Yueli's plain figure and casting it on the cold wall.
She sat alone at the table, with cold leftovers in front of her. The only sound in the room was the faint crackling of the burning candle, which made the courtyard even quieter.
It was so quiet that I could hear the sound of my own blood flowing. A tense feeling filled the air.
Xie Wuqi sat opposite, his eyes fixed on Liu Yueli.
The alcohol from the evening was churning through his body, burning his mouth and making his tongue dry.
The dim light softened the lines of her profile, especially her slightly pursed lips, which were light in color.
Those hot fragments of memories from the previous life flooded into my mind uncontrollably, more violent than the influence of alcohol.
He stood up suddenly, and the chair legs scraped across the ground with a harsh sound. Liu Yueli seemed startled by the sound and turned her head slightly, but did not look back.
Xie Wuqi walked behind her in a few steps.
"Ah!" Liu Yueli's whole body trembled violently, and she was instantly awakened from her thoughts.
She almost jumped up, took a big step forward, turned around in panic, pressed her back tightly against the cold wall, her chest heaving violently, and looked at Xie Wuqi warily.
What caught her eye were Xie Wuqi's blurry, red eyes, filled with a light that she was extremely familiar with yet extremely resistant to.
Danger! Liu Yueli's nerves instantly tensed to the extreme.
Her panicked evasive posture and the clear resistance in her eyes were like a basin of ice water, pouring over Xie Wuqi's heart.
Embarrassment and anger instantly replaced his confusion. His face darkened, his eyes became sharp and gloomy, staring at her intently.
Liu Yueli's heart was filled with alarm.
She was all too aware of the danger Xie Wuqi faced if he were enraged. Almost as a reflex, the panic on her face quickly faded, replaced by a tearful, aggrieved and submissive expression. Her voice trembled with just the right amount of flattery, "Brother Wuqi... you... you shouldn't be angry. I... I was just thinking that our first time... should be saved for our wedding night. Only then would it be complete, worthy of your sincerity... I... I want to give you the best..." She lowered her head, her shoulders heaving slightly, as if she were deeply aggrieved.
It’s the wedding night again!
The evil fire in Xie Wuqi's heart that had been extinguished suddenly burned even more fiercely, filled with anger at being fooled. The repeated rejections and the repeated "wedding nights" were nothing but excuses she had carefully woven!
She never thought about really giving herself to him!
"Enough!" Xie Wuqi growled, his voice suppressing his violent anger, "Liu Yueli, how long are you going to keep trying to fool me with this?!" Before he finished speaking, he suddenly rushed forward, his movements so fast that Liu Yueli had no time to react.
The strong arms were like iron hoops, dragging her over fiercely.
"Ah——!" Liu Yueli's scream was shattered in her throat, and a huge fear instantly gripped her.
Xie Wuqi lowered his head, trying to catch even the slightest hint of shyness or emotion in her eyes. However, there was none. Nothing at all.
That little face, forced upward, showed only undisguised panic, its pupils dilated with fear, its face as pale as paper. In those beautiful eyes, apart from fear and resistance, there was no trace of the emotion he longed to see.
There was no shyness, nor any emotion.
There is only cold resistance.
This clear understanding, like an ice-hardened blade, stabbed into Xie Wuqi's heart.
All his attempts and demands turned into ridiculous self-humiliation at this moment.
The arm around her waist suddenly lost all strength.
Xie Wuqi suddenly let go of her, as if shaking off something dirty. His eyes quickly turned cold and sank into a bottomless cold pool.
He didn't look at Liu Yueli again, as if even one more glance would bore him. He turned abruptly and strode towards the door with a chill in his air.
“Bang—!”
The courtyard door was slammed shut, and a huge noise exploded in the silent night, making the window frames buzz and completely shattering the false tranquility in the house.
Liu Yueli stumbled backwards as his loosening grip pushed her back, her back slamming hard against the cold wall before she could regain her balance. Her heart felt as if it had been plucked by that loosening hand. Suddenly, it felt empty, followed by a dense, clenching pain.
She subconsciously raised her foot to chase after him, but as soon as she rushed out of the room, the cold night wind scraped against her face like a knife.
Her footsteps suddenly stopped at the threshold. Chase him out? What to say? Explain? Appease? Xie Wuqi's anger and embarrassment at this moment, how could she soothe it so easily with a few soft words?
Moreover, the cold voice deep in her heart reminded her sharply: No! You must not surrender yourself in such a humiliating way at this time!
She held onto the cold doorframe, her nails digging deep into the wood. She had to hold on! Hold on to this last line of defense!
Because Xie Wuqi could not give her what she really wanted, the position and power that was enough to allow her to completely escape from the quagmire and take control of her own destiny!
What she wanted was much heavier than a man's embrace.
The cold wind swirled the dead leaves in the yard.
Liu Yueli slowly retreated back into the room and gently closed the door, isolating the biting cold from outside. She leaned against the door and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.
His eyes fell on the small round table. Candle wax accumulated, leftovers of food and fish were scattered all over the place, and it was a mess.
That was the meal she had painstakingly learned to make for him. A strange sourness suddenly rushed to the tip of her nose, and her eyes grew hot uncontrollably. She raised her hands to cover her eyes.
She admitted that she was not completely without feelings for Xie Wuqi.
Those times when we depended on each other, the brief shelter and warmth he gave us, were not false.
But this little bit of affection, in the face of reality and cold calculations, seems so pale, ridiculous, and vulnerable!
Love? It was the most useless thing in the world! Could it fill her stomach? Could it keep her warm? Could it free her from being dependent on others, from being manipulated and humiliated?
Liu Yueli wiped away the moisture from the corners of her eyes, and her eyes became cold and hard again.
The last bit of hesitation in my heart caused by Xie Wuqi's departure completely dissipated. I will wait for him to come back and coax him.
This is just another hurdle to overcome on the road to her goal.
…
Shangyuan night.
In front of the tall vermilion-painted gate of Fuyuan General's Mansion, the lights were just coming on, illuminating the stone lions in front of the gate with brilliant light.
The cold wind was still biting, carrying with it the faint hustle and bustle of voices from the distant streets.
A tall and straight figure stood quietly at the bottom of the steps.
Pei Ji was wearing a moon-white brocade robe with cloud patterns, and a thick black fox fur coat on the outside. His black hair was casually tied behind his head with a hairband of the same color. A few strands of hair were blown by the cold wind, brushing across his well-defined jaw.
He raised his head slightly and looked calmly into the depths of the tightly closed door of the general's mansion, as if he could penetrate the heavy door and see the figure who was dressing.
The eyes that were usually as cold as an icy deep pool were now illuminated by the warm lanterns hanging from the eaves of the mansion gate, melting into an obvious soft light.
In his hand, he held a lamp carefully.
It wasn't any ordinary street lantern, but an exquisite octagonal palace lantern. Each side of the plain white gauze lantern was meticulously painted with a different winter flower—red plum blossoms, white plum blossoms, green calyx flowers, winter plum blossoms... The brushstrokes were delicate and lifelike.
The frame is made of smooth bamboo strips with seamless joints, showing the maker's excellent patience and craftsmanship.
Several silk ribbons of different colors hang from the bottom of the lamp, and a silver bell is tied to the end of each ribbon.
The cold wind blew past, the silk ribbons fluttered gently, and brought with them a burst of fine and pleasant bell sounds, ding-ding-dong-dong, like the clear spring flowing in the mountain stream when the ice and snow began to melt. It was particularly beautiful in the quiet and cold night in front of the mansion.
He was waiting for her.
The lights reflected in his eyes as he waited intently, like stars falling into a cold pond, gentle and bright.
Not long after, the door of the general's mansion was slowly opened with a heavy "creak".
A touch of fiery red instantly struck Pei Ji's quiet eyes, lighting up the dim light outside the door and also lighting up his entire world of waiting.
Luo Zhaohan was wrapped in a bright red cloak embroidered with gold thread and piping. He ran down the stone steps briskly like a ball of jumping flame.
The cold wind lifted the hem of her cloak, drawing a warm arc behind her. Her eyebrows were curved, as if filled with the starlight of the night. From a few steps away, she raised her voice, and the clear and pleasant call pierced the air:
"Aji!"
This call and this scorching red suddenly struck a long-faded picture deep in Pei Ji's memory.
Outside the Imperial College, on the long street, there was a girl in red riding a horse, so bright that she seemed to be able to burn away all the gloom.
As time passed, the red before his eyes became more vivid and warmer than in his memory, running straight towards him.
Her eyes were almost immediately attracted by the lamp in Pei Ji's hand.
She stopped one step in front of Pei Ji, panting slightly, the white air she exhaled swirling under the lamp. She stared at the lamp in his hand in surprise: "What a beautiful lantern! I've never seen anything like this!"
The soft light in Pei Ji's eyes almost overflowed.
He carefully handed the lantern forward, his voice low and gentle, with a subtle sense of cherishment: "This is for you, Zhao Zhao."
Luo Zhaohan exclaimed in surprise, stretched out his hands, and took the lantern with great care.
The soft halo under the lamp illuminated her upturned face. Wrapped in a white fox fur collar, her skin looked even whiter than snow, and her eyes were so charming and beautiful that she was beyond compare.
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