Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Hopelessly in Love

Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Hopelessly in Love

Fuer, I can also...

Xia Fu was stunned. She just said something casually to shut him up, but he caught it.

This was probably what she wanted to hear most back then.

How beautiful and moving, coming from the first person in the aristocratic family, the head of the Cheng family, Cheng Mingyu.

But she didn't know why, she suddenly felt wronged, sad and depressed.

"You can't!"

She rejected him without hesitation.

"You are the head of the Cheng family. You bear the responsibility of the country and the honor and reputation of the entire family. You can't do this."

Cheng Mingyu's pupils shrank deeply.

Her eyes were clear, "You can't give me what I want, and I can't give you what you want either."

There was no way she could become his wife-in-law.

She will never get married again.

"I survived many deaths and one life, not to return to the Cheng family." Xia Fu suddenly smiled sadly, this smile was a bit dreamy and broken, "I can live well anywhere, except the Cheng family."

This sentence is full of countless sorrows and grievances caused by being bound by the Cheng family rules and secular norms.

Cheng Mingyu certainly understood.

Understand her predicament in the Cheng family.

He was so heartbroken that he couldn't bear it any more.

"Fuer, why did you jump off the cliff that year? I told you that if you have any difficulties, you can send someone to let me know."

He and his mother urged her again and again, and the old lady from the fourth room would never let her down.

At that time, the matter of the joint succession was recorded in the family tree, and no one in the family dared to say a word about her.

Even though he wanted a son, he later agreed to take over the throne for the second time.

At that time, there was still no news about Cheng Mingyou, so she shouldn't have been caught in the middle and jumped off the cliff.

Unless she doesn't want to be with him and dies of shame.

Xia Fu's eyes flickered when she heard this, as if she had returned to the dark days when she had no control over her emotions.

She held the handkerchief to her chest and walked closer to him step by step, as if she wanted to see that face more clearly, or as if she was forcing herself to open up the wound that had been suppressed in her heart.

"What do you want me to tell you? Tell you that I'm hopelessly in love with that man. He's in my mind all the time. Even in my midnight dreams, I dream of him piercing my body, right?"

That smile is as gorgeous as colorful bubbles that burst with a poke.

"I told you that we had promised not to get entangled in the past. I told you that I should have been guarding my husband's tablet and living a decent life, but I couldn't help thinking about his cousin in my heart, right?"

"I'm telling you, I want to be with him so badly, but there are worldly rules, gentleman's agreements, a dead husband, and the entire Cheng family between us, right?"

At that time, she couldn't sleep all night and kept blaming herself. On the one hand, she felt guilty towards her husband, and on the other hand, she couldn't control her attachment to Cheng Mingyu.

"Master..." She murmured, using her favorite name, "You are like a beautiful whirlpool, fascinating, but I have drowned in it once, and I don't want to fall into it again."

These words were like arrows piercing Cheng Mingyu's heart, pinning him down.

He never thought that from the beginning, the person who actually caused her to jump off the cliff was just him.

If he wasn't so rule-abiding, didn't carry the gentleman's pretense, took a step forward, broke through the window paper, he could pull her back from the edge of the cliff.

It turned out that if he just extended his hand, they wouldn't have to miss these 19 years.

It turned out that they were in love with each other.

A strong smell of blood blocked Cheng Mingyu's throat and he couldn't say anything.

Xia Fu took a step back, her expression returning to normal, "I never regret meeting you, and I hope you won't make me regret it. I'm on good terms with King Yunnan, and this is the end of our relationship, Master."

She turned and walked away.

Cheng Mingyu's breath hitched, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

The beauty had been gone for a long time. The lanterns on the river gradually lit up. Cheng Mingyu didn't know how he got out of the palace. The old servant carried him to the carriage and helped him down to Cheng's alley.

There was a deep alley from the entrance of this alley to his study. He had walked this road countless times in the past, but it had never been as difficult to walk as it was today. He held onto the wall, taking one deep step and one shallow step. The lights at the corners of the wall became bizarre, as if they were falling down inch by inch in front of him.

The smile she once secretly pursed her lips with, her restrained expectation when they last met, and the years when she went to pray for her pregnancy and he stood across the wall and waited silently, the rainy night of August 1st that year, she was in excruciating pain on the delivery bed, the coral necklace he casually gave her was kept by her for nineteen years, she also loved to play Xijiangyue, all of them, tore at his heart and finally formed a burning stream, forcing out the arrow.

A mouthful of bright red blood spurted onto the wall. Cheng Mingyu stopped and closed his eyes heavily.

The old servant was so frightened that he frantically tried to stop him.

"Master, Master..."

"Quick, call a doctor!"

*

The carriage drove slowly towards King Yunnan. Xia Fu stopped talking after getting on the carriage. She just sat there with her eyes downcast, holding the string of beads, without moving a muscle.

Cheng Yian felt sad for a while.

There is nothing more regrettable and heartbreaking than missing out on love due to some unknown reasons.

She hugged her mother gently, not knowing how to comfort her.

I finally understood why my mother refused to see my father.

Perhaps it was because she had clearly made up her mind not to look back, but her father pulled her back. After she got married, she found out that her former lover also loved her, which made her even more uncomfortable.

Xia Fu heard her daughter sighing and suddenly found it funny. She raised her head and looked at her daughter tenderly.

"An An, mother can't give you a home, but I am willing to accompany you every day in the future. Can An An forgive me?"

Cheng Yian laughed, "Mom, I'm grown up now. I'm not a child who needs your care. As long as you are fine, I'm fine. No matter what choice you make, I support you."

Now her mother is not the one she worries about the most.

My mother has obviously moved on and is planning to live her own life, so why is King Yunnan still by her side?

Daddy is different.

He has been alone for 19 years and suffered such a severe blow today. It is really worrying what will happen to him in the future.

However, Cheng Yian did not show it in front of his mother.

"Mom, are you really not planning to go back to Yunnan?" This was unexpected good news.

Xia Fu smiled and said, "Well, I will stay in the capital from now on."

Cheng Yian hugged her excitedly, needless to say, his mother must have stayed in the capital for her.

"What should we do, Your Majesty? It's not good for you and your wife to be separated by such a long distance, right?"

Xia Fu said perfunctorily, "The prince always comes back to Beijing to reunite with us every year."

The imperial court needs hostages, and there is nothing that can be done about it.

"Don't worry, mother. Lu Xusheng and I will definitely honor you."

"Okay..." Xia Fu grinned, already thinking about choosing a location and setting up the pharmacy the next day.

She lowered her eyes to the string of coral beads on her wrist, fixed her gaze on it, and then took it off and put it on Cheng Yian's other hand.

"An An, mother gave you this string of beads. You can keep it as a souvenir."

This string of beads witnessed An An's birth and the time she spent with Cheng Mingyu. No one is more qualified than An An to preserve it.

Cheng Yian looked at the beads with mixed feelings, "Did Daddy give them to you?"

Xia Fu lowered her eyes and nodded.

As soon as the carriage arrived at the Prince of Yunnan's Palace, Cheng Yian got off the carriage with her mother, and found that a servant who always served her father was looking at her anxiously from the opposite side. Cheng Yian's heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

The servant said anxiously, "Miss San, the master of the family is vomiting blood, please go and take a look quickly."

Cheng Yian took a deep breath of cool air. She was not afraid of anything except her father coughing up blood. This was how her father died in his previous life.

Cheng Yian couldn't care less, so he turned back and said to Xia Fu,

"Mom, there's something urgent at home, I have to go take care of it."

Xia Fu looked at her deeply and said, "Then be careful on the road."

Cheng Yian hurriedly got into the car and headed for the Cheng Mansion.

The Yunnan Palace was quite far from the Cheng family, so Cheng Yian told Qiu Qing to hurry up, but Qiu Qing had to consider the safety of his mistress. When they arrived at the alley beside the Cheng family, it was already three quarters past ten. The servant immediately led Cheng Yian through the hidden door to Cheng Mingyu's study. Cheng Yian quickly went to the anteroom and gently opened the door, only to see Cheng Mingyu lying on the couch, soundly sleeping, with a very pale face.

Jiao Bo was waiting by the side. When he saw her coming, he quickly stepped aside and choked up,

"Miss Third, the master has never been so ill. He doesn't want to alarm anyone, but I am worried, so I still asked you to come."

"That's natural." Cheng Yian nodded, washed his hands, and

Jinwu sat down and asked the old servant, "Has the old doctor come to see me?"

Jiao Bo sighed, "I've already seen it. He said it was just the stagnation of blood in the heart that was vomited out, which was not a bad thing. He prescribed medicine and told me to take good care of myself, and that was all he said."

Cheng Yian's heart was relieved, and his eyes moved to Cheng Mingyu on the couch. He couldn't help but hold his cold hand.

Soon the medicine was ready and brought to him. Cheng Yian tried to wake him up, "Daddy, it's time for Daddy to take the medicine..."

Cheng Mingyu opened his eyes dazedly and saw a familiar face swaying in front of him. He seemed to hear a soft voice calling him "Master, Master..." Cheng Mingyu struggled to get up, "Fuer..."

The old servant immediately stepped forward to help him and used a pillow for him to lean on. Cheng Mingyu took another closer look and saw that it was Cheng Yian. His eyes paused slightly and then his face was filled with embarrassment.

Cheng Yian pretended not to hear and took the medicine bowl from the servant.

"Dad, your daughter will serve you the soup."

Cheng Mingyu glanced at the medicine bowl and didn't move.

Cheng Yian was unhappy, "Dad, you are an old man, do you still need your daughter to comfort you?"

Cheng Mingyu felt extremely uncomfortable with what his daughter said, so he took the bowl of medicine from Cheng Yian and drank it himself.

Cheng Yian was satisfied. After he finished drinking, he took the medicine bowl and handed it to the servant. Seeing that the gloom in his eyes had not diminished, he pulled his sleeve and advised,

"Daddy, don't be sad, you still have me..."

Cheng Yian was most afraid that he would not value his life.

"Think about it. Lu Xusheng and I don't have any children yet, I haven't established myself in the Lu family, my second sister is still unmarried, and my eldest sister hasn't found a good husband yet. If something happens to you at this time, who will support us..."

It was probably because of regret for his parents that Cheng Yian burst into tears. "When my father was sick, I was panicking. I didn't want anything to happen to him."

Cheng Yian fell into his arms and sobbed.

His daughter, who had always been somewhat distant from him, suddenly fell into his arms. Cheng Mingyu's eyes stung, and the soft spot in his heart was touched. He gently stroked the ends of his daughter's hair and promised in a hoarse voice,

"Don't worry, An'an, Daddy will be fine. Daddy will watch An'an give birth to a child. When An'an becomes a mother and a grandmother, Daddy will not be too old. Okay?"

As long as her parents are around, she will always be a child.

Cheng Yian burst into laughter and said, "Then your words are binding."

She hooked his little finger in a very serious manner, wanting to have an iron hook with him.

At this time, Xia Fu slid down the string of beads for her.

By the time Cheng Yian found out, it was already too late.

Cheng Mingyu's gaze froze again, and his eye sockets gradually darkened and turned scarlet.

*

When Cheng Yian came out of the Cheng Mansion, his face was full of frustration.

Lu Xusheng stood on the side of the car and reached out to pull her into the car. "What happened?"

Cheng Yian got into the carriage and didn't respond. It was not appropriate for her to interfere in the affairs of her elders, nor was it convenient for her to have a deep conversation with Lu Xusheng. She just couldn't wait to get into his arms and listen to his pounding heartbeat.

"You are still good. You are much better than my father."

Lu Xusheng simply couldn't believe it. He looked down and confirmed that it was Cheng Yian he was holding. "You finally found out?"

Cheng Yian uttered a muffled sound in his arms, "Hmm."

"I feel at ease marrying you. I'm not worried that you'll have affairs with other women. My dad is such a hottie. No one would feel at ease marrying him."

Lu Xusheng was so happy that he pinched her cheek in anger, "Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"

Cheng Yian chuckled, raised his eyes in his arms, his eyes were like a pool of autumn water, and two dimples were faintly visible.

Lu Xusheng's eyes darkened and he leaned over to kiss her.

He is really amazing now, his tongue is extremely flexible and his kung fu is also very proficient. Cheng Yian's depressed mood was quickly soothed by him.

It was a hot summer day, and Cheng Yian had been sweating during the day, so he changed his clothes at Cheng's house. It was a thin satin made of Xiangyunsha, with a long thin jacket that covered his shoulders to his feet, and he only wore a snow-white gauze skirt underneath. Both were made of very fitting materials. Lu Xusheng's broad palms extended from his hips all the way down, and wherever they went, it was like fire, piling up layer after layer.

Cheng Yian was really born with a good body, without any redundant parts, her body lines are smooth and slender, and she feels smooth and comfortable, making people love her. Every time I hold her in my arms, I can't help but sigh that she must be Nuwa's most proud work.

By the time Cheng Yian reacted, someone was already sitting on him.

Cheng Yian's back was pressed against the wall of the car, and she was trapped between his chest and the wall. She couldn't even swallow properly. She was forced to wrap her arms around him and his neck, her face flushed.

"Lu Xusheng..."

It takes a lot of effort to pronounce each word.

Lu Xusheng held her tightly, his face as red as the sea, and said, "Do you know why you feel at ease following me?"

Cheng Yian admitted his mistake, "That's not what I meant..."

"Because I won't let you feel uneasy."

When he went to the south of the Yangtze River, didn't anyone send him women? He dealt with those people very quickly and efficiently, and didn't let any trouble spread to the capital.

"Your father is good in everything except that he takes the family honor and gentlemanly duties too seriously. A man has to be willing to sacrifice himself sometimes. My mother-in-law has been reborn from the ashes and may not be willing to be bound by the Cheng family's rules. I think it's good for them to be like this."

Being the head wife of the Cheng family is not an ordinary job. Just look at Cheng Yiyan’s wife, Mrs. Lu, and you will know that she has few days of leisure throughout the year.

Cheng Yian couldn't stand it anymore and punched him weakly, "I don't want to hear you say this."

He provoked her and then ignored her, leaving her with her last breath hanging on without the strength to struggle. A single bump in the carriage could almost kill her.

Lu Xusheng could only put her down and let her lie down. Cheng Yian remembered that the couch was hollow and if she made any noise and was heard by outsiders, she would be so ashamed that she shook her head at him.

Lu Xusheng sneered.

Others wouldn't be able to do this, but Lu Xusheng was different. This man was born with a strong waist and was in his prime. He held her waist with one hand and held her tightly, while supporting himself on the couch with the other hand.

Anytime, anywhere, as long as she wants.

Give it to her.

When Cheng Yian got out of the carriage, she walked with great effort and her steps were broken. Her body was still sensitive. Lu Xusheng reached out his hand to hold her, but Cheng Yian slapped him away and wanted to get off by herself. She leaned forward and took a step. Her leg hurt badly and she glared at Lu Xusheng fiercely. Lu Xusheng didn't care about Cheng Yian's expression and just carried her down.

The Lu family's guards and maids were all well-trained. They lowered their heads and made no sound.

Cheng Yian thought it wasn’t the first time he had hugged her, so he accepted his fate.

Seeing her buried in his arms without saying a word, Lu Xusheng said with a smile, "What's there to be embarrassed about? Our Lu family is not like your Cheng family. The biggest rule of our Lu family is, Cheng, Yi, An."

"You are my ancestor."

Cheng Yian's face flushed immediately, but she was extremely pleased. Her mind was slightly disturbed, and she felt that even his hair was pleasing to the eye at this moment.

"You mean what you say."

The couple tossed around in the carriage for a while, then got on the bed and spent the whole night in silence.

The next morning, Lu Xusheng went to the court again. On the way, the guards told him,

"Last night, the prince's confidant Qiao pretended to meet with the Prince of Nan'an."

Lu Xusheng frowned slightly, "What are you discussing? Have you found out?"

Lu Xusheng has been sending spies to Northern Qi since his rebirth. The Prince of Nan'an was his biggest rival in his previous life, so how could he not be on high alert?

The guard shook his head and said, "Send everyone out. They were just talking alone. We can't find out anything."

Lu Xusheng stopped talking.

At the morning court, the emperor thought about the disturbance caused by the empress dowager in front of the envoys yesterday and was worried that the envoys would underestimate Dajin. He proposed that Lu Xusheng organize a martial arts competition in the suburbs to take advantage of the situation to shock the other countries and the Yunnan Palace.

The ministers seconded the motion.

After the morning court session, Lu Xusheng went to deal with this matter.

In the afternoon, it was the turn of the Ministry of Rites to host a banquet for the envoys. Officials from various ministries were present at the banquet to discuss border trade with the envoys, which inevitably included discussing a peace agreement.

At this time, the Prince of Nan'an stood up and bowed to the crowd.

"My dear officials of Dajin, I have a very good suggestion. If you agree, I will ensure that the border between our two countries will be worry-free for ten years."

These words really aroused the interest of the officials of Dajin. In recent years, Dajin and Northern Qi had experienced a major war every two or three years. The people were living in poverty and the Ministry of Revenue was also stretched to the limit. If they could maintain peace for ten years, it would be a blessing from heaven.

However, everyone also knew that the Prince of Nan'an was difficult to deal with and was afraid that he would make requests that were too rude.

As expected, when the Minister of Finance Zheng Shanghe asked him what his proposal was, the Prince of Nan'an recalled the surprise glance he got at the birthday party yesterday, and said with fascination,

"I have a crush on Cheng Mingyu's youngest daughter, Cheng Yian. If the Emperor of Dajin is willing to marry her to me, I swear on my life that I will sign an agreement with Dajin and never invade the south for ten years."

When these words came out, it was like a bolt from the blue.

When the Queen Mother heard the news, she immediately summoned the Prince to Cining Palace.

The Queen Mother was not afraid of heat at her age. She never used refrigeration in Cining Palace. When the Prince entered the palace, he only felt

It was stuffy inside, and the semen was sticking to his skin, making him feel uncomfortable. However, Chu Junwei's majesty prevented him from showing any clues, and he greeted the Queen Mother as usual.

When the Queen Mother saw the Prince, she dismissed the servants and asked worriedly,

"How did yesterday go?"

The prince looked up at her with a determined look, "Everything went well. Prince Nan'an had already raised this matter at the banquet for the envoys from the Ministry of Rites, and Sun'er had people spread the news widely in the streets, making this matter known to create pressure on Your Majesty."

Since ancient times, there have been many people who have exchanged women for peace.

Compared to Cheng Yian, the safety of millions of people on the border is the most important. Jiangnan has just been pacified, and the emperor needs time to restore and strengthen the national strength of Dajin and accumulate capital. These ten years are too critical. Any ambitious emperor should exchange a woman for peace and the future of Dajin.

If not, why did the Queen Mother deliberately bring up the matter of the Cheng family yesterday to arouse the curiosity of Prince Nan'an, and then further promise huge benefits to encourage Prince Nan'an to propose this?

Cheng Yian is too crucial. She is the link between the Cheng Mansion, the first family, the Duke Lu Mansion, and the Prince of Yunnan Mansion. This connection must be severed so that the Prince's Party can have a way out. This proposal can also effectively alienate Lu Xusheng and the emperor, which is simply killing three birds with one stone.

Cheng Yian's father is the head of the civil officials, her husband is the commander-in-chief of the border, and now he is connected to the Yunnan Palace.

Who can sit idly by and watch as these three become more interconnected?

Any far-sighted court official should have considered the interests involved.

His achievements are so great that they frighten his master.

Therefore, the prince only needs to fan the flames, and someone will go to the emperor to plead his case, and the emperor will inevitably be shaken. Lu Xusheng must be filled with hatred because his wife was taken away by someone else. The prince feels very excited just thinking about the scene at that time.

"Grandma is still the best."

The Queen Mother's expression did not change significantly. "I will let you keep an eye on the affairs of the court, but offspring are also very important. You need to pay more attention to the Crown Princess."

The prince looked gloomy.

The proposal made by Prince Nan'an quickly caused an uproar in the court, and the entire capital was in an uproar.

Lu Xusheng was arranging a martial arts competition in the suburbs of the city, and the secret guards immediately rushed to the Beijing camp to report the matter to him.

Lu Xusheng was surrounded by a group of generals who had followed his father in battles across the country. Upon hearing this, they were all furious.

"What a bastard, how dare you covet the young lady!"

One of the generals, who was known for his ferocity, punched the sand table and glared at him, "Young Marshal, just give me a nod and I'll kill that bastard right away!"

Each of the generals was angrier than Lu Xusheng himself.

"The Prince of Nan'an dared to come to Dajin. He is simply seeking death. Marshal, let's just go all out and get him!"

Lu Xusheng listened quietly, then slowly took the handkerchief handed to him by the deputy general and washed his hands.

"Please be patient, I will go back to the city first."

Everyone was puzzled when they saw Lu Xusheng walking out calmly.

"Young Marshal, where are you going? Do you want your subordinates to go with you?"

With Lu Xusheng's personality, he definitely wouldn't tolerate this. Everyone suspected that he wanted to settle the matter privately, so they planned to go and help him.

Unexpectedly, Lu Xusheng walked out, waving his hands.

"Don't worry, I'll go comfort my wife first."

With such a big commotion, Cheng Yian must have heard about it. We must not let her get upset.

In his previous life, he never told Cheng Yian about what was happening outside, which made her completely clueless about him. But now, his wife is the most important.