Chapter 25 He couldn't bear it.
The next morning, before dawn.
A few stars dotted the pale blue sky, occasionally twinkling. A hazy, indistinct mist hung over the Prime Minister's residence, as if a thin layer of gray haze had enveloped it.
A black crow perched on the high, upturned eaves, cawing hoarsely, one cry after another, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet of the early morning.
It gives people a very ominous feeling.
Chunnan's face suddenly turned pale. She bent down, picked up a pebble, and threw it fiercely at the unlucky bird.
Unfortunately, the eaves were too high, and she was too weak; the pebble only flew halfway before falling to the ground.
The crow seemed to understand her thoughts, and cawed even more noisily, as if mocking her overestimation of her abilities.
Chunnan stomped her feet in anger.
Mingwu grabbed Chunnan, who was about to pick up more pebbles, and said in a low voice, "Don't cause any more trouble. Time waits for no one. Let's hurry up and go."
Chunnan's heart skipped a beat. She immediately composed herself, clutching the bundle in her arms even tighter. Not daring to delay any longer, she followed closely behind Mingwu's figure.
Using the shadows of the trees and flowers in the courtyard as cover, the two crouched low and tiptoed quietly toward the back gate.
They investigated.
This back gate was specifically for servants to use when buying or transporting waste such as chamber pots. Unlike the other gates in the mansion, it was not heavily guarded.
Normally, only a few elderly gatekeepers and servants take turns on duty, and there are no guards.
Chunnan leaned close to Mingwu's ear and whispered, pointing to a spot not far away.
"Madam, look, there seems to be no one in that gatehouse."
Mingwu gazed intently at the scene.
Sure enough, there was no one in the gatehouse.
He frowned in confusion.
That's not right.
Although it is now the late hours of the morning, when people are sleeping the most, the gatekeepers of the Prime Minister's residence are always on duty in shifts, so there is no reason for them to be absent.
Is there perhaps a problem?
But her departure early this morning was a last-minute decision made yesterday, and she didn't tell anyone.
In addition, Lu Yuan was not in the mansion.
Just in case, she even found a pretext to send Xu Ming to the west of the city on business, and he wouldn't be back until the afternoon.
Chunnan speculated anxiously, "Perhaps... he needed to use the restroom and went to relieve himself with someone else?"
Mingwu's doubts remained, but she could only nod slightly.
"...That should be the case."
Holding my breath, I quietly took a few steps closer. But I discovered that the heavy elmwood corner door was not bolted!
The two exchanged a surprised glance.
There's a problem.
But we've already come this far; there's no turning back. We have to try, no matter what.
Mingwu took a deep breath, her fingertips trembling, and with an almost tragic determination, gently pushed towards the half-closed door.
With a soft creak, the side gate was slowly pushed open.
"Second sister-in-law."
Almost at the same instant the door opened, a deliberately lowered male voice, tinged with a gentle smile, unexpectedly entered my ears.
It's been discovered.
Mingwu's mind went blank for a moment, and she didn't even hear the address clearly.
She stiffly raised her head.
Under the dim light of day, Lu Cang emerged from the shadow of a thick gatepost.
He wore an indigo brocade robe, and his gentle face wore a warm smile. He seemed to have been standing there for a long time, his hair damp with dew.
"What are you doing here, Third Young Master?"
Didn't he make an appointment with the princess to go boating on the lake this morning?
Could it be... Lu Yuan?!
Did he know in advance, so he sent Lu Cang to ambush her here?
Mingwu's throat tightened, and she felt a chill rise from her tailbone to the top of her head, as if all the blood in her body had frozen.
Lu Cang seemed oblivious to the wariness in her eyes, and his smile deepened.
"...Don't worry, I've arranged the route perfectly. The carriages are waiting under the locust tree at the end of the alley; once we leave the city, we'll head south..."
He stopped calling her "Second Sister-in-law" and felt embarrassed to call her "A-Wu," so he could only vaguely omit the title.
Mingwu didn't notice the change in Lu Cang's way of addressing her, and she looked at him with surprise and uncertainty.
The fingers twisting the hem of the clothes tightened, and the originally soft embroidery on the fabric became grotesque at this moment.
She suppressed the panic in her heart and forced a smile.
"You flatter me, Third Young Master. I... I just miss my mother dearly and want to go back to my parents' home as soon as possible. It's still early, and I don't want to disturb anyone."
She paused, then spoke faster.
"As for the Third Young Master, what about the Princess..."
He should go keep his appointment with the princess as soon as possible, instead of wasting time dawdling with her here.
Lu Cang took it as her being jealous and was secretly pleased, so he quickly explained.
"Please don't misunderstand, the princess and I are just..."
"I understand, I understand."
Mingwu readily agreed, wanting only to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Seeing this, Lu Cang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he was surprised to find that in just that moment, his palms were already covered with a thin layer of sweat.
"Let's not delay, let's get going."
Although she didn't know why Lu Cang was helping her, as long as she could leave the Prime Minister's residence and Lu Yuan... she could worry about the rest later.
Having made up her mind, Mingwu smiled gratefully at Lu Cang.
"good."
The first rays of dawn bathed her in a soft, gentle light.
Her skin was porcelain white, her features delicate, and her long eyelashes drooped gently, casting a small, light shadow beneath her eyelids. This made her almond-shaped eyes appear even clearer and more distinct.
Her eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, and unintentionally, a touch of alluring charm and beauty emanated from them.
Like a lady stepping out of a traditional Chinese ink painting, she is so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off her.
Lu Cang's gaze became fixed on him.
He had never seen her so clearly before.
Or rather, he had never dared to look directly at her so brazenly.
During those days at the Prime Minister's residence when he had to strictly adhere to etiquette, he could only steal a glimpse of her silhouette from the corner of his eye during the intervals of serving tea and exchanging greetings.
And now, he could finally openly and legitimately imprint that face into his eyes.
She was born too clean-cut.
Lu Cang thought.
How could there be such a clean person in this filthy Prime Minister's residence?
Chun Nan, who was standing to the side, felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Lu Cang's undisguised infatuation, and her face turned pale.
The Third Young Master actually harbors such thoughts about his wife!
She hurriedly looked at Mingwu.
The lady remained oblivious.
Yes.
The lady's heart has always been devoted solely to the Prime Minister, and she has always been indifferent to other men. Hopefully, she will notice Lu Cang's unusual behavior herself.
Unless the sun rises in the west.
But... this is for the best.
Chun Nan lowered her eyes, concealing the complex emotions within them, and pretended not to know.
"Third Young Master?" Mingwu asked, puzzled by his gaze.
Lu Cang snapped back to his senses, hurriedly lowered his head, and a blush quickly spread from the tips of his ears to his cheeks.
"I..." His throat bobbed, but after a long pause, he couldn't utter a coherent sentence.
Mingwu looked up at the sky; the eastern sky was beginning to lighten, like a sheet of paper slowly unfolding.
"Third Young Master, it's getting late, we should set off."
If we delay any longer and someone finds out, that would be bad.
Lu Cang seemed to wake from a dream and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, yes, let's go. Get out of here, get out... Brother, let's go together..."
Before he could finish speaking, suddenly
"Da da da..."
A rapid hoofbeat approached from afar.
In the blink of an eye, on the long bluestone street shrouded in mist outside the side gate, a figure in black rode a tall brown warhorse.
They walked slowly.
It's Lu Yuan!
He's back!
Lu Yuan sat upright on his horse, his black cloak billowing in the wind behind him. He tightened the reins with one hand, his icy gaze almost tangible.
Like a sharp blade, it pierced through the thin morning mist and precisely pierced Mingwu's pale face.
The air seemed to freeze completely, heavy as if a thousand-pound lead weight was pressing down on your head.
Even the noisy crow on the eaves seemed to have its throat gripped by this terrifying pressure, its previously arrogant cawing abruptly ceasing.
Only a deathly silence remained, spreading silently under the gray sky.
Time was stretched out indefinitely.
Lu Yuan finally made a move.
He did not dismount, but his fingers tightened their grip on the reins very slightly.
The well-trained and intelligent warhorse immediately sensed its master's will. It suddenly raised its head and let out a low, menacing neigh.
Its forehooves slammed heavily onto the bluestone slabs, making a dull thud.
The sound was like a thunderclap striking Mingwu's taut heartstrings.
Lu Yuan's thin lips pressed into a sharp, straight line.
In the unfathomable depths of his eyes surged a ferocity powerful enough to incinerate everything.
His gaze finally shifted from Ming Wu, slowly and with immense weight, passing over Lu Cang, who stood frozen beside her.
"Oh."
A very soft, cold sneer escaped from between his teeth.
The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated everyone's eardrums.
Mingwu trembled violently and almost lost her balance.
Chun Nan's face turned deathly pale, and she let out a short whimper before collapsing to the ground.
Lu Cang felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. His body swayed uncontrollably, and the last trace of color disappeared from his face, leaving only a deathly ashen complexion.
He opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty, but under Lu Yuan's icy gaze, he completely fell silent, unable to squeeze out even a whisper.
Lu Yuan's lips curled into a disdainful smile as his gaze returned to Ming Wu.
He finally spoke: "Madam and Third Brother, where are we headed?" His voice was low and calm, as if it were just a very ordinary question.
Without a trace of emotion.
His tone could even be described as "mild," but Mingwu could hear the overwhelming anger between the lines.
If she cannot quell his anger, then...
Her fingernails dug deep into her palm, leaving crescent-shaped blood marks, but Mingwu felt no pain whatsoever.
"Is this how Your Excellency wronged me?"
"Injustice?"
Lu Yuan laughed as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and he was so angry that he laughed instead.
He squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and the warhorse's massive body, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression, instantly closed in on Mingwu.
The breath exhaled from the horse's snort stirred a strand of hair that hung down her cheek.
"At the third quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM), before dawn, you and your third brother are at the back gate..."
His cold gaze swept over the bundle that Chun Nan was holding.
"You're saying I've wronged you?"
This sound carried the menacing force of an impending storm.
Mingwu was trembling with fear, but she still bit her lower lip tightly, using all her strength. She raised her neck and looked him in the eye.
She knew that she couldn't show weakness at this moment.
It's like facing a ferocious beast in the wilderness; if you relax even for a moment, it will pounce and bite your neck off.
So even if she felt incredibly guilty inside, she had to pretend to be confident and righteous.
"You're wronging me! You never believed me at all. If you believed me, you wouldn't look at me like this. Waaah..."
Large tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You said...you said you'd treat me well...I knew it...you were just lying to me. It was all a lie."
She cried so hard her tears fell like raindrops.
Taking advantage of the moment when she covered her face with her sleeve to wipe away her tears, she quickly and secretly glanced at him.
The tyranny in his eyes seemed to freeze for a moment, and he seemed to soften slightly.
Mingwu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
fine.
He falls for that.
When she's in the wrong, she resorts to unreasonable arguments and shifts the blame onto the other person. This kind of crying and tantrums is something she learned from her mother when she was in the Ming Dynasty.
Lu Yuan frowned slightly.
Clearly, he wasn't very good at dealing with Mingwu.
He was used to Mingwu's gentleness, her ingratiation, her timidity, and even her occasional little acts of audacity, but he had never seen her like this before...
They unreasonably pushed all the blame onto him, as if he were the one who was the most heinous sinner.
Reason told him that she was making excuses, and that he shouldn't listen to a single word of her nonsense, so he should directly order her punishment.
But looking at that pale little face, those tears streaming down her face, that soft, sweet reproach...
It was as if a tiny hook had suddenly and unexpectedly scratched at his weak spot.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
But it was impossible for Lu Yuan to let it go so easily. So, he turned his attention to Lu Cang.
"You tell me."
His gaze was sharp, his voice was icy, and his aura relentlessly pressed down on Lu Cang.
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