Chapter 47 She couldn't bear it anymore.
Lu Yuan slowly stepped into the room. The hem of his black brocade robe fluttered silently in the moonlight, shimmering with a cold, eerie luster.
He seemed to blend into the deep night.
Why aren't the lights on?
His voice was deeper than usual, carrying an invisible weight in the silent darkness, making it hard to breathe.
Mingwu's heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously took half a step back, her heel hitting the cold table leg.
"We were just about to rest."
She lowered her eyelashes, avoiding his gaze, her soft voice trembling slightly.
I just hope he leaves soon.
The candle flickered and lit up, its soft light filling the room and dispelling the gloom.
He put away the tinderbox and turned to look at us.
Light and shadow flowed across his sharply defined profile, outlining his deep-set eyes and brows.
He walked up to her and stopped, raising his hand to gently stroke her cheek with his cool fingertips.
"Why do you look so pale? Is the ritual tiring?"
These seemingly caring words sent a chill down Mingwu's spine, as if she had been licked by the tongue of a venomous snake.
She suppressed her pounding heart and softly hummed in agreement, while simultaneously turning to the side to avoid his touch.
He quietly slipped the hand clutching the silk cloth behind his back.
“It seems my mother… has some misunderstanding about me,” she said softly, trying to divert his attention.
Lu Yuan glanced at her cuff without leaving a trace, his gaze darkening.
His fingertips slowly slid down her cheek, his slender fingers pinching her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.
His eyes were deep and dark, like two black, icy pools, churning with a lurking, menacing undercurrent.
Mingwu's eyelashes trembled a few times, and her gaze shifted slightly downwards, landing on his high, straight nose. She dared not meet his eyes.
"Don't worry about Mother."
His voice was soft, and as he spoke, he leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her forehead almost imperceptibly.
Mingwu felt annoyed and was about to raise her hand to block his overly intimate gesture when her sleeve suddenly felt light.
He took away the "silk cloth" that she was clutching tightly.
Mingwu panicked and instinctively reached out to snatch it back, but he easily dodged her.
"Give it back to me." Mingwu glared at him angrily.
Lu Yuan lowered his eyes, casually examining the plain-colored fabric in his hand.
"What is this? Why is A-Wu so nervous?"
Mingwu bit her lower lip, forcing herself to remain calm.
"It's just a piece of... an ordinary piece of cloth, used for wiping away dust..."
He's a germaphobe, so he should return this dirty thing to her immediately.
"Yeah?"
Lu Yuan looked up at her, his gaze piercing, as if he wanted to burn two holes in her face.
"If Your Excellency does not believe me, then take a closer look."
Fortunately, she came up with a quick idea.
He secretly tossed the piece of silk cloth with writing on it, which the Zen master had given him, under the table when the master wasn't looking. At the same time, he grabbed the scrap of cloth from the sewing basket next to him.
Lu Yuan glanced at the strip of cloth in his hand, then turned his gaze to the table.
Several strips of cloth of the same color were hanging from the edge of the sewing basket.
"It is indeed an ordinary piece of fabric."
Lu Yuan's gaze swept almost imperceptibly over the shadows under the table.
He knows!
Mingwu's heart skipped a beat.
Before she could think, she instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm, preemptively questioning him.
"Did the Prime Minister come here tonight also because he suspects me?"
Before he could answer, it was as if her pent-up emotions had finally found an outlet.
She spoke quickly and urgently, her voice choked with sobs.
"Does this mean that every single thing I do in this mansion, even if I just go to the garden for some fresh air, is reported to the Prime Minister without missing a single word?"
At first, it was just to distract him, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the grievances and repression of the past few days truly welled up in her heart.
Her voice rose involuntarily, filled with barely suppressed anger.
"Have you been having people spying on me all along?"
By the end, her almond-shaped eyes were brimming with tears, and even her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Lu Yuan's gaze slowly moved up from her white knuckles, finally settling on her tearful yet stubbornly refusing-to-shed tears.
He gazed at her silently, his deep, unfathomable eyes revealing no emotion.
He didn't speak until she finished speaking.
"Are you done talking?"
The two words were so light that Mingwu unconsciously loosened her grip on his sleeve.
Even now, she still hopes that he will realize he was wrong and see her hurt...
Lu Yuan grabbed her wrist with his other hand, not with much force, but not enough to let her break free.
He leaned closer, the candlelight casting a play of light and shadow on his profile.
"If what you say is true, and I have people monitoring your every move, then why are you still standing here talking to me?"
Mingwu looked up at him.
What did he mean?
Lu Yuan noticed her surprise and doubt, and gently wiped away the tear that was about to fall from the corner of her eye with his fingertips.
"Does Awu really think that your little tricks can escape my eyes?"
His lips were almost touching her ear, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe.
He did indeed have people monitoring her.
Mingwu was both shocked and furious. She suddenly broke free from his hand and staggered backward.
"Yes, I went to see Zen Master Shanhui. Does the Prime Minister know why I went to see him?" She raised her reddened eyes.
The candlelight crackled in the silence.
Lu Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Go ahead."
"I heard that the Prime Minister will be leaving the capital soon, so I went to ask for this."
As Mingwu spoke, she took out a talisman from her sleeve. The bright yellow talisman was particularly dazzling under the lamplight.
This travel talisman was obtained along with the peace talisman at Lingyin Temple that day. She felt reassured after several failed escape attempts and wanted a travel talisman for peace of mind.
I never imagined it would have this use.
Lu Yuan's breathing hitched slightly, as if something had gently bumped into his chest.
All suspicions vanished at that moment.
This man, who always wanted to have everything under his control and tolerated no deviation whatsoever, surprisingly decided not to delve any further.
He reached out and took the talisman, his fingertips touching her slightly cool palm.
A flutter of excitement rose from the touch of their skin and went straight to their hearts.
Mingwu quickly withdrew her hand, and the emptiness she felt for a moment caused a strange sense of loss to surge in Lu Yuan's heart.
"I shouldn't have misunderstood you. From now on..." I will treat you well.
Before he could finish speaking, Mingwu interrupted him mercilessly.
"I dare not hope for the 'future' of the Prime Minister. It is late, and the Prime Minister has official business to attend to tomorrow. Please return."
He had never been driven away so bluntly.
If it were any other time, if it were someone else...
But looking at her, the anger that had just risen in his chest dissipated. In its place came a feeling of utter bewilderment and unfamiliarity.
This threw him into a bit of a panic.
He took a step forward, and Ming Wu immediately stepped back. The obvious rejection on her face was like sharp needles piercing Lu Yuan's heart, bringing waves of pain.
He clenched his fingers slightly inside his sleeve, then slowly relaxed them.
She smiled and said, "Awu, you're angry."
Mingwu's temper suddenly flared: "Shouldn't I be angry? Or is it that in the Prime Minister's eyes, I don't even have the right to be angry?"
In the past, he would have definitely turned cold or used more forceful methods to suppress her.
However, this time, he didn't.
He just stood there quietly, watching her.
“Yes,” he uttered a single word.
Mingwu was stunned.
Lu Yuan subtly closed the distance between the two of them.
It wasn't until Mingwu came to her senses that she realized he was already very close.
His nose was about to touch hers, their warm breaths mingling.
"So, I'll stay here and make you angry, okay?"
Mingwu was completely stunned, her mind went blank, and she even forgot to push him away.
What does he mean by that?
Seeing her bewildered and helpless look, Lu Yuan's inexplicable irritation subsided somewhat.
He liked the way she looked at him, completely influenced by him and unable to think straight.
"or,"
He pressed his advantage, his lips almost touching her earlobe, whispering in a breathy voice that only the two of them could hear.
"Awu, can you think of a way to 'punish' me to make me feel better?"
Mingwu shuddered, suddenly snapping back to reality. Her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, a blush rising from her anger.
"You are shameless!"
She struggled for a long time, only managing to squeeze out these three pale and powerless words.
She tried to push him away, but he grabbed her wrist again.
Lu Yuan's gaze fell on her flushed face, his eyes darkening.
He lowered his head and gently pressed his forehead against hers.
"Yes, I'm shameless."
He readily admitted it, his gaze lingering on her slightly trembling lips.
The candle flame crackled again, bursting into a tiny flame.
The indoor air seemed to become thick and sticky.
Mingwu's heart pounded like a drum, and just as he was about to kiss her, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Lu Yuan paused, his thin lips stopping just an inch from hers.
The tear slid down her pale cheek, leaving a dark stain on his black sleeve.
He stared at the teardrop as if burned, and then released her.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Mingwu broke free from his embrace and staggered back to the window.
The night breeze ruffled her disheveled hair.
"Does Your Excellency have to humiliate me like this?"
Her words were like an ice-cold dagger, piercing straight into Lu Yuan's heart. The pain made him gasp for breath.
"Humiliation? In A-Wu's mind, are my words humiliating you?"
"Isn't that right? Does Your Excellency still remember what you said to me on our wedding night?"
Lu Yuan's expression changed slightly.
Of course he remembers.
That night, red candles burned brightly, and the wedding tent blazed like fire. He coldly watched his bride sit on the bed, uttering the words: "Don't covet what isn't yours."
He then turned and left.
At that time, he only thought of her as a woman who would do anything to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy.
But if you truly hate it.
Given his temperament, how could he have allowed her to live to this day? And how could he have allowed her to become his legal wife after knowing that she had plotted to drug him?
Perhaps from the moment they first met, she was different from others in his heart.
He took a step forward, his voice extremely gentle: "I was wrong about what I did before. Ah Wu, let's start over, okay?"
How could he be so nonchalant about it?
Ming Wu laughed.
She took a half step back, avoiding his approaching presence.
"Start over? And then what? Continue being the prime minister's plaything, summoned and dismissed at will?"
Lu Yuan frowned, trying to explain that this was not his intention.
"Awu, the past cannot be made up for, but the future..."
He was interrupted sharply before he could finish speaking.
All the grievances and anger that had been building up in Mingwu's eyes suddenly burst forth. She stared straight at him, her voice trembling with extreme rage.
"Don't talk to me about the future!"
"You think you can erase all the suffering I've endured with just a casual 'no'? Lu Yuan, look carefully, I'm not some cat or dog you keep."
She raised her hand and pointed heavily to her heart, tears finally streaming down her face.
"I am a human being! A person who feels pain and hates!"
Lu Yuan stood frozen in place.
He watched the tears rolling down her face, and her thin shoulders trembling slightly with emotion.
The phrase "It will hurt, it will hate" was like a red-hot, dull knife, grinding against his heart repeatedly.
He had never seen her like this before.
Like a small beast driven to the brink of despair, finally revealing all its claws and teeth, its eyes even bloodshot.
His hands clenched and unclenched in his sleeves, and finally, his dry throat moved as if he were trying to say something.
"Awu, I never..."
"Never?"
Mingwu spoke first, interrupting him with all her might.
She raised her hand and forcefully wiped away the tears on her face, as if she wanted to personally erase all her weakness.
"Are you going to say again that you were unaware of this? Or that none of this was your intention?"
"Then tell me, what kind of Gu poison did you plant in me?!"
Now that he knows about her seeking help from Zen Master Shanhui to remove the curse, she can't hold back any longer. She's wanted to ask him this for a long time.
The hatred on Mingwu's face was like a sharp sword, piercing deeply into Lu Yuan's heart.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he was so shocked that he took half a step back.
Boom—!
Thunder roared on the rooftop, and lightning cleaved the night.
A pale white flash of lightning illuminated Lu Yuan's face.
It clearly revealed the turbulent emotions surging in his eyes. There was pain, struggle, and a vulnerability she had never seen before.
After the thunder, the room fell into a suffocating silence.
Immediately afterwards, the raindrops began to pelt down.
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