Chapter 52 She fell in love with another man
Xu Ming, holding the dressing case, quickly walked to Lu Yuan, knelt on one knee, and presented it with both hands.
The dressing case was no bigger than the palm of my hand; the fire had scorched it to the bone. The edges were blackened, with only a faint gold mark remaining at the clasp.
Under the dim light of the sky, it stared at everyone like a cold, one-eyed gaze.
The air froze, with only the howling wind carrying a few wisps of burnt gauze, which danced wildly among the broken walls.
Lu Yuan slowly reached out and took the dressing case.
When the fingertips touched the rough surface scorched by the fire, they curled up almost imperceptibly.
He had seen this box before; it was her most treasured possession.
One time when he came in, he saw her hurriedly stuffing something into a drawer, which he didn't know what it was, and locking it there.
Are they really love letters between her and... another man?
The hand gripping the box tightened suddenly.
Chun Nan's face showed a hint of panic, and she quickly lowered her head, as if she was afraid and trying her best to hide something.
Qi Lan was initially a little uneasy, after all, the so-called love letters with her lover were just something she made up.
Seeing Chun Nan's reaction, Qi Lan realized that she had stumbled upon the perfect solution.
Excitement made her forget to maintain her delicate facade; she pointed at the dressing case, her voice sharp and distorted with excitement.
"Prime Minister, open it! That vile woman must be inside..."
The word "person" has not yet been uttered.
Lu Yuan's icy gaze swept over.
His gaze was so cold it was devoid of any warmth, as if he were looking at a lifeless object.
Qi Lan was like a duck with its throat choked; she couldn't utter another word. Her distorted, excited expression froze on her face, making her look particularly comical.
Lu Yuan didn't even bother to offer a single word.
He merely raised his hand slightly.
Qin, the old nanny, immediately understood and quickly walked up to Qi Lan, slapping her hard across the face with her backhand.
"Smack—"
The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the ruins, startling several sparrows perched on the treetops, which fluttered their wings and fled in panic into the gray sky.
Qi Lan was slapped so hard that she fell off her wheelchair and to the ground.
Her hair was disheveled, her pale cheeks were instantly swollen and red, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. She covered her face and looked at Lu Yuan in disbelief.
He actually allowed a servant to lay a hand on her!
Tears welled up, leaving two wet streaks on her dusty face, making her look even more pitiful.
"Prime Minister..."
She choked back tears, trying to evoke even the slightest bit of pity from him in the past.
However, Lu Yuan didn't even glance at her, only coldly giving his orders.
"Take him away."
Qi Lan panicked completely.
"No! Lu Yuan, you can't..."
She struggled to get up, but was firmly held down by two guards who came forward, one on each side.
"Prime Minister, I did all this for you."
Seeing that Lu Yuan remained unmoved, her voice suddenly became sharp, and she offered her last protection.
"I am your elder brother's betrothed. Please, for Han's sake..."
The moment Lu Han's name was called out.
The suppressed ferocity emanating from Lu Yuan exploded like ignited gunpowder!
A crimson killing intent surged in those unfathomable eyes.
It was because of his guilt towards his deceased brother that he tolerated her audacity time and time again. But she shouldn't have, in a million years, harbored such wicked thoughts towards his A-Wu.
She deserves to die!
But he wouldn't let her die so easily.
"Gag him! Lock him in the water dungeon. No one is allowed to visit him without my order."
The words "water dungeon" struck like a thunderbolt, not only turning Qi Lan's face pale but also sending shivers down the spines of the kneeling servants around him.
That was the most terrifying place in the Prime Minister's residence; anyone who went in would either die or be severely injured.
Qi Lan's cries were muffled by the rag, and she was quickly dragged away like an animal.
The vast venue was completely silent.
Lu Yuan's gaze slowly swept over the crowd kneeling on the ground, trembling like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.
"Xu Ming failed to protect his master and neglected his duties."
"Your subordinate is here." Xu Ming's heart tightened, and he bowed in response.
"Take them all away and punish them severely according to the regulations of the manor. They will all be sold out of the manor."
"yes."
Xu Ming waved his hand, and the Xuanjia guards who had been waiting immediately rushed in, silencing all the crying and begging maids, servants and young men like tigers and wolves.
They dragged it away without any mercy.
In a short while, the place was empty, leaving only a mess and a suffocating silence.
The wind swirled the ashes, sweeping past Lu Yuan's dark robes.
He lowered his eyes, all his attention returning to the small vanity case in his palm.
The charred wooden box looked so fragile between his slender fingers, as if it would shatter at the slightest pressure.
He raised his other hand, his well-defined fingers hovering above the lock.
Even a massive army hadn't made him hesitate for a second, but now, this small box filled him with fear.
In the end, he pressed his fingertips against the deformed metal and applied a little force.
"Click".
With a soft click, the latch popped open.
Lu Yuan's breath hitched, and he slowly lifted the lid of the box, his fingertips touching the lid.
Sure enough, there were several unsealed letters inside.
It really is a belief.
His breathing suddenly became heavy, and his outstretched fingertips paused in the air before finally falling down.
Pick up the top one.
The envelope was blank, without any salutation.
Lu Yuan felt a sense of relief for no apparent reason.
Perhaps it was just an ordinary family letter.
Her taut lips relaxed slightly, and even the way she opened the letter became a little lighter.
The letter is unfolded.
In just one glance, all the color drained from his face.
He was all too familiar with that delicate handwriting, but every word it wrote turned into a sharp sword, piercing the softest part of his heart.
The thin sheet of paper trembled violently between his fingers, barely able to withstand the sudden force applied.
These were love letters she wrote to another man.
It turned out that every time she turned her back to him and wrote at her desk, she wasn't pondering a medicinal diet recipe, but rather pouring out her heart to another man.
It turns out that the reason she cherished this box so much was because she loved another man.
"Oh……"
A very low laugh escaped from his throat.
He suddenly grabbed all the letters from the box and roughly tore off the sealing wax.
Those lingering thoughts, those intimate sharings, those details she never revealed to him—about her relationship with another man…
From her incessant complaints when she first entered the Prime Minister's residence, to the barely concealed sense of relief she felt after Qi Lan appeared.
She actually said that being able to get rid of him was the happiest thing.
hiss--
The letter crumbled into pieces in his palm.
He released his grip, and the shards fell in a flurry.
Like a sudden, unexpected snowfall, it fell thick and fast. The charred stone on the ground was instantly covered by this "snow," turning its top white.
Lu Yuan closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were a terrifying crimson.
It turns out that her gentle smile was fake.
It turns out, the passion in bed was fake.
It turns out that all those days and nights spent meticulously preparing medicinal meals for him were a lie.
...
Intense jealousy gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes.
A metallic taste suddenly welled up in his throat. He clenched his teeth and forced it down, but a trickle of blood still spilled from the corner of his lips onto his pale face.
A shocking red line was drawn across the surface.
"Prime Minister!" Xu Ming exclaimed as he stepped forward.
Lu Yuan raised his hand to stop him.
He was a high-ranking prime minister, in charge of the court and looking down on all living beings. But he never expected that one day he would fall into the hands of a weak woman.
It's... utterly ridiculous.
There was not a sound all around.
It was as if an invisible force had sucked away all the sound, leaving only a deafening silence.
He stood there, unable to hear his own breathing, as if he had been thrown into an absolute vacuum, with only the tearing pain in his heart proving that time was still flowing.
Lu Yuan slowly raised his eyes.
My eyes were so dry they felt hot, and every blink felt like grinding against rough sand, producing an almost audible, sluggish friction.
Dark clouds rolled across the gray sky.
The fierce wind whipped up the charred, broken branches and lashed them viciously against the ruins.
Lu Yuan's gaze swept over the mess on the ground and landed on the corpse covered with a white sheet.
Strangely, the overwhelming hatred that had almost overwhelmed him receded like a tide when he touched that dazzling white.
What remains is a deeper, duller pain, weighing heavily on the chest.
It made every breath he took smell like rust.
Those moments he thought he had long forgotten or never paid attention to suddenly resurfaced, as if carved into stone by a knife.
She sat by the window, carefully picking through the medicinal herbs. She muttered to herself, "I added licorice to today's medicinal meal; I wonder if my husband will dislike it..."
In the morning light, she tiptoed to adjust his court robes. Her cool fingertips brushed against his Adam's apple, sending a shiver through him that he deliberately ignored...
On cold winter nights, she would unconsciously seek him out, snuggle into his arms, and smile sweetly and contentedly in her sleep…
...
The more vivid and warm the memory, the colder and more piercing this deathly white landscape before my eyes.
He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a glint of water seemed to flash across his eyes. It was so quick it was like an illusion, instantly evaporating into that bottomless, icy pool.
He moved slowly, like an old man, toward the corpse.
Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge, making my steps heavy and sluggish.
The hem of his dark robe brushed against the scorched earth, stirring up fine dust.
The ruthless decisiveness he displayed when dealing with Qi Lan and the servants had vanished, leaving only a fragile, almost broken slowness.
It was only a few short steps, but it felt like he had walked for a lifetime.
He stopped beside the body.
He lowered his eyes and stared at the white cloth covering his body.
Do you hate it?
He hated her. He hated that she had someone else in her heart, and that she never loved him until her death.
But……
He loved her more.
He loved her so much that even knowing she betrayed him, even though those words pierced him and left him bleeding.
Just thinking about how she was now separated from him by death...
All hatred, like ice and snow meeting the sun, melted away into boundless panic and...despair.
He cannot accept it.
The woman who once smiled at him, cooked medicinal meals for him, and slept peacefully in his arms has become a cold, lifeless, charred corpse.
“Awu…”
A low murmur escaped his throat.
His voice was so hoarse that he didn't even realize what a humble plea was hidden in his tone.
What if... this isn't her?
What if... this is just a ridiculous nightmare?
He wanted to wake up quickly.
"puff--!"
A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth, splattering onto the white cloth, the red and white intertwining like blooming red plum blossoms.
It looks both tragic and shocking.
Lu Yuan's tall body swayed violently, his vision began to blur, and his ears rang.
The world twisted and spun before his eyes, eventually collapsing into a void of blackness.
"Prime Minister!"
Amid Xu Ming's terrified screams, the light in Lu Yuan's eyes went out completely, and he fell straight forward like a collapsing mountain.
Ah Wu, I will search the highest heavens and the deepest hells.
You can only be mine!
Even if you don't love me, you can only be mine!
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