Chapter 9 He was furious
Lu Yuan raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the rain and landing on Ming Wu, who stood in the rain. He frowned slightly, then took a step towards her.
The hem of the official robe was stained with dark marks from the slanting rain, but he did not look disheveled at all; instead, he exuded a chilling and dignified aura that penetrated to the bone.
Chunnan held her breath nervously, and unconsciously tightened her grip on Mingwu's hand.
Mingwu's fingers, gripping the handle of the food box so tightly they turned white, were almost numb from the coldness at her fingertips.
She slightly bent her knees, performing a gesture that was impeccable yet extremely distant.
"This humble servant greets Your Excellency."
This was the first time she had referred to herself as "your concubine" in front of him. Before, she had always called him "I," believing that husband and wife were one, the closest people in the world.
It allows you to reveal your true self.
Now she realizes that it was all just wishful thinking on her part.
Lu Yuan did not notice the subtle change in the way he was addressed, or rather, he never cared about such things.
His gaze fell on her, from the damp, heavy hem of her skirt to her pale face, which she tried her best to keep calm, and finally settled on the empty food box in her hand.
Just then, Xu Ming hurried out from the rain.
"Prime Minister, over at Lan Yuan..." Xu Ming paused, glancing at Ming Wu standing with her head down, and subconsciously lowered his voice even further.
Lanyuan.
The rain intensified, and Xu Ming's subsequent words were drowned out by the sound of the rain. Ming Wu only noticed that Lu Yuan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Then, I heard him give instructions to Chunnan.
"Please help Madam go home early."
After he finished speaking, he turned and strode away.
Mingwu stood there, watching the tall figure gradually disappear into the wind and rain, finally swallowed up by the night. The umbrella above her head swayed slightly in the wind.
The cold rain splashed on the back of her neck, making her fingers tremble.
"Thump!" The food box fell to the ground.
Chun Nan was startled and was about to squat down to find the food box when she saw Ming Wu walking quickly in the direction where Lu Yuan had disappeared.
"Madam, where are you going?"
-
Mingwu didn't carry a lantern, but followed at a distance, her steps uneven. She was unfamiliar with the Prime Minister's residence, and at night she couldn't tell which way was which.
After tripping over a stone and nearly falling again.
Mingwu stopped in her tracks.
"Never mind, Chunnan... let's go back."
What good would it do to follow them? It would only mean witnessing the truth we don't want to face and extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in our hearts.
As she turned around, her gaze swept over the outline of a courtyard not far away, its lights casting a dim yellow glow in the rainy night, and a sudden pang shot through her heart.
Its outline is very similar to the Lanyuan I saw during the day.
"Chunnan, that place... is it Lanyuan?" Her voice was hoarse.
"……yes."
Seeing that Mingwu's expression was not good, Chunnan quickly explained, "This place is not far from the East Courtyard, the Prime Minister may just be... passing by..."
Are you just passing by?
In the darkness of night, the courtyard loses its daytime splendor, with only a few dim yellow lights shining through the window lattices, cutting the continuous rain curtain into fragmented shadows.
Perhaps the night was too deep, so deep that it almost swallowed up all the details, leaving only a blurry, square black shadow, standing quietly in the rain.
It looks like a terrifying coffin.
Mingwu didn't speak, but simply straightened her already cold back even more. Step by step, she slowly walked towards the dark courtyard.
It's getting closer.
On the lit window of the private room, two silhouettes of people sitting opposite each other were clearly reflected.
It's him!
It felt as if she had been struck hard in the chest by a heavy hammer, and a suffocating pain instantly gripped her.
If she had previously harbored even a sliver of hope...
I fantasized that maybe I had misunderstood him; maybe the woman he brought back had another reason; maybe...
The scene before her was like a slap in the face, shattering all her hopes.
"Second sister-in-law?"
Lu Cang was carrying a lantern and standing in a roadside pavilion to take shelter from the rain.
Upon recognizing Ming Wu, an undisguised look of surprise flashed across his face, and he strode out of the pavilion toward her.
"It's so late, and the rain is so heavy, why is Second Sister-in-law here alone?"
Isn't your brother with you?
Mingwu lowered her eyes and did not reply.
In the past, no matter how sad she was, she would always greet people with a smile. But now, she couldn't even force a smile.
I just feel completely exhausted.
"The rain is getting heavier. Second sister-in-law has only just recovered and can't stand the cold. Why don't you come into the pavilion to take shelter from the rain?"
Mingwu glanced blankly at the increasingly violent rain, nodded mechanically, and followed Lu Cang towards the pavilion.
Lu Cang let Ming Wu sit on the only relatively dry stone bench in the pavilion, while he himself stood on the edge of the steps outside the pavilion.
The rain lashed at him relentlessly. Before long, his clothes were soaked through and clung to his body.
A cold wind blew, and he shivered and sneezed.
Mingwu was always soft-hearted, especially since she had taken his place. She immediately felt very guilty.
"Third brother, come in and take shelter too."
She felt sorry for him.
Lu Cang was thrilled and subconsciously touched his chest. There, pressed against his skin, was the portrait he had found during the day.
Oh no!
With such heavy rain, that painting... could it be...?
Lu Cang's expression changed drastically. He didn't care about being modest and hurriedly stepped into the pavilion. He reached into his clothes, wanting to take out the scroll to examine it.
"What are you doing?!"
A bolt of lightning exploded on the roof of the pavilion. The darkness was cleaved open, and the world turned deathly white.
Lu Yuan strode in through the rain, his dark cloak fluttering in the wind. His handsome face suddenly changed color in the flashes of lightning, the shadow cast by his brow bone like a deep, cold abyss.
Like a ferocious beast that devours people!
In that instant, everything fell silent; even the torrential rain seemed to freeze.
In an instant, darkness returned to the world.
"Da da da..."
It was the sound of official boots treading on the wooden floor of the pavilion, in absolute silence and darkness, like each step heavily pounding on everyone's heart.
The tall figure drew closer and closer.
I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could feel that the air around me was being compressed.
It was so suffocating that it made it hard to breathe.
The candlelight, shrouded in silk gauze, flickered in the wind, its shadow trembling. It resembled the intermittent breathing of an old man.
"Brother, you've misunderstood. It's not what you think..."
Seeing that the newcomer was hostile, Lu Cang hurriedly stepped forward, intending to shield him from his wrath with his own body.
Lu Yuan didn't even glance at Lu Cang, and walked straight up to Ming Wu. He grabbed her slender wrist and pulled her up from the stone bench.
He scooped her up by her knees and lifted her horizontally in his arms.
He turned around and strode quickly towards the outside of the pavilion.
"Ah!" Mingwu cried out in surprise as her body was suddenly suspended in mid-air, instinctively struggling and twisting to try to land.
"Smack!"
Mingwu felt a pat on her buttocks.
She froze, her eyes wide with shock. Shame, indignation, humiliation... and she was about to continue struggling.
Lu Yuan suddenly lowered his head, his hot breath hitting her delicate earlobe.
"If you dare to make any more moves, it won't just be like this."
Mingwu's blood seemed to freeze instantly, and she stood stiffly in his arms, not daring to move.
"Brother!"
Lu Yuan slowly turned his head, his dark eyes casting a deep gaze over him.
"Third brother, you have overstepped your bounds."
Those few words, though seemingly casual, were like a sharp knife stabbing deeply into Lu Cang's chest.
His face drained of color, his lips trembled violently, but he couldn't utter a single word. He could only watch helplessly as Lu Yuan carried Ming Wu and boarded the carriage parked in the rain.
Xu Ming had already walked up to him without him noticing.
"The Prime Minister has instructed that since the Third Young Master is unable to sleep peacefully, and the warhorses in the stable are frightened and restless, the Third Young Master should go and take good care of them and soothe them tonight."
-
As soon as they entered the carriage, Lu Yuan let go of her hand.
As soon as she regained her freedom, Mingwu, like a frightened rabbit, couldn't wait to shrink into a corner and stay far away from him.
The carriage curtain slowly fell, shutting out the sound of the torrential rain outside.
Lu Yuan pursed his thin lips into a straight line, his gaze fixed intently on Ming Wu.
In the past, Mingwu would have already bowed her head and admitted her mistake, then ignored his cold face and softly threw herself into his arms.
However, this time she seemed not to hear. She turned her head to look at the swaying car curtains.
Then came a long silence.
The carriage moved slowly forward. Just as Mingwu was getting drowsy and about to fall asleep, Lu Yuan suddenly spoke.
"explain."
Explain what? He was the one who went to another woman's room in the middle of the night, yet she's expected to explain?
Mingwu scoffed inwardly. She decided to continue pretending she hadn't heard.
"Don't make me repeat myself." Lu Yuan's voice was cold, clearly his patience was about to run out.
Mingwu slowly opened her eyes and calmly looked at Lu Yuan: "What does the Prime Minister want me to explain?"
Lu Yuan's dark eyes were so deep they seemed to be dripping with water.
"I warned you to stay away from Lu Cang. What? Did you ignore my words?"
"I don't!"
How could he slander her like that?
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed her wrist and pulled hard.
Caught off guard, Mingwu fell heavily into his firm, cold embrace.
My nose stung from the impact.
"Hmm..."
Before she could cry out in pain, he grabbed her chin and forced her to lift her face to meet his unfathomable black eyes.
"No? Then why were you with him in a pavilion late at night in the rain?"
"We were taking shelter from the rain and happened to run into them."
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, pressing his thumb heavily against Ming Wu's delicate cherry lips, almost roughly grinding them. This revealed his dissatisfaction with the answer.
"Madam, you'd better tell the truth."
What does he mean?
Does she really have to say that she was having a secret rendezvous with his third brother?
Is he only satisfied with such an absurd charge?
Yes, his Miss Qi Lan has already entered the manor.
He naturally tried every means to smear and discredit her. This way, he could divorce her effortlessly without damaging his reputation in the slightest.
What a brilliant way to kill two birds with one stone!
Mingwu grew angrier the more she thought about it, and turned her head to bite his thumb hard.
The sharp teeth pierced through the skin instantly.
A strong, metallic taste filled my mouth...
Mingwu was startled, then came to her senses and realized what she had done.
I was so frightened I froze.
Lu Yuan's face remained calm and expressionless, as if what had been bitten was not his hand, but an insignificant rag.
However, deep within those unfathomable black eyes, a flicker of something...
An almost excited glimmer of light.
excited?
Mingwu shuddered and hurriedly let go, instinctively wanting to escape.
Before she could do anything, the arm around her waist suddenly tightened.
She was unable to move.
Lu Yuan raised his hand and placed the thumb, which she had bitten until it was bloody, near her mouth.
"Bite again."
Mingwu: "??" Is he out of his mind?
Seeing that she didn't move for a long time, Lu Yuan switched to another finger. He waited with an almost obsessive scrutiny.
It was so eerie that it sent chills down Mingwu's spine.
She moved back in terror.
Lu Yuan didn't stop her, but instead followed her back little by little, closing in until he had her firmly locked between him and the car wall.
There is no way out.
Lu Yuan's gaze fell on her lips, which were now even more alluring, stained with blood, and something seemed to ignite deep within his pupils.
He used his bloodied thumb again, with utmost seriousness, even focus, to smear the blood all over her lips.
His expression was as if he were handling important military and national affairs in the imperial court.
Mingwu felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively tried to turn her head away.
A large hand firmly gripped the back of her neck.
"Why are you hiding?"
Immediately afterwards, his burning lips pressed down forcefully.
This was the first time he had ever kissed her.
The moment their lips touched, Mingwu's mind went blank, as if a thunderclap had exploded deep within her soul.
Noticing that she was lost in thought, Lu Yuan bit her lower lip hard, as if to punish her, or as a release of some long-suppressed emotions.
Mingwu cried out in pain.
His nimble tongue seized the opportunity to forcefully pry open her teeth. With overwhelming force, it ruthlessly swept through every inch of her oral cavity.
She was forced to stay in a position where she didn't even have a moment to breathe.
"Hmm..."
Like a dying fish thrown ashore, she futilely let out broken moans. Her hands pressed weakly against his chest, trying to escape this suffocating plunder.
But his wrist was easily grabbed by a large hand, twisted behind his back, and pinned tightly above his head.
His other arm encircled her slender waist like an iron clamp, forcing her entire upper body to press tightly against him without any gap.
Mingwu trembled all over, her lips and teeth filled with his cold ebony scent, mixed with the smell of blood, forcefully invading all her senses.
He kissed her so fiercely, as if he wanted to devour her soul.
A wave of dizziness from lack of oxygen washed over her. Mingwu felt her vision blur, her body felt limp as if all her bones had been removed, and she could only slide helplessly downwards…
Lu Yuan reached out and lifted her up, making her straddle his lap.
He pressed his large hand against her lower back, pulling her closer to him.
The kisses became even more passionate.
Their chests were pressed tightly together, and through their soaked clothes, she could clearly feel his rapid and powerful heartbeat.
She was forced to tilt her head back, her fingertips unconsciously clutching his collar, the fine fabric crumpling in her palm.
Inside the enclosed carriage, the temperature steadily rose.
Mingwu felt as if she had been thrown into a surging wave, floating and sinking, with nowhere to escape.
His palm pressed tightly against her skin, the heat he generated traveling through her body, making her feel dizzy and disoriented.
She finally couldn't bear it anymore and sobbed softly.
In that instant, Lu Yuan's eyes suddenly turned red, and his shaky rationality collapsed.
A note from the author:
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