Chapter 47: Crematorium (Part 7) She can’t leave now that she has a child…
Shen Changfeng had no direct evidence to prove that the man was Chuqi; it was simply a man's intuition. He stared at Lin Meizhu, but he saw no sign of panic or fear at being discovered. A sense of resistance gradually grew within him, a powerful resistance that almost made him want to turn around and run. It was like a death row inmate who, knowing their final fate, was forced to hear their own verdict.
"It's him."
The expression on Shen Changfeng's face froze instantly. He was waiting for Lin Meiju to explain, but the latter didn't even look at him. She was slowly picking the chrysanthemum charcoal in the small red clay stove. A piece of agarwood was placed under the warm wine pot. The charcoal fire was warm, and the wood fragrance permeated the aroma of wine, making her face lightly pink, delicate and tender like a lotus flower emerging from water.
Shen Changfeng suddenly realized that since the Qionglin Banquet, she had regained her vitality. Before, she was beautiful, but the edges of her petals were dull and lifeless. But now, she was like a flower in full bloom. Even in plain clothes, even without makeup, she was still the most eye-catching in the crowd. The contrast between her bright features and the plain attire was extreme, and her beauty was so taboo that it made people unable to look away.
Was it because of that man? He was the reason for her transformation? Then who was he?!
He walked towards her step by step, and with each step the boat made a painful "creak". The bubbles on the surface of the wine in the silver pot churned rapidly and burst. As he approached, the flames in the small stove "whooshed" higher.
"I'll give you a chance to explain."
Lin Meizhu sprinkled osmanthus flowers into the wine, stirred it slowly, and said calmly, "He is my sworn brother. His leg disease flared up that day, so I helped him to Qiying Pavilion to rest. That's all."
A voice in Shen Changfeng's heart said: Ridiculous!
"Is there a more outrageous excuse than this?"
Lin Meizhu sighed helplessly, "If I tell the truth to the prince, he will think I am trying to cover up the truth. If I don't tell the truth, he will think I am talking nonsense."
"You never told me you had a foster brother."
"It's to avoid something like what happened today."
"If you are innocent, why are you afraid of people knowing about your relationship?"
"The prince also said that if you are upright, you fear no slander. He is just my sworn brother, why do you need to explain so much?"
These words sounded strangely familiar; they were what he had said before when explaining his relationship with Su Qinxue. At the time, he had said them as if they were a matter of course, never expecting that she would one day use them against him, nor that retribution would come so quickly.
Shen Changfeng choked, and then remembered their lover-like caresses. His anger suddenly boiled over, his knuckles cracking. Despite his extreme anger, he was strangely calm. He said "Oh" softly, his face seemed to show approval, but his tone was extremely sarcastic: "Brother? What kind of brother? The brother who wipes your tears when you are sad? The brother who comforts you when you are lonely? Does he want you to call him that even in bed? Brother? Why didn't your good brother take responsibility for his own actions and stand up to defend you on the day I lost my temper?"
Lin Meizhu could tolerate his scolding of herself, but she couldn't stand his slander against Chuqi at all. She was enraged like a hawk protecting its chicks. "He is both a brother and a father to me. Shen Changfeng, not everyone is as filthy as you!"
Shen Changfeng said: "If he is a gentleman, he shouldn't come to see you even though he knows you are already a married woman!"
Seeing that he was determined to put the hat on her head, Lin Meizhu laughed out loud, "That's right, he not only wiped my tears when I was sad, but also took me to the mountains and rivers when I was bored. He taught me how to read and write, how to be a good person, and even the first time I saw a pornographic picture, it was with him!"
"Also, when we're in bed, I don't call him brother. I like to call him brother. He likes to kiss me and hug me, and I also like to be kissed and hugged by him. Are you satisfied?"
Shen Changfeng was so angry that his scalp was about to explode, "I knew it! I knew you..."
Lin Meizhu's eyes were also red as she interrupted him, "But I was only three years old then! Grandma was already ill, and Grandpa was busy making a living. If it weren't for the seventh day of the first lunar month, I wouldn't have survived. He taught me those things because he didn't want me to be deceived. We've lived together for so many years. If he really was a villain, do you think you would still be in trouble?!"
Shen Changfeng hated her for still having the mind to warm wine and make tea at this time. He kicked over the red clay stove and roared, "So what! Can you guarantee that he didn't have any thoughts about you at that time?"
She did not hide her trust and dependence on another man at all, which made Shen Changfeng feel extremely unbalanced: they were together day and night, they grew up together, they knew each other's likes and dislikes, shared joys and sorrows, they had seen each other's truest sides, he had seen her at every stage, and without his knowledge, he had even hugged her and kissed her... How could he believe that nothing had happened between them?
They had known each other for thirteen years and eight months, but she and I had only been together for less than seven months! Not even a fraction of that!
The comparison of these numbers made Shen Changfeng extremely angry. Jealousy made him unrecognizable. The voice that had been urging him to stay calm was suddenly burned out by anger. If that person was Shao Er, Shen Changfeng would have been contemptuous in his heart, because he was confident that he could easily defeat Shao Er and win back Lin Meizhu's heart; but when that person became Chu Qi, even if he was unwilling to admit it, he still felt uncertain and even felt a sense of crisis. After all, in her eyes, between Shao Er and Chu Qi, were there still several Shen Changfengs missing? This sense of crisis made him unreasonable and difficult to deal with. He grabbed her jaw and forced her to look into his eyes: "You still have him in your heart, right!"
"Shen Changfeng, can you please be reasonable?"
"Don't run away from my questions!"
Lin Meizhu exhaled a breath of foul air and answered without hesitation: "I can only tell you that if I hadn't gone to Beijing, I would definitely marry him."
She was still young then, ignorant of the world of love, and just as she was beginning to fall in love, she met this jerk in front of her. If she had stayed in Lingnan, marrying Chuqi and bearing children for him would have seemed like a natural thing to do. Chuqi was such a good man, falling in love with him was as easy as breathing.
Shen Changfeng's head was buzzing like a monk's bell. This was even harder to accept than Lin Meizhu directly admitting that she and Chuqi had done something inappropriate. If it was the former, he could still comfort himself that she was confused or deceived at the time, but the comparison she made now was clearly saying that she regretted marrying him. He couldn't compare to that man! That man's weight in her heart had reached this point!
Shen Changfeng thought of her unusual behavior a few days ago, and suddenly he figured out some doubts.
She chose the travel business from among many others so that she could meet him easily; she chose to stay overnight after the sutra chanting session at the Huguo Temple so that she could have a private meeting with him; she pretended to have lost her memory, and to cheer her up, he had someone tell her about the latest news in the court and the public, so that she could legitimately learn about the man's current situation; she meticulously planted flowers in the palace so that she could attend the Qionglin Banquet under the guise of sending flowers...
Shen Changfeng felt like a clown in a play, being amused by her few words. Her words were so funny and absurd that people laughed at her!
The muscles on his face were twitching wildly, and he looked like a madman. "So that's how it is. All you did was because of him!"
Lin Meizhu said calmly, "If you think so, I can't help you."
Shen Changfeng said: "Lin Meizhu, Lin Meizhu, are you unwilling to pretend now?!"
Lin Meizhu said slowly, "That day I sent Chuqi to Qiying Pavilion and just gave him acupuncture treatment as usual..." She looked at the doubtful and surprised look in Shen Changfeng's eyes, smiled and continued, "There are many things that the prince didn't want to hear before, but later I felt there was no need to say them anymore."
"Whether the prince believes it or not, the facts are as they are." She treated many people without authorization and even met with Chuqi privately. No matter which of these things were taken out alone, it would not be accepted by the world. So she said: "The prince can deal with me however he wants. I just hope that the prince will consider that we are husband and wife and not implicate innocent people."
His heart felt like it was being fried in a frying pan, the pain so intense that he didn't even notice his back bending. "Involving an innocent person? What's so good about him that you're willing to bear the unwarranted infamy for him...! You want a divorce? I'm telling you, it's impossible! Absolutely not! I won't let you go, and I won't let him go..."
Lin Meiju did not show any fear, but instead felt a little pity for the man in front of her. He looked strong, but was extremely sensitive and fragile inside. However, he would never admit his fragility and insecurity. He would only use all means to make himself look more indestructible. Anger and threats were the means he often used.
Shen Changfeng's thoughts were in a mess, and he couldn't breathe. Sometimes he wanted to divorce her and teach her a lesson. Sometimes he thought she was going to be mad at him for protecting him like this! Sometimes he felt that he couldn't let go even if he died, otherwise wouldn't that be what they wanted? Sometimes he wanted to kill both of them to vent his anger. Sometimes he thought that since nothing had happened between them, there was still hope for him. Yes, it would be nice to have a child. With a child, she wouldn't be able to leave...
The Mulan boat in the lake suddenly shook violently, splashing the green water on the lake surface and startling a group of black crows from the reeds.
After a loud "pop", the boat gradually calmed down.
"Didn't you ask what's good about him? I tell you, he would never be as self-righteous as you and impose his own ideas on others, and he would never force me to do something I don't want to do!"
It was strange. She had hit him on the left side of his face, but he felt the burning pain everywhere else. He was a despicable and shameless villain. He had parents who were like him, and he knew how awful it was to be born into such a family, and how cruel such a child was to its mother. Yet he had just tried to use an innocent child to keep her.
Lin Meiju knew what he wanted to do just by looking at him. Before his hand touched her belt, she slapped him awake.
This is a bad plan, but it is still a plan after all. Once it is interrupted, there is nothing you can do about it.
Shen Changfeng had always been the most ruthless in fights, willing to swallow his blows. Win or lose, he always won the most applause. He had never hit a woman, because in his mind, women were weak and vulnerable—with one exception. But after today, two women became exceptions. He had never expected that when she hit him, he wouldn't even have the courage to fight back.
The argument left him with a taste of complete defeat.
"You are just being spoiled and arrogant..."
"No, it's because I don't care. When a person doesn't care, there is nothing to be afraid of. Shen Changfeng, I don't care about you anymore."
Shen Changfeng felt a dull pain in his chest, and every heartbeat felt like a rusty gear scraping against his flesh. If he hadn't been leaning against the awning behind him, he would have fallen down long ago.
He stood there for who knows how long, his mind gradually clearing under the frost and dew, his thoughts returning to normal. At the same time, a question loomed in his mind: Lin Meizhu knew he wouldn't let go, and knew he wouldn't let go if he knew the man's identity. So why did she dare to reveal her true identity to him? What was she relying on?
He inexplicably developed an ominous premonition in his heart. This premonition was innate, originating from some mysterious power flowing in his blood since he was born.
An off-tune whistle reached his ears. Shen Changfeng twisted his slightly stiff neck and saw a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure.
"Oh! I was wondering who it was!" The idle prince Shen Zhongda, holding a birdcage in one hand, strolled leisurely by the lake with his square steps. It seemed that he had just come from Aunt Liu's place. He stopped and looked Shen Changfeng up and down with squinting eyes. "So it's that unknown hero who punished the profiteers of Tianxiang Tower, the loyal minister and hero who killed the treacherous ministers and villains in anger, the filial son who led the Jinwu Guards to make trouble at the funeral hall of his mother-in-law, the infatuated man who threatened to fill the lake and dig the temple in front of the Buddha, the one who almost implicated my Shen family by wearing a sword to the palace, and the one who was confined at home but hosted such a big show with great fanfare, my good son Shen Changfeng!"
With every word Shen Zhongda said, Shen Changfeng's heart sank a little.
Anyone who has raised a dog knows that when you want to teach a dog a lesson that has caused trouble, you cannot shout loudly, as that will scare it away. Instead, you have to pinch your voice and pretend nothing has happened. It is best to use a tone of praise to lure it back. When it lets down its guard and comes closer, grab it by the neck and show the weapon in your hand.
Although Shen Changfeng is not a dog, he is not so stupid as to not hear his father's sarcastic tone.
"Oh, I heard I have a grandson who lives away from home! Son, you are so promising! You make your father so proud!"
Shen Zhongda chuckled, "Son, you don't know yet, do you? Your mother is back!"
"Son, your good day has come!"
The fearless Shen Changfeng felt a huge chill rising in his heart, and suddenly understood what that mysterious power was called - blood suppression!
He had only one thought in his mind: he must kill Li Jieyi before she saw Chuqi!
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