Chapter 277 The seriously ill Gu Xian scolds Xiao Yeming awake
Late at night, Anzhai.
Xiao Yeming, carrying a bowl of freshly brewed medicine, pushed open Gu Xian's door.
Gu Xian leaned against the couch. The precious medicinal herbs he had been taking for days had temporarily removed the ashen look from his face, giving him a slightly pale complexion.
However, this was merely a drop in the ocean; the illness had already penetrated deep into the bone marrow, rendering all medicine ineffective.
When he saw Xiao Yeming come in and take the bowl of thick, dark medicine, he keenly noticed a slight pause in the other person's expression as he handed over the bowl. When he looked up, he met a pair of eyes that were heavy with worries and unfocused.
Gu Xian put the medicine bowl aside without drinking it, and said weakly, "Ye Ming, Er Zhong has told me about all the rumors circulating outside. The whole city is cursing Lu Niangzi for losing her chastity and having an abortion. Every word is like a knife to the heart... At this moment, you must be feeling extremely anxious and restless, right?"
Xiao Yeming stiffened almost imperceptibly, his lips pressed tightly together, and he remained silent.
Gu Xian took a deep breath, his tone turning serious: "Now that things have come to this, how long are you going to keep this secret buried? Do you really want to just watch her be completely drowned in this filth?"
He forced himself to sit up, his gaze sharp and fixed on Xiao Yeming: "Back then outside Jizhou City, that 'bandit' who ruined her reputation... that was you."
"She has borne the stigma for years, and her old wounds, which were just beginning to heal, have now been ripped open again in the capital, exposed to the public in a bloody mess! The whole city is in uproar right now, filled with humiliation and trampling against her! And you... are hiding here?"
The color drained from Xiao Yeming's face instantly, and pain spread across his brows.
He overheard the passerby hurling insults yesterday, and in a fit of rage nearly beat the person to death; only Wang Wu's desperate intervention saved him...
He managed to squeeze out, "I'm the one who wronged her."
"I'm sorry?"
Gu Xianwei was slightly annoyed, "Are those three light words meant for me, or can they soothe even a fraction of her pain? If you truly have any regrets, what you should be doing now..."
He coughed violently, then caught his breath, his voice filled with exasperation: "Go tell her the truth! Proclaim it to the world! That day you were drugged by the villain while trying to save her, and in that moment of confusion you made a terrible mistake! You were filled with remorse afterward, and all these years you have secretly protected her, helped her build her career, and even cut off a finger of your own... All of this is to atone for your sins!"
“Tell the whole truth! Let the world know that you are the ‘villain,’ and also the victim who was forced into this situation to save her! Madam Lu is always reasonable. If she knows that you had no choice, and has seen your years of repentance, she might be able to forgive you!”
Overwhelming pain and fear surged in Xiao Yeming's eyes, and his fingertips unconsciously touched his left neck.
She had bitten it so badly that the skin was torn and bleeding.
In the past two years, I don't know how many rare medicinal herbs I used to fade the scars.
The scene from that night suddenly flashed into my mind.
After she killed Li Yanei, he carried her on his back as they walked down the desolate street.
She precisely located the old wound and bit down hard with all her might!
Then, she rang in my ears with her cold mockery: "Ha... After you ruined my reputation back then, didn't you whisper in my ear that you would come back and marry me?"
He replied, "If my wife does not mind, I am willing to marry her."
"Willing to marry you?"
Lu Zhaoruo chuckled, her tone suddenly turning icy: "You... dare to challenge me?"
She's right.
What right does someone who hurt her so badly and ruined half her life have to talk about "marrying" her?
He was even more afraid.
I fear that if the truth is revealed, even the last remaining affection will be destroyed, and I fear that every time we meet again, she will only have deep-seated hatred in her eyes.
"Say something!"
Gu Xian urged him urgently.
Xiao Yeming snapped out of his daze, his voice hoarse: "She hates me... Telling the truth will only deepen her hatred... I just want to... protect her silently from behind..."
"Foolish!"
Gu Xian pounded the bed in anger, triggering a violent cough. After recovering, she shouted angrily, "Look at her current situation! She's bearing the brunt of everyone's condemnation all by herself! Is this what you call 'protecting her'? If you had even a shred of courage and responsibility, you should have stood up, taken the blame, and brought the infamy upon yourself! Instead of cowering here like a coward and watching her be drowned in spittle!"
"The whole city is in turmoil, pressuring her. If you back down again, you are truly unworthy!"
Every word and phrase struck Xiao Yeming's heart like a heavy hammer.
In the darkness, he could almost see Lu Zhaoruo's eyes, filled with despair and loneliness.
Gu Xian clutched his aching chest, coughing as he said, "My last wish in this life is to see you and Lady Lu reconcile and become a couple... at least..."
He gazed out the window at the thick darkness of night, and seemed to see Yongfu's innocent smile: "At least you still have a future to look forward to... unlike me..."
He withdrew his gaze, his tone turning icy: "Xiao Yeming, if you insist on concealing the truth, from this day forward, you need not come again. Even if I, Gu Xian, die, I will..."
Another heart-wrenching cough: "I don't want to see you again!"
Gu Xian's words, "Even if I die, I don't want to see you again," were like a final, heavy blow, shattering all of Xiao Yeming's hesitation and cowardice.
He suddenly raised his head, and the pain and struggle surging in his eyes gradually subsided, turning into a resolute determination.
"good."
His voice was low: "I will go to Yunshang Pavilion first thing tomorrow morning and tell Sister Lu the whole truth."
"Whether she hates me to the core, or... she never wants to see me again in this lifetime."
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice deepened, "I should bear all this infamy. I can't... let her suffer alone any longer."
After saying that, he turned his gaze to Gu Xian, who was coughing incessantly on the bed due to excitement, his eyes filled with complex heartache.
He stepped forward, picked up the medicine bowl again, and handed it to Gu Xian, his tone firm: "Also, remember this."
"I still haven't paid back the money I owe you..."
He paused, concealing the grief in his eyes: "So, you better live well."
After saying this, he gave Gu Xian a deep look, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
As he reached the door, he paused slightly, without turning back, leaving behind only a softer yet heavier sentence that dissipated in the night wind: "Absolutely...cannot die."
The door closed gently.
On the bed, Gu Xian held the bowl of still-warm medicine, gazing in the direction his friend had left, coughing violently, yet managing to force a smile that was both a cry and a laugh.
Jizhou City, Lu Family Private School.
Mr. Lu sat alone on a stone bench in the backyard, his gaze fixed on the northeast—the direction of the capital.
"You two unfilial sons... how dare you hide it from your father and secretly run off to that place of tigers and wolves..."
His voice trembled, and his gaunt face was filled with anxiety. "What if Zhao Ruo's identity is exposed... what if Bo Hong's martial arts exam gets him into trouble... what should we do!"
Just as he was in a state of utter confusion, a male servant named Achang, who was in his thirties, rushed over with a troubled expression: "Sir, that person outside is here again! It's the same as always, sitting at the door and making a scene, saying that if she doesn't give me money, she won't leave and will make a scene that will be known to everyone in the neighborhood..."
In the past, to avoid trouble, Mr. Lu might have given some copper coins to appease him.
But today, he slammed his hand on the stone table, stood up abruptly, and for the first time shouted sternly, "Ignore her! Let her wail!"
Achang was startled by this sudden show of force and stood frozen in place.
Lu's father looked toward the capital, his gaze gradually hardening.
His children were struggling in dangerous situations; how could he, as their father, allow himself to be manipulated by such a scoundrel? He had to get to the capital as soon as possible.
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