Chapter 47 She is not your daughter
Since leaving Yunzhou, Yunzhu couldn't remember the last time she had been so furious.
Xiao Mingzhang stood right in front of her. She looked at him angrily and in shock, forbidding him from saying anything more about Mu Zhaozhi.
That was her daughter, her own daughter, and had nothing to do with Xiao Mingzhang.
Ever since she made up her mind to keep the child, she has been completely convinced of this fact.
Now Xiao Mingzhang actually dares to say such things in front of her daughter. How dare he? How dare he!
Yunzhu had no time to think about how Xiao Mingzhang had suddenly come to Hanze from Liangzhou. Her anger left her with no room for thought other than rage.
"Where did this lecherous scoundrel come from, eager to be someone's father? She's not your daughter!" She looked at the slap mark on his cheek and emphasized this fact to Xiao Mingzhang, word by word.
Then, without even blinking, she turned around, took Mu Zhaozhi's small hand, and led her away.
"Yunzhu..."
Xiao Mingzhang never expected that simply speaking the truth would provoke such an angry outburst from Yunzhu.
Caught off guard, half of his face twisted to the side, but he harbored no resentment towards Yunzhu. Seeing that she was about to leave with her daughter, he hurriedly stepped forward and caught up with the mother and daughter.
He held Yunzhu's wrist, still wanting to say something to her.
But Yunzhu shook him off, leaving his wrist, which he had just grasped, empty again.
He could only stand in front of Yunzhu, blocking her and her daughter's way out.
Last night, after seeing Yunzhu in person, Xiao Mingzhang originally wanted to stay in Hanze for a few more days. However, news suddenly came from Liangzhou that he needed to go back to make a decision, so he rushed back to Liangzhou overnight.
He dealt with those matters until noon. After noon, Xiao Mingzhang rested for about an hour before rushing from Liangzhou to Hanze.
After three years apart, he wanted to see Yunzhu more often, and also to see their children.
His and Yunzhu's child seems to be quite intelligent; at only three years old, he can discern his identity through various observations.
If properly taught, their future potential is limitless.
But Yunzhu didn't seem to want to see him.
Xiao Mingzhang's eyes were bruised and dark, and as he stood in front of Yunzhu, the disgust in her eyes was easily visible.
She held her daughter tightly behind her, clearly afraid that he would disturb her or do something to her.
But that was their daughter. Xiao Mingzhang felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. How could he possibly do anything to his daughter?
"Yunzhu, shall we talk?" Xiao Mingzhang made his request.
"We have nothing to say!"
She wouldn't even call him by name, and covered her daughter's ears so she wouldn't hear their conversation.
Xiao Mingzhang's gaze then fell on his daughter's head.
She was such a lovely child. Not only was she intelligent, but she also had a pair of round, dark, and bright eyes, just like her mother's. Her cheeks were perfectly oval, and today she wore two symmetrical double buns. Her forehead was smooth, and lotus-colored tassels hung by her ears. When she was quiet, the tassels did not move, making her look like a festive New Year's doll.
As Xiao Mingzhang watched, a gentle smile unconsciously crept into his eyes.
Yunzhu noticed his gaze and immediately hid her daughter behind her back.
She genuinely didn't want Xiao Mingzhang to have any contact with her daughter.
Xiao Mingzhang gradually suppressed his smile and looked at Yunzhu with sorrow in his eyes.
"I just arrived in town today. Last night, I suddenly received a message from Liangzhou saying that there was something that required me to go back, so I rushed back overnight and was busy until noon. Only after noon did I have time to rest and then rush back."
What is he talking about? Yunzhu looked at Xiao Mingzhang in confusion, wondering why he suddenly started reporting his affairs to her.
He's very busy. Is it because she forced him to be so busy? Did she force him to come to Hanze?
Yunzhu let out a cold laugh, her anger mixed with another emotion as she faced Xiao Mingzhang.
But it was utter mockery.
Her sarcasm was crisp and sharp, without a single word. After she finished speaking, she took her daughter and headed away on a detour.
"Yunzhu!"
But Xiao Mingzhang stubbornly blocked her way again.
He lowered his head so that Yunzhu could see the weariness in his eyes, and also so that she could see the slap she had just given him.
As the heir of the prestigious Prince Huan's mansion, there are only a handful of people in his life who can defeat him. Apart from his parents and the emperor who is far away in Jinling, there is probably only this person in front of him.
"I'm so tired. I'm here, and I have nowhere to stay."
"What does that have to do with me?" Yunzhu was finally so annoyed by Xiao Mingzhang that she could no longer move forward.
She glanced at him impatiently.
He's exhausted, so what? What does it have to do with her? Of all his affairs, which one or none of them are still related to her? Didn't his whole family desperately want her dead? She's already given them what they wanted, so why are they still clinging to her now?
“Young master, I do not know you. This is someone else’s private school. Strangers are not welcome in private schools. If you continue to block my daughter and me here, I am afraid that guards will come in and expel you in a moment!” Yunzhu said coldly.
Xiao Mingzhang opened his mouth, but Yunzhu had not yet finished speaking.
She then added, "Yes, perhaps you have brought many guards, and they are all very capable, able to subdue all of our guards here. But don't forget, this is the border region, the grasslands, where there are plenty of men with blood in their veins, not spineless cowards who would abandon their wives and children and fawn over the powerful and wealthy! You have come with important business, surely you don't want to incite public anger?"
He abandoned his wife and became servile and obsequious.
Xiao Mingzhang was speechless. After three years, Yunzhu's Central Plains dialect had indeed improved to a level he never dared to imagine before.
She didn't mention him once, yet every word she spoke was about him.
"I can explain what happened back then..." Xiao Mingzhang choked up, but when he looked up, he saw that Yunzhu had already left with her daughter while he was distracted.
She had no lingering affection for him whatsoever, and even avoided him like the plague.
Xiao Mingzhang stared blankly at the two figures, one large and one small, and finally realized that perhaps it was not appropriate for him to say anything to Yunzhu right now.
He followed them silently from the school to their doorstep.
Seeing Yunzhu enter the house and close the gate without ever turning back to look at him even once, Xiao Mingzhang finally stopped in his tracks, his whole body aching as if being pierced to the bone.
Xiao Mingzhang had only felt this way three years ago when he learned of Yunzhu's death.
He had just learned of Yunzhu's death and refused to believe it. Alone in the study after his father's departure, he wept until his vision blurred. A piercing pain, like ants, gnawed at his body, making his internal organs scream in terror and warn him, even though he was not injured.
If he hadn't personally examined Yunzhu's body later and recognized that the charred female corpse was not her, he would probably still be heartbroken and in a daze, not knowing what to do next.
Fortunately, the female corpse was not her;
Fortunately, the female corpse was not her.
Xiao Mingzhang stood outside Yunzhu Gate, gazing at the tightly closed door, recalling the torment he had endured for the past three years.
Ever since he learned the truth that Yunzhu had not died, he dared not tell anyone. He knew his father's abilities, and after this battle, he also fully realized that his own power was still weak. He seemed to be able to turn the world upside down in Yunzhou, but in reality, it was all based on his father's willingness to give him power.
Once separated from his father, he was nothing.
If word gets to her father that Yunzhu is still alive, she will be in danger once again.
So Xiao Mingzhang kept this secret to himself and put on a show for seven days and seven nights in front of the coffin that did not contain Yunzhu's body. Only after the coffin was placed in the royal mausoleum and everything was settled did he pick himself up and begin to take real control of Yunzhou's power. At the same time, he sent his only trusted confidant, Yu Zhouling, to find Yunzhu's whereabouts.
In fact, back then, Xiao Mingzhang didn't dare to be completely sure that Yu Zhouling was entirely trustworthy. He could only rely on his understanding of him over the years and his prepared backup plans to keep him in check.
If he were to tell those things to King Huan or even to anyone else, all that awaited him would be the destruction of his entire family.
That was a brother who had grown up with him since childhood; Xiao Mingzhang would never do such a thing unless absolutely necessary.
But he couldn't afford to gamble anymore.
Human nature is the most unpredictable thing.
For the past three years, Xiao Mingzhang has been relying on information from Yuzhou Mausoleum to learn about Yunzhu's whereabouts.
He knew that Yunzhu had not returned to the Western Regions. He knew that Yunzhu had come to this small town called Hanze and planned to live a stable life. He also knew that she had given birth to a lovely daughter, their child, their bloodline.
In the days leading up to Yunzhu's delivery, Xiao Mingzhang dreamed of rushing to Hanze to see her, but he dared not, fearing that if he came, he would expose Yunzhu's whereabouts.
He was not powerful enough yet, he had not yet seized all power from his father, and he could not see her.
He had waited three years to see this side of himself.
But three years later, all he got was a closed door.
Even though Xiao Mingzhang had known this would be the outcome, he still couldn't suppress his pain at this moment.
In autumn, it gets dark later in the Western Regions than in the Central Plains, but no matter how late it is, the sunset will still arrive on time, and the moonlight will spread across the grasslands.
Xiao Mingzhang stood outside Yunzhu's door for several hours, attracting the attention of many passersby and the gossip of many neighbors, but no matter what, Yunzhu refused to open the door.
Ayan glanced outside from the courtyard wall, then quickly climbed down and went inside to tell Yunzhu, "He's still here."
Yunzhu didn't even look up, focusing on preparing for tomorrow's lessons, and replied, "Never mind him."
Ayan nodded.
She didn't like to concern herself with Xiao Mingzhang. No one knew better than her how Yunzhu had managed these past few years, but...
Ayan turned around and saw that little Mu Zhaozhi was already fast asleep in the quilt. Her originally pink and white face was now rosy from sleeping. Only then did she dare to whisper to Yunzhu, "Princess, from what I can see, this time he doesn't seem to be here to capture us, but he also doesn't seem to be here to take the child away."
Yunzhu finally looked away from her studies and quietly looked at Ayan. Ayan hurriedly said, "Princess, I'm not speaking up for him! I just want to say that I can't quite see this person's purpose anymore. If he wanted to kill us or take the child, he would have a million ways to do it directly, but he's just standing there doing nothing. Why is that?"
Yes, what exactly is Xiao Mingzhang's purpose now?
Yunzhu had discovered what Ayan had said after Xiao Mingzhang appeared again this afternoon. He neither arrested her nor killed her, nor forcibly took the child away. He just kept bothering her, leaving her confused and wondering what he wanted to do.
Originally, judging from Xiao Mingzhang's appearance this afternoon, he should have wanted to talk to her clearly, but she was too angry and nervous at the time, so she didn't want to say anything more to him and went home.
"What time is it now?" Yunzhu suddenly asked Ayan.
“It’s past 9 PM,” Ayan said.
It's Hai hour (9-11 PM).
Yunzhu nodded and slowly got up.
Ayan thought that Yunzhu was going out to ask Xiao Mingzhang for clarification, but to her surprise, Yunzhu turned around and walked towards the kitchen and washroom.
She said, "It's already 9 PM, so we should rest now. Let's blow out the lamps."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Here I am! I'll try updating six times a day tomorrow! [Let me see!]
My friend recently started a new novel, and I really want to recommend it! It's super good! [Let me check it out]
"My Cousin Ran Away Again and Again" by Gouzhu
Article ID: 8976059
Soft and sweet with a hidden agenda X Two-faced
My father passed away, and my mother remarried.
Xue Zhiying was sent to the Xiao family mansion and became a cousin of the Xiao family.
Coming to the Xiao family did not make Xue Zhiying's life much easier.
Given her status, she was destined to become someone's concubine, or worse.
So she turned her attention to Xiao Yunqi, the eldest son of the Xiao family.
Xue Zhiying did not fantasize about marrying him; she only hoped to gain his protection and use the opportunity to leave the Xiao family.
However, the process of seducing him was very unsuccessful.
Xiao Yunqi was aloof and abstinent, calm and self-possessed, unmoved by any of her advances.
When she was desperate, she decided to take a gamble and force herself on him.
Unexpectedly, the least likely method to succeed was the one that worked most easily.
*
In Xiao Yunqi's view, Xue Zhiying's tricks were extremely clumsy.
Moreover, she is incredibly audacious, impervious to reason, and prone to pushing her luck.
The only positive thing is probably her deep and unwavering affection for him.
He thought he would be entangled with her to the very end.
Until he returned from a long journey.
Xiao Yunqi waited for several days but she never suddenly appeared from any corner.
He casually grabbed someone and asked them a question.
The servants, who had no idea that the eldest son and his cousin had any relationship, were utterly bewildered.
The only answer was the truth: "Miss Xiao left the Xiao residence a month ago, saying she was going back to her hometown to discuss marriage, and she probably won't be coming back."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yunqi's expression froze, then darkened, and a chilling aura enveloped him.
Is she... going to arrange a marriage with someone else?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
