At this moment, Duan Lan didn’t have the leisure time like Ji Xinhe and Mu Houchu to enjoy dinner peacefully.
As dusk settled and darkness approached, the originally gloomy Duan Mansion was now enveloped in an ominous atmosphere.
Even the lit candles seemed to be extremely cautious.
In the courtyard, Li Junyan was still kneeling on the blue stone slab, her thin clothes already soaked by the dew, shivering in the cold autumn wind.
No matter if it was the servants in the courtyard or in the rooms, they were all silent, hanging their heads low, not even daring to breathe, because they knew that their real master was enraged at that moment.
Duan Lan was sitting in the dark study, with no servants daring to disturb him, let alone light a candle for him as the sky grew darker.
Finally, Qingyun couldn’t help but enter the room with a candle holder. The faint candlelight barely lit the room, revealing Duan Lan’s pale and flushed face.
Under the dim candlelight, his handsome face looked somewhat twisted and frightening, and his eyes that always seemed to be smiling, either genuinely or falsely, were now devoid of warmth, filled with chill.
Qingyun barely looked at Duan Lan, couldn’t help but shudder, and said awkwardly, "Young Master."
During formal occasions, Qingyun would call him "sir," but most of the time, Qingyun still preferred to call him "Young Master," as if trying to evoke memories of Duan Lan’s carefree past.
But Duan Lan couldn’t hear it or wake up from that, because only she could revive that past and those memories.
But she was not willing to.
Duan Lan sneered in his heart, but there was no hint of a change in his expression on his face, nor did he even bother to lift his head and glance at Qingyun, continuing to sit there motionlessly.
Qingyun gritted his teeth and insisted, "Young Master, it’s getting late, should you go to bed now or have dinner first?"
As Qingyun had grown up with Duan Lan since childhood, their relationship as master and servant was naturally incomparable to that of any bystander. He didn’t know about other things, but just seeing Duan Lan’s current state reminded him of the situation six years ago when Princess Pingyang left the capital city with Prince Pingyang after their marriage and went to Yu State.
At that time, Duan Lan was just like this, lifelessly sitting here, in one position for a whole day and night, sometimes even without eating or drinking.
Qingyun felt that the lowest point in Duan Lan’s life was that time, so he was afraid that such a low point would happen again.
After a long silence, Duan Lan’s eyes finally regained clarity.
Times had changed, and six years had passed. He was no longer that fragile young man. He wouldn’t waste time indulging himself in the abyss for months, unable to get out. He still had many things to deal with, and God wouldn’t give him too much time.
"What’s the situation in the capital now?" Duan Lan’s voice was a little hoarse.
Upon hearing this, Qingyun’s face changed, and he finally took a small envelope from his sleeve and handed it to Duan Lan, "This is a letter just received from the capital."
Duan Lan opened it and quickly glanced through it. His face darkened even more. He clenched his hand slightly, and the envelope was suddenly crumpled into a ball. His veins bulged from his hand gripping the letter, and he gritted his teeth, sneering, "Mu Houchu, what great means you have!"
Having eliminated two of his trusted aides and joined forces with the Song Family to marginalize half of his power in the Imperial Court, no wonder he had taken so long in the Yu State without having Mu Houchu make a move against him. It turned out that Mu Houchu deliberately wanted him to stay there longer, providing extra time for the Song Family to deal with him!
Heh! He really underestimated this man.
Qingyun’s face looked awful, "Young Master, let’s return to the capital city early tomorrow morning. We can’t afford to delay this any longer."
If they returned any later, even the sky in the capital city might change!
However, Duan Lan sneered, "Going back like this would be too cheap for Mu Houchu."
"But Young Master, you don’t have any trump cards left now," Qingyun hesitated.
Duan Lan said coldly, "We’ll leave for the capital tonight."
Qingyun’s face lit up, and he quickly replied, "Yes!"
Little did he know, Duan Lan paused for a moment and then continued, "You go and instruct everyone to prepare for the journey. But before that, I need to see someone."
Qingyun was stunned, "Young Master, do you want to see Princess Pingyang?"
Given Ji Xinhe’s attitude towards Duan Lan now, there was actually no need to meet.
Otherwise, it would only increase the sadness.
But of course, Qingyun dared not say this.
Duan Lan’s expression didn’t change, "No."
"Ah?" Qingyun was taken aback and was about to ask another question, but he saw Duan Lan had already left first.
Qingyun could only swallow his words and hurriedly followed.
As soon as Duan Lan came out, he saw Li Junyan kneeling in the middle of the courtyard.
Li Junyan was shivering, and when she saw Duan Lan, she cried, "I was wrong, I was really wrong. Duan Lan, husband, please spare me this time, okay? I won’t ever do it again, I’ll listen to you, okay? I beg you, I beg you!"
As she spoke, Li Junyan crawled to Duan Lan while kneeling and grabbed the hem of his clothes, begging desperately.
Duan Lan looked at her coldly, quickly dodged her, and his voice was full of disgust, "Get lost!"
This ignorant and reckless stupid woman had been nothing but annoying to Duan Lan since the first time he saw her. He originally wanted to simply ignore her like a stranger, but he never expected that this stupid woman could be such a hindrance now. Duan Lan had never hated a person like this before.
Even when it came to Mu Houchu, he merely had hatred and hostility, but Li Junyan was the only person he found so disgusting.
Li Junyan quickly crawled up again and cried out in a panic, "I didn’t mean to do it, I really didn’t mean to! It was all Ji Xinhe, that mean woman, who deceived me. She was so perfect in her deception that I believed it was true. I really didn’t think it would turn out like this!"
When Li Junyan finally realized the truth of Ji Xinhe’s treachery, she almost collapsed. She had used the Jinwei forces on her own authority for this deception, regardless of the consequences. Once the Emperor found out about this, she would certainly become a pawn to be discarded, her life in danger, and Duan Lan would also grow suspicious of her. At this moment, Li Junyan truly hated Ji Xinhe to death!
She knelt at Duan Lan’s door, begging him to spare her just this once, but would Duan Lan spare her?
Duan Lan looked at the woman in his way coldly and said, "Your stupidity this time is enough to kill you a hundred times over. While I still don’t have time to deal with you, get as far away from me as possible!"
With just these words, Li Junyan’s heart was completely chilled.
Duan Lan glared at her fiercely and sneered, "But there is one thing you said right earlier. From the very beginning, all I ever wanted was to get Ji Xinhe. The moment I got her, you were no longer of any use to me, and your death would only be a matter of time."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com