Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Jealousy
Zhe Rou was sleeping soundly, but she didn't want to be woken up abruptly. She opened her eyes hazily and met a pair of cold black eyes that were gloomy and angry.
She couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
Lu Chen raised his hands and grasped her cheeks, his jaw set as hard as iron. He asked in a cold voice, "Who were you calling just now?"
Although Zhe Rou was awake at this moment, his consciousness was still sleepy and confused. He was unable to think clearly. He couldn't remember what he had dreamed about, who he had dreamed about, and why he went crazy so early in the morning.
The light in the bed curtains was dim, and the surroundings seemed to be shrouded in a gray mist.
Zhe Rou couldn't see the expression on his face, and for a moment her mind became increasingly hazy. She only felt that the gaze in front of her was extremely sharp and piercing.
She subconsciously frowned and raised her hands to break free from his grip, her voice still tinged with sleepiness. "What are you doing?"
Lu Chen didn't move at all, but tightened his knuckles even more, his eyes as cold as if they had been quenched by ice water.
When she dreamed of the man next to her, she was still smiling tenderly, but when she opened her eyes and saw him, her face was filled with alienation and impatience, as if even one more glance would disturb her sweet dream.
How could this be just an unintentional mistake made while half asleep? It was clearly a familiar and accustomed intimacy, without any precautions, and both comfortable and relaxed.
It was obvious that she was only his mistress in the past, and her heart and eyes were filled with only him, and she would never tolerate anyone else.
But after only a few months of separation, her tenderness and gentleness no longer belonged to him alone. Even though she was forced to stay by his side, her heart still held the shadow of someone else. Those were memories that he could not reach, and the past that he could not erase.
What was the affection of their youthful companionship? In just a few months, without him, Lu Bingyan, she immediately had Xie Mingqi.
This thought was like a poisoned needle piercing deep into his heart, causing a surge of anger and resentment, making him want to kill someone.
He even wanted to cut her heart open and shake it clean, and throw all Xie Mingqi and Li Mingqi away, telling them to get out as far away as possible.
"Miss, who were you calling just now?"
Lu Chen unconsciously used some force on his hands, and Zhe Rou only felt a slight pain in her jaw from being pinched by him, and then her consciousness became completely clear.
Seeing him like this again, she suddenly felt annoyed. She tried to pry his hands away and shouted angrily, "It's not you after all. Let go!"
A sharp pain suddenly came from his heart. Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and sneered at the corner of his lips: "Still thinking about Xie Mingqi, huh?"
Zhe Rou was already resenting his rudeness and arrogance. Upon hearing this, she frowned and pursed her lips in impatience, "So what?"
He is really cruel and stubborn.
Lu Chen felt as if a piece of ice was pressing on his chest, and every breath he took was so cold that it hurt his lungs.
Those black eyes looked at her coldly, "Miss, you can only be my wife. Whoever dares to touch you again, no matter what royal family he is," he paused, his tone becoming calmer, and he said word by word, "I will kill him too."
Zhe Rou's heart tightened suddenly.
Since he can say it, he can probably do it. If he really goes crazy, who knows how others will be affected by him.
After a long while, her eyes turned red unconsciously, and she said in a trembling voice: "...Then you might as well kill me first."
Hearing this, Lu Chen suddenly stood up, and with his iron-like fingers, he grabbed her thin shoulders and leaned over to stare at her intently, "What did you say?!"
Zhe Rou pursed her lips and looked at him stubbornly.
Lu Chen was deeply hurt by the resentment in her eyes. He wanted to say something, but his thin lips moved, and his throat was so spasmodic that he couldn't make a sound.
He didn't want this to happen.
He wanted to have a long-lasting love with her, wanted to see her smiling at him with curved eyebrows, and when she looked at him, her beautiful eyes would be like spring water, full of tenderness. He wanted to hear her softly call him "Alang" again.
They could be reconciled as before. When spring came, he would take her to the Pure Land for a purification ceremony and an outing. From summer to autumn, he would go to Jinming Lake with her to pick lotus flowers, go to Fanlou to eat crabs and drink Huadiao wine, and go to Wazili to watch the Lantern Festival and various performances. When it was cold in the beginning of winter, he would set up a small red clay stove under the corridor, and he would warm wine and roast taro for her. The two of them would snuggle together and watch the snow falling in the yard.
Maybe if I have another child in the future, I will make sure he looks like her and is loved by everyone.
That was his sister, that was how they were supposed to be.
His thin knuckles unconsciously exerted force and tightened, leaving light red marks on her fair and round shoulders.
He simply wished he could rub her into his bones and blood, so that from now on, her eyes and heart would only hold him. Those memories that shouldn't be kept, those unnecessary people, should all be cut out completely.
Zhe Rou's eyes turned slightly red, and she simply turned her head away and stopped looking at him.
After a long while, Lu Chen slowly let go of her, turned over and got off the bed, casually pulled out a piece of clothing and put it on, without stopping for a moment, turned around the screen and walked straight out the door.
With a "bang", the wooden door with straight lattices was slammed shut.
The room fell silent again, so quiet that only her own shallow breathing could be heard.
Zhe Rou was still lying on the couch, motionless, staring at the intertwined beaded embroidery on the bed curtains. She stared at it quietly for a long time, her eyes so sore that she was about to cry.
She wanted to part ways amicably, to live a peaceful life, but he had insisted on rudely dragging her back to him, locking her up tightly without a care in the world. When he went mad, he didn't care about human life. It would have been fine if he had just treated himself badly, but he had even made an outsider like Zhou Xiao suffer because of her.
The resentment in her heart had long accumulated layer upon layer, like a tide blocked by a river embankment, blocking her chest day after day. The emotions that had nowhere to vent grew higher and higher, almost overflowing her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Her mind was extremely disturbed. Zhe Rou simply closed her eyes, pulled the quilt, and wrapped herself tightly in a ball. She would wait until she woke up to think about what she should do in the future to completely break off her relationship with him.
After all... after all, it can't go on like this.
Lu Chen stayed in the government office for two days, only instructing Nan Heng to keep an eye on her, and he himself did not return to the villa. On the third day, the emperor sent someone to deliver a message, ordering him to the palace to meet the emperor.
Lu Chen had a rough idea in his mind that the government summons must be related to the Xu Chong case.
This case was discussed several times in the court, and finally came to an end yesterday. The emperor wrote in red ink and dismissed him from his post, confiscated his property, demoted him to the position of Beijia of Leizhou, and ordered him to leave Beijing immediately and be escorted to his new post.
I think they summoned him specially because they remembered what happened in the past and wanted to show their kindness and appease him.
However, he never expected that when he stepped into Funing Palace, he would see Xie Yunzhou there.
When they met again after more than a month, they saw two tall and straight young men of equal stature, wearing brocade robes and jade belts, but their faces were haggard and tired. One had anger between his brows, and the other had frost in his eyes. They met each other's eyes from a distance of several steps.
Sunlight streamed in through the window lattice, and the shadows of the two people cast on the ground were straight, like knives and swords.
They looked at each other for only a short moment, but time seemed to pass very slowly. There was a tense atmosphere in the hall, and the palace maids standing by all lowered their heads unconsciously and held their breath.
After a moment, Lu Chen looked away, passed by Xie Yunzhou with an indifferent expression, and stepped forward to pay his respects to the official.
The official took in the expressions of the two men, but pretended not to notice. He calmly raised his finger, motioning for him to sit down. "I summoned you here for nothing important. You've worked so hard on this case, Xu Chong. Now, whatever reward you desire today, I'll grant it."
Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then stood up, clasped his hands, and bowed. He replied in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I have been appointed by Your Majesty and have been in charge of military affairs for three years now. My annual examinations have always been excellent. According to court regulations, I can now request an imperial decree for my wife. I dare to make this one and only request, and I hope Your Majesty will grant it."
Xie Yunzhou raised his head suddenly when he heard this.
The official couldn't help but pause for a moment, raised his eyelids, and glanced at him meaningfully.
Just as Xie Yunzhou was about to step forward and speak, he was met with a glance from the official, which seemed like a warning and an examination, nailing him to the spot.
Seeing that his son was quite obedient, the official calmly withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Lu Chen. He hummed thoughtfully, "I remember that your first wife was sent back to her parents' home with a divorce letter a long time ago. So, are you remarrying now?"
Lu Chen leaned forward and replied, "My mother was furious at the time, but I never approved the divorce letter, nor did it pass through the government. My first wife, Ning, and I are still officially married, having been engaged through three matchmakers and six engagements, and have even worshipped in the ancestral temple."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
The official's fingertips slowly stroked the armrest. After a moment, he nodded and said, "If that's the case... fine. First, submit a proposal to the Ministry of Rites. If everything is true, we'll follow the rules."
Lu Chen thanked the emperor for his grace and did not stay any longer. He did not even look at Xie Yunzhou again and just bowed and left.
As expected, not long after he left the main hall and was about to pass through a palace gate and turn into the alley, Xie Yunzhou caught up with him from behind, grabbed his shoulder, and shouted angrily: "Lu Bingyan, stop right there!"
Lu Chen stopped and turned slowly.
Suddenly, a cold wind swept through the alley, and the surging black fox fur covered half of his handsome face, leaving only a pair of deep and cold black eyes visible.
His gaze lingered on Xie Yunzhou's unpleasant expression for a moment, and Lu Chen twitched his lips and said mockingly, "How come you're confined to the inner palace, observing government and reading history all day, with a loving father and a filial son? Do you think being a prince is comfortable?"
Xie Yunzhou's knuckles turned white from pinching, and he suppressed his anger as he asked word by word, "Where's Jiu Niang? How is she doing now?!"
Lu Chen looked at him expressionlessly, his voice extremely cold, "She is my wife, so naturally I will cherish and love her. We live in harmony, so there is no need for you to worry about her."
Xie Yunzhou gritted his teeth and sarcastically replied, "You're really good at flattering yourself. You and I both know she already gave up on you and agreed to me!"
But those few short words were like poisoned daggers, stabbing straight into my heart.
Lu Chen chuckled in anger, tugging at the corners of his lips and raising his chin slightly. In a seemingly unintentional movement, the edge of his snow-white mid-collar loosened slightly, revealing a small, reddish-purple tooth mark near his Adam's apple through the ripples of the fox fur.
It was bitten out by her when she was helping him relieve himself that night.
There was still bruises around the edges of the teeth marks, and two days later, they had turned a little purple, standing out against the cold, pale skin.
Xie Yunzhou's pupils suddenly shrank and his expression changed.
He had been gritting his teeth and enduring it. He had nothing to be afraid of, but he was only afraid that she would attract the attention of the officials and bring her trouble. But now that things had come to this, how could he still endure it?
A ball of fire suddenly ignited in his chest, burning his internal organs with pain. Jealousy and hatred surged in his heart, and he could no longer hold back. He swung his fist and smashed it towards Lu Chen's face.
"Lu Chen, you're looking for death!"
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