Chapter 189 - 139_3
As if to prove his words were not false, the hand at her waist clenched tighter.
Xie Wanqing froze for a moment, unable to control the fury in her heart any longer, and bit down on his chest.
Being repeatedly threatened by him in this manner truly filled her with rage that shot to the top of her head, even giving her a bit of a mind to perish together with him.
She used all her strength, pouring all her anger and hatred for his repeated coercion into her bite.
As if to bite off a piece of flesh.
The moment the pain hit, Lu Ziyuan’s body instinctively tensed. Once he came to his senses, he relaxed his muscles, took a light breath, and tightened the hold on her lower back.
Until Ben Yun stopped, Xie Wanqing’s mouth was already full of the rusty taste of iron, yet she still refused to let go.
Lu Ziyuan gently stroked the back of her neck and then pinched her jaw. Seeing she had no intention of letting go, he simply let her bite him and carried her off the horse.
"Greetings, General!"
The orderly sound of marching footsteps brought Xie Wanqing back to her senses. She looked up and saw a dozen soldiers clad in armor.
Even in the snow, the training on the drill ground had not stopped.
...This is a military camp.
Lu Ziyuan actually brought her to the Capital Suburb Camp!
She thought he was going to take her to some other villa for some frivolity...
Realizing where she was, Xie Wanqing buried her face in his chest again, not daring to let anyone see her.
Lu Ziyuan glanced down at her, not stopping his steps as he walked toward his quarters.
Mingjian, who had been following, quickly stepped forward to push open the door.
The room was cold as frost, and he turned his head to give orders, "Light some charcoal basins and bring them in."
Mingjian acknowledged and left.
As the door closed, Xie Wanqing was set down, and the cloak draped over her was casually tossed onto a chair by Lu Ziyuan.
He reached out to lift her chin, wiping away the bloodstains at the corner of her lips with his thumb. "Feeling better?"
Seeing the hatred in her eyes, he pulled open his own collar.
The wound was right above the left side of his heart. She had indeed used a lot of strength, biting through the thick winter clothes to leave a bloodstain.
Lu Ziyuan chuckled and asked, "Want to bite again?"
"Bite here, too, and leave a mark for him to see?" He pointed at his neck.
Xie Wanqing’s pupils contracted as she finally understood how he found out about what happened last night.
So that’s how it is.
He had seen the bite marks on Pei Yuqing’s neck.
"That old man is sneaky," Lu Ziyuan said when she remained silent. "Maybe he purposely let me see it. What kind of scheme do you think he’s plotting?"
Even knowing his words were trying to sow discord, Xie Wanqing couldn’t help but ponder them.
If Pei Yuqing deliberately let Lu Ziyuan see the marks she left, then what was his intention?
"Can’t figure it out? Then let me guess,"
Lu Ziyuan said, "He probably wants to make me lose composure in front of the court, causing the Emperor and important ministers to be disappointed in me. The ultimate goal is to make me lose my qualification to inherit the throne, to elevate my ’eldest brother’ to power."
A single faux pas in front of the court might not be enough to shake his position, but if such incidents occurred often, they would certainly have an impact.
After all, when it came to matters involving this girl, his usual calculations and imperturbable demeanor turned to dust, leaving him devoid of reason.
Indeed, upon seeing those bite marks, his mind blanked out for a moment.
If he hadn’t thought that the sickly Pei Yuqing might have learned Liu Manrou’s tricks and acquired some mark to anger him, and that he couldn’t fall for such a basic trick, he might have lost control and lashed out in front of the Emperor.
Even so, he was still restless, unable to wait another moment before seeking her for confirmation.
"That was his first objective. If that failed, there was a second one," Lu Ziyuan lightly caressed her delicate jaw with his thumb, unable to resist leaning closer, "He was certain that even if I didn’t lose composure in the court, I would definitely come looking for you afterward to find out the truth."
"He gauged it right. Today, when you were at Samantabhadra Temple, I went there too. If you had been at Duke Pei Mansion, I would have gone there. I had to see you. As for once I saw you and confirmed that you had consummated the marriage, in a fit of jealousy, what I would do..."
At this point, he paused slightly, chuckled, and said, "Wanwan, I really wanted to have you right there just now."
As for why he stopped, perhaps love had prevailed.
She probably hadn’t realized yet that he couldn’t bear to see her cry, ever since they were young.
It’s just that he didn’t want anyone to see his true feelings and his weakness.