Chapter 195 - 142:
He truly hated Liu Manrou to the extreme, especially in dreams where he saw this woman repeatedly suggesting she was tormented by him at night, which only multiplied his hatred.
No one had ever dared to wrong him like this!
In his past life, Liu Manrou was thrown into the military camp and, until his death, clung to life while laboring for the army, unable to seek life or death, used to satiate the soldiers’ desires.
In this life, under Lu Ziyuan’s arrangement, she should face the same fate.
But Xie Wanqing’s reaction gave him a headache.
He could disregard the views of the whole world, but he couldn’t ignore her opinion.
He worried she would accuse him again, and was even more concerned she might fear him, avoiding him like a plague, so he wouldn’t know what to do then.
Thinking it over, Lu Ziyuan chose to reluctantly step back.
"If you don’t like me doing this, then I won’t make her labor for the army," he said. "As you wish, I’ll let her die quickly."
"..." Xie Wanqing’s lips twitched slightly.
"You mustn’t soften; she must die." Lu Ziyuan patiently explained, "Her hatred for us is deep. If we indeed spare her life, she may not be able to retaliate against me, but she might target you."
Once bitten, twice shy. He would never allow anyone with malice toward her to live in this world.
He would remove these threats one by one.
Xie Wanqing was no pushover with no intention of pleading for a past life’s enemy.
Just now, she was merely against his methods against a woman.
She didn’t follow his lead, instead saying, "Let me go back."
He brought her to the military camp to show her Liu Manrou’s end, hoping to ease some of her past life’s grievances temporarily.
Now that it was done, he should let her go, but Lu Ziyuan only smiled.
"...Go back?" he repeated with a not quite a smile and asked her, "You couldn’t possibly think I would allow you to return and let that sickly old man touch you again?"
That smile didn’t reach his eyes, making one feel a chill inside.
Xie Wanqing pressed her lips together, "What exactly do you want?"
"What do you want," Lu Ziyuan sat by the desk, lifting the teapot to pour a cup of tea, warmed it with inner strength, and pushed it in front of her, "Drink it."
Xie Wanqing still stood motionless; upon hearing his words, she looked at the cup of tea with suspicion.
"Afraid I’ll drug you?" Lu Ziyuan was truly amused by her suspicion.
"If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t resort to such methods, and when did I ever disregard your well-being?"
Xie Wanqing didn’t speak.
"Come over, drink the water." Lu Ziyuan tapped the table with his fingers and patiently explained, "You caught cold on the way, if you don’t drink something hot, you’ll catch a chill again."
At these words, Xie Wanqing glanced once more at the steaming cup; though annoyed by having to follow his orders for something as simple as drinking water, she knew she had to adapt to the situation.
Besides, after arguing with him for so long, she indeed felt thirsty.
Watching her drink from the teacup across the room, Lu Ziyuan gave a slight tug at his lips, asking, "Do you really want to return to the Duke Pei Mansion?"
Xie Wanqing swallowed the water and softly uttered, "Yes."
Lu Ziyuan’s face was stern: "That old man deceived you and used you to strike at me, and you’re not at all angry?"
"..." Xie Wanqing remained silent for a few moments and said, "This is between him and me."
The implication: Even if I am angry, it’s got nothing to do with you.
Lu Ziyuan’s eyes filled with anger, gazing at her for a while before saying, sinisterly, "Have you noticed you’re particularly harsh on me?"
Xie Wanqing put down the teacup, somewhat bewildered.
"You are softhearted to everyone else; even something like Liu Manrou, you couldn’t bear to see her suffer, and that old man, full of schemes, drags you into his schemes against me, yet you are very lenient with him."
"And then there’s Qi Mingyu!"
Qi Mingyu was the name of the current Crown Prince, and at the mention of his name, Lu Ziyuan’s voice turned icy cold.
"In a past life, Qi Mingyu instructed Lu Xiyao to poison you, making him the main culprit behind the attempt on your life. That sickly person wants to raise him to power, and you accepted him too."
And then there was the Xie family, naturally siding with their nephew.
That was a deadly enmity!
In reality, the choices of the Pei and Xie families didn’t significantly affect Lu Ziyuan, but he still resented them.
In a past life, he had made many mistakes, causing her much grievance, but weren’t those others also enemies?
Qi Mingyu was explicitly responsible for causing her death.
Lu Ziyuan’s eyes darkened, his voice cold and solemn: "To oppose me, can you even set aside a deadly enmity?"