Chapter 198 - 144_2
Xie Wanqing was anxious, seeing the person opposite her still silent. If people found out she was abducted to the military camp by this man, who knows what kind of indecent rumors might spread.
He seemed unconcerned; it was just another colorful scandal added to his already notorious reputation.
But what about her?
She was already a married woman, abducted by a man to the military camp...
The more she thought, the angrier she became. Xie Wanqing shouted furiously, "Lu Ziyuan, you may not care about your reputation, but I do!"
The atmosphere, which was relatively calm, became stagnant after these words.
However, Lu Ziyuan finally moved; he lifted his gaze to look at her. In the dim light from the window, Xie Wanqing couldn’t see his expression clearly.
She only heard him say, "Being with me would not be shameful; I will make you the most enviable girl in the world."
"..." Xie Wanqing clenched her teeth, feeling as if she were talking to a brick wall.
Her hand was tightly grasped by him, her palm slightly damp, yet Lu Ziyuan showed no intention of letting go, holding her firmly without moving.
After a long time, finally calming his turbulent emotions, he closed his eyes and said, "Wanwan..."
Before Xie Wanqing could speak, he continued, "You said you’re hard-hearted towards me because you truly love me, then what about Pei Yuqing? Do you forgive his deceit so easily because you don’t love him?"
Upon hearing these words, Xie Wanqing’s first reaction was, how rare, he finally didn’t call him ’sickly’ or ’old man’.
Her heart sank immediately.
Forgive? What nonsense, she hated being deceived the most.
On the wedding night, Pei Yuqing deliberately let someone inside, which made her very angry. Later, misunderstanding that he was unwell, she didn’t hold a grudge.
This time, he deceived her again, pretending she was drugged, coaxing her to consummate the marriage, and deliberately let the teeth marks be seen by Lu Ziyuan...
The girl opposite had an ugly expression, and Lu Ziyuan caught every detail, his lips curling up uncontrollably. Afraid of her noticing, he quickly released her hand and got up to walk to the candle stand.
The bright flame ignited.
He turned back and sat down opposite her again, asking, "Are you sure you want to return?"
For some reason, his tone seemed less oppressive and sinister. Xie Wanqing blinked and nodded without hesitation, "I must go back."
She had a family and a household; being trapped in the military camp like this was unacceptable.
Lu Ziyuan hummed in acknowledgment, "Then shall we make a bet?"
His willingness to relent surprised Xie Wanqing, who quickly asked, "A bet on what?"
Lu Ziyuan said, "I just told you that the old man deliberately exposed that thing today to provoke me, do you believe it?"
Xie Wanqing internally believed it was true; Pei Yuqing was discreet, respected privacy, and disliked anyone being overly close. His servants were few, and he would never unwittingly expose such intimate matters publicly.
Yet she remained silent.
This defense made Lu Ziyuan snort, grinding his molars with a smile, "The sickly fellow certainly has a belly full of schemes; it hasn’t been long, yet he’s already got you wrapped around his finger."
"After meeting with the Holy Emperor, I went directly to Samantabhadra Temple. At that time, when I left, the old man was in the hall; he must have known I came to find you,"
His smile gradually faded as he asked her, "Wanwan, tell me, when he used such matters to provoke me, did he consider what I might do when I came for you?"
Xie Wanqing pressed her lips tightly together, instinctively thinking of the scene in the backyard of Samantabhadra Temple.
He said he genuinely wanted to do it there...
"He indeed went all out..." Lu Ziyuan stopped mid-sentence, looking at her and asking, "If I had really done something there, with your nature, what would you have done?"
What would she do?
Before this, she only wished for mutual peace, but if he dared to force it...
She would wish for them both to perish together.
He would become her greatest enemy in this life.
Any affection from childhood or true love for this boy would dissolve into nothingness.
She would never forgive him!
No matter what he did, even if he died before her, she wouldn’t bow her head to look at him.
Her face looked extremely unpleasant, yet Lu Ziyuan chuckled lightly, "Seems, it’s not much of a loss either."
He could somewhat understand why the sickly fellow did such a thing.
Xie Wanqing understood his meaning, looked up and stared at him without blinking.
"Don’t look at me like that, what the sickly fellow did shouldn’t be attributed to me," Lu Ziyuan said. "To scheme for another man to touch you, I wouldn’t do that even if I were dead."
Even if it could make her turn away from the sickly fellow forever, what use would that be?
He could by no means allow another man to touch her in the slightest.
But the sickly fellow did it anyway, showing that...he truly considered him his number one enemy.
How much insecurity, how afraid she’d change her mind, he must have to resort to such a plan.