Chapter 103: Everlasting Peace
Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Everlasting Peace
Liang Wan was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Someone like Cui Hao was beneath his notice, so what was there to think clearly about?
Lu Xiu didn’t answer, asking instead, "Why did you come to see Feng Qingyue?"
Liang Wan fell silent. Both of their fathers had passed away, their mothers were strict, and they had grown up in similar circumstances. There were so many things they could connect over. She had thought two people like them could be friends for life, but who knew when it had all changed?
’Perhaps people shouldn’t get too close to one another.’
She looked up and smiled faintly. "Some questions are just obsessions. Once you get an answer, you should let them go."
The heat that had enveloped her body instantly vanished. Lu Xiu watched her calmly, his eyes cold and silent, and said nothing.
Liang Wan smiled. ’So he really was just pretending to be drunk at the banquet.’
’If that’s the case, there’s no audience now, so there’s no need to keep up the act.’
She lowered her gaze and patted the hand around her waist. "My lord, you should let go."
’Even if their souls were worlds apart, compared to anyone else in this world, wasn’t their current distance still considered close?’
’But she also knew that two people who hated each other should not be this close.’
As she was lost in thought, he rolled over and pinned her down. "Liang Wan, I’ve told you three times not to come looking for me whenever you please. You didn’t listen. What makes you think you can summon me and dismiss me at will?"
Liang Wan froze for a moment. ’So when he said that to me before, he really did want us to keep our distance.’
With one of his hands gripping her neck and the other supporting her waist, Liang Wan was held beneath him, completely unable to move. She could only see the storm of malice brewing in the dark eyes just inches away.
’This version of Lu Xiu was much more familiar.’
Liang Wan curved her lips into a smile. "That day at the Duke Mansion, you did it on purpose. You deliberately stopped me, deliberately let him find us. You knew he would never refuse you anything you wanted!"
’Since he arranged the bath, all my movements were under his watch. What could he possibly not know?’
’If he hadn’t stopped me, Gao Qian might already be dead, and I wouldn’t be in this awkward situation. Even if he wasn’t dead, I would have entered the palace by now.’
A surge of anger rose in Liang Wan, and she gritted her teeth. "Is it just because you hate me?"
Lu Xiu’s dark eyes narrowed. "So what if it is?"
’This inexplicable hatred again!’
Liang Wan was furious.
But he bit down hard on her lips. It was a kiss, but not a kiss—it was brutish, domineering, mocking, and provocative.
Liang Wan desperately tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge an inch.
Gradually, she stopped wanting to push him, and then she stopped trying altogether. She simply closed her eyes and let him be. ’Wasn’t this day bound to come sooner or later? If I just endure it, what can’t I get through?’
Just as she was about to pass out, he finally stopped.
Liang Wan opened her eyes. He was sitting beside her, watching her with a cold gaze as he panted slightly.
The carriage had stopped at some point, likely at the gates of the Grandmaster’s Mansion. It was silent inside the carriage. The two of them, one lying down and the other sitting up, were at a stalemate, neither speaking.
She lowered her eyes and began to untie her sash herself. ’Isn’t this the only thing left between us?’
’Might as well get it over with today, and then all my lingering obsessions will be gone.’
Liang Wan was the first to break the silence.
"Is the Grand Commandant certain he wants to do this in the carriage? I’m afraid passersby might hear. But it doesn’t matter to me. A concubine is meant for a man’s amusement, after all. I never forget my place..."
She spoke as she undressed, pulling off her outer robe and tossing it straight onto the floor, her hands showing no sign of stopping.
Lu Xiu’s already sullen face grew darker, and a tempest raged in his sinister eyes.
He stared at her coldly for a moment, then got up and left without stopping her or saying a word.
’This is how Lu Xiu should be. That gentle, harmless, and considerate act really doesn’t suit him at all!’
When all was quiet outside, Liang Wan wiped away her tears, scrambled up, and reached for the clothes on the floor, putting them back on one by one.
Before leaving, she glanced at the cup of tea that had been poured for Lu Xiu on the small table. It was completely cold and hadn’t been touched.
She touched her lips. They were burning and sore. She didn’t need a mirror to know they were definitely swollen. ’That Lu Xiu must be part dog.’
Liang Wan couldn’t stand the taste of alcohol in her mouth any longer. Enduring the pain, she angrily grabbed the teacup to rinse her mouth, then lifted the curtain and spat outside.
Before she could even wipe the tea from her mouth, she saw Lu Xiu turn around in a fury, water stains dripping from his clothes.
She had spit the mouthwash all over him...
Liang Wan’s face went pale.
"Liang! Wan!" he roared.
Liang Wan trembled. By the looks of it, he wanted to tear her to pieces.
’In two lifetimes, I’ve never seen him lose his composure like this. He has every right to, though, especially in front of Yuan and so many of his men...’
’But hadn’t he left?’
’What was the meaning of standing silently in front of the carriage?’
Knowing it was useless to say more, Liang Wan shrank back, about to duck back into the carriage.
A powerful hand yanked her arm, and Lu Xiu pulled her back.
Lu Xiu glared down at her. "Still trying to run?"
Clutching the cup, Liang Wan shook her head timidly. "I didn’t do it on purpose!"
He was so angry he laughed. "Do you really think you can get away with causing trouble every single time?"
Liang Wan looked at him guiltily and asked tentatively, "I’ll go back and wash it for you, alright?"
He tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright."
The moment he said "Alright," he swept her up into his arms, causing her to cry out in alarm. Her heart leaped, her hand slipped, and the cup fell, shattering and spilling the remaining tea.
Lu Xiu gave her a cool glance and added, "You’ll also have to embroider a butterfly on it."
"Huh?"
Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Liang Wan hurriedly agreed.
Lu Xiu said, "We’re going now."
Liang Wan ground her back teeth. "This is torture. I was about to say, why are you—"
Lu Xiu stopped walking and looked down at her. "Why am I what?"
Liang Wan ducked her head. "I was just saying it’s a shame about the cup! It broke!"
"Out with the old, in with the new," he said, pausing before looking down again. "May you have peace year after year."
In the bedchamber, Lu Xiu lay on his side on the couch, dressed only in his nightclothes, watching Liang Wan as she sat unhappily under the lamplight, embroidering the butterfly for him.
’A scholar is best viewed under the moon; a beauty is best viewed under a lamp.’
Lu Xiu frowned. "Why did you study medicine?"
The hand holding the needle paused. Without looking up, Liang Wan said, "To save people. Something you find boring is very useful to others."
Speaking of which, Liang Wan put down her needle and looked at him seriously.
"Can you help me find someone?"
Lu Xiu sat up and patted the spot beside him.
Liang Wan walked over and sat down next to him. ’If I’m going to ask for his help, I should explain the whole story.’
She sighed. "The innocent man gets into trouble for the treasure he carries. Back then, I gave a bag of money to a little beggar so he could hire a doctor for his younger brother. Who would have thought he’d be accused of theft and sent to the Pingyang County Duke’s Mansion? To this day, his whereabouts are unknown, and I don’t know if he’s dead or alive."
Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow. "So that’s the reason you studied medicine?"
Liang Wan replied, "That was the reason at first, but I was young and eventually found it difficult and tedious. Later, when I truly wanted to learn, my Father passed away. In Liang Cheng’s eyes, all of it was completely useless, so I could only read medical books on my own..."
"Is that how you met Princess Lanling’s male favorite?"