Chapter 164: A Vow to You
Chapter 164: Chapter 164: A Vow to You
Liang Wan shoved him away. "Where are you going?"
A slight smile touched the corner of Lu Xiu’s lips. "You still haven’t said yes."
’Is he blatantly trying to trick me into having a child?’
Liang Wan gave him a wry look. "Back then, you said you wanted my body and my heart, but you never said anything about wanting a child!"
Lu Xiu let out a helpless laugh and shook his head.
Liang Wan stared at him for a moment. "Seriously, where are you going?"
"Ping City."
"Why?"
Ping City was near the border between the Qi Country and Beizhou, which was where Lu Huai was stationed.
A deep, unfathomable look filled Lu Xiu’s eyes, and he said nothing.
Liang Wan’s heart sank. "Is war about to break out?"
She sighed as soon as she asked. Beizhou had coveted the Qi Country for a long time. Otherwise, where would Lu Xiu have even come from?
Since the start of the year, droughts and locust plagues had been relentless. Now, a pestilence had appeared in Jinye.
’How could this not be a perfect opportunity?’
"Why are they making you go?"
’Beizhou would naturally want him to be their inside man. Gao Qian must want him to seize this opportunity to gain real power. And the Lu Family? With Cao Jun dead, using Lu Xiu—whom they can still somewhat control—is a better option than relying on the Lou Family and their ulterior motives...’
’But he, of all people, is the last one who should go.’
Liang Wan lowered her eyes. She wanted to ask so many questions, but for every one she could voice, she already knew the answer.
Lu Xiu took her hand and smiled. "You’re worried about me."
Liang Wan felt a strange surge of irritation and didn’t want to speak.
Lu Xiu’s expression turned serious. "Why should you be worried?"
’Could it be that she knows something she shouldn’t...’
Seeing her silence, Lu Xiu didn’t press further. He simply pulled her into a tight embrace. "Don’t worry, I’ll come back safe and sound."
Leaning against his chest, Liang Wan couldn’t help but feel melancholic. "What are you going to do?"
’It’s one thing in normal times, but how can he possibly play both sides on a battlefield?’
’The Grandmaster knows his true identity, yet he agreed to let him lead troops. Is this a test, or does he have another plan...?’
Unease filled Liang Wan’s heart, but then she heard him chuckle softly in her ear.
His warm breath filled her ear, hot and ticklish.
Liang Wan gritted her teeth and pushed him away resentfully.
But he reached out, pulled down the bed curtains, and laid her down.
His movements were practiced and familiar; what followed was only natural.
Liang Wan closed her eyes, not daring to look at him.
Whenever he stared at her, his eyes were filled with a raw intensity, as if he wanted nothing more than to crush and tear her apart. Yet his every move was impossibly gentle, as if terrified of making her uncomfortable.
’To be so restrained and self-controlled, even in matters of passion...’
Liang Wan could only wrap her arms around his neck and sigh silently.
Suddenly, the arms holding her tightened. He took her earlobe between his lips and gave it a light nip as if in punishment, forcing a soft moan from her.
"No distractions," he rasped, his voice low and thick with desire.
"Do they know what you’re like in private?"
Her angry words, carried on a hot breath, slipped past her lips as a broken, alluring invitation of another kind.
He gave a hoarse, low laugh. "It is enough that you know, my dear."
...
With war imminent, Gao Qian, defying the Empress Dowager’s opposition and overriding all objections, insisted on bestowing Lu Xiu with the title of Great General.
In the Qi Country, where military authority outweighed political power, he was no longer just an Upper Duke with a glorious but empty title. He now truly commanded a great army and held real power, making him extraordinarily distinguished.
On the day of his departure for the campaign, Lu Xiu rose very early.
Liang Wan personally helped him dress and tie up his hair.
It was not the purple robes and golden coronet of the past, but a suit of cold armor.
This Lu Xiu was a complete stranger, one she had never seen before.
His face was like carved jade, his brilliance dazzling, like a god. But when he wasn’t smiling, he was unfeeling and exceptionally cold.
She didn’t know why, but she kept feeling like she should say something, yet nothing would come out.
She simply performed each task in silence, never opening her mouth.
When Liang Wan escorted him to the outer courtyard, the Grandmaster was already waiting at the gate.
They had to enter the palace together. Before deploying, they still had to perform the Ma sacrifice.
Before leaving, Lu Xiu squeezed her hand and smiled. "Wait for me to come back."
Liang Wan nodded, watching him go. The Grandmaster boarded a carriage, while Lu Xiu swung himself onto his horse.
She actually wanted to say that she wouldn’t mind following him to Ping City, like Yu Ji with Xiang Yu, but she felt that saying it would be inauspicious.
Liang Wan stared fixedly as his figure receded bit by bit into the distance.
"My Lady?" Gu Yu called out softly from behind her.
Liang Wan frowned. The figure that should have been disappearing into the distance had suddenly turned back and was galloping toward them, startling the accompanying retinue into a stunned standstill.
He pulled the reins tight, stopping before the gate. Looking at her, he smiled. "Wanwan, come here."
Everyone, both inside and outside the gate, watched in a daze.
Liang Wan narrowed her eyes and walked to the front of his horse.
Before she could speak, he leaned down, pulled her forward, and kissed her fiercely.
The kiss left Liang Wan breathless, her cheeks burning hot.
When he finally let go, he was slightly out of breath. His eyes locked onto hers as he tossed out a single sentence, then spurred his horse away and quickly vanished from sight.
Liang Wan lowered her lashes.
’He’s gone, but how am I supposed to face everyone in the mansion now?’
Liang Wan took a few slow breaths, gritted her teeth, turned around, and walked back inside as if no one else was there.
Her household was strictly managed, after all. Aside from a few furtive glances, no one dared to openly stare at her.
Just as she was about to step over the threshold, she came face-to-face with Cao Luyun.
Cao Luyun was standing there in a daze. Her body was present, but her soul seemed to have been carried off somewhere else, lost in thought.
They were bound to run into each other, but there was nothing pleasant to say.
Liang Wan started to pass by with a blank expression, but was stopped.
"Liang Ji."
Liang Wan stopped and looked over. Cao Luyun was watching her with a placid smile.
To say she was looking at her wasn’t quite accurate. It would be more precise to say she was looking at her lips.
He had tormented her for a long time last night, and today he had bitten her fiercely. She didn’t need a mirror to know what they looked like.
Cao Luyun said gently, "Shall we go to the East Pavilion for a cup of tea?"
Liang Wan covered her mouth with her hand, yawned, and shook her head. "I woke up early today. No need for tea. I have to go back and catch up on some sleep."
Cao Luyun hadn’t expected Liang Wan to refuse so bluntly. She was momentarily put in an awkward position, her expression strained as she struggled to maintain her smile.
’If Liang Wan had once shown her some consideration, she now truly didn’t give her a second thought...’
An indescribable pain twisted in Cao Luyun’s heart. Those red, moist lips were like sharp blades, hurting her eyes just to look at them.
’In my memory, My Lord was abstinent and self-disciplined, as pure and cold as ice water.’
’But because of her, he disregards all decorum and shame, stealing pleasures in broad daylight—once by the rockery, another time in the calf-cart.’
’He even went so far as to have an innocent refugee tortured to death by a thousand cuts at the shelter, just to protect her.’
’And now, on the verge of leaving for war, he commits such a reckless act.’
’It’s simply outrageous!’
’Meanwhile, I had my engagement broken and became a disgrace to my family, yet Liang Wan shows not a shred of guilt.’
’She should know that all of this was supposed to be mine...’
Cao Luyun forced the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Then I will wait until Liang Ji has had her sleep."
"Alright." Liang Wan glanced at her, gave a single nod, and headed toward the South Garden.
Bai Lu followed behind Liang Wan and whispered, "When His Lordship returns, will Lady Cao be able to move back to the Prime Minister’s Mansion?"
"Perhaps."
Liang Wan continued walking forward.
Cao Luyun stared intently at the receding figure, her gaze so fixed it was as if she wanted to weld it onto her, to burn two bloody holes right through her before she would be satisfied.
"Lady Cao?" Shuangjiang looked at her, confused.
Cao Luyun snapped back to her senses and smiled. "Such a shame. I just acquired a box of exquisite tea..."