Chapter 94: Existing in Name Only
Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Existing in Name Only
Liang Wan hesitated. ’If I just follow her, what if Lu Xiu returns and is left waiting?’
Liang Wan glanced around and happened to see Cao Jun, who had stopped to exchange pleasantries with someone. Although it wasn’t quite appropriate to ask him to pass on a message, she couldn’t worry about that now.
Liang Wan told the maidservant to wait and walked over.
Cao Jun was a little surprised to see Liang Wan, but he maintained his etiquette.
Liang Wan briefly explained, and Cao Jun agreed.
Reassured, Liang Wan followed the maidservant back. The Duke Mansion was vast, and this was a path she had never taken before.
Liang Wan couldn’t help but be on her guard.
The courtyard where the Duke resided was very quiet. There were servants standing guard under the corridor, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Liang Wan followed the maidservant inside.
Spirit Void Incense was burning in the room, its faint fragrance lingering in the air. The Yellow Willow Wood furniture was paired with a verdant Drip Water Guanyin plant, creating a simple yet elegant atmosphere.
Duke Lou Jing, his hair completely white, sat before a small table. His body was stooped, but the eyes that looked over at her held a sliver of clarity amidst their cloudiness.
It was a gaze that seemed to want to see right through to her soul.
Liang Wan bowed her head in a respectful salute. "I greet Your Grace, the Duke."
She could clearly feel that gaze scrutinizing her, inch by inch.
"Come here."
After a long moment, the Duke finally spoke, his aged voice low and heavy.
Liang Wan raised her head and saw the Duke gesturing for her to sit opposite him at the table.
She was puzzled, but could only obey, kneeling on the mat across from him.
Liang Wan asked, "May I ask what instructions Your Grace has for me?"
For some reason, the Duke’s gaze made her very uncomfortable.
He pointed to the items arranged on a Jade Plate on the table and asked, "Lady, do you know what these are?"
Liang Wan glanced at them once and replied, "Yarrow stalks and a tortoise shell."
The Duke asked again, "Do you know what they are used for?"
Liang Wan replied, "One divines with the shell, one casts lots with the stalks. Is Your Grace planning on performing a divination?"
The Duke nodded slightly.
Liang Wan was even more confused.
The Duke’s ancient eyes remained locked on her. "Lady, what is your birth date?"
Liang Wan hesitated, because she wasn’t sure which day was considered her actual birth date.
Seeing her silence, the Duke spoke first. "The twelfth day of the tenth month, in the year of Yi Mao. Is that correct?"
Liang Wan was astonished. "How does Your Grace know that? Many years ago, that was the date, yes. But later, my family moved it a day earlier, so I’m not sure which one I should say."
"And do you know why your family moved it forward?"
Liang Wan nodded. "My mother said I was born on the night of the eleventh, before the twelfth day had arrived."
The Duke looked at her and shook his head. "Many years ago, someone asked me for a divination, and this was the result of the reading. Divining it again now yields the same outcome. Nothing has changed."
Liang Wan looked at the tortoise shell. Besides the cracks, she couldn’t see anything.
The Duke gazed out the window, his voice filled with sorrow. "’A blood-soaked peony, a beauty to topple kingdoms; who knew beneath the flower lay a mountain of bones.’ This is what I divined all those years ago."
Liang Wan searched her memory. She seemed to have heard it before. "What does that mean?"
"To exist in name only."
Liang Wan’s brow twitched. ’Exist in name only? Does that mean I’m alive in name, but actually already dead?’
"I once thought you had died long ago. I never expected..." He seemed to let out a soft sigh. "Lady, do not blame me. My own life is also nearing its end."
Just as Liang Wan was about to ask, someone suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth and nose. Her arms and legs were seized, and she was dragged backward and pinned rigidly to the floor.
The feeling of suffocation intensified. Liang Wan struggled with all her might, desperate to break free and push away the person covering her mouth and nose.
But her limbs were pinned down tightly, leaving her completely immobile. Her head grew dizzier, her vision blurred, and the sounds around her faded into the distance. It felt as if her very soul was floating away...
Liang Wan was shaken and patted awake. She could vaguely make out the shadow of a person in front of her. Her body was limp, utterly devoid of strength. Even taking a breath made her chest feel tight.
The silhouette before her gradually sharpened into focus.
Liang Wan squinted, trying to make out the face. Her voice was as faint as a gossamer thread. "Lu Xiu?"
The moment the word left her lips, she was crushed into an embrace.
Liang Wan felt like he was about to squeeze the breath right out of her again.
Perhaps sensing this, he finally loosened his arms slightly, only lowering his head. "I’m taking you back."
Liang Wan didn’t even have the strength to nod.
Without waiting for her reply, Lu Xiu swept her into his arms, turned, and strode outside.
Liang Wan couldn’t see what was happening around them. She could only hear the Duke behind them, shouting with great effort, telling her not to leave.
But Lu Xiu paid him no mind, as if he couldn’t hear a thing.
Liang Wan lay limply in his arms, able to see only his jaw and the corner of his lips, which were set like ice.
She closed her eyes. This Lu Xiu almost overlapped with the image of him from her past life. He showed not a trace of anger, but a single word from him could create a mountain of corpses and a river of blood.
Liang Wan was carried out of the Duke Mansion just like that. All the way back to the small courtyard in the Master’s Mansion, he said not a word.
Liang Wan had been recovering the whole way, but lying in bed, her heart was still pounding, her head was dizzy, and her limbs felt somewhat unresponsive.
In a daze, she heard the low voice of the household doctor, who seemed to be saying many things. Listening, Liang Wan slowly drifted off to sleep.
When she woke again, the room was dark and gloomy. Lu Xiu was leaning against the side of the bed, watching her with a frown.
"Feeling better?" His face also showed a hint of exhaustion.
Liang Wan nodded, then glanced at the window. She couldn’t tell the hour, but seeing how quiet it was both inside and out, she guessed it must be the middle of the night.
The scene involuntarily brought to mind that day in the cave. Lowering her gaze, she did a quick mental tally. ’This should be the third time he’s saved me.’
Just as she was pondering what to say, she saw him get up and pour her a cup of water.
"It’s a good thing you had Cao Jun give me the message, or I would have been too late." Lu Xiu helped her sit up, propping her against the headboard.
Liang Wan took the cup. "I don’t even know the Duke. I never imagined he would try to kill me."
When Lu Xiu had entered, he had seen Liang Wan pinned to the floor, barely breathing.
"What did he say to you?"
Liang Wan hesitated. ’It seems my birth date is considered inauspicious. No, seeing the Duke’s expression, as if facing a great enemy, it’s not just inauspicious—it’s a sign of great catastrophe!’
Liang Wan couldn’t understand how someone could want her dead simply because of her birth date and time.
’As for that poem about my fate, whether it’s true or not, my birth date was indeed altered. It seems, from all this concealment, that they definitely believed it.’
’Right, the Duke also said he thought I was already dead...’
A thought struck Liang Wan. ’What exactly does "to exist in name only" refer to?’
Liang Wan wondered if she should tell Lu Xiu the truth about her birth date. ’If I tell him, will he have me seized and dealt with, too?’
"He was just performing a divination for me. I’m not sure about the rest."
Lu Xiu nodded slightly, took the cup from her hand, and helped her lie back down. "Rest."
He put down the cup and lay down beside her.
Liang Wan closed her eyes, her mind swirling with questions. It felt as if she had caught a small clue, but when she tried to grasp it, she didn’t know which thread to pull.
When she opened her eyes again, Lu Xiu was already asleep. It was clear he was exhausted from watching over her until the middle of the night. But Liang Wan lay in bed, looking at him, unable to fall asleep herself.
’Could it be that the man in black from last time was also sent by the Duke?’