Xie Yun raised her voice, attempting to intimidate with her status. “Who dares to do this? My grandfather is a current cabinet elder. What lowlife would dare to act against us?”
One of the men laughed hoarsely. “Second Miss Xie, killing you here would be without a trace. However, we’re not here to kill. We just need Madam Luo San to come with us. The rest of you will be spared.”
Madam Yang immediately retorted, “Shut up! No one is going with you!”
As soon as she finished speaking, an embroidered saber flashed and embedded itself in the carriage frame with a vibrating hum. The sudden violence frightened the sheltered women into silence. Their guards had already been subdued swiftly and silently.
This was truly a life-threatening situation!
Traveling with the Xie family indeed required checking one’s fortune.
Yining stood up. Taking advantage of the darkness, she slipped something into Madam Yang’s hand, which was slick with sweat. Yining, having a premonition, stepped out of the carriage and said, “Enough talk. I’ll go with you. Let them and my guards go.”
The man chuckled again. “Madam Luo San, please come this way.” He gestured invitingly.
Yining jumped down from the carriage, thinking they were likely caught up in this because of her. Such a large operation, brazenly abducting people on the street without hesitation – she couldn’t think of anyone else besides that man who would do this.
She followed the man a short distance and saw another large carriage ahead. It was made of paulownia wood, adorned with glass lanterns and blue gauze curtains. In the night, the glass lanterns glowed faintly like fireflies. Imperial guards with embroidered sabers stood behind the carriage, creating an imposing presence. The man lifted the curtain, gesturing for her to enter.
Inside the carriage, an oil lamp was lit. A man with a commanding presence sat drinking tea in the dim light. He looked up and said, “Luo Yining.”
It was indeed Lu Jiaxue!
Ambushing her at night with armed guards – this was certainly the Duke’s style.
“What are you doing?” Yining asked coldly with a sneer. “I told you last time, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your gambling was just my guess.”
Lu Jiaxue said nothing, simply tossing a letter in front of her.
Yining opened it and read slowly, her expression darkening. It was a letter she had written to Cheng Lang, detailing how she went to Xiangyun Society, how Lu Jiaxue was suspected, and asking Cheng Lang to keep an eye on Lu Jiaxue’s movements.
No wonder he had made such a grand gesture today, intercepting her outside the Imperial Academy alley.
He likely knew everything now and had guessed it all. There was no room for denial!
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Yining’s heart began to race. She dropped the letter and turned to flee from the carriage. But Lu Jiaxue swiftly moved behind her, striking the back of her neck with the side of his hand. Yining’s body instantly went limp, and she collapsed.
Lu Jiaxue caught her in his arms, lowering his head to coldly laugh, “Still trying to run?”
Someone outside asked, “My lord, where shall we go now?”
“Back to the mansion,” Lu Jiaxue replied.
The night was cold and dewy as candlelight flickered in the study.
Xu Wei had received confidential information about Luo Shen Yuan. Someone had accused him before the Emperor of colluding with Zeng Heng to betray the country. Though there was no physical evidence, there was a witness – Zeng Yingkun. However, Zeng Yingkun was still en route to the capital under escort.
Luo Shen Yuan wasn’t certain if Zeng Yingkun was aware of the situation. Zeng Yingkun was a simple military man, not as clever as his son Zeng Heng. Zeng Heng’s communications were all confidential and likely unknown to his father.
Xu Wei slowly put away the letter and glanced at his silent student. “There’s no smoke without fire. No one would dare make false accusations without evidence. Tell me, did you have dealings with Zeng Heng?”
Luo Shen Yuan had indeed traded with Zeng Heng, but this was extremely dangerous for him if discovered. He couldn’t let anyone suspect, not even Xu Wei.
“Zeng Heng’s hometown is in Baoding, the same as mine. He was fond of making friends. When he was in Baoding years ago, we had some interactions. But to say that I colluded with him to betray the country is impossible,” Luo Shen Yuan explained.
Xu Wei despised traitors who sold out their country. Though he was resolute and determined, he cared deeply for the common people. He disliked Luo Shen Yuan’s top-tier politician personality – correct on major principles, but only interested in power and profit. Someone like Yang Ling was much better, with flesh and blood, impulse and wisdom. At least his heart was full of compassion and willing to change the fate of the common people.
It was very likely true that Luo Shen Yuan had dealings with Zeng Heng, but he would never admit it in front of Xu Wei. This was also what made Xu Wei uncomfortable.
Because Luo Shen Yuan only trusted himself.
“You should go back now. Be more careful in the future, don’t let others catch you making mistakes. Many eyes are watching you,” Xu Wei said coolly.
“Thank you for your advice, teacher. I will certainly be vigilant,” Luo Shen Yuan bowed and then left the study.
As soon as he exited the Xu mansion and got into his carriage, pondering Zeng Heng’s matter, he saw a servant from his household hurriedly riding towards him on horseback.
The servant brought a letter.
“Sir, this letter came from the Cheng mansion. They said it was extremely urgent and must be read by you! I waited a long time without seeing you return, so I rushed to find you, fearing a delay would cause problems.”
Luo Shen Yuan reached out, “Give it to me.” The subordinate respectfully handed it over. He took it and opened it, finding another small envelope inside, sealed with wax bearing the character “Lang”.
This was Cheng Lang’s usual seal. Why would Cheng Lang send him a letter?
Luo Shen Yuan opened the envelope. After reading it, his expression became very unpleasant, his jaw tightening.
He slowly crumpled the letter and waved for the carriage to depart.
Yining and Cheng Lang were corresponding, and Yining seemed to trust him greatly. Their relationship was likely quite close. But this wasn’t the main issue at the moment, since Yining hadn’t married Cheng Lang. He didn’t need to concern himself with that.
Cheng Lang was warning him to be wary of Lu Jiaxue, saying he might make a move. Why would he suddenly write to warn him? What exactly had happened? He wouldn’t write out of the blue.
Luo Shen Yuan’s eyes turned cold as he suddenly remembered the confidential palace report… Lu Jiaxue was very likely creating a diversion!
Earlier, when the news came suddenly, he had left in a hurry, telling Yining to return to the Yang family first. There were too many places where they could be ambushed along the way. Although he had left guards with Yining, if it was Lu Jiaxue’s men, no guard would be able to stop them!
He immediately had a bad feeling and called for the carriage to stop. “Change course to the Yang mansion immediately.”
The carriage galloped towards the Yang mansion, while Madam Yang and Xie Yun’s carriage was also on its way back, both women still shaken.
The carriage driver had been killed, so they had called an old woman to drive. She was trembling outside, “Madam, shall we return to the mansion now…”
“Let’s go to the Xu mansion first!” Madam Yang managed to stay somewhat composed, being the daughter of a tribal chieftain after all. They needed to quickly inform Luo Shen Yuan that Luo Yining had been taken.
Madam Yang said breathlessly, “This matter absolutely cannot be leaked, otherwise Sister Yining’s reputation will be ruined, even if we rescue her. Madam Cheng, I know you don’t get along with her. But she didn’t wrong you just now. You must not speak of this to anyone, understand?”
Xie Yun heard her words and perfunctorily agreed.
No matter how much Xie Yun disliked Luo Yining, the woman had not hesitated in the face of mortal danger and had let the two of them go free. Her character was not in question.
“Don’t worry, I’m not one to take advantage of others’ misfortunes…” Xie Yun said, while inwardly wondering who had taken Luo Yining and why. How could they mount such a large operation?
Madam Yang’s hands and feet were numb, and it took her a long while to recover.
Candlelight filtered through the gauze curtains with a lattice pattern, creating a hazy glow.
Luo Yining saw the dim light and felt a throbbing pain in her head. It took her a moment to remember what had happened.
She stood up from the bed and pushed aside the curtains to walk out. The room was lavishly decorated with triple-linked palace lanterns casting a soft light. The black lacquered floor was covered with a velvet carpet. On the folding screen, the iridescent peacock feathers were inlaid piece by piece with jade, gold foil, and sapphires – the height of luxury.
She walked over and picked up a candlestick, intending to break off the candle, only to find it wasn’t pointed and couldn’t be used as a weapon. She then tried the partition and found it could be opened.
Yining slowly opened the partition to find a lakeside pavilion beyond. At a long table sat a figure with a strong, upright back, drinking alone. Four guards stood silently around him.
Outside, a waning crescent moon hung in the sky, its faint light barely illuminating the scene. The deep autumn night was devoid even of cricket chirps, with only the patter of rain. The lake’s surface rippled gently, the moonlight shattering across it. The darkness always gave one a sense of confusion and helplessness.
“Lu Jiaxue.” The person behind him finally called out softly.
He had waited a very long time to hear this voice again.
That day when she never returned, he had searched the base of the cliff. But he could no longer hear her voice. Later, as fog descended on the mountains, his steps faltered. People tried to persuade him to go back, but he grew increasingly desperate, unable to hear that voice.
The day he killed his elder brother, he knelt with his sword, blood splattering. Later, laden with honors, he ascended to the position second only to the emperor, becoming Duke Lu, eliminating dissidents for the emperor. Looking back from these cold, bloody glories, he still couldn’t find her, couldn’t hear her voice. The one who had sewn clothes for him by lamplight, waited for him, embraced him crying and begging him not to go to war.
She was truly gone, departing so easily and suddenly. Lu Jiaxue couldn’t convince himself to accept it. Truly, there was no way.
His battle-worn, scarred, and weary soul had nowhere to rest.
So when he heard this voice again, his fists clenched, and he felt a renewed excitement.
“You’re finally awake,” he said, putting down his wine cup and standing up. He gestured for those around to withdraw.
Yining watched him and took a few steps back. He followed, walking in and blocking the moonlight from outside. He closed the door behind him and said, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Yining looked up at him.
This man was always so domineering, disregarding others’ will. He had already killed her once – what more did he want? To kill her a second time?
These thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. She was forced to retreat step by step as he advanced.
“Why retreat?” Lu Jiaxue looked around and said. He rarely came here now. This room had been sealed off for a long time, only cleaned daily but seldom entered. Because the person who lived here was gone.
Now he had confined that person inside. Though she fearfully backed away, he felt a renewed sense of fulfillment.
He smiled and asked, “This place is familiar, isn’t it, Luo Yining?”
It took Yining a while to remember where this was.
This was the East Warm Pavilion where she used to live.
By the kang bed was a curio shelf holding her favorite ceramic pillow – a chubby doll with an upturned head and tail, now worn and faded. A string of woven zongzi hung by the window, out of place with the room’s decor – she had made those. A pipa hung on the wall, left to her by her mother. She had carefully felt every string from end to end.
As if weathered by the passage of years, these traces of her former life appeared before her. They took her back to her days as a concubine in the Marquis’s mansion.
Naive and pure. Behind the calm surface lurked bloody and dark undercurrents.
After a long silence, Luo Yining asked, “Lu Jiaxue, why did you bring me here? What do you want?”
Lu Jiaxue didn’t speak. His handsome face had grown more profound from the years’ carving. She had called him adoptive father for two years, and now could finally address him directly: Lu Jiaxue. Without restraint, without hiding her distance.
At this moment, she was no longer Wei Yining, but Luo Yining. The Luo Yining died tragically fourteen years ago.
Yining closed her eyes briefly. She decided to confess everything, regardless of right or wrong, regardless of whether he would kill her.
She had been tormented for so many years. It was time to get answers and make a clean break with the past!
“I am Luo Yining,” she said. Just these five words carried immense weight, but also a reckless finality.
“But Luo Yining is dead,” her voice trembled uncontrollably, though her expression remained calm. “You can kill me again if you want, torture me if you want – I’m not afraid to die, as long as you spare other innocent people. No one will know about your past dirty deeds, how you killed your brother to usurp his position.”
Lu Jiaxue slowly closed his eyes.
He had endured agonizing waiting for over ten years. Those nights of madness and despair were like bottomless abysses, repeatedly intensifying the pain of losing her. Now she stood before him.
And he was no longer an ordinary concubine’s son of a marquis’s household. He was Lu Jiaxue, the all-powerful Duke Lu.
Now that she was in his hands, no one could take her away again.
“Luo Shen Yuan is my elder brother. He married me only to help me,” Yining paused, thinking of that solitary figure. He shouldn’t be implicated because of her. “Do whatever you want to me, but don’t target him.”
As Yining said this, she suddenly noticed Lu Jiaxue’s expression didn’t seem right.
Before she could react, Lu Jiaxue abruptly pinned her against the wall, laughing with a heavy tone: “Luo Yining, you are my wife, remember that. Whether dead or alive.”
“So there are no other husbands, understand?” The last sentence suddenly turned sharp.
Lu Jiaxue pressed against her and asked, “You still dare to plead for him? I haven’t even asked you yet, why didn’t you tell me the day the Empress arranged your marriage! I could have married you myself.”
Yining’s back stung painfully, but she couldn’t move, trapped by his body. Still, she laughed: “Duke Lu… you’re my adoptive father! Officially recorded in the family register. It can’t be faked.”
Lu Jiaxue suddenly slammed his fist into the wall beside her.
“Making me watch you become my adopted daughter, watch you marry another. Luo Yining, did you find it amusing?” Lu Jiaxue gripped her chin, sneering as he continued, “With my current position, I could kill you without a second thought. Don’t you value your life?”
Lu Jiaxue’s deep voice was at her ear, “Luo Yining, do you want to provoke me?”
Backed into a corner, Yining closed her eyes and smiled, “Provoke you? Do you know what it feels like to be crushed to pieces?”
Her tone was long and heavy, condensing over twenty years of torment into the weight of a single sentence.
Having been gripped too suddenly earlier, Luo Yining coughed once before continuing: “What does it feel like to have the person beside you plotting against you day and night? You were willing to sacrifice me for your power plans. Did I say a word about it?”
These words had been buried in her heart for many years. Tears rolled from her eyes.
It was like being back in the hairpin, knowing everything around her was fake, with no one to hear her speak. Unable to breathe.
“I never harmed you,” Lu Jiaxue frowned.
He had already sacrificed too much back then. To give her a peaceful life. How could he want to harm the person he cherished so much and went to great lengths to protect?
“I schemed for power in secret, not telling you anything to protect you. Luo Yining, do you think the bond between us was fake?”
Luo Yining looked at him expressionlessly. After so many years, she no longer knew what was true and what was false.
If it wasn’t Lu Jiaxue, who else could it be?
She had been with Xie Min for over twenty years before confirming she wasn’t the killer.
His hoarse voice was at her ear: “Luo Yining, I loved you so much I couldn’t bear to sleep with you. How could I kill you?”
Sensing Lu Jiaxue’s hand on her waist, Luo Yining shoved him hard: “Get away!”
“You say you never harmed me, then who could it be?” Luo Yining’s whole body trembled. She couldn’t tell if Lu Jiaxue was lying, but years of vigilance told her not to trust his words easily. She continued shakily, “Back then, you framed Xie Min for my death. Wasn’t that to challenge Lu Jiaran and seize his position? Duke Lu, now that you’re in high office, have you forgotten how you schemed against others?”
Lu Jiaxue confined her in his arms again, his words carrying a bloody scent: “I did many things to gain power. But back then – I truly believed Xie Min had killed you!”
Even if Yining hadn’t died, he would have killed Lu Jiaran. But framing Xie Min was another matter entirely.
She couldn’t trust him. And today’s events made her feel even more helpless!
Yining seemed to find it laughable. Unable to break free, she could only breathe against his chest. She said, “Do you know what you’ve done today? If word gets out, I might as well end my life. Hanging myself would be best! Did you even consider this?”
Being inexplicably abducted by Lu Jiaxue – how could she explain this? With her reputation ruined, if she didn’t take her own life, she’d be gossiped about for the rest of her days.
“You’re overthinking,” Lu Jiaxue looked down at her, his gaze carrying a reckless indifference. “You’re no longer Madam Luo San, so Madam Luo San’s reputation doesn’t matter – now that you’re in my hands, you’re mine. You think you can go back?”
He didn’t care about Madam Luo San’s reputation because Madam Luo San was already dead. He could easily fabricate an identity for Yining and marry her – no one could interfere!
Luo Yining looked at him in shock, suddenly at a loss for words.
“You madman! You’ve already acknowledged me as your adopted daughter. Us being together is incestuous!” She tried to push him away. “Let me go back!”
Lu Jiaxue laughed, his tone was icy: “I, Lu Jiaxue, hold immense power. Do you think I care about that? If you want to call me adoptive father, that’s fine too. Come, call me adoptive father. We can treat it as foreplay.” He lowered his head to kiss her neck.
Yining tried to pinch him, but he was as tall as a mountain, his body seemingly hard as iron.
She now had the body of a fourteen-year-old girl. How could she overpower him?
Luo Yining had married someone else, and Lu Jiaxue wanted nothing more than to kill Luo Shen Yuan.
Now Luo Yining was in his hands. Fortunately in his hands.
Luo Yining’s nose was filled with Lu Jiaxue’s scent. She could only open her mouth and bite his shoulder, biting down hard. Lu Jiaxue felt some pain but let her bite. Yining felt him tense up slightly. She released him, leaving two rows of teeth marks with visible blood. But Lu Jiaxue still held her hand, not letting go. Luo Yining could feel the calluses on his hand, scraping her skin painfully.
“Lu Jiaxue,” she closed her eyes and said, “I’m already married. I have a husband… What can you do by keeping me here? Are you going to imprison me for life?”
“Husband? You better get this straight, your husband is right in front of you!” Lu Jiaxue snorted coldly.
He finally released her. She had worried needlessly – no matter how beastly he was, he wouldn’t force himself on her. He lowered his head to her ear and asked: “Tell me, did Luo Shen Yuan consummate the marriage with you? If not, I might spare his life. Otherwise, I’ll kill him…”
Saying they hadn’t consummated would be very disadvantageous for her. But if she said they hadn’t, with his methods against Luo Shen Yuan, the twenty-something Luo Shen Yuan was no match for the now all-powerful Lu Jiaxue!
“No, we didn’t. Are you satisfied?” Luo Yining looked at him unyieldingly.
Lu Jiaxue stared at her for a long time, seeming to savor her lively expression. His hand caressed her neck, especially the delicate areas as if he might choke her at any moment.
“Even if you don’t submit, having found you and brought you back to my side, I’m still very, very happy.” He kissed her cheek.
But Luo Yining glared at him as if she wanted to devour him. In reality, she posed no threat. With her soft hands, what could she do against someone who had trained in martial arts for years?
“Go to sleep. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
Lu Jiaxue released her. Sharing a bed with her was out of the question – if he got aroused in the middle of the night, she’d have no defense. He walked out of the room and instructed the guards: “Watch her closely.”
The two men promptly responded: “Yes, Your Excellency.”
Hearing him leave, Yining got up from the bed and walked past the screened washing area. She discovered armed guards stationed outside every window of the washing area…
This was an iron cage. There was no escape.
Was Lu Jiaxue planning to keep her under house arrest? Why not just chain her up like a dog? It would be more convenient.
Luo Yining looked up at the palace lamps. She didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, or how Lu Jiaxue might let her go. He had simply gone mad. She wondered if Madam Yang would be able to pass on the item she had given her to Third Brother as promised.