Chapter 101: Turmoil
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These were all things for the future. Mingzhu only wanted to know why the Wusun Wang had gotten involved with Yuwen Xue before she came into the picture. There must be hidden secrets behind it, and Yuwen Chu might know something about it since he had followed her. Directly asking him would surely yield no answers. Mingzhu changed her tone to a more provocative one and said, “Your Highness is so clever, you must surely know why Yuwen Xue took such a risk.”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her. “Yuwen Xue did it to secure a place for her legitimate brother and to break free from the control of Shou Wang’s consort. So, she risked seducing Wusun Wang. Someone happened to see you following her, so they arranged for her to get on the Wusun Wang’ carriage as bait, and you fell for it. It’s that simple.”
How could it be that simple? Fraud! Mingzhu couldn’t figure out the intricacies involved here, so she attacked him instead. “She’s at least your cousin, of the same clan and family. Yet you treat her so ruthlessly, knowing she’s in danger of her life, and still hand her over to Wusun Wang. It’s truly chilling.”
“Someone has to go. If she doesn’t, should I send my own sisters or nieces? If you pity her so much, why don’t you go back and take her place? I’m sure Wusun Wang and the Empress Dowager will be overjoyed.” Yuwen Chu countered without any mercy.
This person was truly petty and wouldn’t take any losses. Mingzhu thought he might occasionally suffer some setbacks given how kind and gentle he had just been, but now she saw that wasn’t the case. Frustrated, she said, “She threw herself into this, so she has to take responsibility. If I ruined her good fortune, wouldn’t she hate me to the bone?”
“So you’re blaming me for ruining your good fortune?” Yuwen Chu smiled, looking as if to say, “I knew you weren’t a good person,” and redirected the conversation back to its starting point.
Mingzhu banged the table in frustration and shouted, “What do you want to let me go?”
Yuwen Chu’s smile faded, and he looked at her coldly. “To ask me to let you go is next to impossible. When I say I want to marry you, I mean it.”
“Why?” Mingzhu suddenly remembered a possibility and looked at Yuwen Chu eagerly. “Let me guess, you like me, right? So, it’s either you marry me or nobody else?” The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Why else would he persistently refuse to marry Jiang Shanshan and keep teasing her? And in her past life, why did he pay so much attention to her and comfort her several times? Maybe, Imperial Consort Min’s kindness towards her was all his doing!
Yuwen Chu stared at her for a moment, then chuckled. “Because you’re exceptionally beautiful, because you have a good aunt and father, because you’re naive, and because you walked right into my trap, causing me to accidentally touch you. I’m afraid if this matter gets out and the Great Empress Dowager and your father find out, I won’t fare well. So, I took the initiative to admit my mistake and propose to marry you. There are many benefits to marrying you. Is that reason enough?”
Mingzhu suddenly became furious, almost spitting fire from her eyes. She wanted to scold him fiercely, but found herself so angry that she almost fainted. She couldn’t come up with any viciously attacking words to deal with him for a moment, so she trembled with anger. “You, you said you couldn’t control your feelings earlier. How dare you change your tune? Your words are like farts…”
“You’re really rude.” Yuwen Chu smiled inexplicably at her. “Isn’t this what you thought? Why can’t you bear to hear it now? Or perhaps, you actually want to hear me say that I’m not doing this for anything, but because I genuinely like you as a person?”
This person was truly despicable. Mingzhu felt like she had eaten his heart alive. After taking a few breaths, she regained some composure and didn’t make a scene. With a charming smile, she said, “Stop pretending. I know you like me. If you’re too embarrassed to say it, it’s fine. I know so it’s enough.” As she spoke, she stared at Yuwen Chu intently, trying to discern any subtle expressions on his face or in his eyes, hoping to find something from them.
But Yuwen Chu just sat there quietly, looking at her expressionlessly. After a while, they locked eyes, and Mingzhu, unable to match his thick skin, was the first to back down. She tried to find a way out for herself, pulling aside the curtain and looking outside. Seeing they were near her residence, she decided to end the confrontation herself. “Alright, I’m home now. Thank you for your help, Your Highness. I’ll definitely come to thank you in person another day. You’re busy, so I won’t invite you in for tea.”
Suddenly, Yuwen Chu said lightly from behind her, “If you think I like you, then let’s just say I do.”
Could it really be that simple? Mingzhu thought she had misheard and turned to look at Yuwen Chu, but he had already averted his gaze, calmly looking out the window. “In short, our union would be most appropriate and beneficial for both of us. Even if the Great Empress Dowager doesn’t realize it now, she will in the future. Don’t worry about what happened today or the threats I made. I’ll take care of everything. Next time you encounter such a situation, don’t act impulsively. The palace isn’t just under the control of the Great Empress Dowager. There are countless pairs of eyes watching. You still have much to learn.”
Was that it? Mingzhu sat there in a daze, unsure of what to do. Yuwen Chu became impatient and frowned. “Aren’t you leaving yet? If someone sees you, the reputation of seducing and stealing someone else’s fiance will be firmly established.”
Did she really care to sit with him? Mingzhu didn’t even look back as she got off the carriage, her mind filled with Yuwen Chu’s words from earlier. He said the Great Empress Dowager didn’t realize this was a good match now, but he didn’t mention her father. And today, her mother didn’t want her to go to the palace, but her father insisted. Had he and her father reached some kind of agreement? In this matter today, who was the cicada, who was the mantis, and who was the oriole?
Mingzhu’s heart was in turmoil.
Actually, setting aside everything else, marrying Yuwen Chu is a very good choice. At least he is one of the few princes who can protect himself and has never spoken ill of his wives, concubines, or relatives. Imperial Consort Min is also a person of integrity, with a good relationship with the Great Empress Dowager. He is not like Yuwen You, who harbors deep enmity towards her, nor is he like Yuwen Long, who disgusts her to the point of being unthinkable.
The only thing that made Mingzhu feel uneasy and worried was the engagement between him and Jiang Shanshan, as well as his unpredictable and inscrutable personality. His personality didn’t matter much; she didn’t love him, and she didn’t need him to love her deeply either. They could coexist peacefully without any issues. However, the situation between him and Jiang Shanshan wasn’t that simple. The engagement might be easily dissolved, but she couldn’t forget his respect for Jiang Shanshan and their love for each other in her past life. Mingzhu sighed deeply, empathizing with herself and others. She truly didn’t want to do such a thing.
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