Ninth Imperial Glorious Phoenix Chapter 250

Chapter 250 Not Too Late 

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“I’m too lazy to come anyway. If I come too often, Your Highness will find me annoying.” Mingzhu dismissed it outwardly, but inwardly she wasn’t sure what to do. There were secret passages in the house, and her father’s study also had hidden compartments and mechanisms, but not all of them were known to her. However, Yuwen Chu casually revealed this secret to her, making her feel burdened. It seemed that if she hid anything from him, she would be considered unfaithful. So, maybe she shouldn’t go in after all. What if something happened? She would be the prime suspect! 

Yuwen Chu smiled and walked in: “Are you coming? Don’t regret it if you don’t.” 

To go in or not? Of course, she decided not to enter! Mingzhu shook her head firmly: “Your Highness once told me that curiosity can be fatal. I’ll wait for you here.”

Yuwen Chu looked at her for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pulled her in. Mingzhu was caught off guard and fell into the room. He caught her and steadied her, then chuckled in her ear, “Sharing blessings and hardships together is not just talk. Come in, it’s nothing special. If you feel indebted to me, you can repay me next time you have some benefits.”

He made it sound like she was very stingy and unwilling to share any benefits with him. Mingzhu complained as she rubbed her shoulder, “Your Highness, you hurt my hand.”

“I was reckless. Come on, there’s something interesting upstairs.” Yuwen Chu pushed Mingzhu gently to go upstairs.

The narrow staircase, only wide enough for one person to pass, was covered with thick and luxurious Persian carpets, making no sound when stepped on. A bronze wall lamp hung at the corner of the staircase, and candles burned quietly. The voices from outside were completely blocked, making Mingzhu a little scared. She held onto Yuwen Chu’s arm tightly and pressed herself against him.

Seeing her timid look, Yuwen Chu couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s as if I’m going to do something to you. What are you afraid of?”

Mingzhu was determined not to admit that she was afraid. She held onto him tightly and forced herself to say, “I’m afraid of falling. The stairs are narrow and steep, not easy to walk on.”

Yuwen Chu smiled and touched her head without saying anything.

At the exit, there was another door. Yuwen Chu opened it, and Mingzhu stood at the doorway and looked inside. Compared to the spacious study downstairs, this room upstairs was delicate and elegant, with bright palace lanterns illuminating the room. The bookshelf was not large, located behind the bed, filled with books. There were two chairs, a desk, and a delicate rosewood cabinet nearby. Next to the cabinet was a window. To prevent the light from leaking out, thick brocade curtains hung on the window.

“Come in.” Yuwen Chu walked in first and stood behind the desk to search for something. He comforted her, “Don’t be nervous. It’s not just you who knows about this place. Think about it this way, if everyone else knows but you, my wife, doesn’t know and hasn’t been here, it would really be infuriating.”

Did he know about her concerns? Since he generously wanted to share with her, she could only go along with it. Mingzhu boldly stepped in, looking around and suggesting, “It’s nice here, but the pillows and blankets are too thin. I’ll have someone send thicker ones tomorrow. This way, when Your Highness is tired, you can sleep more comfortably.”

Yuwen Chu looked up and smiled at her, “Why not have the Wangfei personally deliver them and help me make the bed?”

Alright. This wasn’t a difficult request. Mingzhu agreed and walked to the window to look out, asking, “What can you see from here?” Because she was afraid of the light leaking out and being noticed by people outside, she consciously didn’t pull back the brocade curtains.

“The garden. If you’re interested, come and see for yourself tomorrow?” Yuwen Chu called her over and pushed a brocade box in front of her, “Open it and see.”

It was the pair of shoes that he had thrown down near the Jade Emperor Temple! Mingzhu certainly recognized those shoes. Although she lied to him before that it was made by Lady Qian and adorned with pearls by Madam Cui, they were embroidered with silver lotus flowers by Geng Momo herself.

“Weren’t they thrown down? How did they end up here?” Mingzhu already knew the answer in her heart, but she still earnestly asked the question to prove something.

Yuwen Chu said, “I had someone go down and retrieve it.” His tone was flat, as if he were discussing the simplest of tasks. 

Was it worth it to expend so much manpower and effort for just a shoe? Mingzhu couldn’t answer that question for Yuwen Chu, but she was certain that he had once again touched her deeply. This kind of sentiment was different from when she woke up after being poisoned to find him guarding and caring for her day and night because her death would bring him great trouble; that was his duty and obligation as her husband. 

It was also different from when they were intimate, exchanging affectionate words, enduring with all their might, and being tender and considerate just to please her, because, as she said, such matters were about mutual affection, and seeking to please each other was natural. Just as she was filled with fear but tried to suppress it, making efforts to smile and please him was her duty and obligation as a wife, and pleasing and caring for her was also his duty and obligation as her husband.

Retrieving that shoe was not his responsibility or obligation. If he wanted to threaten her, he already had one shoe in his hand; there was no need to waste so much effort and money. The only explanation was that he wanted to obtain something that belonged to her, even if it was just a shoe. He liked her; he liked her even before they met at the Jade Emperor Temple.

Even though there were interests entangled between them, he still liked her. Although it might not be as reckless as her initial liking for Yuwen You, it was enough. Mingzhu put down the shoe and looked up at Yuwen Chu, who was pretending to be engrossed in the books on the table, as if what he had just shown her was just a trivial thing, not worth mentioning, at least not worth bringing up specially.

Mingzhu smiled but her voice was cold, “This is not my shoe.”

The person who had been pretending to read suddenly looked up, “How is that possible?”

Their eyes met, neither choosing to look away, and in the end, they smiled at each other.

Yuwen Chu was in a good mood, “Why not think that I’m just pretending? Would someone who lied to you also lie to your heart?”

“I won’t tell you.” Mingzhu picked up the box containing the shoe, ready to go downstairs. “It’s late, we should rest.” If he had really wanted to pretend, he could have shown her this shoe a long time ago, but he didn’t. He married her using other methods and then gave it to her like this. She believed he didn’t need to do this. As Geng Momo said, when you truly like or dislike someone, the person involved knows best; it’s just a matter of finding out sooner or later. She didn’t find out too late.

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