Chapter 28: Questions
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Sensing that this question would be followed by even more difficult ones, Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief. Smiling, she said, “Because I can’t stand seeing him so carefree all the time. Don’t you know, I’m naturally unable to stand others’ happiness?”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her and didn’t pursue further. Instead, he moved on to the second question, “Why did you want to call off the engagement?”
This one was easy to answer, so Mingzhu relaxed and replied, “Because he doesn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t like you now? Has he ever liked you for the past four years? Why didn’t you understand it then but suddenly do now?” Yuwen Chu chuckled, “I rarely have the patience to sit down and talk with someone about trivial matters like this. And I don’t like being lied to; it makes me very angry.”
Yuwen Chu’s words about “has he ever liked you for the past four years” struck Mingzhu hard, leaving her defenseless. She used to be brave enough to argue about her feelings, perhaps saying something like, “You’re not him, so how can you know he never liked me?” or “What’s your intention? Are you trying to drive us apart?” But now, all she could manage was to move her lips slightly, unable to say a word. After the initial embarrassment came anger: “He doesn’t like me? Well, I don’t like him even more!”
Yuwen Chu seemed genuinely impatient now. He lightly tapped the tea table with his long fingers, and Zhu Changsheng’s voice sounded from outside the door, “Your Highness, do you have any orders?”
“Go check if Linan Wang has retired for the night. Inform him that I have an esteemed guest here who may wish to see him.” Yuwen Chu said this with an air of righteousness, not a hint of him shamelessly threatening someone.
Mingzhu cursed inwardly and quickly said, “I accidentally overheard him speaking ill of me to someone, full of contempt and resentment. He blamed his mother’s death on the Empress Dowager and my father, saying he’s just waiting to marry me so he can kill me…” Lowering her head, her voice naturally carried a hint of pain and resentment, “Can this marriage continue? I’m not stupid!”
Yuwen Chu remained silent, and there were no footsteps outside indicating Zhu Changsheng’s departure to fetch someone. With her head lowered and concealed by her veil, Mingzhu secretly glanced at Yuwen Chu. She saw him sitting there in silence, looking at her with a thoughtful expression on his face, unsure whether he believed her or not.
“He will believe,” Mingzhu thought. Even though she hadn’t mentioned her strange past life and rebirth, their enmity and grievances probably boiled down to this. As for the scandal involving Imperial Consort Zhou and the Empress Dowager, who in the palace didn’t know about it? So her explanation was reasonable and plausible.
Yuwen Chu’s brow furrowed slightly. Mingzhu thought he would express some opinion on the matter, but he didn’t. Instead, in a calm voice, he asked, “The third question: Where did you obtain the blueprint you gave to Ban Jian?”
“What are you talking about? What blueprint?” Mingzhu almost jumped. She thought he was the one who stole the blueprint and might be interested in it, but she didn’t expect him to directly confront her in such a straightforward manner. Therefore, his attitude towards her, initially disdainful and unfriendly, and later persuading and arranging for her medical care and medicine, were all fake. The first two questions were merely a prelude to this final question.
He wasn’t the person she had thought he was – the steady, thoughtful, and sophisticated Ying Wang. He had another side she didn’t know about. Mingzhu suddenly appreciated the veil covering her face, which effectively blocked Yuwen Chu’s gaze, allowing her to scrutinize him without restraint and speculate based on his expressions.
Yuwen Chu took out a neatly folded blueprint from his pocket and spread it out between him and Mingzhu. “You understand what I’m talking about.”
Mingzhu pretended to look through it and flatly denied, “I don’t understand. I didn’t give Ban Jian anything like that.” She remembered clearly that when she gave something to Ban Jian, only Su Lan was present, and no one else knew. Even if Yuwen Chu overheard her conversation with Ban Jian yesterday morning, he could only infer that she gave something to Ban Jian and made a bet with him, but he couldn’t conclude that this was what she gave. She denied it to the death, and he couldn’t do anything to her.
Yuwen Chu smiled and lightly placed his hand on the blueprint, saying confidently, “No, you did give it. You know exactly what happened.”
Mingzhu vehemently denied, “I don’t know.” This was too important, and unless she had to, she would never admit it.
Yuwen Chu suddenly reached out and gently lifted her veil. “You know, the words on it are yours, and the drawings are yours too.”
They were so close that Mingzhu could smell the faint scent of agarwood emanating from his fingertips. She could count the half-drooping lashes on his eyelids and see her reflection in his pupils. He focused on her, just like the way he looked at her when emerging from the darkness, with a concentrated and calm gaze.
Mingzhu suddenly felt embarrassed and nervous. She quickly leaned back, waved her hand to brush off Yuwen Chu’s hand, and angrily said, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know the principle of not touching what’s not yours? Who gave you the right to touch my veil? Are we close?”
“The more vehement your reaction, the more guilty you appear.” Yuwen Chu withdrew his hand expressionlessly and sat upright, “I once saw a painting from the Empress Dowager, praised by the palace concubines for its exquisite technique and profound meaning. The calligraphy was also exceptionally well-written… and it was done by you.”
A bead of sweat dripped from Mingzhu’s nose. This blueprint was made by her own hands, and the handwriting and style were unmistakably hers. Anyone familiar with her could tell that the blueprint was closely related to her. She had been too eager to succeed. However, Ban Jian and she originally belonged to completely different worlds. They had no intersection in their past lives, no common language, no shared interests. If her bait wasn’t sweet enough, how could she attract and retain Ban Jian, who would play an important role in the future situation?
Closer, but not completely foolish. Everything stemmed from Yuwen Chu, who intervened and meddled in matters. Who would have thought that not only was he overly curious, but he also remembered her handwriting from a painting? It seemed like fate wanted to ruin her, not that she was too foolish.
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