Chapter 29: Fate
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Mingzhu glared fiercely at Yuwen Chu, regretting that she didn’t have the ability to kill and silence him. She began to regret not telling Fu Mingzheng about this matter and letting Fu Mingzheng deal with Yuwen Chu.
Yuwen Chu raised an eyebrow, “That’s the situation, what do you have to say?”
If a straight path didn’t work, then try a crooked one. Mingzhu brazenly said, “It’s really strange. What business does a grown man like you have peeking at a girl’s private work? And you even remember my handwriting and style from such a bland drawing. Could it be… you’re secretly in love with me? Isn’t that inappropriate?”
“You do have thick skin. I remember Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy, Wu Daozi’s paintings. Are they also…” Yuwen Chu couldn’t bring himself to say “him secretly in love.” After a long silence, he sneered, “Humility and forbearance. What do you have? How dare you assume everyone thinks highly of you?” He chose another term, finding it much easier to say than the one Mingzhu used earlier.
Mingzhu stood up, yawned without any decorum, and smiled defiantly, “I have nothing. All I have left is a black heart and countless arrogance. So, stay away from me, or I’ll tell the Empress Dowager that I’ve taken a fancy to you and won’t marry anyone else! Guess how Yuwen You would react?” As she uttered the last sentence, she leaned towards him, stretched out her hand, still with a hint of baby fat, and lightly stroked the creases on his sleeve. Grinding her teeth, she whispered softly, “Perfect, my shoes are in your hands. If you want to give them to my mother, go ahead. What perfect proof.”
Yuwen Chu lowered his eyes to her hand. The sleeves of her pale red robe slipped down below her snow-white wrist, revealing a small, bright red beauty mark two inches below the inner side of her wrist, like a red plum blossoming in the snow. He inexplicably felt some emotion and touched by it, almost wanting to touch that small beauty mark. But Mingzhu had already withdrawn her hand and stood tall on the side, looking at him askance with an unfriendly tone, “Ying Wang, all three questions have been asked. Can I leave now?”
Without waiting for his answer, she quickly rolled up the scroll on the table and walked out gracefully. “Even a prince can be a thief. It will be a laughingstock if it spreads.”
Yuwen Chu didn’t stop her, quietly watching her leave.
Mingzhu didn’t expect to leave so easily. Yuwen Chu hadn’t said a word to detain her or threaten her. She hesitated and turned back to look, only to see Yuwen Chu still sitting there quietly, his face shrouded in shadow, his expression unclear.
Who cares? He really thought he could mold her like clay, shaping her however he pleased. Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall; she’s so shameless and reckless, what can he do about it? If provoked, she’s capable of anything. There are a hundred ways to live, and she wants to live boldly and freely.
Zhu Changsheng, like a curious rat poking its head out of a hole, hypocritically greeted her, “Miss Fu, are you leaving already?” His voice was not soft, as if intentionally reminding Yuwen Chu inside whether he should let her go.
Yuwen Chu remained silent the whole time.
Mingzhu provocatively raised her chin towards Zhu Changsheng and called out to Su Lan, “Let’s go!”
She hurried away, leaving a series of “clattering” sounds on the ladder. Zhu Changsheng signaled to the people hidden in the dark to follow quickly, then turned and walked to the door, softly calling out, “Your Highness?”
Yuwen Chu’s hand lay flat on the tea table, the white sleeve falling to his elbow, revealing a red mole on his wrist. Not too far off from where Mingzhu had one. He looked down with concentration, ignoring Zhu Changsheng.
Zhu Changsheng hadn’t seen the mole on Mingzhu’s wrist, so he didn’t understand what was so appealing about it. He dutifully asked, “Your Highness, letting Miss Fu take away that blueprint, won’t it alert the enemy?”
Yuwen Chu replied calmly, “Having that half-torn blueprint with me won’t serve any purpose. Alerting the enemy might not be a bad thing. At least, the Fu family will hasten the production of that thing due to concerns about leaks, which is better than groping blindly, isn’t it?”
The mountain path was somewhat rugged, and a few strands of faint moonlight fell onto the green stone path through the tall trees, evoking a sense of melancholy. Mingzhu muttered softly, “What a despicable person!”
Su Lan didn’t catch what Mingzhu said, “What did you say, Miss?”
“I said this Ying Wang is indeed a clever person.” Mingzhu smiled insincerely, revealing a row of neatly arranged small white teeth. Ordinary people wouldn’t see a torn blueprint and immediately recognize it as a powerful weapon, but Yuwen Chu was different. Not only did he discover the blueprint, but he also keenly sensed her connection to it. Everyone has their hidden side, and she was curious about what role Yuwen Chu played in that power struggle. But it was conceivable that he was definitely not a good person.
Su Lan didn’t quite understand Mingzhu’s meaning, so she straightforwardly said, “But he didn’t return Miss’s shoes.”
Not returning them didn’t matter. Mingzhu shrugged. Everyone was pragmatic. Yuwen Chu had been showing off for so long, all for the blueprint in her hands, not because he was torn between her and his brother Yuwen You. So, there should also be discord between him and Yuwen You. Perhaps the favored Imperial Consort Zhou had once tried to sow discord between him and Imperial Consort Min by offering her malicious advice.
He called her here for two purposes. First, to show goodwill, indicating that he wouldn’t interfere with her breaking off the engagement and might even provide convenience. For example, the diagnosis from the doctor Tang Chunlai, who claimed she had internal injuries, would help her prove Yuwen You’s brutality and make him unmarriageable. Second, to inform her that he knew about the blueprint and wanted a share of the benefits.
People are born to seek profit, so it wasn’t strange that he wanted to gain something. What was strange was why he was so eager to reveal his claws to her? Wouldn’t it be better to hide in the dark like Yuwen You and reveal his claws at a critical moment to deal a fatal blow to the enemy? Yuwen Chu didn’t seem like someone who couldn’t keep his composure.
Mingzhu stopped in her tracks and looked back at the small building hidden in the bamboo grove. The light on the second floor had already gone out, and the bright moonlight shone on the eaves and treetops, like a thin layer of snow had been spread out. The bamboo rustled softly, and the copper bells on the eaves made clear tinkling sounds. Everything was quiet, as if her confrontation with Yuwen Chu just now had never happened.
Mingzhu felt a strange and indescribable feeling in her heart, as if she had missed something important. But whenever she tried to uncover that thin veil, she always failed to grasp anything tangible.
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