Chapter 41: The End of the Road
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There was no answer for a long time.
Mingzhu thought the maids were afraid of provoking her temper in the morning, so they didn’t dare to make a sound. She was in a good mood and couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. She turned over and planned to continue sleeping, but then she heard another loud noise from outside. This time, it wasn’t the sound of porcelain breaking, but the sound of heavy furniture such as chairs and shelves falling to the ground.
Mingzhu was frightened and sat up abruptly. Just as she was about to get out of bed to see what was happening, she saw the door curtain being lifted abruptly from the outside, and a tall servant with a stern face walked in, staring at her with cold, icy eyes, as if they wanted to devour her alive.
It was Yuwen You, disguised.
“Help!” Mingzhu shouted loudly and was about to run barefoot.
Yuwen You remained composed, blocking her path as soon as she approached the door.
Grabbing a medicine bowl from the table, Mingzhu hurled it at him, demanding, “What are you doing? What have you done to Su Lan and the others?” Her eyes darted towards the window, calculating how to escape from there as quickly and cleanly as possible.
Yuwen You sidestepped slightly, and the bowl narrowly missed his shoulder, crashing against the wall with a resounding smash, splattering the room with dark medicinal liquid and filling the air with a strong scent. Folding his arms, he smirked sarcastically, “Aren’t you supposed to be on the brink of death? How come you’re still so lively?”
Mingzhu couldn’t be bothered with his mockery. Seeing her first attempt fail, she seized a candlestick and aimed its sharp edge at him. “What have you done to Su Lan and the others?”
“If they don’t obey me, I’ll kill them all,” Yuwen You replied coldly, his tone chilling and malicious as he formed his hand into a blade, ready to strike.
Mingzhu’s heart skipped a beat, unable to discern the truth behind his words for a moment. She sneered, “Do you think I’m a three-year-old child? If you really kill them, you’ll be digging your own grave. Are you willing to die just like that when you haven’t achieved your ambitions?”
Yuwen You looked at her and slowly began to smile, his expression eerie and his gaze complex. “You still understand me the best. I really can’t bear to part with you.”
Mingzhu, sensing his strange smile, became wary and sternly said, “Anyone sensible should leave now, or else don’t blame me for being rude!”
“Where would I go?” Yuwen You shrugged, spreading his hands. “In this vast world, there’s no place for me, not even you…” you who have betrayed me. He chuckled and slowly retrieved a dagger from his pocket. “Do you still recognize this?”
The dagger was thin and swift, entirely black and shiny, uniquely special. Of course, Mingzhu recognized it. In her past life, she had attempted to stab Yuwen You with it, but missed. Earlier, she had begged her second brother to find it as a gift for him, all she wanted in return was a smile.
But how did he treat this invaluable dagger?
Mingzhu’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
She remembered when she gave it to him, his dismissive smile, casually accepting it and tossing it aside, not bothering to look at it, saying, “Alright, I’ll take it.” When she tried to speak further, he impatiently furrowed his brow, “I’ve taken it, what else do you want?” Silencing all her words.
After they were married, when she asked about it, he had to think for a long time before lazily saying, “I don’t remember, perhaps it’s lying somewhere. When I have time, I’ll have someone look for it.”
Later, the dagger was indeed found, not by his order, but by chance, in a corner of his study. It was covered in thick dust, untouched, unseen by him. This time, facing death, he didn’t forget the dagger in the dust.
There was unwillingness and sadness, arguments and quarrels, yet she endured it all. How did she think back then? Time had passed too long for Mingzhu to remember her exact mindset at the time. She vaguely recalled her determination not to give up, to make him think only of her in the end, then she would win.
Looking back now, she was surprised by how far she had degraded herself, it was truly delusion, there was no other way to explain it.
Seeing Mingzhu pondering the dagger, Yuwen You’s eyes glinted unusually, his tone becoming affectionate and gentle. “This is the one you gave me. I remember you begged your second brother to find it for me. Of course, I’d keep it.”
He remembered it all, perhaps it was only now that he recalled. Mingzhu suddenly didn’t want to escape through the window anymore; she thought she knew what he was up to. He couldn’t bear to die, he didn’t want to die, so if he couldn’t be strong, he’d resort to being soft. He wanted to move her, to rekindle her love and pity for him, so Su Lan and the others wouldn’t be in danger, and she would be safe for the time being.
The feeling of being begged was quite pleasant; indeed, there was a day when the tables turned. Mingzhu raised an eyebrow at Yuwen You. “You still remember?”
Yuwen You fell for it, speaking tenderly along the lines she hinted. “Of course I remember. You told me it’s an invaluable dagger, capable of slicing through anything, a rare treasure for self-defense.”
“Did I say that?” Mingzhu smiled, saying softly, “But I don’t remember anymore. It seems like a distant memory.”
“Not so distant, just last spring,” Yuwen You said anxiously. Then he saw Mingzhu’s ambiguous smile and suddenly turned cold. His pride was wounded, and he became irritated. “I never understood why you changed suddenly.”
Mingzhu set down the candlestick, sat at the table, poured herself a cup of tea, cleared her throat, and smiled. “It’s not a change, it’s enlightenment.”
“Enlightenment?” Yuwen You couldn’t understand, frowning as he looked at her.
“Yeah, I don’t love you anymore. So don’t try to use these clichés to move me; it only makes me despise you more. You used to have a backbone, but now, it’s almost broken.” Mingzhu suddenly lost interest in discussing further with him, what was the point of talking to someone who was dead in her eyes and heart? Recalling the things he did to her, she couldn’t help but hate and detest him even more; she didn’t even want to breathe the same air as him in the same room.
She said each word slowly, “If your backbone is broken, what else do you have to be proud of? How are you any different from those underlings of my father whom you look down upon?”
Yuwen You’s face turned pale, staring fixedly at Mingzhu, speechless. He was indeed very handsome, with a cold and proud countenance, yet his eyes naturally carried a hint of tenderness and charm.
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