Chapter 812: Sorry
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As dawn approached, Yuwen Chu entered with the chill of early morning, heading towards his and Mingzhu’s room as usual. According to his experience, Mingzhu would be waking up soon, and he could talk to her. But he found the room empty, Mingzhu was nowhere to be seen, the bed neatly made without a hint of warmth. Moreover, the entire hall was eerily quiet, everyone vanished except for Xiangli standing on the side waiting to serve.
Yuwen Chu was a bit displeased, frowning, ready to vent his anger, “Where is Wangfei?”
Xiangli hurriedly replied, “Wangfei went to Zhuang Zhuang and Millet’s room. I went to check, and Donghui said Wangfei had already rested there.”
Yuwen Chu sighed. No doubt Mingzhu would remember Su Lan and Su Ju here with her eyes closed, right? He got up and went into Zhuangzhuang and Millet’s room. Donghui and Xia Xue were on duty outside, and when they heard movement, they stood up. They were about to bow and greet when Yuwen Chu raised his hand to stop them and leisurely walked into the room.
On the low bed, the mother and her two children were sleeping soundly. The two children were snoring softly, sprawled out with their limbs spread wide, while Mingzhu laid on her side, her body curved in the shape of a bow, with the two children nestled inside, presenting a protective posture. Even though she was asleep, her brows were tightly furrowed, indicating her unhappiness.
Yuwen Chu sat down beside the low bed and gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind Mingzhu’s ear. He thought his movements were light enough, but Mingzhu immediately opened her eyes. Just awake, her gaze was still blurry, but that confusion quickly dissipated. She sat up, smiling at him with a hint of evasion in her eyes. “Your Highness is back, huh? You must have stayed up all night again, right? Have you eaten anything? I’ll have someone prepare you something to eat. Get some rest, and I’ll call you later if there’s anything.”
After saying that, she bowed her head, put on her shoes, got off the bed, and dressed. With her back to him, she tidied up her hair and appearance.
Yuwen Chu watched her silhouette and thought for a moment before saying, “I indeed didn’t sleep all night and haven’t eaten anything. My stomach feels empty now.”
After finishing her appearance, Mingzhu turned around and asked, “What does Your Highness want to eat?”
“I want some Osmanthus Glutinous Rice Lotus Root with Rock Sugar.” Yuwen Chu was satisfied to see Mingzhu’s expression change from cautious to surprised. He waited for her to erupt, but she just hesitated for a moment before saying, “That might take a bit longer. Your Highness, please wash up and lie down first.”
Yuwen Chu sighed, “Are you angry with me? Blaming me for sending Su Lan to her death?”
Mingzhu shook her head, “No, I think Your Highness is very magnanimous. I’m just blaming myself. If I had been more careful, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.”
Yuwen Chu had told her before that those in high positions must be extremely cautious in their every move, otherwise, a single word or negligence could lead to the deaths of many people. Now she understood. No matter how the Great Empress Dowager harmed her, if she had been more careful, Su Lan and Su Ju wouldn’t have died. It was truly a memorable lesson. Mingzhu couldn’t help but feel sad again and quickly turned away, trying hard to hold back her tears.
It seemed that the Great Empress Dowager didn’t return empty-handed. Whether it was for him or for Mingzhu, they both knew the other wasn’t at fault, but it still felt uncomfortable. Yuwen Chu rubbed his forehead, approached Mingzhu, and gave her a hug. “I’m very tired, and you probably haven’t slept well either. Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s discuss it in detail after everything is settled. Before that, please trust me wholeheartedly like you used to, okay?”
“Okay.” Mingzhu knew his decision was rational and correct. She also wanted to ask him if he could still trust her like before, but she felt she had no right to ask. Instead, she said, “Then I’ll go arrange some food and hot water for you.”
As she turned to leave, Yuwen Chu grabbed her hand and looked at her, saying softly, “There are maidservants to do these things. Your duty is not this.”
Mingzhu said gloomily, “Then what is my duty?”
“Now, it’s to sleep with me!” Yuwen Chu rudely lifted her up, walked out quickly, ignoring the shocked expressions of Donghui and others. He strode through the corridor and arrived at their room, putting Mingzhu on the bed.
Looking at the cyan-colored canopy, Mingzhu whispered softly, “I’m sorry.”
Before the words “I’m sorry” came out, tears streamed down her face.
“What are you sorry for? Because your surname is Fu, and hers is also Fu, and she’s your aunt?” Yuwen Chu kicked off his shoes, laid down beside her, wiped away her tears, and forcefully hugged her, “Don’t say anything, sleep!”
Mingzhu was filled with worry and couldn’t sleep at all. Sometimes she thought of Su Lan, sometimes she wanted to ask Yuwen Chu what had happened last night, but he soon fell asleep, and she couldn’t bring herself to wake him up.
She waited until he was sound asleep, then quietly removed his hand and got off the bed as usual, adhering to her routine of exercising, reading, and handling affairs. She knew that she couldn’t overcome the hurdle in her heart, and no one could help her, only she could rely on herself. Whether it was self-blame, heartache for Su Lan and Su Ju, resentment towards the Great Empress Dowager, or anger towards Zheng Momo, she could only digest it on her own.
Gradually, news from outside filtered in, and Mingzhu learned about what had happened last night. Peng Liang forced Yuwen Chu to publicly swear, the young emperor proposed abdication, the Great Empress Dowager was blocked by Yuwen You’s troops at the palace gate, the Longsheng Great Eldest Princess’s mansion caught fire… Each incident could be summarized in a few sentences, but upon closer examination, one could feel the hidden dangers and threats.
“Peng Liang’s charges include forging decrees to deceive the emperor, colluding with traitors from Zhongshan, murdering court officials, framing others, inciting internal strife, and instigating students from the Imperial Academy to cause trouble. The trial by the Three Departments is scheduled for three days from now. I don’t think he has a chance of turning things around.”
Fu Lin had his own sources of information. He analyzed the situation for Mingzhu, “Su Lan is a crucial witness. Even if they want to take her life, Uncle will ensure she doesn’t die. The final outcome is hard to predict. There are rumors that Uncle will continue to confine the Great Empress Dowager, but I don’t think Uncle would do that. After this matter is resolved, he will definitely release the Great Empress Dowager and give her a chance to reveal everything, and then he’ll pull out her teeth one by one. For example, this time, I don’t believe Uncle was completely unaware in advance…”
At this point, Fu Lin felt a bit hesitant to continue. He rubbed his nose and whispered, “Aunt, you see, now everyone in our family has become her enemy, even Grandfather doesn’t want to speak up for her. Uncle has completely won.”
Mingzhu remained silent for a long time before saying, “Don’t say this again in the future. His Highness said he didn’t know, so he didn’t. Do you understand?”
Fu Lin felt a bit embarrassed, “Nephew has been thoughtless.”
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