"Xier!"
"Miss!"
A man's and a woman's voices rang out simultaneously. Lu Yinxi instinctively turned her head towards the direction of the man's voice. At the door, the man with one foot stepping into the room was none other than Shang Luoshu.
"Luoshu... Cough, cough. Why are you here?"
Lu Yinxi called out to him, but unexpectedly, it triggered a tickle in her throat. Her pale little face showed a tinge of red due to the continuous coughing.
"Has the after - effect of the Speech Spirit become more serious?"
The man strode to the bedside in a few steps. He supported her shoulder with one hand and stroked her back with the other, hoping to make her feel better. However, not everything in this world could go as one wished.
Lu Yinxi's coughing not only failed to subside but even got worse. It was not until Hongrui quickly brought warm water that she gradually stopped.
"Don't worry. I'll get better in a few days." She carefully pulled the corners of her mouth, afraid of spitting out blood like before.
"Will you really get better?"
The man's peripheral vision caught sight of the pool of blood on the ground. Even though Lu Yinxi was trying her best to distract him and prevent him from looking at the ground, Shang Luoshu still noticed that abrupt redness.
His Adam's apple rolled heavily. He almost hoarsely and slowly said, "Xier, I want you to swear that from today on, you will never use that damned Speech Spirit again. If you break this oath, may Shang Luoshu be struck by lightning and die a terrible death."
"Shang Luoshu!"
Her pupils suddenly constricted. Lu Yinxi never expected that he would say such a thing.
"Xier, be obedient..."
Shang Luoshu carefully tightened his grip on her wrist, as if he was about to raise it. But the next moment, the stubborn girl broke free. "No, I won't swear such an oath!"
She shrank into a corner of the bed, clearly showing her attitude. Although Lu Yinxi didn't believe in such things, she couldn't joke about Shang Luoshu's life!
However, when her gaze met his pupils, she still couldn't help but feel a bit soft - hearted.
In the man's jet - black eyes, there was a reflection of her water - filled figure. The helpless and heart - aching look in his eyes made Lu Yinxi feel breathless.
She bit her lip, her eyes flickering. Finally, she had no choice but to compromise. "I can promise you that I won't use the Speech Spirit again in the future, but I can't swear an oath with your life on it!"
Shang Luoshu obviously didn't believe Lu Yinxi's promise. She had said similar things before, but later...
"I really won't use the Speech Spirit easily this time!"
Noticing the hesitation in his expression, the girl immediately made up for it. "Once Shang Mozheng is dead, I really won't use it anymore!"
As the after - effect of the Speech Spirit became more and more serious, Lu Yinxi had to stay in bed for an extremely long time. Mrs. Lu didn't dare to let outsiders disturb her precious daughter, so she had time to recall the experiences of these days.
Surprisingly, Lu Yinxi really found some patterns. She noticed that every time she used the Speech Spirit, it was basically related to Shang Mozheng. So she boldly speculated that as long as this man was dead, she probably wouldn't need to use the Speech Spirit in the future.
Seeing her making such a guarantee, Shang Luoshu wanted to say something, but the words were swallowed back before they reached his lips.
It didn't matter. Even if Xier was just perfunctory this time, it didn't matter. After the court was stable, he would marry her into the prince's mansion. By then, he would have plenty of time to watch over her and prevent her from using the Speech Spirit.
Thinking of this, he slowly nodded, and a bright smile bloomed on Lu Yinxi's face.
Perhaps because she saw her beloved and had said so many words, she felt that her body had become much lighter. She even felt that she could get out of bed and run around the room three or four times.
Shang Mozheng was captured, and the crisis in the capital was resolved. But then there were a bunch of problems waiting to be solved. The first one was the tens of thousands of rebel soldiers under Shang Mozheng.
The young emperor didn't want to recruit them. But now that these people were captives, they couldn't be casually buried alive. So the court officials had been arguing in the court for two or three days about how to deal with them.
Some people proposed to just let them go, but they should be demoted to commoners, and their descendants for three generations should not be allowed to join the army.
There were also some officials who hated Shang Mozheng extremely. They thought that these rebel soldiers had assisted the evildoer and should be buried alive on the spot as a warning!
The people in the court were arguing fiercely, but Shang Luoshu had no intention of joining them. After Lu Yinxi fully recovered, he took her to the prison.
After the last time when Shang Mozheng successfully escaped from prison, the number of guards watching over him this time was tripled. And each of them was carefully selected by Shang Luoshu, so there was absolutely no chance that they were spies.
Compared with the last time, Shang Mozheng in prison this time was no longer as leisurely as before. He seemed to have aged a lot. There was no longer the shrewdness and scheming in his eyes, only vicissitudes and dejection.
Sensing the shadow cast from above, Shang Mozheng slightly shifted his line of sight, then smiled knowingly. "You're here?"
"You knew I would come?" Lu Yinxi stood on the other side of the door, her gaze on Shang Mozheng cold.
Shang Mozheng seemed not to notice her hostility and said slowly, "I sent the Wolf Guards to assassinate you so many times before. Now that I've fallen into your hands, you must come to mock me, right?"
"Do you think everyone is like you?"
Lu Yinxi really wanted to see Shang Mozheng one last time before his death, but her purpose was not to mock him, but for another thing...
These words seemed to have stimulated him. Shang Mozheng stared blankly at the girl for a while, and then said again, "Xier, has anyone ever said that you look like your mother? Especially those eyes..."
The name that only close people could call suddenly came from Shang Mozheng's mouth. The girl's heart skipped a beat in fright. Shang Luoshu also frowned and carefully came to her side, looking like a protective parent.
The old man in the prison didn't see this scene. He seemed to be lost in some kind of memory and still kept talking to himself.
"To be honest, you really looked like her when you were six, seven, or eight years old. At that time, you and your mother were almost carved out of the same mold..."
"It's a pity that your personality was far from hers at that time... Now that your personality is a bit similar, your appearance..."
His tone was full of regret, but more of it was nostalgia. He missed the light named 'Su Wanru' that illuminated his whole world in his darkest time.
But he also hated this light. Why did it only stay for a moment?
More than a decade ago, when he saw three - year - old Lu Yinxi, Shang Mozheng almost thought that the light had come back. For those few years, whenever he had time, he would secretly go to the manor to see that light.
Watching her grow up, watching her gradually become the appearance in his memory... But Lu Yinxi was not Su Wanru after all, even though she was becoming more and more like her.
In Shang Mozheng's heart, Su Wanru would unhesitatingly fight back when facing others' bullying. Unlike Lu Yinxi in front of him, who would only submit and let others bully her.
...
Some questions no longer needed to be asked.
Before leaving the prison, Lu Yinxi took one last look at Shang Mozheng. He was still lost in his memories, as if he never wanted to wake up.
She withdrew her gaze and walked out of the darkness, facing the most beautiful sun.
That night, the news that the former regent king Shang Mozheng had died in the prison detonated Shang Luoze's tense nerves that had been on edge for many days.