Du Gu Luanyue was to bathe and observe abstinence in the White Horse Temple for three days. With her hairpin removed from her coiled hair, she knelt piously before the Buddha in simple attire, offering her prayers.
Huo Wei stood outside the door, with Mu Rong Jue beside him.
Mu Rong Jue asked, "The Empress is inside. Isn't it inappropriate for us to go in at this time?"
Huo Wei cast a glance into the room with his dark eyes, then pulled Mu Rong Jue out without saying much. "Forget it. Since the enchantress is inside, we should avoid suspicion."
After saying that, he led Mu Rong Jue away. But on the way, he spurred his horse into a gallop, and Mu Rong Jue couldn't keep up.
As they rode, Huo Wei disappeared from sight. Mu Rong Jue had no choice but to lead the large group forward.
He scratched his head. "Didn't you say we were going to the temple to pray? We left without even seeing the Buddha..."
Huo Wei rode his horse to a fork in the road and chose another path back to the White Horse Temple, but he didn't enter through the main gate.
It was getting dark, and the cold wind howled.
The temple was always desolate, and now it seemed even more desolate. Apart from a few monks sweeping the snow, there were hardly any people walking around.
The abbot, Master Huiming, in his yellow - and - red robe, sat in meditation in the snow. Without even opening his eyes, he said, "You're here?"
Huo Wei nodded slightly. "Yes."
Master Huiming said, "The Empress is praying alone in the main hall. It seems she has been kneeling there for a long time and hasn't come out yet. You, Prince of Yuzhang, being a man, should not go in and disturb her."
Huo Wei had some personal acquaintance with Master Huiming. The master seemed to have heard about his family background and knew some things that others didn't.
But every time he asked, Master Huiming would say that the time was not right, and saying one more word would bring disaster.
Huo Wei glanced at the main hall and curled his lips. "People usually pray in the early morning. Who prays at night? There must be something fishy going on."
Saying this, he walked straight towards the main hall without hesitation. Du Gu Luanyue's voice came from inside.
Aunt Meijiang said angrily inside, "Why does Your Majesty pray for the Prince of Yuzhang? He is so hostile to Southern Chu. You should curse him instead."
Du Gu Luanyue's voice was tinged with sadness. "Wasn't he supposed to go to suppress the bandits? They say the bandits on Mang Mountain are cunning and fierce. Since I'm here to pray anyway, I lit a long - burning lamp for him too."
Aunt Meijiang asked, "What if the Prince of Yuzhang attacks Southern Chu in the future?"
Du Gu Luanyue cast a casual glance at the door and raised her eyebrows.
"What can I do? I'm just a weak woman. I've never been able to get involved in matters between countries.
I just fell in love with someone I shouldn't have... If something happens to Southern Chu in the future, I'll just sacrifice myself for the country in Northern Yan. That way, both sides will be satisfied."
Aunt Meijiang pretended to sigh. "Your Majesty has always liked brave generals who fight on the battlefield since childhood, but fate doesn't go as one wishes..."
Du Gu Luanyue got up, placed the long - burning lamp on the table, and turned to leave. "Forget it. Don't think about it so much. Anyway, Huo Wei doesn't know that I lit a long - burning lamp for him."
She pushed open the door, and the wind and snow rushed into the room. Du Gu Luanyue looked around. There was no one on either side of the corridor.
Aunt Meijiang whispered beside her, "The little novice who came in to deliver the incense just now told this old servant that there was a man in silver armor standing outside the door. It must be the Prince of Yuzhang."
Du Gu Luanyue raised her eyebrows. "Lying in wait. The rabbit is here." She calmly returned to her chamber and prepared to go to bed.
For this prayer, the Empress deliberately traveled in simple attire, dressing like a noble from Northern Yan and staying in the White Horse Temple for three days.
Therefore, there weren't many imperial guards, and the security was naturally weak.
But Du Gu Luanyue wasn't stupid. Her Fengling Guards had always been secretly protecting her safety.
The reason she didn't bring many Northern Yan imperial guards was to give some people an opportunity.
She turned over in bed. Through the semi - transparent curtain, she saw a dark figure standing in front of the round table. She suddenly stared wide - eyed. "Who!"
Huo Wei's narrow, slanting phoenix eyes held an unfriendly smile. His cold, white fingers picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of cold tea.
"After that touching speech just now, any other man would probably be deeply grateful, right?"
Du Gu Luanyue sat up in bed, lifted the curtain, and walked over. "Listening to others' conversations from behind is not the act of a gentleman."
Huo Wei stretched out his arm, wrapped it around her waist, and pulled her onto his lap. The sweet fragrance on her body lingered around his nose.
"Do you think I look like a gentleman?"
Du Gu Luanyue didn't resist. She came to the White Horse Temple to pray just to wait for Huo Wei. She wrapped her hands around his neck and looked at him with a charming look in her eyes.
"Prince of Yuzhang, you don't seem to have been drugged today, do you?"
Huo Wei's blade - like thin lips curled up. "Your son is quite sober, Mother."
Du Gu Luanyue immediately got off his lap and said coldly, "What are you here for, Your Highness? Visiting an elder at such an inappropriate time."
Huo Wei began to untie his armor and casually threw it on the ground. He even took off his inner shirt. "Come here."
Du Gu Luanyue felt a bit nervous. She couldn't figure out Huo Wei's thoughts for a moment.
He came to find her but was extremely cold to her. This man's mind was really complicated, and she couldn't see through him at all.
But she still took a step forward and saw that Huo Wei's face was extremely pale.
"What's wrong with you? Why do you look so pale?"
"I got a minor injury. Your son came to ask Mother, an elder, to tend to my wound."
Saying this, Huo Wei placed the medicine bottle on the table and took off his last inner shirt, revealing his chest full of hideous scars.
His well - defined chest was particularly full and strong in the moonlight. His broad back was as straight as a pine, exuding a bloodthirsty and wild aura all over.
This strong and lean body made her take a few more glances, and for a moment, she forgot to pick up the medicine bottle.
Huo Wei sneered. "Is it good - looking? Compared with His Majesty's, whose is better?"
Du Gu Luanyue came back to her senses and joked, "Do you like to compare with His Majesty so much?"
Huo Wei snorted. Murong Min, the emperor who had been living a life of luxury in the deep palace all year round, surely didn't have much muscle. How could he compare with him?
Du Gu Luanyue reached out to pick up the medicine bottle and began to tend to his wound. After all, he was a young general who had been practicing martial arts and fighting on the battlefield all year round. There wasn't an ounce of excess fat on him. She asked, "Why did the Prince of Yuzhang come to the White Horse Temple?"
Huo Wei half - lowered his dark eyes, and his voice was a bit low. "To light a lamp for my family."
Hearing him mention his family, Du Gu Luanyue couldn't help but feel a bit curious. "I've never heard that you have a family. Aren't you an orphan?"
Just as Huo Wei was about to answer her, a man's voice came from outside the door. "Luanyue, are you asleep?"
The man had an extraordinary bearing and a peerless aura. When his cold eyes, like the frost on a high mountain, stared at Aunt Meijiang, even Aunt Meijiang didn't dare to say a word, let alone stop him.
Du Gu Luanyue was, of course, very familiar with this voice, more familiar than she could be. The medicine bottle in her hand slipped and shattered on the ground.
Huo Wei looked up and stared at her, then smiled. "This is getting interesting."
The man outside said, "I know you're not asleep. I'm at your door today. Some words and some things must be made clear once and for all!"
His voice became urgent and impatient, as if filled with both resentment and grief.
Du Gu Luanyue quickly said, "No, don't!"
Her eyes instantly turned red, and she was extremely panicked. She didn't want the other person to see her in this state, and even less did she want him to see that she, a married woman, was with another man in the middle of the night.
She didn't want the last piece of her veil to be completely torn off.
Huo Wei raised his sharp eyebrows. "Let him in. Otherwise, your son will open the door for Mother himself."