Lu Jinxuan's eyes sparkled with excitement. "If there really is such a person, we just need to investigate carefully! Something has happened to the Shu family, and my mother isn't in good health, so we can't act too boldly. You'll handle this investigation."
Qi Manyan turned her face away, extremely disgusted with such an order.
Lu Jinxuan walked over, grabbed her chin, and straightened her head. "I'm your husband. When I'm talking to you, do you hear me?"
Qi Manyan said coldly, "I got it."
But Lu Jinxuan wasn't satisfied. He tightened his grip. "Qi Manyan, you're already mine. No other man will want you except me. If you keep being so disobedient and still think about other men, then you'll just wait..."
With his other hand, he reached into her clothes and pinched her chest hard. She couldn't help but let out a soft cry. Only then did he throw her down and turn to leave.
Tears streamed down Qi Manyan's face, dropping one by one onto the ground.
Perhaps because there had been no movement for a long time, the maid outside called out worriedly, "Miss?"
Qi Manyan quickly wiped away her tears and tidied up her clothes. "Come in."
The maid walked in. Although Qi Manyan looked neat, as her personal maid, how could she not know what had happened? She felt heart - broken and walked over to hug Qi Manyan. "Miss, you've suffered so much..."
Qi Manyan buried her head on the maid's shoulder, biting her teeth tightly to keep herself from crying out. After a long time, she calmed down, took a deep breath, and said, "Soon, it'll be over soon. If I can't have it, no one else can either!"
The maid gently helped her with her makeup and nodded. "Miss, don't worry. Those who betrayed you all deserve to die!"
After she was all dressed up, Qi Manyan stood up. The pain in her body made her uncomfortable, but she endured it forcefully. She touched her face and said, "One by one, heh heh heh. I'll make sure they all end up miserably. A Ling, clearly when we were kids, when he got injured, it was me who dragged him to find help. Clearly... it was me standing beside him! It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. After he dies, I'll have someone bring back his bones. The bone of his right index finger is what I held when I was a kid. From then on, I'll carry that bone with me all the time. Then he won't leave me. He can't leave me, right, A Ling?"
The maid's eyes were red. She nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, Miss. You're right."
Qi Manyan's eyes turned cold. "And Lu Jinxuan. Such a despicable person also dares to be my husband? Phooey! I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life than marry such a person. After this is all settled, I'll make Lu Jinxuan pay back a hundred times the humiliation he's brought on me today!"
The maid started to cry. "Miss, why do you have to do this? Why do you have to sacrifice your innocence and reputation?"
Qi Manyan pulled her to the window and pointed at the carriage downstairs. "Do you see that?"
The maid was confused. "What?"
"That's the carriage of the Gu family. You may not recognize those servants, but I do. The two in the front aren't from the Gu family. They're Lu Jinchen's servants. A Ling, look. Lu Jinchen went to such a dangerous place in the northwest, but he still didn't forget to take care of Gu Liyue. He even sent his most capable servants to protect her..."
The maid hugged Qi Manyan. "Miss, why don't you just let it go? That man doesn't have feelings for you. Why torture yourself?"
"I won't!" Qi Manyan pushed her away forcefully. "I've said it before. If I can't have it, no one else can! And that Gu Liyue, I won't let her have an easy time. What right does she have? Such a low - class woman, how dare she compete with me for a man? Hahaha, Lu Jinchen can only be mine. He must be mine. And she should go to the lowest and dirtiest place. A Ling, I'll always find a way. I'll always find a way to make her be low - class for the rest of her life!"
Gu Liyue had no idea what was going on in the private room upstairs. Although Lu Yunxi was with her, it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere. She was always absent - minded and refused to go back to the palace. She insisted that Gu Liyue accompany her.
"Liyue, a few days ago, I heard the emperor and the empress dowager say that they're going to confer the title of princess on me."
Gu Liyue paused for a moment and quickly said, "That's a good thing. Congratulations, princess."
Lu Yunxi shook her head. "Whether it's a princess or a county princess, it doesn't make any difference to me. The thing I want, he simply can't give it to me."
Gu Liyue reached out and held her hand. "Princess, I believe that the prince will definitely come back."
Lu Yunxi looked blank. "Really? There's been no news from him. It's the same with the Prince of Liang, and your uncle. We don't know what they're doing there. Not even a single word has been sent back. I heard that there was a snow - mountain collapse in the northwest. All the roads leading out were blocked by heavy snow. It's so cold that even carrier pigeons can't fly."
Gu Liyue frowned. Yes, there was no news from those inside. The last message from her uncle was that it had been snowing for several days and they couldn't see what was going on inside, so they had to go in for rescue. Those guarding outside sent a letter every day, riding their horses at full speed. Then came the news of the snow - mountain collapse...
Could they come back?
Gu Liyue gritted her teeth and said seriously, "Princess, your father has been in battles all his life. He's overcome everything. After the Great Zhou was at peace, he guarded it for more than a decade. What kind of storms has he not seen? This time, he's not alone. It's not just one troop. Everyone is working together. Natural disasters aren't scary. As long as everyone is united, we can surely deal with them. I also believe that we'll definitely wait for their return."
Under Gu Liyue's comfort, Lu Yunxi also gained some confidence. "Yes. My step - mother said that when she was younger, the thing she heard most about was the prince and the princess on the battlefield. Her heart was always in her throat. When she heard that they were safe, she would go and offer two more sticks of incense to the Bodhisattva. Liyue, let's also go and pray and offer incense, okay?"
Gu Liyue nodded with a smile. "Okay, let's go."
On the 24th day of the first lunar month, the emperor and the empress, together with all the civil and military officials and their families, went up the mountain to the Ten - Thousand Buddha Temple to pray for the snow disaster in the northwest. They prayed for the snow to stop soon and for all the soldiers and common people in the northwest to be safe and sound.
Gu Liyue got up early. She didn't dress up today. She simply put on her clothes. When she got to the door, she found that the old lady was also there.
She quickly stepped forward to support her grandmother. "Grandma, why did you come out? You're not in good health. You should go back and rest well."
The old lady shook her head. "I'm fine. Liyue, don't worry."
Gu Liyue looked up and saw that her grandfather was also coming out with a walking stick. His hair was gray, and his steps were unsteady. He was being supported by her second uncle and was about to get into the carriage.
Old Master Gu turned around and waved at Gu Liyue. "Liyue, come here and ride with grandfather."
Gu Liyue supported her grandmother and walked over. They got into the carriage together.