Song Xingzhi a vécu sous le règne de l'empereur Huizong

Chapitre 93

Wanlan couldn't help but touch her throbbing forehead. "Zhao Dezhao, when are you going to wake up? I'm not your Lan'er at all! And I don't intend to be her substitute! Isn't your request going too far?"

Suppressing his smile, Zhao Dezhao stared intently at her eyes, which held a hint of anger. "I know you are not her, but in my opinion, my request is not excessive at all. You inexplicably took her body and claimed it as your own. What happened between me and her originally had nothing to do with you, but it became uncontrollable because of your interference."

Wanlan was taken aback.

He already knows? Did Zehua tell him?

"I will not apologize for what I did to you before," he said calmly, lowering his eyes and not looking at her. "I made a promise with her, and now that you have become her, only you can help her fulfill that promise. This is what you owe her."

"Your agreement was to be husband and wife? Then why did you let her marry Zehua in the first place? Or should I ask, why did she voluntarily ask to marry Zehua? She clearly gave up her feelings for you, so why should I bear the consequences for her selfishness?"

Wanlan's face turned cold, and she flatly refused, "I absolutely will not agree!"

"I don't care."

He suddenly raised his eyes and stared at her, chuckling softly. "I don't care what she was thinking back then, nor do I care whether she wanted to give up on our relationship. Since I kept this promise and met you here in Rongze, I must fulfill that vow." He paused, then added in a deep voice, "I don't care whether you're willing or not."

Wanlan gritted her teeth and glared at him.

This guy is a complete bully!

Not wanting to pay him any attention, Wanlan turned and left.

Mentioning her desire to return to Rongyang doesn't mean she needs his permission to leave. Even if she has to walk, she's leaving this place today!

Suddenly, her wrist tightened; the man's warm hand behind her firmly grasped her cold, slender wrist. She struggled, but he remained unmoved.

"Let go!"

"I won't let you go."

"I have to leave—ah!"

The sudden force pulled her backward. Wanlan cried out in surprise, the umbrella slipped from her hand, and she fell backward, crashing into a warm chest. She landed safely under another umbrella—in Zhao Dezhao's arms.

"Your hands are cold; it's not good for them to catch a cold."

He calmly pulled her down in her fur coat, wrapped his large hand around her cold hand, and led her into the courtyard. "Let's go inside. The rain has lessened a lot today. Maybe it will stop tomorrow. I'll take you for a walk then, what do you think?"

Wanlan pursed her lips and decided to ignore him.

"Since you have no objections, then it's decided."

She wasn't saying she had no objections; she was just too lazy to pay attention to him. Since Zehua had left her here, and she couldn't break free from this man, she would stay. This man wouldn't force her, would he?

He led her to the door of the east wing, then let go to let her in. Just as she reached back to close the door, he suddenly pressed his hand against it and said calmly:

"Do you know? It was me who asked Defang to let you stay, and he also knew about my request to be your husband for a month. He has already granted my request, so what's the point of you resisting?"

Wanlan froze instantly, staring wide-eyed at the round table in front of her in shock.

No……

Zehua kept her behind because he had business in the capital, because he was worried that her pregnant body wouldn't be able to withstand the arduous journey, because he felt guilty towards his elder brother and wanted her to keep him company, and because... he was worried about both his brother and her before his trip to the capital, so he wanted them to keep each other company...

It absolutely couldn't be because of Zhao Dezhao's inexplicable agreement!

Impossible...

She slowly turned around and glared at him, "I won't believe your nonsense!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Su Li, or even Xuan'er. They all know, of course! Including Xiao Luzi and Lan Wen as well, although you might not believe them."

He chuckled softly, glanced at her trembling eyelids, and closed the door behind him as he withdrew his hand.

Wanlan stared blankly at the closed door, her mind a complete blank.

Why?

She believed she understood Zehua. She knew he was too soft-hearted, that he couldn't let go of many people, the most important of whom was his elder brother, and that he was worried about her health, which was why he insisted that she stay and recuperate. He even brought Su Li to Rongyang to take her to Rongze to see Zhao Dezhao, all because he was worried about his elder brother but absolutely trusted her...

But didn't he consider that his heartless disregard for her feelings and trust would hurt and sadden her?

How could he... harden his heart and actually give her to his older brother?

A couple married for only a month, ha!

What is marriage? Is it child's play? Just a meaningless word made up of two meaningless characters? Did he ever think about what might happen to her in the past month? Did he ever think that by cruelly tearing her heart out and throwing it to another man, he would make her so desperate that she wanted to hate him?

The door was suddenly flung open with a loud "bang," and Xuan'er rushed in, looking panicked. She nearly bumped into Wanlan, who was still standing behind the door. She quickly pulled back, staring in astonishment at Wanlan's wry smile, and cried out in alarm:

"lady!"

Slowly raising her head, Wanlan squinted at the girl in front of her with blank eyes and asked in a low voice, "Xuan'er, can you tell me, is Zehua really going back to the capital?"

Xuan'er reached out and grabbed her arm urgently, "Madam! You must believe the Prince! No matter what he does, he has no intention of hurting you. Don't overthink it. Just rest here for a month, and we can continue our journey when the Prince returns."

Wanlan closed her eyes. "Does he really want me to be Zhao Dezhao's wife for a month?"

Xuan'er stared at her blankly, then said softly, "The Prince said that you wouldn't care about these external things. He was indeed summoned back to the capital by the Emperor, and he left you behind because he was worried about your health. Also... because of the Prince of Yan's current condition, he said you two could keep each other company. The Prince of Yan needs someone to accompany him, and you also need someone to take care of you, so..."

Wanlan shook her head, gasped for breath, and clutched her aching chest tightly. "He could have just told me... I would have agreed to anything, so why did he keep everything from me? I'm not some pampered young lady who doesn't understand anything, nor am I a block of wood who has no feelings..."

Xuan'er hurriedly supported her, "Madam, what's wrong? Is your chest hurting again? Why don't you lie down and rest for a bit?"

Helped to sit on the bed and lie down, Wanlan closed her eyes, reached out and grabbed Xuan'er's hand that was about to be pulled back, "Xuan'er, take me back to Rongyang."

"lady……"