That panicked and helpless expression was bewildering. Xiao Yun'er looked at her with confusion, then at her own sister, her face full of bewilderment.
Huangfu Mi, however, frowned and looked at the person in his arms, asking, "What happened? Did Xiao Yun'er push you?"
Qingcheng raised her head, then lowered it again, seemingly pondering for a long time before nodding: "Mm."
"I don't!"
"How is that possible!"
Meng Wan and Xiao Yun'er exclaimed in unison, vehemently denying it, but Huangfu Mi's expression grew increasingly grim: "You..."
Why would Xiao Yun'er push Qingcheng for no reason? Meng Wan must have said something to her. At this moment, Huangfu Mi was furious. He glanced at her coldly, then picked up Qingcheng, turned around and left, leaving Meng Wan frozen there, feeling a chill run down her spine.
--
She never expected Huangfu Mi to look at her like that. His gaze was like that of someone looking at a stranger, yet it was also like a sharp sword, cutting into her heart again and again.
Huangfu Mi, the Huangfu Mi who once vowed to be "husband and wife, with unwavering love and trust," has he already begun to doubt her in just over a month?
She didn't even know what she had done.
Overwhelmed with heartache, she waited until Xiao Yun'er was sent away before lying down on her bed. Her mind was filled with memories of how the two of them met and fell in love, which now seemed somewhat ironic.
She made a mistake in one lifetime. In this lifetime, she thought she had met a good man, so she entrusted her heart to him. But was she wrong again?
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she began to feel depressed. Lying there, she felt suffocated and tossed and turned, feeling uneasy.
This greatly worried Huan Yan. Seeing Meng Wan lying there in a daze, unable to respond to any calls, she had no choice but to go and ask Huangfu Mi for help.
Huangfu Mi had just sent Qingcheng back and was still angry. He was restless in his study when Huanyan came to report that Meng Wan was ill. He forgot all his anger and rushed over.
--
Meng Wan's health was not good to begin with, and she was prone to illness since childhood. The repeated injuries she had sustained made her even more susceptible to illness. Now, consumed by anger, she drifted off to sleep in a daze.
When Huangfu Mi arrived, she was curled up there, trembling all over, her splitting headache making her feel like she was suffocating.
Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes slightly and was visibly startled when he saw Huangfu Mi. He then turned his head away and closed his eyes again.
Upon seeing this, Huangfu Mi frowned slightly, but seeing her pale face, his anger vanished without a trace. He stepped forward, half-squatted by the window, reached out and touched her forehead, saying, "Where do you feel unwell?"
Meng Wan shifted her body further inside, but still didn't make a sound.
Seeing this, Huangfu Mi sighed almost imperceptibly: "Are you still angry? Forget it, forget it. Just consider it my fault. Please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
So we'll just assume he was wrong?
Meng Wan frowned and sat up abruptly: "So you mean you still think I'm wrong, right? You said that because you felt uncomfortable with me, which means, Huangfu Mi, you don't actually believe me?"
She made a big movement and finished speaking in one breath, then started panting heavily. Seeing this, Huangfu Mi quickly reached out to pat her back to help her catch her breath, saying, "I told you not to get angry, but you still lost your temper. Don't you even look at your own body?"
Meng Wan was a woman of strong character. She had already endured the whole ordeal because of Qingcheng, but now that she was so angry, she was not going to let it go easily. She pushed Huangfu Mi's hand away and stared straight at him: "Then tell me, do you believe me or not? If I say I didn't ask Xiaoyun'er to push her, do you believe me?"
"Wan'er..." Huangfu Mi raised an eyebrow: "I've already said that this was my fault, so please don't hold it against me anymore."
"Believe it or not?" Meng Wan persisted.
Huangfu Mi paused for a moment, and when he met her firm gaze, he was momentarily lost in thought.
Actually, it wasn't that he didn't believe her, but he really couldn't think of any reason why Qingcheng would deceive him, so he wondered if there might be some misunderstanding.
But this pause made Meng Wan's heart sink instantly, and her face turned pale in an instant. She pushed his hand away, then turned over and lay down, ignoring Huangfu Mi's stiffness, and said coldly, "Get out!"
Huangfu Mi was taken aback.
He had always known she was stubborn, and he had always loved that trait, but he never knew she could be so stubborn. Watching her retreating figure, he couldn't help but call out to her, "Wan'er—"
However, the only response was to remain motionless.
Huangfu Mi was also annoyed, "I've already humbled myself so much, what more does she want?"
What do you want? Meng Wan sneered: "Since you don't believe me, then I have nothing more to say to you. Get out!"
Huangfu Mi trembled, stared at her for a moment, then turned and left without looking back. Behind her, Meng Wan's eyes slowly closed, filled with sorrow.
--
Neither of them had a good temper, and after that night, they really started to compete. They avoided each other in the mansion, and even when they did meet, they acted as if they had never met, like strangers.
Meng Wan couldn't understand why he didn't trust her, while Huangfu Mi was angry at her for being so narrow-minded and clinging to Qingcheng.
In the blink of an eye, another half month has passed. The days have been uneventful, yet they seem to conceal turbulent undercurrents, like a vast, woven net, leaving no one knowing what the future holds.
A few days later, on June 20th, Meng Wan entered the palace early in the morning, because this day was the universally celebrated Emperor's birthday.
Because Meng Wan had been feeling unwell recently and didn't want to see Huangfu Mi, she didn't go to the palace often. Now that it was the emperor's birthday, as his daughter-in-law, she had to go and pay her respects in person. After all, the emperor had treated her well, and she couldn't let her bad temper with Huangfu Mi make her forget her manners.
When Meng Wan arrived, a group of people had just left, and it was clear that the emperor was in a very good mood.
Meng Wan greeted the emperor according to etiquette. The emperor ordered someone to offer her a seat. After Meng Wan was seated, the emperor said, "Why are you alone? Where is the seventh prince? Why didn't he come with you?"
Meng Wan was clearly taken aback when she hadn't heard anyone mention Huangfu Mi in a long time. She then nodded and said, "He had other matters to attend to, so I came over first."
How could the emperor not notice something amiss? Seeing Meng Wan's pale face, her lowered head, and her strained attempts to wink at Xiao Rong, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"
Meng Wan raised her head slightly, then lowered it again, but did not speak.
Upon seeing this, the emperor knew that his guess was correct; no wonder the young couple hadn't come to the palace together these past few days.