Meng Wan closed her eyes briefly: "Yes, you must be very confused, so I won't say anything now, I'll just leave you with one sentence."
Her back was straight, her eyes fixed straight ahead. The bright sun shone in front of her, making her dizzy. She finally managed to gather her thoughts and said in a deep voice, "I will be moving back to the Prince Heng's residence in the next two days. You should give me a letter of divorce as soon as possible, and then we will be completely estranged from now on."
She hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Huangfu Mi one last time, her voice lowered: "I'll wait for you."
Huangfu Mi lunged forward and hugged Meng Wan tightly from behind. His hands were wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly as if he were afraid that if he let go, she would disappear from his life completely.
"Wan'er, don't go, don't go." His voice trembled, pleading, a tone he had never shown before.
Meng Wan closed her eyes, and a single tear slid down her cheek.
She suddenly remembered that day when he whispered in her ear, 'I've cut my hair into locks, and you've parted yours. Let's find a secluded spot and tie them into a knot of love.'
Those vows of eternal love still seem to echo in my ears, but now, they seem somewhat ironic.
His heart hasn't changed, but his body has been defiled by someone else, which she can't accept!
Meng Wan smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes: "Your Majesty, I once said that in this life, I only want one man for life, to share a husband with another woman. I'm sorry, I can't do that."
She pried his fingers apart little by little, but as soon as she loosened one, he wrapped his arms around her again, pleading incessantly, "Wan'er, please, don't leave me. Tell me, what do you want me to do? Just tell me, and I will agree."
"Let go." Meng Wan couldn't break free, so she had to stop and let him pull her. She didn't turn around or look at him, but simply said in a low voice, "Your Highness, please let go!"
"I won't let you go." Huangfu Mi suddenly became fierce. Looking at Meng Wan's back, he felt as if there were thousands of chasms between them. At this moment, all he wanted to do was keep Meng Wan. He didn't care about his manners anymore. He grabbed her wrist tightly, as if he wanted to knead her into his bones.
He turned her around, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were bloodshot, fixed intently on Meng Wan: "Then what do you want me to do for you to forgive me? Do you want me to kill my child with my own hands?"
Meng Wan paused in her steps: "I don't need you to do anything. All you need to do is let me go."
These words caused Huangfu Mi to break down instantly. He suddenly became fierce, and his tone rose sharply: "Yes, I did things I shouldn't have done, but what about you? If you hadn't been so ambiguous with Huangfu Yi, why would I have gone out drinking? If I hadn't gotten drunk, why would I have been with Changping..."
Upon hearing this, both he and Meng Wan were stunned. Meng Wan never expected her to say such a thing. She stared at him in disbelief for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said, "In that case, it's my fault. I'm the one who made you drink, and I'm the one who made you go with her."
Huangfu Mi then realized his slip of the tongue and grabbed her hand. "Wan'er, don't be like this. I misspoke. Please don't mind." His voice trembled as he made a move to pull her into his arms.
"Then Your Majesty, tell me, what should I do?" she asked with a charming smile. Although they were so close, it was as if a thousand mountains and rivers separated them, and they could never meet again.
The distance between the two grew further and further with this conversation. Huangfu Mi couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer, so he reached out and pulled Meng Wan into his arms. "If you leave, I will make the entire Meng family pay with their lives."
His voice was very low, like ice in the dead of winter, freezing Meng Wan completely, and she suddenly burst into tears.
Their relationship had deteriorated to such a point that he had to resort to threats to keep her with him.
"Fine, as you wish, I'll stay, but don't expect me to forgive you!"
With a single, heart-wrenching scream, Huangfu Mi instinctively froze, staring at her in such agony. He suddenly realized that perhaps their bond had been torn apart at that moment, and could never be rekindled.
--
In the afternoon, inside the Jiangyun Pavilion, Meng Wan was copying scriptures at her desk. The room was quiet except for the soft rustling of pen against paper.
Mu Ci stood behind her, biting her lip, seemingly calm for a long time before stepping forward and saying softly, "Master, His Highness has been waiting outside for a long time. Would you like to see him?"
Hearing the noise, Meng Wan raised her head slightly, saw it was Mu Ci, then lowered her head again and continued what she was doing.
"Twilight Poems, what is existence and what is non-existence?"
Mu Ci paused for a moment, then naturally understood Meng Wan's meaning. She chuckled twice, said nothing more, and carefully went to the outer hall.
Huangfu Mi sat in the chair, his face silent.
Mu Ci poured him another cup of tea, and looking at his gloomy face, she said with some pity, "Your Majesty, Miss is in a bad mood and doesn't want to see you. Why don't you come another day and not wait any longer?"
"Don't worry about me, you go about your business. I'll wait until she wants to see me!" Huangfu Mi said firmly.
Mu Ci's face showed a helpless expression. Holding the cold tea in her hands, she glanced at Eunuch Zheng waiting in the courtyard. The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with helplessness, and could only turn and leave.
But as he looked down, he suddenly saw what appeared to be a figure flashing past outside the ancestral hall. He was slightly suspicious, but when he looked again, there was no one there.
Thinking to himself that he might have misread it, he paused for a moment before entering the house.
*
After that day, no one came here again. The huge Jiangyun Pavilion was only guarded by Meng Wanmu and a few maids. The days were peaceful and uneventful.
Meng Wan sometimes asks herself whether what she did was right or wrong, but in the end, she doesn't blame him; she just can't get over her own conscience.
He might really be drunk, or he might really be mistaking Changping for her, but whenever she thought about him having sex with other women and having a child with one, she couldn't help but feel nauseous.
Perhaps she is not a magnanimous person. In matters of the heart, she wants perfection, for both body and soul to belong only to each other.
The path of love is too narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk hand in hand. Adding another person will only cause pain for everyone. If that's the case, she would rather choose a peaceful life.
*
It suddenly started raining at dusk. Meng Wan stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall, looking at the torrential rain outside. She reached out her hand and caught a drop of water. The crystal-clear drop swayed a few times and finally lingered in her palm. She stared at it blankly for a long time.
Mu Ci came out from inside and saw her standing in the wind. She quickly took a coat and draped it over her shoulders, saying softly, "Master, it's chilly outside. Let's go inside!"
Meng Wan remained standing, only asking softly, "Has he come again?"
Her voice was very soft and faint, with a hint of detachment. Upon hearing it, Mu Ci's eyes welled up with tears, and she even felt a faint urge to shed them.
She had witnessed how the young lady and the emperor had come this far, but who would have thought they would end up like this?
She had no right to judge who was right or wrong, since it was a matter between two people. However, she genuinely cared for her young mistress.
She nodded: "Yes, but the Vice Minister of Rites came to invite him to discuss the matter of establishing an empress, so the Emperor left."