"Don't move, I'm injured," he said with a deep laugh.
Luo Cuiwei immediately pressed her face against his chest and dared not move again.
****
Listening to his strong heartbeat all the way, Luo Cuiwei gradually calmed down.
If Huang Jingru hadn't brought it up again today, she wouldn't have remembered her initial plans to approach Yun Lie.
Or perhaps she deliberately forgot, pretending that she and he were just like any ordinary young couple in love, simply taking each other in their eyes and keeping each other in their hearts.
If only this were true.
Back when they confessed their feelings for each other at the Quanshan hunting grounds, she had considered telling him the truth.
But the faint sense of despicable motives and wishful thinking in her heart ultimately overcame the courage to be honest, and she resorted to trickery.
At that time, she said to Yun Lie, "There is something that I can't get over if I don't tell you, but if I do tell you, you might not want to talk to me anymore."
She was essentially gambling on his feelings for her, gambling on whether he would be reluctant to let her go.
Then, Yun Lie said, "Shut up, I don't want to hear it."
She won the gamble. Taking advantage of his feelings and his reluctance to part with her, she despicably gained peace of mind by not having to confess, and even managed to get a promise from him that "you must not pursue this matter again in the future."
The more Luo Cuiwei thought about it, the more she felt that she was like the kind of villain in storybooks who schemed to deceive people's minds and bodies.
****
As agreed yesterday, today, after Luo Cuiwei returns from the Xu family, the two of them will have lunch together at the mansion, and in the afternoon they will go to the Luo family to formally pay their respects.
After finishing lunch with a heavy heart, Luo Cuiwei tugged at Yun Lie's sleeve, "I have something to tell you."
Yun Lie had already noticed her unusual and heavy expression, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard her words.
She's been acting strangely ever since she left the Xu family. Could it be that she encountered someone or something at the Xu family?
Could it be that she heard or saw something that suddenly made her feel that he had done something wrong...?
Looking at her resolute expression, Yun Lie suddenly didn't want to know what she was going to say at all.
Before leading him to her home for the wedding ceremony, she suddenly told him with this expression that she "had something to say," which seemed like she wanted to call off the engagement.
Dream on! He won't agree... No, he won't even give her a chance to say it!
"It's already past noon, we can talk about it when we get back tonight," he said calmly, urging his father-in-law, "Go change your clothes quickly, don't keep your father-in-law waiting."
Seeing Luo Cuiwei's slender, pale fingers stubbornly clutching his sleeve, Yun Lie hardened his heart, pushed her hand away, and deliberately smiled nonchalantly to scare her, "What, do you want me to help you change?"
Luo Cuiwei was clearly not intimidated by him and climbed up again, this time directly weaving her five fingers into his and using all her strength to try to drag him into the garden.
Even though Yun Lie was injured, Luo Cuiwei was still unable to budge him.
Yun Lie stood firmly in place, his thin lips pressed into a stubborn line, looking as if he would never move an inch.
"Don't forget, we're not in the bedchamber right now. If you lay a hand on me even once, you'll have to pay me ten cartloads of grain as punishment." Yun Lie glared hatefully at her stubborn hand that was clenched into his palm, but he couldn't feel any joy at her rare initiative to get close to him.
"Luo Cuiwei, I'm warning you, if you don't let go, you'll be in debt for twenty cartloads of grain!"
Tears of frustration welled up in Luo Cuiwei's eyes. She gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and took out half of the Zhaowang gold seal from the pouch at her waist. "If you come with me and listen carefully to what I have to say, then I can..." I'll let you manage all the money in the treasury. You can give the Linchuan army as much grain as you want.
"You can't bully people like this!" Yun Lie roared urgently, interrupting her before she could finish speaking. "I don't have time to listen to anything you want to say!"
That's outrageous! They actually want to return the half-seal to him?! What else could it be but a plan to break off the engagement?!
I won't listen!
If we don't let her say it, we can pretend nothing happened!
He flung Luo Cuiwei's hand away with a livid expression, rushed back to his bedchamber as if his life depended on it, dismissed everyone who was on duty there that day, and ran back to his bedroom.
They bolted the door from the inside.
****
Ever since Yun Lie returned from Linchuan, he and Luo Cuiwei had been inseparable in the manor. This sudden commotion has startled everyone in the Zhaowang manor.
After all, everyone in the manor had been with Luo Cuiwei for more than three months and had witnessed everything she had done for the Zhaowang Mansion during those three months. When they heard that His Highness had yelled at her and then ran back to his bedchamber, they were all indignant and rushed over to comfort her.
Although none of them knew the truth, everyone who saw Luo Cuiwei's tearful and somewhat dumbfounded appearance would think that His Highness must have bullied her.
Even Steward Chen was alarmed and rushed over anxiously, asking, "What's going on? Why are you arguing?"
"Uncle Chen, don't worry, we didn't quarrel," Luo Cuiwei said, feeling so embarrassed that she wanted to hang herself after suddenly being surrounded by everyone. She rubbed her eyes and explained in a muffled voice, "I just had something I wanted to tell him, but for some reason he didn't want to listen."
Heaven knows how much courage she mustered to decide to confess, but she never expected Yun Lie's reaction to be so strong, which completely stunned her.
A maid who was on duty cleaning and sweeping the bedchamber today rushed over and was stunned to see everyone crowding around Luo Cuiwei under the eaves.
Chief Steward Chen caught a glimpse of the maid and asked her a question from afar.
The maidservant hurriedly said, "His Highness stormed back to his bedchamber, chased out all the people who were on duty there today, and even bolted the door from the inside."
Upon hearing this, Luo Cuiwei became even more confused.
She hadn't even said anything, so why was that guy so angry?
After thinking for a moment, Steward Chen dismissed all the indignant onlookers and invited Luo Cuiwei to a quiet place to speak with him alone.