TIGR Chapter 115

The Imperial Guard’s Revenge

Chapter 115 Thaw

Lu Heng received the message from his subordinate and soon found Wang Yanqing. When he saw that her face was as white as snow, he quickly reached out to hold her hand and found her fingers ice-cold. Frowning, Lu Heng asked: “Why are you here alone? Did you wait long?”

Wang Yanqing shook her head: “It’s nothing. Let’s go back.”

In fact, Lu Heng had dropped everything to come to her, but since Wang Yanqing wanted to go home, he, of course, prioritized taking her back. Wang Yanqing was unusually quiet today. Seeing that she remained silent, Lu Heng couldn’t help but wonder what happened.

Why was she so deep in thought?

Lu Heng made up his mind to figure it out and decided he would send someone to inquire about what was going on in the palace. Could it be that she had suffered some grievance and suddenly wanted to go home? A series of thoughts flashed through Lu Heng’s mind, and the more he thought, the angrier he became. He was so busy suspecting his enemies that he didn’t even notice when they arrived at the Wang residence.

The carriage slowed to a stop and Lu Heng suddenly came back to his senses. He composed himself, suppressing his emotions, and calmly helped Wang Yanqing down from the carriage. Just as Wang Yanqing reached the door, she suddenly stopped, acting out of character. She turned around and asked: “Do you still have matters to attend to today?”

Lu Heng was momentarily stunned, then said ambiguously: “It’s not certain yet, it depends on how things are arranged. Why?”

Wang Yanqing lowered her gaze, hesitating slightly before saying: “I want to talk about the situation between us.”

Lu Heng immediately decided he had time and changed his words: “I just remembered, an official document hasn’t been delivered yet, so I can’t do anything yet. I will need to wait at South Fusi anyway. Let’s go inside and talk first.”

Lu Heng finally managed to enter Wang Yanqing’s bedroom, but he didn’t feel at ease seeing her demeanor. Her face was so serious, could it be that she had finally decided to leave him?

A feeling of regret began to stir in Lu Heng. He steadied himself and asked: “You seem uneasy today. What happened?”

Wang Yanqing hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to push through and talk things out. She gathered her courage, refusing to let herself back down, and said directly: “I visited the grand princess in Concubine Shen Xi’s palace, and by chance, I ran into the emperor.”

Lu Heng responded with a low sound, his gaze becoming serious. She met the emperor by chance? Lu Heng didn’t really believe that.

He realized that his long thought-out plans might soon be revealed.

His eyes grew deep and calm. When he looked at her with such focus, it made her feel uneasy. Wang Yanqing quietly avoided his gaze and said: “The emperor told me what you said.”

Lu Heng gave a calm “mm” sound, much more composed than she expected. Wang Yanqing hadn’t anticipated this reaction and could only take the initiative to ask: “Why did you do that?”

Lu Heng thought to himself that the day had finally come, but he hadn’t expected it to come from the emperor’s mouth. He understood that the success or failure of this matter hinged on this moment. He straightened up, his expression serious, and said: “Because you are my wife. Our separation is a private matter between husband and wife. We can argue all we want behind closed doors, but outside, I will not allow anyone to harm you.”

“You finally told me the truth.” Wang Yanqing said, “You always believed this was a matter between husband and wife, so from the very beginning, you never intended to let me go.”

Lu Heng’s heart skipped a beat. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said: “Yes.”

Without risk, one could never achieve great gains in life. He understood the emperor and he understood Wang Yanqing. As long as he had enough information, the risk could be a controlled gamble.

All he had to do was bet a little on his own luck.

Wang Yanqing’s premonition was true, and somehow, she wasn’t surprised. She continued to ask: “That day, when you saw it was me who fell, why did you save me?”

Lu Heng’s scalp tingled. “That day” she referred to was clearly the day he set up the ambush for Fu Tingzhou, which led to Wang Yanqing falling off the cliff and losing her memory. Lu Heng didn’t want to revisit these dangerous old matters, but he knew he had to answer.

He silently sighed to himself and said truthfully: “To negotiate terms with Fu Tingzhou.”

“And why didn’t you continue negotiating afterward?”

“Because it wasn’t worth it for you.” Lu Heng fixed his gaze on Wang Yanqing, and her figure was reflected in his eyes, making her feel an inexplicable sense of danger, “You held a person like him with such high regard and there was nothing about me that was inferior to him. Why shouldn’t I have the same chance?”

Wang Yanqing felt a chill as Lu Heng’s gaze locked onto her. She pinched the palm of her hand and asked: “So you deceived me?”

“Yes.” Lu Heng admitted with a nod. Once the line was crossed, many things weren’t as difficult to face as he imagined. Perhaps, he had wanted to confess it all along.

When she lost her memory, he believed that her closeness to him was because she saw him as her “Second Brother.” He hoped that Wang Yanqing would choose him with a clear mind, rather than seeing him as an illusion of another.

His quick and decisive admission left Wang Yanqing momentarily speechless. When he didn’t speak the truth, she hated him for hiding it. But now that he had admitted it, she didn’t know how to respond.

Yes, she should have known from the start. He was exactly that kind of cruel, shameless, and unscrupulous person. When she first lost her memory, she had imagined a perfect “Second Brother,” projecting all the good qualities onto him. But as time passed, she realized that her “Second Brother” was far from perfect. In fact, he had many dishonorable traits. She tried to tell herself that no matter what, he was still her brother, and as long as he treated her well, that was enough.

But eventually, she came to understand that he was neither righteous nor honest, and not even her brother. The qualities she imagined a future husband should possess were nowhere to be found in him. Yet, despite all his faults, it was him who made her heart ache, and him she couldn’t let go of.

She loved his intelligence, his strength, his attentiveness, and his sense of responsibility. She admired his composure, his rationality, and his ability to strategize. Perhaps, she would have to accept the intensity, strong will, and ruthlessness that came with those qualities.

He wasn’t a good man, but he was the one she loved.

Wang Yanqing was silent for a long while before looking up and asking: “Then why did you deceive me, make me call him Fu traitor, and even encouraged me to stab him?”

Lu Heng was quite calm about it and said bluntly: “Because I can’t stand him, and maybe I was a little bit jealous.”

A little?

Lu Heng couldn’t even convince himself of that, it was probably much more.

Wang Yanqing’s lips parted, and several times she tried to speak, but she didn’t know how to start. People without shame were invincible in this world, and since Lu Heng had openly admitted to his vile behavior and jealousy, what could Wang Yanqing say?

She held back for a long time before finally saying, with a serious expression: “When I was at the Lu Mansion, it wasn’t that your lies were perfect, but that I never suspected you. Similarly, the reason I’m saying these things to you now isn’t because your schemes were so clever, but because your feelings are real.”

Lu Heng’s expression became serious as well, and he looked at Wang Yanqing with a sincere gaze. After a pause, Wang Yanqing turned her face away, struggling to speak. She then said with difficulty: “But I still can’t accept a relationship built on lies.”

“I know.” Lu Heng said as he wrapped his arms around Wang Yanqing’s shoulders and pulled her into his embrace, “In the beginning, I was despicable. I wanted to take revenge on Fu Tingzhou, so I came up with that awful idea. As the lies grew bigger, I kept wanting to confess, but it became harder and harder to do so. I promise you, it won’t happen again.”

Lu Heng usually spoke with a smile, but when he said this, his voice was heavy and sincere, without the slightest trace of a smile. After he finished speaking, he noticed that Wang Yanqing didn’t push him away, so he cautiously asked: “So, have I passed your test?”

Wang Yanqing bit her lip, hesitating for a moment, then said with difficulty: “But we agreed on three months…”

If she accepted now, it would seem like she had no principles.

Hearing this, Lu Heng quickly replied: “You mustn’t have this kind of burden. If you’re unhappy, I will continue to make amends, but don’t drag this out.”

What about “delays lead to change” and “extreme joy turns to sorrow”? Lu Heng was terrified that their wedding day would repeat itself. As it turned out, the things one feared most were the most likely to happen. He should have seized the opportunity and settled the matter.

Wang Yanqing didn’t say anything. Lu Heng knew that now was not the time to let her think too much. If she figured things out on her own, it would be over for him. He took the opportunity to finalize things, saying: “Then it’s settled. Stay at home and wait for me. I’ll be back for dinner tonight.”

Wang Yanqing sighed weakly in his arms, silently agreeing. She realized that Lu Heng was truly a frightening person, if he wanted something, he could get it.

Power, wealth, even her, there was no exception.

Lu Heng couldn’t believe that the surprise had come so suddenly. He kissed Wang Yanqing’s cheek with force, growing more fond of her as he looked at her. But there were still official duties waiting for him outside. Reluctantly, he let go and said: “I’ll be back tonight.”

“Okay.”

Guo Tao and the others suddenly noticed that after Lu Heng stepped out for a while, he came back as if injected with adrenaline. Not only was he working tirelessly, but he was also pushing them to their limits. A task that normally took a whole day was compressed into just two hours. When it reached evening, Lu Heng dumped the final works on them, coldly stating that there would be an inspection tomorrow, and then left without a backward glance.

The people in South Fusi watched in disbelief. As far as they could remember, they had never seen Lu Heng leave the office so early. They couldn’t help but gather and whisper: “What’s wrong with the Supreme Commander?”

“I don’t know.”

Lu Heng didn’t bother pretending to be injured anymore. He galloped all the way back to the courtyard, which he hadn’t visited in a long time, to have a meal with Wang Yanqing. It was only natural that he stayed overnight. Unfortunately, they slept in separate rooms.

Lu Heng was incredibly frustrated. Why had he prepared so many rooms in this house?

Afterward, Wang Yanqing didn’t return to the palace, while Lu Heng left early every morning and came back at night to eat and sleep. Aside from the change of location, the days seemed no different from the past two years. After sleeping alone for two days, Lu Heng felt like it was enough. After dinner that evening, he didn’t leave as usual but instead seemed to have something to discuss.

Wang Yanqing thought he had something important to say and looked at him seriously, asking: “What’s wrong?”

Lu Heng motioned for the maids to leave. Once the maids closed the door and the room was empty, Lu Heng sat down beside Wang Yanqing and said seriously: “Qing Qing, tomorrow the Marquis of Zhenyuan and the Marquis of Yongping are holding a wedding banquet.”

Wang Yanqing suddenly remembered that the wedding between Fu Tingzhou and Hong Wanqing was set for the second month, which was tomorrow. She blinked, confused, and asked: “Right, what do you want to do?”

“In January, he came to attend our wedding. Now, he and the Hong family are happily married. Shouldn’t we do something?”

Wang Yanqing raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. After a long while, she struggled to find the words: “Are you planning to attend their wedding?”

“I’m not sick, why would I go?” Lu Heng retorted mercilessly. At his firm denial, Wang Yanqing couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, Lu Heng wasn’t planning on attending the wedding. However, this only left her more confused. She asked curiously: “Then what exactly do you want to do?”

Lu Heng took Wang Yanqing’s hand, his fingers gently rubbing between her fingers in a meaningful motion and said: “I got married before he did. If he has his wedding night before I do, wouldn’t I be a laughingstock?”

Wang Yanqing hadn’t expected to hear such blunt words and was momentarily stunned. After she regained her senses, her cheeks turned bright red, all the way to her ears. Even the way Lu Heng’s fingers moved between hers seemed to carry a different kind of implication.

Wang Yanqing felt like those hands weren’t even hers anymore. She tried to pull her hand away forcefully but couldn’t. Annoyed and embarrassed, she said: “Others don’t know.”

“But I know.” Lu Heng replied softly, his gaze like a wolf stalking its prey on a snowy night, “Qing Qing, we’re already married. If we haven’t consummated our marriage after a month, people will start to doubt that I’m incapable.”

Wang Yanqing thought to herself that she had truly been blind. Just a few days ago, he swore he wouldn’t lie to her anymore and she believed he was sincere. But now it was clear that his mind was full of thoughts like this!

Wang Yanqing’s face turned bright red, as if it were about to bleed. After a long pause, she stammered: “But… our bridal chamber isn’t here.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Lu Heng wrapped his arm around Wang Yanqing’s waist, easily picking her up and walking briskly toward the room, “I still have the decorations at the Lu Mansion. If you feel regret, we can go back tomorrow and make up for it. But tonight, I’m going to officially claim my title as your husband.”

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