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As Mei Shuang reflected on her mistakes, Xiao Luo's gaze remained fixed on her porcelain-white face, deep as the sea.
However, Mei Shuang's eyes were clear and bright; occasionally meeting Xiao Luo's gaze without flinching, she appeared remarkably forthright. If it was an act, it was certainly well-executed.
No wonder even Nangong Nuo hinted that this Mei Shuang was different from before; it turned out to be true.
While Mei Shuang was reflecting, her eyes lingered on Xiao Luo's face, but her mind was carefully analyzing the effectiveness of her self-reflection. Although Xiao Luo's expression was calm, he did not interrupt her, which at least indicated that he was listening attentively.
Mei Shuang felt a surge of determination and continued sincerely, "Because I have come to understand everything, I realize that rather than marrying a man who does not love me, it is better to facilitate someone else's happiness..."
She had pondered over that last sentence for quite a while before saying it, unsure if it might offend him.
In truth, she really had no reason to feel embarrassed in front of Xiao Luo. It was well-known that he did not like her; otherwise, he would not have slapped her so hard on their wedding day without any hesitation. If it had been Chu Xiruo in such a situation, would he have acted that way? It was merely unfortunate timing for her; she had no chance to react and was unaware of Mei Shuang's past experiences. Thus, in a state of confusion and ignorance, she transitioned from Empress to "nobody," compounded by Nangong Nuo's ominous words indicating she was destined not to become Empress... although many factors contributed to this outcome, the root cause still lay with the Emperor.
This fully illustrated the saying: chasing after something is never a good deal.
Indeed, upon hearing her words, a flicker of barely perceptible surprise crossed Xiao Luo's eyes. When he looked at Mei Shuang again, his gaze held a deeper meaning, with a spark of interest flashing briefly. He deliberately ignored the first part of Mei Shuang's statement and asked nonchalantly, "Who are you trying to help? Your sister?"
"My sister?" Mei Shuang paused for a moment before recalling that she had a venomous "sister," Mei Ru. Wasn't that truly helping her?
However, she dared not respond.
Saying "yes" was out of the question; doing so would negate all her previous efforts. Saying "no" would only drag her deeper into trouble—after all, if she claimed to facilitate someone else's happiness, shouldn't she at least help find them a partner?
But she couldn't forget Nangong Nuo's warning: "Chu Xiruo is in the temple not far away." After battling with these thoughts multiple times in her mind, Mei Shuang ultimately chose to remain silent.
The flicker of eagerness in Xiao Luo's eyes vanished suddenly as his expression returned to normal. As he began marking notes again with his red brush, he casually asked, "You really don't want to return to the palace?"
Mei Shuang suddenly sensed a strong undertone of temptation in Xiao Luo's words, and she instinctively thought that his implication was, "If you don't want to, then so be it; I will let you go."
A powerful desire surged in her eyes as she knelt down, saying, "Yes, I had already left the palace with no other desires. This Eastern Kingdom was truly unexpected and sudden, but since things have come to this point, I still humbly request Your Majesty to show mercy..."
Yet in her heart, she was contemplating that if Xiao Luo let her go this time, she would definitely tell him where his beloved was as a form of repayment, and then she would disappear, living in obscurity until her death.
"Oh..." After marking a perfect period on the memorial, Xiao Luo lifted his gaze and glanced lightly at Mei Shuang. There was no hint of emotion in his words. "I thought others need not concern you; you should focus on yourself first..."
To not mention Chu Xiruo's whereabouts while dreaming of escaping—how naive!
"......"
Mei Shuang stiffened. What did that mean? She looked at Xiao Luo in confusion. His expression was indifferent. She pondered over his words for a moment but still couldn't grasp their meaning. Tentatively, she asked, "Your Majesty, are you... agreeing?"
Xiao Luo stood up. As he walked past Mei Shuang towards Chiang Mai, he slowly replied, "We will discuss this further when Zhao Prince arrives tomorrow..."
"......."
Upon understanding his words, Mei Shuang felt utterly defeated; it struck right at her soft spot.
If Nangong Nuo found out that she had stolen two thousand taels of silver and ran away disguised as a man, only to run into Xiao Luo's line of fire and deliver herself right to him—how furious would he be?
Last time, he had already been furious because she had unilaterally released Kuranami Miyako and took it upon herself to rescue Yunkong Monk. Now that she had guaranteed to be obedient while simultaneously going back on her word, he would surely run out of patience. The consequence might be that he wouldn't care about her anymore.
This was even more distressing than Xiao Luo's vague notion of "focusing on oneself." She had originally planned to ask Xiao Luo if he could release her early; even being bound by Nangong Nuo to meet the Emperor would be better than having Nangong Nuo arrive tomorrow morning only to find her already waiting here.
No, absolutely not like this.
Mei Shuang was truly anxious. Xiao Luo casually tossed out a light remark and seemed ready to leave. Without thinking, she turned around and clung to Xiao Luo's thigh, pleading desperately, "Your Majesty, please let me go back tonight. I will come to apologize with Zhao Prince tomorrow..."
Xiao Luo paused; it seemed he had guessed correctly. This Mei Shuang was indeed quite wary of Nangong Nuo.
To be honest, Mei Shuang's current reckless behavior hardly resembled that of a refined young lady; she appeared more like a woman throwing a tantrum!
However, this move from Mei Shuang had made Li Gonggong, who had been serving the Emperor all along, quite exasperated. What was going on?
In the middle of the night, the Emperor brought back a man, and after some vague conversation, this man actually clung to the Emperor's thigh!
Such an indecent and bold act!
As Li Gonggong stood there dumbfounded, he raised his feather duster to strike, but as soon as he uttered "outrageous," he was silenced by a sharp glance from Xiao Luo.
Xiao Luo lowered his gaze, focusing on Mei Shuang's pleading face. Her expression resembled that of a distressed child; her small face was scrunched up like a bitter melon, her lower lip tightly bitten, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears, giving off an impression that she was about to cry.
Recalling her performance at Miaochun Tower, Xiao Luo genuinely believed this woman would burst into tears at any moment.
For some inexplicable reason, a mischievous thought arose in his heart. He said lightly, "Since you are unwilling to return to the palace and also reluctant to meet Zhao Prince tomorrow..."
He elongated the last part of his sentence, making his meaning clear: surely she had to choose one or the other.
Upon hearing this opening, Mei Shuang quickly lowered her head to weigh the pros and cons of both options.
Clearly, neither choice was favorable for her; it was merely a matter of choosing the lesser evil.
Soon enough, she released her grip on Xiao Luo's thigh, wiped away the nonexistent tears at the corners of her eyes, and softly said, "Everything is up to Your Majesty. Just as long as Zhao Prince doesn’t find out about tonight’s events—you understand..."
Sigh, she definitely did not want to stay in the palace. However, if staying there for a while could solve her problems, she would reluctantly accept it! I mean, to think that she could run into the current Sovereign at the number one spot in the capital, Miaochun Tower, was truly unfortunate.
Compared to the Supreme Ruler before her, she did not want to offend Nangong Nuo. This man had a greater personal fondness for her than this cold and heartless emperor. Moreover, since he had previously managed to take her out of the palace, he should be able to do so again in the future. Of course, she also knew there was a prerequisite: she had to listen to him.
——
In the latter half of the night, while Nangong Nuo was extremely frustrated in the inn, he suddenly heard excited voices coming from downstairs.
Mei Shuang had actually returned on her own.
Seeing the entire inn in an uproar, the tense atmosphere surprised her. She feigned confusion and asked, "What’s going on here?"
When Nangong Nuo came down from upstairs with a face so dark it seemed like water could drip from it, he indeed saw Mei Shuang standing below. The surprise in his eyes quickly turned into a fierce voice with no hint of warmth. "Come up!"
Mei Shuang's heart skipped a beat as she climbed upstairs while mentally recapping her disappearance earlier that night; it should have been flawless.
Just as she felt relieved, her nose suddenly bumped into a hard object, and her body was pushed back by another solid object in front of her.
Her nose stung painfully, and tears almost fell. Covering her nose with one hand, she took two steps back and complained, "Why did you just stop without saying anything?"
"I have been waiting for you here for a moment. You come up and just bump into me without any warning..." Nangong Nuo stood with his hands behind his back, his expression icy.
Mei Shuang jolted and realized she had been too distracted. She awkwardly smiled and said, "Actually—"
"Actually what? Actually you felt guilty for trying to sneak away in the middle of the night?" Nangong Nuo sneered coldly, raising his hand to pull her forward abruptly until she pressed against his hard chest.
The sudden close contact caught Mei Shuang off guard; she felt a rush of blood surge in her chest. She quickly pushed against Nangong Nuo's chest with all her might, trying to create some distance in their confined space.
Nangong Nuo's grip was so strong that she couldn't pull her arm free, leaving her to twist and struggle against his hold.
Unbeknownst to her, Nangong Nuo was even more irritated; his sense of touch was incredibly sharp, and he had already discerned the situation beneath Mei Shuang's clothing.
Mei Shuang remained oblivious, still wriggling in an attempt to escape. Seeing that Nangong Nuo's iron grip was immovable, she could only raise her eyes and smile sweetly, "Actually, we can talk this over..."
As their gazes met, despite having prepared herself mentally, Mei Shuang was still frightened by the coldness in Nangong Nuo's eyes. Steeling herself, she began to recount the events of her disappearance that night. "Listen to me, I know it was wrong to be gone for so long and to make you worry. I just... I just wanted to go out for a bit, but unfortunately ran into some bad people. I was just trying to hide, so it wasn't until the danger passed that I—"
Nangong Nuo's eyes were dark as he listened to Mei Shuang's explanation, his expression unchanged. After a moment, he nodded slightly. "Is this true?"
"True... truly..."
"Do you dare swear?" Nangong Nuo's voice grew increasingly low.
"I dare—of course I dare..." Mei Shuang's voice began to tremble.
"This is your last chance. Are you really not lying?" Nangong Nuo's tone was calm, but Mei Shuang sensed the storm brewing beneath the surface.
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