Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Hearts and Minds Differ

Perhaps hatred was just like pain. Once it reached its peak, a person would simply grow numb. Right now, aside from wanting to laugh, Liang Wan felt nothing at all.

Liang Wan looked at him earnestly, sighing with deep emotion. Her voice was tinged with regret as she gently lifted her eyelashes, glancing at him with a wronged expression.

"I had no idea you cared for me so much!

"What a pity we are destined to be apart in this life. Cui Hao, live well with them. In the future, if there’s anything I can help you with, I still will.

"From now on, let’s not meet in private anymore. Otherwise, if he finds out—you’ll lose your life."

If he found out? Indeed, how could their current encounter be considered anything but a secret rendezvous? Cui Hao’s face paled, panic clearly flashing in his eyes.

He had originally harbored a bellyful of questions, but upon seeing Liang Wan and Lu Xiu being so intimately affectionate at the entrance, his mind had grown hot and he had completely lost his head. How could he not know what kind of person Lu Xiu was? A descendant of noble relatives and powerful families, barely in his early twenties, yet already holding the position of Upper Duke. He had always acted with absolute arrogance, looking down on everyone. Moreover, who didn’t know how deeply he doted on Liang Ji! To lay a finger on his concubine? That was practically a death wish!

A gust of cold wind blew past, bringing Cui Hao back to his senses slightly. But when he looked up and met her limpid, tearful eyes, remembering her deep affection for him, he couldn’t help but feel captivated. Thinking about it carefully, if Lu Xiu didn’t rely on his family background and pedigree, the man might not even measure up to him. Besides, so what if Lu Xiu was noble and aloof? Wasn’t the woman he pampered so dearly still thinking about him, Cui Hao? This unprecedented sense of superiority brought immense satisfaction to his hollow heart. He liked this feeling. He could even use this opportunity...

Thinking of this, Cui Hao said gently, "I am not a coward who clings to life and fears death. I will not fail you again. We’ll just have to be more careful when we meet in the future, but you cannot refuse to see me."

Liang Wan’s gaze softened. "Alright," she said tenderly.

It was as if he had gotten his wish. Cui Hao was overjoyed. It had been so long since she had looked at him like this. His heart instantly felt a tingling numbness. Swayed by affection, he reached out to touch her.

Liang Wan deftly dodged his hand, chiding playfully, "Aren’t you afraid I’m tricking you?"

"I am. Didn’t you try to trick me last time at the rockery?" He was already well-versed in matters of intimacy. Though momentarily aroused, he hadn’t completely lost his reason.

Liang Wan’s eyes brimmed with emotion. "Then why do you still want to see me in the future?"

Cui Hao sighed, speaking candidly. "Awan, if you wanted my life now, would you really need to go through so much trouble?"

So, he was well aware of that.

Liang Wan’s lowered brows curved into a smile. With flushed cheeks, she looked incredibly shy. "Why would I want your life? What I want is your body, your heart!"

Cui Hao had never seen Liang Wan so seductive. His body suddenly grew hot, an unbearable itch scratching at his heart. The intense desire could not be dispersed even by the cold wind. He quickly glanced around, reaching out to pull her into his embrace. Before his hand could even touch her clothes, Liang Wan’s expression changed. "Someone’s coming!"

Cui Hao froze in place. Listening closely, he indeed heard footsteps.

"You go first!" Liang Wan whispered.

Cui Hao hesitated for only a moment before nodding. This was the Zhou Residence. As an official of the Secondary Sixth Rank, his status was indeed not as useful as that of the Grand Commandant’s concubine. He squeezed out a slightly awkward smile in farewell.

Liang Wan watched his panicking, fleeing figure, smiling silently, yet her eyes were entirely ice-cold.

What did the Start of Spring mean? The east wind brought warmth, the bitter winter ended, and all things grew. As the saying went: A year’s plan started with spring.

"Haven’t you fooled around enough?"

The footsteps stopped behind her. A chilling voice rang out, colder than the wind blowing against her face.

Liang Wan turned back to glare at him. "A good show was just about to start, and you interrupted it."

Lu Xiu’s deep eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sharp.

Liang Wan stepped forward, looking at him with a smile. "You didn’t kill him. Wasn’t that just to leave him for me to play with?"

Play?

Lu Xiu’s pupils shrank, his gaze turning even colder. He purposely left another man around just for her to play with? He averted his gaze, refusing to look at her.

Seeing that he was truly angry, Liang Wan stopped teasing him. She held his hand and said seriously, "He is bound to die eventually, but how he dies should be up to me, and he should be of use to me first."

Lu Xiu scoffed disdainfully. "Highly ambitious but utterly incompetent, lacking any sense of responsibility. He’s useless alive, so how could he possibly be of use dead—"

Halfway through his sentence, Lu Xiu frowned and stared at her in silence.

Liang Wan looked back at him, her eyes holding a smile. Using someone else’s knife to kill—whether the knife broke or the target died, neither was a bad outcome for her.

"No," Lu Xiu said decisively.

"Why?" Liang Wan didn’t understand. He vetoed it without even letting her try.

Lu Xiu merely stared at her without speaking.

Liang Wan shook her head, giving him a faint smile. "Tell me exactly why. Are you worried about me, or are you afraid my failure will implicate you?"

Lu Xiu remained silent.

Liang Wan took a step back as she spoke, studying him closely. But the more she looked, the colder her heart became.

"You keep claiming that you are looking after me, but is it truly looking after me, or is it surveillance? Is it restriction?

"Every time I want to make a move, you always stop me. I’ve pretended to play along with him for so long—is it truly to wait for an opportunity for revenge, or just to serve you?"

His gaze was bone-chilling, his sharp eyes like the sharpest blade, wishing he could immediately hack her to pieces.

Liang Wan suppressed her trembling, took a deep breath, and gritted her teeth. "You never wanted me to kill him at all!"

Endurance. Yes, she didn’t deny that revenge required endurance. But right now, this had nothing to do with endurance. He simply wanted to tame her into a puppet that followed his every command.

"Grand Commandant, I don’t want to play your games anymore!" Liang Wan looked into his eyes, her own slightly damp, her voice filled with an indescribable exhaustion.

But what was even more exhausted was her heart.

Lu Xiu’s face was terrifyingly gloomy.

She still remembered how she had once lamented Cao Danqing’s recklessness and insolence for daring to talk back to Lu Xiu. Yet now, she was undoubtedly courting death herself.

It didn’t matter. Rather than living under his control like a caged bird, she might as well struggle with all her might. Whether she lived or died, it was better than continuing this endless wait!

Liang Wan turned a blind eye to his expression, spun around, and walked in the opposite direction. After taking only two steps, her vision blurred as two guards blocked her path like a human wall.

Liang Wan smiled.

Right. These were the guards Lu Xiu had specially assigned to her. As long as she stepped out of her room, they would follow her at all times. Whether in places she could see, or couldn’t. Her actions couldn’t be hidden from his eyes at all.

Liang Wan, her eyes red, looked over. "Is Your Excellency going to lock me up?"

"Yes, and what can you do about it?" His gaze was heavy, his face completely indifferent. Even colder was his voice.

Liang Wan withdrew her gaze, lowering her head with a smile. "It would have been so much better if Your Excellency had been like this from the start."

Why put on an act of deep affection and lovey-dovey sweetness?!

"Escort Liang Ji back."

His command was as cold as ice.

In the end, Liang Wan didn’t get to see Zhou Yun’s evening wedding ceremony. Lu Xiu was right. Even if he truly imprisoned her for a lifetime, with her current abilities, what could she do?

Liang Wan was escorted out of the Zhou Residence by the guards.

Liang Ji leaving the banquet halfway for no apparent reason, coupled with the Grand Commandant’s cold face, inevitably sparked a wave of whispers among the crowd. Some busybodies lowered their voices, secretly mentioning that they had seen the Grand Commandant and Liang Ji arguing in a corner of the courtyard...

Cui Hao, his face deathly pale, hid among the crowd.

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