Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Parry and Thrust

Seeing Wang Su lying on the ground, the Prison Minister’s face drained of all color. He snapped back to his senses and dropped to his knees before Lu Xiu. The moment he knelt, all the prison guards scrambled to their knees as well.

The Prison Minister was on the verge of tears. "Grand Commandant, the case of Wang Su’s private minting of currency is not yet closed. If His Majesty sends for him again, what am I supposed to—"

Lu Xiu rose to his feet, his hands clasped within his sleeves. His gaze was as cold as frost, forcing the minister’s unfinished words back down his throat.

Lu Xiu merely tilted his head, and a guard immediately took the hint, seizing the Prison Minister and dragging him out. Once they were gone, several prison guards lifted Wang Su and followed. The room fell silent once more.

If not for the conspicuous pool of blood on the floor, one might have thought nothing had happened at all.

Lu Xiu’s gaze settled on her face. "And here I thought you’d show some consideration for old times’ sake."

His tone was particularly disappointed, as if the little drama he’d just witnessed hadn’t been the least bit satisfying.

Liang Wan tossed aside the blood-dripping sword. "My Lord must have misremembered. Between Wang Su and me, there is only hatred, never affection."

"Who said anything about Wang Su?"

Lu Xiu tilted his head, watching her with a curious expression. His narrow eyes glittered, but their depths were as black as the deepest night.

"Then who is My Lord referring to?"

Liang Wan stood silently. Far from the satisfaction of achieving her revenge, a growing unease settled in her heart. ’Did Lu Xiu bring me to Dali Temple Prison just to watch me kill someone for revenge?’

Liang Wan didn’t believe it. ’With the tyrant’s temperament, killing Wang Su was just a matter of days anyway. Why go to all this trouble?’

’Besides, I just told him that when the enemy is strong and you are weak, you shouldn’t act on a reckless impulse. You need to use a borrowed blade to do the killing.’

’But the moment I finished speaking, he turned around and shoved the knife right into my hands. He was like a hunter who had already dug a trap, eagerly watching from the sidelines to see how I would fall into it step by step.’

The corners of his lips lifted. "Wang Tingyue, of course."

Liang Wan’s heart clenched. ’So this is what he was waiting for!’

’I can’t believe he found out, even though I never said a word!’

Liang Wan clutched her sleeves, forcing a relaxed tone. "I won’t hide it from you, My Lord. I was indeed acquainted with Wang Xiaolang, but that was a childhood friendship. How can it possibly compare to a blood feud?

That day in Yulin Garden, when I pledged myself to you as my master, I also said that besides you, My Lord, no one else matters to me. I don’t care about anyone else, so how could there be any ’old feelings’ left!"

Lu Xiu watched her and nodded slightly. "But how is it that I heard it was Wang Tingyue who helped you escape capture that night? Oh, and there’s one more thing you might not know. On the day Wang Su was arrested, they found Wang Tingyue in the dungeons of the Sikong Mansion."

’The dungeons?!’

’Wang Yansheng is vicious by nature. He always used his status as the legitimate heir to find new ways to torment him. To think he fell into Wang Yansheng’s hands just to help me escape... I can’t bear to imagine the torture he must have endured in those dungeons.’

Liang Wan’s heart felt as if it had been viciously wrung out. The pain made her want to squeeze her eyes shut, but she could only grit her teeth and endure it.

Seeing the reaction he expected, Lu Xiu narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. He enjoyed seeing her exercise such forbearance and restraint. Hidden within that delicate, slender body was a simmering rage, like an undercurrent surging beneath a calm surface.

’So contradictory, and yet so fitting.’ Lu Xiu’s lips curved slightly. "When you think about it, Chancellor Cao raiding the Sikong Mansion actually saved his life. Otherwise, I’m afraid he would have died in those dungeons!"

’Yes, wasn’t that the very reason I was so desperate for Chancellor Cao to make his move that day?’

Liang Wan’s expression remained neutral. "Whether he was saved or not is beside the point. His death was only a matter of a day sooner or later. Wang Su’s private minting is tantamount to treason, for which he and his entire family are to be publicly executed as a warning. Since he was already being tortured, it would have been better for him to die sooner and escape further suffering, rather than clinging to life for one more day."

Lu Xiu feigned surprise. "But he did help you escape, after all. How can you be so heartless?"

Liang Wan lifted her gaze to meet his, her voice cool. "Has My Lord forgotten? I placed my very life in your hands for the sole purpose of revenge. How could such a desperate person be capable of sentiment?"

"But things are different now. Your revenge is complete. Wang Su is dead!" He watched her with a faint smile, but it was like a cold wind on a rainy night, chilling her to the bone.

"My Lord forgets again. I’ve mentioned that I know a little about medicine. If that sword had gone an inch to the side, he would be dead for certain. As it is, he’s only unconscious from blood loss. His life is truly in the hands of fate now."

Liang Wan lowered her eyes. "But My Lord saw through it, didn’t you? Why else would you have ordered someone to check on him?"

Lu Xiu fell silent, his eyes crinkling as he scrutinized her.

Silence was an admission.

After watching her for a long moment, he let out a nearly inaudible chuckle. "Didn’t you say you were heartless? Why did you hold back?"

’Does he think I spared Wang Su because of Wang Tingyue?’

Liang Wan shook her head. "My Lord misunderstands. Since I have pledged myself to you as my master, my revenge is important, but your safety is just as important. The reason I didn’t kill him immediately was not for anyone else’s sake, but for yours."

Lu Xiu looked astonished. "For me?"

Liang Wan ignored the mockery in his eyes and spoke calmly. "There are some things I will not hide from you, My Lord. At the Peach Blossom Banquet, I agreed to help Liang Jiao because I predicted Wang Su would use the marriage proposal to make things difficult for my uncle. He is an exceptionally vengeful man. When I publicly curried your favor, I deeply humiliated him, so I knew he would seek an opportunity to shame me in return.

And the birthday banquet was the perfect opportunity! I heard that Cao Jun would be there to offer his birthday wishes. The Cao and Wang families have a history of conflict, but using the birthday celebration as a cover to secretly investigate Wang Su’s coin minting operation was not a very subtle plan."

’In my past life, this was how Cao Jun found the secret seal. Unfortunately, he never realized that Wang Su had seen through their intentions from the very beginning and was just playing along. The secret seal he obtained after so much trouble was a fake, and he was instead framed for entrapping a high-ranking official and plotting treason.’

Liang Wan continued, "To curry favor with Wang Su, Zhao Heng deliberately sabotaged my dance. I took advantage of the situation, using it as an opportunity to give Cao Jun a hint and to let him know I would deliver what he was looking for later."

Lu Xiu sat back down, his brow furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

Liang Wan smiled. "My Lord, didn’t you ask me why I gave the compelling evidence to the Cao Family instead of bringing it to the Lu Family?

My reason for not killing Wang Su is the same. I am unwilling to let the Lu Family walk into danger for my own selfish desires, which would in turn implicate you, My Lord.

Wang Su cannot escape the death penalty either way, so I can wait. But if I had truly killed him, how would you have explained it to His Majesty when you returned to the palace?"

’I can see it clearly,’ Liang Wan thought. ’He’s in his official robes, and it’s early in the morning. He must be here on the Emperor’s orders. There’s no other possibility.’

A barely perceptible smile touched Lu Xiu’s eyes as he watched her. "Is there more?"

"I also know that His Majesty ordered you here specifically to investigate because he harbors suspicions about the Cao Family. For that reason, I certainly couldn’t kill him. Otherwise, you, My Lord, would surely fall under His Majesty’s suspicion."

Lu Xiu laughed. "You are quite loyal to me."

Liang Wan’s eyelashes fluttered. "Of course. My Lord is my protector. More than anyone, I wish for your well-being!"

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