Chapter 69: Chapter 69: A Mind Hard to Guess

She wondered how a man destined to hold ultimate power over the world could claim to despise it most. This Lu Xiu had to be an imposter.

Liang Wan slowly lowered her head, her lips twitching into a wry smile as she stared at the silver-threaded peonies embroidered on the cloak. She was nothing more than a pet he had casually picked up in his free time. There was no trust between them to begin with, so it was only natural that he would keep the truth from her.

Defeated, Liang Wan lay back down and pulled the cloak over her head. Not only had she failed to get his promise, but she had also driven him away in anger. If a pack of jackals, wolves, Hus, or leopards were to come and drag her away now, wouldn’t it be her own fault for making her bed and having to lie in it? Muffled beneath the fabric, she sighed heavily. Why was getting into the palace so incredibly difficult?

Frustrated and restless, she yanked the cloak off her head—only to lock eyes with Lu Xiu, who was standing right in front of her. The sudden sight startled a low gasp out of her.

"Were you pretending it was me?" he asked.

Lu Xiu’s brows were relaxed and his gaze calm, yet his tone was like the waters of a heavenly lake in the dead of winter—chilling to the bone. Startled and confused, Liang Wan followed his line of sight. The cloak was tightly crumpled in her fists, mangled as if it were her mortal enemy and she needed to wring the life out of it to vent her anger. She hurriedly let go, smoothing out the fabric, and averted her eyes to the side. "It’s a bit dark in this cave. I was scared being all alone."

He wondered how a woman who dared to run alone through the mountains on a rainy night could claim to be afraid of the dark.

Liang Wan struggled to sit up and cast him a guilty look. "Why have you returned, My Lord?"

Her expression did not escape him. Lu Xiu pressed his thin lips together, deciding not to expose her lie. Instead, he gave a soft scoff. "Did you think I stormed off in a fit of pique?"

Only then did Liang Wan look up at his face. She thought that it wouldn’t have been entirely impossible for him to genuinely abandon her alone in this cave. Still, she lowered her eyelashes and denied it. "Of course not, My Lord."

It was a classic case of her words not matching her heart. Lu Xiu cast her a cool glance, completely unsurprised. His gaze swept over her and paused on her pale lips, which were already peeling from dryness.

THUD. A waterskin dropped by her hand. Liang Wan flinched, and when she looked up again, he had already returned to his seat on the large boulder, leaning back to rest with a trace of exhaustion between his brows.

As she sat there in a daze, his cold voice cut through the silence. "The bridge over the Yin River has been washed away. We can only wait for the rain to stop tomorrow before figuring out a way across. I came out in a hurry without bringing extra men, so I’m afraid we will have to stay here for another day."

Liang Wan looked down at the waterskin by her hand, then raised her eyes to the man with his fox-like eyes half-closed. Her mind felt entirely muddled. "My Lord, why did you save me?"

The question that had been consuming her slipped out uncontrollably, as if she were possessed. The moment his sharp gaze darted toward her, she knew she had spoken out of turn.

To her surprise, he let out a soft chuckle. "Weren’t you the one who kept pestering me, offering your life to repay my favor? Wouldn’t it be terribly dull if you just died like this?"

Liang Wan lowered her head. "Then when would you ever choose to leave someone to die?"

Lu Xiu scoffed lightly. "What does the life or death of others have to do with me?"

This callous and ruthless demeanor—this was the true Lu Xiu.

Liang Wan picked up the waterskin and took large, greedy gulps. She had indeed been parched. By the time she set it down, Lu Xiu appeared to have fallen asleep. Her gaze swept over his pearl-white brocade robe. In both of her lifetimes, this was the very first time she had ever seen a single muddy stain on his normally immaculate self. It was a true rarity.

With the sudden release of tension, Liang Wan’s entire body ached as if her bones had been dismantled. She slowly lay back down, staring up at the pitch-black ceiling of the cave.

"Were you trying to elope with someone that day?"

Just as she was drifting off into a hazy sleep, Lu Xiu’s eerie, cold voice broke the silence. Liang Wan’s heart skipped a beat, her drowsiness instantly vanishing. She knew he was referring to the day she killed Zhang Shi. If even Wang Su could find out the underlying reasons, how could Lu Xiu not know? The fact that he had never asked didn’t mean he was in the dark.

For a moment, the cave fell deathly silent. Only the CRACKLE of burning firewood could be heard, and the warm glow made the cold, gloomy cavern feel slightly less terrifying.

Lu Xiu turned his head to look at her disheveled state—her hair in disarray, her skin marred by purple and blue bruises. He closed his eyes again. What did it matter whether she was or wasn’t?

"It wasn’t an elopement," she finally answered.

Lu Xiu remained silent.

Liang Wan continued, "I met Cui Hao by chance. I felt he wasn’t like the typical idle playboys from wealthy families; he had his own grand ambitions. Unfortunately, he was wallowing in obscurity due to his poor background, which made me feel pity for him.

"When he learned that my family planned to send me off as a concubine to curry favor with Wang Su, he offered to help me escape. I never expected that his apparent kindness masked malicious intentions. If I hadn’t woken up halfway through and killed Zhang Shi...

"There is no illicit romance between him and me—only a bitter blood feud where we cannot share the same sky."

Lu Xiu opened his eyes. The hatred burning in her gaze was even fiercer than the roaring flames behind her.

"To be honest with you, My Lord, the Liang Mansion is not a place I can stay for long. I want to enter the palace not just for revenge, but also to seek a place where I truly belong."

These words weren’t entirely false either. She thought that if she had known then what she knew now, she would never have made those past mistakes.

A faint smile touched his lips, and the slight upward tilt of his eyes carried a cool, mocking edge. "Do as you wish."

The firelight only illuminated half of his face, and Liang Wan stared at him in a daze. Lu Xiu’s smile had already faded, replaced by a sudden sense of boredom. His eldest brother had been right; he had indeed spent far too much unnecessary time and effort on this trivial matter lately.

"The day of the Beginning of Autumn marks the Emperor’s Birthday Festival," he said. "When the time comes, I will recommend you for the palace."

Liang Wan’s face lit up with joy, and she hurriedly replied, "Thank you for granting my request, My Lord."

The Grain in Ear solar term had already passed, meaning there were only about two months left until the Beginning of Autumn. With this deadline set, there were quite a few things she needed to plan in advance—such as the Liang family, and Qiuxi...

Amidst her elation, a touch of melancholy inevitably crept into her heart. She lifted her heavy eyelids to look toward the large boulder, only to find that Lu Xiu had already turned his back to her and fallen asleep. She wondered why he had agreed so suddenly.

She didn’t know how long she slept. By the time she woke up again, it was bright outside the cave. Lu Xiu was nowhere to be found, and only cold, grey ashes remained of the fire beside her.

Liang Wan struggled to sit up from the ground. Her stomach was empty, and with the fire completely extinguished, she felt miserably cold and hungry. Pulling the cloak tightly around herself, she endured the pain and took small, slow steps toward the cave entrance.

Hit by the sudden bright light, Liang Wan couldn’t help but squint. Peering through the gaps between her fingers, she saw four or five men chopping down trees by the river in the distance. However, it looked less like proper logging and more like hacking away with swords. Lu Xiu was standing behind them. She figured they were preparing to rebuild the bridge.

Liang Wan found a dead branch near the cave entrance and, using it as a makeshift walking stick, slowly made her way forward. Hearing the rustling sound, Lu Xiu turned his head to look at her.

"Why are you up?"

When he had found her by the river last night, her face had been pale to the point of a sickly blue. The wound on her shoulder had soaked her clothes red, her left arm had been dislocated, and her right leg bore a deep gash from a jagged rock. Had it not been for the faint glimmer of life still flickering in her eyes, he would have thought he’d stumbled upon a drowned corpse.

He had seen exactly how severe her injuries were while treating them. If it had been anyone else, they would have been bedridden for days before even managing to sit up. Yet here she was, hobbling over with nothing but a broken branch for support.

Lu Xiu glanced at her parched lips and furrowed his brow. "You still have a fever. We don’t need your help here."

Liang Wan looked at him. If an ordinary person had said that, it would likely stem from concern, but delivered in his stiff, icy tone, it sounded exactly like a harsh reprimand.

Seeing her stand still, Lu Xiu grew slightly impatient. "Are you going back or not?"

Liang Wan’s lips parted. "I’m hungry."

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