In the silent night, the man’s tearful voice sounded distinctly clear yet forlorn.
Ling Lihua stared at the top of the bed netting, a vacant look in her eyes.
She could not help feeling a dull ache in her heart.
Lu Hetian had always been a dependable and strong-minded man, but now…
She lifted a finger and wiped away the wetness on her neck. At this moment, as she looked at the droplets on her fingertips, she could not bring herself to push the man away from her, no matter how cold-hearted she was.
In the end, she sighed but did not respond to his words. She patted him on the back and said softly, “Go to sleep. You still have to get up early tomorrow.”
Lu Hetian finally quieted down and drifted off to sleep with her in his arms.
However, Lihua was still wide awake.
After confirming that the man was asleep, she wriggled and shifted his body away from her.
She sat up and gazed at the sleeping man next to her, her eyes clouding over with mixed emotions.
She had once loved this man deeply, and he doted on her as well. That was until he betrayed her.
If she loved him a certain amount back then, she hated him the same amount afterward.
When that incident happened, she could not believe that a man who loved her so much would do something so unforgivable.
However, when Madam Zheng took out the pair of underwear she had sewn for him, the resolution in her heart crumbled away instantly.
If he had not been in Madam Zheng’s bed, how could she have gotten the underwear he was wearing? Furthermore, there were sickening drops of virgin blood on the undergarments.
At that moment, her heart froze up, and all she had left was hatred for this man.
A man having multiple wives and concubines may seem normal in the eyes of others, but she could not accept it.
She had only agreed to marry Lu Hetian because she thought that she understood this man well enough. She believed that he would never betray her and also knew that he was not an unfaithful person.
However, reality had given her a nice, hard slap in the face. It awakened her and dispelled all her ardent yearning for a blissful love life.
All men in the world were the same, after all.
It was just that there had been no opportunity for him to be unfaithful before.
If such an opportunity ever arose, men would always take advantage of it.
She thought that Lu Hetian was different, but the truth was, he was just like other men.
Memories of the past gnawed at her heart, and a teardrop slid down her cheek. She lifted a hand to wipe it away, and when she looked at Lu Hetian again, the coldness had returned to her eyes.
She drew the covers over him as she got up, then left the house.
…
The palace.
The first faint streaks of dawn had just appeared in the sky, but Lu Liangwei had already risen, washed up, and gotten dressed.
She headed to the imperial study with Chu Jiu in tow.
Long Yang had slept in the imperial study last night, and he had already begun his discussion of court affairs with several officials early in the morning.
When he came out of the room, he was stunned to see Lu Liangwei standing there.
His heart twinged, especially at the sight of the dewdrops on her hair.
How long had the girl been here?
He shot Zhao Qian a glare.
Sensing the Emperor’s deathly stare, Zhao Qian shuddered and immediately tried to compose himself.
“Master, I…” His face was full of distress. He did not know that the Empress had arrived either; he had been waiting on the Emperor in the imperial study all this while.
Thinking, he cast a sharp look at the junior eunuch on duty nearby.
“You, underling, why didn’t you inform us that Her Highness had arrived?”
The junior eunuch jumped in fright and hurriedly fell to his knees. “I…”
“Don’t blame him, Butler Zhao. I didn’t want to disturb His Majesty, so I specifically told him not to say anything,” Lu Liangwei explained in a clear voice. Spotting Long Chi and a few court officials behind Long Yang, she immediately stepped forward and curtsied. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”