Chapter 151: Chapter 151: "Use and Discard?
Ming Lingyi raised an eyebrow in surprise. Of course, she could hear the dissatisfaction in Li Yun’s voice, but she honestly had no idea what she’d said to upset him.
"What do you mean, ’use me and toss me aside’?" Ming Lingyi asked. "Weren’t you the one who insisted on getting involved?"
She wasn’t taking the blame for this.
She certainly hadn’t invited Li Yun to be a judge. The man was clingy like taffy, sticking to her on his own, the kind you couldn’t shake off no matter how hard you tried.
Li Yun: "..."
He’d expected Ming Lingyi to offer some sort of explanation, but who knew she’d just pass the buck so decisively? Li Yun felt the ache in his chest intensify.
He gritted his teeth, a sour feeling rising in his throat. Still, he couldn’t convince himself to just get up and storm out.
’If he really left, wouldn’t that just give Jiang Yuchuan the perfect opportunity to swoop in?’
’He refused to do something so stupid.’
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Li Yun forced himself to suppress his frustration. He looked at Ming Lingyi and asked, "About the Wangxian Building incident, are you not planning to pursue it?"
Before Ming Lingyi could answer, Li Yun pressed on, "Earlier, you stopped Gongsun Liangce from questioning them further. Were you worried about implicating the Xie family and putting Jiang Yuchuan in an awkward position?"
As he asked these questions, Li Yun felt as if several mountains had suddenly crashed down upon his heart, the weight so heavy he could barely breathe.
But even so, his eyes remained locked on Ming Lingyi, unwilling to miss the slightest flicker of emotion on her face.
A look of disbelief spread across Ming Lingyi’s face as she listened to Li Yun.
"Why wouldn’t I go after Wangxian Building? Do you think I opened this restaurant so that anyone can just walk all over me whenever they please?"
She was no clay Bodhisattva, kind enough to forgive everyone who crossed her.
’She didn’t come back for a second life just to let others make her miserable.’
"And what does me going after the people behind Wangxian Building have to do with Jiang Yuchuan?"
As she spoke, it suddenly dawned on her. She leaned in. "Li Yun, what ridiculous thing are you jealous of this time?"
’So that’s why he was being so passive-aggressive just now? All because of this?’
Ming Lingyi found it both incredible and a little funny.
Li Yun cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable. "Jealous? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just worried you’ll forget what you want and compromise for some man’s sake."
Ming Lingyi didn’t say whether she believed his explanation, but the faint, knowing smile in her eyes as she looked at him said it all.
Perhaps her look made him flush with embarrassed anger, because Li Yun was the first to break eye contact. "So, what are you going to do next?" he asked, looking away.
"The ruffians who were planted in the crowd today have already implicated Wangxian Building," Ming Lingyi said. "It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Black Armor Guards to find out who their contact was, right?"
Li Yun: "..."
"Since the boss behind Wangxian Building is the Xie family—and that’s a fact—it shouldn’t be hard for the Black Armor Guards to investigate and prove it," Ming Lingyi continued.
’She had no intention of relying on anyone, but this was a matter for the government to solve anyway. She just figured the Jingzhao Mansion wasn’t as competent as the Black Armor Guards. Why not take the faster route?’
Her gaze made her intentions clear. Of course, the next step was to have Li Yun’s men oversee the handling of Wangxian Building and the Xie family.
Li Yun chuckled. "You’re quite good at ordering people around."
Ming Lingyi: "I’m also doing this for the sake of your reputation."
Li Yun: "?"
’How is this for my sake?’
"You were the one who announced you’d shut down Wangxian Building in front of so many people in Shangjing City. Wasn’t that a signal that you intended to conduct a thorough investigation? If the Jingzhao Mansion drags its feet, or if the Xie family steps in and obstructs them, it will delay the case. If it can’t be closed, won’t it just prove the Jingzhao Mansion is incompetent and doesn’t take the Emperor’s words seriously? Isn’t that a direct challenge to your authority as Emperor? If the Black Armor Guards get involved, I doubt the Xie family has what it takes to threaten them. And with the Black Armor Guards assisting, the Jingzhao Mansion is bound to be much more efficient."
Ming Lingyi certainly had a whole string of arguments at the ready.
’It sounded reasonable enough, but upon closer inspection, it was all just twisted logic.’
’Since when did the Black Armor Guards assist the Jingzhao Mansion with their cases?’
Li Yun: "..."
’But even if it was twisted logic, he’d accept it.’
’He couldn’t just stand by and let any random riffraff bully his woman.’
"You’ll have your result in three days," Li Yun said.
After he spoke, his gaze fell on Ming Lingyi’s face, deep and searching. "When the time comes, you really won’t have any regrets?"
’Jiang Yuchuan came to help Ming’s Restaurant today. But then Wangxian Building will be shut down, and the Xie family will suffer the consequences along with it. Jiang Yuchuan’s relationship with the Xie family is far from shallow. If she does this, isn’t she worried he’ll hold it against her?’
Ming Lingyi froze for a moment.
It wasn’t that Li Yun’s words were giving her second thoughts. It was just that his mention of Jiang Yuchuan suddenly reminded her of how he’d looked when he left earlier.
Jiang Yuchuan had looked so distraught that it would have been hard for Ming Lingyi not to notice.
’Thinking back, his mood seemed to have soured right after Li Yun appeared.’
’And last night...’
Ming Lingyi was not an unobservant person. She had a keen sense for the emotional shifts in others.
’Based on her understanding of him, Jiang Yuchuan had probably realized her relationship with Li Yun wasn’t so simple.’
Ming Lingyi pursed her lips slightly.
"Having regrets?"
Just then, Li Yun’s voice sounded in her ear again.
But this time, the repeated question sounded even colder and more somber than the first.
Just like Li Yun himself at that moment.
Ming Lingyi: "...What would I regret?"
She pushed aside the jumble of thoughts in her mind, her gaze sweeping across the restaurant.
Wu Zhao Yi and the others had already cleaned the restaurant until it was spotless. Now, besides her and Li Yun, only neatly arranged tables and chairs remained.
’This was the sanctuary she had poured her heart and soul into building. It wasn’t just for her; it was a home for many people in the back courtyard. She couldn’t let anyone destroy it. No one.’
"Seeing you like that, I thought you were having second thoughts. But..." Li Yun’s tone suddenly lightened, and he sounded almost gleeful. "If the Xie family is really taken down, Jiang Yuchuan won’t get off easy, either. Even though his surname is Jiang, the Xie family thinks very highly of him. And since he came to support you today, well..."
Li Yun didn’t finish his sentence, but he was confident that someone as smart as Ming Lingyi would understand his meaning.
’The Xie family are Jiang Yuchuan’s only remaining relatives in Shangjing City. Could they really accept Ming Lingyi, the woman who caused them such a huge loss, as the matriarch of the Jiang family?’
’At that point, even if Jiang Yuchuan insisted, the future of their relationship would be uncertain, to say the least.’
At this thought, Li Yun couldn’t stop a smug, rather punchable-looking grin from spreading across his face.
