Chapter 71: Confrontation
Li Yu put on a slight smile and said, "You kept it." She reached over to grab it, but he dodged, leaving her at a loss.
"It never belonged to you... You lied. For years, you lied to me, taking credit for something you never did, and I was dumb enough to believe it," he said with a look on his face like he was looking at the scourge of the earth.
When Yu Wen was good to someone, he would put his heart into it, but if he hated someone, he would despise them with every fiber of his being. This was what stopped him from seeing past his hatred for Li Jun and from seeing the evil in Li Yu.
"You knew that it was Li Jun’s pendant. As a matter of fact, you saw him pull me out of the temple and lay in wait for the perfect opportunity to take credit. All those years, I was good to you and felt like I owed you my life. You watched me hate Li Jun, the person whom I should have been grateful to. You watched with so much glee and added fuel to the flame. How dark is your heart, Li Yu?"
He felt so stupid. All these years, he was led by the nose by this vile woman. He was always a straightforward person who rarely let anyone close to him. And the one time he did, this was what happened. How could he not be angry at himself? His rage twisted with shame. He could only curse himself for being so fucking naïve.
"To think I was thinking of marrying you," he said with a self-deprecating smile. He sneered in disgust and turned to walk away. Li Yu, seeing him walk away, couldn’t accept it. She wouldn’t let him turn his back on her. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.
She grabbed his arm and, with a look of desperation in her eyes, she said, "No, don’t go. We can still get married. We can still be happy together. I promise I will treat you well. I will even give up my title for you. Wen-ge, please, please don’t leave me. I love you." She was willing to give up everything for him.
She felt a raw mix of fear of abandonment, longing for his love, and panic at losing control, all spilling out in her frantic promises. Beneath it, there was also a sense of fragile hope, clashing against the looming devastation of being rejected, which made her words ache with vulnerability. But Yu Wen wasn’t moved. He pulled his arm away and continued to walk away.
Seeing that no amount of pleading would work, her expression shifted. She clenched and unclenched her jaw, her gaze turning fierce. "What is the point in thinking about a dead man?"
Yu Wen’s steps paused, the air around him sinister. Li Yu curled the corner of her lips. Her attitude changed from the desperate, pathetic woman to a vile and evil fiend like she had finally shed her skin.
She wiped away her tears and continued to say, "You only slept with him once and couldn’t forget him. Maybe if you give me a try, you will see that there is nothing special about him."
She walked around him and met his gaze. The look in her eyes was unsettling, but Yu Wen wasn’t shaken. He just looked at her like he was looking at a stranger. She pulled down the straps of her dress, exposing her collarbone and cleavage. "He only had one. I have two holes that you can do as you please. Just give me a try."
With a look of utter disdain, Yu Wen said, "Don’t flatter yourself." After saying that, he walked away, and this time Li Yu didn’t stop him. Her ego was bruised, but she had picked up a few things from her mother. If her tears and pitiful appearance couldn’t get her what she wanted, then she would have to use other means.
Didn’t her mother get her desired outcome? All she had to do was get rid of the competition. Once that bitch was gone, all she had to do was pull the strings from behind, and she got married to Li Mingze. Not only that, but she was now sitting in the highest seat and had all the power.
Li Yu knew she wasn’t as smart and patient as her mother, but she could learn something from her. She was determined to marry Yu Wen, no matter what. She didn’t care about the method as long as she got the result she wanted. She pulled up the straps of her dress and smiled slightly.
***
Meanwhile, Yu Wen walked down the hall, his destination obvious. He was heading straight to the imperial prison. As soon as he stepped through the reinforced doors, he was met with hostility. The imperial guards were holding a grudge after what happened last time.
He knew why they were so hostile towards him, and he was willing to do it all over again if they dared to stop him. The imperial guard called the Imperial commander the second he saw him.
"What brings you here, general?" one of the imperial guards asked.
Yu Wen met his gaze and said, "Haven’t you already called your commander? I will only speak to him." He didn’t have to wait long because Luca showed up two minutes later. Luca’s bruises had healed, but there were still faint traces.
Luca clenched his jaw before saying, "To what do I owe this pleasure? It can’t be to see his imperial highness... You were there. You know what happened."
Yu Wen suspected that Luca knew Li Jun’s plan and that he was in on it. Now looking at him, it confirmed all his suspicions. "The man who killed him. I want to speak to him," he said.
"To speak to him, you would need the Imperial Queen’s permission. General, you know that," Luca replied, itching for a second round. This time, he would beat Yu Wen black and blue and send the pictures to his highness. Too bad his plan was bound to fail.
The imperial guard standing next to the commander chimed in, saying, "Besides, he is dead. If you want, you can speak to his corpse."
Luca, "..."
