The banquet was not even halfway through when Murong Yu quietly slipped away from the back. Li Mingwei noticed it, frowned slightly, and waited for a moment, then someone bowed and approached her, greeting her respectfully, as if he would keep kneeling if she did not rise.
Li Mingwei hesitated for a moment, did not let Ah Xiu follow, and walked out. Ya Yin immediately searched for Liu Yizhu's figure and saw him also get up and go out, causing her to feel anxious - she really wanted to follow him, but what should she do?
Damn Murong Yu, couldn't he have waited until the end of the banquet to say whatever he wanted to say? Why did he have to choose this time, making it clear that he was opposing her.
A maid from Prince Jian's residence led Li Mingwei all the way to the lakeside. When they arrived, she stopped and bowed: "Princess, the Prince is waiting for you in the pavilion."
Li Mingwei spoke flatly: "You addressed the wrong person."
The maid paused, then bowed again: "My apologies..."
"That's enough." Li Mingwei did not want to hear her speak, and walked towards the pavilion, leaving her behind.
Murong Yu stood by the lake, and as soon as he heard the footsteps, he turned around and stepped forward: "Weiwei~"
Li Mingwei did not respond to him, but only greeted him: "Greetings, Prince Jian."
"Weiwei, even though we have divorced, you don't have to be so distant from me," Murong Yu said with a slightly bitter smile, as if he was very sad. He spoke softly, "In my heart, you and I have never..."
"Prince Jian, be careful with your words!" Li Mingwei interrupted him sternly. "Do you have any objections to the will of the Previous Emperor?"
"I..." Murong Yu dared not be unfilial, so he could only comply helplessly, "No."
"Prince Jian, please say what you need to say quickly. I am now a married woman, and it is improper for me to have a private conversation with you. If someone sees us, there will be more unfounded criticism."
"You're married?"
Li Mingwei nodded slightly, meeting his doubtful gaze. "Perhaps Prince Jian can address me as Lady Liu."
Murong Yu took a step back, his brows furrowed, then suddenly smiled: "Liu Yizhu?"
He just said, no wonder he felt some hostility towards him the first time they met, even though they were strangers.
"Do you have a child together?"
"Yes."
Murong Yu turned his back and walked to the pavilion, looking out at the green mountains across the water, and slowly said, "So, you were able to have a child after leaving the Prince's residence."
"Not long after you left, I realized something was wrong. The cook who was responsible for your meals resigned and returned to her hometown, and then suddenly died. I had my people investigate, but they found nothing."
He had his suspicions, but knew there were people watching him, so he did not dare to investigate too openly. He just quietly had his subordinates check, but they got nothing.
Now there was no need to investigate further, if it was kept so secret, he knew exactly who was behind it.
Li Mingwei impatiently said, "So?"
"Don't you resent him? He harmed you..."
"What's the use of resenting it?" Li Mingwei found it somewhat amusing. "What can I do?"
To announce this to the world, saying that the Emperor had someone frame her and drug her food so she could not have children - did she have any evidence? Even if she did, the person was the most powerful in the land, who could stand up for her?
Murong Yu furrowed his brows, and after a long pause, said, "We can..."
"We?" Li Mingwei snorted coldly. "Who is 'we'? You are you, I am me. He might have done something to me, but you are no better, going around getting other women pregnant behind my back, and now coming back to put on an act with me, and now you say 'we'?"
"Weiwei, about that matter..."
"Don't call me that, and don't explain. I saw it with my own eyes, no matter how you try to make excuses, it's useless."
Li Mingwei was tired of arguing with him, and said exasperatedly, "Murong Yu, wake up. Even now, you still don't understand the situation, and you think you still have a few people supporting you. Do you really think you can win?"
"If you want to die, don't drag the Li family into it. We are not going to be your cannon fodder."
The things the Emperor did, she was not angry about it, her family was not angry about it either, but they could only suppress it, because they knew they could not defeat him.
Moreover, she now had a son and a daughter, she could not possibly take such a risky action, let alone to help Murong Yu, who was no better than the Emperor.
Murong Yu clenched his fists, knowing that what she said was true, but he still felt resentful. Even until now, he still did not understand why his father the Emperor had ultimately chosen that person, when he had always entrusted him with important tasks.
After more than a decade of knowing each other and three years of living together, Li Mingwei understood him well, and did not say anything more, turning and leaving.
"Weiwei~"
"Prince Jian!" Li Mingwei stopped, turned around and looked at him unhappily for a long time, and when he lowered his eyes, she bowed and said, "Mingwei takes her leave."
Murong Yu did not speak again, and she did not linger either, quickening her pace back. It was already this late, and she was just wondering if Ah Xiu's dance had started yet. She had spent so much money, it would be a shame if she missed it.
As she approached the banquet hall, she heard the distant drumbeats slowly fading, and soon other music started playing. That's it, it's over.
Her money was wasted, and she didn't know if Ya Yin would let Ah Xiu perform for her again, considering their long acquaintance.
Ah!
Ah Xiu was right, meeting a disaster star on the way, it's not auspicious at all.
Liu Yizhu removed her hand from her chest, his face gloomy. "What's with that look?"
"You're out too!"
Oh no, now Li Mingwei felt even more sorry for him. He didn't get to see it either, and it ended up benefiting Ah Xiu.
"Shouldn't I be out?" Liu Yizhu pinched her face. They walked out one after the other, not knowing where they were going, but he had to come out to check, in case his wife ran off.
She had left first, and he had followed right away, but still couldn't catch up. He looked around, but there was no one in sight, so he could only wait here.
He said angrily, "What were you two talking about for so long? Did you have that much to say to him?"
Li Mingwei felt bad for him, and pried his hand off. She didn't want to talk to him.
Seeing her remain silent, Liu Yizhu gritted his teeth and turned to leave, no longer wanting to talk to her.
Li Mingwei was stunned for a moment, then hurried to grab him. "Are you really angry?"
"It's nothing, just some old matters that you don't know about. But now I have a child, so I've put that aside, no need to bring it up again."
"Dear~"
"You walked too fast, I couldn't keep up~"
"Where are you going? Let's just go home. Since we missed the dance, we can go see the other performances. Ya Yin's dancers are probably all good."
"You!" Liu Yizhu could hardly believe it, he was in this mood, and she was still thinking about those dancers.
Li Mingwei knew this would get a reaction from him. She hugged his waist and looked up at him. "Really, I just told him he can call me Lady Liu."
Liu Yizhu snorted, but his expression softened a bit.
"Dear~"
"I won't go see the dancers anymore, I'll just look at you."
"Do you think I'll believe you!" Liu Yizhu's temper flared up again. "Just now, you were sitting up there, staring at those dancing girls, your face lit up with smiles. Did you even look at me once?"
"Ah?"
Li Mingwei felt a bit embarrassed. Had she really been that obvious? She knew he was watching from below, so she had tried to restrain herself a little, but apparently it was not enough.
