♂?，，

  Lu's gaze returned from the empty canopy, with a hint of pity and guilt, but faintly, one could hear a hint of regret and pride in her slightly raised voice. She sighed softly, "The emperor's benevolence and authority were both employed, and as the father of the marquis, he made great efforts to win over and promise that young and powerful minister, who finally agreed to marry her as his wife. Probably because she didn't have much time left, he was also very considerate towards his wife, treating her with tenderness and care, and sparing no expense in using precious medicine to prolong her life.

  She paused slightly, then continued, "To outsiders, it seems that the young lord's feelings for that girl are deep and sincere. Although she is unable to bear children, he has never brought another woman back home. In the entire Han manor, there is only her, no concubines or other women. Such devotion, looking at the entire Zhou dynasty, when has there ever been a man so single-minded?"

  That's true.

  In the Zhou Dynasty, officials and nobles, who didn't have three wives and four concubines, with attendants on both sides? Not to mention those in high positions like Han Xiu, even if they were young masters without any achievements or titles to inherit, self-proclaimed refined scholars and literati with elegant demeanor, or even merchants with a few pieces of silver in the market, would still take two concubines as wives to add to their family's prestige.

  Han Xiufu had no concubines and was never known to have visited the brothels on Huajie Street.

  Lu closed her eyes, shook her head gently, "Anyone would be delighted to receive the tenderness of their heart's desire, but as time passed, that girl knew in her heart that those loving performances were all fake. He performed for the Emperor, for the Duke, for her, for everyone in the mansion, and for the whole world to see, just to gain the Emperor's trust and the Duke's promise."

  She suddenly opened her eyes, staring tightly at Ming Xuan, with an extremely sorrowful expression on her face. "He had never put her in his heart, and he had never let go of his former fiancée. In order to be able to see the residence of his fiancée from afar, he specially built a Star-Gazing Pavilion in the mansion, just to hope that he could occasionally catch a glimpse of her figure. As soon as he returned to the mansion, he would live and eat on the small building; even their new house was built according to the style of his fiancée's residence, with every brick and tile, every blade of grass and tree, and even the orientation of the rooms were exactly the same.

  "If that girl were foolish, she wouldn't know how good these things are. She could immerse herself in her dreams forever. But she's not foolish at all, and knows everything, the more she knows, the more painful it is."

  Ming Xuan only felt a sudden jolt in her heart. A string was tightly plucked on her heart, causing some strange and intense emotions to surge up in her chest. She knew that Lu's words might have touched the hidden nerves deep within her, where the past Ming Xuan still held onto those feelings, having loved so deeply and also suffered so much. At this moment, when the truth was revealed, she found it hard not to be moved.

  But she was no longer the past, although her heartstrings were moved, and some were stabbed. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress those emotions that didn't belong to her. She paused for a moment and asked, "Does the melon that is forced to ripen taste sweet? Did that girl ever regret it later?"

  Lu smiled wryly and shook her head, "Being with him was the girl's long-cherished wish, regardless of whether he was sincere or not. She eventually became his lawfully wedded wife, no matter what kind of person he had hidden in his heart. She was the only woman who could stand by his side and walk shoulder to shoulder with him. For a woman whose life was short-lived, this was already her greatest happiness, even if this happiness was somewhat distant from her imagination. But that was still her own choice, so she didn't regret it, nor could she regret it."

  She raised her head, looking at Ming Xuan seriously. "If his fiancée knew about these things, would she change her impression of him? If she originally hated him, after hearing these things, could she also forgive him?"

  Ming Xuan shook her head, "If I were his fiancée, these reasons wouldn't affect my judgment of him. As for cause and effect, I only know what the result is, as for why there's a result, that's not important."

  "Lu pressed on, 'What if I told you that he married that girl just as a transaction, and after a few years when she dies, he will find a way to remarry his former fiancée back into the manor. In order not to make things difficult for his future fiancée, he even... has never touched his wife... not giving her any hope of having children.'"

  Her eyes were filled with pain, yet she stubbornly wanted an answer. "Such a devoted and passionate man, if the young mistress of the Pei family was his fiancée, wouldn't she be willing to give him another chance?"

  Ming Xuan burst out laughing, "Mrs. Han, you are indeed a kind-hearted woman, but I don't think so."

  Her eyes suddenly turned cold, and she said in a low voice, "That man eventually agreed to marry the princess, saying that he was coerced, not tempted by benefits. He abandoned his feelings for his fiancée for the sake of gain, which is a betrayal of his fiancée. He married his wife but still thought about other women, and for his own selfish desires, he pretended to be loyal to deceive the emperor and the marquis, which is disloyal and unfilial. He gained a good reputation for himself, but let his wife bear the evil name of being unable to give birth and being jealous, which is unjust."

  Such a heartless and unfaithful man who is disloyal to his fiancée, if I were the fiancée, I would never have anything to do with him again.

  Give up something, then you will get something.

  To gain something, you have to give up something else, but after gaining it, you miss what you gave up and want both. Is there such a beautiful thing in this world? Even if you had the golden finger of rebirth with all the advantages and everything under control, it's impossible to have both fish and bear's paw at the same time. Moreover, human hearts are the most unpredictable, no one can be so greedy.

  If the real Ming Xuan were still around and heard Han Xi's reason for abandoning her back then, she would probably be even more disappointed.

  Lu's eyes were dazed for a long time, her face showing a tired and bewildered expression. She shook her head and said in a low voice, "I invited you today, not just because I wanted to see you, but also because of him... my own body, I'm the clearest about it, my life is coming to an end, just a matter of these few days. I thought that if I died, I could fulfill his wish for the past few years, but unexpectedly, it's turned out to be this kind of thinking..."

  "Mrs. Han, you're laughing," Ming Xuan interrupted her. "Pei Gu Shi is a married woman with a husband, and Mrs. Han thinks this way, not only insulting me and the Yongning Hou Fu, but also putting my husband's and the Zhen Guo Gong Fu's face in what place? You are physically heavy and miss General Han, so you have some nonsense. If you still want to continue speaking, then please excuse me for being unreasonable, I need to take leave first, my husband is waiting for me in the mansion, I'm afraid he'll be anxious. And Mrs. Han, you've said a lot today, you must be tired too, please rest."

  She stood up, unwilling to stay, and shouted loudly, "Mrs. Han wants to rest, please ask the sisters outside to come in and serve."

  This is Madame Han's bedroom, Madame Han is seriously ill, those maids and servant girls will not be far away. Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, a sound of pushing doors and lifting curtains was heard, and Nian Yiyang quickly led several servant girls in.

  Lu's face showed a hint of surprise, which turned into a faint smile. She nodded and waved her hand lightly, saying, "In that case, Nian, please escort Madame Pei out."

  She gazed at the back of Ming Huan, who left without hesitation, and didn't know whether to feel happy or sad. After a long time, she let out a long sigh, "I did it wrong again."

  The grudges of the past have long since dissipated, and the innocent victims have all let go. What is there for this dying person who has taken someone's husband to hold onto? As Ming Xuan said, after all, it was Han Xiuying's choice, and she didn't send anyone to put a knife to his throat. Since he chose this path, he should take responsibility for it. Now that he's suffering, it's just the price he has to pay - very fair indeed.

  As she thought about it, the huge stone that had been pressing on Lu's heart and making her breathless suddenly vanished into thin air. She let out a sigh of relief and suddenly burst out laughing, louder and louder, until tears streamed down her face.

  The old lady returned from seeing off the guest and was startled to see her mistress smiling like that. She hastily asked, "Milady, what's wrong? What's going on? Please don't scare me, milady! If something has happened to you, how am I supposed to explain it to the master and the young lord?"

  She was a nanny who came from the Cheng'en Marquis's estate as an accompanying servant, her whole life's honor and shame tied to the Lu family. Seeing Madam Lu like this, unable to cry or laugh, she was so anxious that her heart felt like it was going to jump out.

  Lu stopped and said to Nian's nurse, "Get the wedding dress from the cabinet for me."

  On the eighth day of the first month, the weather was bitterly cold and the ground was frozen. Outside, the snow had not yet melted, and even with several braziers lit in the tightly closed house, it still felt slightly chilly. However, Lu Shi struggled to get out of bed, insisting on wearing her wedding dress.

  The old lady knew that this was probably a case of "returning light", so she had no choice but to agree with her. On one hand, she hastily sent someone to inform the Cheng'en Marquis's residence, on the other hand, she went to invite the imperial physician to come over, and at the same time, she ordered someone to help her take out the bright red phoenix-embroidered wedding dress that she wore on her wedding day, piece by piece, and put it on. Then, she asked Lu Shi to sit in front of a copper mirror, and used thick and heavy new bride makeup to cover up her pale yellow face, drew her eyebrows with eyeliner, applied bean-sized lip rouge and bright red lip gloss.

  Lu shook her head slightly in front of the blurry copper mirror, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied, and said, "I'm only one year older than Madame Pei, but I look like her elder..."

  The old lady hurriedly wiped away her tears and said, "Nonsense! Our mistress is elegant and beautiful, even the Emperor himself has said that you look exactly like Empress Duansheng. Empress Duansheng is a paragon of virtue, what kind of noble person is she? How can she be compared to someone as ordinary as Madam Pei?"

  Duanqing Empress Dowager is the birth mother of the current emperor and also the paternal aunt of Lu Shi. Lu Shi resembles this aunt in appearance, which is why she was exceptionally appointed as a princess. However, when Duanqing Empress Dowager was alive, she was only a palace maid, and it wasn't until after her death that her son became emperor and she was posthumously honored as empress dowager. They say she was a model mother to the world, they say she was noble, but in reality, it's just a flattering phrase used by the elderly ladies-in-waiting. Yet, Lu Shi finds it quite pleasing to hear at this moment.

  She smiled faintly and said, "Put the golden crown on me instead."

  The old lady smiled and said, "You look really good, madam."

  "Will you like me this way when you see me, sir?"

  The old lady felt a sour taste in her throat, and she was so choked that she could hardly speak, so she nodded vigorously, "The master will definitely like it, he will definitely..."

  She had hardly finished speaking when Lu's body suddenly went limp and fell onto the dressing table.

  Madam Han, née Lu, has gone west.

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books