Yu Huiyan felt as if she had been struck hard on the head by a hammer. Her mind went blank with a buzzing sound. She closed her eyes, shook her head vigorously, and then opened her eyes again.
The man in front of her stood upright. With his already cold and aloof temperament, dressed in a cyan - gray Taoist robe, he exuded an even more otherworldly and high - cold air.
Everyone in the hall was dressed in magnificent brocade, but he was the only exception. There was not a trace of worldly desire in his deep and clear eyes.
"Zhou'er, stop fooling around. If you don't want to marry Huiyan, then don't go through the wedding ceremony. Why on earth do you suddenly decide to become a monk?"
The Princess Jiahe was so panicked that her voice trembled. More than Yu Huiyan's good match, she was concerned about her own son.
Her son was the foundation for her to stay in the Duke's Mansion. If her son became a monk, how could she live the rest of her life?
She didn't want to waste her long years in loneliness and misery!
For a moment, people didn't know whether they should be surprised that it wasn't Song Wanchu who was going to have the wedding ceremony with Liang Yuzhou, or that Liang Yuzhou suddenly decided to renounce the mortal world and become a monk at the most glorious moment of his life.
Yu Huiyan trembled all over. Disregarding her dignity, she crawled to Liang Yuzhou's side and reached out to grab his Taoist robe.
She wanted to tear off this annoying robe!
Liang Yuzhou took a few steps back. Yu Huiyan missed and looked extremely embarrassed.
"Cousin, you can't treat me like this!"
The looks cast on her were like the sharpest icicles, stabbing into her body, leaving her covered in wounds. As the ice melted, the cold water seeped into her bones.
Only then did she realize that she was freezing all over. Liang Yuzhou did it on purpose. He clearly hated and rejected her, but he still pretended to agree to marry her and brought her to the main hall.
On the wedding day, at the moment of the wedding ceremony, her husband became a monk in front of everyone. From then on, she would be the biggest laughingstock in the whole capital.
If she went back to the Yu family, it would be a disgrace. If she stayed in the Duke's Mansion, it would be extremely embarrassing.
Liang Yuzhou had trampled on her dignity. He didn't care about her future at all.
For the rest of her life, she would live under people's pointing fingers and ridicule. This was more cruel than being tortured to death!
She gritted her teeth with tears all over her face. Liang Yuzhou looked at her calmly, without a single ripple in his eyes.
But she thought this kind of look was the greatest mockery and humiliation to her!
"Yu Huiyan, you said you must become the mistress of the Duke's Mansion. I've helped you achieve your wish. Whether you stay or leave has nothing to do with me anymore."
He only promised to make her the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, but he never promised to be her husband.
If she was willing to stay in an empty room for the rest of her life, it was her own choice.
Yu Huiyan collapsed on the ground, her eyes dull. She didn't even have the strength to cry.
Everything was gone.
The huge hall was deathly silent.
Liang Yuzhou knelt in the direction of the old lady. "Grandson is unfilial. I won't be able to serve you in the future. If you can forgive me, grandson will be extremely grateful. If not, grandson will have to live with guilt for the rest of my life."
The old lady looked at him. Her eyes were full of sorrow, but they were also clear.
No wonder he and Wanchu liked each other. Like Wanchu, he was a pure person, pursuing a pure love.
When Wanchu took back her love, his world became empty. There was no one or anything in the mortal world that he cared about.
Staying would just be an empty shell without a soul.
"Go." The old lady's voice trembled. Her face was firm and relieved. "Wealth and honor can't keep you. Go and pursue what you want."
Liang Yuzhou knelt again.
Then he turned to the Princess Jiahe and bowed three times as well.
The Princess Jiahe cried so hard that she almost fainted. But she knew that as a mother, she had never had much weight in his heart.
Even if she cried herself to death in front of him, he wouldn't take off his Taoist robe.
"You good - for - nothing! Are you out of your mind?"
Only the old Duke couldn't accept the fact. He roared angrily with red eyes. "The emperor said you were a pillar of the country. The army needs you. The Duke's Mansion depends on you to support it. How can you just become a monk like this? Do you take your life as a joke? Do you still have me, your father, in your eyes?"
Liang Yuzhou smiled calmly, looking composed.
In contrast, the old Duke looked angry and embarrassed.
He always resorted to this kind of thing, using his status as a father to pressure him and the glory and dignity of the Duke's Mansion to force him.
Liang Yuzhou took out a dagger from his bosom, cut off a lock of his hair, and threw it at the old Duke's feet.
The old Duke's face turned ashen. His eyes seemed to be spitting fire.
"Liang Yuzhou, you're being unfilial!"
Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents and should not be easily damaged.
Cutting one's hair in front of one's parents means cutting off the family relationship.
"Old Duke, from now on, there will be no more Liang Yuzhou in the world, only Taoist Priest Qingzhou. My fate with the Duke's Mansion ends here."
Leaving this sentence behind, he turned around resolutely.
Although he was injured, his steps were still light.
The crowd fell silent and automatically stepped aside, making a path for him.
"Someone, close the door and catch this unfilial son!"
The old lady shook her head disdainfully. Didn't the old Duke, as his father, know his son's abilities?
How could a door or a wall stop him?
Liang Yuzhou walked into the yard, leaped into the air, as light as an eagle, and flew over the wall.
His cyan - gray Taoist robe fluttered past the luxurious glazed tiles on the wall without a trace of nostalgia.
Suddenly, Yu Huiyan started to giggle.
Three years ago, Liang Yuzhou did the same thing. He climbed over the wall and left during his wedding with Song Wanchu.
The storytellers described this episode as extremely romantic, saying that Liang Yuzhou left his beautiful new wife behind in order to meet his childhood sweetheart.
The story spread widely in the capital. Even Yu Huiyan herself believed it. When others laughed at Song Wanchu for being abandoned on her wedding day, she sat aside and smiled secretly, enjoying Song Wanchu's humiliation.
Now, retribution finally came.
This time, Liang Yuzhou had completely abandoned his new wife.
In an unnoticed corner, Liang Yuchuan was so excited that he trembled all over.
It worked. He knew that his younger brother was infatuated. Once Song Wanchu left, he would abandon everything.
Originally, he was worried that if Liang Yuzhou found Song Wanchu, would he come back to the Duke's Mansion with people?
Would he still compete with him for the position of the heir?
But he became a monk and cut off his ties with the Duke's Mansion.
Great. His only concern was gone.
Once he took care of one more thing, he could rest easy.
He wrote a secret letter and sent a trusted subordinate to the Princess Mansion.
...
In the carriage, Liang Yuzhou closed his eyes and meditated.
His mind was not calm. Scenes from his past with Wanchu flashed through his mind.
He always thought he had some talents in reading, archery, and martial arts. He wasn't stupid, but why was he so stupid that he didn't notice Wanchu's feelings for him?
Was it just because she called him "elder brother" a few times in her dream?
He had wasted his brain on useless skills.
"Second Master, your wound is bleeding." Zhou Sheng said in a low voice. He skillfully opened the medicine box and took out the gauze and hemostatic powder.
Liang Yuzhou opened his eyes. His voice was sharp. "Who are you calling Second Master?"