As the sun was setting, Song Wanchu walked on the street, her shadow stretching infinitely long behind her.
The carriage trailed slowly behind. Nan Zhi and Su Yue sat in silence.
Song Wanchu looked up. The golden light spread across her face, making her eyes look blank.
She thought that deciding to leave Liang Yuzhou with the divorce letter a year ago was the most difficult decision she had ever made in her life.
However, as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. Caught up in the general situation, her personal joys and sorrows seemed so insignificant.
She walked all the way back to the Plum Blossom Studio. To her surprise, Liang Yuzhou was standing at the courtyard gate waiting for her.
A gust of wind blew, and plum blossoms fluttered down onto his shoulders. He was wearing a light cyan Taoist robe, looking like an otherworldly immortal who had drifted from a divine mountain into the mortal world.
Hearing her footsteps, the coldness on his moon - like face melted away, and his expression became as gentle as water.
"Did the tea and snacks ordered by Lady Shi suit your taste?"
Liang Yuzhou's hand could now accurately find her cheek and gently caressed it twice.
"You know everything?"
This "know" had multiple meanings.
Liang Yuzhou explained one by one, "I knew that the old duke was poisoned last year. I've also guessed the content of Lady Shi's secret meeting with you."
Song Wanchu led him by the hand into the house and told the small kitchen to serve dinner an hour later.
Nan Zhi and Su Yue added charcoal to the brazier and brought in tea, then closed the door and left.
Song Wanchu originally wanted to sit opposite Liang Yuzhou, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.
In such an intimate position, she couldn't even speak. When she tried to stand up, Liang Yuzhou said firmly, "Stay like this. I like it."
He held her waist. The force wasn't heavy, but Song Wanchu couldn't break free, so she had to let him have his way.
Song Wanchu hesitated for a long time but didn't know how to start. While she was struggling, Liang Yuzhou looked calm and relaxed.
After a while, she tentatively asked, "When we're back in the capital this time, aren't you going to visit the old duke?"
Liang Yuzhou's expression stiffened slightly, and a sarcastic arc slowly appeared on his lips. "I'm no longer his son. He has a son. Let his son take care of his life, illness, and death."
"Then why did you rush to send Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yan back?"
"Wanchu, you've become sly. Are you trying to get information from me indirectly?"
Liang Yuzhou squinted his eyes. The person in his arms was just a vague outline in his eyes, but he could imagine the righteous look on Wanchu's face.
"Do you want me to go back to the Duke's Mansion and become the young duke again?"
The only response he got was silence. The person in his arms even held her breath.
"Wanchu, if you don't want me, just say so."
Liang Yuzhou suddenly sounded aggrieved. "Don't you even struggle a bit? You're so quick to give up on our relationship."
Song Wanchu felt a lump in her throat. It was as if she was trapped in a dense net that was tightening. She was suffocating but couldn't break free.
"Now you should put the general situation first..."
Suddenly, Liang Yuzhou leaned over and bit her red lips. At first, he missed and bit her chin. Song Wanchu let out a soft cry of pain, and then her voice was blocked by his warm lips.
He bit harder than usual, grinding fiercely as if in punishment.
"To hell with the so - called general situation! Wanchu, in your heart, is the general situation more important than our happiness?"
There was a hint of anger in his tone.
Song Wanchu's lips were numb.
"The Princess is powerful. If she gets the support of the Duke's Mansion, she'll be like a tiger with wings. It'll be even more difficult for the Crown Prince to deal with her."
Liang Yuzhou's grievance and dissatisfaction seemed to materialize and overflow from his body. "Do you love me or Lu Sihong?"
Song Wanchu was helpless. "Liang Yuzhou, I'm reasoning with you. Can you stop being unreasonable?"
"I understand the truth so well that I don't want to reason anymore!"
Liang Yuzhou hugged her tightly, as if trying to blend her into his body. "Wanchu, there's more than one way to solve a problem. Can you stop pushing me away every time?"
Song Wanchu's heart softened, and her nose felt sour. She could deeply feel Liang Yuzhou's insecurity. He was so afraid of losing her again.
It was his devotion that had saved their relationship. If she pushed him away, wouldn't all his efforts and painstaking efforts in the past year become a joke?
He didn't allow any cracks to appear between them.
"But going back to the Duke's Mansion is the only way to stabilize the situation..."
"Who said that?" Liang Yuzhou frowned. "You don't even ask me if there are other ways. You just want to push me into the fire pit, right?"
He was accusing her.
Song Wanchu suddenly felt guilty. "It's the Duke's Mansion. How can it be a fire pit?"
Why did she sound like a wronged little daughter - in - law?
"If I go back and you don't, I'll lose my wife again. If that's not a fire pit, what is?"
"Then do you have any other ideas?"
Liang Yuzhou suddenly smiled and rubbed his chin against her forehead. "If you had asked me earlier, would we have argued for so long?"
"Just tell me quickly." Song Wanchu was impatient.
She was worried about the old lady and feared that the old woman would be in trouble.
But then again, how could Liang Yuzhou let the Duke's Mansion fall into Liang Yuchuan's hands and become a tool for the Princess to manipulate?
Liang Yuzhou proudly lifted his chin. "Wanchu, first promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you won't even think about leaving me."
Song Wanchu didn't hesitate at all. "Okay, I promise you."
"A verbal promise isn't enough. You need to seal it with a kiss."
Liang Yuzhou's finger brushed across her red lips, smiling slyly.
Song Wanchu thought he was becoming more and more like a child.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, coaxing him, "I've sealed it. I can't go back on my word. Are you satisfied?"
Only then did Liang Yuzhou say unhurriedly, "I sent Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yan back to the Duke's Mansion. What do you think people will think when they see them?"
Song Wanchu was waiting to hear his solution, but he asked her a question instead.
"They're your most loyal subordinates. When people see them going back to the Duke's Mansion, they'll naturally talk and say that you're going back too."
Her mind was gradually becoming clearer.
Liang Yuzhou's name was still well - known in the capital. He didn't necessarily have to become the young duke again, but he could create an impression.
Cowards would surely be panicked.
"Are you trying to scare Liang Yuchuan?"
"Don't you know that he's most afraid of me?"
Liang Yuzhou rarely boasted about his imposing manner. He naturally gave people a sense of oppression.
He said this, waiting for Song Wanchu to praise him.
"But this can only suppress the situation for a while."
"A while is enough. First, we'll hold back Liang Yuchuan's restless thoughts. What the Princess really cares about isn't who becomes the heir of the Duke's Mansion, but the military power in the old duke's hands."
Song Wanchu guessed his intention. "You mean we should transfer the military power of the Duke's Mansion? But such a major matter of transferring military power can only be decided by the emperor."
"Exactly. My wife is really intelligent."
Liang Yuzhou pinched her chin. "Didn't the Princess encourage the emperor to make Liang Yuchuan the heir? Then the Crown Prince can also submit a memorial, saying that the old duke is seriously ill and Liang Yuchuan is incompetent. The military power of the Duke's Mansion should be given to someone the emperor truly trusts."
"Someone the emperor truly trusts..."
Song Wanchu murmured, "That person must have military achievements, be extremely capable, brave and good at fighting, and have prestige in the army."
The answer was almost on the tip of her tongue.