“…”
Hearing the resentment in Lan Miao's words, Emperor Jingxiang didn't feel annoyed at all. Instead, he thought such a wife was even cuter, full of vitality.
She had always been a paragon of self - restraint, coldness, and propriety in front of him.
When had she ever shown her angry face?
He gently put down her delicate foot.
Looking up at her, he said, “Are you tired, wife? How about letting me serve you?”
Hearing this, Lan Miao instantly lost her anger. Her hair stood on end. Afraid that His Majesty would do something again, she quickly shook her head and pulled her clothes tighter.
She showed her resistance through her actions.
Emperor Jingxiang wasn't angry. Instead, he was more eager to tease her. He smiled and asked, “Did someone make you unhappy?”
Lan Miao really wanted to say yes.
But she held back before opening her mouth. His Majesty was the king. No matter how much he indulged and courted her, there was a limit. Moreover, Lan Xin's words always lingered in her ears.
His Majesty wanted her. Besides a legitimate name and a position, she also wanted to occupy more of His Majesty's heart. After seeing so many of His Majesty's women today, she realized that this place was really terrifying.
“The ladies just called me over to ask a few questions. It's nothing,” Lan Miao replied vaguely, looking up to observe Emperor Jingxiang's reaction.
Emperor Jingxiang's face darkened slightly.
His eyes were deep as he stared at Lan Miao and said, “I'll send someone to warn them.”
“No, there's no need.”
Lan Miao quickly said, as if she was afraid that His Majesty would stand up for her. “Your Majesty, I don't want to attract attention. They won't make things difficult for me.”
Emperor Jingxiang remained silent for a long time.
It was true that he liked Lan Miao, and he also wanted to take her into the harem. But he wanted to win her heart even more and spend a long - lasting life with her. He didn't want her to change or get hurt.
Not long ago, his mother had reminded him not to be too hasty and said that even though he was the king, there were things beyond his reach.
And Lan Miao needed to have the ability to protect herself.
Looking at the intact Lan Miao in front of him, he thought she did. His wife was smarter than he thought.
“Alright...” Emperor Jingxiang skipped over his thoughts. He originally wanted to reach out and touch Lan Miao's cheek, but seeing her take a step back, he stopped his hand.
He rarely let out a soft laugh.
He took out a brocade letter from his bosom and handed it to her, with a deep smile in his eyes. “Take a look. This is what you want.”
Lan Miao was puzzled and hesitantly took the brocade letter.
The first thing that caught her eye were three characters— “Divorce Agreement”.
It was handwritten by Wen Hongxin on behalf of the deceased Wen Lingzhou, and stamped with the seals of the two mansions.
With this divorce agreement, she was finally free from the control of the Marquis Mansion.
From now on, she no longer had to be restricted by the Marquis Mansion.
A free person?
“There are two copies. The other one is in Wen Hongxin's hands. He probably burned it for Wen Lingzhou by now. As for this one, I'm just showing it to you,” Emperor Jingxiang said casually, with a hint of jealousy in his tone.
Lan Miao found it funny.
Emperor Jingxiang took out the divorce agreement from her hand and said seriously, “You've seen it. This divorce agreement will be kept by me from now on.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty...”
Lan Miao was a bit speechless.
It was her divorce agreement. Why should it be kept by His Majesty?
But she wasn't suicidal. She could only watch angrily as His Majesty put the divorce agreement back into his bosom and treasured it.
Just then, when His Majesty put the divorce agreement away, a jade pendant fell out of his bosom.
Lan Miao quickly caught the jade pendant.
It was the one she had lost five years ago.
Lan Miao's heart was pounding.
The atmosphere instantly tensed up.
Emperor Jingxiang seemed to sense something and reached out his hand. Lan Miao naturally placed the jade pendant in his palm and said softly, “I just remembered that Your Majesty once asked me to make a copy of this jade pendant. You even forgot to take the imitation one.”
“Just throw it away. Don't worry about it,” Emperor Jingxiang said in a deep voice.
“I thought Your Majesty cared a lot about the owner of this jade pendant. Why do you want to throw away the imitation one?” Lan Miao's voice was as soft as possible, even with a bit of temptation.
Emperor Jingxiang didn't notice at all. He played with the jade pendant in his hand and laughed self - deprecatingly. “I'm not afraid of making you laugh, wife. I told you last time that the owner of this jade pendant was a woman who plotted against me on a rainy night five years ago. Actually, that was a lie.”
“Oh?”
Lan Miao showed curiosity in her eyes.
“I was drugged and had an intimate relationship with this woman,” Emperor Jingxiang said calmly and coldly, with anger in his eyes. “I've never been so ashamed. I've carried this jade for so many years just to find out the forces behind this person and to remind myself not to forget the shame of that day.”
Shame?
So he carried this jade pendant with him day and night not out of nostalgia, but because he regarded it as a great shame?
Lan Miao tried hard to maintain her calm.
Emperor Jingxiang was willing to tell her these things, which meant he trusted her very much. So she mustn't let him find out.
The more he liked her now, the more he would hate her in the future.
She pretended to be shocked, lowered her head, and shifted her gaze. “I didn't expect that even Your Majesty, who is wise and valiant, would encounter such a thing.”
“Hmm...”
Emperor Jingxiang noticed Lan Miao's fear. Thinking that she was afraid of him, he curved his lips and comforted her, “I used to think that you were that woman, so I tested you many times. But it was also because of this that I got to know and befriend you.”
“No wonder Your Majesty asked me to make a copy of the jade pendant before,” Lan Miao said with a bit of complaint in her tone.
Emperor Jingxiang quickly comforted her, “Don't be angry, wife. Now when I wear this jade pendant, I only think of you. It was because of it that we had a fateful encounter.”
“Your Majesty is very kind - hearted,” Lan Miao replied with her head down.
She covered up her shock at this moment.
Now she was both happy and worried. She was happy that His Majesty no longer suspected her at all, but worried that His Majesty hated the owner of the jade pendant to such an extent.
It was really a fateful and unfortunate relationship.
“If you don't like this jade, I won't wear it in the future. Anyway, you're by my side,” Emperor Jingxiang said. Seeing that Lan Miao still seemed afraid, his tone relaxed, full of doting.
Lan Miao felt more and more uncomfortable.
Her heart was about to jump out of her throat.
She couldn't be so passive.
“How dare I interfere with Your Majesty's actions?” Lan Miao said sincerely. “I saw many ladies in the harem today and noticed that there are so many beautiful and outstanding women around Your Majesty. I'd like to ask you a question.”
“What?”
“Does Your Majesty want to take concubines into the harem?”
Lan Miao asked directly, finally voicing the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time. Now that she had obtained the divorce agreement, it would be logical for His Majesty to take her into the harem next.
“Of course,” Emperor Jingxiang suddenly reached out and held her hand tightly. His thick black eyelashes covered the gloom in his eyes. “I'll protect you.”
No, it was she who must protect herself.
Lan Miao sighed and silently added this in her heart.
“Will Your Majesty still be willing to wait for me to change my mind?”
“... I'm willing.”
Emperor Jingxiang looked directly at her, speaking each word very slowly.
“Your Majesty is very kind to me. But can you be even kinder to me?”