Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Heart and Mouth as One

At the Cold Pond, Lu Xiu’s words had come true.

That night, they both started running a fever. The fever lasted for two full days.

It was like two burning coals were being smothered under the blankets, each one hotter than the other.

The household doctor stayed at the villa, and Zhou Yun would also visit when he had the time.

Lu Xiu’s fever manifested as pure lethargy, but she wasn’t so lucky. Her head throbbed, and she couldn’t get a peaceful night’s sleep until the fever broke completely.

While Lu Xiu read and wrote, she wanted to do nothing but curl up in bed and sleep.

It was from a conversation between the household doctor and Lu Xiu that Liang Wan learned the official reason he couldn’t attend his own wedding and was staying openly at the villa: he was ill, and it was deemed inappropriate to expose his new bride to the sickness.

The Grand Commandant had fallen ill on the eve of his wedding, ordering Liang Ji to move to the villa to care for him.

If she hadn’t personally dealt with the bandits, Liang Wan would have suspected this was all an elaborate ruse he had orchestrated to get out of the wedding, and... it was too much of a coincidence that even the Cold Pond had appeared at such an opportune moment.

Lu Xiu set down his book. "Why are you looking at me like that again?"

Liang Wan pressed her lips together. She wanted to ask him something, but... ’After all, sometimes even if you ask, the answer you get might be a lie.’

She shook her head with a small smile. "I just feel like you shouldn’t be like this."

They had been sick for the past few days and dressed very casually, in simple robes with their hair down—whatever was most comfortable.

Liang Wan simply couldn’t connect the Lu Xiu before her with the man who looked down on everything.

No matter how he acted now, she couldn’t help but suspect he had a deeper motive.

Lu Xiu finally stood up, walked to the edge of the bed, and reached into the blankets to pull her up. He bent down to put on her shoes for her. "Then what do you think I should be like?"

’Heartless and disloyal? Cruel and ruthless? Bloodthirsty? Tyrannical and unjust...?’

"Hm?" He lifted his gaze to look at her.

Liang Wan pulled her foot back slightly and forced a smile. "You’re just... not quite what the rumors say. You’re very approachable."

As Lu Xiu straightened up, he suddenly pecked her lightly on the lips and scoffed, "You don’t mean a word of that."

For some reason, her nose suddenly started to run.

Liang Wan snatched the handkerchief from the bedside.

Lu Xiu grabbed her wrist. "You’ve been sleeping for a long time. Get up and move around a bit."

His tone left no room for negotiation.

First she’d been drugged with an aphrodisiac, then she’d caught a cold and developed a fever. Her whole body felt like jelly. The slightest movement made her break out in a sweat. Even if her bones had turned soft from lying down, Liang Wan still didn’t want to get up.

Helpless, Liang Wan was still dragged along by him. ’From now on, when he’s reading, I’ll just have to look somewhere else,’ she thought.

The large room was sparsely attended by maids and was extremely quiet.

Having spent some time with Lu Xiu, Liang Wan knew he didn’t like having too many people around. So, it was usually just the two of them together, each doing their own thing.

The backyard was planted with quite a few maple trees. In the autumn afternoon, the lazy sunlight made the red leaves appear vibrant and lovely.

A restless autumn breeze stirred, sweeping up a few fallen leaves and carrying them into the distance.

For some reason, Liang Wan’s stuffy nose, which had been blocked for so long, suddenly cleared. ’Maybe coming out for a walk isn’t so bad after all,’ she thought.

Lu Xiu just kept holding her hand, strolling leisurely through the courtyard. For a moment, she had the strange illusion that they were like an old married couple.

The moment the thought surfaced, Liang Wan shuddered violently. ’It’s only been a few days! My brain must have been fried by the fever!’

Lu Xiu stopped walking, turned her to face him, and lowered his head. "It’s a good thing that you’re able to keep your composure, but you don’t have to with me."

Liang Wan looked up, and their eyes met.

Lu Xiu sighed softly. "I’m not afraid of what you might ask. I’m afraid of you not asking anything at all."

Liang Wan was, to some extent, surprised.

His dark eyes watched her. "We haven’t yet reached the point where we can understand each other without asking."

She didn’t know if it was because of the illness, but his breath was warm, and his gaze was gentler than usual.

Liang Wan did have some questions, but meeting this gaze, she had no idea where to start. It was like he was a completely different person.

Seeing her remain silent for a long moment, Lu Xiu’s eyes narrowed in thought. Then, he took her hand and headed back toward the house.

Liang Wan was a little puzzled.

He wasn’t leading her to their bedchamber, but to the bright, airy study—the one where the lotus-patterned painting box was kept.

Liang Wan wasn’t surprised to see the painting box. ’If I’m not mistaken,’ she thought, ’he probably wants to tell me that the person in the painting is me.’

Liang Wan gave a faint smile. "Actually, you don’t have to."

’What could a single meeting from our childhood possibly prove?’

Lu Xiu didn’t say anything. He just released her hand, opened the painting box himself, and flipped through the pictures one by one. Not a single one was missing, including the one of Willow Lane and Peach Blossom Path.

Liang Wan sighed softly.

But when she saw the painting at the very bottom, her breath caught. It depicted a little girl climbing a peach tree.

The girl was mostly hidden behind the peach branches, but you could still see a pair of lively, bright eyes that sparkled with light.

Liang Wan couldn’t help but pick up the painting. Looking at the person in it, her heart felt as if it had been cruelly wrung.

She lowered her eyes, a warmth filling them. "It’s painted so well."

Lu Xiu took the painting from her hands, set it aside, and lifted her face so their eyes met.

"You once asked why I wanted to burn this painting."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Yuan Shaoyu... no matter what others thought of him, his guidance and care for me cannot be ignored. So, even though he later died for treason, in my heart, he will always be my former mentor."

"Wanwan, you were the person mentioned in my final conversation with my teacher. And since he was the one who arranged this marriage for me, I would have complied, no matter how much I resisted the idea."

"But, driven by curiosity, I still went to see that little girl. There were many people at the Caiqing Banquet, and I searched in many places—where they were painting, playing the qin, flying paper kites..."

"However, I didn’t see her anywhere, so I assumed she hadn’t come. But then, I found someone up in a peach tree, and I thought, ’That must be her.’"

Liang Wan asked in surprise, "Why?"

He glanced at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "My teacher told me you were the most beautiful and most adorable girl in all of Jinye City."

Liang Wan blushed and lowered her head. "That’s too—"

Lu Xiu lowered his gaze and smiled faintly. "He told me I would definitely like you."

Liang Wan: "..."

Lu Xiu raised his eyes, his gaze returning to her face. "To be honest, when he told me that, I was quite dismissive. Later, I understood that he said it because he was afraid I would resist, so he deliberately piqued my curiosity. But he wasn’t wrong. A porcelain doll so bright and lovely... back then, I really would have liked her."

"From then on, I considered her my future wife, just waiting for the day we came of age."

But—

Liang Wan secretly glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

Lu Xiu’s eyes were dark. He paused briefly, then continued, "Unfortunately, things changed. When your mother came to our home to break the engagement, I had also only recently learned the truth about my own parentage and the real reason for his death."

He paused again. "At that time, I thought, ’These paintings are useless now. I might as well get rid of them.’"

Zhou Yun had once told her that Lu Xiu had been found staring blankly at the portraits one day.

Liang Wan lowered her eyes, her thoughts in a whirl.

’First, the engagement was broken by the Liang Family. Then there was the fact that my grandfather, Awen, was the one who reported Yuan Shaoyu. Add to that how I lost my virginity in a brothel, and later was reduced to nothing but a tool...’

’So that was why the Lu Xiu of her past life had detested her.’

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