"Aman, look, they have all betrayed you in the end," Murong Shengrui stepped forward, his gaze intense, saying that only he would always be with her!
Xiao Man sneered, "They don't count as betrayal to me at all. The one who truly betrayed me is you."
Murong Shengrui's face turned pale, "I already know I was wrong. Can't you forgive me just once?"
"I've already forgiven you once. What did I get in return? Do I still need to say it?" Xiao Man's tone was indifferent. Even though she could control her emotions, when it came to the tragedy of the Dugu family, she still felt furious. It was this wolf cub she had painstakingly nurtured that made her an orphan and left her with nothing.
"Aman, don't marry anyone else, okay?"
"That's my business, it has nothing to do with you." Xiao Man's tone grew increasingly cold, her patience with Murong Shengrui gradually wearing thin. Murong Shengrui was the one who did wrong, yet she was acting like the villain.
"Wen Mohan, he is not suitable for you."
"Whether he is suitable or not, is for me to decide." Xiao Man raised her head, looking at Murong Shengrui with icy, unfamiliar eyes, devoid of any past tenderness. It was as if Murong Shengrui was a stranger to her, or even an enemy.
Murong Shengrui suppressed his inner rage with all his might. This was not his fault. If she hadn't wanted to betray him, how could he have treated her like this?
"Aman, you betrayed me first!" Murong Shengrui said word by word. "It was you who wanted to leave me, so I resorted to this stratagem."
"We're all adults now. Can't you wean yourself off yet?" Xiao Man said mockingly. "A dignified ruler of a nation, yet unable to leave his mother. Compared to a nursing infant, you're only different because you don't drink milk."
Murong Shengrui glared at Xiao Man, unsure how to refute her for a moment. "Do you have to marry Wen Mohan?"
"When have I ever joked? Especially about a matter of lifelong importance."
"Don't you like Nangong Yu? Why did you choose Wen Mohan?" Murong Shengrui was very confused. Xiao Man liked Nangong Yu, which made him jealous. This was because Xiao Man treated Nangong Yu differently. Xiao Man had spared Nangong Yu on the battlefield. She had also gone missing for a month, and no one knew where she had gone. But he knew that during that month of disappearance, Xiao Man was with Nangong Yu. She admired Nangong Yu, even liked him.
"I like spicy food, but I can't eat it every day. White rice, though common, is indispensable for every meal." Xiao Man, surprisingly, explained, "Murong Shengrui, you should learn to grow up."
"I don't want to grow up. I just want to be a young man who is doted on and protected by you."
"No one can protect you forever." Xiao Man was unmoved. She had once softened her heart for Murong Shengrui. She entered the palace to be his empress, helped him seize the throne, and pacified internal and external troubles. In the end, she was merely cast aside like a bird with a useful bow, or an arrow with a useful string. No, she was even more miserable; her family was implicated and perished in flames.
"Aman..."
"Stop. Leave here. Don't appear before me again," Xiao Man commanded, stopping Murong Shengrui's advance. She said sternly, "Between you and me, we are already strangers. When you drew your sword against me, you should have known the outcome today."
"So, are you going to kill me to avenge the people of the Dugu family?" Murong Shengrui stepped forward and asked.
Xiao Man glanced at Murong Shengrui coolly. Murong Shengrui was so startled by her gaze that he stopped in his tracks. Looking at Xiao Man, who was so close yet seemed so far away, he felt that no matter how he reached out, he couldn't touch her.
"Can you really not forgive me?"
"If you could bring the people of the Dugu family back to life, I would forgive you," Xiao Man continued to review official documents. "As for what you owe me, remember it well. One day, I will claim it back from you."
"Will you come to collect your debt?" Murong Shengrui said with a bitter smile. He felt that these were just perfunctory words from Xiao Man. She didn't even want to see him now, so how could she come to collect her debt?
"Don't worry, what is owed to me will be repaid, no matter who it is."
"Then will you demand back what Nangong Yu owes you?"
"He doesn't owe me anything," Xiao Man's tone was cold. "Why are you so persistent about him?"
"Because it was he who made you give up on me!" Murong Shengrui had always regarded Nangong Yu as an enemy. He had repeatedly indulged his subordinates in harassing Yusheng just to vex Nangong Yu. "I was jealous, I hated him. But now he is as pathetic as I am, cruelly abandoned by you, Aman. I really want to know, next, will you abandon Wen Mohan?"
Murong Shengrui's peripheral vision swept outside. With his hearing, it was not difficult to detect someone approaching. At this moment, the person approaching could only be Wen Mohan.
"Don't compare yourself to him. You are not worthy," Xiao Man said coldly. "Also, I, Xiao Man, never gamble with my lifelong happiness. Murong Shengrui, within the borders of Lanyue, I will not harm you. Outside of Lanyue, you will have to fend for yourself."
"Aman, if all the people you love die, what will you do?"
Xiao Man narrowed her eyes and said word by word, "If you dare to touch him, I will cut you into a thousand pieces!"
On the eighth day of the ninth month, the day before the wedding, the Imperial Princess's mansion was adorned with lanterns and decorations, bustling with activity. The Empress wanted Wen Mohan to leave the palace, but Xiao Man refused, citing the reason that the Imperial Husband's wedding day was the same as the Princess's, and the palace was also very busy. Even though the officials from the Ministry of Rites protested that it was against etiquette, Xiao Man paid no heed and instructed her household staff to ensure everything was perfect.
Madam Wen, the Prime Minister's wife, took her husband to see their son try on his new clothes. Wen Mohan, dressed in a bright red ceremonial robe, circled before his parents. Madam Wen immediately beamed, unable to contain her joy, and praised him endlessly, "This ceremonial robe is splendid. It makes our son look even more refined and elegant."
Prime Minister Wen smiled and nodded, "Whose son do you think he is? It's not the clothes that are good, it's the person wearing them."
"How can you praise yourself like that!" Madam Wen playfully hit Prime Minister Wen and looked at her son, who was as graceful as a orchid and a jade tree. While feeling pleased, she also sighed with emotion.
"Who would have thought that one day, I would see you off," Madam Wen sighed. "I always hoped you would marry a woman who would make a good home. Who knew you would only like Xiao Man? And now, for Xiao Man, you're going to marry into Lanyue..."
"Ahem." Prime Minister Wen coughed twice, interrupting Madam Wen's words. "Didn't we agree that as long as our son is happy, everything is fine?"
Madam Wen quickly smacked her own hand, "Look at me, talking nonsense again. Han'er, don't take it to heart."
"Mother, I am very happy," Wen Mohan said. He pulled his parents to sit down and personally poured them tea. "Your son has been looking forward to this day for a long time. Now that it's finally about to come true, I thank you, Father and Mother, for fulfilling my wish."