Just then, a sound of footsteps echoed in the room, prompting Lóu Xǐ to subconsciously look up.
By the moonlight seeping through the window, she faintly saw a shadow approaching her.
Next, a cold, large hand touched her face, gently massaging the blooming peach blossom under her eye.
A deep, warm, magnetic voice resounded in her ear.
"A Xi, are you sleeping well?"
Hearing this voice that was so familiar, Lóu Xǐ's heart couldn't help but speed up. The madness in her eyes was about to be contained.
The one who tied her up here is Lou Zheng!
Lóu Xǐ knew almost without thinking what his purpose was, but still pretended to be scared and asked, "A Zheng, what are you doing? Please untie me quickly."
He didn't say anything. His fingertip massaged her slightly trembling lips, the movement was extremely gentle, full of tenderness.
"You're mad, do you know what you're doing?" Lóu Xǐ pretended to be angry.
Lou Zheng looked at her, his voice dark and hoarse, "I know."
"Madman." Lóu Xǐ turned her head to the side and hid the excitement in her eyes.
"Yes, I am a madman." He murmured.
He is not only mad but also completely mad.
Lóu Xǐ closed her eyes and didn't look at him. Her shoulders shook with excitement.
Lou Zheng didn't let her go just because she was angry. He whispered softly, "A Xi, don't be angry. I have prepared a gift for you. You will definitely like it."
Having said that, without waiting for her to speak, he stood up, lit the candles in the room, and walked towards the cabinet beside him.
As the candlelight was turned on, Lóu Xǐ closed her eyes somewhat uneasily. A moment later, she opened them and examined the room she was in.
Even she, who had experienced so many things, stood frozen in place when she saw the room's arrangement.
It was unmistakably a—bridal chamber.
Suddenly she thought of something. She looked down and indeed, she had already changed into a red wedding dress.
A barely perceptible smile tugged at the corners of Lóu Xǐ's lips. He is truly mad.
"Are you waiting for Chu Wei to save you?" Lou Zheng, dressed in the wedding robe, sat down beside her with a box in hand, and pushed a strand of hair away from her face. "There's no need to wait. He won't look for you, and he won't find this place."
Lóu Xǐ suppressed the madness on her face and looked at him calmly. "I'm not waiting for anyone to save me. I just want you to wake up."
"I am very awake." Lou Zheng gently massaged her face: "I have always been very awake. I have never been as awake as I am now."
He was so awake that he regretted not locking her up as soon as she returned.
"You…" Lóu Xǐ just said a word, but Lou Zheng interrupted her directly.
"I know you have lingering feelings for Xiao Reng, and I also know you still have some affection for Xu Jingxuan. And there's that Qiu Yu you can't bear to kill. You have too many people around you, and this time I won't let them take the lead."
He opened the box in his hand and offered it to her in front of her, softly cooing, "A Xi, become my empress."
Lóu Xǐ looked at the phoenix seal in the box, and a barely perceptible smile curved her lips. However, she stared at him in shock, "You're mad! Do you know what the officials and the people will think of you for doing this? The other warlords will definitely take advantage of this to attack you."
"Don't worry." Lou Zheng smiled gently, but his eyes were filled with sickly possession: "I've arranged everything."
It must be because he realized that he was getting close to Xiao Reng and Xu Jingxuan, and also because of the ambiguous relationship between her and Chu Wei. That's why he was so eager.
Although it was unexpected by Lóu Xǐ, she is no longer someone to be controlled.
She looked up at Lou Zheng and asked calmly, "So, I suffered humiliation in Xiliang for ten years and finally returned to my homeland. You won't let me enjoy even a moment of peace. You want me to change my face and become a bird kept in a cage for your amusement."
"Lou Zheng, what's the difference between this and what Xiao Reng, Lou Yao, and those who humiliated me in Xiliang did!"
The last sentence was shouted by Lóu Xǐ, and tears couldn't stop flowing down her face.
"Don't cry." Lou Zheng was a bit at a loss because of her tears. He subconsciously reached out to wipe them away.
Lóu Xǐ turned her head to avoid his hand, and her tears fell even harder. She sobbed and said, "I thought you were different from them, but I didn't realize you were even worse."
Although she was crying, her lips couldn't help but lift up.
They should be miserable with her and go to the eighteenth layer of hell together.
Looking at her red, tear-stained eyes, Lou Zheng looked like a deflated ball. He raised his arm to shield his bloodshot eyes, and in pain, he said, "Apart from this method, I can't think of any other way to keep you by my side."
After getting the result she wanted, Lóu Xǐ turned her head and called out to him, "A Zheng, I've always been by your side. I won't leave."
"No, you'll leave." Lou Zheng lowered his arm and looked at her. The craziness and possession in his eyes were unveiled.
"You'll remarry, or even if you don't, there will be others around you, like Chu Wei, Xu Jingxuan, or at the very least Xiao Reng. In any case, your gaze will never stop at me. So I have to rely on myself to keep you by my side."
"No, that's not it." Lóu Xǐ unbuttoned the ropes binding her hands and took his cold, big hand. "It's not like that. You are also one of the reasons I came back."
"Uh…" Lou Zheng was stunned at her holding his hand, and after a moment, he clasped her hand and spoke in a husky voice, "You're lying to me."
"If you don't believe me, I can prove it." Lóu Xǐ gave him no chance to react and proved her words with action.
It's time to give him a little sweetener. Otherwise, he might misunderstand and interfere with her important matters.
-
After returning from the palace, "Lóu Xǐ" said nothing, entered her room alone, and did not call Chu Wei in or leave anyone to attend to her.
originally, Lan Xiang wanted to go in to serve her with a bath, but "Lóu Xǐ" directly said that she was too tired and went straight to bed.
Lan Xiang frowned and looked at the person in bed, but said nothing and pushed the door out.
"How is it?" Chu Wei asked gravely.
Lan Xiang looked at the closed door. She said, "The Empress said she was too tired to sleep."
Chu Wei nodded without speaking and stood outside for a long time, feeling more and more that something was off.
After a moment of thought, he walked up to the door and knocked on it, his voice a few degrees colder than usual: "A Xi, have you slept?"
There was a long silence in the room before "Lóu Xǐ" spoke up: "I've already gone to bed. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Before she finished speaking, Chu Wei kicked open the door with a swift step, sprinted to the bed, and grabbed the "Lóu Xǐ" who was lying down fully clothed, his voice cold and piercing.
"Who are you! Where is Lóu Xǐ!"
