You Will Marry Me

Zhao Zhi made his horse gallop nonstop all the way until he arrived at Prince Ping’s residence.

It was night time. Lu Yuxue had removed her makeup and gotten ready for bed, so she was not going to see any more guests for the rest of the day.

But Zhao Zhi didn’t care. He didn’t bother observing the manners that an aristocrat ought to have and barked rudely at the maids to wrap Lu Yuxue in some clothes and drag her out to see him.

“Cousin! What are you doing!”

Lu Yuxue could barely contain her anger.

Of course, she didn’t mind meeting him alone at all. In fact, the closer to him, the better. The best would be for him to just barge into her room while she was only half dressed…

But now, she was wrapped in thick clothing from top to bottom, so that was the complete opposite of being half dressed. Her hair was a mess and she didn’t have makeup on either, so she looked more like a crazy woman instead of the great beauty she was!

Zhao Zhi didn’t care if she looked pretty or not, or if she looked proper or not. He went straight to the point, “Five years ago in Qingxian. You stayed next to Fourth Missy Gan?”

Lu Yuxue was stunned for a moment before she started stomping her feet angrily. “You dragged me out like this just to ask me this question?!”

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes and roared icily, “Answer the question!”

Lu Yuxue was shocked by his volume and shrank back a little, but stopped arguing with him.

She… always knew when she ought to cooperate.

“Yes,” she did her best to collect herself and speak calmly, “I said I happened to run into her and did not interact much with her. Just that one night, I saw her burying a dead body.”

“Who was she burying? Where did that body come from?”

“You should go and ask her that! How would I know?!” Lu Yuxue suddenly raised her voice and her eyes were filled with fury. But it was hard to say who or what she was angry about.

Zhao Zhi snorted disdainfully. He clearly did not believe her.

Lu Yuxue suddenly felt deflated.

She felt like she was stuck in a deep whirlpool and she could see neither the light nor the bottom.

“I’m telling the truth,” she said in a low voice as she turned to look out at the night sky.

But Zhao Zhi refused to take the hint or take pity on her. “That’s how you were able to make Fourth Missy Gan listen to you when Madam Wei tried to scheme against you that day.”

“You had a hold over Fourth Missy Gan.”

“I didn’t have a choice…” Lu Yuxue bit her lip as she began to mumble, “I didn’t ask for someone to plot against me, and I definitely didn’t want to be kept in the dark and walk into traps again and again…”

Zhao Zhi cut her off, “So, that gives you the right to scheme against another person?”

“Tsk,” Lu Yuxue scoffed. She didn’t just have a look of self-deprecation, but also a gloominess in her eyes. “You men are all the same. You all wish that your woman is someone who’s pure, kind, clean, ignorant of what goes on in the world, to remain as soft and delicate as a flower. But all of you are doing the same thing… No, all of you are worse!”

She raised her face to stare at Zhao Zhi. “Aren’t you like this too? You’ve never schemed against another person? You’ve never trampled on the corpses of others, you’ve never been hard on others and unreasonable to others in order to make it to where you are today? There is no place in the world for the weak! Nobody can protect another for the rest of their lives! Anyone who doesn’t learn how to become stronger or become more mature will end up becoming someone else’s footstool! Everyone knows that! Why is it alright for men to do that, but not for women to do the same?”

It pained Lu Yuxue to say these words, as if something she had been protecting carefully all this time had disappeared. But she also felt a little smug when she noticed an expression on Zhao Zhi’s face that she had never seen before.

Wearing a mask was very tiring and she really didn’t want to keep wearing one anymore. Since Zhao Zhi already knew what she looked like, what was the point in lying to him and herself?

It was better to just let it all out!

“You think Song Caitang is pure and clean? You think she’s never schemed against others?” Lu Yuxue snorted, her expression shifting. “She’s an impressive one, I’d say! She extorted someone for money and didn’t let them off even though they’re in the noble undertaker business. She bullied her own aunt, pretending to make something happen because she was annoyed with her and got her grandmother to ground her aunt. She used her power for her own gain, she stepped on others to get to where she is now. She dares to do anything!”

“She’s an unmarried woman who grew up in the inner house of a well to do family, someone who lost the ability to even take care of herself after an accident. But after she recovered from that, in less than a year, she became a completely different person! A year ago, she had no parents, no family, no friends, no power and almost died, but nobody knew and nobody cared. But now? She’s the precious Cousin Young Mistress of the Guan family who gets money and absolutely anything she asks for! She has connections with martial artists, she is allowed to walk in and out of government buildings, she has friends in the aristocratic circles, and she can even bully the daughter of a man of high standing in Bianliang without giving her any chances…”

The more she said, the more hateful she became. “Cousin, open your eyes and look carefully! She’s not a sweet and innocent girl at all! She’s so scheming!”

The night wind was suddenly very cold. The corridor was silent.

Zhao Zhi stared at Lu Yuxue as though she was a complete stranger to him.

Lu Yuxue pursed her lips so hard, she could taste blood.

“I never thought that the ability to scheme against others is a bad thing,” said Zhao Zhi calmly. “Like you said, it’s not easy to survive in this world, and it’s even harder for women. It’s good for one to become more knowledgeable and to broaden one’s perspectives. In fact, I do not believe that an ignorant, foolish woman will ever be able to manage a household or to bring up good children.”

Zhao Zhi stared hard at Lu Yuxue, his gaze filled with disappointment, “You have to be scheming sometimes in order to achieve great things, but there are lines you do not cross. There has to be a level you do not stoop below.”

He said these words very slowly, as though he was referring to how Lu Yuxue had made use of Fourth Missy Gan without feeling guilty or wondering if there was a better solution to her problem, and even though Fourth Missy Gan died, she still didn’t feel a thing. But he also sounded like… he was hinting at something that happened in the past.

Lu Yuxue’s expression changed dramatically.

Zhao Zhi went on, “She would never hurt the innocent and she has reason for everything she does. But you? You don’t seem to feel any pressure at all.”

“You… you…” Lu Yuxue’s lips trembled and her eyes reddened. Just the word “she” made her shake violently and unable to speak.

Zhao Zhi didn’t have that much patience to spare. “I don’t want to waste anymore time. Are you going to tell me more about what happened or not?”

Lu Yuxue nearly spat out blood.

Who was the one wasting time?!

He was the one who had a favor to ask of her! How dare he yell at her instead of being nice to her!

“What are you going to do if I refuse!”

Zhao Zhi remained calm. “You wouldn’t want to know.”

After knowing him for so many years, Lu Yuxue knew his temperament well and did not try to argue with him. She softened her gaze and her voice, “If… if I told you, would you be willing to promise me something?”

“What is it?

Lu Yuxue bent her head slightly to reveal the beautiful outline of her neck. “It’s been a long time since I played chess with you.”

She was feeling a little nervous and her voice trembled as a result. But… but she really missed Zhao Zhi. She missed him so much.

Sometimes, people could be so helpless toward their circumstances. No matter how he treated her or how he viewed her, she simply couldn’t let him go. She had spent more than half her life working hard to become his wife. She really didn’t want to let go of this relationship.

If she worked hard enough at it, she would eventually succeed. The love stories she watched in plays always went through a few troubles before reaching a happy ending. She believed that was the case with her cousin too.

But Zhao Zhi’s answer was…

…to rest his sword on her neck.

“I have many ways of interrogating a person. You want to try me?”

Lu Yuxue stared in horror at the sword on her neck. She was too shocked to even react.

It was only when the sword was brought closer to her head and she could feel the coldness of the blade, that her neck seemed to feel pain and she shouted like she had just snapped out of a daze, “I’ll talk!”

She believed that her cousin wouldn’t kill her, but…

Her belief was one thing. Fear was another.

She did her best to calm down and quickly said, “I really don’t know much about Fourth Missy Gan and I had no private contact with her. It’s true that I used this matter to threaten her on the day of the count’s party, but…”

The sword came a tiny bit closer.

Lu Yuxue’s pupils began to tremble. “I’m getting to it! Actually, I was the one who threw that body into her yard. I can’t afford any trouble during my trip! I was an aristocratic woman on her own out there! I just… My maid and I quietly carried the body and just threw it into the yard next door. Then… the next morning, I saw her burying the body.”

“She saw a dead body in her yard and instead of reporting it to the authorities or even feeling afraid, she started quietly burying the body? Something was definitely going on here!” The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, and she started speaking more confidently. “I wasn’t wrong to do that! Why should I be implicated in the filthy problems within the Count of Peace’s household?”

After she finally said her piece, she shut her eyes silently. She felt like she had really ruined her image today.

When she opened her eyes again, they were brimming with tears.

“I’m willing to say all this today and I’m willing to show you my worst side because… the person standing in front of me isn’t just anybody, but it’s you. It’s you, my cousin, Zhao Zhi.”

Her voice cracked. “Cousin… don’t you get it?”

So, the body was originally in the yard next door, and not Fourth Missy Gan’s.

The rest of the story would make sense then.

Zhao Zhi knew Lu Yuxue well enough to know that this time, she wasn’t lying and that this was probably all she knew. So, he stopped making things difficult for her and withdrew his sword.

“No, I don’t get it.”

Lu Yuxue had already done a lot of things that went against the image she had carefully crafted, so she didn’t care about maintaining it anymore. When she realized that Zhao Zhi was going to leave, she ran and leaped into his arms.

“Don’t go! I…”

Zhao Zhi pushed her aside.

He pushed her hard and angrily, so she ended up falling to the floor.

Her face reddened. She had never felt so humiliated all her life!

“Zhao Zhi!” She was both anxious and angry and began to cry. “Don’t you know who I’m doing all of this for?! You know it! You know it well! You’re mine and you will eventually marry me!”

“I will not marry you.” Zhao Zhi stared at her with a quiet but resolute look in his eyes. “And I have never tried to even lead you on. You know that well too.”

“I will marry Song Caitang.”

If his first two sentences already made Lu Yuxue feel terrible, the last one made her tremble violently.

“I don’t believe you! I don’t believe you!”

“That’s your problem. I’ve already made a formal request to the emperor for permission to do so.”

He turned to walk away after saying these words. Lu Yuxue felt her heart almost stop. She was already so humiliated anyway and she didn’t want to admit defeat at this juncture, so she lost all rationality and made a dive for his leg.

“Why are all of you just standing there! Hurry up and help your Young Mistress!”

Consort Ping suddenly turned up. Her voice was not loud or nasty, but it was definitely commanding.

Maids immediately rushed over to help Lu Yuxue to her feet, so she did not successfully grab hold of Zhao Zhi’s leg, but at the same time, he didn’t end up kicking her either.

Lu Yuxue suddenly felt terribly embarrassed. She wiped her tears and shrank back ashamedly as she said, “Aunt… why are you here?”

“I was feeling bored and decided to take a walk. I was already on my way back to my room.” Consort Ping was expressionless and she didn’t seem angry at all, as though she hadn’t seen what just happened. “It’s getting late, so you should go back to your room and get some rest.”

Lu Yuxue bowed. “Yes, Aunt.”

After she had walked out of sight, Consort Ping turned and said, “You. Come with me.”

They walked to a small pavilion in the middle of a large space. Consort Ping dismissed all the servants, then glared at Zhao Zhi. Disapproval was written all over her face. “I didn’t say anything earlier so that you wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of Xue’er. But I’m going to say this now – I will not approve of this marriage.”

His marriage to Song Caitang, that was.

Zhao Zhi didn’t get angry or fly into a rage. His lips barely even moved as he said, “That’s not up to you.”

Consort Ping was just as calm. “I’m fine if you don’t want Xue’er. You can find a woman you fancy, even if she’s a commoner with no status or even if she doesn’t hail from a well-to-do family. But not Song Caitang.”

Zhao Zhi stared at her and she stared at him. Their stares were equally intense and neither backed down for a long time.

“Actually, I’ve wanted to ask this for a long time. Why are you so insistent?” Zhao Zhi looked a little puzzled but also seemed to be trying to get information out of her. “You just said that even a commoner is fine. But why not her? What exactly… are you worried about?”

He was just short of asking what about Song Caitang made her tick.

Was it her previous experiences? Her family? Or something else?

Consort Ping’s gaze was steely, her eyes frighteningly bright.

But she did not say anything.

Zhao Zhi looked like he wasn’t expecting any answer from her, as though her expression was enough for him.

“I repeat, it’s not up to you.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

He was going to spend a long, long time with his girl, happy together somewhere. No matter how hard the journey was and how many obstacles he was going to face, as long as he remained determined and his feelings for her did not change, no problem was too big to solve!

What did these people take him as? Or what did they take his girl as?

Did these people think that they would crumble so easily?

Consort Ping watched Zhao Zhi walk away slowly but confidently, his back and shoulders straight and strong, as though he would never bend under the weight of wind and snow, or collapse in a storm. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

“We’ll see whether this matter is really up to you, or if it’s actually up to me.”