Chapter 27: My Woman

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Inside the Imperial Prison.

A pair of deep, shadowed eyes swept over the guard.

The guard cowered where he stood, his body trembling faintly.

Though frightened, he remembered that the person backing him was none other than Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. Thus, he forced himself to summon a little more courage.

No matter how powerful the Grand Secretary was, surely he would not openly defy the Empress Dowager’s decree. Surely he would not dare do anything to him.

Lu Huaijin’s long fingers gently picked up the small undergarment and examined it closely.

It was the very garment he had seen that morning. It seemed to still carry a trace of his scent.

“How interesting.”

He paced over to the guard and held Su Yao’s undergarment directly before his eyes. His voice was low.

“You claim that she gave you this?”

The guard swallowed and stammered, “Y-yes… That young lady wanted to repay me for saving her life, so she promised herself to me… This was the token of affection she gave me.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Huaijin let out a scornful laugh.

A debt of gratitude for saving her life?

Su Yao was plainly a heartless ingrate.

He had saved her so many times, yet she had never once offered him a sincere word of thanks. Where had this so-called repayment of gratitude come from?

The guard shuddered at his smile.

The courage he had struggled to maintain vanished without a trace.

Lu Huaijin’s gaze sharpened.

A terrifying pressure radiated from him as he said coldly, “I’ll give you one more chance to tell the truth. If you cannot learn to speak properly, there will be no need to keep your tongue.”

The dagger in his hand flashed coldly, reflecting the guard’s horrified face.

The guard’s legs trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth began to chatter.

At last, unable to withstand the immense pressure, he cried out, “This garment really does belong to that young lady! It was Nanny Gui who ordered me to steal it!”

“Which hand did you use to steal it?”

“What?”

The guard froze for a moment, utterly unprepared for such a question. He stood there in a daze.

“Please spare my life, Grand Secretary,” he begged through sobs.

“I asked you a question. You need only answer. Which hand?”

Lu Huaijin’s voice grew colder, his patience exhausted.

The guard hurriedly raised both hands before him. His eyes darted from one to the other as he first looked at his left hand, then at his right. Trembling, he said through tears, “My lord, I don’t remember.”

“It doesn’t matter. You should never have touched her things.”

The instant Lu Huaijin finished speaking, his hand moved, and the dagger plunged precisely through the back of the guard’s hand.

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“Ah—!”

The shrill scream instantly resounded throughout the prison, echoing again and again against the gloomy walls.

Changting, who stood nearby, had long since grown accustomed to such scenes. He remained where he was, his expression perfectly calm.

“My lord, please spare me! I was only carrying out orders. Please give me another chance!”

The guard wailed miserably as beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead. His face was as pale as paper.

“I will give you a chance. Whether you can seize it is up to you.”

Leaving behind those indifferent words, Lu Huaijin turned and walked away coldly, leaving the guard moaning in agony inside the cell.

That very night, word spread through the Imperial Prison that the guard had taken his own life in order to prove his innocence.

When Su Yao heard the news, it struck her like a bolt of lightning. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed to the floor, murmuring, “It’s over. It’s truly over now. There’s no one left to testify…”

She could not understand it at all. She had never wronged that man, nor had he borne any recent grudge against her. Why would he use his own life to frame her and drag her into this bottomless abyss?

The door to the room suddenly opened, and a dark figure swept in with the darkness.

In the gloom, she could only vaguely make out a tall figure standing at the doorway. His features were impossible to see.

“Why haven’t you lit the lamp?”

Lu Huaijin raised his hand and lit the candle. The dim yellow light instantly illuminated the entire room.

Only then did he see Su Yao curled up in the corner, her eyes vacant and lifeless, her face as pale as paper.

Lu Huaijin looked down at her from above.

By the faint candlelight, Su Yao finally recognized him. In a delicate, trembling voice, she called, “My lord…”

Lu Huaijin suddenly seized her and pulled her upright, drawing her straight into his arms.

His embrace was burning hot, yet Su Yao felt not the slightest warmth. She only felt cold from head to toe.

Her slender frame was painfully delicate. He had already noticed the previous day that she was thinner than she had been when she was at the Lu residence.

And even more endearing.

Su Yao instinctively clutched at his robe as though grasping the last strand of hope. She asked urgently, “My lord, do you believe me?”

Lu Huaijin’s hand slid around her slender waist, his fingers gently rubbing it. His voice, however, was cold enough to pierce bone.

“What reason do you have to make me believe you?”

That brief sentence completely extinguished the hope in Su Yao’s heart.

Her face was full of grievance, tears gathering in her eyes as she whispered, “Surely you recognize that garment? This very morning, my lord, you used it yourself to wipe my mouth…”

“Oh?”

Lu Huaijin suddenly laughed.

Su Yao could not understand his smile, but it made her heart grow even colder.

“That guard is dead. Now I have no way to defend myself. My lord, you are the only one who can help me.”

Lu Huaijin regarded her leisurely without saying a word.

“Su Yao, only today I settled the matter involving Eunuch Hai for you and your ‘Brother Chuxiao’…”

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Su Yao bit her lower lip and hesitantly began, “My lord, between him and me there is nothing more than the affection of childhood. I can swear to Heaven that Su Yao has never had another man.”

Those words genuinely pleased Lu Huaijin.

Even though his informants kept watch over Su Yao at all times and he knew perfectly well that she had never been with anyone else, hearing her state it so frankly still stirred a quiet sense of satisfaction within him.

“Tell me. How do you want me to help you?”

“If Her Majesty the Empress Dowager investigates what happened with Eunuch Hai on the day of the Flower Banquet…”

Su Yao hesitated, unable to continue.

Lu Huaijin’s fingers gently brushed through her hair.

“Su Yao, I warned you before. The tiles of the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility are three degrees colder than those of the Lu residence. Do you believe me now?”

Su Yao pressed her lips together.

“I do have a way to help you.”

“Truly?”

Su Yao looked up. Her limpid almond-shaped eyes met Lu Huaijin’s directly.

Lu Huaijin’s Adam’s apple rose and fell. Su Yao looked far too alluring.

He smiled and took her hand, leading her to a chair nearby.

Su Yao did not dare sit. She merely stood awkwardly beside him, both hands nervously twisting the hem of her skirt.

Lu Huaijin reclined in the high-backed chair. With a languid expression, he patted his thigh, signaling for her to sit.

Su Yao’s face instantly flushed crimson, and her ears turned scarlet as well. Her hands unconsciously tightened around her skirt, her body trembling faintly with resistance.

When Lu Huaijin saw that she did not move, he forcefully pulled her down and held her securely in his arms.

His arm was like an iron band, leaving her no chance to break free.

“Su Yao, you had better think carefully. If I help you this time, you will belong to me alone.”

Lu Huaijin leaned close to her ear and murmured in a low voice.

“My woman.”

He added the words calmly.

Su Yao froze, her mind going blank.

She had never imagined that Lu Huaijin would make such a demand.

She opened her mouth, wanting to protest, but found that her throat seemed blocked. Not a sound would come out.

At that moment, falsely accused and trapped in utter desperation, she had no choice but to rely on the man before her.

Her fingers dug deeply into her palms, her nails nearly piercing the flesh as she struggled in anguish.

After a long while, she finally summoned her courage and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

“Please, Grand Secretary, uphold justice for this servant and restore my good name.”