Oops! My Inner Thoughts Are Ruining The Plot

Chapter 180: Chapter

"Wenzhe! What are you doing?!" Duchess Lin Meiyun gasped out, her tear-stained face flushing with sudden disbelief as she took a step toward her son. "She has been sick with worry for two whole months! How could you push her away like that?!"

Wenzhe did not say a word in response. He didn’t even look at his mother. His dry lips remained pressed into a tight, hard line, his chest heaving with every shallow, painful breath.

"Take me inside," Wenzhe rasped out to the two lieutenants holding him up, his voice ice-cold and completely devoid of warmth. "Now."

"Ah... Wenzhe, wait!" Aunt Ronghua stepped in, quickly catching her sister-in-law’s arm to hold her back. "Meiyun, calm yourself, please! Look at him—he doesn’t even look like himself right now. He is severely poisoned and exhausted. He is confused and in pain. Let him go rest first."

As the lieutenants carefully navigate Wenzhe past the stunned crowd and down the inner corridor, Lanyin, Qianqian, and Gu Yue all rushed over to where Yueqing lay on the cold stone.

"Sister-in-law!" Lanyin cried out, dropping to her knees alongside Lu Yue to carefully pull Yueqing up by her arms.

"Yueqing, are you hurt? Did you hit your ribs?" Qianqian asked frantically, holding Yueqing’s hand while Gu Yue helped support her back.

Every member of the family watched in pained, awkward silence, completely at a loss for words.

Yueqing sat on the stone, letting them haul her frail body back to her feet. She was completely quiet. Not a single tear fell from her eyes now, and her expression was entirely blank, drained of all emotion. She didn’t look back toward the corridor where Wenzhe had vanished, nor did she answer any of the worried questions from her sisters-in-law.

Slowly, gently pulling her arms away from Lanyin and Qianqian’s grip, Yueqing turned her body around.

Without saying a single word to anyone, she turned her back on the main courtyard and walked silently toward the dark, lonely path leading back to her own room.

After Yueqing’s lonely figure vanished down the dark pathway, a heavy silence lingered over the remaining family members.

Old Madam Xi sighed heavily, leaning on her walking stick, while Duchess Lin Meiyun wiped the tears from her eyes, looking up at her husband with deep pain in her voice.

"Jianyu... why did Wenzhe act like that toward Yueqing?" the Duchess asked, her voice trembling. "She has suffered so much while he was gone. And how... how did you even manage to find him after two whole months of nothing?"

Grand Duke Xi Jianyu gently placed a large, calloused hand on his wife’s shoulder, leading her slowly toward the inner courtyard.

"We didn’t just stumble upon him," Jianyu explained in a low, grave tone. "Our shadow scouts finally managed to locate the secret border camp where the enemy was holding him. It was a perilous raid, but we managed to pull him out of that ravine and bring him back safely."

He paused, looking toward the direction of Wenzhe’s wing. "He has been through absolute hell, Meiyun. He was poisoned with Frost Heart Root and trapped in a cold cave for weeks. His body and mind are completely broken right now. He isn’t himself. Just give him some time to recover... he will come around."

Duchess Lin Meiyun bowed her head, letting her husband guide her inside as the servants and physicians rushed back and forth with hot water and herbal medicine chests.

Nearby, Lanyin, Qianqian, and Gu Yue stood looking down the dark corridor where Yueqing had disappeared. Deep concern showed on their faces.

"I am so worried about Sister-in-law," Lanyin whispered softly, her hands clasped together. "She looked so heartbroken..."

"We all are," Qianqian agreed, holding Lanyin’s hand gently. "But the physicians are inside with Eldest Brother right now, and the courtyard is in chaos. Let’s go check on Brother’s condition first. Once things settle down, we can go to Yueqing’s room and check on her together."

The girls nodded to one another and turned to follow the rest of the family into Wenzhe’s courtyard.

Meanwhile, Yueqing walked numbly along the quiet wooden walkway, her dark blue hanfu swishing softly against her ankles. Lu Yue followed closely behind her, her hand never leaving her sword hilt, her eyes filled with quiet rage at how her mistress had been treated.

Reaching her bedroom doors, Yueqing stopped and turned around.

"Lu Yue," Yueqing said softly, her voice flat and completely devoid of emotion. "I just want to be alone tonight."

Lu Yue paused, looking at Yueqing’s pale face. Though she wanted nothing more than to stay by her side, she understood her mistress’s need for quiet.

"I understand, Madam," Lu Yue said with a deep, respectful bow. "I will be right outside guarding your door. If you need anything at all, just say my name, and I will come in immediately."

Yueqing gave a small, faint nod. She pushed open the double doors, stepped into the dark bedroom, and shut them behind her, pulling the wooden latch into place.

The room was completely dark, lit only by the pale moonlight filtering through the paper windows.

Exhausted, broken, and running on absolute emptiness, Yueqing let out a heavy sigh and began walking toward her bed. But just as she took three steps forward, she suddenly froze in her tracks.

A sharp gasp caught in her throat, her eyes widening in sudden terror.

Standing right by the side table in the dim light was a tall, dark silhouette. A man was standing inside her locked room.

He had long, silky black hair falling gracefully over his shoulders, and he wore an elegant, floating white and light-blue hanfu. In his hand, he held a delicate, closed folding fan, tapping it casually against his palm.

Panic surged through Yueqing’s weak body. A complete stranger had broken into her private quarters!

Without thinking twice, Yueqing spun on her heel, sprinting back toward the doors to slide the latch open and scream for her guard.

"Lu Yu—!"

Before the name could even leave her lips, the stranger moved with uncanny, supernatural speed. In a fraction of a second, he glided across the room, his fan lightly pressing against the wooden door beside her head, trapping her against the frame.

He leaned down slightly, bringing a slender finger to his handsome, refined lips.

"Hush," the man whispered, a familiar, slightly smug tone echoing in his smooth voice. "It’s me, Nine."

Yueqing froze entirely, her breath catching in her throat as she stared up at his unfamiliar, incredibly handsome face.

"...What?!"

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