Chapter 142: But I Don't Want You! (Second Update)

Wu Tan would normally never dare to humiliate him like this, but it was truly a matter of life and death—

This jerk had actually brought that woman surnamed Feng right into her chambers, intending to kill her. Who cared about saving face anymore? She might as well tear off all pretensions so that nobody had any face left!

With this scene she made, everyone waiting in the courtyard was completely dumbfounded—

Who on earth was the Second Young Miss cursing at?

Yet there were only the two of them inside the room, His Highness Prince Sheng; could she possibly be telling a third person to get lost?

Xingzi was so frightened her soul nearly left her body, and her legs could not stop trembling.

The others did not even dare to breathe heavily, let alone watch the spectacle. Each of them lowered their heads vigorously, wishing they could dig a hole in the ground and bury themselves.

That Prince Sheng was anything but amiable. Seeing his joke was one thing, but if it cost them their lives, that would be truly tragic.

"Get out, get out, get out! Take your damn doctor and get out of my sight!" Wu Tan was thoroughly infuriated by Xiao Yue, grabbing pillows and duvets to hurl at him. If her physical condition had permitted it, she truly would have wished to throw herself out the door as well.

When she finally ran out of things to hurl, she sat there trembling all over.

Xiao Yue's face had long since turned as dark as the bottom of a wok, and he stood there motionless as a mountain, watching her throw her tantrum.

In neither of his two lifetimes had he ever suffered such humiliation, being pointed at by a little girl and cursed at from head to toe...

It wasn't until Wu Tan finally quieted down that he asked in a cold voice, "Have you finished making a scene?"

Wu Tan glared at him with bitter resentment, keeping her lips sealed.

Xiao Yue then turned his head to call out to Lei Ming, "Bring the doctor in."

So, when Xiao Yue came today, had he deliberately intended to kill her? Exactly how had she offended him this time? Just a short while ago, he had shamelessly talked about proposing marriage; was he now flying into a rage because he had been rejected?

"I want the doctor from your estate!" This jerk was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, and she truly could not overpower him. At her wit's end, panic and agitation suddenly brought tears streaming down her eyes. "You clearly knew that crazy woman can't stand the sight of me, yet you still sent her to treat me? You people aren't even capable of acting like human beings! Exactly how have I offended you this time? Are you even human at all?"

Knowing full well that someone was trying to harm you, you weren't even allowed to resist, and had to accept it with submissive resignation? What kind of ghost world was this?

Wu Tan felt that she had never suffered such immense grievance in her entire life, and as she sobbed, she simply could not stop.

Xiao Yue had wanted to explain to her, but after being cursed at so viciously by her without rhyme or reason, was he supposed to lower himself to coax her now? How could he possibly swallow his pride? In a fit of fury, he roared toward the outside, "Lei Ming, are you deaf? I told you to bring the doctor in!"

How could Lei Ming have the thick skin to dare provoke that little ancestor again? Shuddering with a chill, he quickly hurried forward to explain first, "Second Young Miss, it isn't Feng Qi! The Prince has invited a different doctor for you—the most senior and skilled physician in the capital for setting bones and healing injuries. Their family owns a medical shop, right there at Taihe Hall on West Street."

Wu Tan paused her sobbing for a moment, glancing suspiciously at Xiao Yue, who was standing with a cold face somewhat further away. "Really?"

"Why would our Prince want to harm you?" Lei Ming quickly patted his chest in assurance. "He's a thoroughly reliable doctor from the capital whom you can check up on later. Besides, the Prince's Manor has superior medicine brought back from the military with miraculous effects for healing broken bones. Let the doctor come in to examine you and apply some better medication so you can recover sooner, right?"

Lei Ming's words sounded much more agreeable to the ear.

Unconsciously, Wu Tan had stopped crying, though she still eyed Xiao Yue sideways with lingering skepticism.

Seeing that she had stopped making a scene, Lei Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around, gave a greeting toward the doorway, and a moment later, an elderly physician with graying temples walked in.

Wu Tan kept her neck stretched out, staring fixedly at the doorway to ensure the person entering was not that crazy woman surnamed Feng, and only then did she feel relieved.

She then stole another glance at Xiao Yue.

Sensing this, Xiao Yue turned his gaze with a cold expression.

She shrank her neck and, feeling guilty, quickly lowered her gaze.

Xiao Yue was also nearly driven to explosion by her anger. He silently walked over to a nearby stool, swept the hem of his robe, and sat down.

Lei Ming did not dare to linger in the room, so he tactfully retreated and closed the door behind him.

The physician walked over carrying his medicine box, first casting a timid glance at Wu Tan, then turning back to look at the frost-covered Xiao Yue—

Since he didn't leave, no one dared to drive him out either.

As the physician pulled items out of his medicine box, he explained amiably to Wu Tan, "In the eyes of a healer, there are only patients, no distinction between men and women. You don't need to be nervous, young lady!"

Given how fiercely Wu Tan had just made a fuss, he had truly taken her for a young girl prone to making unreasonable scenes.

Wu Tan kept her mouth shut, still stealing sideways glances at Xiao Yue—

What on earth was he here for? Wasn't he the one who brought that woman surnamed Feng to kick her when she was down? Could it be that he actually went out of his way to invite a doctor to treat her injuries? Wasn't that just being full of idle time? Her own household wasn't incapable of hiring a doctor.

The physician had initially feared she might throw a tantrum, but seeing her quiet and rather well-behaved, he felt reassured.

Because her leg was injured, Wu Tan had specifically instructed her maids to rush-make several pairs of exceptionally loose trousers. Thus, even with splints bound underneath, the trouser legs could be easily rolled up.

The physician carefully rolled up her trouser cuff, unwrapped the bandages, and re-examined the injury.

The previous imperial physician had already handled it very well, but because they needed to switch to the medicine brought by Xiao Yue and feared any adverse reaction between the medications, the physician carefully washed it for her all over again, applied a fresh batch of soothing medicinal paste, and once everything was tended to, he packed up his things, turned around, and bowed with cupped hands to Xiao Yue. "Your Highness, everything has been taken care of. Second Young Miss Wu's injury is not particularly severe, and since the previous physician handled it properly, there should be no problems as long as she pays attention to her recuperation afterward and avoids any further bumps. She will be able to recover completely as before."

Only after reporting this did he turn to tell Wu Tan, "During the process of the bone healing, it might itch a little. Young Miss, you must endure it. This medicine needs to be changed every other day, but for at least the next half month, Young Miss, it is best that you do not put your feet on the ground at all, and the injured leg must not bear any weight."

"Oh!" Wu Tan still maintained her manners toward outsiders and obediently acknowledged him.

Seeing that Xiao Yue said nothing, the physician did not dare to press the matter, assuming he had heard his instructions. He packed up his things and pushed the door open to leave.

Xingzi had been waiting anxiously outside for ages, terrified that her young mistress would fall out with this Prince Sheng all over again. The moment she saw the physician come out, she immediately wanted to go inside, but Lei Ming grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back, saying with displeasure, "The Prince has come over, and you aren't even going to serve a cup of tea?"

Cheng Cheng had originally been busy with other matters, but hearing the commotion of Wu Tan cursing Xiao Yue so fiercely earlier, she had rushed over as well. Hearing this now, she hurriedly said, "I'll go do it!"

With that, she hurried off toward the side courtyard to prepare the tea.

Inside the room, Xiao Yue sat motionless. Wu Tan had nothing to say to him either, so she simply lowered her head and picked at the bedsheets.

After a long silence, Xiao Yue finally broke the quiet: "Was it that woman Madam Meng who did this?"

He asked, yet his tone was one of absolute certainty.

"Huh?" Wu Tan looked up at him in surprise, initially wanting to ask how he knew. But after all, this matter was a domestic affair of the Wu family, and quite a significant one at that, so she didn't really wish to discuss it with outsiders and bit her lip to hold it back.

Seeing that she remained silent, Xiao Yue didn't wait for her to verify anything and continued, "You don't need to guard against me like you would a thief; what I know is未必 (not necessarily) any less than what you know. Madam Meng's primary target this time was Old Madam Wu, wasn't it? She wanted to use this opportunity to force Wu Qingqiong into mourning, thereby delaying her marriage to the Crown Prince?"

"How do you know?" Wu Tan blurted out.

Indeed, Xiao Yue knew far more than she did. After inquiring in detail about the events of that day, he had immediately grasped Madam Meng's intentions.

Killing Wu Tan could only serve as a release for her anger, but Wu Tan had been moving about right under her nose for so many years. If she couldn't tolerate her, she could have found an opportunity to act long ago without dragging it out until today. At this particular juncture, targeting Wu Tan was obviously just a convenient side objective; her true target was the Old Madam.

Xiao Yue said, "Never mind how I found out. In any case, since she didn't succeed this time, she will inevitably try again. In your current condition, unable even to take care of yourself, staying at the Wu family will be of no help. If you feel it's inconvenient to move to my manor, you can temporarily relocate to the imperial villa outside the city and stay out of these matters for now."

Wu Tan flatly refused: "Why on earth would I go to your estate..."

How could Xiao Yue not know what she was thinking? He couldn't help letting out a cold laugh: "Are all the other members of the Wu family dead? Would nothing at all get done without you? Just a moment ago you were scared out of your wits of dying, not even daring to use the physician from my manor. What now? Now you're not afraid when you're sticking your neck out for others? Do you really think your luck can be this good every single time?"

To say nothing else, just the handprint on her neck—it was pure, sheer luck that she hadn't perished at the other party's hands back then.

Thinking back on what happened that day, Wu Tan felt a lingering fear herself.

Yet that was her grandmother, the grandmother who had cherished her so dearly since childhood.

Even taking the risk, and even now, she did not regret what she had done.

Xiao Yue's words made logical sense, but she didn't like hearing them, so she softly defended herself: "They aren't just 'others'..."

"To me, they are nothing more than others!" Finally losing his patience, Xiao Yue stood up abruptly and strode right up to her. Grasping her chin, he tilted it upward to force her to meet his gaze, warning her with a chilling edge to every word: "Wu Tan, my patience is not limitless. I have already shown you more than enough tolerance and concession. Now, when I speak to you nicely, you had better listen nicely. Isn't Wu Qinglin around? Isn't Wu Qingyu around? Old Madam Wu's life experience and capabilities both surpass yours. Let them handle their own affairs; you don't need to carry every single burden for them. Do you understand?"

He wasn't actually exerting much force with his hand, but those two piercing gazes pressing down on her genuinely made Wu Tan feel a tangible sense of threat.

She tightly pressed her lips together as she met his gaze, feeling somewhat afraid and wishing not to defy his warning, but thinking of the Old Madam, she still felt she could not do as he asked. Frowning, she stubbornly argued back: "They are my family. Why shouldn't I stand with them?"

Right now, Xiao Yue utterly loathed the very existence of the entire Wu family.

Previously, his hostility was directed only at Wu Xun, but now he found the entire household disagreeable.

Wu Tan debated with him righteously, glaring at him with bright, resolute eyes.

Xiao Yue gritted his teeth: "I told you the reason for that earlier: because I want you! Therefore—you must keep your life and save it for me!"

He had spoken words of a similar possessive nature several times before, yet not once had Wu Tan ever interpreted them as a confession of affection.

His motives were impure, and the coercion behind his actions each time was far too obvious.

"But I don't want you!" she blurted out in rebuttal. "You shouldn't always assume things so aggressively. My grandmother is my grandmother, and my eldest brother is my eldest brother. They share my blood and have cherished and doted on me for so many years. To you they may be irrelevant strangers, but to me, they are not! I have never once said I was willing to go by your side. You have neither the reason nor the right to coerce me—to force me into abandoning or even forsaking my closest kin, just so I can obediently play the role of a puppet in your hands. Your Highness Prince Sheng, you may have your own motives and calculations, but I am also entitled to my own choices. I can choose not to submit and not to cooperate, can I not?"

She was indeed rather afraid of Xiao Yue.

After all, distinctions between high and low were strict, the disparity in their statuses was vast, and he was an overbearing person with a rather formidable temper.

Regardless of whether it was for her own sake or for the sake of her family and this Marquis Dingyuan's estate, the former Wu Tan had always chosen to endure and back down in front of Xiao Yue.

This was the very first time she was confronting him righteously and with unyielding dignity, expressing her stance so clearly with such a lengthy speech.

She said she didn't want him, and that she chose to stand with her family instead of him?

Across both her past and present lives, Xiao Yue had never made such a declaration to anyone else—soft tactics and hard tactics combined, tirelessly... even repeatedly compromising and tolerating...

Yet this young girl was solemnly telling him to his face that she didn't want him!

Xiao Yue felt that both his self-esteem and his forbearance were facing an unprecedented challenge.

Wu Tan before him wore a grave expression, looking as though she had cast all caution to the wind as she met his gaze without fear.

Xiao Yue's Adam's apple bobbed up and down a couple of times—

He knew that before long, Wu Qinglin would die, and Old Madam Wu would also perish. After that, all the people she placed before him and above him would be gone, and when she was left with nothing and nowhere to turn, even if he wanted to keep her by his side, she would no longer have any choice left.

Yet looking at her face right now, fighting against him on behalf of those people, all those cruel thoughts suddenly condensed sluggishly in his throat and were ground into dust.

He couldn't say them!

He did want to keep her by his side, but he was even more certain that what he wanted was a living, breathing person, not a spirit-broken puppet or marionette he could manipulate at will.

Years ago, the woman trapped in the cold palace and the lively, spirited, mischievous young girl before his eyes were simply different.

Once upon a time, he had felt that Xiao Wu's destruction of her to that extent was a terrible waste of a fine treasure.

Today—

He did not wish to follow that path.

Xiao Yue's gaze shifted slightly as he stared for a long moment at the hand gripping Wu Tan's chin.

In the end, inch by inch, he slowly withdrew his strength.