“I…” Pei Zichen wanted to pour his heart out. But he stopped when his aunt’s voice rang in his ears again. “If it was not me who had asked the bad lady to get the ball for me, she would not have broken the vase, then…”
“Don’t think about it too much. It was not your fault, it was an accident.” Pei Xiuyuan did not expect his son to blame himself so much.
“Dad.”
“Go to sleep now.”
Pei Zichen looked at his father as if he had not finished talking.
“Alright now, go to bed. Your great-grandmother is fine, really. Don’t worry too much about it.”
Seeing his father being this nice to him, he got even more afraid. He was afraid that his love would become hatred after knowing the truth. He was scared, very scared…
Pei Zichen was not a timid boy. His only fear was to be hated by his father. He could not bear even a bit of his father’s aversion to him.
The Pei family’s shrine was in the backyard in the old manor. It was a separate building, with a classical design. She could feel its solemnity and gloom when she entered the building.
The butler opened the door for her. She could see rows of memorial tablets of their ancestors. Their ancestors since the Qing Dynasty.
The Pei family was indeed one of the oldest families with a long history in Haicheng.
“Young Mistress, please kneel here.” The butler did not provide her any cushion.
She had to kneel on the icy bluestone floor.
Lu Man was a realistic person. She knew when she accepted the punishment, she must accept it whole-heartedly. She knelt down without saying a word.
“I do not think you will need me here.” He was saying that he believed in her character. He believed that she would not stand up after he left her alone.
“Yes.”
The butler was quite satisfied with her answer. Judging from her answer, he thought that this young mistress was a good lady. Then, he left.
When the thick door was closed, Lu Man was left alone in the shrine.
The lights in the shrine were very dim. It was dark and gloomy. The temperature was so cold even in the hot summer, cold enough to give people goosebumps, especially in the still of the night.
Being alone in the cold shrine, looking at all the tablets in front of her, Lu Man could not help feeling a cold chill. She felt scared.
The air was so still that she could feel her breath. She could even hear her heartbeat!
The time passed by awfully slow. A second felt like almost a century!
She listened to her heartbeat quietly.
Everything was in complete stillness, it felt like the world was put on mute. Suddenly, a creaking sound broke the silence. Lu Man’s heart leaped. She knew that ghosts did not exist in this world but the sound sent a chill through her body.
And then she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. The sound was soft. She did not dare to look back although she knew they must not be those of supernatural beings.
The footsteps came nearer and nearer. She recognized it and turned around.
It was really him!
“Manman…” Mu Yunhai was sad when he saw her small frail body kneeling on the ground. He strode forward.
“What are you doing here?” She asked coldly.
“Stand up!” Mu Yunhai tried to help her up.
“Do not get in my way. Please leave!” Lu Man rejected him.
“Manman, can you not be stubborn this time?” He knew she would simple-mindedly kneel here so he came. And he saw her really doing it!
“I said do not get in my way.”
“Manman!” Mu Yunhai was annoyed.
“Please go. If Wang Yunxi catches you here, she would go crazy.” Lu Man mocked him.
“I will leave if you stand up and sit here.” Mu Yunhai brought her a cushion and a blanket so that she could sleep here tonight.
“Go away.” Lu Man did not even look at him when she said that.
“Manman, I am going to force you if you keep on like this!” Mu Yunhai came close to her after laying the cushion on the floor.
“Mu Yunhai, do not touch me!” Lu Man glared at him.
When he saw her eyes, he stopped. He knew she would be very angry if he insisted. And when she was angry, things would get very ugly.
“Manman…” He said her name helplessly.
“Just go.” Lu Man faced away.
“Manman, don’t hurt yourself just because you are angry with me.” It was very exhausting kneeling in the place for one night.
“Don’t look so highly of yourself!” Why would she hurt herself for him?
“Manman!”
His care irritated her. “Get lost!”
“Manman, why have you turn out like this?” She used to be a very gentle and nice lady. Although she was assertive at times, she would rarely go against him. But now, she had become a total stranger to him!
“This is me.” She had always been like this.
“No, it is not. If you are still you, you would not treat me like this and would not have married another man!” This was his biggest pain! He could not accept the fact that she was married. Moreover, the man she was married to was Pei Xiuyuan!
Lu Man found his words ridiculous. “You can get married but I cannot?”
She could not understand why he blamed her for what he had done.
“I married her because there was no other way. I did it for our future! I…” He did all this for her sake, but what had she done?
“For our future?” Lu Man was puzzled. “What future do we have?”
“I want to get stronger and give you the best in the world!” He looked at her affectionately. He had been thinking about this all along when he did this.
“Do not be a hypocrite, Mu Yunhai. You are being ridiculous! You did it for me? Am I a three-year-old kid that can be tricked that easily?” Lu Man sneered.
“Manman, it is true…”
“Enough! You have humiliated me and pushed me into a dead end. And now you say that it was all for my sake? Your good to me is more than I can take!” Did he want to give her a good life? She thought what she used to have was already the best in the world. But he had destroyed it with his own hands!
“I admit that I did not handle the matter well, Manman. But I really did not expect that things could go wrong! I have never wanted to hurt you!” Mu Yunhai could not stand her blame!
“You did not expect this?” Lu Man sneered again. She doubted her ability in judging a person’s personality every time she talked to him.
“It is true! I never knew that Wang Yunxi would do such a thing.” Mu Yunhai had never expected that Wang Yunxi would order people to sexually harass her. He felt more horribly than she had when she was humiliated.
It was the greatest shame in his life for not being able to protect the love of his life!
“Do you think it is the first day I know you?”
“Manman…”
“Do you dare to say that it was an accident when Wang Yunxi came to the bridal shop?”
“It was my fault. She had read my messages. I…” Mu Yunhai tried to explain.