Chapter 24: Accepting a Gift Does Not Mean Loving You
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In the Kingdom of Southern Chu, unmarried women had to wear a cloak or veil whenever they went out to meet a man.
He could hardly bring himself to look at Gu Xingwan more than a few times.
That beast Lu Lan had actually succeeded.
Ah!
Mei Xianghan clenched both fists until his knuckles cracked, quivering with rage.
“You’re utterly shameless! You harlot, you filthy wretch. And you still call yourself an extraordinary woman who has studied the sages’ teachings? Have all those books gone straight into a dog’s belly?”
At last, Mei Xianghan had managed to curse her viciously, but he kept his voice clenched between his teeth. Even Gu Xingwan, separated from him by only one door, could barely make out his words.
A cold smile touched the corners of Gu Xingwan’s lips. Could he not even curse someone without holding back?
Excellent.
The ancients had one weakness that made them easy to deal with: the more lofty and self-righteous a person appeared, the more they valued their reputation.
Mei Xianghan came from an illustrious family and studied at the Cangqi Academy. If people learned that his betrothed had been taken by Lu Lan, his head would be shining green with humiliation.
“What is so good about that beast Lu Lan? In what way am I inferior to him?” Mei Xianghan’s entire body was taut, anger coiling around him like a fiery serpent.
“To put it simply, two years of knowing you in spirit were not worth a single night of pleasure with the heir of the Duke of Lu. Hehe!”
Gu Xingwan’s eyes and brows were full of provocative allure, and her tone brimmed with mockery and defiance.
Mei Xianghan: “…”
He had nearly been sent to an early grave on the spot by her words.
What man could endure such disgrace?
Besides, he had always been physically frail. Whenever he was with his personal maid, he felt inadequate in that regard, leaving him deeply insecure and sensitive.
“Gu Xingwan…” Mei Xianghan called out hoarsely. If the courtyard wall had not been so high, he truly would have climbed over to strike her. “What, then, did the two years we spent together mean to you?”
“It means you were unlucky!”
Tingzheng could not help covering her mouth and snickering. Her young mistress’s tongue was as poisonous as if it had been dipped in venom.
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Mei Xianghan was completely at a loss for words. The air fell silent for a moment.
Even through the door, his heavy breathing could be heard.
“Young Master Mei, go home. If you don’t leave soon, I’ll have to let the dogs out. You know our Gu family is a poor but upright household. Our several mad dogs have to endure nine hungry meals out of every three days. With your delicate flesh and tender skin…”
Mei Xianghan jolted violently, his heart utterly shattered.
After several breaths, he calmed himself. His gaze turned venomous.
“Gu Xingwan, have you ever held even the slightest affection for me?”
“No.”
“Then why did you shamelessly accept the gifts I gave you?”
Gu Xingwan’s voice was soft and distant. “Accepting a gift does not mean I love you.”
Those words felt to Mei Xianghan like a thunderbolt exploding inside his chest. What kind of absurd logic was that?
If she did not love him, how could she shamelessly accept his gifts?
“Fine. I was blind. Then return the Flood Dragon Pearl hairpin I gave you.”
Mei Xianghan had originally prepared for both possibilities.
On the one hand, he would persuade Gu Xingwan to change her mind.
If that failed, he would demand that she return everything he had given her.
The other trinkets could be forgotten, but the Flood Dragon Pearl hairpin had been bestowed by the Empress Dowager upon his mother. He absolutely could not allow Gu Xingwan to keep it.
Gu Xingwan stood as still as a virgin maiden.
Tingzheng, however, wore an expression of shock.
How could Young Master Mei behave like this? How could anyone ask for a gift back after giving it away?
“Tingzheng, throw the hairpin out.”
Gu Xingwan liked the hairpin too, but after giving it some thought, she decided that her life mattered more. It was best to distance herself from such a dangerous man as soon as possible, lest she end up with a sword through her heart.
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Reluctantly, Tingzheng drew the hairpin from her bosom.
Her young mistress had very few decent pieces of jewelry to begin with. Her father and stepmother had never favored a concubine-born daughter, so her dowry would certainly be miserably meager. A bride whose dowry was not lavish enough would be looked down upon by her husband’s family.
It was rare to have a treasure that could lend her a little dignity, and now even that had to be returned.
How frustrating.
“Miss… we can’t!” Tingzheng pouted, unwilling to part with it.
Gu Xingwan gave her a sharp poke on the forehead, snatched the hairpin away, and threw it straight out.
“Here, you with the surname Mei. Catch. If you break it, don’t expect me to compensate you.”
Mei Xianghan barely caught it, his movements awkward and disordered.
“Hmph!”
After carefully examining it and confirming that it was indeed the hairpin he had given her, he turned away with a cold expression and disappeared into the night.
On the way back to their room, Tingzheng was terribly dispirited, as though she had suffered a major blow.
“Miss, did you know all along that Young Master Mei would demand the hairpin back?”
Gu Xingwan’s eyes gleamed. “He appears affectionate, but in truth he is more heartless than anyone. His visit tonight, pretending to ask me to change my mind, was a sham. The Minister’s household would never accept me again. He merely wanted to pin the crime of breaking off the engagement on me, then use the opportunity to demand the hairpin back. Only that way could he make his actions seem both justified and reasonable.”
“What a hypocrite!”
Tingzheng felt as though her dreams had been shattered. Young Master Mei had seemed so pure-hearted and kind, yet he was full of crooked schemes.
Gu Xingwan had no shortage of schemes herself. A smile curved her lips.
If Nanny Tang’s letter arrived in time, Mei Xianghan would soon be in for trouble.
That Zhang Yan was a hot-tempered, hypermasculine fool who flew into a rage at the slightest provocation.
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