Long Yang’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly lowered his head and looked at her, then—amid Lu Liangwei’s startled exclamation—his hands slipped under her armpits, and he picked her up off the ground entirely.
Lu Liangwei suddenly felt herself being lifted high into the air and had practically no time to react. By the time she realized what had transpired, her entire face was flaming.
She had no idea where to safely place her hands.
However, before she could struggle, a moment later, she had already been carried onto the bed.
The man’s clean, refreshing fragrance wafted to her nostrils. “If you’re tired, you should sleep.”
Lu Liangwei rested her head on the pillow and watched in a daze as Long Yang helped her take off her shoes. He then pulled the quilt up and covered her.
Her face suddenly felt as if it were burning; she also felt extremely embarrassed.
He was treating her like a child. If that was so, why did he still insist on wanting to marry her?
She wanted to ask him if he was particularly fond of young girls, but she stopped herself in the end. When she saw him leave, she immediately buried her face into the pillow, feeling more than a little disconcerted.
However, no matter how tired she felt, she was unable to sleep.
After all, this was not her own home.
Lu Liangwei lay there for a while. Since she could not sleep, she pushed the blanket aside and sat up.
Given the way Long Yang was behaving, he was not prepared to let her go. However, she needed to be in the capital suburbs tonight.
She frowned and stood up, smoothing out her disheveled clothing, then pushed open the doors and headed out.
She suddenly heard the sound of a zither coming from the garden—music, flowing and murmuring like water.
She hesitated for a moment and walked in the direction of the music.
Long Yang was in the pavilion, clad in a pale green robe. He was sitting behind the zither case, his long, slender fingers plucking at the strings.
His long black hair fell about his back and shoulders. His handsome countenance was not daunting like it usually was, striking fear into the heart. In fact, right now, he appeared to be satisfied, and there seemed to be an elegant, subtle upward curve to the corners of his finely-shaped lips. It was evident that he was currently in a good mood.
The zither music was beautiful, and the man himself was very handsome.
Lu Liangwei stood behind some flowers and trees, admiring Long Yang quietly for a while before withdrawing her gaze.
She took a few steps back and glanced at the man in the pavilion. She pursed her lips, then decisively turned around, heading toward the courtyard wall.
She had observed that after she and Long Yang had come into this courtyard, the servants had all made themselves scarce.
There was no other sound in the courtyard now, apart from Long Yang playing music on the zither. This was the best time for her to leave.
She walked toward the courtyard wall and visually assessed its height. The wall was not too high, but it was smooth and had no footholds or anything of the sort that might help her scale it.
However, next to the wall, there was a big tree with a thick trunk that she might be able to use.
She rubbed her palms together and went toward the tree. She then clambered up the trunk, using both hands and both feet.
Once she had scaled the tree, she slowly stood up.
One of the tree branches had extended outside the wall. Not only that, the branch was quite long and fairly thick. She tested it by stepping on it a few times to confirm that it was sturdy enough. Having set her mind at ease, she then boldly made her way forward.
She wanted to use this branch to jump down outside the wall.
However, she had barely gone halfway when she saw someone standing below the tree, watching her in a calm and composed manner.
Lu Liangwei, “…”
Was Long Yang not playing the zither?
She suddenly realized the music of the zither had ceased at some unknown point.
She glanced outside the courtyard wall, contemplating whether or not to continue going forward—or should she pretend that nothing had happened and obediently slide down the tree?
Lu Liangwei wrestled with this dilemma for a while, then continued walking straight ahead.
However, she could not ignore the intense stare from the man below, so she deliberately behaved as if nothing had happened and said, “Your Majesty, allow me to help you test this branch from your courtyard to see if it’s sturdy enough.”
Long Yang stood below the tree, watching her with unruffled good temper. “I see. I’m sorry to have troubled you, Second Miss Lu.”
Lu Liangwei’s foot slipped when she heard what he said. She almost lost her balance and fell off the tree.
She caught hold of the branch above her and steadied her nerves. She felt too embarrassed to look down but replied, “You make too much of a trifle!”
She began moving faster.