MLIAM Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Knowing the Truth – Loved Him So Much That She Wanted to Destroy Him…

Wei Yan carefully examined the handwriting on the note, frowning slightly, “It was indeed tampered with.”

Yu Shuli leaned his head closer, “You can tell it’s been tampered with just from this?!”

“The handwriting has changed. Although the person who switched it was cautious, they ultimately left loopholes due to being too rushed.” Wei Yan twisted the note, “The ink marks haven’t even completely dried.”

Zhao Lan nodded, “They can’t have gone far.” He looked at Dai Meng, “It’s your time to shine. If you can catch the person, I might consider it.”

Dai Meng’s eyes lit up. Almost without needing to be reminded, he greeted Yu Shuli and left.

Yu Shuli pursed his lips, “I’ll gather everyone in the General’s Residence to see if anyone is missing.”

“The General’s Residence is guarded by the Northwest Army, so the possibility of outsiders entering is very small.” Zhao Lan glanced at Yu Shuli and asked, “Ji’an, did you completely eliminate the spies before?”

“I…” Yu Shuli shook his head somewhat blankly, “I…I don’t know. But they are all my good brothers and won’t betray me.”

“It’s unrelated to the Northwest Army.” Wei Yan stood in front of Yu Shuli, “There’s still one person that we previously overlooked.”

Zhao Lan frowned, “Who?”

“Yu Miaomiao.” Wei Yan sighed and looked at Yu Shuli, “Did you leave your second sister in the Residence?”

Yu Shuli was taken aback, “I handed her over to Zhong Nian to take care of.” He bit his lip, “I’ll summon someone!”

Before long, Zhong Nian arrived, scratching his head in confusion, “Little General, what’s wrong?”

“Where is Yu Miaomiao?”

Zhong Nian said “Oh” and replied, “We thought that she was still a woman, so we locked her in a separate woodshed in the Residence. I’ve checked every day when delivering food, and there’s nothing wrong. Soldiers are guarding all around the outside, so she can’t escape.”

Wei Yan pondered for a moment, “Let’s go, let’s go take a look.”

Halfway there, Cang Xu rushed over to report anxiously, “Sir, something bad has happened! The Imperial Guards from the Palace have arrived with an Imperial Decree, saying they want to seal off The Censorate and rebuild it into a Supervision Platform, to be overseen by Marquis Xunyang.”

Yu Shuli’s expression changed. He grabbed Wei Yan, “Could the letter be true? We spent so long studying the authenticity of the letter, but ended up delaying things?”

Wei Yan pressed his arm and said softly, “Don’t worry, the Imperial Guards don’t have that much power. I’ll go take a look and come back.” He looked at Zhao Lan, entrusting Yu Shuli to him, “Please take care of him, Second Prince.”

Zhao Lan nodded, his gaze containing some warmth, “To be safe, we still must retrieve the original letter. Ji’an, you must lead the way.”

Yu Shuli held onto Wei Yan, unwilling to let go, speechless for a long time.

“After you have looked at the letter and confirmed the situation in the Palace, I will take out the Imperial Decree of abdication.” Wei Yan touched Yu Shuli’s head, “Let’s prepare for both possibilities. If necessary, we will seize the throne first.”

Yu Shuli rubbed Wei Yan’s finger, “I didn’t mean to be unreasonable… I’m just a little worried.”

“Yes, of course I know. Okay, I’ll go to The Censorate first. There are many important documents inside that must not be taken away.” He took two steps, then turned back to look at Yu Shuli, “Be good, nothing will happen to me.”

Yu Shuli felt the atmosphere was a bit heavy and suffocating. This anxiety of separation gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

It was as if Wei Yan had said this before, but broke his promise.

His head suddenly ached, and he subconsciously said, “Wei Yan, I’ll go with you.”

Wei Yan stopped in his tracks and chuckled, “Why are you so clingy today?”

He shook his head and looked helplessly at Zhong Nian, “Please trouble Vice General Zhong to bring some people to protect me. It will save our Duke Zhenguo from worrying.”

Zhong Nian busily said, “What difficulty is there in that? I will personally take people to escort you, sir.”

He cupped his fist at Yu Shuli, “Little General, rest assured, Zhong Nian will protect Prime Minister at all costs.”

Yu Shuli pursed his lips and said nothing.

Wei Yan turned to smile at Yu Shuli, “Is that okay now? Can the Duke Zhenguo rest assured?”

Wei Yan was already gentle and patient enough, and Yu Shuli knew that if he delayed any longer, he would be acting childishly.

Many of the documents in The Censorate concerned the lives of thousands of people, and many were important evidences for pleading for the people. They must not fall into the hands of villains. What’s more, Dong Siwen’s lawsuit was still inside.

That was something that absolutely could not be lost.

Yu Shuli’s eyelashes trembled, and he finally reached out, grasped the man’s shoulders tightly, and brought his lips closer, kissing Wei Yan’s chin in a restrained and measured manner, “I’ll wait for you to come back.”

With great difficulty at hand, no one had time for romantic love. Wei Yan finally took his leave, and Yu Shuli turned and led people towards the woodshed.

This was a simple kitchen courtyard. In addition to the woodshed, there were the servants’ residences next to it. Now, in order to confine Yu Miaomiao conveniently, it had been converted into a rest place for soldiers to change shifts.

Seeing Yu Shuli and the Second Prince arrive, the soldiers hurriedly wanted to kowtow and salute.

Zhao Lan raised his hand to stop their movements, “Has Yu Miaomiao been inside all along?”

“Yes.” The soldiers answered, “We go in to deliver food every day, and she has never come out.”

Zhao Lan looked around, “How did you think of sending her to the woodshed? This place is very open, and the walls are not very high. With a little bit of martial arts skills, it would be easy to get out. Wouldn’t it be safer to lock her up in the barracks?”

“Everyone in the barracks is men, and this Yu Miaomiao stubbornly refused to go. Vice General Zhong thought about what this woman had experienced before… and was also a bit afraid of her being stimulated. As for martial arts, we sent someone to check, and this girl had injuries to the meridians in her feet due to being humiliated before, so she can’t practice martial arts. Therefore, there is no need to worry about her being able to fly over walls and run away. In addition, the General’s Residence was going to be under martial law anyway, so General Zhong thought it would be more convenient for us to keep an eye on things here.”

Yu Shuli suddenly felt something was wrong, “You said Yu Miaomiao actively refused to go to the barracks?”

The soldier nodded, “Saying that she had suffered from men before and couldn’t stand seeing so many men.”

“Aren’t there any men here?” Yu Shuli cursed angrily, “Aren’t you a man?! You can believe such an obvious lie?”

The soldier was stunned, looking like he was facing a great disaster, bowing and saying in fear, “Yes… Yes, this subordinate has failed to do his job properly…”

Zhao Lan frowned and coldly looked at the two soldiers guarding the door, “Open the door!”

Having been scolded by Yu Shuli, the soldiers tremblingly obeyed the order and opened the courtyard door.

With a “bang,” Yu Shuli smashed open the door and went in.

Where in the world was there any trace of that delicate woman in the room?

The original straw bed was turned upside down in a mess, the food was knocked over on the ground, and the clothes were also thrown open in a mess. The entire room was in chaos, as if it had been ransacked.

Yu Shuli bit his lip and glared at the guarding soldiers, “Is this what you call convenient to watch over?!”

The soldiers knelt down in panic, also lamenting in their hearts. That Yu Miaomiao clearly had never gone out, so how could a young woman suddenly disappear without a trace?!

Yu Shuli swept the straw away and sharply discovered a thick letter faintly revealed under the straw.

Yu Shuli picked up the letter with a dark face and handed it to the Second Prince.

The Second Prince took a look and handed it back to Yu Shuli, saying, “Since it was left by your second sister, it’s probably a private letter to you. It’s not convenient for me to read. You can read it first.”

He took the opportunity while Yu Shuli read the letter to look around, checking the surrounding objects and furnishings, looking for an exit that Yu Miaomiao might be able to escape through. After failing to find anything, he sighed, “Zhong Nian is still too soft-hearted. Given this, it’s difficult to entrust him with important tasks.”

Yu Shuli took the letter and carefully looked at it.

At the beginning of the letter, Yu Miaomiao expressed her undisguised resentment, hatred, and malicious curses towards him.

Yu Shuli was shocked for a moment, his mind clouded, and he almost fell down.

It was hard for him to believe that this was actually his good “second sister” whom he once trusted and was close to. After no longer pretending, she was actually an enemy who wished he would die soon.

Seeing Yu Shuli swaying, Zhao Lan quickly grabbed him with sharp eyes and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, I suddenly feel a little dizzy.”

Yu Shuli’s mind was in chaos, as if something was about to explode.

Over the years, he had lived in the lies woven for him by others, and he was gradually unable to distinguish who was truly good to him and who was feigning benevolence and acting pretentiously…

He was like living in Zhuang Zhou’s dream, for more than twenty years, unable to see the filth in the void and the malice hidden in the heart.

Naive and ridiculous.

Yu Shuli tried hard to adjust his emotions, enduring the discomfort and continued to read.

Only then did he realize that nearly ten years ago, Wei Yan had been confessed to by Yu Miaomiao, but he had refused.

Back then, he had a good relationship with Yu Miaomiao, and he was always dragged by Yu Miaomiao to go shopping under the pretext of protecting her.

Yu Miaomiao had mentioned to him many times in private that Wei Yan might be in love with her, which was why he always appeared on the streets where they were shopping.

After listening to this, Yu Shuli took it to heart and observed it several times, finding that Wei Yan’s “coincidences” were indeed a bit frequent, and he gradually believed Yu Miaomiao’s words.

He privately inquired about Wei Yan’s intentions many times for Yu Miaomiao, but Wei Yan’s reaction was always indifferent. He felt that Wei Yan might not be enlightened and advised Yu Miaomiao to find another good man.

However, Yu Miaomiao at that time was temporarily in a girlish mood, thinking that someone like Wei Yan was just shy to speak up and had long been in love with her. After all, the gaze he cast from afar each time they “coincidentally” met could hardly be considered innocent.

So she stubbornly believed that Wei Yan would eventually fall under her pomegranate skirt like those talented scholars in storybooks, it was just a matter of time.

At the moment, perhaps he just wanted to establish a career first, and then start a family.

So Yu Miaomiao never married, just waiting and waiting, almost waiting until she became an old maid.

But Wei Yan still didn’t make a move.

Yu Miaomiao was a little flustered and intensified her hints to Yu Shuli, and repeatedly took him to meet her “friends” to bring them together, wanting to use Yu Shuli’s marriage to arouse a bit of “interest” in Wei Yan to get married.

However, it backfired.

Wei Yan finally came to the door, but not to propose marriage to her, but to warn her to stop taking him to those gatherings of young ladies and daughters of noble families under the pretext of looking for someone for Yu Shuli, and tarnishing his reputation.

Only then did Yu Miaomiao realize that Wei Yan’s “coincidences” were not coincidentally meeting her at all, but were meeting Yu Shuli, who was being forcibly dragged out with her.

After years of loving him but not being able to obtain him, Yu Miaomiao was unwilling to give up like this, and she finally decided to take a risk.

So she planned a “date” with Wei Yan at the hunting ground, wanting to take this opportunity to offer herself.

At that time, the Crown Prince was arrogant, and she cooperated with the Crown Prince, who admired Yu Shuli, thinking that the two of them could each get what they wanted.

However, Yu Shuli was finally rescued by Wei Yan and slept peacefully in the barracks for a night.

And not only did she not succeed, she also lost her virginity.

Not only did Wei Yan disregard her, but after seeing the drunken Yu Shuli, he even wanted to kill her on the spot. If he hadn’t been anxiously trying to take Yu Shuli away from the place of trouble at the time, Yu Miaomiao would not have had a good time that day.

But even though he didn’t kill her, Wei Yan never came back to care about her again.

The Crown Prince, after planning for a long time, waited in vain and became angry with Yu Miaomiao.

What followed was a group of lustful animals in official attire.

Yu Miaomiao was subjected to all kinds of humiliation at the hunting ground, and in turn, she vented all her anger on Wei Yan and Yu Shuli, vowing that the two of them would not have a good time.

Didn’t Wei Yan like Yu Shuli?

She was determined to make him love him but not be able to obtain him!

So she gave up her reputation, knowing that the Crown Prince was the instigator, and insisted on putting the blame for her humiliation all on Wei Yan, publicizing it widely.

Then, she took the love letter that Wei Yan had wanted to give to Yu Shuli back then and asked Yu Shuli to seek justice for her.

Finally, under her sob story, the simple Yu Shuli was deceived.

He broke off his friendship with Wei Yan, and from then on, not only did they never visit each other until they died, but the two of them were also constantly at odds in the court.

Yu Miaomiao used a series of methods to finally separate the two, and she was overjoyed in her heart, wanting to rest at home for a few days, and then asked Yu Shuli to help her get married to Wei Yan.

But Wei Yan was not an easy person to deal with. In order to retaliate against her, he ignored the friendship between Yu Shuli’s family and her family and directly handed over the evidence of her father’s bribery to the Emperor. The case was widely involved, and the Emperor finally ordered the confiscation of the family property and the extermination of the family at Wei Yan’s instigation.

Her mind was unusually clear, knowing that she could only save her life by pretending to be crazy and foolish.

After all, that foolish third uncle was still soft-hearted and would definitely plead for her in front of His Majesty, leaving her a life.

As long as she saved her life, she would one day snatch back Wei Yan.

Originally, everything was still within the plan, but who knew that the Emperor suddenly bestowed a marriage on these two who had already become mortal enemies, and Yu Shuli also happened to fall into the water and lose his memory on the way to reject the marriage, causing the two, who had originally parted ways, to unexpectedly reunite.

As if it was destined by heaven for these two to be together, Yu Miaomiao’s meticulous calculations finally fell through, and of course, it was difficult for her not to go crazy.

But this madness was not the madness that the world thought it was.

She was still looking for an opportunity, the best opportunity to completely alienate Yu Shuli and Wei Yan.

Finally, she waited for the news that Wei Yan was proposing to marry Yu Shuli, and waited for the two of them to have a grand wedding with ten miles of red makeup.

So, she hurried back, back to “avenge”.

Yu Shuli’s fingers tightly gripped the letter.

Every word and sentence in the letter was a series of her heartfelt words over the years.

Yu Shuli felt like he had been struck on the head.

He had wronged Wei Yan for so many years…

“It’s not Zhong Nian’s fault,” Yu Shuli murmured, “I didn’t expect that my second sister would be such a person…”

Over the years, she had actually been so obsessively in love with Wei Yan.

Loved him so much that she wanted to destroy him.

All the kinship she had shown to him all these years was actually a “performance” to get closer to Wei Yan.

“I’m the one who’s stupid.” Yu Shuli smiled bitterly. He was truly bad at recognizing people.

Zhao Lan asked, “Have you finished reading the letter?”

Yu Shuli said sullenly, “Yes.”

“Did she say how she escaped?”

“No… She just inexplicably clarified the grudges between Wei Yan, her, and me over the years.” Yu Shuli turned to look at Zhao Lan, his eyes sorrowful, “Your Highness, Wei Yan has truly suffered for me. If it weren’t for my amnesia, we might have missed each other…”

Zhao Lan smiled slightly, comforting him, “Ji’an, you must believe that fate that is meant to be together, others cannot break it apart. Even if forced to be separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, he will rush to you.”