[Quick Wear] On strike, please don't disturb your ex

Chapter 174 The Maids in the Palace Are on Strike (44)

Song Liaoye looked at Shen Fanli's slightly calm eyes and clenched his fists unconsciously.

"Why did you fake your death and leave?"

Shen Fanli did not answer, but asked: "What do you want from me?"

Song Liaoye seemed to be determined to get an answer, "You said you would stay with me until I die!"

Shen Fanli didn't know with what identity and mentality he said this, a faint smile appeared on her lips, and her eyes were a little cold.

"You also said that you would never let me suffer any injustice again, that you would be responsible for me, that you loved me and wanted to marry me."

"But, didn't you do that too?"

"So, what right do you have to ask others to do it, Song Liaoye!"

Shu Fanli called him by his name.

Song Liaoye clenched his fists tightly, not caring at all that the person in front of him called him by his name.

He took a step forward, wanting to hug her in his arms, "At that time..."

Shen Fanli noticed his movements, took a step back, and pushed away the man's outstretched hand.

She looked at Song Liaoye's exceptionally dazzling face, her eyes were extremely cold and filled with a hint of chilliness.

"Don't say you did it for your great cause. Now that your great cause has been accomplished, you come to me instead. It was you who let go of my hand at that time. You wanted to marry Miss Pei. I probably knew in my heart that you did it for your great cause, but what about that mistress? Is keeping someone outside also for your great cause?"

"I know you have given up a lot for the greater cause."

"But Song Liaoye, you also abandoned me!"

Shen Fanli's eyes were slightly complicated. She looked up at Song Liaoye and said, "Now that you have already married, Miss Pei should be your queen. Then you still..."

"No," Song Liaoye looked at Shen Fanli with serious eyes and whispered, "I haven't married yet."

"Not long after you left, I fell ill. Later, I asked Hua Qing to spread false news in Northern Xinjiang and canceled the engagement before leaving Shangjing."

"You know, there's only you in my heart, no one else."

"Marrying that woman was just a temporary solution at the time."

"As for the mistress, I don't know what you are talking about, but no, I have never kept anyone, let alone a mistress. If you are talking about Miss Yang, that is the one Uncle Bian asked me to rescue, and I have only met her twice. Don't mention keeping her as a mistress, it's just nonsense from outsiders."

Song Liaoye took a step forward, stretched out his long hand, and before touching Shen Fanli's face, he gently placed it on her shoulder, "Fanli, come back with me."

"I will personally welcome you with the ceremony of an empress, wearing a phoenix crown and a red robe, and all the court officials will come to pay homage to you. You will hold the phoenix seal and I will hold the emperor seal. We will sleep in the same bed and be buried in the same grave in death. Is that okay?"

Shen Fanli looked at Song Liaoye with some surprise in his eyes.

She really didn't expect Song Liaoye to say that he wanted to marry her as queen.

Shen Fanli didn't know that Song Liaoye married that person just to dispel the emperor's concerns, so that the emperor would still think that he was under his control; nor did he know that his father and mother died at the hands of the emperor, and that the nightmares he had all night long before were caused by the emperor's suspicion and led to his parents' tragic deaths; and he didn't know that the plan he had been planning for a long time would not allow for the slightest mistake...

Shen Fanli only knew——

She knew clearly that he loved power more than she did.

Between power and her, he chose the former.

Now he holds power and has ascended the throne as she had wished.

He turned around and tried to find her again.

Everyone knows that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Song Liaoye is really greedy...

He said today that he wants to marry her. Will his confidants and the ministers and scholars in the court be convinced? Will they not risk their lives to persuade him?

Song Liaoye would not tell Shen Fanli many things. He had many concerns and did not want Shen Fanli to be exposed to those things. She knew that Song Liaoye was dissatisfied with the royal family and that he wanted to overthrow the previous Zhu dynasty. Song Liaoye would not deliberately hide it, but even if she knew this, she would never ask about it.

Shen Fanli shook his head and sighed, "You should go back. The emperor is indispensable in presiding over the overall situation in the capital. You have only been on the throne for a short time. You should not come here."

"There's no reason why the person you left behind would still be waiting there when you look back."

"I have already said it before I left, and that fire is the blade that cuts off everything in the past between us. I am no longer your maid, nor your beloved girl."

"Don't come looking for me anymore."

Song Liaoye pressed Shen Fanli's shoulders slightly, his expression very hurt, "Shen Fanli, are you so cruel?"

"We have been together since we were little. I always believed that even if everyone in this world left me, you would always be by my side. Since my father and mother left, you stayed up for several nights and stayed with me every day. You even asked someone to develop spices to sew sachets for me and made cakes for me in different ways. Shen Fanli, were all those things in the past fake?"

Song Liaoye mentioned Shen Fanli's companionship in the past and did not mention his contributions, just as Shen Fanli never mentioned her companionship and her willingness to die with him.

He was unwilling to use this to force Shen Fanli to bow his head.

"All men in this world have three wives and four concubines. I have never thought about it that way because I know you would not want to."

"I have always been the one approaching you step by step. If I take a step back, you will have to take ten or a hundred steps back. Shen Fanli, I just let go of your hand once that day..."

"—You can't be so cruel to me."

His hands were trembling a little, and his eyes were looking straight into Shen Fanli's eyes.

His voice was hoarse: "I don't believe it. Do you dare to say that you have never liked me?"

Shen Fanli didn't want to talk about the past with him anymore. So what if he liked her?

Can we go back to the way things were before?

Shen Fanli never denied Song Liaoye's kindness to her, but she gradually understood -

It turns out that love cannot overcome all difficulties...

They have different paths to take.

She grew up in Shangjing and Prince Qi's mansion, and gradually became a qualified ancient woman.

After she left Shangjing, she realized that Shangjing was just a cage that imprisoned her words, actions, thoughts and soul.

Then she realized that she shouldn't have done that.

She should be free!

If he continued to stay in Shangjing and went to the palace with Song Liaoye, the palace would definitely be another cage, even worse than Prince Qi's Palace.

It was wrong from the beginning...

She turned away, lowered her eyes, and sighed softly, "It's useless to say those things now. Your Majesty is now the emperor, high above everyone else. If you don't tell me how you feel about me, will those censors really let Your Majesty marry a merchant girl, or your former maid?"

Song Liaoye pursed his lips, and from beginning to end, his eyes never left Shen Fanli for even a moment.

"You know, I never treated you as a maid. I was just speaking in anger that day. You talked about life and death so easily. Do you know how panicked I was? I was afraid that Zhu Kairui would kill you in a rage... I don't think it was your fault that happened that day, but my status, position and power at that time could not be compared with the prince. If he didn't let go, I didn't know how to let you return safely."

The situation at that time was not something Song Liaoye could do as he wished. Shen Fanli smashed the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and committed insubordination. Even if the matter was brought to the Emperor, Song Liaoye would not be able to protect her. He might even fail and his years of planning would go down the drain. However, he still stood in front of Shen Fanli and knelt down in front of Zhu Kairui to apologize to Shen Fanli.

Song Liaoye endured humiliation and planned step by step to avenge his great hatred. He always believed that it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. One day, Song Liaoye will repay the injustice that Shen Fanli suffered.

Therefore, Song Liaoye personally beheaded Zhu Kairui that day.

Song Liaoye's words seemed to bring people back to that day. His hurtful words still echoed in their ears. "Yes, you say that when you are angry, let alone others."

In everyone's eyes, she was a lowly maid and he was a high and mighty prince.

Now she is a business woman, and he is the emperor.

The difference in status is not just talk.

Especially in this era.

Shen Fanli's identity cannot bring any benefit to Song Liaoye, but will instead cause many censors to make suggestions.

Can the new emperor, who has been on the throne for less than a year, withstand so much pressure?

Shen Fanli didn't know.

What she knew was that she didn't want to.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, which showed no signs of clearing up, but instead grew even thicker.

A moment of silence.

Shen Fanli looked calm and spoke softly, "I know your ambitions, I know you can't express it, I know your hardships..."

"But you never know my difficulties, what I think in my heart, and what I care about."

This world is unfamiliar to Shen Fanli. Until now, she thought she had gotten used to this world of life and death, but in the end she found out that she was not.

Perhaps it was because Song Liaoye protected her very well that she never knelt down and kowtowed to others at every turn. But when he said that she was just a maid and asked her to kneel down, she was so heartbroken and in disbelief.

The only person Shen Fanli cared about in this world before was Song Liaoye.

But in recent years, he has focused almost all of his attention on his great cause, and has paid little attention to Shen Fanli.

So much so that a lot is ignored.

This also caused Shen Fanli to leave him.

The sky was dark.

There seemed to be muffled thunder rolling in the sky.

Song Liaoye looked very serious, "Then just tell me. There are a lot of days ahead, we can talk slowly."

"Come back with me, Fanli."

"I miss you so much......"

Song Liaoye pursed his lips and hugged her in his arms irresistibly. He held Shen Fanli's waist tightly with both hands.

It’s like hugging the most important person in your life.

Song Liaoye lowered his head slightly and placed it on Shen Fanli's shoulder.

His tall figure easily held the person in his arms.

It was only at this moment that he was absolutely certain that Shen Fanli was by his side, and was not gone as they said...

He spoke slowly and hoarsely, "Do you know how scared I was when I went to that yard? Your leaving me was more frightening than my father and mother leaving me..."

"Shen Fanli, you can't do this..."

Shen Fanli listened to this and did not push the person away.

She couldn't see Song Liaoye's expression, but she could guess it roughly because her shoulders were a little wet.

Shen Fanli knew that they were Song Liaoye’s tears.

Her hands hung naturally, she neither hugged Song Liaoye back nor pushed him away.

The two maintained this posture for a long time.

Until Song Liaoye was about to kiss Shen Fanli's cheek.

Shen Fanli turned his head away.

When Song Liaoye saw Shen Fanli's dodging action, his heart ached and his expression revealed a trace of hurt. At this moment, he did not look like a high and mighty emperor, nor did he look like the young general who took people's lives in an instant. Now in front of Shen Fanli, he was more like a puppy abandoned by his owner.

It looks very pitiful.

His eyes were red as he stared at Shen Fanli.

——Why did she avoid it?

——Do you like someone else?

"You don't like me anymore?"

Thinking of the people he met after arriving in Suzhou City, Wen Honglang was standing beside Shen Fanli's carriage at that time, and seemed to be saying something to her. Song Liaoye became even more furious when he thought of this. "I knew that Wen Honglang had bad intentions. He must have seduced you. I will immediately order him to get out of here and go back to the capital!"

He clenched his fists tightly and paced back and forth.

His expression was so ferocious that it looked like he was about to have someone kill Wen Honglang in the next second.

Shen Fanli frowned, wondering why Song Liaoye mentioned Lord Wen.

"What's it got to do with him?"

"What happened between us is just between us. Don't take your anger out on others."

Shen Fanli stared at Song Liaoye, whose eyes were red, and said in a calm voice: "Do you think that someone else... seduced me, so I came to Suzhou and didn't want to go back to Beijing with you? Have you ever thought that there is a problem between us, and there is a problem with this relationship?"

When Song Liaoye heard Shen Fanli refer to Wen Honglang as someone else and put him and her together, his anger subsided a little.

"then you......"

Shen Fanli looked at him sideways and answered all his questions, "I don't like it, I don't want to, and I won't go to the capital with you."

Her expression was cold, and her eyes were calm beneath her brows.

Song Liaoye could no longer see the previous affection in Shen Fanli's glass-colored eyes. His worry faded away, his surprise faded away, and his sadness faded away.

Only indifference remains.

It was as if she didn't care about him at all.

But how is it possible!

Their relationship over the years...

Song Liaoye was not ruthless to her. He cherished her like a treasure and was the one he would protect even at the cost of his life.

But how could she be so cruel to throw away this relationship just like that?

When she looked at him with her eyes, Song Liaoye couldn't even see his figure.

The rain began to fall quietly.

Song Liaoye watched Shen Fanli turn and leave, staring at her back without blinking.

He was afraid that if he blinked, the man would begin to disappear.

The heavy rain gradually fell between the two of them, just like the half year that had separated them.

His vision gradually blurred, and Song Liaoye couldn't tell -

Is it tears or rain?

Song Liaoye has never shown vulnerability in front of others.

A good leader should not have so many unnecessary emotions and weaknesses.

In the eyes of his confidants and the staff who have followed him all the way, Song Liaoye is flexible and invincible, possessing both civil and military skills. He is completely different from the previous incompetent kings who were jealous of talented people. He will be a qualified king.

Only in front of Shen Fanli, he is different.

Only when he was with her would he let down his guard and act like a young boy.

Only in front of her does Song Liaoye not need to think so much about revenge, planning, and great cause.

Shen Fanli's answer was a heavy blow to Song Liaoye.