Free Web NovelChapter 1020: Chapter 1011: Passing By (1)
"Don’t talk to me about this, I don’t want to hear it!" Le Yao glanced back at the river beneath her feet, then turned to Tong Minzhi and said, "I just want one word from you: will you come with me or not?"
The maids and servants in the garden were stunned, looking towards Tong Minzhi.
Tong Minzhi extended his hand, "Come over here first." He tried to step closer. "Can we sit down and have a good talk, alright?"
Le Yao waved her hand, showing extreme distrust in his words. "You just keep deceiving me. I’ve told you to wait for me. I said I would definitely come back to find you, but what about you? As soon as I turned my back, you were discussing marriage with someone else. If I had been a step late, would I have been drinking at your wedding feast?"
Tong Minzhi’s face was full of bitter helplessness. Some things cannot be changed just because he wants or doesn’t want them to. Just like the situation between him and Le Yao, it was destined to have no outcome from the start. What she wanted, he couldn’t provide, and he wasn’t willing to rely on her family to live a difficult life.
Some problems can be ignored, but they do indeed stand between them and can never be erased.
"Miss Le," Tong Minzhi’s voice choked with emotion, "don’t be impulsive. Please come to me first, alright?" He glanced at the surrounding maids and servants. If this was heard tomorrow, who knows what kind of joke it would become? He couldn’t ruin her and destroy her reputation.
"No!" Le Yao’s eyes were red with agitation, pointing at Tong Minzhi and saying, "I’ve arranged everything, you just need to follow me out of here, and the vast world will be ours to roam." She paused and then said, "I don’t want luxury or riches. These are nothing but rubbish in my eyes. All I want is you, don’t you hear me? All I want is you!"
The maids watching couldn’t help but blush at her words, while the servants shook their heads in disapproval. Tong Xihua was dragged away by a woman from the crowd, preventing her from listening to any more of such nonsense, but Tong Xihua turned back to sternly scold everyone, "What are you looking at? Get back to work."
Tong Minzhi’s heart felt like it had been hit hard by something. Closing his eyes in pain, he opened them with difficulty, enduring the sharp pain in his heart. "There are things we need to discuss carefully," he said, planning to take her to a safe place first, "Come here first!"
Le Yao looked a little moved. She could feel the strange gazes from the servants of the Tong Mansion and saw the embarrassment on Tong Minzhi’s face. She moved slightly, looking at Tong Minzhi. He seized the opportunity and added, "Come on, come over..." Striding forward, he grabbed Le Yao’s sleeve, "Follow me, let’s have a good talk."
Speaking, Tong Minzhi led Le Yao away in another direction. Meanwhile, Tong Xihua had already reprimanded the leading maids and servants, driving them away...
Le Yao was taken by Tong Minzhi to the flower garden behind the courtyard. Liufu and Zixia hastily ordered people to guard the surroundings, not letting anyone approach.
"Miss Le!" Tong Minzhi released Le Yao. "Do you even know what you’re doing?" His tone held a hint of severity.
Le Yao’s eyebrows were furrowed with a look of carelessness. "You don’t need to tell me this. If I cared about my reputation, I wouldn’t have come to the Capital alone to find you, nor would I have recklessly barged into the Tong Mansion." As she said this, she took a step closer, intending to hold Tong Minzhi’s hand, but he moved away to avoid her touch, changing Le Yao’s expression.
"Miss Le," Tong Minzhi’s face was full of helplessness. "Even if you don’t care, I do!" Facing such a Le Yao, he truly didn’t know where to start. He understood her feelings and could comprehend her emotions at this moment, but he was truly powerless. "Could you calm down and listen to me?" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Le Yao glared at him, breathing heavily as if suppressing her anger. "Fine, say it!" Finally giving him the opportunity to speak.
Tong Minzhi took a deep breath and poured out the words that had been weighing on his heart for so long, "You were born into nobility, never lacking in food or clothing. You grew up cherished in your parents’ palms, the focus of everyone’s attention, yet some things you will never understand." He looked at Le Yao, "You’ll never understand what life is like when you’re constantly on edge, or the feeling of cautiously watching others’ expressions. You won’t grasp what it’s like when you want to protect someone dear to you, and despite all your efforts, everything you achieve is at the whim of others. I have felt these things. I am the son of a concubine. Although I was called the Seventh Young Master in the household, I knew that no one really saw me as a young master. My sister and I grew up hungering and lacking proper clothes, living no better than servants. If we wanted a meal, we had to wait until others had finished eating and then came the leftovers. Others could easily have what I could only wish for, despite all my efforts!"
As he spoke of his childhood, emotions surged within him like turbulent waves, unable to suppress the excitement, "I watched my concubine mother tear apart her own jacket at night so that I could have a new outfit for New Year’s, and watched my sister cautiously accommodating others just so that I could have a stable life. At that time, I swore that I would become strong, strong enough to protect them so they would never have to live like that again."
Le Yao looked at him, stunned. She knew there were illegitimate children in the Marquis Mansion and that they didn’t live as well as she did, but she hadn’t imagined such a life, lacking food and clothing, living worse than servants... She couldn’t imagine it!
Tong Minzhi shook his head, a slight bitter smile on his lips, but more was just helplessness. He looked at Le Yao with determination, "So, what you want, I can’t give you. I have many things to do, but abandoning everything I care about for the sake of personal love is not one of them."
"This is not contradictory," Le Yao spoke eagerly, "If you don’t like hiding away in the countryside, then I will lower myself to marry you. I will focus on managing the household and raising the children, while you go out and pursue your career. I won’t hinder you."
Tong Minzhi gestured with his hands, "Let me ask you, why did you secretly come to the Capital?" Le Yao opened her mouth to speak, but Tong Minzhi continued, "It’s because the Marquis and Lady disapproved of us, right? That’s why you came to the Capital secretly!"
"No, that’s not it!" Le Yao wanted to refute him, but Tong Minzhi interrupted her, "The Marquis and Lady are your parents, the ones who gave birth to and raised you. I can’t let you bear the name of being unfilial because of me. Besides..." Listening, Le Yao clenched her fists tightly, blurting out, "Then you can come with me to Huainan, that way I won’t bear the name of being unfilial."
Tong Minzhi was taken aback, stepping back a pace. Realizing she had misspoken, Le Yao rushed to correct herself, "My parents love me. As long as we persist, we will definitely win their understanding and consent, trust me."
Persist? How much will this persistence cost? He didn’t know, but he knew very clearly that his life couldn’t afford such a cost.
"Miss Le." Tong Minzhi sighed, just about to speak when Le Yao suddenly rushed forward and hugged him, holding him tightly and burying her head in his chest as if she was risking everything. "Don’t speak, if you don’t dare to do it, that’s alright, I’ll do it. You just have to wait in place for me, don’t change your mind, let me handle everything else. Even if I have to bear a bad name, let it be me, will you promise me?"
