Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Even if She Is Unwilling, He Will Not Let Go

"That Madam Liu certainly is resilient," Ming Lingyi remarked with a small smile after hearing the news.

The neighborhood around the secret brothels is hardly a peaceful place. I heard Madam Liu came from a respectable family; I wonder if she was terrified living in a place like that.

But from the looks of it now, this Madam Liu "won her bet."

From a secret mistress to the legitimate wife of an official, one could say it was a case of "hardship giving way to happiness."

If this hadn’t been achieved by climbing over the flesh and blood of another innocent woman, Ming Lingyi might have even applauded her.

"Miss, are we going to Xinghua Alley today?" Xiao Chun was already rubbing her hands together, raring to go.

Ming Lingyi replied, "There’s no time to lose. The sooner we investigate, the better."

Although only two days had passed, Ming Lingyi had gone to the clinic to check on Granny Wang again. The latter was listless; though her cold was clearly on the mend, she was spending more and more time in a deep sleep.

It was as if the fall had damaged more than just the back of Granny Wang’s head—it had fractured her very spirit.

Once a person loses that spirit, it’s as if a crack has opened in their body, allowing their life force to seep out continuously. When the last wisp has escaped, their lamp of life has run dry. At that point, not even the Daluo Immortals could save them.

Only then did Ming Lingyi feel a sense of urgency.

When Mrs. Wei learned that Ming Lingyi was going to Xinghua Alley, she came to see her that afternoon.

"It’s so dangerous for a young lady like you to go to a place like that. If you ask me, you should just leave this to my Old Zhang." Mrs. Wei had come to persuade Ming Lingyi not to get involved in this messy business.

Many locals in Shangjing City knew about Xinghua Alley. Since it was the "headquarters" for secret brothels, it was also crawling with local thugs and ruffians. A respectable young lady like Ming Lingyi would undoubtedly attract all sorts of attention going there.

Besides, Mrs. Wei thought a pretty face like Ming Lingyi’s could easily give those scoundrels some wicked ideas.

Ming Lingyi appreciated Mrs. Wei’s kind intentions but didn’t agree, simply blinking her eyes. "Sister Wei, that would mean Brother Zhang would have to question the women in Xinghua Alley. Would you be alright with that?"

Mrs. Wei was taken aback. "...Oh, you little rascal! Now you’re teasing me!?"

Ming Lingyi hid a smile behind her hand, then her expression turned serious. "This matter is more complicated than it seems. The women in a place like that won’t necessarily tell the truth to a man like Brother Zhang."

People are naturally guarded, and they become even more so when faced with a strong, powerful man.

’But I’m different. No matter how anyone looks at me, I’m just a frail woman, too weak to even truss a chicken. What kind of threat could I possibly be?’

"Fine, go if you must," Mrs. Wei said. "I’ll have my Old Zhang follow you. If anything happens, he can lend a hand. At least then no one will be able to bully a little lady like you."

Since she had put it that way, Ming Lingyi couldn’t very well refuse.

She had originally planned to take Xiao Chun and Shi Mingyue, but now it seemed she would be taking Zhang Qi and Shi Mingyue instead.

However, an unexpected incident occurred just before she was about to leave.

Ming Lingyi hadn’t seen Li Yan in several days; even his attendant, Jianzhen, had vanished. It wasn’t hard to imagine that this was Li Yun’s handiwork.

Li Yun had Li Yan confined to the Eastern Palace. And while Li Yan was unable to appear, Li Yun, on the other hand, showed up before Ming Lingyi frequently.

Just like now.

Li Yun had deliberately chosen to leave the palace after lunch; that way, Ming Lingyi wouldn’t be busy in the kitchen, giving him a chance to see her.

After their last encounter, Li Yun had remained quiet in the palace for two days.

However, to the senior ministers of the court, Emperor Jing’an was anything but quiet. He was the very center of a raging vortex. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

For the past two days, everyone at court had been walking on eggshells, terrified of making a single misstep, being targeted by the Emperor, and coming to a bad end.

When Li Yun heard Ming Lingyi declare that she no longer loved him, he was profoundly shaken. For a time, he questioned whether his years of persistence had held any meaning at all.

’She doesn’t want me anymore.’

For the past two days, this thought had been haunting his mind.

Ming Lingyi’s father, Grand Tutor Ming, had once said that Li Yun was the most self-possessed and resolute person he had ever met. Once he set his mind to something, he would see it through to the end, achieve greatness, and never back down.

But he never knew that there was one person in the world who could easily shatter Li Yun’s resolve.

Perhaps even Li Yun himself didn’t know it.

The devastating power a single sentence from Ming Lingyi could have on him was beyond his expectations, catching him completely off guard.

Li Yun mulled it over for two days, and then he appeared before Ming Lingyi once more.

’If his Yuan Niang no longer loved him, then he would simply make her fall in love with him all over again.’

’In this life, the next life, and the one after that, he only wanted to share his bed in life and his tomb in death with one person. And that person could only be his Yuan Niang.’

’Even if Ming Lingyi was unwilling, he would never let go.’

"What are you doing here?" When Ming Lingyi saw Li Yun appear before her yet again, the idiom "a ghost that refuses to leave" popped into her head quite inappropriately.

Li Yun didn’t answer her question. Instead, his gaze fell on Ming Lingyi’s attire and then on the man standing beside her.

"You’re going out?" Li Yun asked.

Ming Lingyi pressed her lips together. "Yes."

"Where to?"

Ming Lingyi fell silent for a moment. "...Do I need to report my whereabouts to you?"

Zhang Qi, standing behind Ming Lingyi, couldn’t quite make sense of the situation unfolding before him.

He had never seen Li Yun before, but the latter’s imposing, inviolable aura made him instinctively feel that this man was dangerous.

Zhang Qi was here on his wife’s orders to protect Miss Ming. He felt that the man standing before her was certainly dangerous, but it also seemed Miss Ming was very familiar with the newcomer. He was a little unsure whether he should step in front of her to shield her.

Besides, Zhang Qi felt that this man standing before Miss Ming looked terribly fierce.

But the fierceness wasn’t directed at Miss Ming; it seemed to be directed at him.

He was confused. He didn’t recall saying or doing anything since the man arrived. Why did this person’s hostility toward him seem so intense?

Li Yun had never seen Ming Lingyi with all her thorns out like this. Even back when they were first engaged, all he had sensed from her was curiosity, a desire to understand him, and a little bit of fear. He never imagined that one day, she would want to see him so little.

A bitter feeling welled up in his heart. "Yuan Niang, that’s not what I meant. I’m just worried about you."

He couldn’t rest easy with Ming Lingyi alone in Huaide Fang. He had previously arranged for a Hidden Guard to be placed in the slave market, waiting for Ming Lingyi to buy the "guard" he had prepared for her so she would have close-quarters protection.

Who could have known that man’s plans are no match for heaven’s? Ming Lingyi spent her silver on the barely conscious Shi Mingyue and then nearly emptied her entire savings to get her treated at a clinic. Naturally, she had no silver left to buy the "guard" Li Yun had already prepared.

Since overt protection was out of the question, Li Yun had left people to guard her in secret.

So, of course, he also knew what Ming Lingyi had been busy with for the past few days.