Sima Hong could hardly believe his eyes, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. He could not accept the situation in front of him at all. His beloved wife was standing in front of the "adulterer". He wanted to beat her? How could he bear to beat her when she could say that!
"You..." Sima Hong was shaking with anger, pointing his finger at Mingyu, his eyes wide open, a feeling of grievance and resentment constantly washing over his heart, "You actually... protected him?"
Mingyu frowned, looked at Sima Hong whose face was flushed with anger, and said, "You are the one who is unreasonable and hits people first for no reason." How can he face people later after hitting Lu Hao's face like this!
"Okay, okay..." Sima Hong looked at Mingyu, his heart chilled. Mingyu pursed her lips and looked at him without saying a word. The emotion in her eyes made Sima Hong feel very unfamiliar, as if she was declaring that she had nothing to do with him at all and had drawn a clear line between them. The person in front of him was clearly close at hand, but he felt that she was far away.
A wave of sour emotion rushed to his head, stinging his eyes and nose and making him almost cry. She couldn't see how good he was to her at all. He was like a fool, performing a farce in front of her and making her unhappy.
"You are very good, very good!" Sima Hong looked at Mingyu and said with gritted teeth.
Mingyu was also angry. How unreasonable could this fool be? "I'm fine?" Mingyu laughed sarcastically. "Not as good as others. You'd better keep the things in your arms carefully, or you won't drop them and have to explain to others."
Sima Hong was not stupid. Thinking of the purse he casually placed in his arms, and then thinking of the girl he didn't even know, he was so unlucky to be seen by Mingyu. She had a lot of mouths all over her body and couldn't explain it clearly. In the middle of summer, Sima Hong seemed to be snowing in front of his eyes. He was more wronged than Dou E!
"I don't recognize her!" Sima Hong immediately defended.
Mingyu smiled contemptuously, "Ah, bah, bah, you are trying to trick a ghost in the middle of the night! You think she is only five years old!"
Sima Hong probably felt that his excuse was somewhat untenable. But at this moment, he could not care about anything else, and stepped forward and said anxiously: "I really don't know her. I didn't hear what she said. She stuffed a purse into my hand and ran away. I can't just throw the purse on the ground and let others pick up the girl's boudoir items. If they cause trouble, it will be my bad luck!"
"Why are you doing this?" Mingyu looked at Sima Hong. He still felt wronged. What was there for him to feel wronged about? "Go back. You're getting married soon. It will be bad for both you and me if people see us."
Standing behind Mingyu in silence. Lu Hao, who was watching Sima Hong's joke, also laughed. If he didn't add fuel to the fire, he would not be a man. He felt sorry for the punches he received, so he bowed and smiled, "It turns out that the Marquis is about to get married. I congratulate the Marquis. I wonder whose daughter it is? On the day of the big wedding, you must send me a wedding invitation so that I can go and ask for a glass of wedding wine."
Sima Hong was furious. He was so anxious to explain that he was about to burn the beams of the house, and Lu Hao, this shameless villain, actually added fuel to the fire. Sima Hong stared at Lu Hao with flaming eyes. He gritted his teeth and cursed: "Shut up! Stop talking nonsense! Lu Hao, you are also a person who has read the books of sages. How can you do such a shameless and despicable thing as robbing someone else's wife?" Be careful when you go home at night. He has a group of skilled workers who wear sacks and beat people with clubs.
Lu Hao also stopped smiling and said seriously, "Marquis An guards the border for the country and the people. I admire you deeply, but Marquis An cannot rely on his own achievements to talk nonsense and tarnish others' reputation! I believe I stand upright and act uprightly. Besides, where does Marquis An have a wife now? If you continue to make trouble unreasonably, I will report you to the court tomorrow morning!"
Mingyu saw that the two of them were getting more and more tense, and was afraid that Lu Hao would really make a fuss about this matter and treat Sima Hong and her badly, so she quickly turned around and said to Lu Hao, "Let's ignore him. Let's go."
The word "we" made Lu Hao feel very happy, and he said with a smile: "Yes, let's go, don't delay your rest time."
Sima Hong stared at Mingyu blankly. She really didn't even look at him and walked out with Lu Hao. Sourness kept flowing into Sima Hong's eyes. What a cruel girl! Sima Hong thought, but he didn't want Mingyu to walk alone with Lu Hao. As if his feet were out of control, he followed and stood beside Mingyu, one on the left and one on the right with Lu Hao.
Mingyu naturally felt the presence of someone next to her. Looking at Sima Hong's tall and quiet figure on the ground, following him closely, she sighed quietly in her heart, missing the peaceful and stable life in Lu'an. She didn't have to worry about becoming a burden in Xu Mingye's marriage, no one came to her house to make her a concubine, and there was no one like Sima Hong who came to make trouble with unknown intentions.
After the three of them set out again, they walked very fast, and soon they arrived at the palace gate. The guards at the gate saw the three people. No one recognized the girl in the middle, and the two people next to her had bruises on their faces. One had a swollen eye socket and half of her face was bruised, like a black-eyed chicken, and the other had a swollen mouth and blood under his nose, like a pig head that had been beaten.
Although not all the people entering and leaving the palace were handsome men and beautiful women, they were all neatly dressed and well-groomed. At first glance, they looked like hooligans who had just been in a fight. Their clothes were dirty and torn. Oh, one of them even had a big hole in his sleeve, and the night wind blew through the hole... The guards subconsciously tightened their weapons.
"Who is coming?" the leader of the guards shouted.
Lu Hao and Sima Hong stepped forward at the same time and said in a deep voice, "It's me."
After hearing the voices of Lu Hao and Sima Hong clearly, the guards looked at their faces carefully again and confirmed that the man with the "black chicken eyes" was the elegant and refined Lord Lu, and the man with the "pig-headed face" was the resolute and steady Marquis Anxi. The guards suppressed their curiosity and gossip and quickly let them go.
At that time, Lu Hao was irritated by Sima Hong's punches. He was furious and wanted to get back at Sima Hong. He fought with him regardless of anything. Now that he has calmed down and looked at Sima Hong's face, Lu Hao can imagine what his face looks like. He always has a good image outside, but looking at the looks of the guards, he felt a little embarrassed at this moment. He took the initiative to walk to Sima Hong, patted Sima Hong on the shoulder, and said to the guards with a smile: "I have something urgent tonight. Please help me to escort someone out of the palace."
We must never allow rumors to spread the next day that Lu Hao and Sima Hong were not on good terms and had a fight. The rumors must be nipped in the bud.
Sima Hong naturally sensed Lu Hao's intention and followed suit. Nothing was more important than a man's face. His smile was so creepy that Mingyu got goose bumps. Sima Hong smiled and said, "Lord Lu, don't worry about it. It's my job. I'm really sorry to trouble you. Sima is very grateful for your help."
"No, no." Lu Hao looked at Sima Hong and smiled warmly and kindly, as if Sima Hong was his long-lost brother. "Marquis An is too polite. It is a honor for me to trouble Marquis An to help. I should be the one thanking Marquis An."
The two men had smiles on their bruised faces, thanked each other intimately, racked their brains to be polite to each other, and went back and forth on trivial matters such as who helped whom. They walked arm in arm in arm, and for a moment the atmosphere was very harmonious and the feelings were very harmonious, as if "if he is good, I am good too". The brotherhood was deep and touching, and they all forgot about Mingyu at the same time.
Mingyu was stunned for a while after being forgotten by the two. The night wind blew, and a few fallen leaves swirled past her. She felt indescribably desolate. She glanced at the two people who had already walked away, lowered her head, pouted, and followed them silently...
If these two were to live in modern times, they would definitely be able to compete for an Oscar for Best Actor or something like that, they are really good actors!
When they were out of sight of the Imperial Guards, they both dropped their hands that were holding each other's arms, snorted with contempt, and Sima Hong even flicked the place on his body that Lu Hao had touched to show his disdain.
Mingyu curled her lips, how childish!
Dong Yuan stayed in the carriage and waited. Unexpectedly, Mingyu came back soon, accompanied by Lord Lu and Lord Sima. The light was dim where the carriage was parked. Dong Yuan could not see clearly that there was something strange on the two people's faces, and he did not think much about it. "Miss, are you going home now?" Dong Yuan asked.
Mingyu nodded. Just as the driver was about to put down the footstool, Sima Hong nimbly raised his long legs and stepped into the carriage. He eagerly extended his hand to Mingyu from inside the carriage, "Come on, get in the carriage. I'll take you back."
Lu Hao frowned, "Lord Sima, please respect yourself. Mingyu didn't ask you to send her home."
Sima Hong looked at Lu Hao and sneered, "It's rare that Lord Lu still knows the word self-respect. Now that you know it, please go back quickly, so as not to delay the banquet."
Away from the sight of outsiders, the two men no longer had to perform their "brotherly love" and returned directly to the tense atmosphere before.
"Lord Lu." Mingyu turned around and smiled at Lu Hao, "It's getting late. You'd better go first. It would be bad if you waste time." Lu Hao was a good man. If he went against someone as shameless and shameless as Sima Hong, he would definitely suffer in the end.
Lu Hao looked at Mingyu deeply, suddenly smiled, and said softly: "Okay, I'll listen to you." After that, he slowly turned around and walked forward.
After entering the palace, Lu Hao thought that it would be inappropriate for him to appear in front of everyone with his bruised face and nose, so before the banquet started, he went to the emperor's palace and asked to see him.
The emperor was not surprised to see his black-eyed dignity. After laughing, he warned, "It's good for young people to be energetic, but you should be careful about what you do and don't go too far!" He still needs two people now, and the emperor doesn't want the relationship between the two to be too stiff, which will be disadvantageous to him.