Lotus in a Bottle - Chapter 27

Section 44

Trading my freedom for an answer of questionable truth was a terrible deal. Only an idiot would agree to that.

Besides, it wasn’t like I was dying to know. Really. Ha ha. Hilarious. I couldn’t care less what he thought.

I lowered my head and picked at the table, staying silent for the time it took half an incense stick to burn.

Tan Lian didn’t grow impatient. He simply stood there with his arms crossed, watching me without urging me to speak.

In the end, I was the first one who couldn’t take it anymore.

“Did you marry me only for the Xie Family’s money?”

Damn it. So I really was an idiot!

Tan Lian shook his head. “Not only that.”

I snorted.

If he dared sweet-talk me by claiming it was also because he liked me, then I would…

“I also needed a dim-witted shield to draw those lunatics’ attention away from me.”

Me: “…”

I stared at Tan Lian in disbelief, beginning to suspect he hadn’t come to make peace at all.

He was here to provoke me!

Tan Lian uncharacteristically averted his gaze. “Keep asking.”

I ground my teeth. “So everything you said at Fengguo Temple and the Princess Royal’s Manor was insincere too?”

“I needed those people to spread the word that I cherished my wife. It made the act more convincing and helped fool those lunatics.”

Hold it in, Xie Baoping. Regicide gets your entire clan executed.

I drew a deep breath. “What about the maids in the courtyard?”

“They were spies planted by various factions. I’d wanted to dispose of them for a long time, but I lacked a suitable opportunity. You handed me one yourself.”

…Fine. Just fine.

There was clearly no point in asking anything else. If I stopped now, I might live a few more years. If I kept going, I would die of rage today.

But Tan Lian had come prepared. With those two long legs blocking my way, it was obvious I wasn’t leaving this table until I’d finished asking everything.

I could only swallow my anger and continue. “So treating me well, buying me snacks, strolling through the flower market with me, and accompanying me to Xiangyang… Was all of that an act too?”

This time, Tan Lian fell silent.

He rubbed his brow and frowned, struggling to suppress his agitation. Only after a long while did he answer.

“I don’t know.”

Me: ???

Saying “I don’t know” whenever he didn’t want to answer? And he called this an honest conversation?!

Tan Lian kneaded my hand between his fingers. “I truly don’t know.

“When the Xie Family’s ancestral home burned down, I knew someone had deliberately orchestrated it. Their goal was to deal with you there.

“By then, you were already of little use to me. I could have ignored it. I could even have taken the opportunity to rid myself of a burden like you.”

“Who are you calling a burden?!”

Tan Lian gave me a meaningful look but didn’t answer. He merely continued, “But I went with you anyway, even though it meant risking the exposure of my plans.”

My anger faltered, and I froze.

“Accompanying you to Xiangyang wasn’t entirely an act. But if you’re asking whether I liked you back then, I truly don’t know.

“I could have chosen not to save you that day, but when I thought of you dying there, I acted recklessly for once.”

I warned myself inwardly that this was just another ploy for sympathy. He’d fooled me once, then twice. I couldn’t fall for it a third time…

I asked sullenly, “Then why didn’t you explain yourself before? Why did you send me back to the Xie Family?”

I wasn’t completely brainless. Once I’d had time to think about it, I realized Tan Lian had deliberately used our cold war as an excuse to send me back to the Xie Family.

“And you didn’t refuse the marriage arranged by the Late Emperor. You even encouraged Shen Huaihuan to come find me…”

Under Tan Lian’s knowing gaze, my voice grew quieter and quieter.

Yes, I knew the answer. I just wanted to hear him say it himself.

“Because I was willing to gamble with my own life, but I couldn’t bear to let you face even the slightest danger.

“Only by removing you from the game and placing you under Shen Huaihuan’s protection could I ensure your absolute safety.”

“As for the young lady the Late Emperor wanted me to marry…” At some point, Tan Lian had leaned close enough to press the tip of his nose against mine. His tone was intimate yet earnest. “If it bothers you, I can issue an imperial decree right now and marry her off to someone else.”

“Stop right there! Don’t treat someone else’s happiness like a joke!”

Who in the world had said Tan Lian was pure, wonderful, and kindhearted? All the wickedness in the capital had clearly been distilled into this one man!