“What kind of talk is that?! Everything I do is for your own good—otherwise, why would I bother with your messes? Yet you insist on rubbing salt in my wounds!”
As expected, she let go of his hand abruptly, her delicate brows furrowing as she turned away with a flick of her sleeve.
This ungrateful child—all her hard work for him had been in vain!
“I’ve said all I need to say. Do as you see fit. If you don’t get rid of her, you’ll live to regret it when she deceives and harms you!”
Looking at her son before her, she felt a chill in her heart. She had devoted all her efforts to raising him, yet he did not stand by her—instead, he sided with an outsider.
“I understand you mean well, Mother. Rest assured—I know what I’m doing. Even if I don’t agree with some of your views, I will never bring trouble upon you.”
Xiao Fusu looked at her calmly, then bowed deeply in respect—his demeanor formal, yet not lacking in reverence.
“I know there can be no future with her. I will handle things properly between us, whatever it takes. But I ask that you not interfere—or harm her life.”
His voice was soft but firm, his eyes glinting with resolve. “If you do, even I will be heartbroken and disappointed in you.”
Empress Zhang gasped in shock. “Fusu—you—”
“If there is nothing else, Mother, I will take my leave now.”
He cut her off before she could finish, preventing her from speaking further.
He accepted that they were mismatched, that they could not be together.
But he would never allow anyone to harm her—not even his own mother!
Finally, he looked up at her with piercing eyes, then turned and left without a second glance.
Empress Zhang stared at his retreating figure for a long while.
Placing a hand over her chest, she felt a dull ache spreading through her heart—an indescribable mix of bitterness and sorrow.
It was as if she had been cast aside completely…
When he returned in a foul mood, he found her being helped to drink medicine.
“Your Highness! You’re back!”
Seeing him enter, Lin Lin brightened immediately, waving happily at him as if her illness had lightened and her whole being was filled with joyful energy.
Xiao Fusu glanced at her but said nothing, simply walking slowly to her side and sitting down.
The servant girl helped her finish the last drop of medicine in the bowl, then carried the bowl away quietly.
With a wave of his hand, the remaining servants in the hall also withdrew, gently closing the door behind them.
Now only the two of them remained in the room.
Seeing his face cold and stern, his entire demeanor heavy with gravity and chill, she had a bad premonition—as if she knew something had already happened, or was about to happen.
The realization filled her with growing panic.
“Why do you look so unhappy? Where did you go earlier?”
She carefully took hold of his sleeve, her eyes holding a hint of humble deference—as if she were a small creature that had grown tame yet feared abandonment.
He looked at her, understanding her unspoken fear without needing words.
Xiao Fusu squeezed her hand in what should have been a comforting gesture, but still said nothing.
It was not that he did not want to speak—he simply did not know how to begin.
“Hmm… why aren’t you talking to me?”
Her shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon, and she muttered dejectedly, her eyes filled with disappointment and a touch of playful reproach.
Seeing him like this—as if his entire nature had changed, so cold and distant he seemed like a stranger—she felt more and more unsettled. This was nothing like the man who had held her gently just yesterday, rubbing her belly to soothe her pain.
In her fluster, she grasped at straws.
Forcing a gentle smile, she tentatively spoke up. “Susu—have you been having trouble lately? Are you upset? Can you tell me about it? Maybe we can think of a solution together.”
She deliberately used the intimate name “Susu” to close the distance between them. But to her surprise, the moment he heard it, Xiao Fusu’s brow furrowed deeply.
It had been years since anyone had called him that. The name pulled him back to the past, making it impossible to forget that person.
“What did you just call me?”
He asked, his voice cold.
“Susu?”
She stared at him in confusion.
“…”
“Don’t you think ‘Susu’ sounds warm and endearing? Your name has ‘Su’ in it, after all.”
Seeing his displeasure, she smiled again and explained softly.
What was wrong with it? She had just said it casually—surely there was nothing special about the name?
The air in the room grew still and tense, thick with awkwardness.
He fixed his gaze on her, as if trying to read something in her expression. After a long silence, he let out a bitter laugh.
“Do you know? In all my life, only one person has ever dared to call me ‘Susu’.”
He spoke slowly, each word heavy with emotion—as if the name were a curse he ground between his teeth.
“Xiao Keyu.”
He said the name aloud, his eyes cold as he looked at her—part self-mockery, part disappointment.
“Only he knew this name.”
Lin Lin was speechless, staring at him in shock.
“What is your relationship with him? Did you do this on purpose—calling me ‘Susu’, even… even approaching me deliberately?”
He still doubted her. Seizing her moment of surprise, he pressed further, desperate to uncover the supposed conspiracy between her and the other man.
“I… I didn’t know about any of this! It wasn’t written in the original book!”
Panic overwhelmed her, and in her fluster, she blurted out the words “original book.”
She had just said it without thinking—“Susu” seemed like such an ordinary name. She had no idea it was off-limits, or that it would trigger such suspicion.
“Book? What book?”
Confusion crossed his face, then he let out a soft laugh.
“Did Xiao Keyu make you study The Art of War just to help you get close to me?”
He mocked her coldly.
Lin Lin did not like this side of him—pushy, condescending, his eyes filled with scorn as if she had truly done him wrong.
It was as if everything had changed overnight.
The man before her was a stranger—nothing like the one she thought she had come to know.
She could not name the feeling in her heart—grief? Betrayal? Or the sense of being cast aside?
In any case, her mood was just as heavy as his—if not more so.
“I can’t explain it all right now. All I want to say is that ‘Susu’ is just a normal, ordinary name! I only called you that because you looked upset—I wanted to be affectionate, to cheer you up. I had no idea it was something I shouldn’t say! I thought it was like a nickname I could use casually. If I’d known it would make you angrier, I never would have done it…”
She waved her hands as she defended herself, but as she saw his expression remain cold and unyielding, her voice gradually faded.
Even though she had done nothing wrong, his imposing, icy demeanor left her feeling uncertain and hesitant to meet his gaze.
She finally understood—her words carried no weight with him now. No matter how much she explained, he would never truly trust her.