CHAPTER 140: CHAPTER

Mo Ying’s steps cut through the quiet night as he came toward them. Before San Na could react, he reached Lin Xu, took her hand firmly, and pulled her behind him in one smooth, protective motion. Lin Xu froze in surprise. San Na’s entire world tilted as she stared at the sight of his hand wrapped so tightly around Lin Xu’s. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe.

Mo Ying didn’t even spare her a glance. His eyes were fixed on San Na, cold and sharp. "Didn’t I warn you," he said, voice low with anger, "to stay away from Lin Xu?"

San Na tried to steady herself, forcing her expression into something calm. "We were only talking."

"Talking?" Mo Ying scoffed. "Threatening her counts as talking now?"

San Na’s eyes widened, panic flickering across her face. "I wasn’t threatening her—"

"I heard everything," he cut in coldly. He stepped closer, keeping Lin Xu firmly behind him as though shielding her from danger. "If you dare threaten her again, I won’t tolerate it."

San Na’s voice trembled. "I’m your wife... how can you talk to me like this?"

Mo Ying finally met her eyes, his expression merciless. "A ’wife’ who schemes, lies, and harms others isn’t a wife to me." San Na flinched as if he had struck her. "And the fact that you still call yourself that after tonight is pathetic."

"You’re choosing her over me?" she whispered, hurt spilling through her voice. "A concubine? An outsider?"

Mo Ying didn’t hesitate. "I choose the one who is true. The one who doesn’t lie or pretend. The one who doesn’t hurt others just to feel powerful." His grip on Lin Xu tightened. "I choose Lin Xu."

San Na’s heart cracked right there. "You’re heartless," she said in a shaking voice.

"Heartless?" Mo Ying let out a humorless laugh. "Who forced themselves into a title they never earned? Who plotted again and again? Who pretended, cried fake tears, and used every dirty trick to push her down? You did. And now you want sympathy?"

San Na’s lips trembled. "You never even tried to understand me."

"What is there to understand?" Mo Ying snapped. "Your jealousy? Your cruelty? Your lies?"

Her voice finally broke. "I loved you."

A heavy silence settled between them. Mo Ying didn’t soften, not even for a breath. "That is your problem," he said coldly, "not mine."

San Na’s breath hitched, tears filling her eyes. She looked at Mo Ying, then at Lin Xu behind him, protected, and the truth hit her like a blade. She had lost completely.

"You’ll regret this someday," she whispered, voice barely holding together. "Choosing her over me."

"The only thing I regret," Mo Ying replied, ice in his voice, "is allowing you to stay in this residence long enough to hurt her."

San Na froze, shocked to her core. Then she turned and walked away without another word, steps unsteady, breaths sharp with humiliation. Mo Ying didn’t watch her go. His expression softened the moment he turned to Lin Xu, still holding her hand gently.

"Are you alright?" he asked, voice dropping into something warm, something meant only for her.

Lin Xu looked at him, unable to answer for a moment. His protectiveness and his anger made her flinch slightly, but she wasn’t scared. She was surprised, surprised that a man could express such raw emotion. It made her heart flutter in a way it had never fluttered before. All her life she believed men only cared about a woman’s body, about what they could gain from her. But Mo Ying... he was different.

Turning around, Mo Ying walked away with Lin Xu’s hand still locked in his as he gently pulled her along, leaving San Na staring after them with complete bitterness. They walked and walked until Lin Xu slowly began to lag behind, unable to keep up with his pace any longer.

"Tired already, Miss Feisty?" he asked with a slight smile as she panted.

"I’m sure I should be calling you Mr. Feisty at this point. Why did you react to her like that? You didn’t have to, you know." Lin Xu watched his expression carefully.

"I had every reason to," Mo Ying said. "I already warned her not to try anything stupid or approach you. I don’t need anyone’s explanation to know what nonsense she was spouting. I lived with that woman for a long time, Lin Xu. I know how dangerous she can be."

His words made Lin Xu pause for a moment, thinking. "Let’s take a seat. I’m tired," she said, now tugging him toward a small bench behind a tree. The place was quiet, only a few servants passing by. The moon hung high, and the night wind blew softly.

"Looks like it’s going to rain," Mo Ying said as he sat. Before Lin Xu could take her seat beside him, he pulled her gently onto his lap. She gasped but didn’t resist. She was still wearing the white hanfu he had gifted her, and under the moonlight, she looked breathtaking.

"You look so beautiful," he murmured, eyes filled with admiration. "Just like my mother."

His words made Lin Xu’s heart flutter. "Then she must have been a very beautiful woman."

"She was," Mo Ying said, tightening his arms around her. "She was like a goddess who descended to become my mother. She was perfect... but my father was blind. Too blind. He couldn’t tell the difference between a witch and a goddess. He was blinded by lust, and he caused my mother so much pain."

Lin Xu fell silent, sitting on his lap and listening quietly. She understood how hard it must be for someone like him to speak about these things, so she didn’t interrupt.

"I never hated San Na," Mo Ying continued. "I only married her under pressure. The plan was simple — let her go after I won the war, send her somewhere safe. No matter what happens, the war between the Xuen Empire and the Ning Empire will still take place. I thought she agreed, until she started showing her true colors."

He explained how San Na had forced herself on him, how manipulative she had been, involving herself in matters she had no place in.

"Others see her innocent, calm face," he said bitterly. "I see someone wicked. I thought three years away from her would change her even a little, but she didn’t change at all. And unfortunately, Lady Xu was affected too."

Hearing that, Lin Xu lifted her head, worry filling her eyes. "Lady Xu? What does San Na have to do with her?"

"Lady Xu’s health kept deteriorating. When I married her, she was smart and mature. She knew the marriage was for alliance and power, and she accepted that. She’s barren, so she never expected anything beyond peace and stability. That’s why I made sure she was well protected and taken care of."

Mo Ying’s voice darkened. "But someone interfered. I must find a way to help her. San Na has done something to her either her, or Madame Mo, or Mo Lan. I’m going to find out who, and when I do, they will suffer for it.

Lin Xu slowly lifted her hands and placed them gently on Mo Ying’s face, her thumbs brushing the tension from his cheeks. He froze at her touch, surprised by the softness in her eyes. For a moment, the night seemed to quiet around them, even the wind paused.

"Mo Ying," she whispered, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Everything will be okay. I’m here... and I won’t let you carry all of this alone."

He stared at her, stunned, as if no one had ever spoken such words to him before. His breath hitched, his eyes dark with emotion he didn’t know how to handle.

Then Lin Xu’s heart pounded once , hard as she gathered her courage, leaned closer, and said the words she had never spoken to anyone in her life.

"I love you."

Mo Ying’s entire body went still. It felt like the world stopped breathing. He looked at her as if he had misheard, but her eyes told him it was real Beautifully real.

"Lin Xu..." he breathed, voice shaking with disbelief.

But the joy that surged through him was too sharp, too overwhelming to contain. He didn’t wait another second. His hands cupped the back of her head, pulling her toward him with a desperation he could no longer hide, and he pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was deep, fierce, full of the emotions he had held back for so long and a love he never expected to feel again. Lin Xu melted against him, her hands sliding down to grip his shoulders as the warmth of his lips washed through her like fire and rain all at once.

He kissed her like he was claiming her. She kissed him back like she finally understood what it meant to trust someone.

When they finally broke apart, both breathless, Mo Ying rested his forehead against hers, his voice trembling with a mixture of relief and disbelief.

"Say it again," he whispered. "Please... say it again."