My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 66

Lu Jiahe stared at the old emperor standing before her, her hand gripping the kitchen knife trembling uncontrollably.

The imperial guards standing nearby should have rushed forward to subdue this person attempting to assassinate the emperor. However, recent palace rumors claimed that the Tanhua (Third Rank Scholar) had already married the eldest princess outside the court, and after arguing with the emperor in the court a few days prior, had only received five strokes of the cane.

For a moment, the group standing behind the old emperor exchanged uncertain glances, none daring to act rashly.

“Dad?”

Cheng Yi, who had been hiding behind Lu Jiahe, peeked out and immediately spotted her father standing in front of her.

She clung tightly to Lu Jiahe’s shoulders, hardly able to believe it. After all, in her own timeline, her parents had already passed away due to an accident.

The old emperor’s eyes widened in surprise at the sound. “You. Is it really you?”

Seeing the person before her who bore the exact same face as her father, Cheng Yi couldn’t help but wonder if he, like her, was a visitor from the modern era.

“I suppose so?” Cheng Yi’s heart wavered with uncertainty, as she wasn’t sure if the person before her was truly her father or what his real identity might be.

“Xiao Yi, is that you?” The old emperor gazed kindly at the person behind the Tanhua, his earlier ferocious demeanor, where he seemed ready to chop someone to pieces, completely gone.

Hearing him accurately call out her childhood nickname, Cheng Yi’s previously unsettled heart instantly calmed. “Dad.”

“Yes!” The old emperor pushed aside the person brandishing the kitchen knife who was obstructing their father-daughter reunion and embraced the girl before him. “It’s me, it’s really me!”

Long separated by life and death, they had now coincidentally appeared together in this unfamiliar dynasty. Perhaps it was heaven’s mercy, or maybe their bond had not yet run its course, the seeds sown in the past had borne fruit in the present.

“This is wonderful! Dad missed you.” The old emperor held Cheng Yi, tears of excitement welling up in the corners of his eyes.

He wiped his eyes and held her shoulders, carefully examining her from head to toe before confirming that she was indeed his daughter from his previous life.

“Come, let’s go home with Dad to see your mom. She misses you too.” The old emperor took Cheng Yi’s hand and tried to lead her away.

Upon hearing that her mother was also alive and well here, Cheng Yi couldn’t contain her longing to see her as soon as possible and stepped forward to follow.

Lu Jiahe, who had been standing there dumbfounded, couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying. Watching the old emperor and her wife being so affectionate, she felt both confused and a little jealous.

“Wife.” Lu Jiahe reached out to block Cheng Yi’s path, her eyes filled with bewilderment.

Hearing this, Cheng Yi finally snapped back to reality and realized she hadn’t introduced them. Smiling, she pulled her father in front of Lu Jiahe and was about to make introductions when her father spoke first.

“We know each other.” The old emperor looked at the person who had snatched away the precious daughter he had painstakingly raised, and half of his good mood instantly vanished.

“You know each other?” Cheng Yi turned to her father with a puzzled expression.

“Hmm, let’s go home first. We can talk about everything later.” As he spoke, the old emperor hurriedly pulled Cheng Yi out of the Lu residence and rushed back toward the palace.

Lu Jiahe, utterly dumbfounded, couldn’t process what was happening. She watched the carriage gradually disappear into the distance, then looked down at the kitchen knife lying on the ground.

“Wife!” Taking advantage of the others’ distraction, Lu Jiahe snatched up the kitchen knife and sprinted after the departing carriage, looking as though she was ready to duel the old emperor who had taken her wife away.

Xue Wanning, standing at the back gate of the Lu residence, quickly caught up and stopped her. “Don’t you know Miss Cheng’s identity?” she asked.

“Identity? What identity?” Lu Jiahe stared at her, utterly bewildered. Her own wife seemed very familiar with the old emperor. Could it be?

“I don’t know if you’re pretending to be clueless or if you’re just a blockhead, but the emperor’s daughter is naturally the princess,” Xue Wanning said disdainfully, giving the top scholar a sidelong glance before signaling her attendants and leaving the Lu residence.

“Princess? The Eldest Princess?”

The top scholar was completely stunned upon learning the truth. What did this mean? Clutching the kitchen knife, she stood in the street, lost in thought for a long while. Then, she hurriedly ran home, retrieved the imperial edict that had been tossed under her bed, and rushed toward the palace.

“Dad, did you time-travel?” Cheng Yi asked, sitting in the carriage and looking at her father, who was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, with surprise.

Hearing this, her father nodded. “Your mom and I opened our eyes and found ourselves here.”

Cheng Yi nodded in understanding. “How long have you been here?”

“Ah! It must have been several years,” the Old Emperor replied, furrowing his brows as he thought carefully.

“Several years? But the car accident only happened half a year ago,” Cheng Yi said, puzzled. Even she, who was usually quick-witted and full of ideas, couldn’t make sense of it.

“Sigh! Maybe time here is different from where we came from. But when we arrived, this identity already had several children. Because of that, your mom was angry with me for days.”

At the thought, Cheng’s father couldn’t help but rub his temples.

Cheng Yi expressed her complete understanding of her father’s predicament, knowing full well what her mother was like.

The two of them shared their experiences and reasons for arriving in this world during the carriage ride. Once they entered the palace, they went together to find her mother, who had already fallen asleep.

Meanwhile, Lu Jiahe, who had rushed home to retrieve the imperial edict, was now standing at the palace gates, knocking and shouting the names of the emperor and her wife.

The guards on either side of the gate, recognizing her familiar face, did not stop her. Aunt Xue had already informed them of the situation before the emperor left the palace.

“Top Scholar, perhaps you should come back tomorrow morning? It’s late now, and His Majesty and the Eldest Princess have likely already retired for the night,” one of the guards advised, concerned about the future consort’s well-being.

Lu Jiahe, already hoarse and exhausted, rested for a moment at the palace gates before raising the imperial edict again, knocking and calling out her wife’s name.

Another half-hour passed. After finishing two large bags of water brought by Guo’er, Lu Jiahe was about to resume her shouting when the palace gates suddenly swung open from the inside.

“Darling!”

The moment the door opened, Lu Jiahe saw his wife standing inside, looking at him with a joyful expression.

“Come in,” Cheng Yi beckoned to Lu Jiahe.

Seeing this, Lu Jiahe glanced at the soldiers standing guard on either side of the door. Noting that they tactfully turned their backs, he stepped across the palace threshold.

“Darling, what exactly is going on?” Lu Jiahe frowned as he looked at her, a sense of impending separation weighing on him.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yi reached out and patted his head, then said, “It’s hard to explain everything right now. Tomorrow, just wait at home peacefully. Someone from the palace will summon you.”

“Really? Then, you’re not coming home with me today?” The moment Lu Jiahe heard that his wife would be leaving him tonight, his face instantly filled with disappointment.

“I’ve just reunited with my parents. I want to spend the evening catching up with my mother. Be a good boy and go home to rest and wait, alright?”

Cheng Yi knew what he was worried about, but after all, the people living in the palace were her long-lost parents. She missed them dearly and wanted to reconnect with them.

Although Lu Jiahe was reluctant to part with her, he remembered what Cheng Yi had told him before. Now that the people from the stars had appeared by her side, he was willing to share his time with Cheng Yi with them.

“Alright, but you must remember to come find me tomorrow. Make it early. I’m afraid the longer I wait, the more I’ll miss you.” Lu Jiahe pouted as he looked at his wife. The person before him had given him so much time and care; it was only right that he consider her feelings now.

“Don’t you miss me just as much right now?” Cheng Yi chuckled and lightly tapped Lu Jiahe’s head, as if scolding a little kid.

“I do. When I can’t see you, my heart aches with longing.”

“Such smooth talk. I wonder where you picked that up.” Cheng Yi felt a bit uncomfortable hearing such sentimental words from him. She made a mental note to make sure Lu Jiahe read fewer of those domineering CEO-style romance novels in the future.

“Hurry back with them now. Get some proper rest, or I’ll be upset.” Cheng Yi leaned her head on Lu Jiahe’s shoulder. She, too, was reluctant to part with the one she loved, but she also had to consider her parents’ feelings. She couldn’t just focus on her own romance.

“Okay.” Lu Jiahe wrapped his arms around his wife, then secretly puckered his lips and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

The soldiers standing inside and outside the palace gate, along with Guo’er and Lu An, blushed and quietly turned away at the sight.

After sharing a tender moment, Lu Jiahe took the imperial decree and returned home. Lying in bed, he revisited the events from the first time he met Cheng Yi.

It was only then that he realized Xue Wanning had known all along that his wife was the eldest princess. Her presence had been to silently protect her mistress, and her constant targeting of him was all because of his wife.

Connecting all the pieces, he suddenly made a startling discovery: his wife hadn’t known she was the eldest princess before.

Earlier, at the entrance of the Lu residence, listening to Cheng Yi’s words, he became even more certain that his wife was suffering from amnesia.

Sigh!

Lu Jiahe lay on the bed and let out a long sigh. She had no idea why her wife had lost her memory. If it was possible to forget people and events from the past for no reason, did that mean she herself could be forgotten at any moment too?

Tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, she finally had no choice but to rummage through the wardrobe for one of her wife’s inner garments. Holding it close, she hoped to meet her wife in her dreams this way.