Chapter 28:
The young lady’s crisp voice rang like jade beads falling, resounding in his ears.
Pei Yuqing was completely stunned upon hearing it, remaining silent for a long time.
Xie Wanning curved her lips into a smile: “Is it that hard to answer?”
“Not difficult,” Pei Yuqing lowered his eyelashes and said softly: “It’s a misunderstanding. I’m many years older than you. In my eyes, you are no different from Xuan’er, with no other intentions.”
Xie Wanning paused slightly, then let out an “oh” and said slowly: “So what you’re saying is, you see me as a younger sister?”
Pei Yuqing nodded: “I have a good relationship with your elder brother. Since I happened to encounter you today, it’s only right to protect you fully.”
“I don’t believe it.” Xie Wanning’s gaze dimmed somewhat, yet she refused to withdraw her line of sight, saying word by word: “Pei Yuqing, could it be that Lu Ziyan told you you’re old and your body isn’t well, so you’re too inferior to admit your feelings?”
She was so aggressive that the person’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
His sitting posture was elegant, dressed in a moon-colored wide-sleeved robe with his hair bound by a jade crown. His slightly trembling eyelashes slowly lifted, meeting her gaze, then dropped again.
The air of aloof nobility around him gradually faded, his voice carrying a hint of embarrassment: “Does it matter that much?”
Xie Wanning watched with her own eyes as his fair earlobes slowly flushed red, and for some reason, her heart suddenly settled. The corners of her lips curved up again.
“It matters a lot. How you feel about me determines whether I’ll go to Yuxuan Teahouse to ask you for that spirit nurturing prescription.” She smiled brightly: “But now you don’t have to answer.”
He was so bashful at his age; how could she bear to force him for a definite answer.
But as she stopped pressing, Pei Yuqing seemed to lose his focus in a daze. After a long while, he said hoarsely: “Then will you come?”
Xie Wanning said: “Of course I’ll come. Will you be there whenever I go?”
She answered so straightforwardly that Pei Yuqing’s suddenly tightened heart’s tip slowly relaxed because of her words. His expression softened, and he smiled gently: “I will be.”
His features were clear and refined, his smile gentle and pure, making his transcendent demeanor even more apparent in the sunlight.
Xie Wanning watched without blinking, and thinking of something, she reached out to touch his finger: “Don’t take Lu Ziyan’s words to heart. You’re not old, and your body looks fine too. You must live a long, long life to anger him to death.”
Pei Yuqing was first stunned, then shook his head with a smile, indicating he wouldn’t take it to heart.
His hand never moved away, allowing their fingertips to touch, yet his face maintained that unhurried, gentle demeanor.
Xie Wanning felt a slight warmth in her heart, unable to describe her feelings.
Yet she had clearly categorized him as an elder brother or friend. Why did she suddenly want to hold his hand in this instant and tease him until his face and ears turned red?
In the end, restraint won out. She didn’t continue and instead slowly withdrew her hand, taking a sachet from her waist and handing it over.
“Here, the return gift you’ve been thinking about. This is a sachet I embroidered myself, stuffed with some mosquito-repelling herbs. I’ve worn it for a few days. You don’t disdain it, do you?”
Her needlework wasn’t particularly skilled; she couldn’t embroider large items well and could only manage small things like sachets.
Over these years, for Lu Ziyan’s birthday every year, she had given him a sachet sewn by her own hand.
At first, she embroidered various flowers, but he refused to wear them, saying they weren’t manly enough.
Later, she learned to embroider more complex beasts: wolves, leopards, and cranes.
This sachet was one she had worn herself, featuring a lotus flower embroidered in vivid pink and green threads, quite beautiful.
Pei Yuqing gripped the sachet tightly, feeling as if her fragrance had come with it. He didn’t find the lotus pattern effeminate at all. He untied the jade pendant from his waist and attached the sachet to it.
Xie Wanning quietly watched his movements, her heart stirring slightly.
The budding thought could no longer be suppressed.
“Hey,” she propped her chin and smiled at him, asking lazily: “Do you want to marry me?”
“What?” Pei Yuqing paused his movements and looked up: “What did you say?”
“I said,” Xie Wanning leaned her neck closer, staring at his handsome profile, saying word by word: “Pei Yuqing, do you want to marry me?”
The secluded pavilion remained silent for a long time.
The sun had risen to mid-sky, somewhat scorching, and even the blowing wind carried a dry heat. A bead of sweat slowly formed on the tip of the aloof man’s nose.
She waited leisurely, but heard him slowly speak, his tone strained: “Wanwan, even if you’re worried that Lu Ziyan won’t let go and will continue to entangle you, don’t treat your lifelong event as a joke.”
Xie Wanning’s smile froze instantly, feeling annoyed at having her thoughts seen through, along with some inexplicable embarrassment.
She did indeed have that idea. Just now, Lu Ziyan had clearly shown he wouldn’t give up easily.
Their family had great merit, and if it went to the Golden Hall, His Majesty would likely side with them.
Once His Majesty issued a decree, she would have no choice but to sit in the flower sedan and marry into the Lu Family.
To cleanly end this marriage engagement and make Lu Ziyan give up on continuing to entangle her, the method she could think of now was to marry someone else.
This person needed a noble identity, at least enough to suppress Lu Ziyan’s arrogance and prevent His Majesty from completely favoring one side.
He also needed to be a good person with upright character for her to trust.
Once time passed and Lu Ziyan lost interest and married a noble lady, she could propose divorce to the other party, who would readily let her go.
Anyway, influenced by the dream, she hadn’t planned to remarry anyway and originally intended to remain a young lady at home for life. Since Lu Ziyan insisted on entangling her, using marriage to get rid of him didn’t seem difficult.
As for divorce, in the current Capital City trend where divorce was prevalent, it wouldn’t affect her or the Xie Family.
And Pei Yuqing was the best candidate.
He was His Majesty’s own nephew, frail since childhood, twenty-seven years old and still unmarried. Princess Duanyang had worried herself gray over his marriage. With the sibling bond between the princess and His Majesty, as long as Pei Yuqing said he wanted to marry her, even if one of His Majesty’s princes was interested, he would have to yield.
What was Lu Ziyan compared to that?
Her plan was perfect in every way, and even Pei Yuqing’s feelings for her had been calculated by her.
But when he pierced through that layer of paper, she still felt extremely uncomfortable.
In the end, she did indeed intend to use him.
Use his feelings for her.
She didn’t like him and hadn’t thought of being with him long-term, yet she wanted him to risk offending Lu Ziyan to marry her.
After a couple of years, once Lu Ziyan gave up, she would pack her bags and return to her own life, leaving him alone again…
Xie Wanning found herself rather detestable.
Unable to keep up the facade, she hurriedly stood up and forced a smile: “Sorry, I said the wrong thing. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.”
With that, she turned to leave in a hurry.
As she passed him, he gently called out to stop her.
“Wanwan.” Pei Yuqing didn’t lift his eyes, instead slightly lowering his eyelashes as if lost in thought. After a moment, he said: “You don’t need to do this. You’re my younger sister. As long as you don’t want it, Lu Ziyan can’t marry you away.”
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