Chapter 19:
In this short time, her form of address had already changed from Young Lord Xie to Elder Brother Xie.
But Xie Wanning’s focus was not on this; she turned her head to look at her newly recognized sister and said in a tone full of mixed feelings, “I actually think your elder brother is not bad either.”
She really feared Xie Yanyu’s stern lecturing demeanor.
The two young ladies mutually praised each other’s elder brothers, causing the young masters present to all chuckle uncontrollably.
Qu City Marquis’s Young Lord Zheng Ye laughed, “This is easy; you two can just switch and call each other that.”
He looked toward his young cousin: “What does Wanwan say?”
Xie Wanning poured him a cup of tea, with a smile that did not reach her eyes: “Cousin has said so much, you must be thirsty; just drink your tea quietly.”
Zheng Ye choked, sighing, “I thought after a few months apart, Wanwan’s temperament had softened a bit, but unexpectedly, she still refuses to suffer any loss.”
“Is loss something good?” Pei Yuxuan feigned curiosity and countered, “Why should one be willing to suffer a loss?”
“Well said,” Pei Yuqing, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: “A young lady’s temperament should indeed be strong; she must not let herself suffer losses.”
Denounced repeatedly by the two young ladies, and with his good friend defecting midway, Zheng Ye was thoroughly defeated, shaking his head with a bitter smile, not daring to jest further.
The group began another topic.
The current dynasty did not emphasize gender segregation, but it was still not quite proper for two young ladies to sit together with a group of men chatting and laughing.
Xie Wanning was pondering what excuse to use to excuse herself when she heard the man beside her say in a low voice, “I wonder if Wanwan has prepared a return gift this time?”
……Return gift?
Xie Wanning recalled the words she had casually agreed to last time they parted.
She blinked and looked around; the group was variously chatting and admiring the scenery, and even Xie Yanyu, who loved to discipline her most, had his attention drawn by Pei Yuxuan.
But, there were still so many people here after all.
This person was just directly asking her for a return gift like this?
Xie Wanning refused to make a sound; the person beside her waited a moment, then suddenly chuckled lightly and said no more.
That laughter made her heart’s tip itch faintly; she picked up the teacup and drained it in one gulp, unable to sit still any longer.
Fortunately, the sky was gradually darkening, and soon the people at the table successively took their leave.
Xie Wanning accompanied her elder brother to see off the Pei siblings to the main gate.
When Pei Yuxuan boarded the carriage, she was quite reluctant to leave; her gaze swept over Xie Yanyu, she grasped Xie Wanning’s hand, and said earnestly, “I love going to Yuxuan Teahouse to listen to stories most days; in a couple of days, I’ll send you an invitation, you must come, no making excuses to decline.”
Understanding her intentions, Xie Wanning was silent for a moment, then returned a warm smile: “Good.”
The Commandery Princess truly seemed to like her elder brother very much, and her temperament was generous too; if it could happen, it would indeed be a good deed.
Far better than in her dream where her elder brother was still unmarried in his twenties, anxiously frustrating her parents.
Seeing her agree, Pei Yuxuan’s gaze turned to Xie Yanyu beside them and said politely, “Elder Brother Xie, if you have time, you can come too.”
Xie Yanyu nodded slightly without responding.
Pei Yuxuan was undeterred, smiling and waving to them before boarding the carriage.
Pei Yuqing beside her showed no sign on his face of whether he had noticed his sister’s intentions, raised his eyes and said farewell.
Watching the Pei Family’s carriage depart into the distance, Xie Wanning turned her head to her elder brother, raised her brows with a smile: “In elder brother’s view, if Princess Pingning really invites me, should I go or not?”
Xie Yanyu lowered his eyes slightly, not knowing what he was thinking; upon hearing this, he glanced sideways at his sister and said indifferently, “You may go, but wear your veiled hat, go early and return early, do not linger outside.”
With that, he turned and entered the residence; Xie Wanning stuck out her tongue at his back.
Pei Yuxuan had already made it so obvious, yet her slow-witted elder brother could not see it at all?
Or was it that she, as someone who had married in her dream, was more perceptive?
Xie Wanning felt anxious for her obtuse elder brother and resolved to properly understand Princess Pingning’s character before deciding whether to matchmake them.
Thinking this in her heart, she lifted her foot to enter the residence when the sound of hoofbeats came from behind.
She instinctively turned her head, her steps halting abruptly as she stopped in place.
——Lu Ziyan.
Dressed in a suit of dark riding attire, the jade belt outlining his lean and strong waist, with a stern facial expression, astride the warhorse Snow Moon taller than an ordinary woman; clearly a warm spring day, yet this man and horse appeared as if carrying wind and snow, exuding chilling aura.
Even though the two had fallen out to this extent, Xie Wanning had to admit that her childhood sweetheart did indeed have taste.
In her dream, her reluctance to give up and insistence on marrying him was partly due to this face.
And his air of cold arrogance.
After all, the desire to conquer was not only for men; she seemed to have it too.
……She had not fallen unjustly.
Xie Wanning reached this conclusion, raised her eyes to the man who had already dismounted, and smiled relievedly: “You’re looking for me?”
After twice being refused at the door and reaching the point of breaking off the engagement, meeting again was actually just a calm “You’re looking for me.”
Lu Ziyan’s expression was extremely indifferent, his pitch-black pupils devoid of any emotion as he looked at her: “When did you get to know Pei Yuqing?”
“???” Xie Wanning was somewhat stunned, not expecting his first sentence to be this.
She did not know how long he had been there or what he had seen.
But she was confident in her propriety; when seeing off the Pei siblings, her family’s elder brother was there too……
Just as she thought this, Xie Wanning realized that even if her conduct was improper now, it had nothing to do with him, right?
She immediately frowned and said, “What does it have to do with you?”
At these words, Lu Ziyan’s eyes darkened intensely, his lips moved: “You are my fiancée; what do you think it has to do with me?”
“Oh,” Xie Wanning responded carelessly, stepping back half a pace, no longer affected by his aura, then said: “Then let’s break off the engagement; didn’t my father already go to your family to propose breaking it off?”
Lu Ziyan ignored her mocking intent as if he had not heard it, his gaze lingering on her face as he asked: “What is the reason for breaking off the engagement?”
Xie Wanning feigned surprise: “You don’t even know?”
“If it’s because of Rou Niang, you need not……”
“No no no, don’t mention your Rou Niang to me.” Xie Wanning quickly interrupted, not wanting to hear his worn-out clichés at all; she had heard enough of them in her dream.
From the very beginning when Liu Manrou entered the household, he had said, “Rest assured, Rou Niang will absolutely not affect you in the slightest.”
This “slightest” influence persisted until Liu Manrou gave birth to the eldest son, when it changed to “Even if Rou Niang gives birth to the eldest son, it will not threaten your position as main wife.”
Finally, at some point, it became, “Xie Wanning, when did you become such a wicked woman.”
Wicked woman?
Xie Wanning shuddered, retreating three steps, looking at the man before her with undisguised disgust: “Lu Ziyan, I understand you need to produce offspring for the Lu Family; I let you go, can you let me go too?”
She took a deep breath and said straightforwardly: “To be honest, hearing you call her Rou Niang one after another makes me feel nauseous.”
Please vote~~~
