After Wei Ling left, Yining sighed and asked Zhenzhu to bring a copper basin with cool water to wash her hands. She looked up at the dense canopy of the ginkgo tree in the courtyard, wondering why Lin Mao had come. She sensed that Wei Ling had seemed hesitant to speak fully. After some thought, she sent a maid to the front courtyard to gather information.
Soon, the maid returned and reported, “Young Master Lin and the Guogong were drinking in the front hall, having dismissed the servants. I don’t know what they discussed, but Young Master Lin left in high spirits.”
She added, “The Guogong gave Young Master Lin two jars of Qiulu Bai to take home, and Young Master Lin gifted our family a pair of geese.”
Why would he give geese? That was typically a betrothal gift, symbolizing a couple’s union.
But then Yining remembered he had also given Lin Hairuo a crane, and she understood. With Lin Mao, any gift was comprehensible. She asked no further questions and instructed the maid to fetch Ting’er for lunch.
Ting’er returned from playing with two seven or eight-year-old book boys, sweaty and with a dirty collar.
Yining refused to let him on the luohan bed, insisting that Mama Tong take him to wash up first.
Ting’er pouted as he went to clean up. Soon, he came running back, pressing close to Yining: “Sister, I want to go horseback riding with Guifu!”
Guifu was his little book boy. Yining, finding him as hot as a little stove, pushed him away: “Have the guards watch you and ride around the rockery in the back garden.”
Ting’er just wanted to cling to her, finding her coolness comfortable.
Yining glared at him, and he could only climb back to sit properly, resting his chin on his hands, saying, “It’s not spacious enough to run freely at home. When I was at the garrison, there was a vast grassland for horseback riding.” He gestured to show a large area, grinning, “Sister, you don’t know how to ride a horse. When I grow up, I’ll take you riding!”
Yining added a bowl of yam and pork trotter soup for him: “Alright, but let’s wait until you grow up.”
After lunch, Ting’er went out again. Yining called in a guard and specifically instructed him not to take the young lord horseback riding outside. She knew Ting’er would agree in front of her but then ordered the servants around like a little tyrant, and the guards wouldn’t dare to refuse him.
As he grew older, his personality became more like Wei Ling’s, and no one but Wei Ling could manage him.
Yining took a short nap before meeting with the steward.
Just as she woke up, Songzhi came to announce that Cheng Lang had arrived and was waiting for her on the western side room’s veranda. Yining went to the western side room and saw him talking with Ting’er. The crested parrot hanging from the eaves tilted its head to look at him, calling “A’Lang, A’Lang,” as if it already knew Cheng Lang.
Cheng Lang took the parrot down from its perch. The bird lowered its head slightly, seemingly wanting to be petted.
Ting’er complained, “I’ve been teaching it for so long, but it won’t call my name!”
Cheng Lang played with the crested parrot, feeding it grain from a small dish. He smiled casually, “You need to feed it to make it learn.”
Yining watched from the doorway for a moment before approaching: “Cousin Cheng, why have you come?”
Cheng Lang handed the parrot to Ting’er to play with and entered the western side room with Yining to talk.
“After what happened at yesterday’s palace banquet, I naturally wanted to come and check on you,” Cheng Lang’s voice deepened slightly, with a hint of strange coolness. “The reason that day also involved Lu Jiaxue. The Empress wanted to please him, and you’re his goddaughter. She thought of asking you to become the Third Prince’s side consort, hoping Lu Jiaxue would support the Third Prince’s succession to the throne…”
Yining knew without being told how important the choice of someone commanding a large army could be.
A helpless smile flitted across her lips: “Life is unpredictable.”
She couldn’t help but think of Lu Jiaxue’s cold expression. In front of her husband from her past life, she was to be betrothed to someone else, all because others wanted to curry favor with him.
It wasn’t enough that he had harmed and deceived her in her past life; now she was entangled in complications because of him, powerless to control her fate.
When Yining looked up, she suddenly realized Cheng Lang was watching her.
The sunlight filtering through the latticed windows illuminated his handsome, refined face and the pale, fine linen of his robe. His fingers were lightly gripping the edge of the table, but he quickly moved them away when Yining noticed. He said calmly, “At tomorrow’s court assembly, I will be appointed as Qiandu Yushi of the Censorate.”
Qiandu Yushi was a fourth-rank official position!
“It’s not anything special,” Cheng Lang smiled, speaking unhurriedly. “Your Third Brother is even more impressive. He’s likely to be promoted to Vice Minister of Works. With Xu Wei’s strong recommendation and his merits in handling the Zhejiang flood, the position is almost certainly his.”
“Qiandu Yushi is no small matter; others wouldn’t even dare to dream of it,” Yining shook her head with a smile. A Qiandu Yushi in the Censorate held the power to supervise officials, already a position of considerable authority.
As she lowered her head, she became momentarily distracted and accidentally cut her finger with the scissors she was using to twist threads.
The scissors’ tip was extremely sharp. Her finger stung, and blood quickly welled up.
“What happened?” Cheng Lang frowned, walking to her side and crouching down to grasp her hand. Seeing the long, bloody cut, he sighed, “How did you injure yourself like this…”
Yining felt uncomfortable with him holding her hand, after all, he was now an adult, no longer just little Cheng Lang. Yet he was so close to her, and it was difficult to refuse: “It’s nothing, the wound is very shallow, just a scratch.” She tried to pull her hand away forcefully, but couldn’t.
Cheng Lang looked up at her. Her petite body leaned against the backrest, her skin a delicate mix of white and pink. Her wrist was so small. He could easily grip it tightly, and with just a little force, she couldn’t break free.
He felt a stirring inside, remembering that in his dreams, he had grown into a tall man, while Yining remained as small and delicate as ever. In the dream, he had pressed himself against her and kissed her. Seeing her glare at him from beneath him, he had lovingly cupped her face and comforted her: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. It’s me, A’Lang, your little A’Lang…”
Even though it was just a dream.
Yining finally managed to pull her hand back and asked a maid to bring some gauze from her dressing-case. She wiped the small amount of blood from her finger and wrapped a strip of gauze around it, considering it done. She was too lazy to bandage it properly, especially since the injury wasn’t serious.
Cheng Lang took the bamboo basket with the fish and lotus pattern and found some medicinal wine, wanting her to apply it before rewrapping the wound: “I remember once when someone pushed me down the stairs, and I hurt my knee. You thought I was crying too much and lacked masculinity, so you didn’t want to deal with me and left me with Second Aunt. I ended up crying and coming back to find you…”
Hearing him mention his childhood, Yining smiled and said, “I didn’t know you had been pushed down at that time. I remember it was Second Aunt’s chubby grandson who pushed you, I think his name was Rui’er. He should be about your age now, right?”
“No, he died long ago,” Cheng Lang said casually. “When he was twelve, he went climbing Xiangshan with some young noblemen. He fell some steps, injured his lungs, and was carried back with blood bubbling from his mouth… He didn’t survive.”
Yining was slightly taken aback. What a coincidence… he died from a fall?
Cheng Lang finally finished bandaging her finger. He took a sip of water and said, “With Lu Jiaxue leaving the capital, I’ll have to take care of his remaining affairs. I’ll come to see you again tomorrow.”
A small teacup remained on the side table. Yining had the head maid see him out. She stared at the cup, lost in thought for a moment… These people had hearts harder than most; she knew she could never be like that. However, Cheng Lang always seemed quite respectful towards her, apparently not having forgotten anything from their childhood.
She took out the threads from the bamboo basket again; these were for making a headband for Old Madame Wei.
After visiting Yining, Cheng Lang also paid his respects to Old Madame Wei.
Wei Ling was still with Old Madame Wei, having just helped her to bed.
He walked out with Cheng Lang, his mind still pondering what Old Madame Wei had said earlier. Looking at Cheng Lang, he couldn’t help but continue thinking that Cheng Lang wasn’t bad either. At least he was good-looking—his face had attracted countless admirers. Although he used to be quite dissolute and indiscriminate, recently there seemed to be fewer rumors about his romantic affairs.
Wei Ling’s eyes brightened.
If Yining had to marry, marrying Cheng Lang wouldn’t be bad! After all, so many people wanted to marry him, girls all over the capital had their eyes on him, and he was in high demand. This fellow was likely to be promoted again soon. And being under his watchful eye, Cheng Lang probably wouldn’t dare to mistreat Yining. If he were willing to marry Yining, she wouldn’t have to worry about marrying beneath her station. It would be a grand and enviable match.
Wei Ling pulled Cheng Lang to his study to talk, posting guards outside.
After sitting down, Cheng Lang said, “Uncle Wei Ling, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so please keep it brief if you have something to say.”
Wei Ling paced behind his desk a couple of times, then suddenly asked, “Cheng Lang, do you like Yining?”
Cheng Lang’s heart raced upon hearing this, but he managed to reply with a slight smile, “Cousin Yining… is certainly excellent.”
“You know about yesterday’s palace banquet incident. Given the urgency, I’m planning to find a marriage match for Yining…” Wei Ling paused, “But there isn’t a suitable candidate at the moment, so I wanted to ask you. Would you be willing to marry Yining? You and I naturally trust each other, and you excel in every aspect. You’d certainly be able to protect her in the future. If you’re willing, treat her well from now on, and don’t do those things you used to do… Yining could marry you. What do you think?”
Cheng Lang usually greeted others with a smile; it was his perfect mask, the image of a gentle and refined young man.
But upon hearing Wei Ling’s words, he couldn’t help but stand up, unable to hide his shock. Wei Ling wanted him to marry Yining!
He had such intentions!
Indeed… why hadn’t he thought of it? Yining was in a critical situation now, desperately needing to secure a marriage immediately. This was a chance to rescue her from danger. Why couldn’t he marry her? He was the famous Tanhua of the capital, with potential brides lining up from east to west. His family was prominent, and he was about to be appointed to the fourth-rank position of Qiandu Yushi. He had waited for so many years, pined for her for so long.
Now she was almost within reach. If he could just forget his true, wicked desires, who would know what he was thinking? As long as she didn’t notice, he could slowly win her over after marriage. Surely she wouldn’t refuse then. Who could guess what it truly meant to him that he could now openly embrace the person he had longed for?
“If you’re unwilling…” Wei Ling, despite his domineering nature, wouldn’t force such matters. He wouldn’t push someone into a marriage chamber. Seeing Cheng Lang’s silence, he said, “If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
“No!” Cheng Lang immediately replied. He took a deep breath, then smiled slowly, “Uncle Wei Ling, of course, I’m willing to marry her!”
It was exactly what he had been hoping for.