Yining stared at Wei Ling in shock, unable to recover for a long time. The teacup in her hand tilted unconsciously, spilling a drop of tea. She hastily put down the cup and asked, “What did you say?”
“I just asked Cheng Lang, and he’s willing to marry you,” Wei Ling said with a smile. “What do you think of him? I know many young ladies fancy him. If you agree to marry your cousin Cheng Lang, our two families can start discussing the wedding arrangements. We should also let the Cheng family prepare a proper betrothal gift. After all, I know him well, and if you marry Cheng Lang, it’ll be convenient for you to visit our household.”
Yining didn’t know what to say. Marrying Cheng Lang! It seemed incredibly strange to her, as Cheng Lang was a child she had watched grow up. But now, she couldn’t find any sufficient reason to refuse. Feeling emotionally confused, she took a moment to calm herself before saying, “Father, let’s not rush. I want to talk to Cousin Cheng Lang… Where is he?”
“He’s waiting outside,” Wei Ling replied, sending a servant to invite Cheng Lang in.
Cheng Lang waited for Wei Ling outside, basking in the beautiful sunlight that illuminated the world. He stood straight, a slight smile on his lips. As he prepared to enter and see her, he adjusted his changpao.
Entering the side room, he found her leaning against the luohan bed, drinking tea with a vacant gaze.
“Please, sit,” Yining gestured to the stool opposite her.
Instead of sitting on the stool, Cheng Lang suddenly walked up to her. Startled, Yining watched as he knelt before her and grasped her hand.
She tried to pull away, but he held on firmly, more tightly than ever before. Raising his handsome face to look at her, he said earnestly, “Yining, listen to me. This wasn’t a hasty decision.”
“Others may not know, but you and I can’t pretend…” Yining looked at him and said, “How can you marry me?”
“You’re in such a dangerous situation now. If the Duke of Ying marries you off to someone else, how do you know they’ll treat you well?” Cheng Lang explained.
The mere thought of being able to be with her legitimately in the future, even as her husband, filled him with anticipation. “I know the Duke of Ying was once considered the second son of the He family. He passed the provincial examination but had an affair with his maid. How could you marry someone like that? After marrying me, I can protect and care for you properly. If you’re unwilling… we don’t have to consummate the marriage. I just want to help you now. Besides me, you don’t have a better option.” He smiled slightly, adding with confidence, “Am I not good enough? Do you know how many people want to marry me?”
“Of course you’re good,” Yining said. Somehow, she thought of Xie Yun and even Cheng Lang’s coldness towards him.
Cheng Lang did want to help her, and as he said, there was no one better than him.
“After marrying me, you can still often stay at the Duke of Ying’s mansion, and I’ll accompany you when you visit,” Cheng Lang said. “Don’t misunderstand, I have no other intentions. You’ve shown me great kindness, and now it’s time for me to repay that. Let my marriage bring you honor – what do you say?”
Yining looked into his eyes, unable to voice her refusal. He truly meant well.
“I’ll go back and ask Grandfather to help prepare the betrothal gifts,” he said. “We can have you married within half a month.”
“Alang, this matter still needs discussion,” Yining released his hand. “But regardless, thank you for being willing to help.”
Cheng Lang understood exactly what he was saying. He had calculated carefully, knowing what to say to make it difficult for Yining to refuse. Having said his piece, saying more would be too much. He bid farewell to Yining.
From a distance, Yining watched him chatting animatedly with Wei Ling outside. Wei Ling patted his shoulder.
She gazed silently for a while, then asked her maid to bring paper and brush, intending to write a letter to her elder sister.
In the Luo residence at Xinqiao Hutong, Lin Mao brought Gu Jingming to pay respects to Lin Hairu.
Lin Hairu looked at the crane in the courtyard with frustration, her forehead throbbing. She thought she should have stewed and eaten this troublemaker. It was as picky and noisy as Lin Mao, truly exasperating.
Seeing Lin Mao bringing Gu Jingming to pay respects, she didn’t put on a pleasant face and asked, “Why are you two always together like conjoined twins?”
Lin Mao grinned and said, “If I hadn’t dragged him out, he’d be in trouble—his mother is forcing him to go on blind dates.”
Gu Jingming pinched Lin Mao unceremoniously, but was very polite to the elder, bowing and smiling, “I’m truly embarrassed. My mother is anxious about my marriage, so she came to Beijing to find me.”
Lin Hairu had always liked Gu Jingming. Hearing he was to be married, she said, “Then your mother must carefully vet the candidates for you!”
Gu Jingming nodded, “Aunt, if you know of any good families, please keep an eye out for me. My mother picks only young ladies from prominent families, which I don’t like. But if I choose someone, she’s not satisfied. It’s truly giving me a headache.”
Lin Hairu’s eyes lit up at this, but after careful consideration, she realized she didn’t have any suitable candidates at hand, which was regrettable. She called for a maid to bring some seasonal snacks for the two to eat.
After hearing about Gu Jingming’s predicament, Lin Hairu thought of Lin Mao’s marriage prospects. She turned to Lin Mao and asked, “By the way, your mother wrote to me recently, asking me to find you a match in Beijing. I see you’ve become an official but still haven’t settled down. Where am I supposed to find you a match? It’s better to let her find someone in Yangzhou. Your childhood playmate, the second daughter of the county magistrate from the neighboring county, isn’t bad.”
“Aunt, I’ve already found a match,” Lin Mao was teasing the little boy Nan’er in his wet nurse’s arms with some pastries. He looked up and said, “I went to propose today.”
Lin Hairu was also eating pastries and almost choked when she heard this.
Her maid patted her back and gave her tea to drink, and she finally managed to swallow.
Then she took a deep breath and asked, “What did you say?”
Lin Mao thought his aunt was being oddly dramatic. He put down the pastry in his hand, dusted off the crumbs, and said, “Yining’s father came back, so I went to propose. Didn’t I tell you about this long ago?”
He asked again, “Haven’t I mentioned this to you before?”
Lin Hairu took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. Yes, Lin Mao had this intention since he was young.
“How could you go without consulting me first? The Duke of Ying’s family is a noble lineage. It’s improper for you to propose on your own. What if they reject you?” Lin Hairu said.
“We won’t know unless we try,” Lin Mao said with a smile. “It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work out. At least I tried. Besides, the Duke of Ying seems to like me quite a bit.”
This guy was always confident that others would like him, though it wasn’t clear where his confidence came from. In reality, he was often disliked in many situations.
“Third Young Master, why are you standing outside and not coming in…” Ruixiang’s voice suddenly sounded from outside the pavilion.
Had Luo Shenyuan returned?
After a moment, Lin Hairu saw Luo Shenyuan enter with his attendants and sit down, seemingly expressionless. Lin Mao greeted him, and he nodded slightly in response. Then he asked Gu Jingming to come over.
Gu Jingming, who often accompanied the Emperor, reading with him and joining him for hunting if he was interested, understood the Emperor’s intentions better than others. The two frequently exchanged information.
Gu Jingming mentioned that Cheng Lang was about to be promoted to Jianyi Yushi. Cheng Lang’s grandfather had started as an official censor, and the current Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate was still his proud disciple. Although Cheng Lang’s promotion seemed sudden, considerable effort must have been made behind the scenes. The Censorate was now almost controlled by Wang Yuan’s faction, and Cheng Lang was considered half a member of Wang Yuan’s party.
“My mother has been trying to find me a match recently…” Gu Jingming said casually, “I’ve thought about it and can’t find anyone suitable. Perhaps I should propose to Cousin Yining. She’s Aunt’s daughter, and my mother likes Aunt so much, she’d surely agree.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Luo Shenyuan turn to look at him. His gaze was far from friendly, displaying an undisguised coldness.
“Just a joke! I have no feelings for Cousin Yining!” Gu Jingming said with a slight smile. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t dare act on them.”
“Although Lin Mao is clever, he’s quite slow when it comes to matters between men and women. He can’t compare to me,” Gu Jingming opened his fan and waved it. Seeing Luo Shenyuan’s expression unchanged, he lowered his voice and said, “Lord Luo, I’m practically your right-hand man. Lin Mao’s feelings for Yining—I doubt it’s romantic love. He just finds her amusing.”
Luo Shenyuan reined in his coldness. He paused and said, “It doesn’t matter.” After drinking some tea, he continued, “I’m about to take up my post in the Ministry of Works, which makes me Lin Mao’s direct superior. His personality is ill-suited for the position of Giving Remonstrance. He offends people too easily and has already antagonized several Lang Zhong in the ministry. He’d be better off as a local magistrate—the prefect of Jiaozhou in Shandong is about to retire. If Lin Mao starts as the county magistrate of Gaomi, he could be promoted to prefect in a few years based on his performance.”
“That may be so, but to go from Giving Remonstrance to county magistrate…” Although both were seventh-rank positions, one was a capital official overseeing the Ministry of Works, while the other was a local official. How could they compare?
Luo Shenyuan asked, “Do you think I’m abusing my power for personal gain?”
Gu Jingming forced a smile, “I certainly wouldn’t dare think that.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t think so, but that he didn’t dare to think so.
Luo Shenyuan continued, “The Duke of Ying has always doted on Yining. Lin Mao’s family is far away in Yangzhou, and he has six brothers. The Duke won’t agree to this marriage.”
“Then you…” Gu Jingming asked hesitantly, “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid,” Luo Shenyuan said slowly, stroking the rim of his cup. “Alright, you may go now.”
After Gu Jingming left, a spy entered Luo Shenyuan’s study. He saw Lord Luo leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, his tall figure casting a long shadow in the sunset. His hand, resting on the rosewood armrest, was knuckled and long, tapping lightly.
This indicated he was thinking. The spy stood silently to the side, not daring to disturb his contemplation.
After a while, Luo Shenyuan opened his eyes and asked, “Have you found out everything?”
“Yes, everything is clear,” the spy respectfully handed him a letter and orally reported, “Lord Cheng is quite clever, passing through a sea of flowers without a petal sticking to him. He’s quite formidable. Apart from some rumors in pleasure quarters about keeping a concubine, there’s nothing else—oh, he seems to have killed someone in his early years. At that time, General Lu protected him, so no one dared to accuse him.”
The correspondence and intelligence exchanges of the Qingliu faction all passed through Luo Shenyuan. These were crucial matters that Luo Shenyuan had to verify one by one.
Killing someone wasn’t a big deal; he had killed people too.
Luo Shenyuan read the letter and sealed it again, looking at the sunset through the latticed window, deep in thought.
Yining’s shock that night and her gesture of pushing him away kept lingering in his mind. She must have been startled by his sudden action.
He always liked to suppress his emotions, but in reality, he was sensitive inside and easily affected by the actions of those he cared about. Thinking about it now, he had indeed been too impulsive that night.
As for Lin Mao… in the past, the Duke of Ying would certainly not have agreed to Lin Mao’s proposal. But after what happened at the palace banquet, Yining was now in a precarious situation, and the Duke might be desperate enough to consider anyone. Many noble families were present at the palace banquet, and the Duke wanted to find her a marriage to eliminate future troubles. But after the banquet, who would dare to marry her? Wei Ling could only look for somewhat outstanding young men from official families now.
He could help her now. He was far more outstanding than those people.
But there was still the relationship of foster siblings between them. If he proposed now… Yining had such a big reaction last time. If he rashly proposed marriage, who knows how she would react?
Luo Shenyuan looked at the brush holder on the table, remembering when Yining was little and he taught her to write. He had held her in his arms. She had buried her head, her young profile serious and persistent. Looking up, she had smiled and called him, “Third Brother.”
Luo Shenyuan suddenly smiled faintly and told his subordinate, “Pass down the message, we’ll go out tomorrow.”
Yining had just woken up in bed when she heard that Fangchong, the maid of Old Madam Wei, had come.
Old Madam Wei wanted to take her to Hongci Guangji Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. The Wei ducal mansion had indeed been unsettled recently.
Young Master Ting insisted on going with Yining to burn incense. Excited about the rare outing, he leaned against the carriage window, watching the passing streets and shops. When they arrived at Hongci Guangji Temple, he wanted to see the sacred monkeys kept on the back mountain. Yining sent two guards to accompany him, instructing, “Don’t let him go up the mountain, and don’t let him get too close to the monkeys.”
Monkeys were mischievous by nature, and she feared young Master Ting might get hurt. He was precious, after all.
The guard bowed and said, “Don’t worry, Young Miss. We’ll be with him.”
Only then did Yining feel reassured and follow Old Madam Wei’s steps. Old Madam Wei first took her to worship Guanyin Bodhisattva and offer incense. Yining stood with her hands at her sides, clearly seeing the old lady take out a birth chart and show it to the monk standing nearby.
It was her birth chart. Had the old lady already become so anxious as to start matching horoscopes?
The monk took the birth chart offered by the old lady, chanted a Buddhist invocation, and asked the guest reception monk to lead them to the guest room.
The guest room was built on the mountainside. In the courtyard stood a huge ancient banyan tree, its dense green shade covering the ground. Many maids and servants stood with their hands at their sides. Wei Ying’s mother, Lady Song, and Old Madam Fu, along with the eldest daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Dingbei’s family—Luo Yihui, were waiting for Old Madam Wei here.
Lady Song was a stern-faced old woman with a loud voice. When Yining paid her respects, she smiled and gave Yining a bag of gold beans, as if rewarding a child. The three old ladies went inside to talk, leaving Luo Yihui and Yining to chat in the courtyard.
Yining had specially written a letter to her elder sister yesterday, inviting her to come together.
She didn’t see her elder sister often. Luo Yihui now managed the household affairs of the Marquis of Dingbei’s mansion and had to take care of young Master Yu, leaving her stretched thin. When Wei Ling was in big trouble, the Marquis of Dingbei’s family also submitted a memorial to plead for Wei Ling, but it was rejected by the Emperor. Fu Ping then told his family members to keep a low profile, and the two families had less contact.
Seeing that Yining had grown into a graceful young lady, Luo Yihui thought about how this child, who used to lay on her knee asking for help to braid her hair, had grown so big. She felt emotional. Stroking Yining’s hair, she said, “I read your letter and immediately asked permission to come see you. Our Yining is in the prime of her youth, there’s no need to worry about finding a good husband! Perhaps this opportunity might even lead to a good marriage. Don’t be anxious.”
Yining understood her current situation very well. Like her elder sister, she wasn’t actually in a hurry—the burden of the Duke of Ying’s household was too heavy, and only Wei Ling could shoulder it. After Wei Ling’s return, he would still be in charge. Now she only needed to manage the household affairs.
Moreover, after establishing her authority last time, no household manager dared to defy her again. When they saw her, they would lower their heads even more. If she didn’t speak, they would remain silent, and no one dared to neglect the tasks she assigned.
She was just thinking about Cheng Lang’s matter.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen young Master Yu!” Yining took some peanuts from nearby and peeled them for her elder sister. She remembered that her sister liked water peanuts. She carefully removed the red skin and handed them to Luo Yihui, smiling as she asked, “Is he studying now?”
Luo Yihui told her about young Master Yu: “He’s studying with his second uncle now. He’s learning to recognize characters quite quickly.”
As they were chatting, a guard hurried over from outside, bowed to Yining, and said, “Young Miss, the young master was teasing the monkeys with food. We were careless for a moment, and he was frightened by a monkey…”
Yining frowned upon hearing this: “Didn’t I tell you to watch him carefully? Is he seriously hurt?”
The guard was also very remorseful and bowed, saying, “We should have been more careful as Young Miss reminded us. It’s just that the monkey was extremely agile and suddenly leaped down from the tree…” He paused, then quickly added, “Fortunately, Lord Luo was passing by and saved the young master. Lord Luo’s hand was scratched by the monkey, and the young master was so frightened he kept crying. Please come with me to take a look!”
Lord Luo… Third Brother, why is he here?
Yining didn’t ask any more questions and immediately followed the guard towards the back mountain.
There was a large protruding stone platform on the back mountain. Following the stone steps up the mountain, one would reach it. On the platform stood a stone tablet and a pavilion. Looking down, one could see clear waters and lush greenery, with many monkeys kept in the nearby rocks. Originally wild monkeys, the temple monks took pity on them and kept them here, adding some spiritual atmosphere to the temple.
As Yining approached, she saw many armed guards preventing others from getting close. A tall figure was sitting in the pavilion—it must be him. Young Master Ting was sitting opposite him.
Before she got close, Yining’s footsteps faltered slightly.
She remembered that rainy night, their lips intertwined, his slightly warm breath with a sense of pressure.