The atmosphere became momentarily tense.
Madam Zeng’s face remained calm, showing no change at Lu Wenhan’s sudden appearance. However, Wei Zhuo’s previously friendly demeanor turned sharp. He cupped his hands toward Lu Wenhan and said coolly: “I came to visit the mother of an old comrade-in-arms. There’s no question of status here. Rather, I’m surprised to see Lord Lu taking time from his busy schedule to come here today.”
“Commander need not be surprised. Just as you have your old comrade’s parent here, I have my female relatives here. If you can come, naturally I can come as well,” Lu Wenhan said as he walked up to the three of them. Earlier when he’d heard reports about Wei Zhuo, he hadn’t quite believed them, but now seeing with his own eyes, he had no choice but to believe.
Old Lady Li’s home and the house Madam Zeng rented were on the same street. To reach Madam Zeng’s residence, one had to pass by Old Lady Li’s door. As Lu Wenhan had just entered the alley, he’d seen Wei Zhuo, Madam Zeng, and Ming Shu standing by the street, chatting and laughing – the scene harmonious and warm, looking very much like a family of three.
Ming Shu looked at Lu Wenhan upon hearing this – thankfully he hadn’t said anything about “wife,” because if he had, her mother would likely have turned hostile on the spot.
As Lu Wenhan drew closer, his sharp gaze visibly softened, revealing what could be called a “loving” smile toward her. Ming Shu shuddered, feeling her skin crawl. She wasn’t used to such sudden and obvious displays of “paternal affection.”
“I see,” Wei Zhuo simply nodded.
The relationship between Lu Wenhan and Lu Hang which had been the talk of the entire capital recently was proving to be true.
“Then I ask the Commander to allow me to…” Lu Wenhan paused, then continued, “Have a family conversation with Yuqing and my daughter Ming Shu.”
The way he said “Yuqing” conveyed unusual intimacy.
Before Wei Zhuo could speak, Madam Zeng cut in: “Commander, please don’t misunderstand. Lord Lu and I divorced nineteen years ago. During these nineteen years, I’ve had no contact with Lord Lu or the Lu family.”
She needed to make things clear, otherwise Lu Wenhan’s ambiguous words might make people think there was something improper between them. If such rumors spread, it could tarnish Lu Hang and Ming Shu’s reputation – that would be terrible.
Her emotions were pure, her words forthright, showing no self-pity or inferiority about past events, naturally earning others’ respect and admiration.
In this world, a beautiful appearance most easily wins people’s favor, and many human relationships are born from it. But to make people remember you forever through your character and spirit – that is truly rare.
Zeng Yuqing was both lovable and respectable.
Wei Zhuo smiled and simply replied: “I understand.”
“Yuqing…” Lu Wenhan’s brows furrowed deeply, but with Wei Zhuo present, he couldn’t say more. He could only suppress his emotions and say calmly to Wei Zhuo, “Commander, regardless of anything else, I have old matters to discuss with mother and children. It’s not convenient for outsiders to hear, please understand.”
“Lord Lu, whatever needed to be said was already clearly stated before. There is nothing more between us to discuss. I’m not preventing you from seeing your daughter – why do you keep pestering me?” Madam Zeng said.
“It’s because I have something to discuss with you today. Let me speak with you privately,” Lu Wenhan said.
He had come several times before, but whether he sent people or came personally, Madam Zeng had refused to see him. He had specifically chosen a time when his daughter would be present, thinking Madam Zeng wouldn’t turn him away in front of their daughter, but unexpectedly ran into this troublemaker.
Wei Zhuo pretended not to understand, standing firmly between them and refusing to leave.
Lu Wenhan spoke to Wei Zhuo in a deep voice: “Commander, this is my family matter. Could you please give us some privacy?”
His tone was no longer as polite as before.
If it were anyone else, they would have backed off in the face of the Minister of Rites’ imposing manner. Unfortunately, today it was Wei Zhuo who was present.
Wei Zhuo just smiled and asked Madam Zeng: “Madam, do you wish to accommodate Lord Lu’s request?”
“No, I have nothing to say to him,” Madam Zeng refused without leaving any room for negotiation.
“Yuqing!” Lu Wenhan grew slightly angry and tried to follow Madam Zeng’s steps, but Wei Zhuo blocked his path.
“My apologies, Lord Lu, but since Madam Zeng doesn’t wish to speak with you, please don’t pressure her,” Wei Zhuo said with a smile, though a killing intent emanated from him as a sword stretched between the two men. He then said to Madam Zeng, “Madam Zeng, let me escort you home.”
“Thank you, Commander.” Madam Zeng bowed and turned to walk home, her steps showing no hesitation.
“Wei Zhuo!” Lu Wenhan’s smile completely disappeared, dropping all pretense of courtesy.
Wei Zhuo stopped and looked back sideways.
“Are you trying to compete with me for her?” Lu Wenhan said coldly.
Wei Zhuo curved his lips, glanced at Madam Zeng’s retreating figure, and simply said: “Why not?”
With those words, he turned to follow Madam Zeng.
Whether Madam Zeng had heard Wei Zhuo’s response was unclear; her steps faltered slightly before continuing toward home.
Lu Wenhan hadn’t been angered like this in many years. After navigating the official circles for so long, he had developed a thick skin, yet today he was acting like a young man competing for a woman’s attention and ended up losing face. It was simply… His face changed colors several times in anger, and when he happened to turn, he noticed Ming Shu still standing nearby.
Ming Shu had been forgotten. She bit her lip and widened her eyes, taking in the entire drama-filled scene.
Wei Zhuo and Lu Wenhan were indeed prominent figures in the court – in just a few exchanges, their back-and-forth was like a bloodless battle, neither willing to yield. But judging from the current situation, the Minister of Rites seemed to have lost the advantage.
“Ming Shu.” Seeing his daughter, Lu Wenhan quickly adjusted his emotions and smiled again.
“Lord Lu,” Ming Shu bowed. While Madam Zeng refused to see Lu Wenhan, she hadn’t required her daughter to do the same, so Ming Shu didn’t need to avoid him.
Hearing her address, Lu Wenhan’s smile froze: “Still calling me ‘Lord’?”
“If not ‘Lord,’ what should I call you?” Ming Shu blinked and asked him.
“I am your father, you should call me ‘Father,'” Lu Wenhan said gently. They say daughters are like warm cotton-padded jackets; having no daughter by his side, seeing Ming Shu made him fond of her. Moreover, she didn’t seem to resist him as Madam Zeng did, and Lu Hang was also difficult to approach. Only his daughter Ming Shu seemed soft and obedient – she should be the easiest of the three to get close to. To move that person’s heart, perhaps he could start with their daughter.
“Oh.” Ming Shu opened her mouth under his expectant gaze and said, “But I won’t.”
“…” Lu Wenhan nearly choked on her response. “Do you blame your father for abandoning you for over ten years?”
Ming Shu shook her head. Unlike Madam Zeng and Lu Hang’s resistance to Lu Wenhan, perhaps due to her memory loss, she felt nothing about past sufferings and had no expectations for the missing paternal love. To her, Lu Wenhan was like a stranger, neither loved nor hated.
She couldn’t bring herself to call a stranger “Father.”
“Then why won’t you acknowledge me? Ming Shu, it was your father’s fault for abandoning your three mothers and children back then. If you resent and blame me, that’s only natural – I understand. But now that we’ve reunited, don’t you want the family to be together? Don’t you want to return to being the true young lady of the Lu family?” Lu Wenhan tried to appeal to both emotion and reason.
“It’s not up to me, it depends on Mother. If Mother wants to reunite, we’ll reunite. If Mother doesn’t want to, then we won’t. After divorcing Mother, you found another family, didn’t you? Although your second wife has passed away, she left you a son – am I wrong? With such a big family, forget about being the young lady of the Lu family, I’m not even interested in being a step-sister. Besides,” Ming Shu continued shaking her head, timely preventing Lu Wenhan’s upcoming persuasion, “sigh, Lord Lu, your efforts on me are useless, don’t waste your time.”
Even if he had thoughts of reuniting a broken mirror, she wasn’t the one to convince.
As a daughter, she only cared about her mother’s happiness. If her mother wasn’t happy, anything said to her would be pointless.
“You…” Lu Wenhan hadn’t expected the sweet and lovable daughter to be such a soft nail, speaking without giving him any face, enough to make one die of anger. He paused, then changed tactics, “Fine, I won’t force you, but could you at least stop calling me ‘Lord’?”
Ming Shu frowned, if not “Lord” then what should she call him?
He was quite old, about the same age as the Commander, so perhaps…
Lu Wenhan saw her nod and a trace of joy appeared on his face, but that anticipated “Father” from her mouth became –
“Uncle Lu.”
“…” Lu Wenhan’s face turned ashen.
A perfectly good “Father” had turned into “Uncle,” completely messing up their relationship.
“Ming Shu—” a call came from far away.
Ming Shu turned to see Lu Hang standing at their doorway. Madam Zeng had already returned home under Wei Zhuo’s protection and had told Lu Hang about what happened outside, so he came out to call her.
She responded and said to Lu Wenhan: “Uncle Lu, I’m going back now.” With that, she turned and ran home, not waiting for Lu Wenhan’s response.
When she reached the doorway, Lu Hang asked her: “What were you saying to someone irrelevant?”
“Just finding out what he’s planning, so he won’t keep bothering Mother,” Ming Shu went forward and took Lu Hang’s arm, smiling. “He said he wants me to go back and be the young lady of the Lu family.”
“And you?” Lu Hang glanced at her sideways.
“I’m already Brother’s young lady, why would I want to be anyone else’s?” Ming Shu said sweetly.
This made Lu Hang show a hint of a smile.
Ming Shu struck while the iron was hot: “Brother, your young lady wants to ask when you’ll lift the house arrest?”
Lu Hang’s smile vanished instantly: “Young lady, the house arrest is for at least a month, and it depends on your behavior. Otherwise, you won’t learn your lesson.”
“…” Ming Shu angrily let go of his hand and went inside.
Lu Hang followed behind, though a smile returned to his lips.
In the bright sunlight of summer, when flowers were in full bloom, Lu Hang’s family of three moved out of Shengmin Ward and into the mansion bestowed upon the top scholar.
Ming Shu finally had her own rooms – three rooms in the west wing were all given to her, including a small flower room, a small study, and a bedroom. Everything was arranged according to her preferences, making her heart bloom with joy.
After settling in, the servants Ming Shu had selected gradually arrived at the mansion. The empty residence became lively in one day, taking on the air of a noble household. Ming Shu busied herself helping Madam Zeng manage the back courtyard, hoping to get everything running smoothly as soon as possible. Although she was under house arrest, she wasn’t idle at all.
In the blink of an eye, it was the fifth month, the summer solstice.
An invitation arrived from the palace.