The setting sun casts a golden glow over the corridors, courtyard, and willow trees outside Zhigao Hall.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Luo Shenyuan furrowed his brow slightly. “… You don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that…” Yi Ning quickly shook her head, afraid he might misunderstand.
Luo Shenyuan had already reached out, gently pressing his hand on her shoulder. This gesture was different from a brother’s – very restrained, but with a strange unfamiliarity. He asked again, “Would you rather marry someone like He Wenqing?”
“No,” Yi Ning shook her head even more vigorously this time. Since Luo Shenyuan had put it that way, what else could she say? She smiled and replied, “Third Brother, let’s do as you say—I’m willing.”
The warm sunlight gave her skin a soft, fuzzy glow, and her eyes shone like amber.
Hearing her agreement, Luo Shenyuan’s expression relaxed. “That’s good… I’ll keep my word. I won’t force you if you’re unwilling.” He continued, looking at her, “I must discuss the marriage arrangements with your father immediately. Given the urgency, we might not be able to wait until you come of age.”
Yi Ning nodded, and he gently patted her head. This touch felt different somehow. Yi Ning watched him enter Zhigao Hall, and as her heartbeat gradually steadied, she finally relaxed.
Just a few months ago, he was her brother, and suddenly Luo Shenyuan was to become her husband. They would share a bed, and she would attend to his daily needs… She suddenly felt as if this person had become a stranger.
Luo Shenyuan and Wei Ling discussed matters until darkness fell. Once they had reached an agreement, Luo Shenyuan immediately took a sedan chair back to the Luo family to make preparations. Wei Ling called Yi Ning into the main hall, looked at his daughter for a long time, and then told her, “Your Third Brother is truly thoughtful—although the situation is urgent, he insists on observing all the proper rituals. He has already spoken with Minister Xu Wei and asked him to be a witness. The betrothal gifts are prepared, and fearing you might find the Luo family residence too far from home, he has even arranged for a new house near the Imperial Academy alley.”
Yi Ning had just sat down beside Wei Ling to eat some pastries, as she hadn’t even had time for dinner! The pastries were too dry, so she drank a full cup of tea to wash them down.
He had thought of everything! And even invited a witness. Yi Ning was surprised: “He asked Minister Xu?”
As a leader of the Qingliu faction, Xu Wei held a very prestigious position in the court, with many supporters. How had her Third Brother managed to invite such a political heavyweight to act as a matchmaker?
“Minister Xu has a very good nature. It seems he truly cares for your Third Brother as a student. Otherwise, he wouldn’t agree to such a request from anyone else,” Wei Ling said, watching the girl eat ravenously with a smile on his face. However, he felt a twinge of discomfort in his heart. His child, whom he had just brought back and doted on for a few years, was about to belong to someone else. She was so young, not even fourteen, her body still delicate and small. But Luo Shenyuan was already twenty-two, a grown man.
“Your Third Brother also told me that although you’ll be married, you’re still young. He’s willing to treat you as a sibling at first. I agree with this approach. After all, you were originally brother and sister, and it might take time to adjust,” Wei Ling continued. “If he bullies you after you’re married, come back and tell your father, understand?”
Yi Ning saw her father’s worried expression and felt a warmth in her heart. She smiled and nodded. In her previous life, her grandmother had arranged her marriage, and her father had been too busy with disputes among his wives to care about her wedding. He had only sent a servant with 400 taels of silver as a dowry, considering his duty fulfilled.
Wei Ling still felt uneasy. What if someone else in the Luo family bullied her? He couldn’t intervene in another family’s internal affairs. Fortunately, she was marrying Luo Shenyuan; he wouldn’t trust anyone else.
“You must take guards as part of your dowry,” Wei Ling instructed once more. “Shen Lian and the others will be under your command from now on.”
Her father meant it about sending guards with her! Yi Ning exclaimed, “You’re planning this? How can I take Shen Lian as part of my dowry!”
Yi Ning thought these people were all acting beyond her expectations. When had any bride ever brought guards as part of her dowry? She was going to get married, not to war.
Wei Ling, however, was unmoved. His face grew stern: “Who would dare question how the Marquis of Ying marries off his daughter?”
Yi Ning was torn between laughter and tears. “Alright, alright, I’ll do as you say.”
Later that evening, Wei Ling took her to see Old Lady Wei. He informed her, “You don’t need to worry about Yi Ning’s affairs anymore. Luo Shenyuan came by this evening—he wants to marry Yi Ning.”
Old Lady Wei was shocked, setting aside her ginseng soup and repeatedly asking for details.
Wei Ling explained, “It seems Luo Shenyuan genuinely wants to help Yi Ning. His assistance is the best we could hope for! At such a young age, he’s already the Vice Minister of Works with a bright future ahead. It’s only because of his deep bond with Yi Ning and his position as her brother that he’s willing to help her like this.”
It took Old Lady Wei a while to process this information. Clutching her prayer beads, she said, “We didn’t consider him earlier because he was Yi Ning’s brother. But now that we think about it, he’s the best choice!”
The two of them huddled together to discuss further.
Young Master Ting was practicing calligraphy at Old Lady Wei’s place. A young maid was helping him change the paper when he overheard their conversation and looked up at Yi Ning. “Sister, are you getting married?”
He had been hearing them discuss marriage matters for the past few days, so he had privately asked his maid Songjue what “getting married” meant. Songjue told him, “It means the young miss will become someone else’s wife.”
Wei Ting still didn’t quite understand. “Will sister still live with me?”
Songjue shook her head with a smile. “The young miss will live with her husband. Later, when you have little nephews or nieces, she’ll bring them back to see you.”
Wei Ting had been unhappy ever since hearing this.
Yi Ning sat down beside him to watch him practice calligraphy and patted his head, asking, “How is Ting’er’s practice going today?”
But Wei Ting threw down his brush, pouted, and ran to sit in Old Lady Wei’s lap, sulking and refusing to speak to Yi Ning.
His wet nurse, Tong, who knew him best, smiled and said, “The young master doesn’t want you to get married.”
Old Lady Wei stroked her grandson’s back, sighing with a smile, “This child!”
But Wei Ting truly pressed his lips together and refused to speak, ignoring everyone’s attempts to coax him. Even when a maid offered him his favorite crab-shell yellow baked cake, he pushed it away.
Yi Ning shook her head. When Wei Ting was in a mood, no one could persuade him. Her usual approach was to leave him alone for a while.
No one paid much attention to him for long. Old Lady Wei was already planning who to invite for Yi Ning’s wedding day and how much dowry to provide. Song Mama and others eagerly offered suggestions: “I think we should give the young miss a complete set of golden silk nanmu furniture as part of her dowry.” Another matron said, “We should invite the wife of the Marquis of Dingbei to be the lucky woman for our young miss. She has both sons and daughters and a harmonious marriage.” The sudden wedding brought a joyous atmosphere to the Marquis of Ying’s household, dispelling the gloom and creating anticipation for the upcoming happy event.
Luo Shenyuan went to the Imperial Academy alley that night to inform Luo Chengzhang about his intention to marry Yi Ning.
Luo Chengzhang was having dinner, attended by Concubine Guo. Upon hearing the news, he choked for a long time.
Luo Shenyuan had already proposed before coming to tell him, which was essentially just informing him. Whether he agreed or not would not affect Luo Shenyuan’s decision.
Luo Shenyuan had become the top scholar in the imperial examinations and quickly rose to the position of Vice Minister of Works. What a lucrative post that was! All national construction, water conservancy, military equipment, mining, textiles, and even minting were under the Ministry of Works. He had brought great prestige to the Luo family, making their name well-known in the capital. Now, he was the most influential person in the Luo family. Luo Chengzhang could only offer suggestions and advice to Luo Shenyuan. He had no power to intervene in Luo Shenyuan’s decisions.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but say, “Preposterous! You grew up calling each other brother and sister. Others might not know, but don’t you? How… how can I face the Luo family ancestors?”
“I’m just informing you, Father,” Luo Shenyuan remained unmoved. “I’ve already asked Minister Xu to be a witness, and he has agreed. We’ll be married within half a month. You can attend if you wish; I’ll handle everything else.”
Luo Chengzhang’s face stiffened. Concubine Guo, seeing the confrontation between father and son, was too frightened to speak. She took her ten-year-old son, Xuan’er, and retreated.
“You… you didn’t develop feelings for her while she was still your sister, did you?” Luo Chengzhang squeezed out the words. “You’ve always treated her differently since she was little.”
Luo Shenyuan was silent for a moment. “Father, I’ve known for a long time that Yi Ning isn’t my blood sister,” he said. “I found out when Grandmother was on her deathbed.”
Luo Chengzhang’s face darkened further.
Luo Shenyuan continued, “I’ve already spoken to Mother about this, and she’s very happy. I’ll take that as your agreement as well. When Grandmother was leaving us, she made me promise to always protect Yi Ning. If she knew I was marrying Yi Ning today, she would be comforted in the afterlife, knowing I can protect her forever.” He spoke these words slowly.
Luo Chengzhang looked at his son with unfamiliar eyes.
After finishing, Luo Shenyuan took his leave and left Luo Chengzhang’s residence. Outside in the night, he remained silent for a long time. In truth, he knew clearly that even if he hadn’t known Yi Ning wasn’t his blood sister, his inner desires probably wouldn’t have diminished at all. If things had continued that way, there might have come a day when he couldn’t control himself and might have done something to hurt her. Fortunately, she wasn’t his sister.
He tightened his cloak and walked silently towards the gate, surrounded by his entourage.
While some families rejoiced and others worried that night, Cheng Lang didn’t sleep at all.
Cheng Lang reclined in an East-slope chair, dozing lightly. The pine oil lamp on the long table had burned down to the wick, suddenly darkening the study, but he paid no attention. His fingers gripped a jade thumb ring, its tapping sound particularly clear in the long night. With his eyes closed, the firelight gave his face a white jade-like hue. In the quiet night, he occasionally heard people moving outside.
The study door creaked open, and someone knelt before him. “Lord Cheng.”
“Mm,” he responded faintly.
“I’ve found out, sir,” the kneeling person said. “Miss Lian Fu said someone took her to the Xie family in Xinqiao Alley. A very beautiful young lady met her there and told her what to say. She instructed her to fabricate the false pregnancy story to approach you and insisted that it must be said in front of others, or you would certainly deny it… Going to the Marquis of Ying’s mansion was also this young lady’s idea.”
Cheng Lang suddenly opened his eyes, his tone icy: “Xie Yun.”
The kneeling person seemed confused. “I don’t quite understand. You have no connection with the Second Miss Xie, why would she be against you?”
“What else could it be? She must have learned that her grandfather had intentions towards me, so she wanted to ruin my reputation to prevent me from marrying her,” Cheng Lang understood women like Xie Yun well. He sneered, “She has her heart set on someone else—she’s interested in our newly appointed Vice Minister of Works, Lord Luo.” He coughed a few times in anger as he said this.
Xie Yun, that fool. He had never thought of marrying her, nor had he ever targeted her, yet she did this. Using Lian Fu to harm him, making him lose what he wanted most. How could Cheng Lang not hate her? He wished he could tear her apart!
It had seemed hopeless, but Wei Ling had given him the greatest hope. He had even imagined that in the future, Yi Ning would wake up in his arms every morning. What a wonderful thing that would be—he could kiss her forehead and coax her to sleep a little longer. He would treat her with utmost sincerity, different from any other woman. But Xie Yun had shattered it all, and for such an absurd reason.
“Speaking of Lord Luo Shenyuan…” the person continued, “After you left, he entered the Marquis of Ying’s mansion and stayed for a long time. When he came out, he headed towards the Imperial Academy alley.”
Hearing this, Cheng Lang turned the jade ring in his hand. He had a vague premonition and asked, “He went to the Imperial Academy alley so late at night?”
The Imperial Academy alley was not far from where Luo Shenyuan’s father, Luo Chengzhang, worked.
Cheng Lang recalled many things.
When Yi Ning was almost assaulted by Shen Yuqiang, Luo Shenyuan’s anxious demeanor was completely different from his usual calm support. The day he kidnapped Yi Ning when Luo Shenyuan came to find her, that gloomy expression. He leaned back in his chair, suddenly feeling as if he had fallen into a trap, with the person behind it all gradually emerging.
Another person came to report, bowing and saying, “Fourth Young Master, the Old Master wants you to go over. He says you need to come up with a plan for how to handle that girl’s matter…”
“What plan?” Cheng Lang was in no mood to deal with the child’s affairs now. He said coldly, “I will send Lian Fu out of the capital overnight and find a place to settle her. Just tell the Old Master that this person and this child never existed, and no one has ever seen them.”
If he had known there was a plot behind it all, he wouldn’t have let go so easily.
Lian Fu’s existence was very restrictive, and he wouldn’t let her hinder him. As for Xie Yun, he would settle accounts with her sooner or later.