“I invited you here to discuss my trip to Shanxi,” said Lu Jiaxue, taking the teapot and personally pouring tea for Luo Shenyuan. “With Luo daren’s numerous informants in Shanxi, you must know that I’ve killed Zeng Heng, and the Emperor has sent troops to confiscate his property in Datong. I wonder if Luo daren is secretly relieved?”
Luo Shenyuan sipped his tea. Since the death of his informants, he had guessed Lu Jiaxue would find out. Those fools were as stupid as pigs, daring to operate while Lu Jiaxue was in Datong. But Lu Jiaxue had no evidence; all correspondence between him and Zeng Heng had been destroyed. Therefore, he thought it best to remain still.
Lu Jiaxue was intelligent, and his cooperation with Wang Yuan wasn’t solid. He wouldn’t go to great lengths to deal with Luo Shenyuan unnecessarily.
But now, had he changed his mind?
Luo Shenyuan decided to be evasive: “Of course I’m relieved. The Governor-General has uncovered traitors communicating with the enemy, stabilizing the border. It’s all thanks to your efforts.”
Lu Jiaxue said, “Luo daren needn’t be so guarded. I admire you; you remind me of my younger self. I even want to help you—”
Lu Jiaxue had carefully nurtured Cheng Lang as a civil official, but after Cheng Lang escaped his control, he stopped supporting him.
Luo Shenyuan remained silent.
Outside, the howling wind finally gave way to rain, with urgent droplets pattering against the window lattice and courtyard. The courtyard quickly became a misty expanse, small streams forming rapidly.
This made the room feel even quieter.
“I want something from Luo daren. If you’re willing to give it up, I’ll fully support your ascension to the position of Minister and entry into the Inner Cabinet.”
“All I ask is for Luo daren to provide a letter of divorce,” Lu Jiaxue finally spoke his purpose slowly and softly. “I want Luo daren’s wife—Wei Yining.”
He turned his head, his handsome face showing a ruthless composure, clearly not considering Luo Shenyuan as an equal.
Because he felt Luo Shenyuan wasn’t worthy.
Hearing this, Luo Shenyuan suddenly smiled: “What a pity. If Luo daren had asked for a colleague’s limbs or even my father’s life, I might have considered it. But as for my wife, I have no intention of giving her up.”
” I have no plans to cooperate with you, Governor-General. To work with you, one must have a solid relationship, or you’d discard them easily. My wife is waiting for me at home, so I’ll take my leave now.”
With that, he cupped his hands and left. Someone was already waiting outside with an umbrella.
“Then Luo daren should be careful. The situation in court can change in an instant,” Lu Jiaxue warned.
Luo Shenyuan paused briefly, then smiled. So Lu Jiaxue was trying to threaten him. For Lu Jiaxue to resort to threats, Yining’s relationship with him must be more complicated than it seemed… Without looking back, he left the Governor-General’s residence.
Lu Jiaxue hadn’t expected Luo Shenyuan to refuse. He hadn’t anticipated that such a politician would have feelings.
The rain poured down in torrents. Looking at the downpour outside, Lu Jiaxue suppressed the faint madness rising within him. For so many years, no one had stood with him at dusk, no one had asked if his porridge was warm. After years of bloody solitude, he had finally caught a glimpse of her. He would not let go.
If that was the case, he might as well throw caution to the wind.
The heavy rain also worried Luo Yining, especially since Luo Shenyuan hadn’t returned yet.
On the large kang by the window lay Nan’er’s toys: tangram puzzles, a tiger pillow, and nesting dolls. He played with the tangram, pushing the pieces around, then affectionately returned to cling to Yining as if attached to her. His small arms, like lotus roots, encircled her neck as he repeatedly called her “sister.”
Yining supported his little bottom, laughing at his affection: “Nan’er if you keep moving, you’ll fall!”
Lin Hairu was amused by her son, but unable to correct his behavior. She pinched his little nose, saying, “If your third brother hears you, he’ll surely spank you.”
Nan’er looked at his mother, bewildered. Lin Hairu burst into laughter, finding her son truly entertaining.
This child was one she had saved. As Yining stroked Nan’er’s head, she felt a deep tenderness.
In her previous life, she had no children and couldn’t experience the feeling of motherhood.
Yining bid farewell to Lin Hairu; with Luo Shenyuan not back yet, she felt distracted.
She took an umbrella herself, intending to wait for him by the screen wall.
Halfway there, she encountered him. Seeing her, Luo Shenyuan frowned: “This is reckless. It’s raining so hard outside!” Her foot injury hadn’t fully healed; what was she doing outside?
He took her umbrella and held it for her, ushering her to the covered walkway. Once inside, Yining realized his back and shoulders were soaked. Luo Shenyuan went to the washroom to change. When he came out, he saw her sitting cross-legged at the table, studying a Go board.
Yining noticed he was wearing only a light garment.
The morning’s scene was still vivid in her mind. Seeing his sturdy chest, she averted her gaze and asked, “Third brother, why did you return so late today?”
Luo Shenyuan sat opposite her: “I’ve just taken up my position at the Ministry of Works. There’s a lot to do.”
He picked up a white jade Go piece and, without much thought, placed it down, easily solving Yining’s dilemma. He asked her, “Were you thinking about this?”
Yining shook her head. She looked up; outside the screen, rain was pouring. The sky had darkened completely, and the candlelight inside cast his tall shadow before her. It was as if he stood between her and the outside world, keeping the wind and rain at bay. Silent, yet comforting.
“I had the maid save dinner for you. You didn’t come back, so I ate first because I was hungry,” Yining said, asking the maid to bring in the food.
Luo Shenyuan shook his head. After a pause, he asked, “Yining, yesterday at Jude Restaurant, did you encounter Lu Jiaxue?”
Yining’s hand froze as she was putting away the Go board.
Not accompanying her yesterday had led to such trouble. Lu Jiaxue’s attitude towards Yining was inappropriate. Given her nature, how could she have climbed a pomegranate tree to pick fruit? Something unexpected must have happened for her to fall from such a height.
He had guessed this yesterday but hadn’t exposed her lie.
“What did he do to you that made you jump from the building? He’s your adoptive father; did he do something against human ethics?” Luo Shenyuan continued to question.
How did he guess?
After a moment of silence, Yining decided to be honest, realizing he would find out eventually: “I did meet him that day, and he did force me to jump. As for why…”
Looking at him, Yining could only smile bitterly: “I’m telling the truth, even if I don’t fully understand. If I have to say… he does have that kind of feeling towards me.”
After more than a decade, this man still wouldn’t let her go.
Back then, he craved power and authority, his smiling face concealing ambition. To say it had no impact on her would be impossible. Every time she saw him, Yining still felt a visceral pain.
Yining suddenly thought of something and asked, “Third brother, did Lu Jiaxue… come to threaten you?”
So that’s why he came back so late and asked her these questions!
The man before her listened as she spoke. His face had deep, handsome features, his tall figure shielding her from the wind and rain. He reached out and placed another Go piece: “Tell me. You must have been lying yesterday.”
Although he was the future Chief Grand Secretary, wielding immense power and controlling court affairs, his wings were not yet fully grown. How could he contend with Lu Jiaxue now?
If Lu Jiaxue were to challenge him in court…
Luo Shenyuan had always been heaven’s favored child, accustomed to being looked up to by others. Luo Shenyuan shouldn’t fall from the clouds; he should be revered. Moreover, he shouldn’t be implicated because of her. Lu Jiaxue’s affairs shouldn’t involve him.
Thinking of this, Yining felt uneasy. She closed her eyes briefly, deciding to continue being honest: “Lu Jiaxue said I resemble someone from his past, that’s why he treats me this way. It’s also why he adopted me as his goddaughter. That day at Xiangyun Tower, he blocked my way and wouldn’t let me leave, so I jumped… I was afraid he would harm you.”
Luo Shenyuan listened for a long time before saying: “You don’t need to hide these things from me. I should know. You should tell me, understand?”
Although knowing would make him uncomfortable, he needed to be prepared. He would never let Yining have contact with Lu Jiaxue again.
“I knew before, but I didn’t expect him to suddenly act like this,” Yining said. She couldn’t tell Luo Shenyuan about her past, not because she was unwilling, but because the memories suffocated her. How could she explain? The secrets of the past were like dead ashes, concealing rotten bones beneath.
She had been Lu Jiaxue’s wife and had been harmed by him. How could she face Luo Shenyuan after revealing this? What identity would she have?
Luo Shenyuan slowly reached out and gripped her slender shoulders, applying some pressure: “Is that all?”
Other people’s expressions were too easy for him to read.
Yining knew he was somewhat suspicious of her, and she laughed bitterly inside. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and hugged his shoulders, saying, “This is all I know.”
In truth, she feared Lu Jiaxue might harm those close to her, and she instinctively feared him. But to prevent Luo Shenyuan from noticing, she had been suppressing her emotions.
This matter was an entanglement between her and Lu Jiaxue; it shouldn’t involve him.
She rarely hugged him of her own accord.
Her soft body pressed against him, and he stiffened for a moment. Then he pulled her close and said, turning his head towards her: “For me, being schemed against by him doesn’t matter. Just don’t lie to me.”
His tone softened a bit.
Yining might never know how important her existence was to him.
Even when they were in the Luo family, when it was still taboo, he had developed feelings for Yining. These feelings were like a light in his life; as he walked alone in the darkness, she had entered his world when he was young. Even as he grew increasingly cold and unfeeling, almost unrecognizable to himself, gaining power and influence in officialdom, she remained in that soft place in his heart.
Yining had agreed to marry him.
If she hadn’t agreed, he might have schemed and forced her to marry him. Regardless of whether she liked it or not, if one day she wanted to leave, he might have locked her up.
Yining silently gazed out the window. The heavy rain hadn’t stopped, and it was unclear when it would. The banana leaves in the dark courtyard trembled incessantly under the downpour. She smiled bitterly. Not lying! Such a low requirement. She nodded, then buried her face in the crook of his neck. Unless necessary, she would never lie to him!
“It’s alright, Third Brother is here,” he said, thinking she was afraid, and picked her up.
A maid walked in, but he gestured for her to be quiet. He patted Yining’s back as if she were still a child, then placed her on the bed. “Let’s sleep early today.”
He put her down and lay beside her.
Yining hugged his arm.
Luo Shenyuan chuckled, turning to embrace her and letting her sleep in his arms. His voice came from above her head, full of magnetism: “Go to sleep. We’ll wake up early tomorrow.”
He patted her back again as if lulling her to sleep.
No matter how small her body was, she wasn’t a child anymore!
Yining pressed against his firm chest, which was warmer than her own body, feeling a sense of safety. In her childhood dreams, it seemed someone had protected her like this. Without a mother’s protection, and with the old nanny who raised her gone, she had been like duckweed in her family, with no one truly belonging to her. Now this person was genuinely protecting her; what more could she need?
Outside the window, the night was rainy, but someone was at home, lying beside her.
Gradually, she fell asleep.
Xie Yun sat in the room, cracking and eating walnuts. She had shelled a small plate of high-quality mountain walnuts, which improved her mood considerably.
Today, when the old master Cheng was talking with several daughters-in-law about “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”, the first daughter-in-law Cheng, who usually dominated conversations in front of the old madam Cheng, couldn’t say a word. She could only peel grapes on the side, pretending not to hear. Finally, Xie Yun managed to score a point, greatly improving her mood. She even drank two extra bowls of rice porridge in the morning.
After becoming familiar with the first daughter-in-law Cheng’s ways, Xie Yun could now handle her.
Cheng Lang was practicing calligraphy in the study. Xie Yun shelled a plate of walnuts, thought for a moment, then walked into the study and placed them on his desk.
Cheng Lang continued writing, looked up at her, and said, “Thank you.”
He had no concubines, only two beautiful serving girls who shared his bed. Xie Yun had already spoken with them, and they were quite coquettish. She had smiled as she examined them, rewarded them with two gold hairpins, and sent them back as they were. The two girls were obedient and didn’t dare to misbehave. Other than that, it was cleaner than she had expected. However, the couple didn’t share a room often, which made Xie Yun’s old nurse a bit anxious.
Occasionally, Xie Yun would recall that night of passion, followed by thoughts of Luo Shenyuan.
Cheng Lang was indeed a very charming man. Now as he stood practicing calligraphy, with the half-raised bamboo blinds letting sunlight fall on his shoulders, his extremely handsome face was captivating just to look at. His bearing was like lofty mountains and flowing water, dense forests, and slender bamboo.
Xie Yun had heard others describe Cheng Lang before, with just one phrase:
“Among the nobility in the capital, his beauty alone stands out.”
She had told Cheng Lang this, but he had laughed carelessly, saying, “What beauty? You’re the truly beautiful one.”
Xie Yun didn’t know if he had meant it, but his casual words made her blush. Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, she found her cheeks flushed red. She thought of those who submitted to him, the noble daughters of the Gao family who admired him wholeheartedly, the famous courtesans of Qinhuai. She thought, without some skill, how could he have so many admirers?
Now he was her husband.
“What are you writing?” Xie Yun leaned over to look. “‘Qin Xiaogong, relying on the strongholds of Yao and Han, controlling the land of Yongzhou, with ministers steadfastly guarding to observe the Zhou court, poised to sweep across the world…’ The ‘On the Faults of Qin’? Why are you writing this? Are you going to discuss politics with the Emperor?”
Xie Yun then said, “I know the Emperor doesn’t like this essay. He always frowns when it mentions King Ziying of Qin.”
“I wrote it just for fun. Discussing politics with the Emperor isn’t as enjoyable for him as talking about the ‘Dao De Jing’,” Cheng Lang replied, eating two walnuts before handing the rest back to her. “You should eat more.”
Biting her lip, Xie Yun asked, “Cheng Lang, what is your courtesy name?” She couldn’t always call him by his given name.
“I don’t have a courtesy name,” Cheng Lang replied.
“Then what should I call you? How about A-Lang?” Xie Yun thought that since his name was a single character, it was difficult to find another suitable name.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Lang’s mouth curled into a cold smile. He put down his pen, walked over, and gently pinched her cheek. His warm, bright smile carried a hint of mischievous charm. In a low, ambiguous voice, he said, “If you’re going to call me that, you might as well call me ‘husband’. What do you think?”
Xie Yun was at a loss for words, feeling completely entranced by him. “That…”
“I was just teasing you,” he quickly released her. “I do have a courtesy name; it was given later. It’s Mulin.”
This courtesy name seemed quite ordinary to Xie Yun. Just as she was thinking about it, she noticed a guard hurriedly entering from outside, handing Cheng Lang a letter.
Cheng Lang walked over, opened the letter, and his brows gradually furrowed.
What could it be? Xie Yun was curious about what could make Cheng Lang show such an expression. However, she maintained her composure, sipping her tea delicately.
Cheng Lang strode over to her and said, “You should leave for now. I have urgent matters to attend to.”
Not wanting to stay any longer, Xie Yun left the study. Seeing the screen door close behind her, she was puzzled. It must be some urgent court matter, she thought. She could probably offer some insights. Next time, she resolved to discuss the Emperor’s daily affairs with him more thoroughly.