Chapter 96 Could it be that I am really no match for Du Heng?

You are so good, Du Heng! I, Yuan Song, cherish this girl like a jewel in my heart, and yet you treat her like this. I originally wanted to ask my aunt to send an invitation and formally invite Madam Du and Ying'er to the Yuan Mansion.

But at this moment, Yuan Song felt that nothing mattered anymore.

Without waiting for Du Heng's reaction, he turned around and said goodbye to Madam Xu and Madam Du, then jumped on his horse, squeezed his legs together, and galloped towards the west city.

As soon as Du Heng left the mansion today, Taoxi went to the side courtyard.

Taoxi had been with Su Ying during the last Lantern Festival, and also during the trips to the library. Although she was only a maid, she had been serving in Du Heng's study since she was young, and had long since learned to read her master's expressions like a first-class maid.

She pretended not to see what was going on between her master and her husband, but she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Before the Lantern Festival, the young master had asked her if she would like to accompany her cousin. She nodded without hesitation. Although the young master didn't say much, it was clear that he was satisfied with her answer. After that, arrangements were made for her to accompany her cousin to the Lantern Festival.

She also took it upon herself to change her address from "Miss Cousin" to "Miss".

But after the young master and the young lady exchanged a few words in the library that day, the young lady never came again. She felt empty for several days, and when Qingquan asked her cousin on behalf of the young master whether she had come, she felt something was wrong.

Now the young master asked her to deliver the book. Firstly, she was following orders. Secondly, although she was the young master's servant, she had been with the young lady for a long time and had already respected her from the bottom of her heart. She did not want any rift to arise between them.

Unfortunately, Su Ying asked her to take the book back, as if she had seen through her thoughts. She said, "You are a good person. I am just staying here and will leave sooner or later. The library is not a good place. You should tell your master as soon as possible and ask him to transfer you back."

The young lady's words made her blush. It turned out that the young lady had already seen through her identity. Her respect for her increased a little. She kowtowed to the young lady and left the side courtyard.

Su Ying felt it was time to go out for a walk and avoid the limelight, so she went to the side hall of the main courtyard to talk to her aunt. But as soon as she entered the front courtyard, she heard Yuan Song coming to see the second wife.

Rong was shocked when he heard this: "What kind of trick is this?"

Mingming's mother had said in the letter that Yuan Song's mother had mentioned Ying'er and planned to ask her sister-in-law in Beijing to invite her. She had been waiting, but she didn't expect Yuan Song to come uninvited.

Su Ying chuckled upon hearing this: "If he was particular about his style, he wouldn't be called Yuan Song."

Su Ying herself might not have noticed, but Rong had already noticed that since yesterday, a hint of sadness had settled between her niece's brows. She wondered why Ying'er, who hadn't been attending classes or visiting the library these past few days, had been soberly confined to the side courtyard.

Seeing her smile, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had originally thought of asking the boy from the Yuan family to go back and write a proper reply, but for the sake of her niece, she softened her heart and said to Qingyun, who was waiting beside her, "Go and invite Master Yuan."

Rong had seen Yuan Song when he was a child, but she never thought that he, who had already become the top scorer in the province, was still as mischievous as he was when he was a child. She couldn't help but feel a little more cautious.

Yuan Song was led into the house by Qingyun. After not seeing him for many years, the young Yuan Song had grown so tall and straight.

A pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes, playful and relaxed, a straight nose, and slightly upturned corners of the mouth, giving a feeling of elegance and freedom at first glance.

Rong had been prepared to listen to his nonsense, but he held his breath, walked up to her solemnly, and bowed deeply. He said, "My nephew, Yuan Song, has come uninvited and troubled Madam Du. I beg your forgiveness. To be honest, my aunt had originally intended to ask you to send an invitation, but we haven't seen each other for many years. She was afraid of being rude, so she asked me to pass the message on. I was hesitant, afraid of missing the opportunity, so I took the liberty of coming here in person. I hope you won't mind."

His words were flawless and retained some dignity of an elder, leaving her speechless for a moment.

Su Ying was the only one who knew that Yuan Song was the master of pretense. After not seeing him for three years, he was indeed even more sanctimonious than before. Su Ying couldn't help but chuckle.

Yuan Song was able to hold himself together, but when he heard Su Ying smile, he couldn't help himself and looked up at the girl he had held in his heart since childhood.

"Mrs. Du, my mother asked me to pass a message to Miss Su."

Rong pretended not to hear and turned to ask Xiuyu, "Just now I asked you to go to the kitchen and tell them to stew Panax notoginseng powder into the chicken soup. Did you explain clearly?"

Xiu Yu understood what he meant and quickly bowed and said, "I'll go right away."

"Never mind. This meal is quite particular. I'll go and give the instructions myself. You leave someone here to accompany the young lady."

After saying this, Rong turned back to Su Ying and said, "Aunt will be back soon."

Although he said he was keeping someone, the maidservant he left behind was actually standing by the door. As long as Yuan Song didn't raise his voice deliberately, she wouldn't be heard.

This didn't really leave the two of them alone, but it also gave them room to talk.

After seeing Rong leave, Yuan Song immediately put away his previous serious look, raised his eyes, snorted, and said: "I haven't seen you for three years, you have become a lot braver!"

Su Ying was baffled. Yuan Song had always loved provoking her with words since they were little. The tears that were about to fall from her eyes retreated immediately.

She replied, "You're no worse. I haven't seen you for three years, and you're still just as annoying."

When Yuan Song heard this, instead of being annoyed, she laughed. "You thought you had returned to the Su family and become Miss Su again, and that you had forgotten our childhood playmates. In the two years since you've been back home, I've written to you every month, but haven't received a single reply. Could it be that I'm really no match for that Du Heng?"

At this point, he raised his chin and spoke in a more serious tone, "What's so good about him? He's fickle and a sycophant. He doesn't look like a scholar at all!"

Su Ying was startled, a little confused: "When did you write to me? And..."

She didn't look at him, her face pale. "How do you know him? You came here to talk about yourself, why do you bring him up?"

Yuan Song's heart skipped a beat when he saw her expression. She had been like this since she was little. When she had something on her mind, she wouldn't say it out loud, and she wouldn't look anyone in the eye, with a dazed look on her face. He had told her since she was little that she couldn't do anything bad.

Because of this, he loved to take her to get into trouble, under the pretext of: "Don't you want to be the female top scholar? With your appearance, even if I ask my uncle to help you pass the physical examination, you will sell yourself out sooner or later."

"I took you to do those things to help you. When you can deceive others without blushing or beating your heart, you will be considered a successful apprentice."

In reality, she had Yuan Song to thank. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have been able to defeat the Lin family in the past two years since she returned to the Su family. Even if she could withstand the Lin family's harassment, it would be difficult for her to hide her scheming and turn the tables.

However, in front of Yuan Song, she was always unwilling to be on guard, so he saw through her at a glance.

Yuan Song sneered and added, "How should I know? The painter painted you and him holding hands on the Lantern Festival. If I hadn't bought it first, the painting of you two would have been sent to the Imperial Concubine's palace by now."