Chapter 19: She vowed that this trip to Luoyang was only to let her see her future husband clearly...
Wake up wrapped in a cloud-purple velvet quilt on the jade couch. Le Jin lay motionless, her gaze following the swaying pearl curtain in front of the couch, still somewhat unaware of what day it was.
"My lady, we're setting off for Luoyang today, so we can't stay in bed."
The maid Baoyin lifted the pearl curtain, soaked a soft towel in hot water mixed with rose juice, wrung it out with both hands to squeeze out the excess water, and then gently pressed it to Lejin's face to wipe away her drowsiness.
Her brows furrowed involuntarily, and Le Jin mumbled, "Where are Father and Mother?"
Bao Yin's expression froze. She leaned closer to the slumped Le Jin and whispered, "She's arguing with her husband."
"ah?"
Le Jin jumped up from the couch. "Why are you arguing?"
During her time at the music hall, Yue Jin learned about the family's background.
Le Zhao took over the position of Master Le at a very young age. She was away on business for many years and did not stay at home with her parents. Master Le and Madam Le then poured all their love and affection into their youngest daughter, who was weak since childhood and raised by them. As a result, their daughter became unruly.
These past few days, Mr. and Mrs. Le have been doting on Le Jin, treating her like a precious gem. All the talk of elopement and pregnancy rumors is just fluff; their beloved daughter's safe return is all that matters. Le Jin only learned later, through Bao Yin, that the Le family elders were the biggest reason for her elopement. They were just waiting for Le Jin and Feng Yu'en to settle down, sending financial support continuously, and then bringing their daughter back in a few years.
Upon further inquiry, it turned out to be because of Meng Shutai.
In the past, the Le family was just a small family in Luoyang. It was only because their daughter's birth charts were compatible with Meng Shutai's that they got engaged through a marriage to bring good luck and received financial assistance from the Meng family, which enabled them to start a business in Shuzhou.
But ever since Meng Shutai was kidnapped by bandits four years ago and suffered a shock, I heard that his health has been deteriorating day by day.
The two elders couldn't bear to see their daughter live as a widow, so they conspired to stage this charade.
It was supposed to be a perfect plan, but then Yue Zhao came back.
Le Jin felt as if a drum had burst open in her heart. She exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no!" She pushed aside the quilt, slipped on her shoes, and ran outside.
Now the head of the family, Le Zhao has the right to make decisions on everything. Coupled with his uncompromising nature, even if his parents make mistakes, he will sternly admonish them to set an example for the family.
Although the patriarch and madam of the Le family were not Le Jin's legal parents, they inadvertently gave her an abundance of love that she couldn't possibly hold in her arms, and Le Jin instinctively wanted to protect them.
"Stop arguing!"
The three were locked in a stalemate in the garden, and Le Jin could hear her father's scolding and her mother's crying from afar.
She lifted her skirt, stepped over the small fence, rushed to her parents, spread her arms to protect them, and faced Le Zhao.
"The family is all getting along well, no fighting, no fighting..."
She wore only a light gauze dress, her fair skin appearing and disappearing in the shimmering light of the fabric.
Le Zhao sighed softly, saying helplessly, "Not even wearing an outer robe? And you said you wanted to change it."
“You’re not so well-behaved at home!” Mrs. Yue retorted, gently patting her daughter’s head. “Right?”
Le Jin quickly looked down at herself, then turned back to grab her mother's hand and press it down, smiling at Le Zhao: "You got up in such a hurry. Next time, you must wash up first before leaving the room."
Madam Yue still wanted to side with her daughter, but Yue Jin pinched her hand hard.
Her lips were stiff, and she asked with a forced smile, "Mother, why are you all unhappy so early in the morning?"
Le Jin prayed in her heart that her parents would stop arguing with Le Zhao and would take the opportunity to back down. But fate had other plans. Old Master Le snorted angrily and pointed at Le Zhao's nose, scolding him: "Isn't it all because of your unfilial brother!"
"What's so great about the Meng family? Why do you have to take your sister there? What if it's a dangerous place? What if that sickly man dies halfway there and my daughter is left a widow?" Master Le's voice trembled with sobs as he spoke. He took Le Jin's hand and wiped his tears on his daughter's sleeve, so reluctant to part with her.
Actually... judging from how fast, accurate, and ruthless Meng Shutai was when he killed people, his physical condition couldn't be that bad. Moreover, the rumor that he was frightened by bandits was probably just an act.
Le Jin was both amused and exasperated and wanted to pull her sleeve back, but Master Le was in tears, so she could only awkwardly smile at Le Zhao to show her helplessness.
"If you're worried about this or that about them, why did you arrange this marriage in the first place?" Le Zhao crossed her arms and coldly watched her parents' unreasonable tantrum.
Madam Yue glared at her son with red eyes, but when she opened her mouth, she was speechless, and she awkwardly turned her head away from him.
"You know how difficult things were back then." The plump Master Yue was sobbing uncontrollably, like a water vat full of grievances, swaying back and forth.
"Your sister has grown into a beautiful young woman, so how can you be so heartless as to send her away? You can't!"
Le Jin quickly patted Mr. Le, who was leaning on her shoulder, but before she could even say anything to comfort him, Mrs. Le leaned on her other shoulder and they both started crying.
"Ouch..." Le Jin frowned, feeling utterly overwhelmed.
Just then, Baoyin suddenly arrived.
"My lady," Baoyin called out to her, but dared not raise her head, and said tremblingly, "The young masters from Qingyue Pavilion, Linxian Tower and Wulan have sent things over."
Le Jin closed his eyes tightly, his head as big as dozens of male prostitutes.
Le Zhao's voice was indifferent, with a hint of despondency, as if he had given up entirely: "What is it?"
“It was given to me by my wife before…” Bao Yin’s eyes secretly glanced at Le Zhao, whose face was ashen.
"A love letter... oh no, just a regular gift."
Le Jin gave a bleak smile, weakly waved to Bao Yin, and seemed to have lost all her soul.
"Throw them all away, we don't want them anymore."
"And tell them that from now on, we are cut off completely and have no further connection. Don't come to the Music Bureau to block the gate, don't come crying and wailing, and don't try to sneak into the Music Bureau to find me like that guy last time, oh, that young master named 'Yu Xian'. Otherwise, I will catch one and beat them out."
She rattled off instructions to Baoyin like beans pouring from a bamboo tube. Thanks to her daily efforts to slay unwanted suitors, her actions were fluid and effortless, making her a veritable seasoned lover who had abandoned the dark side.
Feng Yu'en was still persistent and sent dozens of love letters over in a continuous stream, only to have them all burned by Le Jin in front of him, the flames reaching half a person's height. Feng Yu'en wailed and cried, nearly fainting, and it took five or six servants to pull him back from crashing his head against Le Jin's body to his death.
Le Jin stood coldly and unmoved before him, but inside she was panicking terribly. She had never witnessed such a scene of tumultuous love and tragedy before…
Between cutting off her romantic interests and taking her life, she could only choose the former.
I apologize to all you young, beautiful, and exceptionally handsome gentlemen! My mission is more important.
Le Jin took a step back, twisted her body to break free from the tearful embrace of Master Le and Madam Le, and hooked one arm around each of them, sweetly acting coquettish.
“Father, Mother, your daughter has really grown up! You don’t need to worry. This trip to Luoyang was my idea, don’t blame my brother.”
Le Jin patted her chest, "I'm the daughter my parents spoiled! Things aren't going well in Luojing, so naturally I came back. I came back without stopping!"
That's really what she planned to do.
After completing her mission in Luoyang, she will discuss with the system whether to stay with the Le family for a few years to fulfill her filial duties and repay the debt of taking over their daughter's identity before returning to the real world.
She took her parents' hands and intertwined them with her own, then looked at Le Zhao and asked, "Let's not fight anymore, okay?"
The three remained silent, which was taken as an agreement to Le Jin's request.
Le Jin breathed a sigh of relief and called Bao Yin back to her room to wash up. After taking a few steps, she turned back and stared at the three of them.
"Don't make a sound even after I'm gone!"
"Okay." The three of them said in unison.
After Le Jin led Bao Yin away, skipping and hopping, Madam Le's tears fell like strings of pearls.
She covered her mouth and nose with an embroidered handkerchief and wept, her heart aching in waves.
"You're a heartless guy, actually willing to send her thousands of miles away."
"Father and Mother have probably forgotten that when our family first came to Shuzhou, you were busy running the household, and Xiao Jin'er grew up on my back. She was weak from a young age, and I fed her medicine spoonful by spoonful until she recovered. How could I bear to see her suffer?"
"In dealing with people, keeping one's word is paramount. We prospered thanks to the Meng family, yet we refuse to honor our promise because we despise their son's frail health. What face does the Le family have left to live in this world?"
Le Zhao looked in the direction Le Jin had left. A newly sprouted pale pink flower hung at the corner of the corridor, swaying gently in the breeze, just like her figure.
His younger sister had grown up, and many of her actions and words surprised him, just like when she was little, when he discovered she had grown her first tooth, stood up for the first time, took her first steps, and ran into his arms for the first time...
Such moments are filled with surprise, emotion, reluctance, and a sense of loss.
Every time she learned something new, she drifted further away from him.
Deep in the most secret corner of her heart, Le Zhao clearly understood that this was the reason why she always let Xiao Jin'er off lightly when she made mistakes.
If she hadn't clung to him and begged him, he wouldn't have sent Le Jin to Luojing to cultivate her relationship with her future husband.
Elopement is despicable, but he will naturally find other ways to stop this marriage.
But she eventually left his embrace, just as a child who has learned to walk and run will inevitably explore the outside world.
Le Zhao withdrew her gaze and said calmly, "This trip to Luoyang is only to let her see what kind of person her future husband is. If she likes him, they can live happily ever after; but if he is not a good man..."
Le Zhao raised three fingers and pointed them toward the heavens: "I will risk my life to bring her back."
He smiled and bowed gracefully to his parents, as if to apologize for his earlier disrespect.
With a slight bow and a slight tilt of her head, Le Zhaoxing's eyes sparkled: "What does the Meng family matter? Being together as a family is more important than anything else."
A note from the author:
----------------------
The author's approach: Increased profits! Increased profits! Comments welcome! [Sprinkling flowers] Comments welcome! [Sprinkling flowers]
The synopsis for my next pre-order novel has been released: "The Thousand-Year-Old Ghost King's Pursuit of His Wife Across Lifetimes Ends in a Rejection!?" If you're interested, please add it to your favorites! [Thumbs up]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
