Chapter 63: There's something in the tea.
Meng Shutai held the plum branch between his fingers, seemingly unsure whether to put it down or not. He smiled faintly at Le Jin behind the white porcelain vase on the table.
That smile was like a misty white veil, fluttering in the wind, both transparent and thin.
"It was just a casual remark, why should Ah Jin get angry?"
He turned his gaze to Meng Cizhang, who was still in a daze, and said in a cool tone, "Cizhang won't be angry with his elder brother, right?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Meng Cizhang's eyes. Of course, he wouldn't be angry with his elder brother. Even if his brother had hurt him, it must have been unintentional. How could he not know after so many years of being brothers?
Meng Cizhang quickly shook his head, but his elbow was suddenly pulled by Le Jin, and he leaned a little towards her.
Seeing him like this, Le Jin felt a mix of emotions. Some evils, though lacking evidence, are ever-present, becoming indistinguishable over time, even to outsiders who find them distressing and infuriating.
Meng Cizhang didn't understand Le Jin's righteous indignation. Startled by her actions, he instinctively pulled away from the sleeve she was holding. Le Jin simply grabbed his wrist, looked at his mutilated eyes, and said:
"Cizhang, this meeting between you and Princess Zhaode is actually just our family doing a favor for the Pingning Prince's Mansion. The Pingning Prince's Heir and Lady Jiang will be relieved because of this, and they will remember your kindness in the future. As for your marriage..."
Thinking of her younger sister, Le Jin adopted the air of a doting mother and patted her chest in front of Meng Cizhang: "If you have someone you like, your sister-in-law will definitely play matchmaker for you, okay?"
Meng Cizhang was quite surprised as the smiling woman in front of him grasped his wrist. Wasn't she... a fierce and domineering person? He had always despised her. How could she be so understanding now? She had been just as friendly when they first met at Huayan Temple...
While he was lost in thought, Meng Shutai suddenly urged, "Cizhang, you may leave."
"ah?"
Meng Cizhang looked at his elder brother, but did not notice that the plum branch in his brother's hand had been broken, and some broken red plum petals were scratched on his sleeve, like specks of blood.
"Get down, this is none of your business."
Meng Cizhang nodded, bowed to Le Jin, and left.
He stepped out the door and walked quite a distance. Meng Cizhang slightly raised his arm, but two or three maids came over from a distance. His heart skipped a beat, and he turned around and hid in the dark artificial hill.
He leaned his shoulder against the hard, jagged rocks, only breathing a sigh of relief when he heard the maids walk by. But when he came to his senses, he didn't know why he had hidden himself, and stood there blankly among the rocks for a long while.
With a slight movement of his wrist, Meng Cizhang slowly raised it to his nose and inhaled deeply. A sweet scent lingered on his skin, a blend of fruity aromas, refreshing and not cloying.
He suddenly realized why he had been hiding. Perhaps, waiting until the smell had faded considerably before becoming curious would make him seem less eager.
Inside the room, before Le Jin could blame Meng Shutai for selling his brother to seek favor, he angrily threw the plum branch to the ground and turned away from Le Jin.
"Didn't Ah Jin ask me to help? Why are you not satisfied now?"
"I didn't say I was dissatisfied!" Le Jin felt this person was being unreasonable, picked up a plum branch and dusted off non-existent dust, "But why are you reopening old wounds?"
She walked over and, mimicking Meng Shutai's usual manner, placed the plum blossom in the vase. She glanced at Meng Shutai, her expression slightly cold, "Besides, consider the sins you yourself have committed..."
Meng Shutai raised an eyebrow slightly. Why couldn't he resist showing off this in front of her back at Tiger Head Mountain? Now he'd been caught red-handed.
He turned around and hooked his arm around Le Jin's hand, which was still holding the flower, and said in a soft voice, "Ah Jin, didn't we agree to wipe the slate clean?"
Le Jin shook off his hand, "It's not even close to being settled yet!"
Meng Shutai smiled slightly, opened a small drawer under the table, took out a card, and handed it to Le Jin.
Two names were written on the large red brocade sticker. Le Jin read them aloud with trembling hands: "Yuan Jingming, Jiang Yingyun..."
Her eyes widened, and her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her throat!
"So fast!"
Her hand trembled violently as she held the post; this was something that had never appeared in the book! She really changed the tragic ending! Really!
Meng Shutai replied with a smile, "Jingming was afraid that things might change if he delayed, so he simply set the wedding date for the seventh day of the first lunar month. The old prince saw that the marriage alliance with the Prince of Zhennan was not going to happen, and that Jingming was becoming more and more powerful. He was afraid that if he continued to obstruct the marriage, something might go wrong and cause chaos in Luoyang."
His voice faded into the distance as it reached her ears. Le Jin's eyes were fixed on the post, and soon tears welled up in her eyes, falling onto the post one by one, staining the red even deeper.
"What's wrong?"
Meng Shutai panicked for a moment, wrapped his arms around Le Jin and pulled her to sit on the table, supporting himself on either side of her, and looked down at her tears.
"What did I do to make you sad?"
If everything goes smoothly, the moment she receives the wedding invitation, she can go home, reunite with her beloved San Niu, whom she has missed day and night, give her a big hug, and tell her that her sister is back...
Le Jin covered her eyes, not wanting to cry so miserably in front of Meng Shutai, that bastard, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing, and the more she tried to cover them, the more heartbroken she became.
With a hand reaching behind her head and applying slight pressure, Meng Shutai pulled Le Jin into his chest, gently stroking her back to help her catch her breath.
His movements were gentle, as if moonlight were enveloping her, filled with boundless tenderness.
But Meng Shutai, I really hate you...
She cried for who knows how long, her lower lip bitten so hard it left a deep mark. Leaning against Meng Shutai's chest, she tugged at his clothes and whispered:
"In a few days, I'd like to visit the Prince of Zhennan's residence with my mother. Even if our families can't become related by marriage, let's not let it cause any rift between us, shall we?"
Meng Shutai remained silent for a long time, but his first sound was a soft laugh. The vibration of his chest reached Le Jin's ears, and she felt her cheeks burning.
"It seems that Ah Jin really enjoys handling interpersonal relationships for me."
Le Jin lowered her head and gave him a disdainful look when he couldn't see her.
Stop trying to glorify yourself.
Having missed the last task, she had to hurry up with this one. It would have been better if she hadn't seen the wedding invitation; the moment she did, Le Jin felt an overwhelming urge to go home, her heart burning with anxiety.
She patted Meng Shutai's slender waist and asked him, sobbing, "Is it alright?"
Her jade-like hands, scented with plum blossoms, cupped her damp face. Meng Shutai's elegant and beautiful face smiled like a fox, his thumb caressing the soft flesh of Le Jin's cheek.
"Yes, of course."
He lowered his head and gently touched Le Jin's forehead with his own, his eyes brimming with tears as bright as a starry river.
"Now that we've severed ties with the past, we should naturally learn to be a true couple."
——
Three days later, Le Jin and Madam Meng entered the Zhennan Prince's Mansion to welcome Xiao Xue.
The suggestion to visit was made by Le Jin, but Madam Meng felt that it was the right thing to do. If the marriage did not go through, it would be petty of her to simply ignore the other party.
Fortunately, Xie Lianhui was overjoyed to see them today, showing no resentment whatsoever. She even invited them to chat in her warm pavilion, recounting her childhood experiences in the military camp, which amused Madam Meng, who had spent her entire life in a secluded mansion, making her blush with laughter.
"Ouch!"
Xie Lianhui was telling the amusing story of how the old Prince of Zhennan tricked the officers into gambling. Madam Meng was so engrossed in listening that she didn't notice her teacup had tilted and spilled tea all over herself.
Xie Lianhui was taken aback for a moment, then laughed again.
"It's alright, it's alright. We still have some clothes that my mother made in the past, brand new, that she never wore. If you don't mind, Madam, would you like to come with me to see if there are any that fit?"
"This..." Madam Meng hesitated for a moment, but Xie Lianhui immediately came over and grabbed her, pulling her outside: "Go, go, it's such a waste that the new clothes are just sitting there unattended! Madam Meng, please help us out and don't let our family be labeled as extravagant and wasteful, okay?"
Madam Meng was so pleased with her that she couldn't refuse, so she turned around and told Le Jin to wait patiently, saying they would be right back.
Le Jin smiled and nodded, watching them leave the warm pavilion.
"Baoyin!" She turned around and took Baoyin's hand. Now, only the two of them, mistress and servant, were in the pavilion. "Go and find out where the Prince of Zhennan is right now."
Baoyin let out a soft "Ah," quickly realizing what her wife meant, and her eyes darted around with difficulty: "Wife, the son-in-law..."
"Oh dear, this is the Prince of Zhennan's residence, how could he possibly know? Good Baoyin, hurry, hurry, and come back and tell me as soon as you find out!"
Le Jin got up and pushed Bao Yin out. After seeing her off, she quickly returned to her seat and took a big sip of tea to calm herself down.
But perhaps because she felt guilty, the more she drank the tea, the more flustered she became. Le Jin's heart was pounding so hard that she couldn't sit still.
So she wandered around the pavilion, when she suddenly saw a mirror on the flower stand. When Le Jin looked at herself in the mirror, her cheeks were flushed and red, as if she had been drinking.
Why is it so red? Did you apply too much blush when you put on your makeup?
She was surprised as she vigorously wiped her face with her handkerchief. She was going to see the Prince of Zhennan later; how could this silly, foolish look possibly win his heart?
Just as she was getting anxious, a handsome, mature face suddenly appeared in the mirror, staring intently at her. Their gazes met in the mirror, startling Le Jin.
"The Prince of Zhennan".
She turned and bowed, and in her haste, the handkerchief in her hand fell to the ground.
Just as she was about to bend down to pick it up, Xie Xianheng was faster than her and had already grabbed the handkerchief on the ground. When he looked up, he bumped into Le Jin's lowered chin.
"Why!"
Le Jin was so jolted by the impact that she lost her balance and fell backward. Xie Xianheng reacted quickly, catching her around the waist and turning around to hold her firmly in his arms.
He always wore armor and had a tall, muscular build. Although it was an intimate embrace, Le Jin inexplicably felt a sense of oppression from the disparity in strength, and an invisible fear.
She gently braced herself against Xie Xianheng's chest and quickly slipped out of his embrace, saying, "Thank you for saving me, Your Highness."
"This is the second time."
Xie Xianheng's voice was sharp and deep, now containing a hint of a smile, softening the fierce aura that Le Jin had sensed when they first met.
He is extending goodwill.
Le Jin smiled faintly, glancing at him with a hesitant air, "Yes, what brings Your Highness here?"
"Come find Lian Hui to get your medicine."
"medicine?"
“It’s cold in winter, and some of my old injuries have flared up again. She’s the one who keeps the medicine I usually use.”
Le Jin nodded knowingly, "But the princess took my mother to change her clothes, and she probably won't be back for a while."
Xie Xianheng smiled faintly and pointed to the small makeup box under the mirror.
"It's right there. Madam is closer, why don't you help Heng get it?"
Le Jin suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly took out a small green bottle. "Is this it?"
“Exactly.” Xie Xianheng reached out and took it, his rough fingertips brushing against Le Jin’s hand, sending a jolt of intense numbness through him. His heart was instantly gripped tightly, refusing to let go.
Her skin seemed as soft and delicate as a flower, trembling at the slightest touch...
wrong.
Le Jin's sharp gaze fell upon the cup of tea she had just drunk.
There's something in the tea.
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Author's note: Here we go!
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