Chapter 44 Blood Ties A novel desire urges him to take her whole...
A pale red lotus flower is embroidered on the light green gauze screen.
Looking up from downstairs, Yue Zhao saw an ethereal figure reflected in the water, like a beautiful woman silently gazing at the lotus blossoms.
But those eyes, peering through the screen, were clearly looking at him.
With a slight sweat on his palms, Le Zhao quietly clenched his fist and, facing the heavy gaze upon him, climbed step by step to the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Yesterday he received an invitation from Meng Shutai, inviting him to a gathering at Zuixianlou Restaurant.
He was the only one.
Le Zhao's mind was in turmoil, like a chorus of drums, keeping him awake until the third or fourth watch of the night.
If they were lucky, their family would escape unscathed from this trip to Luoyang; if not… While tossing and turning at night, Le Zhao made a decision.
At worst, I'll just return everything to the Meng family. All these years of wealth and glory are nothing but a fleeting dream.
The wine table here is by the window, offering a wide view of the Luo River flowing through the city.
"Good location."
Le Zhao knelt down, his robes tucked in, facing Meng Shutai.
Meng Shutai smiled and bowed, gently waving his peacock feather fan. Incense smoke curled from the fan and drifted obliquely toward Le Zhao.
It was like a white, misty snake poking its head out and opening its mouth, as if to swallow a person whole.
“Indeed. I always meet with the Crown Prince of Pingning here, where we can fully enjoy the sights and sounds of Luoyang.”
Meng Shutai's words and the sound of her own heartbeat entered Le Zhao's ears at the same time, turning into a buzzing sound. Le Zhao's temples throbbed with pain.
He had no intention of playing games anymore and mustered his courage to get straight to the point.
"Since you told me last time, my younger sister has been confined to her home for half a month and has become much more restrained."
Le Zhao looked directly at Meng Shutai, her eyes full of apology. "But I know that I can't change my little sister's nature in a short time. The position of the young mistress of the Meng family and the future matriarch is really not worthy of her."
"Although the annulment of the engagement will damage the reputation of both families, in order to take a long-term view, Zhao agrees to dissolve the marriage alliance between the two families."
The white jade fan handle twirled between Meng Shutai's fingertips, and the shimmering light on the blue-green feathers lightly swept across Meng Shutai's bright, smiling eyes.
No rush.
Yue Zhao paused.
Meng Shu pointed the handle of his fan out the window, “There’s something interesting going on by the river, aren’t you curious, my lord?”
Le Zhao didn't understand what Meng Shutai was up to, so he could only look towards the Luo River in the distance, where he saw a large group of people lined up, as if they were escorting someone.
Upon closer inspection, a disheveled young woman, bound hand and foot, was being shoved to the riverbank. Judging by their posture, they were about to throw her into the water.
Le Zhao slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "They're trying to kill someone!" He immediately stepped over the wine table and turned to rush over to stop them.
"Le Langjun, please wait."
Meng Shutai called out to him and patiently explained to him.
"That woman committed adultery with her own brother. According to the laws of our dynasty, her brother will be punished and enslaved, while she will be sentenced to be drowned in the river. It will be no use for you to go."
In just a few words, Le Zhao felt a dull pain in his heart, as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out, and he broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.
Meng Shutai leaned leisurely against the window, his brows showing no pity for the woman, only a faint doubt.
"If even blood-related siblings can develop shameful private feelings, what about those who are not related by blood?"
"...You...you know?"
——
Jiang Yingyun held the two jars of jasmine wine in her arms. She stood at the entrance of the Le family's house, torn between putting them down and leaving or knocking on the door to see Lady Le.
Today, while delivering wine to the city, I learned from a customer at the winery that she had recently almost been implicated in a murder case.
People tend to believe that Lady Le deliberately poisoned the chestnuts, but it's also possible that the old woman was poisoned by someone else after taking the chestnuts home.
Although she had no evidence to prove Le Jin's innocence, she was still somewhat biased towards her.
Should she knock or not? Lady Le had come to her rescue before, but before that, she had always kept her at arm's length…
With a "creak," a head popped out from the crack in the gate.
Before she could even knock, the person came out on their own.
They looked at each other, neither of them knowing how to begin.
Jiang Yingyun patted the jar, and Le Jin swallowed hard.
"Um, I came to check if you were alright..."
"Did you see an old man with white hair go out?"
"Huh?" The two of them were taken aback at the same time, it seemed they both had something on their minds.
Jiang Yingyun shook her head first, "No, I haven't seen any old men come out since I started standing here."
Le Jin nodded and smiled at her twice, "I'm looking for someone, Uncle Gu has gone missing...you—"
Her gaze fell on the two jars of wine, and Jiang Yingyun quickly explained:
"This is a thank-you gift. Although it's a bit late, I still wanted to thank you for standing up for me that day. I... this is all I have, please don't mind."
She brought the wine jar even closer, extending it directly to Le Jin's chest.
"You brewed this?"
Suddenly feeling a lightness in her hand, Le Jin hugged the jasmine wine, beaming with joy: "Thank you, thank you..."
This is wine brewed under the influence of the female lead!
Le Jin was overjoyed; her row of white teeth practically flew right in front of Jiang Yingyun.
"Would you like to come in and have a seat?"
Le Zhao confined her to her quarters, but he didn't say she couldn't let anyone visit her.
The girl's smile dazzled Jiang Yingyun, as bright as the sun. Suddenly, Jiang Yingyun had a slight doubt that their previous disagreement was just an illusion, a layer of fog, and had not actually happened.
However, she soon learned that Le Jin did not drink alcohol, and the jasmine wine was poured out and given to the maid named Bao Yin beside her.
The master and servant drank from the same cup, as if their positions had been reversed.
Perhaps this woman is just a bit extreme in temperament, but not inherently bad.
"I heard you looking for someone just now?"
"Mmm." Le Jin nodded, then shook her head: "It's nothing serious. One of the old housekeepers has gone missing. He probably went out to buy some goods."
Le Jin had been bored for many days, but now that Jiang Yingyun had arrived, she was happy just to see her.
Before I could even exchange a few words with her, Le Zhao returned.
I don't know where he went; he was pale and looked like he had lost his soul.
Who is this?
“Oh,” Le Jin began, introducing, “Jiang Yingyun is…”
Are they friends? Are they rivals? Or is she the female lead whom the foolish supporting character can't stand?
Le Jin was stumped for a moment, and after saying "yes" for a long time, nothing came out. In the end, Jiang Yingyun had to do it herself.
"She's someone that Lady Le helped."
Le Zhao raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly, "You actually know how to help others? When did you start doing that?"
Jiang Yingyun wanted to say something, but she suddenly stopped and lowered her eyes.
In ancient times, defying one's father in public was considered extremely disrespectful, and no one thought it was honorable to rebel against one's father, including Jiang Yingyun today.
But Le Jin turned to Le Zhao and said frankly, "I helped her drive away the bad father who was bullying her."
Le Zhao frowned deeply, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Le Jin shrugged. "So what if you're a father? What does blood relation mean if there's no genuine love and care?"
After saying this, she gave a disdainful snort and poured Baoyin some more wine, completely unaware of the astonishment of the other two people present.
Jiang Yingyun knew that Le Jin was bold, but she was still taken aback and her heart trembled.
Le Jin's candid words, which she dared not and could not say, made her feel as if she were witnessing a boulder being melted away by raindrops, a feat of using minimal force to achieve maximum effect.
Le Zhao's previously calm and deep gaze suddenly welled up with tears.
Blood ties... does she really not care?
Le Jin was completely unaware of the effect her words had on the two women. She only noticed that Jiang Yingyun seemed particularly happy, making no mention of their earlier argument, and even asking before leaving:
"The Lantern Festival in Luojing is in a few days. I'll be coming into the city to deliver wine. How about I show you around Luojing then?"
Le Jin's face lit up with a smile, and she was about to agree when she remembered Le Zhao standing beside her.
The lockdown has not been lifted yet.
Before Le Jin could bitterly refuse, Le Zhao suddenly agreed on her behalf.
“Okay, she will go. She was too young when our family left Luojing, so it would be nice for her to come back and have some fun.”
Wow!
Wow!
Le Jin's big eyes widened like light bulbs, and her mouth was agape.
Happiness came so suddenly!
As soon as Jiang Yingyun left, Le Jin excitedly hugged Le Zhao.
"My brother is the best brother in the whole world!"
As she finished speaking and loosened her grip on Le Zhao's arm, she was about to leave when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her from behind and held her tightly in their arms.
A trembling, broken plea came from above.
"Don't go... let your brother hug you."
His hunch was right; Meng Shutai was not some simple-minded, kind-hearted young man.
With just a casual remark from Uncle Gu, the Le family's secrets were unearthed.
"More than ten years ago, a family that clearly only had one son suddenly had a daughter. She was matched with the dying son of a wealthy family in a 'lucky marriage' ceremony. From then on, this family received a boost, prospered, and transformed into the richest family in a certain state..."
Le Zhao clearly remembered the cunning and terrifying eyes behind that blue-green peacock feather fan.
So clever it was almost like a spirit, able to see right through his flesh, bones and blood.
Le Jin was an orphan girl he picked up from a corner of the wall, and she was also the Le family's cash cow. Originally, this girl was to be raised as the Le family's child bride, but because the family was almost starving, her parents took a risk and fabricated an auspicious birth date to send her to the Meng family.
Le Zhao was terrified at that time, fearing that the infant girl would be suffocated to death in the coffin of the prematurely deceased young master of the Meng family.
Whether it was a blessing or a curse was hard to say, but the little girl's false destiny was actually a match for the young man, and the young man miraculously survived.
From that day on, her parents brought Le Jin, whose life had been saved, home and told him:
"Zhao'er, from now on she is your sister, and that can never change."
Afterwards, they moved their entire family to Shuzhou, precisely because they were afraid that the neighbors would realize that the Le family had no daughters.
For over a decade, her parents' indulgence of Le Jin stemmed from their subsequent guilt after using her, while Le Zhao...
It's revenge.
Tears barely brushed past Le Jin's ears, just like he and she.
Fate brought him to her first, yet forced him to give her away himself.
Le Zhao was unconvinced.
The Meng family just wanted a good daughter-in-law who was worthy of them, but he refused to let Le Jin be a gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and modest girl.
As soon as the Meng family rejected her, he immediately took her away and flew away.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Since meeting Le Zhao, Le Jin had never seen him lose his composure. Tears streamed down her clothes, and only then did she realize he was crying, which terrified her.
Le Jin tried to soothe Le Zhao, but he only hugged her tighter and tighter.
"I met Meng Shutai today..."
It's him again?!
Le Jin immediately realized what he meant, "Did he bully you? I'm going to settle the score with him!"
“Don’t move…”
Le Zhao gently stroked her shoulders with both hands, her voice very soft, as if any heavier touch would make Le Jin as fragile as the moon reflected in water.
"Little Jin'er, if one day you find out I lied to you, will you be angry with your brother?"
cheat……
Alarm bells rang in Le Jin's mind. Given the current situation, shouldn't she be the one lying to him?
She dared not say more, and could only force a faint smile by pulling the corners of her mouth upwards, shaking her head at Le Zhao.
Upon receiving her response, Le Zhao smiled as well, her smile equally indifferent and melancholic.
The air between them was so cold it felt like it was about to freeze. Le Jin couldn't stand it any longer and blurted out a random question: "Uncle Gu is missing today."
"He...retired to his hometown, and we will never see him again."
Huh? So suddenly?
Le Zhao raised his hand and touched Le Jin's sideburns, his tone returning to that of a gentle and serious older brother.
"Go have some fun with Madam Jiang in a few days, and have some fun."
As for Meng Shutai... Le Zhao doesn't want Le Jin to bear the consequences of being forced into the scam alone for the time being.
Le Jin knew nothing.
Even if there has to be a price to pay, it should be the Le family who pay it.
That person's clear, chilling voice echoed in Le Zhao's mind once again:
“Since Lady Le is not the person who fulfilled the original marriage agreement, our marriage should be annulled. However, the Le family has made their fortune through deception and fraud, so it is only right for the Meng family to take them to court.”
"If the Meng family wants to take back everything from the Le family, Zhao has nothing to say."
Meng Shutai shook his head gently with a smile, his jade-like face half-shrouded in swirling incense smoke, like a Bodhisattva being worshipped.
"No matter what, we're related by marriage, why does it have to be so tragic?"
He spoke of kindness and tolerance, yet he sent chills down one's spine.
"Shutai only wants Lejin to stay by my side, but from now on I will sever all contact with you and never ask about you again."
He wanted to possess her.
Sever her kinship ties and cut off her worldly desires.
He wanted to have her completely and exclusively his.
He had been patiently planning to gradually break them apart and bring Le Jin to his side, but fate had other plans, and he realized that she was all alone all along.
A novel desire urges him to swallow her whole.
He couldn't wait any longer.
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Author's note: Sorry I'm late again today [crying emoji]
The next chapter is a very long one! There will be no update tomorrow, but it will all be released at once the day after tomorrow. [Sprinkling flowers]
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