Lu Jinpei realized she had bumped into someone and immediately apologized: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, miss, I, I didn't mean to."
Looking at the broken zither, tears welled up in Qi Wanting's eyes. She squatted down, picked up the broken zither from the ground, and silently shook her head: "It's alright, it's my own fault for not holding it properly, Miss."
"Miss, my sister didn't see where she was going and bumped into you. Your violin is broken, so we should be the ones to compensate you."
Lu Jinpei's face turned red as she hurriedly tugged at Zhu Yu's sleeve.
Hearing the commotion, the manager of Linglong Pavilion rushed out and was heartbroken to see the zither broken in two on the ground: "Oh dear, how could it be broken like this? It took me several days to repair this zither. What are we going to do now?"
Qi Wanting picked up the broken zither, heartbroken, and asked the shopkeeper with red eyes, "Shopkeeper, is this zither still repairable?"
The shopkeeper shook his head helplessly: "It's no use, it's ruined. Miss Qi, your zither is no longer usable."
Qi Wanting's maid was also heartbroken: "Miss, this is your favorite zither, and now it's so bad."
Qi Wanting shook her head, signaling her to stop talking.
Zhu Yu hurriedly said, "Miss Qi, I'm so sorry, my second sister was rash. Please choose any zither from the Linglong Pavilion as compensation."
The shopkeeper's lips twitched, but he didn't say much. Although Miss Qi cherished this zither very much, it was actually not very valuable. Any zither he could randomly pick out from Linglong Pavilion would be much more expensive than the one she had.
Qi Wanting held the broken zither, her eyes filled with reluctance, but still smiled slightly at them: "This zither is not a valuable item, but it has a different meaning to me. Since it is broken, let it be. It is my own fault for not protecting it well. How can I ask the two young ladies to compensate me?"
She glanced at the several zithers displayed in the Linglong Pavilion: "If I really make you compensate me, it would be me pushing my luck. How can I act like that?"
Lu Jinpei's face flushed red. She lowered her head, not daring to speak. Indeed, she had been too reckless.
“Since Miss Yu has different meanings, then no matter how expensive the compensation, we cannot make up for it. We apologize; it was my two younger sisters who were ignorant and damaged your beloved item. We apologize to Miss Yu.”
As Lu Yucheng stepped inside, he bowed to Qi Wanting in apology.
As the saying goes, "Do not look at what is improper," so Lu Yucheng naturally did not stare at the young lady's face. As he bent down, he saw a pleated skirt with scattered flowers and misty green grass swaying slightly in the wind, like a spring breeze rippling a pool of water, creating sparkling waves.
Qi Wanting blushed when she saw that the person who came was a handsome young man wearing a dark blue brocade robe with floral patterns. She stepped aside to avoid his bow and said, "You're too kind, sir."
He then turned to leave with his maid.
"Brother!" Zhu Yu called out happily, as if he was surprised that he would come. He also blocked the door, preventing Qi Wanting from leaving.
Behind him, Qi Yu silently took two steps back to the side; the young lady was about to begin her performance again.
"Big brother," Lu Jinpei called out in a clear voice, bowing her head in apology, "I'm sorry, I'm the one who broke it."
Lu Yucheng glared at her: "You mustn't be so reckless in the future. Your unintentional act caused this young lady to lose her beloved possession. Many things can't be bought with money. Do you understand?"
"Oh, I was wrong."
Lu Jinpei gave a timid "oh," then, as if remembering something, looked up and asked Qi Wanting, "Are you Miss Qi?"
Qi Wanting nodded in agreement.
"Which Qi?" Lu Jinpei asked, blinking her curious eyes.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "This is Miss Qi Wanting from the Marquis of Nanyang's residence."
"ah……!"
Lu Yucheng was also very surprised. He looked at the woman who was bowing her head and touching the broken zither with heartache, and then realized that it was indeed Qi Wanting. There was a portrait of her in his study.
"Wow, you're my sister-in-law! My brother, she's my sister-in-law! She's my sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, this is my brother, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, your fiancé!" Lu Jinpei jumped up happily.
Qi Wanting stared at them with her mouth slightly agape, her face flushing red when she saw the young and handsome man before her. She quickly lowered her head and said, "Greetings, Prince Lu."
Prince Lu had been living in the southern borderlands for many years. She had only heard her father say that he was an extremely outstanding young master, and that marrying him would be a wonderful thing. She had never seen him before, and she never imagined that Prince Lu would be so handsome.
Qi Wanting's maidservant, at a loss, gently tugged at her sleeve.
Zhu Yu was speechless. Lu Jinpei was incredibly stupid. How could she call someone "sister-in-law" to their face like that?
Lu Jinpei had no idea about these things. She immediately beamed with joy, pulling Lu Yucheng and Qi Wanting at the same time, wanting the shopkeeper to pick out the best zither.
Qi Wanting was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do, so she could only wave her hands repeatedly: "No need, no need, really no need."
Lu Jinpei took Qi Wanting's arm and said, "Oh, sister-in-law, it's alright. My brother is rich. Last time he said that he was both the young general of the Lu family army and the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, receiving double the salary."
Qi Wanting was almost in tears.
"Big brother, hurry, this one is the best, let's give this one to sister-in-law." Lu Jinpei pushed him from behind.
Lu Yucheng, holding the zither, bowed to Qi Wanting and said, "Miss Qi."
Qi Wanting reached out to take it, but didn't even know where to place her hands to hold the violin steadily.
Zhu Yu was so anxious that he was sweating. They had already created opportunities for her, so what was there to dawdle for? They were already engaged, so even if her brother gave her something, it wouldn't be a private exchange.
So, half an hour later, Zhu Yu and Lu Jinpei left under the pretext of buying a flute, leaving the two of them in a private room at Lianfu Restaurant.
Qi Yu glanced silently at the two flutes she was holding in her arms, and followed them downstairs.
"Don't be afraid," Lu Yucheng said.
"Hmm?" Qi Wanting looked up at the young man opposite her, puzzled.
Lu Yucheng smiled gently: "After we get married, my father and I will still return to the Southern Frontier. I will take you with me and won't leave you alone in Shengjing. So, don't be afraid."
He had long regretted not bringing his sister with him, causing her so much suffering, so how could he possibly leave his wife in Shengjing?
He will take both of them to the Southern Frontier this time, unless his sister marries the Fifth Prince.
"Mm." Qi Wanting nodded.
He reached out his hand: "Give me the violin, I'll try to fix it."
His fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and his palms had a thin layer of calluses; they were the hands of a very handsome military general.
"You can do it?" Qi Wanting looked up at him in surprise. Even the manager of Linglong Pavilion couldn't fix it, how could he?
Lu Yucheng's eyes shone with light, reflecting the slightly flushed face of the woman before him: "I've learned a little bit, I'll give it a try."
The maid behind him handed him the broken zither.
Luo Wang stepped forward and hugged the broken zither to his chest.
After sending the person back to the mansion, Lu Yucheng went straight to Tongjia Courtyard.
Zhu Yu was reading a storybook.
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