betray
The group chatted for more than an hour before Li Jinghe and his companions finally emerged from the old lady's villa.
Following the servants of the mansion, they arrived at their residence, which was named Zhuqingyuan.
After the servants left, Dongyang closed the door. Li Jinghe made a gesture, and "whoosh!" Four afterimages suddenly appeared in front of Su Yuexing, startling her.
Li Jinghe, his face grim, questioned, "Which of you told the old lady about the Li family's affairs?"
The others exchanged glances, while Feng remained calmly looking ahead.
Li Jinghe's gaze fell on him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Tell me, why did you do this?"
The others looked at Feng with surprise. "Feng! It's you!" Xue exclaimed in shock.
"I am guilty, please punish me, Master!" he kowtowed.
Li Jinghe said, "I am not your master. Go back to where you came from."
Feng felt a surge of nervousness and said, "Master!"
Li Jinghe closed his eyes and waved his hand, not wanting to see him again.
Feng looked helpless and glanced at his companions. Xue wanted to step forward and say a few words for Feng, but was stopped by Hua, who shook her head at her.
Feng Chao said to Li Jinghe, "Take care, Master!" and then disappeared in a flash.
After he left, Li Jinghe looked at the three of them coldly and said, "If you still want to leave, you can tell me now, and I will not stop you."
The other three immediately replied respectfully, "Your subordinates swear to serve your master to the death!"
“If this happens again, it won’t be as simple as just a breeze!” he said coldly.
No one dared to speak. Li Jinghe waved his hand, and the guards returned to the shadows.
Su Yuexing stared in shock at the scene. Why did he have to see all this himself?
Li Jinghe turned to look at her and said, "Su Yuexing! I hate betrayal the most. You won't betray me, right?"
His eyes held a mixture of fear, pleading, and a glimmer of hope.
Su Yuexing didn't know why she agreed so readily, saying, "I won't betray you."
Li Jinghe smiled and patted her head, "That's good."
Su Yuexing realized what was happening and took a step back.
"I'm tired, I'm going back to rest," Su Yuexing said awkwardly before leaving.
Su Yuexing returned to her room, lay on the bed with her eyes wide open, recalling the scene of Li Jinghe touching her just now.
Her heart was racing involuntarily, and she hadn't calmed down yet.
She slowly closed her eyes. Judging from her grandmother's attitude, she was very unhappy about my marriage to Li Jinghe.
If she can get Li Jinghe to agree to give me a letter of divorce, that would be very beneficial to me.
That evening, the banquet at Mengfu was very grand. Seeing the magnificent scene, Su Yuexing couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
A group of people sat at the head of the table, watching the two of them.
Su Yuexing looked at the unfamiliar faces, their gorgeous clothes and noble air made her unconsciously swallow.
Su Yuexing glanced at Li Jinghe beside her, a hint of loneliness flashing in her eyes, before raising her head and continuing to walk forward.
Li Jinghe turned his head to look over, reached out, and held her hand tightly.
Su Yuexing felt the warmth from her fingertips, paused for a moment, turned her head to look at them, and their eyes met.
"Don't be nervous, I'm here for you," Li Jinghe reassured him.
Su Yuexing moved her lips slightly, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence, "I'm not nervous."
As soon as Li Jinghe grasped her hand, he felt a sticky sensation. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I guess the sweat on your palm is from me."
Su Yuexing kept quiet.
Li Jinghe led Su Yuexing to the old Duke and Madam, and they bowed to them, saying, "Grandfather and Grandmother."
The old Duke, his eyes brimming with tears, stood up excitedly and helped him up, saying, "Child! Your maternal grandfather hasn't seen you for a long time."
"Your eyebrows really resemble your mother's," he remarked.
The old Duke glanced indifferently at Su Yuexing beside him and said, "I didn't expect you to be married already."
"Your father is really too hasty. He decided on your own and arranged your marriage without even discussing it with us."
Li Jinghe bowed respectfully and said, "I am very satisfied with the wife my father found for me."
When the old duke heard him say such things, he didn't know what else to say.
Li Jinghe led Su Yuexing to the middle-aged man, who respectfully greeted them, "Uncle, Aunt."
Su Yuexing also called out, "Uncle, Aunt." Meng Kang nodded, and Meng Shi smiled at them, "Alright, don't stand there, come and sit down."
“Yes, Aunt,” Li Jinghe replied.
A young man and woman sat in the seats, their curious eyes fixed on Su Yuexing and Li Jinghe.
"This is my cousin's wife. She looks pretty ordinary," Mengxi said dismissively.
Meng Wang's gaze remained fixed on Li Jinghe, his eyes filled with unfathomable turmoil, as he tilted his head back and drank a glass of wine.
"Brother, why aren't you saying anything?" Mengxi nudged Mengwang.
Mengwang glanced at her and said, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things."
The banquet began soon, and the sumptuous dinner made Su Yuexing forget where she was.
Her only thought right now was to savor the food on the table.
Smelling the aroma, Su Yuexing unconsciously swallowed. There were many of the dishes she had never seen before at the Li residence.
Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks to eat, Li Jinghe next to her nudged her foot and gestured for her to look at the other people around them.
The maid brought over a cup of water and an empty bowl.
It's different in wealthy families; they even get a sip of water before eating. Su Yuexing took the cup from the maid and drank the water in one gulp.
"Pfft!" A woman's voice came from behind her. Mengxi covered her mouth and said, "Sister-in-law, that's the water we use to rinse our mouths."
All eyes fell on Su Yuexing. The old lady looked displeased. What an unruly girl!
Su Yuexing's cheeks flushed slightly, her scalp tingled, and she didn't know where to put the empty cup in her hand.
Li Jinghe snatched the empty cup from her hand, handed it to the maid, and said to Su Yuexing, "It's just a cup of water. Drink it if you want, vomit if you want."
"Let's eat." Li Jinghe placed a piece of her favorite braised pork on her plate.
But now Su Yuexing had no appetite for the meat in front of her. She glanced around the table at everyone, and only when she saw them start eating did she slowly pick up the piece of meat and eat it.
She only dared to eat the food in front of her. Li Jinghe noticed this and put all the food he liked on the table into her bowl.
Mengxi said sarcastically, "Sister-in-law, don't you have hands?"
Li Jinghe's face darkened, and he stared at her with a cold gaze.
Mengwang, who was next to her, nudged her and whispered, "Say less."
"If even eating can't shut you up, I don't mind using other methods to make you shut up," he said quietly.
Meng quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Xi'er, that's just how it is; you can be a bit too direct."
"Xi'er, quickly apologize to your cousin-in-law."
Mengxi sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, cousin-in-law."
Su Yuexing smiled and waved her hand, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
Seeing her like this, Mengxi felt even more disdain.
After the meal, the maid brought her a cup of water and an empty bowl again. This time, Su Yuexing had learned her lesson.
She observed the actions of those around her and followed their example.
The old Duke asked, "He'er, why don't you stop going back to your Pingchun County and just stay in the Duke's mansion?"
The old lady nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes! Yes!"
“Pingchun County is nowhere as comfortable as the capital. You can spend some quality time with your grandmother here.”
"Thank you for your kindness, maternal grandparents. I've come to the capital to take care of some business. I'll go back once I've finished," Li Jinghe said.
The old Duke said, "What business do you have? You're not in good health, what could possibly be worth making you travel all the way to the capital?"
Su Yuexing stepped forward, wanting to speak, but Li Jinghe interrupted, saying, "Firstly, I came to see my maternal grandmother and grandfather, and secondly, I came to find someone."
The old Duke said, "Who is it? Your maternal grandfather will go find it for you."
Li Jinghe said, "Snowflakes fall on the border."
"It turns out he's just a junior doctor. That's easy. I'll go to the palace tomorrow and ask the Emperor to lend me this doctor," the old Duke said.
"Then thank you very much, maternal grandfather," Li Jinghe said, bowing.
The old Duke helped him up and said, "Don't always say thank you. We're all family."
The old lady said, "Jinghe, Wang'er, it's been a few years since you last saw each other. Take advantage of this time to reconnect."
"When you have time, take Jinghe out for a stroll."
Mengwang nodded and said, "It is Grandmother."
Su Yuexing followed Li Jinghe out of the courtyard, and the weight on her heart lifted. In front of these people from Mengfu, she didn't dare to breathe loudly, afraid of doing something wrong and becoming a laughing stock.
The two walked in silence. Su Yuexing assumed that her lack of manners at the dinner table had embarrassed him, which was why he hadn't spoken to her the rest of the way.
Su Yuexing said sincerely, "I'm sorry, I embarrassed you just now."
Li Jinghe, who was walking ahead, stopped and turned around to look at her. "This is none of your business."
"It's my fault for not thinking this far ahead. I'll explain the rules of the Dream Palace to you in the next few days."
Su Yuexing lowered her head and hummed in agreement.
Li Jinghe noticed that she was in low spirits and asked, "What's wrong?"
Su Yuexing raised her head and said, "It's nothing."
Li Jinghe's eyes seemed to see right through her, and he said, "I know you don't like these rules of the Dream Palace, and I don't like them either."
"But in order to find out some things, there are some rules you have to follow."
“I understand,” Su Yuexing said.
That night, Li Jinghe and Su Yuexing lay in the same bed.
Li Jinghe said, "My maternal uncle is the prime minister of the court, and my maternal aunt's brother is a veteran general of the Yun Kingdom, who is also very prestigious in the court."
Although Su Yuexing didn't understand what these official positions actually entailed, they sounded impressive from what he said.
"Your aunt has a son and a daughter. The daughter is named Mengxi, the woman who was disrespectful to you just now."
"The son's name is Mengwang. The whole family places all their hopes for the Meng family on him. You must be very careful about this person."
Su Yuexing listened carefully to what he said, and asked nervously, "What if I accidentally offend them?"
Li Jinghe turned his head to look at him and said, "As long as you don't cause any deaths, I'll cover for you in everything else."
Su Yuexing said, "That shouldn't be the case. I'll try my best not to cause you any trouble."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
