Chapter 79 I'm sorry, Your Highness, this is all I can say.
Su Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat at the question, and her cheeks began to burn uncontrollably.
She tried to back away, but her feet seemed rooted to the ground.
She saw his handsome face so close to hers, and his phoenix eyes clearly reflected her panicked state.
Su Xiaoyu opened her mouth, and the word "no" was almost about to come out.
But then I thought about it again and realized it wouldn't work!
You can't say that. The prince has already gotten himself into trouble because of her, and she can't make things difficult for him any further.
Seeing the dark circles under Xiao Jingheng's eyes, Su Xiaoyu's words took a sharp turn:
"The marriage is arranged by my parents and the matchmaker... This servant will leave it to my parents to decide."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, that's all I can say... Please leave now and don't come any closer. My mind is completely blank!"
Her words might fool others, but they couldn't fool Xiao Jingheng.
Xiao Jingheng took a step forward, reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his gesture carrying a hint of tenderness.
"Ordered by one's parents..."
"What if... even your parents can't make the decision for you?"
This sentence was very cryptic, and Su Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat.
She looked up and met his deep, cold eyes.
What...what does he mean by that?
Before Su Xiaoyu could figure it out, Xiao Jingheng had already withdrawn his hand and taken a step back. The cold fragrance also faded away.
It was as if that moment of tenderness and loss of control was just an illusion.
"It's late, go back." He said in a normal tone.
"Eat less candied hawthorn, it can easily cause toothache."
As he finished speaking, the string of candied hawthorns he took from her hand flew in an arc through the air and landed in a clump of grass not far away.
Su Xiaoyu felt a pang of heartache for two seconds, but ultimately didn't dare to reach out and pick it up.
Ugh, seriously, if you're going to talk, just talk, why did you have to throw a candied hawthorn at me?
Xiao Jingheng paused, pretended not to hear, and continued forward as if nothing had happened.
——
Five days later, Lu's parents finally arrived in the capital.
Lu Xinghe had just returned from his roll call at the military camp outside Beijing. He now held the nominal title of Xiaojiwei in the army and was required to roll call every day to familiarize himself with military affairs.
As soon as I turned into the small courtyard where I was renting a place, I saw a familiar, dusty horse-drawn carriage parked at the gate.
"Father! Mother!"
He was overjoyed and quickly pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate.
Inside the courtyard, Mr. and Mrs. Lu were looking around at their temporary residence when they heard the sound and turned around at the same time.
"Galaxy!"
"My son, you're finally back!"
Lu's mother was filled with excitement and immediately went to greet Lu Xinghe.
Lu Xinghe strode forward and knelt down in front of his mother: "Your son greets you, Father and Mother! You must be tired from your journey. Why didn't you send a message beforehand so that I could meet you outside the city?"
Mother Lu wiped away the tears of excitement on her face and said softly, "When we heard that you had taken up a post in the army, your father and I thought that we should not delay your important job, so we came directly here."
Lu Xinghe turned to look at his father and respectfully bowed as well.
"Father!"
Lu's father was a scholar who passed the imperial examination at a young age. He was rather thin, and his face looked more weathered and serious than it had been in his younger days.
Looking at his son, who stood tall and straight, had shed his youthful immaturity and exuded the ruggedness of a soldier, he was filled with mixed emotions.
There was pride, but also heartache.
He gave a faint "hmm" in response.
Lu Xinghe knew his father's temper and wasn't annoyed.
Back then, his father arranged for him to study and take the imperial examination, but he secretly ran away with Uncle Su to join the army, which broke his father's heart. After all these years, this was the first time they had met since that argument.
Lu Xinghe took a deep breath, bowed deeply again, and spoke with a guilty tone:
"Father, I acted impulsively back then, leaving without saying goodbye, causing you and Mother worry!"
Mr. Lu's anger had actually subsided long ago, but he kept a straight face out of pride.
He spoke again, his tone softening: "Hmph, at least you know what's important."
"You must rein in your temper while you're in the army. You must get along well with your comrades and never act like you did when you were a child, always trying to be brave and violent."
When Lu Xinghe was a child, he got into a fight and seriously injured the other person, breaking three of their ribs.
However, he did not intend to tell his parents that he had used such force to protect the little fish.
"Yes, son will remember his father's teachings."
Upon hearing these words, Lu's mother immediately breathed a sigh of relief, a genuine smile appearing on her face.
The husband finally felt a sense of relief after holding back his anger for so many years.
Thinking of something, she quickly smiled at Lu Xinghe and said, "By the way, who did we bring this time?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. and Mrs. Lu turned to the side, revealing the figures that had been hidden behind them.
She was a young girl in a pale yellow dress, standing gracefully with delicate features. She was pursing her lips, looking at Lu Xinghe with a mixture of shyness and anticipation in her eyes.
The sunlight shone on her, as if coating her with a soft glow.
Lu Xinghe was taken aback at first, and then, after seeing the girl's face clearly, his pupils dilated slightly, and his face was full of disbelief.
"You are... Sister Yuejiao?"
The woman before me, Shen Yuejiao, had bright eyes and white teeth, and a slender figure; she was clearly a young woman.
Where is even a trace of his mischievous childhood self?
Two rosy clouds rose on Shen Yuejiao's cheeks, making her even more beautiful. She was a little shyer than usual and greeted him sweetly, "Brother Xinghe, it's been a long time."
The way she called out "Brother Xinghe" was soft and gentle, completely different from how she used to shout it at the top of her lungs when she was a child.
Lu Xinghe didn't notice the girl's delicate thoughts. He had the straightforwardness he had picked up in the military and just laughed it off.
"You've really changed a lot since you grew up! I almost didn't recognize you. What brings you to the capital? Did you come with my parents?"
Lu's mother, who was standing nearby, took in her son's reaction and was extremely satisfied.
She picked up where her son left off: "Yes, Jiaojiao wanted to come to Beijing with us to see the sights, so we came together. She'll be staying at our house for a while. You two played together when you were little, so it's a good opportunity for your brother Xinghe to show you around and let you see the sights."
Lu Xinghe had no doubts and readily agreed.
"Great! I have a day off tomorrow, and I'm planning to take Little Fish to the West Market. There's a new acrobatic troupe there, and I've heard it's really amazing. Yuejiao, why don't you come along too?"
After saying that, he specifically asked, "Yuejiao, do you still remember Xiaoyu? She's the little girl who used to build bird nests with us when we were little, and she fell down and cried so loudly!"
Shen Yuejiao's eyebrows curved into crescents, her smile sweet; "Of course I remember, how could I forget how interesting Little Fish Sister was?"
"Once the people in the neighboring yard are settled, I'll invite her over for a visit."
Lu Xinghe clicked his tongue in surprise: "The yard next door? You bought it?"
No wonder I've been seeing people coming and going from next door these past few days. They said someone bought it and they're cleaning it up now.
Unexpectedly, the person who bought it was Shen Yuejiao.
Just like when he was a child, he was full of boundless ambition.
Lu's mother explained at the right time: "Yuejiao is such a thoughtful child. Before we even set off, her family had already sent people to the capital to take care of everything. As for this little courtyard of yours, it was Yuejiao who sold it to your father and me at the purchase price because our two families have been friends for generations."
As for the courtyard next door, that's where Yuejiao planned to live, saying that it would be close by so they could look after each other.
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