The mistress said, "Today I tell you, this is my girl..."
Because Luo Chen rarely returned to Beijing, Pu Niang and Gu Han cooked many dishes, such as ginger and vinegar fish, fried chicken, and pickled goose feet. Everyone sat together and felt like they had returned to their youth.
Luo Chen toasted Luo Ling several cups of sake. Seeing that they were both focused on eating, he leaned over slightly and whispered, "Brother, do you still not want to get married? Or have you not found someone you like yet?"
Because they were in the dining hall, a habit formed naturally among them from their childhood when they often ate in Grandmother Zhao's Kunning Palace, and they all chewed slowly and deliberately. Even though Luo Chen lowered his voice, apart from those at the next table, the few people surrounding Luo Ling could still hear him.
Before Luo Ling could speak, Qin Weixi had already put down her chopsticks, picked up her soup bowl, and taken a sip of the soup. Using the rim of the bowl as cover, she secretly glanced at Zhao Shuhan, who was separated from her by a window, and saw that Zhao Shuhan's face was flushed and a smile was on her lips.
Zhao Shuhan also noticed the gaze that was secretly watching her at this moment. She looked to Ping An's side and saw those bright eyes looking at her. Her face suddenly turned red again.
Upon seeing this, Qin Weixi couldn't help but laugh, her voice melodious and pleasant.
Several grown men turned to look, and Chu Yening smiled when she saw that slightly flushed smiling face.
Jiang Yuanjun smiled and said, "Seventh Sister, have you remembered something interesting?"
Before Qin Weixi could speak, Luo Ling chimed in, "It's probably just two little girls playing around in secret."
He then said to Luo Chen, "I have already chosen someone I like. When the time is right, Second Brother, you should come back to the capital to drink a cup of wine at my wedding."
"What? Which family's daughter? How come I didn't know? Such a big thing happened while we were away from the capital?" Tao Qingyun stood up abruptly and asked repeatedly.
Luo Ling pressed him down, saying helplessly, "Am I the one getting married, or are you the one getting married?"
The group burst into laughter.
Luo Chen didn't ask any further questions, only saying that he would definitely return to Beijing.
As early as when she entered the manor, Luo Chen told Luo Ling about the various events that had happened to the Luo family in Jiangnan over the years. Upon learning that her parents and her eighty-year-old grandmother were all well, Luo Ling was relieved.
He hadn't seen his parents and his kind-faced grandmother for ten years. Luo Ling downed a cup of sake, listened to the clinking of wine glasses on the other table, and smiled with lowered eyes.
He looked at Luo Chen, who was now incredibly wealthy, and said with a gentle smile, "Speaking of me, what about you? Have you found a girl you like in Jiangnan all these years? In the fourth branch of the Luo family, apart from my third brother who got married a few years ago and my fourth brother who is engaged, my two older brothers have actually fallen behind them."
Luo Chen thought of the little girl who always sat in the small garden of the Luo family mansion, swinging on the swing, her thoughts wandering somewhere else. He lowered his eyes and smiled.
"some."
Just then, Gu Han came to report: "Young Master, someone from the manor has arrived. He says he is a servant of the Eastern Palace and a close attendant of His Highness the Crown Prince."
Jiang Yuanjun's brows twitched slightly. She would never come to see him at this time unless it was something important.
"Please trouble Uncle Gu to let him in."
A short while later, a young man who looked like a palace guard stopped outside the dining hall. Jiang Yuanjun had already gotten up and gone over to him. Everyone watched as the palace guard bowed and left in a short while. Jiang Yuanjun's brows were already furrowed.
Luo Ling asked, "What happened?"
"Jiu Bao is sick."
"What?" Qin Weixi stood up abruptly, dropping her bowl and chopsticks. Chu Yening, standing beside her, caught them with his hands and feet.
Jiang Yuanjun strode closer to her: "I have already sent someone I trust to check."
Ping An suddenly asked from the side, "Jiu Bao, who is that?"
Qin Weixi turned to look at Ping An, who was tilting his head and looking curious. Remembering the little girl with red lips and white teeth in Chengxin Nunnery who once shed tears for a roast chicken she couldn't get her hands on, she choked up and smiled, "Ping An, you two will become friends."
Ping An stared intently at her: "Friend? Then, I'm going to see him."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shuhan recalled Qin Weixi's words about Xiao Jiubao in Tingyuxuan that day, and felt a pang of pity. She said to Ping An, "Alright, little brother, but you can't tell anyone outside of us today that you know Xiao Jiubao, okay?"
Ping An clutched the hem of her clothes and nodded vigorously: "Sister, I know."
At this moment, Chu Yening tightly grasped Qin Weixi's hand under the table and told her with his eyes that she could rest assured.
He pondered for a moment, then quickly summoned Songyang: "Go back to the manor, pick up Xiaohe and Doctor Dong, and take her and her apprentice up the mountain safely."
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Songyang immediately left the Luo residence.
After everyone returned to the dining table to eat, Luo Chen recalled what Luo Ling had told him about the Qin family after he entered the mansion earlier that day.
He looked at Qin Weixi and comforted her, saying, "Children often get headaches and fevers. My third brother's child can already jump and run around now. A while ago, she caught a cold and fell ill, which scared my third brother and sister-in-law so much that they didn't sleep for several nights. But after taking a few doses of herbal medicine, the little girl quickly became lively and energetic again."
Qin Weixi smiled and nodded.
At this moment, Feng Hua, who was at the next table, brought her a bowl of sweet cheese. Qin Weixi glanced at the people at the next table and realized that Pu Niang had quietly left her seat at some point.
Feng Hua said, "Pu Niang kept nagging me back in Jiangnan that you love almond soup, Miss. Please drink it while it's hot, it's freezing outside, so it will warm you up."
Before Qin Weixi could even sit down, Feng Hua said again, "Master, Madam, and Old Madam all miss Miss! They ordered me and Pu Niang to bring back a lot of fabric for clothes and famous snacks from Jiangnan. Before returning to the capital, Second Master even picked a lot of fresh flowers for Miss, but they were all wilted by the time they arrived in the capital."
Qin Weixi's laughter softened as she listened: "I understand. I'll go back and check on it later. Go find Pu Niang and have a proper meal."
She turned around and sat down, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Chu Yening, who had been expressionless just a moment ago, now had his brows furrowed slightly.
Tao Qingyun craned his neck and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey? Chu Jiayou, you've had quite a bit of wine today!" He then bent down, picked up the jar of wine from under Chu Yening's seat, shook it near his ear, and froze for a moment: "Empty?"
Qin Weixi noticed that everyone at the table seemed rather listless. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'll go get some wine." As she spoke, she picked up the cloak behind the chair, and as she grabbed it, she saw that under the bright red cloak she had changed into after returning to the mansion today, there was a white fox fur-trimmed cloak of the same color.
It was the same cloak her cousin had been carrying in the suburbs of Beijing earlier that day. She took her own cloak, draped it over her shoulders, and prepared to walk outside.
Luo Ling called out to her, "Little sister, your brother is going to get it. How do you know where the wine is?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Weixi blinked, her bright eyes shining, and said to Luo Ling, "Brother, I know, it's in the woods outside the library."
Luo Ling was taken aback and asked in a low voice, "Little sister, how did you know?"
Qin Weixi's cheeks suddenly flushed red: "When I was a child, I was always on the move, so I have seen Father Luo secretly hiding wine."
The group watched him leave with smiles on their faces.
As night deepened, Qin Weixi walked step by step along the corridor. Snow was still falling in the garden, and she wrapped her cloak tighter around herself.
At this moment, Luo Chen also got up and left his seat in the dining hall, saying to the others, "We agreed to drink until we drop, but let me go and sober up first."
Sitting opposite him, Chu Yening was casually seated in his chair, holding a wine cup in one hand. He saw Luo Chen's actions and his expression suddenly changed.
The snowy night illuminated the Luo residence brightly. Before Qin Weixi could even step out of the connecting corridor, she heard a clear sound of footsteps behind her.
She turned and looked around.
“It’s me, sister. There’s no need to be afraid,” Luo Chen said softly.
Qin Weixi smiled: "Cousin, I'm not afraid, I just want to see who it is."
Luo Chen moved closer and said, "I haven't spoken to you since we returned to the manor. How have you been in the capital these past few days?"
Qin Weixi said softly, "With my brother taking such good care of me, how could I not be well?"
Luo Chen nodded, looked down at her palms, and said gently, "I heard you were injured some time ago."
Qin Weixi was slightly taken aback, but recalling the long private conversation between Luo Chen and her brother in the study after returning home today, she understood: "It's all over now, cousin."
"Is it because of Marquis Jingning?"
Qin Weixi nodded, her fair face, illuminated by the cold moonlight under the snowy night, looked even more radiant: "If it were me, he would also risk his life to protect me."
Inside the dining hall, Tao Qingyun, who had drunk several rounds of wine, drunkenly tried to clink glasses with Chu Yening beside her for another drink, but her hand missed its target.
He instantly sobered up, his expression changing drastically: "This is bad!"
Under the eaves, Luo Chen remained silent for a long time. Seeing this, Qin Weixi said, "Cousin, it's still snowing outside. Why don't you go back and have dinner with everyone?"
Just as she was about to turn around, Luo Chen called out to her from behind: "Sister Xi, the capital is a thousand miles away from Chongqing. I heard that you are away from the capital and in Chongqing. Your cousin has been thinking of you a lot, but I know that you will definitely go."
Qin Weixi stamped his foot, his voice firm as he said, "Yes, cousin. I must see with my own eyes that it is Lu Yu before I can be at ease."
Luo Chen smiled and said, "My aunt and uncle have been thinking about you, and my grandmother has been nagging me about it all the time. When I left home, I even joked with my grandmother that we should let her see this pretty little girl every day in the future."
Qin Weixi, standing under the corridor, suddenly had a flicker in his eyes.
She had already discerned the underlying meaning in Luo Chen's gentle words.
Luo Chen continued, "Xi-mei, once your family is exonerated, would you like to return to Jiangnan? If you don't want to live in the Luo family, your cousin has already bought you a house. When you were young, you and your third sister often passed by that house. There is a garden behind the house, a quiet place where no one can disturb you."
Luo Chen stared intently at the girl in the bright red cloak opposite him, meeting her clear, bright eyes, and then said, "Or perhaps you'd like to travel elsewhere. I've already handed over my businesses to my servants to manage. Where would you like to go..."
"Cousin." Qin Weixi suddenly interrupted Luo Chen before he could say anything more.
Qin Weixi still had a smile on his lips: "Now I already have..."
"Luo Chen!"
Before she could finish speaking, a figure strode out from behind Luo Chen. Under the cold moonlight, a flash of light appeared, and Qin Weixi saw a figure appear in front of her in an instant, then bring her behind him.
Chu Yening's face was full of the look of impending storm, his eyes were as dark as dark clouds, and his eyes shot straight at Luo Chen opposite him like cold knives.
"They've dared to raid my house!"
“Luo Chen, you big bandit, I’ve been watching your every word and action ever since you entered the capital.”
"I'm telling you today, this is my girl, she belongs to me, Chu Yening! If you want to covet her, you'll have to wait until the next life before I grant your wish!"
The two faced each other once again, their battle now completely different from their fierce confrontation outside the ancient pavilion on the outskirts of the capital. They scrutinized each other with undisguised intensity, their gazes sharp as knives, exchanging blows across the cold, snowy night.
Luo Chen smiled faintly: "Chu Yening, rein in your old, unruly spirit. What can you give her? Can you really give up your honor and give her peace and tranquility?"
Chu Yening chuckled coldly: "Luo Chen! Let me tell you, she can only be the mistress of my Marquis's mansion. What she wants, I will fight for! What she likes, I will seize! If one day she wants to roam the land freely, then I will become king of the mountains! We will go for spring outings, summer excursions, autumn hunting, and winter snow viewing. If she wants to become a noble person among thousands, then I will plot step by step and seize imperial power again! If she wants to stay away from the hustle and bustle and live a secluded life in the countryside, then I will follow her to the death!"
"Whatever Qin Weixi wants, I, Chu Yening, will do my utmost to get it for her!"
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