Chapter 197 Moonlight Boat (1)
The wife of the Duke of Fuguo found her son in the garden path.
"I heard Lin'er just came over. What did she talk to you about?"
Ji Rangzhou, who was looking at the rockery with his hands behind his back, turned his head. He was still holding a scroll in his hand, his expression as calm as ever. "She agreed to continue the marriage contract between the two families."
The wife of the Duke of Fuguo sighed, "In a few years, when she grows up, if she doesn't want to continue this engagement, I will arrange another marriage for you. What your sister did was not kind to our family."
"It's up to her. But neither my sister nor she should be tied to another man too early. Even if they are childhood sweethearts, they may not fall in love with each other over time. Zhao is also very responsible, but my sister has never liked Zhao treating her as a responsibility."
"I rarely hear you talk so much at once." The wife of the Duke of Fuguo smiled. "But even if a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely destroy it. There are many princes and princesses in the royal family who are of the same age as your sister and Zhaohuan. This is a signal that our two families are actively avoiding suspicion, and it was also the original intention of our grandfathers when they arranged the marriage."
"If your sister and Zhao can still get married, that would be great. If not, that's fine too. There are several princes of the same age as Lin'er now, and the ladies in the palace are all eyeing Lin'er. If you continue this engagement with Lin'er, you can keep your peace."
Ji Rangzhou was speechless.
The wife of the Duke of Fuguo patted his arm and said, "You will take office tomorrow. Go talk to your father. Your father and I will take care of the follow-up of the marriage between the two families."
Ji Rangzhou nodded and went to the study.
In the following years, Ji Rangzhou focused on his official duties and was busy with cases, and only occasionally met Ming Yuelin when the two families celebrated the New Year.
In the second month of the spring of the eighth year of Chenzheng, when the sound of opera was still lingering in the Siyin Tower and the singing and dancing were about to begin, a group of runners from the Dali Temple filed in, went up the stairs from the first floor, passed through the crowd of spectators and blocked the entire Siyin Tower.
Ming Yuelin lay on the windowsill of the elegant room on the second floor, looked down at the group of yamen runners in dark blue official uniforms, bent his fingertips and hooked the dangling jade ring on his finger back into his palm.
Hearing the unusual movement, the woman next to him with a sickly look on her face also stood up and walked to the window, lowering her eyes to look down.
"Sit here, you can see more clearly." Ming Yuelin reached out and pulled her wrist. "He's a bailiff from the Dali Temple. I wonder what case is going on in the Siyin Tower."
Sister Li was so thin that half a finger was left on the hand that held her wrist.
Shi Jianli didn't say anything, just sat quietly beside her.
Those who came to the Siyin Tower were all dignitaries. They were enjoying watching a play and listening to music. When they saw the Dali Temple runners breaking in, some of them were dissatisfied and a noisy sound was heard.
Suddenly, a man came in from outside the door. He was dressed like a young man, but he was full of coldness and murderousness. His cold eyes swept through the crowd, and the whole room fell silent.
Ming Yuelin propped up his face and looked down. Seeing that it was Ji Rangzhou, he stared at him for a few seconds and then looked away.
Perhaps her gaze was too obvious, Ji Rangzhou looked up and only saw the back of her head.
His subordinates came to report the situation to him. He nodded and walked upstairs.
Ming Yuelin retracted her head and asked, "Sister Li, did you see the leading official of the Dali Temple runners just now?"
“I see.”
"He's my fiancé. He's very cold and seems difficult to talk to."
Shi Jianli nodded.
"This Siyin Building is so big, it will probably take a long time for them to come here to investigate. But the snacks here are quite delicious. Sister Li, you should try them all." Mingyuelin brought the snacks on the table to Shi Jianli one by one and fed her. "This is the first time I've come out to play with you and we've encountered this. It seems that it's not a good time to go out today."
"Thank you." Shi Jianli thanked him softly, lowered her eyes, picked up a piece of dessert, and then brought it to her lips with a handkerchief and took a small bite.
Mingyuelin propped up his chin and looked at her.
She raised her eyes, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I just suddenly felt that Sister Li, you are so cute like this." Ming Yuelin said with curved eyes.
At this time, her pear-shaped eyelashes fell gently, and the corners of her lips curved upwards, silently pursing a small arc towards her.
After sitting in the private room for a long time, there was a knock on the door frame. After three knocks, the curtain was lifted from the outside.
Ming Yuelin, who was sitting cross-legged drinking tea, put his legs down, sat up straight, and turned to look over.
"Let's go." Ji Rangzhou glanced at them, his voice cold and emotionless.
Mingyuelin took Shi Jianli's hand and walked out, asking him, "Have you finished the investigation?"
"Um."
"With so many people here, what case are you investigating?"
Ji Rangzhou didn't answer, but just raised his chin slightly, motioning them to go downstairs.
Ming Yuelin muttered in a low voice with some dissatisfaction: "Forget it if you don't want to say it."
"Dirty things have polluted your ears."
Mingyuelin stopped and pointed at Shi Jianli, "Oh, by the way, this is the new sister who came to our house two years ago. Her last name is Shi, and she is the cousin of my third brother."
As for the name, he, a foreigner, doesn't need to know it.
Sister Li has been here for so long and has been staying in the West Mansion. She especially likes to stay in her Tangli Courtyard and has rarely gone out. This time, she had to "make a fuss" before she begged her to come out with her.
Shi Jianli asked Ji Rangzhou, "Hello, Prince Ji."
Ji Rangzhou nodded.
Mingyuelin pulled Shi Jianli down the stairs. As soon as he came out of the Siyin Tower, he saw the yamen runners outside arresting the main managers of the Siyin Tower. A dozen children, both boys and girls, aged seven or eight, were hugging each other in fear. The yamen runners were trying to comfort them, and the onlookers were pointing and making a lot of noise.
Seeing Ji Rangzhou coming with Ming Yuelin behind him, the yamen runners saluted Ji Rangzhou and said, "Sir, shall we take them all back to the prison?"
"Well, according to the rules, the child should be picked up by his family."
Mingyuelin pulled Shijianli to join in the fun for a while, then turned around and saw Mingzhouhe walking over and waving at him, "Third brother!"
Ming Zhouhe looked at her and Shi Jianli, then looked at Ji Rangzhou, "Brother Ji."
"Take them back."
Ming Zhouhe nodded and waved to the two of them, "Let's go back home."
Ming Yuelin brought Shi Jianli and followed behind Ming Zhouhe, "Third brother, why did you come to pick us up?"
"Look at the time now? You said you'd be back at noon, but it's already evening and there's still no sign of you. How can I not come out to look for you?" Ming Zhouhe helped them into the carriage one by one. Seeing Shi Jianli sitting quietly, his voice softened unconsciously: "Are you hungry, cousin?"
Shi Jianli shook her head and said, "I ate a lot of cakes, I'm not hungry."
Ming Yuelin got on the carriage and, unable to resist her curiosity, she lifted the curtain and looked back. "Third brother, do you know what case Ji Gu...Brother Ji is handling today?"
Ming Yuelin went from being the cold, old-fashioned and boring elder brother of a family friend and the younger brother of her future sister-in-law to being her cold, old-fashioned and boring fiancé. She couldn't say she was unhappy, but she couldn't say she was happy either. The sudden change of identity made her feel a little uncomfortable.
"I don't know. Didn't you ask Brother Ji?"
"I asked him, but he said something dirty and wouldn't tell me."
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