Chen Zishu listened quietly, without any intention of entanglement and politeness. He nodded slightly and said, "No need to thank me. If you have nothing else, I will take my leave first."
Wei Hansu was stunned for a moment because she didn't expect that her courageous initiative would be met with such a reaction from him.
Chen Zishu didn't even look at her. He turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait!" Wei Hansu was anxious and reached out to grab the sleeve of the man in front of her, but he reacted very quickly and raised his hand to avoid her.
When Chen Zishu turned around again, his expression was already cold: "Miss, please respect yourself."
These words were too harsh for a noble lady who had always followed the rules. Wei Hansu's face turned pale instantly after hearing them. She hurriedly withdrew her hand, stood stiffly where she was, and watched the young man walk away.
He stood there motionless until the tall figure of the man completely disappeared from his sight.
After a long while, her personal maid looked worried and couldn't help but whispered, "...Miss."
Wei Hansu's face, which had been stained red by alcohol, had turned pale. She moved slightly and tilted her head to glance at the maid.
The moment she met her gaze, the maid hurriedly lowered her head and avoided her, not daring to say anything more.
The master and servant stood in silence for a long time before Wei Hansu seemed to come back to his senses. The corners of his stiff lips trembled, but he didn't make a sound for a long time.
How cruel! It turns out they are not in love with each other.
It turned out that he had no feelings for her.
It's all her... just being sentimental.
Would he think that she was being frivolous by calling him rashly today?
Is their fate all fake?
Wei Hansu felt panic, sad and bitter. She wanted to squat down and cry, but she was afraid that others would laugh at her. So she tried to maintain her decency and suppressed all her emotions. She no longer had the heart to return to the table and have fun with her girls.
Now she just wanted to hide in her room and cry her heart out.
But when he turned around and looked up inadvertently, he saw a stunningly beautiful woman standing at the door of Liu Hou Mansion, looking at him with a strange expression.
Wei Hansu recognized her. She was Liu Wanning, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anguo and the most beautiful woman in the capital, whom he had met at the banquet today.
The steps he had raised suddenly stopped. Being caught by someone, especially such a beauty, in the act of entangled with a man outside of his home, Wei Hansu, who had just come to his senses from the blow of his lover not liking him, was so embarrassed that he wanted to faint.
She was shaking slightly because she was so embarrassed and ashamed.
Liu Wanning saw it clearly. She lifted the hem of her skirt and swayed towards him step by step. Her smile was as gentle as spring water. She said, "So Miss Wei Qi is in love with Master Chen?"
Wei Hansu didn't want to pay attention to her and turned around and left in a hurry.
But he heard the gentle voice behind him continue: "Don't you know? That Prince Chen..."
………………
Wei Hanzhang stayed in Jiang's courtyard for the whole afternoon. During this time, he went to Yonglehou's mansion to call Wei Hanshuang. Although they were cousins, they had a very close relationship. Jiang was not a person who would act like an elder. The three of them sat around the stove, brewing tea and chatting about many personal matters.
It was not until the sun was about to set that I got up and left, feeling a little reluctant to leave.
While the two sisters were talking, a slender figure appeared on the quiet palace road. The man glanced over here from afar, but did not come forward to greet them. He walked out of sight in a blink of an eye.
When she saw him, Wei Hanshuang seemed to have thought of something. Her expression paused slightly, and she looked at her little cousin with some hesitation.
Wei Hanzhang didn't expect to meet Chen Zishu, but she didn't think there would be any awkwardness between her and Chen Zishu.
In Wei Hanzhang's opinion, he had met Chen Zishu only a handful of times and they had barely exchanged a few words, so it could not be said that they had much of a relationship.
The cousin didn't want to say more. As one of the few people who knew the truth, Wei Hanshuang naturally wouldn't be so boring as to talk about those old things. After smiling and giving a few instructions, she said goodbye and left.
The sunset was quiet and warm, and the scenery was beautiful. This place was not far from Qixiang Palace. After Wei Hanzhang and Wei Hanshuang parted ways, they did not call for a sedan chair, but planned to walk back by themselves.
Who would have thought that after walking around the rockery and taking a few steps, he saw Chen Zishu, who should have left long ago, standing tall and waiting by the stream for a long time.
For a moment, not only Wei Hanzhang, but even Luzhu and Lulan who were following her were stunned.
The three of them, the master and the servant, stopped walking, but Chen Zishu took a few steps forward and said first, "Please don't blame me, Miss Wei. I have no intention of bothering you, but since I have the honor of meeting you, I have a few words to say, and after thinking about it, I decided to explain it to you."
Wei Hanzhang said: "Please speak."
Chen Zishu seemed to be organizing his words on the spot. He paused and then said, "I was rude and didn't know the depth of the matter before, so I offended you. After knowing the inside story, I told the elders in my family that I would not talk about getting married for three years."
"Prince Chen, you are worrying too much. There is no offense between you and me." Wei Hanzhang asked doubtfully, "It's just... you don't need to tell me specifically whether you are going to get married or not, right?"
What does it have to do with her? Chen Zishu had been keeping his eyes down politely. When he heard this, his eyelashes trembled slightly. He finally looked over and moved his lips, saying, "It's better to tell me."
Wei Hanzhang didn't understand, but she pretended to listen attentively.
Chen Zishu lowered his eyes again, not looking at her, and said, "Recently, I have always run into your seventh young lady on the road, and today she even called me directly..."
Having said this, he said no more.
Wei Hanzhang's face had already darkened. In this era where people of the same blood and branches share the same prosperity, this person deliberately came to her and pointed out that her sister's words and deeds were frivolous and stopped a man halfway? Who could have a good face when someone said such things to her face? Wei Hanzhang looked indifferent and asked: "What do you mean by this, my lord?"
Is this to ask her to take good care of her sister at home? "Then I'll be frank," Chen Zishu said after a few breaths of silence, "I was rude before and didn't know how high the sky was and how deep the earth was, so I had the intention of marrying into your family. Now I have come to my senses and made a decision. I will never marry a daughter of the Wei family in this life."
His tone was always gentle, but Wei Hanzhang could hear the decisiveness in it clearly, and his anger rushed to the top of his head.
He also began to understand why this person stopped him.
He didn't think that Wei Hansu's actions were intentional, did he? Or was it because she saw that Wei Hansu liked him and was worried that she would use her power to force him to marry her? So he came to tell her in advance that he would not marry a girl from the Wei family? How much did he despise Wei Hansu?
When beating a dog, one has to look at its owner. No matter how bad Wei Hansu is, she is still a member of the Wei family. Besides, she didn't force him to marry her.
Why does he get so nervous when there's not even a hint of trouble?
For a moment, Wei Hanzhang was so angry that he laughed, and said in a cold voice: "Don't worry, Master Chen, my Wei family's daughter is not unmarried. I have to rely on you."
(End of this chapter)