During the Dragon Boat Festival, the streets gradually became more crowded. Compared to the natural interaction between Guo Xun and Xu Lingzi, the two unmarried individuals on the other side seemed particularly uncomfortable.
Xu Lingzi winked playfully at Li Shiyue, then pulled Guo Xun and walked in the opposite direction.
Along this long street, there are vendors on both sides hawking their wares, selling all sorts of unusual little items.
Li Shiyue paused, stopped walking, glanced at the person in front of her, and then turned to look at Xu Yunci's expression.
He was also surprised and astonished to meet Xu Lingwan here. However, looking at Xu Lingwan's current appearance, her hair was neatly combed, but the fabric of her clothes was the style of last year.
Compared to the surprise in Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue's eyes, Xu Lingwan was much calmer. Even when she looked at Xu Yunci, as she gradually approached, her eyes were filled with tears.
However, when she looked at Li Shiyue standing beside Xu Yunci, the vulnerability and grievance in her eyes suddenly disappeared. She stubbornly stuck out her neck, with tears in the corners of her eyes, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Li Shiyue hadn't seen her since the last time, but the Xu Lingwan in front of her was clearly not doing well after Xu Huaijiang and his son Xu Yunyang fell down.
"Second brother..."
Xu Lingwan bit her lip and glared at Li Shiyue when she saw her looking over. Her gaze seemed to echo the days when Li Shiyue had just arrived in the capital; Xu Lingwan had the same look then, young but always putting on a fierce act.
Li Shiyue remained silent, showing no emotion whatsoever despite Xu Lingwan's unfriendly gaze.
Because what she saw was Xu Lingwan's hairstyle, which was that of a married woman. She was only going to be of marriageable age next year, and she had never heard of her getting married.
She turned her head to look at Xu Yunci's slightly gloomy expression; he had clearly noticed it too.
"Let's find somewhere to sit down; this isn't the place to talk."
As soon as Li Shiyue finished speaking, Xu Lingwan was about to say something, but Xu Yunci spoke first: "Okay."
Xu Lingwan finally sensed something was wrong. She looked at Li Shiyue suspiciously, then at Xu Yunci. She just felt that the atmosphere between the two was different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
They found a teahouse, and the private room upstairs was decent. They went in and sat at a round table. A pot of freshly brewed Yunwu tea was served, and Xu Yunci placed the pot she had poured next to Li Shiyue's hand.
He poured himself another cup, and Xu Lingwan, not caring about his expression, glanced between Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue.
"Isn't Second Brother about to get engaged? How can he be so close to... Cousin? My future sister-in-law will be jealous."
It was clear that Xu Lingwan still addressed him as "cousin" with reluctance.
Li Shiyue didn't speak, but Xu Yunci beside her already looked rather unpleasant: "What do you want to do?"
Xu Lingwan glared at Li Shiyue, then suddenly seemed to remember something, blinked, and tears slid down her cheeks.
Her body suddenly went limp, and she slid weakly to the ground, clutching Xu Yunci's sleeve tightly.
"Second brother, please save me, I don't want to stay in the He family anymore."
The He family was the son-in-law that Xu Yunyang had chosen for Xu Lingwan in order to curry favor with the Prince of Yan. He was already over thirty years old.
Because of her movement, her forearm was unintentionally exposed, covered with mottled blue marks. Like a floodgate being opened, she couldn't help but burst into tears: "After Father and Brother left, that old woman from the He family held my mother and me hostage, saying that the marriage was already arranged and that she would go to the government to force me to marry He Wulang."
“He Wulang takes medicine all year round and can’t even get out of bed. That old woman in the He family says that my mother is too ill to go out and treats me like her own daughter. It’s all a lie! Second brother, please save me. I really don’t want to stay in the He family anymore.”
"You're not even of marriageable age yet, the He family really..."
Those words were impossible to utter. Li Shiyue's eyes widened as she watched Xu Lingwan break down in tears, clutching Xu Yunci's clothes and refusing to let go.
Where was her stubborn demeanor? She burst into tears, sobbing, "The He family bribed the officials and spent some money to trap my mother and me in their house. I only managed to escape today because they were getting medicine for He Wulang."
"The He family wanted to take advantage of my brother's opportunity to curry favor with the former Prince Yan. However, after the Prince Yan fell from power, the eldest and third sons of the He family were beheaded, leaving only the sickly fifth son. The old woman in the He family wanted to trap me so that I could consummate my marriage with the fifth son after I came of age and restore the He family's prestige."
"So they imprisoned Mother in the back of the He family's residence, and told the outside world that Mother had gone mad after Father and Brother were beheaded, but in reality, the He family was drugging her with sleeping pills every day."
"Second brother, even if we've separated our family, we still share the surname Xu. Please, save me and Mother!"
Seeing that Xu Yunci remained silent, Xu Lingwan gritted her teeth and looked at Li Shiyue with expectation in her eyes. At this moment, she didn't care about saving face.
Since entering the house, she had noticed that her usually aloof second brother was now very considerate of Li Shiyue, and even Chang Shun and Chang An, who were by Xu Yunci's side, were extremely respectful, just like they were treating their own mistress.
Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at Li Shiyue.
"Chunling, go downstairs and ask the waiter for a basin of clean water, and then have Changshun ask the waiter for another private room."
Li Shiyue glanced at Xu Yunci, whose expression was equally complicated, and she understood why Xu Yunci hesitated.
The current situation between the Second Branch and the He family is due to the struggle for the throne by the Prince of Yan. Xu Yunci is the faction that supports Chonghua Palace on the surface and is trusted by the Emperor and the Crown Prince, but that does not mean that he can use his power as he pleases. For example, whether he can help the Second Branch right now.
Xu Yunci looked up at Li Shiyue and saw the comfort in her eyes. Chang Shun and Chunling acted quickly, and when they came back in, everything they had instructed them to do had already been done.
"Chunling, go next door with her and help her wash up again."
As soon as Li Shiyue finished speaking, Xu Lingwan still refused to move and wanted to say something, but Li Shiyue walked up to her and pressed her down: "My cousin is not an unfeeling person, but he needs to think of a solution to this matter. Why don't you go and wash up first? How can you face people like this?"
Xu Lingwan looked suspicious, but she still followed Chunling out.
After closing the door, only the two of them remained in the room. Xu Yunci let out a long sigh, which was particularly noticeable in the quiet room.
"I cannot interfere in this matter. If the Emperor and His Highness find out, the Duke's Mansion cannot withstand the Emperor's suspicion."
He couldn't gamble with the Emperor's tolerance on the Duke's mansion, especially since the Prince of Yan's struggle for the throne presented an opportunity to eliminate any remaining rivals.
“If the He family forcibly marries a girl who is not yet of marriageable age, and this gets out, even if the officials who took money from the He family did so before, if this becomes a big problem, does the He family still think they can use money to hide it from the officials?”
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