Zheng Lin didn't want to believe it, but these words were too much of a blow to him, and he had to take them into consideration! After all, his original intention was always to protect Su Yushan, not to harm her.
He had already decided to give up, but a sudden letter gave him a glimmer of hope. He took it seriously and rushed to find her, only to be told that it was a scheme set up by someone with ulterior motives.
The series of misfortunes left Zheng Lin exhausted. He could no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood. With a bitter smile, Zheng Lin fell silent, leaning against the carriage, his eyes filled with sorrow and devoid of any spirit.
Su Mingfeng knew he was upset, so she didn't say anything more. In this kind of situation, it's futile for others to advise you; only by thinking it through yourself can you find clarity.
Upon returning to the Zheng family home, Su Mingfeng first inquired with Mr. and Mrs. Zheng whether they had revealed the matter to anyone else.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Zheng said they had never mentioned it, since Su Yushan was already the Fourth Prince's maid. They only told others that Su Yushan was their niece, and dared not mention the marriage agreement, for fear of getting into trouble.
Since neither Mr. and Mrs. Zheng mentioned it, that leaves the second son, Jiafeng.
It was past 11:45 PM when Su Jiafeng returned home after finishing his work. Humming a little tune, he was surprised to find someone sitting in his room as soon as he entered. "Brother? Why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?"
While waiting for his younger brother, he didn't idle around; he brought a book to read. After his brother returned, Su Mingfeng closed the book, rubbed his temples, and sighed softly, "With so many things happening at home, how could I sleep?"
"But what about Brother Zheng's matter? How did it go? Did you find him?"
"The person has been found, but I don't know if he's been able to win back his heart." Su Mingfeng gave a brief overview of the whole story, and then asked him if he had told anyone else about it.
He was simply asking as usual, without suspecting his younger brother. To his surprise, Su Jiafeng's eyes flickered, and after a moment's hesitation, she hastily denied it.
"No, I haven't mentioned it to anyone."
Seeing this, Su Mingfeng became suspicious, but did not expose her directly. Instead, she subtly reminded her, "Sometimes you may not mean to reveal something, but a careless remark can lead people to think of many things. Think carefully, and if you think of anything, be sure to tell me. This matter concerns Yu Shan's reputation, so we cannot be careless."
"Yes, I understand," Su Jiafeng replied, and then saw her older brother out.
Watching her brother's departing figure, Su Jiafeng couldn't help but recall the scene of accompanying Lan Xin home on the night of his birthday.
Although he was somewhat drunk, he remembered mentioning to Lan Xin that his sister was engaged. Apart from that, he hadn't told anyone else. Could it be that Lan Xin had told him?
That can't be! How could she possibly know his sister? Why would she harm her?
Su Jiafeng was completely baffled, but she couldn't think of any other people who knew the truth. How should she ask them about this? If she asked directly, and Lan Xin hadn't done it, she would definitely be angry, and their relationship would surely sour.
Su Jiafeng hesitated and fell asleep with her worries on her mind.
Nothing happened that night. The next day, he went to work at Baozhenlou as usual, but he didn't see Lanxin.
When he asked He Yuning, she was sulking! "Lan Xin didn't come today, and she didn't ask me for leave beforehand. I'm so busy here that I can't spare any time, so I had to call my aunt to help out."
Lan Xin was always a hard worker, but he didn't know what was wrong with him today. The restaurant was busy and he couldn't leave. After finishing work in the evening, on his way home, he felt something was wrong and then turned to Lan Xin's house.
In the past, the two often went home together. Lan Xin had pointed out the alley where she lived, but Su Jiafeng was not sure which house it was. So she decided to climb over the wall and search house by house.
When he found the third house, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the main room of the courtyard, "Father, did you go into my room and take my sachet?"
Even through the wall, he could recognize Lan Xin's voice! Then, another rough male voice rang out.
"What sachet? I don't know, I didn't take anything."
As soon as Xin'er saw her father's evasive eyes, she knew something was amiss. "Then where did the silver I put in the sachet go?"
Yao Kun scoffed unhappily, "Didn't you say you had no money? How come you suddenly have ten taels more?"
Upon hearing this, Xin'er became even more certain of her guess and retorted, "You haven't seen it before, have you? How do you know there were ten taels in there? You took it, didn't you?"
Enraged by being exposed, Yao Kun decided to throw caution to the wind and directly admitted, "I am your father, what's wrong with taking a few taels of silver from you? You girl, you really are not on our side. You clearly said you had no silver, but you still hid ten taels! If you had taken out these ten taels earlier, your brother's marriage would have been settled long ago."
She had already given them money. As for whether they could get married, that was her brother's business. Why should she be asked to contribute money?
Xin'er felt exhausted, but patiently explained, "I really didn't have any before. This is the money I just received. I'm of marriageable age now, so I need to save up some dowry, right?"
"Who are you trying to fool!" Yao Kun scoffed. "You're washing vegetables at a restaurant, and you haven't even worked there for a month. How could you possibly earn ten taels?"
She didn't want to pay attention, but her father kept asking, so Xin'er had no choice but to tell the truth: "This money was a reward from Princess Jin."
"Princess Jin? You mean that maid in the Fourth Prince's residence, your former mistress? Weren't you kicked out? Why would Princess Jin give you money?"
The specific reason was a secret, and Xin'er dared not reveal it. She simply changed the subject, saying, "You don't need to worry about that. Just give me back the money; I need to save it."
"I can't give it to you! I'm planning to find a matchmaker and choose an auspicious date for your brother's wedding!" Yao Kun resolutely refused to return the money. Xin'er was furious, feeling that these two were not her relatives at all, but her enemies, who knew nothing but taking her money!
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