Although she hadn't done anything, she still felt inexplicably guilty, simply because Zheng Lin was right in front of her, and she was worried that Hongli would misunderstand.
Forcing herself to remain calm, she curtsied and said, "Fourth Master, this is my younger sister, Yu Chan. It was a coincidence that we met here today. Knowing that it is her birthday, I gave her the red jasper hairpin that you gave me. I hope you don't mind, Fourth Master?"
Hongli would naturally not mind such a trivial matter, but her words were clearly an attempt to avoid the main issue. What Hongli cared about was not her sister, but Zheng Lin—why was he here?
Hongli, who was suspicious, said in a low voice: "If it is given to you, it is yours. It is your freedom to give it to whomever you want. I will not interfere."
Seeing this, Hongzhou exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, your sister looks just like you!"
Noticing a handsome young man standing next to Yu Chan, Hong Zhou asked in surprise, "Who is this...?"
Su Yushan's heart skipped a beat. She sighed inwardly, thinking that the Fifth Prince was asking about the most sensitive topic. He was asking about Zheng Lin, so how was she supposed to introduce him?
Who is he? He is Yu Shan's fiancé! He is the one who should marry her. Zheng Lin wanted to tell the truth, but with so many people present, wouldn't Yu Shan be embarrassed if he told the truth? What if the Fourth Prince felt he had lost face and blamed Yu Shan for it? Wouldn't he be implicating her?
As he hesitated about how to respond, Su Yushan spoke first, "This is my cousin."
The word "cousin" completely distanced the two. Zheng Lin was distracted, and Hongli was also unhappy. He hoped that Su Yushan would break up with Zheng Lin completely, but now she said that Zheng Lin was her cousin. What did that mean?
As the saying goes, rivals in love are bound to be jealous of each other. The moment their eyes met, sparks flew!
Zheng Lin was jealous that Hongli had the opportunity to be with Yushan, but Hongli cared about the fact that the two of them were childhood sweethearts and had feelings for each other, something he always resented.
Seeing the two of them meet, Hongli couldn't help but feel unhappy. As the brother-in-law, he should have treated Yu Chan to a meal to celebrate her birthday, but with Zheng Lin present, Hongli didn't want Yu Shan to spend too much time with Zheng Lin, so he didn't offer to treat her.
He was just about to find an excuse to leave when Hongzhou said, "Since we are family, let's have lunch together! Consider it a celebration of Miss Yuchan's birthday."
Upon hearing this, Su Yushan secretly sighed in dismay. Fifth Master had meant well but made things worse! Hongli and Zheng Lin already disliked each other, and making them sit together for a meal was just stirring things up.
Unfortunately, Hongzhou was unaware of the situation, and Su Yushan couldn't explain, so she was at a loss for what to do. Hongli's expression remained unchanged, and he glanced at the fifth prince, but Hongzhou didn't even notice and was still pondering where to hold the banquet at noon.
Since the fifth prince had spoken, what could Hongli say? He couldn't very well refuse, could he? So he reluctantly replied, "Then let's go together!"
In fact, Zheng Lin was unwilling to stay either. The hatred of having his wife stolen was still hard to erase. How could he calmly share a banquet with Hongli?
Still harboring resentment, he casually made up an excuse, "Thank you for your kindness, young master, but a banquet has already been prepared at home to celebrate Yu Chan's birthday. We must go back and not keep our family waiting."
Yu Chan looked at Zheng Lin in surprise, thinking to herself that he hadn't said that when they left this morning! He clearly said he would take her out to eat at noon, and she could decide what she wanted to eat. How could he have changed his mind so quickly?
Having finally seen her sister, Yu Chan was reluctant to part with her, so she pleaded gently, "But I want to stay with my sister a little longer."
Zheng Lin also longed to see Su Yushan one more time, but he knew there was no future for them. Even a glance would be painful, especially with Hongli by her side. He felt superfluous, and the scene was unbearable. He just wanted to escape as quickly as possible, but he couldn't leave Yu Chan behind. He had no choice but to take her with him.
"Your two older brothers are waiting at home to celebrate your birthday. If you don't go back, they will worry."
Zheng Lin's words were exactly what Su Yushan wanted to hear. She didn't try to stop him, and instead said, "In that case, let's meet another day. We sisters will have plenty of opportunities to meet; there's no rush." Then she asked Hongli for his opinion.
"What does Fourth Master think?"
After staring into her eyes for a long time, Hongli said, "Yushan is right. When I have time another day, I will send someone to bring Yuchan over so that she can reunite with your sister."
"That's wonderful!" Yu Chan was overjoyed to receive the Fourth Prince's approval. Her face, which had been clouded with worry, finally showed a smile. She did not insist any further. After saying goodbye to her sister, she followed Zheng Lin back home.
Before leaving, Zheng Lin glanced at Su Yushan again. Su Yushan immediately looked away, not daring to meet his gaze, for fear that Hongli would become suspicious again.
With a soft sigh, Zheng Linzhong said nothing more and turned to leave with Yu Chan.
Watching them leave, Su Yushan felt both guilty and secretly relieved. Thank goodness they were gone; if Zheng Lin and Hongli had been sitting at the same table, she feared she would have been in trouble!
Forced to leave, Yu Chan was still unwilling. "Brother Zheng, haven't you always missed my sister? Today is a rare opportunity to see her, why are you unwilling to have a meal with her?"
“Missing her is my own business. She doesn’t need this affection, and I don’t want to cause her any trouble, lest the Fourth Prince resent her.”
“I think that Fourth Master treats my sister quite well,” Yu Chan said to herself. As soon as she finished speaking, Zheng Lin, who was walking in front, stopped, turned around, and frowned at her.
Realizing she had misspoke, Yu Chan quickly corrected herself, "Of course you were the best to my sister, but fate played a cruel trick on you. You were destined to be apart. Now that she's married, Brother Zheng, you should let go of the past and stop torturing yourself."
He also wanted to live a good life, but his life trajectory had been completely disrupted. If Yu Shan were still by his side, perhaps he would still have the motivation to strive. But now, even Yu Shan has left him. What does he have left?
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