Yining sat down next to him and watched him write. She patted his head and said, "How was your practice today, Ting?"
Ting'er dropped his brush, curled his lips, ran to sit in Old Lady Wei's arms, and said nothing in a wronged manner, ignoring Yining.
His wet nurse, Tong, knew him best and laughed when she saw him: "The young master is reluctant to see you get married."
Old Mrs. Wei touched her adorable grandson's back, smiled and sighed, "This child!"
Wei Ting, however, pursed his lips and stopped talking, refusing to listen to anyone's coaxing. Even when the maid offered him his favorite crab-shell yellow pancakes, he pushed them away.
Yi Ning shook her head. No one could calm down Ting'er when he got angry. As usual, she decided to leave him alone for a while.
No one paid him much attention. Old Madam Wei was already mulling over who to invite to Yining's wedding, and how much dowry to give her. Madam Song and the others were also eagerly offering their opinions: "I think we should give the young lady a complete set of golden nanmu." Or perhaps a maid suggested, "We should ask the wife of the Marquis of Dingbei to be the perfect match for our young lady. She has two sons and one daughter, and her husband and wife are in harmony." The unexpected wedding was a cause for great joy, and the Duke of Ying's mansion was filled with anticipation for the upcoming event.
Luo Shenyuan went to Fuxue Hutong overnight and told Luo Chengzhang about his proposal to Yining.
Luo Chengzhang was being served dinner by Aunt Guo, and he choked for a long time when he heard this.
Luo Shenyuan had already proposed marriage before telling him, which was actually just a notification. Whether he agreed or not, it would have no effect on his decision.
Luo Shenyuan won the top spot in the imperial examination and quickly rose to the position of Vice Minister of Works. What a lucrative position! The Ministry of Works oversaw the nation's civil engineering, water conservancy projects, munitions, military equipment, mining, textiles, and coinage. He established the Luo family as a prominent figure, bringing them immense fame in the capital. As the most influential figure in the family, Luo Chengzhang could only offer advice and counsel to Luo Shenyuan. However, he had no power over Luo Shenyuan's decisions.
But he couldn't help but say, "Ridiculous! You and her grew up together as brother and sister. Others may not know, but don't you? You...how can I face the Luo family ancestors with this?"
"I'm just letting you know," Luo Shenyuan said, unmoved. "I've already asked Lord Xu to be a witness, and he's agreed. The wedding will take place within two weeks. Just come when the time comes, and I'll take care of the rest."
Luo Chengzhang's face was frozen. Aunt Guo was so frightened by the confrontation between the father and son that she dared not say a word. She retreated with Xuan Ge'er, who was already ten years old.
"You...you've had feelings for her since she was still your sister?" Luo Chengzhang squeezed out a sentence, "You've treated her differently since she was a child."
Luo Shenyuan was silent. "Father, I've known for a long time that Yi Ning is not my biological sister." He said, "I knew it when my grandmother was dying."
Luo Chengzhang's face looked even uglier.
Luo Shenyuan added: "I have already told my mother about this, and she is very happy. I also assumed that you agreed. Before my grandmother left, she asked me to protect Yining. If she knew that I was going to marry Yining today, she would definitely be very pleased in her grave. After all, I will be able to protect her forever in the future." He spoke slowly when he said this.
Luo Chengzhang looked at his son with a very unfamiliar look in his eyes.
Luo Shenyuan finished speaking and left Luo Chengzhang's residence. As he walked outside, he stared into the dark night, speechless for a long moment. He knew full well that even if he didn't know Yi Ning wasn't his biological sister, his inner desire wouldn't have diminished in the slightest. If he continued like that, he might one day lose control and do something to hurt her. Fortunately, she wasn't his biological sister.
He pulled his cloak closer and walked out the door silently surrounded by people.
*
Regardless of who was happy and who was sad that night, Cheng Lang did not sleep the whole night.
Cheng Lang took a nap, reclining in a Dongpo chair. The pine oil lamp on the long table had burned out, and he ignored the sudden darkness in the study. He clasped a jade ring on his finger, the tapping sound resonating distinctly in the long night. He closed his eyes, the firelight giving his face a jade-white hue. In the stillness of the night, he could occasionally hear someone moving outside.
The study door creaked open, and someone knelt before him: "Master Cheng."
"Yeah." He responded lightly.
"I've found out," the kneeling man said. "Miss Lianfu said someone took her to the Xie family in Xinqiao Hutong, where a very beautiful girl met her and told her this. She told her to come to you with a fabricated story about her pregnancy, and told her to tell it in front of others, otherwise you would definitely deny it... It was this girl who wanted to go to the Duke of Ying's mansion."
Cheng Lang suddenly opened his eyes, his tone cold: "Xie Yun."
The kneeling man was a little confused: "I don't quite understand. You and Miss Xie have no connection at all. Why is she picking on you?"
"What else could it be? She must have known that her grandfather was interested in me, so she wanted to ruin my reputation and prevent me from marrying her." Cheng Lang knew women like Xie Yun very well. He sneered, "She has someone in her heart. She is interested in our new Minister of Works, Lord Luo." He coughed a few times in anger when he said this.
Xie Yun was such a fool. He had never thought of marrying her, nor had he ever targeted her. She was fine. She actually used Lian Fu to harm him, causing him to miss out on what he wanted most. How could Cheng Lang not hate her? He wanted to devour her blood and flesh!
It was clearly hopeless, but Wei Ling gave him the greatest hope. He had even imagined that in the future, they would be together. Yi Ning would wake up in his arms every morning. What a wonderful thing that would be. He could kiss her forehead and coax her back to sleep. He would treat her with all his heart, unlike any other woman. But Xie Yun shattered his hopes, and for such a ridiculous reason.
"Speaking of Lord Luo Shenyuan..." the man continued, "After you left, he went into the Duke of Yingguo's mansion and didn't come out for a long time. After he came out, he went towards Fuxue Hutong."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Lang twirled the jade ring in his hand. He had a vague premonition and asked, "Did he go to Fuxue Hutong so late at night?"
Not far from Fuxue Hutong is the office of Luo Shenyuan's father, Luo Chengzhang.
Cheng Lang remembered a lot of things.
When Yi Ning was nearly raped by Shen Yu, Luo Shenyuan's anxious expression was completely different from his usual calm support. That day, when he abducted Yi Ning, Luo Shenyuan's face was gloomy when he came to find her. He lay back in his armchair, suddenly feeling as if he had walked into a trap, and the person behind him was looming.
Another person came in with a report, bowing and saying, "Fourth Young Master, the old master wants you to come over. Regarding how to deal with that girl's matter... you still need to come up with a plan."
"What rules?" Cheng Lang didn't want to care about the child at all. He said coldly, "I will send Lianfu out of the capital tonight and find a place to settle her. Just tell the old man directly that this person and this child have never appeared and no one has ever seen them."
If he knew there was a conspiracy behind it, he wouldn't let it go so easily.
Lian Fu's presence was very restrictive, and he would not let Lian Fu get in the way of him. He would settle accounts with Xie Yun, this woman, sooner or later.
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