At the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion in the capital, the night candles were brightly lit.
Cheng Lang sat in the front hall drinking tea, looking out at a privet tree in full bloom. On the branches, clusters of rice-sized flowers bloomed on the summer night, hidden beneath the green leaves, yet fragrant.
When he was still a child, Yi Ning took him to the front hall to pick privet flowers, letting him cup them in clean gauze. After drying, they could be made into sachets and placed by his pillow for peace of mind. She wore a plain green long jacket and a simple white jade bracelet on her wrist. The jade bracelet dangled from her hand, making her wrist look incredibly slender. To his young eyes, those hands were the most beautiful in the world. The fragrance of privet was also the most fragrant.
She has been dead for seven years now, and the privet has grown strong.
Cheng Lang was slightly lost in thought until a guard came out of the front hall, knelt down and called out, "Young Master."
Cheng Lang finally came to his senses, stood up, walked over and asked, "What's the matter?"
The guard took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to him. Cheng Lang opened it and read it, then sneered.
"He's caught." He closed the letter and said, "Daoyan is Fourth Uncle's honored guest, so you should treat him politely. Set up a small Buddhist temple for him and let him chant sutras and recite Buddhist scriptures all day long. Just don't run away and that'll be all."
The guard nodded, then hesitated for a moment before adding, "Sir, this year's top scholar in Northern Zhili has been awarded the title of Huangjia... It's Luo Shenyuan, the third son of the Luo family in Baoding."
After Cheng Lang returned from Baoding, he was so busy with personnel matters that he had long since stopped paying attention to Luo Shenyuan.
"He is not an ordinary person." Cheng Lang smiled and said calmly, "Maybe we will serve in the same court in the future. Let's wait and see."
He took the letter and went to the backyard of Cheng's house.
In the early years, when my eldest uncle, Lu Jiaran, was still around, the Ningyuan Marquisate was full of laughter and chatter, a lively scene. Later, my fourth uncle became the Marquis, the governor of Lu. He killed my eldest uncle, and the entire mansion changed. Although my second and third uncles were not affected, they were so frightened every time they saw my fourth uncle that they later took the initiative to live in the front yard. The number of people living in the backyard was very small.
Cheng Lang walked outside the study and saw that the maids outside were all standing. They moved silently and were well-trained. They didn't dare to say a word.
He walked in only after the maid passed the message and saw Lu Jiaxue standing behind a long desk, talking to his subordinates.
He called out "Uncle" and then sat beside him waiting for Lu Jiaxue to finish speaking.
Lu Jiaxue, now 27, was handsome and possessed a particularly gentle demeanor. He was tall and draped in a black crane cloak. Those who didn't know him would likely assume he had a very good temper. But in reality, he was quite cold and ruthless. When he killed Lu Jiaran, or when he led his troops on the battlefield, he never showed mercy.
Cheng Lang always remembered the indifferent look on his face when he walked in holding the bloody sword. He would never forget that scene in his life.
After Lu Jiaxue finished speaking, he took a sip of tea and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Cheng Lang respectfully presented the letter to him.
Lu Jiaxue opened it and read it, but said nothing. He picked up his pen and began to write. He wrote very steadily. After he finished, he folded the letter and said to him, "Give this letter to Daoyan. He will understand after reading it. Don't worry about him anymore."
Cheng Lang agreed. Lu Jiaxue took another sip of tea, looked at him and said slowly, "I heard that you've been discussing marriage with the daughter of the Dou family recently?"
Cheng Lang lowered his head, smiled slightly and said, "It's just a rumor, uncle, don't worry about it."
Lu Jiaxue glanced at Cheng Lang with an unmoved expression. After all, he had lived more than a decade longer than Cheng Lang. Cheng Lang's thoughts were practically laid out before him. Although he was a military commander, he probably understood the inner workings of those scholars better than they themselves did. Lu Jiaxue didn't point it out, looking away and saying calmly, "Grandpa Dou has always doted on his granddaughter. Don't overdo it."
There's nothing wrong with being a little romantic; he doesn't care.
Cheng Lang agreed again, and then Lu Jiaxue waved his hand: "Alright, you can leave now."
Cheng Lang smiled nonchalantly and exited Lu Jiaxue's study. Although he was well-known throughout Northern Zhili, and although he called Lu Jiaxue "Uncle," in Lu Jiaxue's eyes, he was nothing more than a chess piece in his hand.
Cheng Lang was walking along the corridor when he met a few maids carrying food boxes. When they saw him, they bowed and called him "cousin master".
Cheng Lang nodded and asked, "You guys were delivering something to the Marquis, how come I haven't seen him before?"
One of the maids said, "We are from the West Garden and don't often go out! No wonder the young master doesn't recognize us."
West Garden... Cheng Lang's face darkened. How could he forget that there was a West Garden in the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion!
The person living in Xiyuan is Xie Min.
Xie Min, the Crown Prince's wife, once renowned throughout the capital for her beauty and talent, was now a neglected middle-aged woman abandoned in a deserted courtyard. After Lu Jiaxue murdered her husband, Lu Jiaran, he spared Xie Min, demonstrating that he wasn't the type to kill her, and allowed her to move into the Western Garden. While she hadn't died, her life had been akin to death for so many years.
Sometimes Cheng Lang didn’t know who was more miserable, her or Luo Yining.
Luo Yining was young and had never experienced happiness before she was murdered. After her death, her husband rose to prominence, becoming the governor of Lu, commanding a large army. Xie Min, on the other hand, was accused of having Luo Yining killed and was imprisoned in Xiyuan for so many years.
Cheng Lang looked at the food box in the girl's hand, smiled and whispered, "You have to tell her, let her... definitely survive."
He glanced at Lu Jiaxue's study before leaving the backyard.
The end of September is the time when the weather is clear and the sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant.
Xuezhi was directing the maids to replace the Xiangfei bamboo curtains with Hangzhou silk curtains. Yining leaned against the window frame, eating pear slices mixed with osmanthus syrup while reciting the Book of Songs.
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