Chapter 686 Falling into the Water

Jiao returned to Duke Xin's mansion in a daze and rushed into her own yard.

Yu Chongjie swayed slightly, and walked unsteadily towards his own yard. He was in no mood to care about Jiao.

Yu Mingzhu had been keeping an eye on Jiao's courtyard. When she heard that Jiao had returned home, she immediately rushed over and acted expectantly, "Mother, what did the princess say?"

Jiao was already feeling very upset because of her eldest son's resentment. When she heard Yu Mingzhu ask this, she thought of the cold treatment she had received from Xingxing, and she became even more sad, with tears in her eyes.

When Yu Mingzhu saw Jiao's expression, she knew that the incident must be unpleasant. Although she was proud in her heart, she looked even more considerate and said with great self-blame: "Alas, mother, this is all my fault. Princess Fusui hated me to begin with, and mother helped me to mediate, and I was wronged..."

Listening to my daughter's thoughtful words, and then thinking about those two troublesome people, it's like heaven and earth compared to them!

Jiao was deeply moved and held Yu Mingzhu's hand tightly: "... Zhuzhu, don't worry, no matter what, you are my daughter."

The considerate and gentle expression on Yu Mingzhu's face suddenly froze.

No, this is different from what she thought!

Shouldn't her mother grit her teeth and say that she must keep her in the Duke Xin's Mansion?

Why would you say that directly? No matter what...

It sounds like you're giving up.

"Mother..." Yu Mingzhu's eyes welled up with tears, and she looked at Jiao with red eyes, "I can't bear to leave you. I won't be able to take care of you anymore. If you have a headache or fever, I won't be able to rush over to serve you medicine right away... You must take good care of yourself."

Jiao felt heartbroken when she heard Yu Mingzhu's earnest exhortation.

The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a long time. Jiao was very tired, so Yu Mingzhu stayed by Jiao's bed and accompanied her to sleep, looking like a perfect daughter.

After Jiao fell asleep, Yu Mingzhu quietly left the room and told Jiao's maid in a sad tone: "Be sure to take good care of my mother."

Jiao's maid knelt down and responded, and Yu Mingzhu then left the main courtyard with a sad face.

However, when they were alone, the sadness on Yu Mingzhu's face turned into a cold expression.

She thought coldly in her heart, everyone said how much they loved her, but when it really came to this critical moment, didn't they still treat her as an abandoned person?

Yu Mingzhu's expression became increasingly cold and indifferent. Her maidservant followed behind her timidly, not daring to speak a word.

It was not until Yu Mingzhu turned into a small road that the maid suddenly realized that this road did not seem to be the way back to their yard?

This seems to be... the way to the eldest young master's yard?

The maid didn't dare to say anything. She just looked at their eldest daughter and rubbed her eyes hard to make her eyes look redder.

The maid lowered her head, pretending to be blind.

The deeds of her entire family are in the hands of the eldest daughter, what can she do?

…

Yu Mingzhu entered Yu Chongjie's yard with red eyes.

When Mao was still around, Yu Mingzhu had come to Yu Chongjie's yard countless times. At that time, Mao had taken great care of the yard, and it was full of vitality everywhere. It was obvious that she had put a lot of thought into it.

However, now, the flowers and plants in the yard are still arranged as before, and the trees planted have not changed, but it gives people a feeling of lifelessness, desolation and loneliness.

Yu Mingzhu was not paying attention to the furnishings in the yard. She politely asked the servant on duty in the yard, "Is my elder brother in the house?"

The boy was a little hesitant.

As soon as Yu Mingzhu saw him, she knew that Yu Chongjie was inside, but for some other reason, the servant felt that it was not convenient for Yu Chongjie to see her?

Yu Mingzhu suppressed her anger, with a pitiful look on her face. She shouted into the house, "Brother, are you mad at me? I've come here many times, but you didn't see me. Do you know that we are seeing each other less and less?"

The girl's voice was extremely sad.

Not long after, heavy footsteps were heard in the room, and after a while, the door creaked open.

Yu Chongjie looked at Yu Mingzhu with a somewhat decadent expression, his eyes were somewhat complicated, and he didn't speak for a while.

Yu Mingzhu's eyes became redder and she called out "Brother" in a trembling voice.

Yu Chongjie stood at the door with a very complicated expression.

He truly loved Yu Mingzhu for so many years, and even though he knew something was wrong, he couldn't give up the brother-sister relationship all at once.

But after he divorced Mao Fuqiu, he realized what true heartbreak was.

He ignored Yu Mingzhu during this period. It was more like a punishment for himself than a punishment for Yu Mingzhu.

At this moment, the little sister whom he had doted on for so many years was standing not far from him. She was frail and lonely, shivering slightly in the wind, with red and swollen eyes and a sad look in her eyes...

Yu Chongjie closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Brother…”

Yu Mingzhu trembled again.

Yu Chongjie opened his eyes and said in a shrill voice: "It's cold outside. If you have anything to say, come inside and talk."

Yu Mingzhu couldn't help but feel a secret feeling of joy and pride in her heart.

Look, even though her elder brother was so miserable because of his divorce from Mao Fuqiu, he was still willing to accept her!

This is what Yu Mingzhu wants, that others must put her in the most important position no matter what!

Yu Mingzhu lowered her head and followed Yu Chongjie into the house.

She shuddered.

There was a floor heating in the room, but Yu Chongjie left several windows open, so the heat dissipated and the room became very cold.

Yu Mingzhu's eyes were red and swollen: "Brother, do you usually not take care of your body?"

Yu Chongjie paused, then got up and closed all the windows in the room.

Yu Mingzhu couldn't help but lean towards Yu Chongjie and wanted to lean in his arms.

"Brother——"

Yu Chongjie's body stiffened slightly and he took a step back.

Yu Chongjie turned his eyes away and didn't look at Yu Mingzhu: "Zhuzhu, you are already grown up, and we have to avoid suspicion between siblings."

When the words "avoid suspicion" came out, Yu Mingzhu was struck by lightning.

She burst into tears, "Brother, you have become estranged from me. Is it because you know that I am not your biological sister?"

Whenever Yu Chongjie saw Yu Mingzhu's tears, he felt as if his heart was broken and he wanted to bring the best things in the world to Yu Mingzhu.

But now, seeing Yu Mingzhu's tears again, Yu Chongjie felt that perhaps he had tasted another kind of extreme pain. At the moment, there was no pain in his heart, but a little bit of disgust.

Is there anything wrong with what he said about avoiding suspicion?

But his sister always uses tears to threaten him!

Why did he think that the sky would fall if his sister cried?

Yu Chongjie's expression became increasingly stiff.

Yu Mingzhu gritted her teeth and threw herself into Yu Chongjie's arms without caring about anything.

She wrapped her arms around Yu Chongjie's waist, pressed her face against his chest, and cried, "...Brother, please let me hold you for a while longer. Grandmother has given mother an ultimatum. After my birthday, I will move out of the Xin Guo Mansion."

Yu Chongjie actually knew that the old lady of Duke Xin wanted Yu Mingzhu to move out of Duke Xin's mansion, but he had been living in a state of confusion and depression during this period, and had no time to take care of himself, so he had no time to care about other things.

Thinking about it this way, his sister is indeed a bit pitiful.

After living in the Xin Guo Mansion for more than ten years with luxurious clothes and food, she suddenly found out that she was not her biological child and had to leave her family and move out of the place where she had lived for more than ten years.

Yu Chongjie originally wanted to push Yu Mingzhu's hand away, but slowly let it go.

He sighed and said in a gloomy voice: "Zhuzhu, you know my grandmother's temper. I can't help you with this matter."

Yu Mingzhu pressed her face against Yu Chongjie, crying even harder: "I know, big brother, I know everything. I just feel so sad when I think about moving out of the Duke's Mansion in two days and no longer being able to see you, my second brother, and my parents every day..."

Yu Mingzhu cried so pitifully. Yu Chongjie sighed, put his hand on Yu Mingzhu's back and patted her gently.

Yu Mingzhu seemed to be even more excited, crying out of breath: "Brother...you, you still want to love me, right?...I thought, I thought you divorced your sister-in-law and you would blame me for the rest of your life...But brother, you know me well, and I don't want you to divorce your sister-in-law...Brother, brother, please love me."

Yu Mingzhu cried bitterly.

Yu Chongjie finally let out a long sigh.

His voice was slightly hoarse: "Zhuzhu, Fuqiu and I are getting divorced, and I am the only one who is to blame. If I could be better to Fuqiu, she would not have left with such a broken heart. You don't have to cry anymore."

Yu Mingzhu cried even more sadly, just like when she was a child and acted coquettishly in Yu Chongjie's arms, she cried and twisted her body: "No, brother, Mingzhu feels bad, just let me cry. Brother, when I am gone, will you miss me? Mother said she would give me a small courtyard to live in, will you and my second brother come to see me?"

However, before Chongjie could answer, Yu Mingzhu pushed Yu Chongjie's chest with both hands, pushing herself away from Yu Chongjie's embrace, like a tenacious little white flower, tears welling up in her eyes, her voice extremely sad: "Brother, I know so many things have happened, and you and second brother don't treat me as well as before. In the past, you would feel so distressed when I frowned, but now I am crying like this, I am afraid that you just feel annoyed... I should have recognized this reality earlier. Brother, I came here today to say goodbye to you. No matter whether you regard me as your sister or not, in my heart, you will always be my irreplaceable brother."

After Yu Mingzhu finished speaking, she turned around in tears and was about to leave.

Yu Chongjie was deeply moved. When Yu Mingzhu was about to leave, he couldn't help but call out, "Zhuzhu."

Yu Mingzhu suppressed her excitement and turned around slowly with a very sad and beautiful voice: "Brother..."

However, Yu Chongjie did not say anything else. He just took a cloak from the side and put it on Yu Mingzhu's shoulders with his own hands: "It's cold outside, wear something thicker, don't catch a cold."

Yu Mingzhu was extremely disappointed!

Even though she is like this, her elder brother still refuses to reconcile with her!

Yu Mingzhu suppressed the resentment in her heart and smiled sadly: "...Okay, I'll listen to you, big brother."

Yu Mingzhu returned to her own yard wearing Yu Chongjie's war cape.

However, half an hour later, Yu Mingzhu left the house again.

This time, Yu Mingzhu didn't return home for two hours.

Just when Jiao couldn't find Yu Mingzhu anywhere and was getting anxious, someone outside came with a lantern and sent Yu Mingzhu back to the Mansion of Duke Xin.

However, what shocked Jiao so much that she was speechless was that the one who sent Yu Mingzhu back home was actually the Fourth Prince Wei Shibu!

That's all!

But when Yu Mingzhu got off Wei Shibu's carriage, the cloak she was wearing was the cloak of the Fourth Prince Wei Shibu!

Looking at the hair that had been wiped dry but not completely dried, Jiao felt dizzy.

The fourth prince Wei Shibu is a nobleman who came to the Duke of Xin's Mansion. In addition to Jiao, the Duke of Xin's Mansion's son Yu Shanglian also came out to greet him.

Yu Mingzhu was wrapped in a cloak made of dangerous materials, and with tears in her eyes, she knelt down in front of Jiao and Yu Shanglian: "Dad, Mom..."

When Jiao saw this situation, he felt mixed emotions.

Yu Shanglian seldom saw Yu Mingzhu these days. Firstly, he was really busy. Secondly, he felt very uncomfortable ever since he knew that the daughter he had doted on for so many years was not his own flesh and blood. So he simply chose to out of sight and out of mind.

Seeing Yu Mingzhu kneeling in front of him, he could guess what had happened.

"Zhuzhu, you..."

But before Yu Shanglian finished speaking, the Fourth Prince Wei Shibu hurriedly said, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. This is actually a good deed that your daughter has done."

Yu Shanglian and Jiao both looked at Wei Shibu with some hesitation.

Wei Shibu sighed, "Your daughter is a noble person. In such a cold winter, a child was playing by the river and fell into the river after stepping on the ice. Your daughter jumped in to save the child without hesitation... In such cold weather, after your daughter rescued the child, she was exhausted. I happened to meet her and rescued your daughter."

Yu Shanglian frowned slightly and bowed to Wei Shibu: "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my daughter."

Jiao felt distressed and pulled the pale-faced Yu Mingzhu to the ground: "Zhuzhu, my dear Zhuzhu...you child..."

Wei Shibu said solemnly, "Your Highness, there is no need to be polite. There is just one thing. Saving people is urgent, and I have to make decisions based on urgency. This will inevitably damage your daughter's innocence... But I am not an irresponsible person. Your Highness, I am willing to go to the palace tomorrow and ask my father, the emperor, and my mother, the queen, to marry your daughter."

Yu Shanglian's frown deepened.

Although my daughter is blessed to have such a good place, but...

If she was her own flesh and blood, she could marry the prince, but the problem was that the daughter was not her own flesh and blood!

Jiao couldn't help but smile: "Really?"

Wei Shibu nodded solemnly: "Of course. Although I have to be responsible for your daughter, your daughter's kindness and noble character are also what I value most."

Yu Shanglian's brows relaxed slightly, and he was about to talk to Wei Shibu about Yu Mingzhu's life experience, but Yu Mingzhu fainted at the right moment.

"Zhuzhu!"

The Xinguo Mansion was in chaos.

Wei Shibu didn't want to stay any longer, so he said goodbye and left.