Back Garden
Chi Yan rarely gets to leave the courtyard to clear his head.
“Master, you’ve been in the manor for so long, and you’ve finally decided to come out for a walk. I heard that the young masters are all at Wangyue Pavilion. Would you like to go over there?” Yuanshan asked.
"No, they won't welcome me."
"Sigh." Amu sighed softly.
The group strolled to the bayberry tree, when Sang Yu, carrying a box of pastries, walked towards them. He happened to run into Chi Yan and the others. Chi Yan wasn't wearing a mask today, so Sang Yu didn't recognize him.
"Who are you?" Sang Yu spoke first, stopping curiously and looking Chi Yan up and down from a distance.
This young master is exceptionally handsome!
Chi Yan, Yuan Shan, and A Mu stopped in their tracks, their gazes all falling on Xiao Yu. What caught their eyes was a pair of alluring and captivating eyes, beneath which lay a fair and soft face, delicate and beautiful.
Seeing that Sang Yu was only thirteen or fourteen years old, Amu couldn't help but ask, "What a handsome young master! Whose child are you?"
Without hesitation, Sang Yu replied, "I am from Hemian Garden."
Amu was puzzled. He had never heard of a child in the Lord's residence.
Chi Yan greeted Sang Yu with a smile, "Young Master, where are you headed?"
When Sang Yu saw the handsome young man smile at her, she immediately felt a sense of goodwill. A polite smile appeared on her innocent face. "I want to go play in my brother's courtyard. Are you my sister's new husband? I've never seen you before in the manor."
"Who is your sister?" Amu asked.
"My sister is the young prince."
Yuanshan hurriedly explained, "Master, Brother Amu, this is Young Master Sangyu. His Highness brought him back to the manor a year ago and settled him in Hemian Garden. The master has recognized Young Master Sangyu as his sworn brother."
"So you are my lord's sworn brother." Amu bowed and greeted Young Master Sang.
"No need to be polite." Sang Yu stepped forward and gestured to Amu, then turned to Chi Yan, "This young master hasn't answered my question yet. Are you my sister's new husband?"
Chi Yan raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Young Master Sang."
Which courtyard do you live in?
"I live in Listening to the Wind Pavilion."
Listening to the Wind Pavilion?
Sang Yu suddenly opened her eyes wide. Wasn't that the young master surnamed Chi who lived in Tingfeng Pavilion? The one who hurt her sister?
Sang Yu tentatively asked, "What's your name?"
"Chi Yan."
It really is true! Sang Yu's smiling face instantly fell.
Chi Yan: "???"
Since Chi Yan entered the manor, the husbands have been in low spirits. Wen Yanche did not want to affect Sang Yu, so he had kept him in the courtyard to read and write for the past month. Today, Sang Yu begged for a long time before he was allowed to come to Wangyue Pavilion to play.
Although Wen Yanche wanted to protect him, Sang Yu had already learned about what had happened in the mansion from the servants.
Knowing that the young master Chi, who had hurt his sister and made his husbands "depressed," had moved into Tingfeng Pavilion, the servants exaggeratedly told him that young master Chi was more favored by His Highness than any other young man in the mansion.
Sang Yu remained silent, staring intently at Chi Yan, thinking to herself, "He's so handsome, no wonder all my brothers are heartbroken over him, no wonder my sister dotes on him, and even after being hurt by him, she still keeps him around."
In Xiaoyu's opinion, apart from Wen Yanche, no other young man in the mansion was more handsome than Chi Yan.
Sang Yu felt secretly aggrieved for her husbands, and even more heartbroken for Leng Qingning.
Seeing the changes in Sang Yu's expression, Chi Yan knew that the boy's thoughts were so obvious that they could be read at a glance. He knew that the other party must know him or have heard about him from others. Not wanting to make a fool of himself, he politely took his leave.
“Young Master Sang, you must know me. In that case, I won’t say anything more.”
It's obvious that no one in this mansion would say a good word about him.
"Young Master Sang, please." Chi Yan politely gestured for Sang Yu to go first.
He thought the child was very pretty, had a good impression of her, and had no intention of arguing with a minor.
After hearing this, Sang Yu was about to leave when a plan suddenly came to mind.
He raised his delicate face and smiled slightly at Chi Yan, pretending not to recognize him, and said, "Brother Chi, I've never heard of you before. I only know that Tingfeng Pavilion is the residence of a concubine. So you are the future concubine? I'm going to Concubine Gu's place. Would you like to come with me?"
Chi Yan didn't understand why Sang Yu was pretending not to know and inviting him to go together. Her expression clearly indicated that she knew something, but he didn't want to see them at the moment. After thinking for a moment, he still refused and said, "No."
"Why? Doesn't Brother Chi want to get to know other young men?"
"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Sang Yu anticipated his refusal and said with a regretful expression, "Alright then, maybe next time." She then praised Chi Yan, "Big brother, you're so handsome, can we be friends?"
Chi Yan answered without hesitation, "Of course."
"Okay, then you can just call me Xiaoyu," Sangyu said with a smile.
Then she turned her back and slowly took out a plate of delicate lotus flower cakes from the pastry box and handed them to Chi Yan, saying, "Big brother, this is for you since it's our first meeting."
Chi Yan didn't think much of it and smiled as she accepted the lotus cake. She brought it to her nose and smelled it. "It smells very good. Thank you, Xiao Yu."
"You're welcome. This was made by our head chef. Big brother, please try it and see if it's good."
"Okay." Chi Yan politely picked up a piece and tasted it carefully.
A smile bloomed on Sang Yu's face, a sly glint flashing in his eyes. "Is it delicious?"
"Very good." It definitely tastes much better than what you get outside.
"Big brother, I'll be going now. See you again when you have time."
"good."
Sang Yu smiled and bid farewell to Chi Yan before turning and leaving.
Watching Sang Yu leave, Chi Yan wondered why Sang Yu wanted to be friends with him.
I returned to Tingfeng Pavilion with my doubts.
Just then, Leng Qingning arrived at the door.
"Ning'er, you've finally come to see me." Chi Yan welcomed her into the main hall.
After serving tea, Yuanshan dismissed all the servants, leaving the two of them alone.
Leng Qingning entered the main hall and took her seat, adopting the airs of a crown princess. "I'm not busy today, and I happen to have some things to discuss with the Lord."
After a month, Leng Qingning finally stepped into the courtyard. Chi Yan was overjoyed and had a lot to say to her, but when he heard that she had something to say, he held back and asked her, "Ning'er, what do you want to say?"
Leng Qingning went straight to the point: "Your Majesty, I hope you can stay quietly in the manor and stop sending people to find me in the middle of the night, which would only anger the young masters."
Chi Yan asked, puzzled, "When did I send someone to look for you?"
"Last night, didn't you send Yuanshan to tell you that you had something urgent to report?"
"Yuanshan? I didn't ask him to go." Chi Yan looked a little confused.
Hearing this, Leng Qingning also felt strange, but she didn't want to dwell on the matter at the moment. "Your Majesty, I came here to explain to you that there is still a rift between us. Therefore, I hope that you can stay in the manor and behave yourself in the future. I hope that Your Majesty will be more accommodating to my husbands and not do anything to upset them."
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