Chapter 363 The Matchmaker Begins to Arrange Marriages
Jiang Zhi looked at him blankly, "Why?"
Wasn't it Lu Yuan who went to the Emperor to ask for permission himself?
Lu Yuan looked up at Feng Shaoyuan, who was not far away, talking to Feng Yuan with his head down.
So he held the peeled chestnut directly to her lips, saying, "His Majesty knows my feelings for you. The Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't wrongly accuse the Feng family. If it were the Imperial Guard, not only would they have a huge presence, but they would also rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."
Jiang Zhi's heart skipped a beat, and the chestnut in her mouth immediately lost its flavor.
But Lu Yuan continued, "However, if the Feng family makes any unusual moves at this time, not only me, but you too will not escape punishment."
"What exactly does Lord Lu want to say?" Jiang Zhi's dark eyes were filled with inquiry.
Lu Yuan's voice was icy, "Advice your cousin to stay in the capital peacefully for a while and then go back. The Embroidered Uniform Guard isn't so easily dealt with. Even if you help them find an excuse to send me away, there will still be people following me in the shadows, understand?"
So the method she just came up with simply won't work.
Jiang Zhi's heart sank to the bottom, and her expression became even more listless. "I understand."
Seeing her dejected look, Lu Yuan couldn't help but pinch her cheek. "Did you have this idea just now?"
Jiang Zhi hadn't expected Lu Yuan to be so alert. She slapped his hand away and, in a fit of despair, said, "So you knew all along."
"Then why didn't you continue?" Lu Yuan leaned closer, his eyes like a deep sea where no emotion could be seen.
Jiang Zhi muttered softly, "Isn't this because I'm afraid you'll be punished by the Emperor?"
Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then looked at her and quickly smiled.
He rarely showed any expression on his face, and even when he smiled, it was faint; his emotions were as stable as an ice sculpture devoid of feelings.
It was rare for such a smile to emanate from his eyes, like a ray of warm spring sunshine suddenly falling on a rooftop that had been covered in snow all year round, making him look completely different from his usual aloof demeanor.
Jiang Zhi felt uncomfortable under his gaze, her fingertips unconsciously fidgeting with the armrest of her wheelchair. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"I don't know either," Lu Yuan said with a smile, "I just wanted to see you more."
Jiang Zhi then beckoned him to bend down.
She fed him the chestnut meat in her hand.
Her fingertips brushed against his dry, soft lips, and a tingling sensation spread from her fingertips all the way up.
"Is it good?" Jiang Zhi asked him.
Lu Yuan's gaze remained fixed on her, he casually chewed a few bites and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, "Delicious."
His gaze was so direct and intense that Jiang Zhi couldn't handle it. She could only hear her heart beating irregularly, and even her breathing became rapid.
She lowered her head, avoiding eye contact, and said, "Don't look at me like that."
Such words were too domineering and rude, but Lu Yuan merely curled his lips, stuffed all the peeled chestnuts into her hand, and replied, "Okay."
Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard was keeping a close watch, Jiang Zhi gave up on the idea of helping Feng Shaoyuan get rid of Lu Yuan so he could do his business. The group returned to the Shen residence after a short while.
Before going to bed that night, Jiang Zhi was still racking her brains about what to do about this matter when Feng Yuan, holding a pillow, knocked on her door.
"Cousin, can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked tentatively.
"What's wrong?"
Feng Yuan chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "I've seen so many new people and things in Kyoto these past few days, and I have so much to say to my cousin."
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but smile, "Come in."
Back in Xuzhou, Feng Yuan would also knock on her door in the middle of the night, and the two often slept in the same bed.
Feng Yuan kicked off her shoes and socks and climbed into Jiang Zhi's bed with practiced ease.
“Cousin, I really miss the days when you were in Xuzhou,” Feng Yuan came closer and took Jiang Zhi’s arm. “When can you come back to Xuzhou again?”
"Well, once my leg injury heals and I finish dealing with things in Kyoto, I'll probably have a lot of free time. I'll come to Xuzhou to visit you then."
“Good, good,” Feng Yuan smiled with narrowed eyes, “If those young ladies knew that the country girl they used to look down on was actually Princess Qinghe, they would be so shocked they would drop their jaws!”
"I'm also going to bring back a lot of specialties from Kyoto that Xuzhou doesn't have, so they'll be so envious!"
Feng Yuan rambled on and on, and as Jiang Zhi listened, she suddenly thought of something and was about to speak.
But then he thought of Lu Yuan's excellent hearing, and wondered where he was at that moment, so that he might be able to hear him.
So she asked Feng Yuan to help her up and sit down at the desk.
"What's wrong, cousin?" Feng Yuan draped an outer coat over her shoulders and casually put one on herself as well.
Jiang Zhi gestured to her that there were ears on the other side of the wall, lit a candle, held up her sleeve, ground ink, dipped her brush, and took out a piece of paper to write on.
Feng Yuan curiously leaned closer, but the more she looked, the more alarmed she became.
"I'm afraid I can't do it," she said, waving her hands repeatedly.
Jiang Zhi shook her head and wrote on the paper again.
After Feng Yuan finished reading, Jiang Zhi lit the paper on the oil lamp and set it on fire.
The Imperial Guards were ordered to keep an eye on Feng Shaoyuan's every move, but even with Xiao Xuanyou's secret assistance, they were hampered and unable to act.
However, they wouldn't be too wary of Feng Yuan, who was still young and a woman.
If this matter could be entrusted to her, it certainly wouldn't arouse the suspicion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Jiang Zhi patted her shoulder reassuringly, "Weren't you curious about the banquet in the capital and always wanted to see it? I'll take you to the banquet in a couple of days when my leg injury has healed. Then you can tell your sisters when you go back to Xuzhou."
Feng Yuan was still a little scared, "But I've never been there before, cousin."
"Don't worry, I'm here with you," Jiang Zhi said gently. "Besides, you're not even afraid of Commander Lu, so why would you be afraid of anyone else?"
Feng Yuan thought about it and felt that her cousin Jiang Zhi made sense.
It is said that Commander Lu is cold, ruthless, and never smiles. The higher one's position, the more afraid one is of the Embroidered Uniform Guard coming to one's door. Hearing the name of Commander Lu makes one even more terrified.
But she had long been used to Lu Yuan's cold demeanor in Xuzhou.
Are those people more frightening than Commander Lu?
What's more, she had her cousin Jiang Zhi with her.
“Since my cousin has said so, then if my brother agrees, I will go with you.”
She has always been bold, and once she had no more worries, she became even more fearless.
This made Jiang Zhi very gratified.
So once Jiang Zhi's legs were fully able to support her weight, she, who had previously kept to herself, began taking Feng Yuan to various gatherings of young ladies in the capital.
Chrysanthemum appreciation banquets, birthday parties, engagement parties, polo matches...
With Feng Shaoyuan's consent, Feng Yuan used her grandfather's keepsake to contact the wives of officials under the guise of a banquet, and had them personally deliver messages to their husbands.
Although it's troublesome, it's also much safer and more discreet.
Meanwhile, news of Jiang Zhi and Shen Ci'an's divorce gradually spread.
To Jiang Zhi's surprise, she was prepared to be ridiculed and humiliated at the banquet, but instead, she was met with a barrage of matchmakers and other women trying to arrange marriages for her.
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