Lu Xingjian remained silent for a long time before finally straightening up, tilting his head slightly, and standing still with his eyes closed.
A gentle breeze blew by, and osmanthus blossoms fell on his shoulders and hair.
Su Wanwan simply sat quietly in her wheelchair, lost in thought.
The only sound in the air was the rustling of leaves in the wind, a silence so profound it was heartbreaking.
The setting sun cast the shadows of two people on the ground, one standing and one sitting.
Their shadows were both very long, like two steep mountain peaks, gazing at each other from afar, never able to get close.
When she came to her senses, it was already dark. Su Wanying brought a thin blanket and covered her legs, looking at her with concern.
She looked around, but Lu Xingjian had already disappeared.
Su Nan returned very late, but still came to find Su Wanwan, his expression somewhat grave.
"Things are getting more and more complicated. Prince Rong, Lu Youting, is going to the Duke of Wei's mansion tomorrow. Rumors are circulating that you were pregnant with his child back then."
Su Wanwan was surprised; she hadn't expected that Prince Rong would want to get involved in this mess.
“Father, I will go tomorrow too.”
Su Nan frowned: "This matter has hurt you too much. You don't need to go. Just stay home and rest."
Su Wanwan's nose tingled slightly.
She and her father were not close, and they rarely met.
Even when she returned home for a short stay of half a month, her father was busy with work from early morning to late at night, and he hardly ate or spoke to her.
At that time, my father had already remarried and had just had a younger brother. They were now a loving family.
She was merely an outsider bearing the Su family name.
If it weren't for my father's trip to Beijing this time, they wouldn't know each other at all.
Unexpectedly, her father never asked her a single question, nor did he ever blame her; he simply told her to live her life in peace.
Instead, he went to deal with the Xu family's attack on his own.
“I must go. Prince Rong is different from others; he understands me better. If he says something and I'm not there, it will be difficult to handle.”
Su Wanwan analyzed the pros and cons quite rationally.
Su Nan agreed anyway.
As the late emperor's younger brother, Prince Rong had been married for many years but had never left the capital to take up his fiefdom like other princes, which speaks volumes about his ability and ambition.
The late emperor had only one son, Lu Xingjian.
Lu Xingjian has no children to this day.
Of the princes still in the capital, only Lu Youting remains.
If the emperor were to meet with an accident, Prince Rong would have the advantage of being in a favorable position.
His father-in-law is now the commander of the Five Cities Garrison.
The involvement of a prince who is usually extremely low-key should not be taken lightly.
Su Wanwan was not idle.
The next morning, he quietly gave his trusted confidant a few words of advice.
When they returned to the Duke of Wei's mansion, Prince Rong, Lu Youting, had already arrived.
He smiled warmly: "Wanwan, are you feeling better?"
Su Wanwan lowered her eyes and nodded lightly: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
After so many years, when he looked at her with those gentle eyes again, she felt as if she had been through a lifetime.
Yan Rong, who was standing behind Su Wanwan, stiffened for a moment and quickly lowered her head.
Lu Youting assumed she was shy, so he looked away with a half-smile and said to Xu Chengbi:
"Lord of Wei, you should have heard that Wanwan and I were in love back then."
"Today I have come to propose marriage and to welcome her into the palace with the rites due to a concubine."
Su Wanwan froze on the spot.
My grandfather's words suddenly flashed through my mind.
When Lu Youting got married, she cried until her eyes were red and waited for her grandfather at the entrance of the Cabinet.
Her grandfather looked at her with pity, and asked in a gentle tone:
"If you weren't a daughter of the Su family, would His Highness Prince Rong have insisted on marrying you?"
She found her grandfather's words extremely ironic; cunning politicians only care about interests and have no concept of pure love.
It wasn't until the death of the late emperor's youngest brother, Prince Shen, Lu Youkai, that news of Princess Rong's pregnancy spread.
Prince Rong, who was supposed to depart for his fiefdom, successfully remained in the capital.
A series of coincidences led to an seemingly impossible outcome, and she slowly began to understand her grandfather's meaning.
His Highness Prince Rong is far more complex than he appears.
Now that the Su family has fallen from power and her reputation is ruined, Prince Rong is determined to marry her as a concubine.
Not giving up after the first attempt, he came back to ask for her a second time.
What do you want from her?
She really couldn't understand it.
Xu Chengbi stroked his beard, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes:
"Your Highness is indeed a man of few words. However..."
Lu Youting is very generous and kind:
"I only wish to protect Wanwan. Please feel free to make any requests, Your Highness, and I will do everything in my power to fulfill them."
Su Wanwan clenched her fists and quietly looked at Prince Rong.
Su Nan, who was sitting to the side without saying a word, glanced at Lu Youting for a few seconds, then at Yan Rong behind Su Wanwan, and finally frowned but looked at Su Wanwan.
Xu Chengbi's eyes flickered, and he remained silent for a moment before looking at Xu Pengju.
Xu Pengju, standing to the side, was straightforward and frank:
"Your Highness is magnanimous, and the Duke's Mansion is naturally willing to help you achieve your goal."
"However, Su's dowry is also old stuff. It would be inappropriate for her to take it to the Prince's Mansion. It would be better to leave it in the Duke's Mansion."
"Your Highness has arranged new items for her. What do you think of this?"
Prince Rong was truly a clever man; he didn't mention the unseemly fact that Su Wanwan's unborn child was a bastard, so everyone could save face.
Lu Youting smiled as gently as a spring breeze:
"I have no objection to this arrangement."
Su Wanwan's heart sank.
Prince Rong didn't even care about her dowry.
So what's the point?
She laughed sarcastically: "One of you wants to take my dowry, and the other wants to take my person. It's quite a show, with you two singing in unison."
Su Nan said calmly:
"They just think that the Su family has fallen from power and can't support you anymore."
Xu Chengbi's old face flushed slightly:
"Brother Su, why put it so harshly? This way, the matter can be resolved satisfactorily. What's wrong with that?"
Su Nan scoffed coldly, lightly dusting off his sleeves as if they were dirty:
"A satisfactory resolution? You've achieved a satisfactory resolution, but in the end, my Wanwan has been branded a harlot, her dowry has been stolen, and she'll be left to live as a concubine at the mercy of others."
"Our Su family's daughter's reputation has also been affected. Is this what you call a satisfactory resolution?"
Lu Youting frowned slightly as he looked at Su Wanwan, his eyes filled with deep affection:
"Wanwan, from now on we can stay together forever."
"You don't need to worry about the princess. She has been ill and bedridden for a long time, so she won't make things difficult for you."
"You've always considered yourself superior and regarded money as dirt. I suppose you wouldn't bother with such mundane things as dowry money, would you?"
Su Wanwan gave a cold laugh.
What a clever tactic of moral blackmail!
What made him think she would want to stay with him forever?
And what makes you think she wouldn't care about the dowry money?
She glanced absentmindedly toward the doorway.
It seemed as if they were waiting for someone to appear.
Su Nan interrupted Lu Youting:
"The Su family daughter will not become a concubine. Your Highness, please give up on that idea. Wanwan will not marry you as a concubine."
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