Chapter 55

 

Yuan Yu sent Jiang Bi Rou out of the city with divorce letter and money, and found a place for her to settle down according to the imperial decree, and informed the Jiang family with extreme benevolence.

In Yuan Mansion, Lu Shi Qing saw that Yuan Ci Xian had been sullen and unhappy after finished saying her piece, so he stepped forward and asked, “Yuan Ci Xian, this is the first time I come to your Yuan Mansion, and you don’t even invite me to sit?”

He was not talking nonsense. After all, as Xu Shan, he could only walk through the side gate, and now it was the first time he had crossed the threshold of the main gate openly.

Yuan Ci Xian felt apologetic upon hearing this. She had forgotten that he was still here.

She smiled embarrassedly: “Where do you want to sit, the central hall, the reception pavilion, or my boudoir?”

Lu Shi Qing choked, knowing that she was in a bad mood so she deliberately cracked a joke. He sighed: “I’m a fourth-rank official of the imperial court after all, take me to the central hall at the very least.” Although deep down in his heart, he would rather visit her boudoir.

Yuan Ci Xian led him to the central hall, and asked along the way: “Is our mansion much prettier than your Lu Mansion?”

Yuan Mansion had many strange shapes and colorful rockery, and there were also winding and twisting streams and canals around it, which was a very unsuitable place for Lu Shi Qing to live.

He had never seen the scene in the front yard when he came as Xu Shan, and just now he kept trying to figure out Yuan Ci Xian’s emotions, so he really didn’t pay attention. After hearing the words and looking around, he suddenly felt uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that he even walked a little faster, as if he wanted to go the central hall as soon as possible.

But Yuan Ci Xian stopped to him and said: “Go slowly. Sister-in-law’s matter is settled, I won’t go back to Lu Mansion with you, and I won’t be able to see you every day in the future, so you have to let me take a look a few more time now.”

After saying that, she sighed. She finally caught up with Lu Shi Qing’s winter solstice vacation, she originally wanted to take him to Zhongnan Mountain to see the snow, but brother really needed her company right now, and romance must wait.

She knew that her brother still felt more guilty towards Jiang Bi Rou, after all they were not only husband and wife, but they were also childhood sweethearts, so it was impossible for him to have no feelings at all.

Lu Shi Qing was mentally prepared for her decision, that’s why he followed her on this trip, fearing that after the problem solved, she would leave without saying goodbye. He stopped in his tracks, turned around, but stiffened his mouth: “What’s there to look?”

Yuan Ci Xian’s eyes bent, said, “Everything of you looks good.”

It was as if she had seen everything before.

In the end Lu Shi Qing slowed down and listened to her explain things one by one: “My luggage doesn’t have to be sent back, in case I still need to go to your house. But it will be the Twelfth month in a few days, and Father will come to Chang’an soon, so I have to be quieter these days. I can’t just come looking for you, or I will be murdered by him. By the way, remember to thank the old lady for me, just say thank you for her care these days, but there’s something happened in my family, so I will visit her again after the New Year.”

Lu Shi Qing frowned, “Understood.”

This girl was good at creating momentum, she just moved home, but she created this depress mood of parting for life. Now, even he felt that Yongxing Lane and Shengye Lane seemed really far apart.

He was silent, then remembered Yuan Yu, suddenly asked: “Just now you lied to Jiang shi, right?”

Yuan Ci Xian was baffled at first, and then understood: “Oh, you mean her coughing.”

If any doctor could diagnose that Jiang Bi Rou’s illness was brought out from her mother’s womb, then the Yuan family wouldn’t feel guilty for so long.

Doctor Yu didn’t say those words, she lied in order to let her brother get rid of the past completely, and no longer bear the guilt for her. That’s why Jiang Bi Rou lost control of her emotions after hearing it just now.

She smiled and said, “It doesn’t hurt to tell a lie, so don’t tell him.”

Lu Shi Qing sneered, “I’m not that close to him.” After saying that, he then asked, “What about the last sentence?”

When did she suffer ten times, a hundred times that way.

Of course Yuan Ci Xian was talking about the previous life in the dream that she had no memory of. She smiled and said, “I have never suffered anything, I just talking big. Why, you feel sorry for me?” She turned her head to look at him.

Lu Shi Qing said seemingly without waves: “No.”

She stopped, pointing to the space between his brows that twisted into “川”: “Still said no, then why are you frowning?”

Lu Shi Qing also stopped frowning, said: “Just thinking whether the Jiang family still have a countermeasure?”

Yuan Ci Xian was stunned: “Oh, you are worried about Jiang Bi Rou’s curse.” She seemed to find it amusing, “Curse is the most useless thing in the world, the most incompetent trick, do you believe that kind of nonsense?”

Lu Shi Qing pulled the corner of his mouth, did not speak, and continued to walk forward.

He certainly didn’t care about the curse.

But it was a curse on her, so he had to try to believe it just in case, even if it only had one in a thousand chance.

After Lu Shi Qing left, for the next while, Yuan Ci Xian stayed at the mansion obediently, walking around Yuan Yu every day, and would not stop until she made him laugh eighty times a day.

After the Minor Coldor Xiaohan, the traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms, Xiaohan is 23^rd solar term, it begins when the sun reaches the longitude of 285° passed, it snowed several times in Chang’an. The brother and sister made snow horses at the gate of Yuan Mansion, and changed the patterns every day. But when the Major Coldor Dahan, 24^th solar term in Chinese calendar came, the day was so cold to the point that dripping water turned into ice and breath became frosty, so the two could not play anymore, and nestled in the warm home all day long.

One day at the end of the Twelfth month, news came from the court that Minister Jiang had been imprisoned.

Yuan Ci Xian went through the twists and turns of this matter in her heart.

At the end of the year and approaching the New Year’s Festival, Ping Prince came to the capital according to the regulations, and just arrived in Chang’an a few days ago. Thinking about it, it was at this time that Lu Shi Qing revealed the matter of the Lingnan mine. One, to brought down Minister Jiang, and two, to caught Ping Prince by surprise.

This was as he said, the best time to kill two birds with one stone.

At the moment, there was no movement at Ping Prince’s place, but it was obvious that Jiang Min had no play to sing. The courtiers had their own candidates for the crown prince in their minds, which was not a big deal at first, but Jiang Min’s mistake was that it involved the most taboo thing for superiors, military weapons. Of course, Emperor Huining would be furious.

Yuan Ci Xian reckoned that even if the death penalty was not imposed, Jiang Min would inevitably end up being demoted and exiled. Naturally, the whole Jiang family had to move out of Chang’an, away from the political center.

Seeing the Jiang family’s completely different fate from her previous life, she no longer dared to doubt that Lu Shi Qing would achieve nothing because he infatuated with her beauty.

With her, a treasure who was good at dreaming, he was simply a tiger that had grown wings! Today she gave him a dream of “Lingnan”, and tomorrow she probably give him a dream of Shannan, Shuinan, Tiannan, Dinnan, pointing here pointing there.

Yuan Ci Xian hadn’t seen Lu Shi Qing for nearly a month, and in the evening when she got the news, she was so excited that she wanted to thank him face to face, so she asked brother, when would their parent arrive.

Diannan Prince and his wife set off for the capital as early as twenty days ago, and they probably would reach Chang’an in two days. Yuan Yu calculated and told her that tomorrow would be the soonest.

Although Yuan Yi Zhi doted on his daughter, he was very strict with her when it comes to matters between men and women. The story of Yuan Ci Xian and Lu Shi Qing had already spread all over the country. Although she was ready to be taught a lesson by her father, she didn’t want to get caught on the act, so after listening to her brother’s words she went to Lu Mansion with confidence.

It was getting late when Yuan Ci Xian went out, and when the carriage rolled in the thin snow towards Yongxing Lane, it was already dark. She asked the servants in front of the Lu Mansion, only to found that Lu Shi Qing hadn’t returned home yet.

The servant asked her to wait inside, but she shyly refused. Visiting at this time, it was clear that she wanted to freeload a meal. It was enough for her to see Lu Shi Qing, and did not want to bother Xuan shi.

The road was covered with a thin layer of white snow, and when it shone by the lanterns hanging in front of the Lu Mansion’s gate, it was bright all around. Wrapped in a fur cloak, Yuan Ci Xian stood and waited for a while, feeling a bit cold, she just about to move to shelter from the wind, but then saw a carriage coming from the corner, looking from a distance, the driver was Zhao Shu.

She went down the bluestone steps, leaned over to have a look, and saw the carriage speeding up quickly, and then stop in front of her.

Lu Shi Qing lifted the curtain and came down, frowned, “It’s so cold, you come to my Lu Mansion to be a Door God?”

They haven’t seen each other for a long time, and when finally met he was so fierce.

Yuan Ci Xian muttered “yes”, as if didn’t bother by his sarcasm, she suddenly laughed, spread her hands and said, “The Door God is a little cold, you warm me up.”

Lu Shi Qing choked, and looked down at her snow-white palm, hesitating inside, but she forcibly grabbed his palm first to be used as a stove. She rubbed his hands desperately, as if trying to warm herself up.

For a moment he couldn’t help but laugh, shook her hand back, pulled her closer to him, then lowered his head and breathed into her palm.

The warm and humid touch made Yuan Ci Xian felt a bit sluggish, then her whole body trembled and went numb.

She secretly stabilized her mind, looked at his serious expression, and her smile spread from the corner of her eyes to the tail of her eyes, until it made a curved arc in the shape of a peach petal.

At this moment, a carriage quickly drove here from the dark corner, and came to an emergency stop when it reached to the Lu Mansion.

The two people who clasped their hands together were taken aback, and in the next moment, they saw a burly and muscular middle-aged man stepped out, walking towards this direction angrily.

Yuan Ci Xian was startled, pulled her hand out of Lu Shi Qing’s palm, and stammered: “Fa… father, why are you here…”

Lu Shi Qing sighed in his heart, and said neither humble nor overbearing: “Your Highness Diannan Prince.”

Yuan Yi Zhi’s face was full of murderous aura, and it was colder than snow. He snorted, glanced at him, and asked Yuan Ci Xian first: “Do you still have me, your father, in your heart?”

Yuan Ci Xian pulled her face, hugged his arm and said coquettishly, “Of course I have! Very much, a very big much.”

He straightened the sword at his waist, ignored her, and said to Lu Shi Qing, “Assistant Minister Lu, let’s take a step to talk.”

Yuan Ci Xian gave Lu Shi Qing a slight wink, signaling him not to respond and to run away quickly.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t seem to understand, stretched out his hand towards the gate of the mansion, and said with a smile: “Please.”

Wow, this is simply inviting wolves into the house. He doesn’t want his arms and legs anymore.

Seeing Yuan Yi Zhi moved his steps to walked forward, Yuan Ci Xian desperately dragged him: “Father, it’s been a long journey, you must be exhausted. Brother and I have prepared a welcome banquet for you and mother, let’s go back home quickly.”

Yuan Yi Zhi pushed her hand away, snorted coldly, and said while his hand held the sword at his waist, “You go back first, Father believes that Assistant Minister Lu also prepare a reception banquet for me.”

Yuan Ci Xian was about to cry “You won’t drink his blood, will you…”

Lu Shi Qing showed a helpless look, and was about to tell Yuan Ci Xian to go back at ease, but then saw a woman covered in a snow-colored cloak stepping out from the carriage. She walked leisurely towards this side, and when she arrived in front of them, she said softly: “Yaoyao, be obedient, go back with Mother.”

Yuan Ci Xian looked back, called Feng shi “Mother”, then hesitated for a while with a deflated mouth, and directly instructed Yuan Yi Zhi: “Alright then, Father, please be merciful, don’t spill any blood…”

Yuan Yi Zhi ignored her and strode into the Lu Mansion.

Lu Shi Qing took a slow step, nodded slightly to Feng shi, then raised his foot to go inside. He directed Yuan Yi Zhi until they reached the central hall, then ordered his servants to serve hot tea.

Yuan Yi Zhi directly waved his hand and refused: “No tea. Assistant Minister Lu, let’s get straight to the point.”

“Alright.” He twitched the corner of his mouth and asked, “Would you say it first, or Lu first?”

Yuan Yi Zhi stretched out his hand, motioned him to speak.

“Then Lu will keep it short.” Lu Shi Qing smiled, “Right now there is a person surnamed Lu from Luoyang who is twenty-two years old, unmarried, and has no concubine. He wants to ask your permission to marry Lancang County Princess, and hoping to be in perfect harmony with her for a hundred years.”

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