"That's all in the past," Mingyu said. Time has passed, and Mingyu sighed when she thought of the past. Sima Hong is no longer the innocent and outspoken boy, and she is no longer the same person she was back then.
Lu Hao did not respond to Mingyu's words and continued, "At that time, I didn't care about you. Although it was a pity that you married Sima Hong, I thought you were just a person who had nothing to do with me. It was not until the emperor and I arrived at the villa in Tianshui that I really understood what kind of woman you were... Since then, my heart... has no room for anyone else."
As Li Xiang was not far away, Lu Hao spoke in a very low voice, but Mingyu heard the helplessness and pain in his voice clearly. However, when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say. She sighed softly. She thought that if only she were the original Xu Mingyu. The native Mingyu would marry Lu Hao with trepidation and secret joy, respectfully serve her mother-in-law and husband, manage the backyard, and take care of her concubine and illegitimate children. Unfortunately, she was not and could not do these.
After a long silence, Dong Yuan ran under the eaves holding an umbrella. He was surprised to see Lu Hao there, but then he remembered what Lu Hao's cousin had done in court. He felt angry and reluctantly bowed to Lu Hao, then handed the two umbrellas in his arms to Mingyu and Lixiang.
"Miss, let's go. The master and the mistress are still waiting at home." Dong Yuan said.
Mingyu nodded and whispered to Lu Hao, "Lord Lu, I'm leaving first. And... thank you." After that, she walked to the eaves, opened her umbrella, and walked into the rain without even looking at Lu Hao. Lixiang and Dongyuan quickly followed with umbrellas.
Watching Mingyu's slender figure gradually disappear under the umbrella in the thick rain, Lu Hao stretched out his hands hidden in his sleeves and clenched them tightly.
On the way home, the rain gradually subsided. By the time she got home, Mingyu's shoes and skirt were soaked. Mrs. Xu was making ginger soup in the kitchen. When she saw Mingyu come back, she hurriedly asked her to change her clothes and shoes and socks.
Mingyu changed her clothes and went into the room with some ginger soup. She saw Xu Mingye sitting there expressionlessly, and opposite him was Xu Changqian, who had a livid face.
"What are you going to do?" Xu Changqian said to his son bluntly.
Xu Mingye turned his head and looked at his father who was about to explode, and said seriously, "Everyone has his own responsibility."
Xu Changqian simply couldn't do anything with his son. He suppressed the urge to beat him up and said, "Such a big thing happened today, and you still take the blame for your own actions? Do you know how serious the matter is?"
Mingyu quickly put down the bowl of soup. She ran over and patted her father's back, "Dad, don't be angry with your brother!" She then asked Xu Mingye, "What's going on between you and Brother Qi? Are you hiding something from us?"
Mingyu was furious about this incident. Xu Mingye must have hidden something from them, and he kept silent in court. Qi Su was also involved in this case.
Seeing Xu Mingye tightly shut his mouth, Mingyu couldn't help but raise her voice, "You can't do this again in the future. Do you know how scared your parents are? And..." And Fu Lemei, who sacrificed her most important reputation to save Xu Mingye. Mingyu wanted to ask Xu Mingye how he was going to deal with this matter. But when the words came to her lips, she didn't know how to start.
Xu Mingye glanced at Mingyu, who looked angry, and laughed, "The little girl is quite nosy!"
This disobedient little brat! Mingyu gritted her teeth.
Xu Changqian was very pleased with his daughter's thoughtfulness and understanding. He patted Mingyu's arm, signaling his daughter not to work so hard to calm down. He turned around and asked, "Why did you come back so late? What did Miss Deng want to see you about?"
Mingyu hesitated for a moment, then said honestly, "She heard that something happened to our family, and wanted to give me a draft for 1,000 taels of silver. I didn't accept it, and she seemed very angry."
Mrs. Xu stepped into the room at this moment and heard everything. She asked in surprise: "Miss Deng is not related to us at all, why is she giving us silver?" Moreover, one thousand taels of silver is not a small amount even for a duke's family. It's really generous of her.
Xu Mingye looked at Mingyu with a half-smile and said, "I heard rumors that the Anxi Marquisate is interested in marrying into the Deng family."
Madam Xu's face immediately darkened. "What does she mean by this? No matter how poor our family is, we will never ask for money from her family, nor from the Anxi Marquis's Mansion!"
Mingyu smiled. She sipped the spicy ginger soup and felt her nose getting sour from the irritation. "Didn't I confiscate it?" Mingyu said with a smile.
"Also, I ran into Lord Lu when I came back." Mingyu continued, "He said he would invite Lord Gong to come over tomorrow, but I told him it was not necessary, I... didn't want to marry him."
Xu Changqian patted Mingyu on the shoulder and asked, "Have you thought it through? If you miss Lord Lu just because of his cousin, you might regret it."
Hearing Xu Changqian's words of persuasion to Mingyu, Xu Mingye laughed and said, "If you don't like it, then don't bother. Just find someone better."
Mingyu was immediately moved, but before she could finish being moved, she heard Xu Mingye's younger brother gloating, "With this girl's temper, she would cause a lot of trouble at the Lu family. It's better to keep her at home and keep her safe."
The little bubble of gratitude in Mingyu's heart was immediately shattered without a trace, and she glared at Xu Mingye unhappily.
Mrs. Xu couldn't help but sigh when she thought of the elegant and refined young man. Her thoughts were more delicate than Xu Changqian's. The cousin of the Lu family was already this old, not much younger than Mingyu. How could she not know how important the situation in court today was to the Xu family? She stabbed without mercy. Afterwards, Lu Hao didn't show any apology to the Xu family. It was estimated that they didn't think much of Mingyu. In this case, forget about this marriage. It's just a glamorous appearance.
Once their daughter gets married, she will belong to another family. When she is wronged, they can only watch and feel sad.
At this time, the rain gradually stopped. Xu Mingye looked outside the house, straightened his clothes, got up and walked out of the room.
Xu Changqian stopped him in annoyance, "You just got home a while ago, what are you going to do now?"
Without even turning his head, Xu Mingye shouted back, "Kiss me!"
Asking for a marriage?! What kind of marriage are you asking for? Xu Changqian and Madam Xu were about to drop their eyes.
"Hey, come back here!" Mrs. Xu shouted, "Where are you going to ask for marriage?"
Xu Mingye had already walked to the gate of the yard. He turned around and said with a smile: "Of course I went to the Fu family to ask for marriage!" He laughed softly and said: "Haven't you all had a "secret meeting" with me?"
Madam Xu stood there dumbfounded, still trying to call Xu Mingye back. After a while, she stamped her feet and said, "You bastard, what kind of family can they agree to a poor boy like you? Mingyu's father, go and bring Mingye back. We have to go to ask for marriage and apologize!"
Xu Changqian came back to his senses and hurried out the door. Mingyu quickly grabbed his father and pushed his mother into the house, mumbling, "It's too late. My brother has already gone out."
Mrs. Xu was pushed hard by Mingyu into the house. She was a little amused and pinched Mingyu's ear and scolded, "These two troublesome kids!" She was vaguely looking forward to her son's marriage proposal. She really liked Fu Lemei, a girl who was sensible and had a good family background. What happened in the morning had made her see clearly that this girl had a pure and passionate heart.
After Xu Mingye went out, Dong Yuan, who was in the kitchen and whispering to Lixiang, saw the young master leaving home. He had to reluctantly leave his shy fiancée and quickly chased after him.
The two asked along the way and arrived at the door of the Fu family. It was noon, and the red lacquer door of the Fu family was closed. Two majestic stone lions at the door stared at them with their teeth bared. It was Xu Mingye's first time to come to the Fu family. He looked around and thought about what he was going to do. Even though he was mature and steady, he couldn't help but get nervous, his heartbeat accelerated, and he became uneasy.
He was just a rookie seventh-rank official, with no power, no influence, and no family background. He would never have had such an idea before. He had always been a practical person. He could not afford to have the daughter of the Fu family. However, today was different. Fu Lemei dared to risk the world's condemnation and rushed into the court to testify for him with her innocence. If he still didn't dare to propose marriage, he would be a coward that even he himself hated and despised!
With a nervous and beating heart, Xu Mingye looked serious. He raised his fair hand and knocked on the bronze ring with animal heads on the vermilion lacquered gate of the Fu Mansion.
The person who answered the door was a manager in his early twenties. He saw Xu Mingye, looked him up and down, and thought he looked unfamiliar. He blocked the door, bowed, and said with a smile: "Excuse me, who are you..."
Xu Mingye stepped back, smiled slightly, and said, "Please inform Master Fu that I am Xu Mingye. I have heard that Miss Fu is well-educated, intelligent and lovely. I am taking the liberty to come to your house and ask for a marriage for myself."
The steward immediately looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
After a while, Xu Mingye coughed impatiently, and the steward came to his senses and immediately said, "Master Xu, please wait a moment. I will go and inform my master." After that, he closed the door again.
Not long after, Xu Mingye and Dong Yuan, who were standing outside the Fu Mansion waiting, heard a noisy sound of footsteps, as if a lot of people were walking towards the door.
Dong Yuan couldn't help but feel a little proud in his heart. Oh, the future master-in-law thinks highly of his young master as his son-in-law. So many people came to welcome him!
However, when Xu Mingye listened to the sound carefully, his expression suddenly changed.
When the red lacquer door of the Fu Mansion opened, a middle-aged man in fancy clothes rushed out with murderous intent, pointed at Xu Mingye with a feather duster in his hand and asked, "Are you Xu Mingye?"
Before Xu Mingye could answer, the middle-aged man swung a feather duster and hit Xu Mingye, cursing: "You bastard, you cheated my daughter and you still have the nerve to propose marriage?"