On the way back, Mingyu remained silent, lowering her head and fiddling with the knot on her skirt. Xu Mingye glanced at her and suddenly said, "Don't take that crazy woman's words to heart."
Mingyu looked up and was stunned for a moment before she realized that the crazy woman was referring to Deng Zhenzhu. After a smile, Mingyu slowly said, "Actually, I still care a little bit. On the surface, I am really the kind of person she said, but... I am like this. Who cares what others say? Aren't you responsible for everything?"
Anyway, she was going to marry far away in the northwest, and even if the sky fell, there was the tall Xu Mingye to support her. As long as she lived a good life, why should she care about what others thought
Xu Mingye rolled his eyes at Mingyu. It was true that after being around Sima Hong for so long, he had become thick-skinned. He took out a letter from his pocket, shook it in front of Mingyu, and said with a wicked smile, "I wanted to wait two days before giving it to you, but seeing how vicious your mouth is now, I might as well be scolded by you. It's better to give it to you now."
Mingyu rolled her eyes at the talkative Xu Mingye and snatched the letter from his hand. As the carriage swayed, she saw a few bold and powerful words on the envelope, "Personally from Mingyu, my wife."
A drop of cold sweat broke out on Mingyu's forehead. She blushed and glanced at Xu Mingye. Xu Mingye closed his eyes and leaned against the carriage to rest, not looking at her. Mingyu then opened the letter with peace of mind. However, she was blaming Sima Hong in her heart for having to write this on the letter. Wouldn't it be a joke if someone saw it
Sima Hong's handwriting is not beautiful. Apart from the strong structure, the font is sloppy and casual. However, the letter paper is more than ten pages thick. Judging from the thickness of the ink and the color of the paper, it should have been written over several days.
The letter did not say anything special. It only said that the letter was sent to the Anxi Marquis' Mansion along with the letter to his wife, and then asked his wife to send someone to deliver it to the Xu family. Now the war was getting tense again, and he was very busy every day. He had no time to calm down and write a long letter. He could only write a few sentences before going to bed every day. At the end, he said that he knew the wedding date and was very unhappy. He kept complaining that the date was set too late and he missed her very much.
In the shaking carriage, Xu Mingye opened one eye and looked at his sister opposite him, whose face was flushed with happiness and shy smile as she looked at Xin. He snorted with dissatisfaction and sighed, "It's true that girls cannot be kept when they grow up!"
Lu Hao also went to the Zheng family to deliver gifts. He had only superficial acquaintance with the Zheng family and was not familiar with them. After sitting for a while, he left the Zheng family and stayed in the yamen for a whole day until sunset. He did not even take a carriage and walked home slowly with Xiao Qi. When he met a subordinate on the way, he invited him to the restaurant for a drink.
Lu Hao was not a heavy drinker and he did not like to hear his subordinates’ overly blatant flattery. However, when he thought about the people and things he would face after returning home, he was reluctant to go back. “Okay.” Lu Hao agreed with a smile.
The subordinates were flattered. Lu Hao seldom drank with his subordinates, so he thought it was a great honor. He quickly made an appointment with a few colleagues he was on good terms with, and chose a clean restaurant to sit down and drink and chat until nightfall, then they left happily.
As soon as he entered the Lu Mansion, Hong Fanger came to greet him. She smelled the alcohol on him and asked in surprise, "Cousin, did you go out to drink?"
Auntie Hong beside him quickly smiled and said ingratiatingly: "He must be exhausted from business and socializing!"
Lu Hao waved his hand and forced a smile, but he was unwilling to talk to the two and walked straight ahead. Seeing that he was still unwilling to talk to Hong Fang'er, Mrs. Hong was so anxious that she pushed Hong Fang'er forward and asked her to talk to Lu Hao.
Hong Fang'er pouted her lips in grievance. Ever since she said those words in court last time, her cousin had ignored her. Although her food, clothing and other expenses remained the same, she clearly felt something was different. She didn't think she had done anything wrong, and even her aunt secretly praised her for doing a good job.
"Cousin, where did you go to drink tonight? Don't you usually dislike drinking? Why did you drink so much today?" Hong Fang'er caught up with Lu Hao and started to make small talk.
Lu Hao also went to the Zheng family to deliver gifts. He had only superficial acquaintance with the Zheng family and was not familiar with them. After sitting for a while, he left the Zheng family and stayed in the yamen for a whole day until sunset. He did not even take a carriage and walked home slowly with Xiao Qi. When he met a subordinate on the way, he invited him to the restaurant for a drink.
Lu Hao was not a heavy drinker and he did not like to hear his subordinates’ overly blatant flattery. However, when he thought about the people and things he would face after returning home, he was reluctant to go back. “Okay.” Lu Hao agreed with a smile.
The subordinate was flattered. Lu Hao rarely drank with his subordinates. This was a great honor. He quickly invited a few colleagues he was on good terms with and chose a clean restaurant to sit down and drink and chat until night fell. Then they left happily. "That's it!"
Lu Hao didn't even glance at Hong Fang'er's wrist, and said perfunctorily: "It looks good."
After receiving praise and affirmation from her cousin, Hong Fang'er quickly leaned over and said like she was presenting a treasure: "Cousin, do you like this golden hairpin with a peony flower on my head? It's very expensive, costing seventy taels of silver! But you get what you pay for. Everyone who sees it says it's beautiful." As she spoke, Hong Fang'er took it off her head. Under the light of the palace lanterns in the corridor, the golden hairpin shone with a soft golden light. Hong Fang'er couldn't let it go. She wished this beautiful thing was hers.
Lu Hao couldn't help but sigh. He was already quite annoyed. He was not a woman, so how could he like these messy things
Mingyu wouldn't be like this... Lu Hao thought absentmindedly, Mingyu has always been quiet and sensible. She has never dressed up or shown off. Mingyu has good handwriting and is beautiful, but she is very low-key and spends most of her time managing her family's shop. She is always clean and refreshing, and when she smiles, she exudes a dazzling light that makes people unable to look away and always want to see her smile more.
"Cousin? Cousin!" Hong Fang'er talked for a long time but there was no response from Lu Hao, so she couldn't help but call him loudly a few times.
Lu Hao came back to his senses, looked at Hong Fang'er, frowned and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Hong Fang'er looked dissatisfied. While she was talking, Lu Hao was distracted and didn't listen to what she said at all. She wanted to complain, but Hong Fang'er rolled her eyes and said, "Cousin, it's winter now. I don't have any clothes to change. I want to make some clothes."
Lu Hao waved his hand and said, "Then go ahead and do it. Just go to the accounting office and pay the bill."
Hong Fang'er left happily, and Lu Hao felt relieved, as there was no fly buzzing in his ear. Looking at the vast night, Lu Hao closed his eyes. The girl with a gentle smile in his memory, the girl who made him worry, had been engaged to someone else and was no longer his.
The next day at noon, Lu Hao received a letter inviting him to meet in the teahouse. The letter was from Duke Deng. Lu Hao was slightly surprised, but he still went to the teahouse on time. A servant had been waiting there for a long time, and when he saw him, he respectfully led him into the teahouse.
After entering the box and seeing the person in front of him clearly, Lu Hao was surprised. He smiled and bowed, "I thought it was Master #阝 who asked me out, but I didn't expect it was Miss Deng."
"Why, I can't make an appointment with Lord Lu?" Deng Zhenzhu said with a smile, raising her hand and making a gesture of invitation.
Lu Hao did not refuse. He lifted the hem of his robe and sat opposite Deng Zhenzhu. He wanted to see what this girl with a young face was up to.
＃阝Zhenzhu didn't let Lu Hao wait too long. After the servants served tea, she got straight to the point. "I heard before that Lord Lu intends to marry Xu Mingyu, the girl from the Xu family, but Xu Mingyu doesn't know what's good for her. Is that true?"
Lu Hao's expression did not change. Since the other party knew about it, there was no need for him to hide it. He nodded generously and said, "It was just a verbal statement. Since they don't agree, I will just pretend that it never happened." He raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhenzhu, smiling, "I didn't expect Miss Deng to know about it."
＃阝 Pearl shook her head and sighed, "I just feel sorry for Lord Lu... Lord Lu is a rare talent, and one of the best in the entire Chu. Xu Mingyu actually rejected Lord Lu's favor. It's really... too ungrateful!" Looking at Lu Hao, Deng Zhenzhu smiled elegantly and sincerely, "Besides, Lord Lu is such an outstanding person, and his every move is the focus of the capital. Even in my inner chamber, Zhenzhu admires Lord Lu's reputation and character, and it is well-known. You must know that the person Zhenzhu admires most in her life is you, Lord Lu."
Facing the praise from the beautiful girl, Lu Hao smiled calmly and said, "I thought the person you admired the most was Sima Hong, but I didn't expect it would be me."
＃阝Zhenzhu's face changed, and she could hardly maintain her previous elegant smile. Lu Hao saw it and couldn't help but sneer. She was too naive to try to play tricks in front of him. However, it was not easy for her to be so scheming and cunning at such a young age.
"Your Excellency makes it sound so easy!" Deng Zhenzhu said, "I just don't believe that Your Excellency really doesn't mind at all that Xu Mingyu rejected you?" She couldn't even forgive Sima Hong for not choosing her, so she didn't believe that a man as proud as Lu Hao, who stood above everyone else, wouldn't mind at all that Xu Mingyu didn't want him and chose Sima Hong instead.
She kept refusing... Lu Hao's anger was gradually rising. She was really talking about something that was not related to the topic! But of course he couldn't let this little girl lead him by the nose.
Lu Hao laughed in surprise and said, "Miss #阝, why would you think so? Marriage is a matter of fate. If the marriage fails, it's because fate has not arrived. We can only say that it is God's will and we can't blame anyone else."