Chapter 129 Much Quieter

Weishao Qianyu eventually fell asleep once again in Feng Jinye's embrace, prompting Feng Jinye to tighten his hold around her a little more...

Lately, Weishao Qianyu had been acting rather strangely, often giving Feng Jinye the lingering illusion that she might soon slip away from him.

Yesterday, Feng Jinye had been terribly frightened. Upon waking up, he had found Weishao Qianyu completely gone. Normally, it was impossible for him to sleep so soundly; at the very least, he would have heard her getting up and dressing...

The very instant he opened his eyes, Feng Jinye realized he had been outwitted by Weishao Qianyu, who had actually resorted to using her feminine charms against him. It was truly vexing, yet he could not deny that he was entirely powerless to resist her allure...

Ever since leaving the Prince Yuan's Estate, Lu Liyuan had neither returned directly to the military camp nor gone back to the Duke's Estate. Instead, he lingered by the city gate, drinking alone at the very tavern where Xuechun and Ruier had once been abducted...

Before the Dragon Boat Festival, Prince Yuan's Estate had ordered a considerable amount of glutinous rice and beans from the grain shop near the city gate. Originally, Xuechun was supposed to come and settle the account, but just as Xuechun was about to step out, Ye Shiyi happened to arrive looking for her, so Dongnuan went in Xuechun's place instead...

Much to her surprise, Dongnuan encountered Lu Liyuan, the renowned young general of Guanguan City, drowning his sorrows in alcohol at the tavern directly opposite the grain shop...

Lu Liyuan poured, toasted, and drank by himself. From behind, his solitary figure appeared somewhat desolate, and Dongnuan thought that if she could go over and cadge a couple of cups of wine, it would at least be a small gain...

And so, Dongnuan walked over...

Slightly intoxicated and half-drunk, Lu Liyuan once again mistook Dongnuan for Weishao Qianyu...

"Qianqian..."

Lu Liyuan had always envied Feng Jinye for being able to openly call Weishao Qianyu "Qianqian." If not for the Lu family's utterly delusional and wishful fantasies in the past, he could have grown up alongside Weishao Qianyu from childhood, calling her "Qianqian" for a dozen more years than Feng Jinye ever could...

The Lu family was truly hateful.

Yet the Lu family was also his home.

Listening to Lu Liyuan call her "Qianqian," Dongnuan felt a strange stirring in her heart: "General Lu, have you mistaken the person again?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Dongnuan recalled the day Lu Liyuan had embraced her at the Prince Yuan's Estate, along with that tenderness which did not belong to her...

He truly adored the Princess Consort.

What profound and persistent devotion! Even though the Princess Consort had been betrothed for three full years and married for half a year already, he was still unable to let go, coming here to drink in melancholy...

Feeling somewhat indignant, Dongnuan stood up, intending to leave and refusing to entertain Lu Liyuan any longer.

"Ah, you are Dong'er," Lu Liyuan suddenly murmured.

"Dong'er?" Dongnuan paused. Only her mistress liked to address her with such endearment; he must have picked it up from her...

"Qianqian is terribly mischievous. Back at the Duke's Estate, she used to affectionately call everyone 'Dong'er,' 'Chunchun,' and 'Xiahxia'..."

"Only I was always met with a cool and distant 'Cousin'..."

"Every single time, I had to correct her before she would finally consent to call me 'Elder Brother'!"

Perhaps because of the wine he had consumed, Lu Liyuan spoke with far more ease than usual, shedding much of the stern majesty of a military general.

Dongnuan found it utterly bizarre. It was the first time she had ever heard of a man wishing for the woman of his affection to address him as an elder brother...

Before her marriage, Weishao Qianyu had spent a considerable period of time residing at the Duke's Estate in Guanguan City. The kindness Lu Liyuan had shown Weishao Qianyu was something Dongnuan had seen with absolute clarity and understood completely in her heart...

However, since Lu Liyuan and Weishao Qianyu had once been promised to each other in marriage, Weishao Qianyu had naturally kept a certain distance to avoid suspicion...

Dongnuan never expected that by casually sitting down like this, she would overhear such a shocking and horrifying secret...

"Before Mother passed away, she charged me to take good care of my younger sister in the future, yet I had to watch helplessly as she was carried away by our aunt..."

Lu Liyuan's chaotic thoughts drifted back to the year he was seven years old...

Lu Qin's primary wife suffered from a heart ailment. After giving birth to Lu Liyuan, she was medically advised never to bear children again. Yet, inexplicably, she conceived once more the previous year. The original Lady Lu kept it hidden from everyone; by the time her pregnancy was discovered, the only option left was to ensure the child was safely delivered, while the mother herself was beyond saving...

That year, Lu Liyuan was seven years old. His mother arranged everything meticulously, and he vaguely remembered that she even helped him and his sister choose a stepmother...

To compel Lu Qin into accepting a secondary wife, his biological mother even orchestrated circumstances so that the subsequent Lady Lu also fell pregnant...

Shortly after giving birth to Lu Xiaoyu, the original Lady Lu passed away, and Lu Xiaoyu was directly taken in and raised by the biological aunt shared by both Lu Liyuan and Lu Xiaoyu...

However, Lu Liyuan never imagined that one day his own biological sister would become his cousin. Clearly, he had watched her name enter the Lu family's ancestral registry as the eldest legitimate daughter of the house, only for her to end up as a daughter of the Weishao family...

At merely seven years of age, Lu Liyuan was entirely powerless against everything that transpired. Even his grandfather forbade him from exposing the truth, warning him that leaking the secret would only cost his sister her life...

Because of that single warning delivered back then—that it would cost his sister her life—Lu Liyuan had kept his lips sealed all these years...

Lu Liyuan had worked with desperate determination, repeatedly earning military merits over the years, far overshadowing Lu Qin, the heir of the Duke's Estate...

It was solely because Lu Liyuan always remembered his mother's plea to protect his sister. He had constantly yearned to break free from the Lu family's control, yet he could never sever the blood ties that bound both him and Weishao Qianyu to the Lu family...

He was a man of the Lu family.

He wondered if Weishao Qianyu would ever hate him...

With profound astonishment, Dongnuan listened to Lu Liyuan's disjointed account, grasping the entire matter with crystal clarity...

He was actually her master's true, biological elder brother!

It took a long time for Dongnuan to finally regain her composure. Realizing that Weishao Qianyu had been completely kept in the dark, she lost all inclination to deal with Lu Liyuan and dashed back toward the Prince Yuan's Estate in a flurry...

She had to return immediately and inform her mistress; the Lu family was truly despicable!

Watching Dongnuan's hastily retreating figure vanish in a rush, Lu Liyuan lifted his head in melancholy and drank once more...

When Dongnuan hurried back to the Prince Yuan's Estate, Weishao Qianyu had still not awakened...

A deep sense of worry gripped Dongnuan's heart. Upon careful reflection, the people who genuinely cared for her mistress were truly few and far between...

Could Young General Lu be considered one of them, she wondered?

Returning to the side courtyard, Xuechun and Qingxia were both quiet, yet Dongnuan could sense the indignation simmering within them...

"What has happened?" Dongnuan asked with a frown.

Ye Shiyi had visited earlier, having already disclosed to Xuechun and Qingxia the revelation that Weishao Qianyu was actually the true daughter of the Lu family...

Both Qingxia and Xuechun were burning with anger, but upon reflecting on their mistress's reaction—Weishao Qianyu remained completely calm and unperturbed—they too chose to restrain themselves and fell silent...

Xuechun's thoughts drifted to Madam Weishao, and then to Lady Lu...

Back when Madam Weishao had purchased Xuechun, she instructed her to treat Weishao Qianyu well, likely driven by a lingering sense of guilt. Fortunately, because of her frail health, Xuechun had spent a period recuperating at the Duke's Estate and had not accompanied Madam Weishao back to her ancestral home; otherwise, Xuechun likely would not have survived those years...

In Xuechun's heart, Madam Weishao had always been a wonderful person. She never imagined that such a scheme could have been orchestrated by her, while Lady Lu...

If Lady Lu was indeed her mistress's biological mother, that was truly too difficult to accept...

After all, Lady Lu doted on Lu Yanran above all others, even conspiring with her to usurp the Princess Consort's rightful position, and attempting to have Lu Yanran enter the Prince Zhan's Estate as a concubine...

Pondering this, Qingxia worried that her mistress's heart must truly be aching deeply right now...

Hearing the accounts shared by Xuechun and Qingxia, Dongnuan frowned slightly. So her mistress already knew; no wonder Lu Liyuan had been drowning his sorrows in wine.

"I ran into General Lu on the way back. Lady Lu is merely a stepwife; she is not the biological mother of our master or General Lu," Dongnuan explained.

Upon hearing Dongnuan's words, Xuechun and Qingxia felt a faint sense of comfort...

"But if Lady Lu is not the Princess Consort's biological mother, then she is even less likely to be Lu Yanran's mother. Yet she treated Lu Yanran exceptionally well..." Qingxia questioned.

Dongnuan reflected that Lady Lu was actually quite pitiful in her own right. Neither Lu Yanran nor Weishao Qianyu was her child; her own biological daughter had perished in the womb long ago, and Lu Yanran had been brought back later as a replacement...

Lady Lu herself had been kept entirely in the dark.

Not long after, Weishao Qianyu woke up. However, Dongnuan never brought up her encounter with Lu Liyuan again. Qingxia, Xuechun, and indeed the entire Prince Yuan's Estate refrained from ever mentioning the Lu family...

Even young Ruier was continuously cared for solely by Dongnuan.

For several consecutive days, Weishao Qianyu remained exceptionally quiet.

The Prince Yuan's Estate grew relatively tranquil as well—entirely different from usual, and distinct from the times when the Princess Consort and the Prince Consort were at odds, during which the servants of the estate would always walk on eggshells whenever Feng Jinye flew into a rage...

This time, however, the estate was merely peaceful, as if no unpleasantness had ever occurred...

After days of calm contemplation, the tenth day of the fifth month arrived, and Weishao Qianyu suddenly stepped into the side hall...

There was no difference whatsoever from before the events transpired. With an uplifting smile, she cut straight to the point: "I have come to discuss your marriage with you..."

Both Qingxia and Xuechun were stunned, while only Dongnuan remained composed, not taking Weishao Qianyu's words too seriously...

"Xiahxia, what would you say if I were to arrange a match between you and Leng Qi?" Weishao Qianyu asked with a smile.

Qingxia's face instantly flushed crimson, entirely at a loss for how to respond...

Watching Qingxia's expression, Weishao Qianyu could easily tell that the girl was indeed willing to marry Leng Qi.

A deeply satisfied smile bloomed on Weishao Qianyu's face...

After a long moment, Qingxia finally spoke with bashful shyness: "Princess Consort, I am only sixteen years old. If anyone should marry first, it ought to be Elder Sister Dong'er and Elder Sister Chunchun!"

Among them all, Qingxia was the youngest, having just blossomed into her sweet sixteenth year. She was a slightly shy yet caring girl who occasionally displayed a hint of youthful stubbornness...

Old Leng cherished Qingxia deeply, and Leng Qi was honest, steadfast, and capable of treating her well. Over the past period, the two of them had spent time together researching medicinal meals, and Weishao Qianyu could clearly see that Leng Qi took meticulous care of Qingxia—a steady temperament that could offer her true peace of mind. If mutual affection had blossomed between them, it was a most wonderful pairing.

Hearing Qingxia urge that she marry first, Dongnuan furrowed her brow, while Xuechun immediately protested: "I am not getting married! If all of you marry off, I want to stay and keep the Princess Consort company..."

Ever since learning that Weishao Qianyu was the true legitimate daughter of the Lu family, both Qingxia and Xuechun had tacitly ceased addressing her as "Young Miss."

Xuechun's words brought a soft smile back to Weishao Qianyu's lips: "Very well, very well, Xuechun will not marry just yet."

"Shall we marry off Qingxia first, then?" Warmth filled Weishao Qianyu's eyes as she felt a genuine, heartfelt happiness for Qingxia.

Both Xuechun and Dongnuan nodded in agreement. A joyous occasion that could bring a smile back to their mistress's face was a blessing indeed!