Chapter 12 – It’s Settled

Madam Wen was anxious for two days. Finally, on the third day, she heard Madam Lu say to Wen Hui with a smile, “I’ll talk to your mother and sister-in-law here. You’re a young lady, go and play by yourself.”

Madam Wen and Madam Yang immediately perked up. Seeing that Wen Hui still wanted to speak, Madam Wen said, “Go and check on your father. Tell him the snow has melted and the ground is slippery, so don’t take Young Master Lu outside anymore.”

Wen Hui was used to entertaining guests these two days and subconsciously wanted to be polite to Madam Lu. But under her mother’s intense gaze, she quickly realized. Her cheeks flushed, she curtsied, responded with “Yes,” and hurriedly left.

Outside, the cold air hit her, and she still felt her cheeks and ears burning. Strange, everyone in the family often teased her about Huo Silang since she was young, but she had never felt this way before. Yet how come she became so weird when it came to the Lu family?

“Miss,” Jin Zhen was in the house, along with Yin Xian, “Are we going to find Master, or …”

As a maid, one must be perceptive. She could tell that the adults in the house were just looking for an excuse to send Wen Hui out.

Wen Hui rubbed her face and ears to cool down. She thought for a moment, she felt unsettled in her heart, and even if she returned to her room, she would feel uncomfortable. Moreover, she should inform her father as her mother had instructed. Thus, she decided, “Let’s go find my father. Are they in the front hall?”

As they spoke, the two of them walked to the front.

Unexpectedly, before they reached the Chuihua gate, they saw Lu Rui walking over with a plum blossom in his hand. When he saw Wen Hui, the youth’s eyes brightened like stars.

Wen Hui felt the light in his eyes brought warm. Her cheeks, which had already cooled down, began to burn again. Her footsteps stiffened and almost lost her balance.

Perhaps she saw it wrong, but the corners of the youth’s lips seemed to curve into a smile. When she looked again, it was gone. He walked over in a dignified, and graceful manner, “Miss Wen.”

Wen Hui stopped, “Young Master Lu.”

Lu Rui asked, “Does Miss Wen know where my mother is?”

Wen Hui replied, “She’s talking with my mother and sister-in-law in the inner hall.”

“Oh.” Lu Rui said, “Then I won’t disturb them. I’ll head back to my room first.”

Wen Hui asked, “Did Young Master come from my father’s place? Is he in the front hall?”

Lu Rui nodded. “Yes. I just returned with Third Brother and saw someone reporting something. Big Brother and Second Brother are with your father.”

He called them “Big Brother”, “Second Brother”, and “Third Brother” naturally, removing the word “Wen”, revealing a sense of intimacy. Wen Hui felt the heat on her face rise again. She coughed and asked, “Why did Young Master return with my Third Brother? Did you guys go out?”

“Yes, I asked Third Brother to accompany me.” Lu Rui said.

“Ah!” Wen Hui exclaimed, “Mother wanted me to tell Father that the melted snow makes the road slippery, want to tell them not to bring you out.”

“It’s too late for that.” Lu Rui pressed his fist against his lips and chuckled. “We’re already back.”

Wen Hui was annoyed, “Why didn’t Third Brother tell Mother? I’ll tell Mother to scold him later.”

“Better not.” Lu Rui smiled and said, “I asked him to accompany me. Yesterday, I saw a plum grove while hunting. However, I was stained with blood yesterday and was afraid the plum blossoms fragrance would be tainted, so I changed my clothes and went again today. This …”

He raised the plum blossom branch and asked with a smile, “Do you think it pretty?”

“It’s beautiful. Did you pick it from the old plum blossom grove?” Wen Hui asked.

“I don’t know. Third Brother didn’t tell me the place has a name.”

“It does.” Wen Hui said, “In the past, a scholar once lived there in seclusion and planted the grove. There was originally a cottage, but it’s been almost a hundred years and is long gone. Only this plum blossom forest is still there. The people here call it the old plum blossom grove.”

“So there’s a story.” Lu Rui nodded and said, “I plan to put a vase in it for my mother. She prefers fresh flowers over incense.”

Wen Hui praised sincerely, “Young Master is a filial person.”

Lu Rui said, “Jiayan.”

Wen Hui blinked.

“My courtesy name is Jiayan.” Lu Rui said, “Our families are now close, so there’s no need to call me Young Master. I’m three years older than you. If you don’t mind, you can call me Brother Jiayan.”

He looked at Wen Hui’s pale face with a smile and expectation in his eyes.

She used to call “Brother Lianyi” so easily before, but why it was hard to call him “Brother Jiayan” now?

Wen Hui didn’t understand why, but she felt that her lips and tongue weren’t listening to her. It took her a lot of effort to lower her head slightly under Lu Rui’s expectant gaze and call out softly, “Brother Jiayan.”

Lu Rui’s lips curled up. He glanced at the Yin Xian, who instinctively stepped back to give them space.

Lu Rui took half a step forward.

The distance between them suddenly became closer, but not too close to be inappropriate. In short, Lu Rui handled this half-step distance perfectly. He lowered his voice and said, “My mother should be finalizing our matter today. Rest assured.”

The scent of plum blossoms filled the air.

His words made her blush and her heart race.

Wen Hui looked up and met Lu Rui’s bright and handsome eyes. The smile in his eyes seemed to pierce straight into her heart. Her heart pounded so hard that it felt like it would jump out of her chest. It was too uncomfortable!

“I … I … I have nothing to worry about!” she stammered.

Lu Rui watched as Wen Hui’s delicate face turned as red as the morning glow. Even her round and cute earlobes turned pink. Afraid she might get too embarrassed, he stepped back and said with a smile, “That’s good. It’s cold outside. Little sister, you should go back inside.”

Before he finished speaking, Madam Wen’s close maids quickly walked over, “Young Master, Young Miss, why are you talking here? It’s so cold. Quickly go back inside and don’t catch a cold.”

Wen Hui asked, “Huang Mama^[1]Nanny Huang; Senior maids., where are you going?” If she walked any further, she would be out of the Chuihua Gate.

“Me?” Mama Huang said with a smile, “Madam asked me to invite Master over to discuss important matters.”

She emphasized “important matters” and looked at the young couple joyfully as if “good news” was written on her forehead.

“Then Mama, please hurry, don’t delay the important matters.” Lu Rui stepped aside and said politely.

Wen Hui also stepped aside. Huang Mama smiled and quickly curtsied before hurrying towards the Chuihua Gate.

Lu Rui retracted his gaze and looked at Wen Hui with a smile, “It’s settled.”

Wen Hui blushed even more.

To Lu Rui, who was born and raised in Yuhang, and had traveled to various places with his father, although Wen Hui was the daughter of a Baihu official, she grew up in this fortress and was not much different from a country bumpkin.

He thought the young girl would be so embarrassed that she would stomp her feet and turn around to leave. Instead, she nervously fiddled with her sleeves before raising her head and saying, “Brother Jiayan, there’s something I need to explain to you.”

Lu Rui was surprised and curious, “Please go ahead.”

“I …” Wen Hui mustered up her courage and said, “I was once engaged.”

Lu Rui didn’t say anything and just stared at her.

Wen Hui, feeling less nervous after speaking, continued more fluently, “It was a childhood engagement, but later, that family …”

“Got involved in the Prince Lu’s case,” Lu Rui said.

Wen Hui paused and heaved a sigh of relief, “So you know.”

Lu Rui smiled, “Do you not trust your father’s character? our families are discussing marriage, it’s natural to be honest about this matter. How could Uncle hide it?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t tell me,” Wen Hui complained, “They never tell me anything.”

Lu Rui’s eyes lit up, “So you decided to tell me yourself?”

Wen Hui nodded, “Yes, I think you should know about these things. If you’re unhappy with it, we can call off the engagement.” However, she had been nervous when she saw Lu Rui for the past two days and hadn’t had a chance to talk to him alone.

“Both Little Sister and Uncle are straightforward and honest. I can see how sincere your family is. Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Lu Rui said earnestly. He paused, then looked at the beautiful girl, “But I have one question. After we are engaged, will you still miss him?”

Wen Hui’s eyes were clear and bright, saying, “The matter between our families has already been settled. My heart is at ease now and I won’t think about him anymore.”

Lu Rui nodded and asked, “Sister, how old were you when you were engaged?”

Wen Hui replied, “Five or six years old.”

She was only thirteen this year. Prince Lu’s case happened two years ago. At such a young age, even if she knew she was engaged, what did she understand about it?

Lu Rui recalled when he saw Wen Hui for the first time. The girl’s eyes were filled with curiosity. From her eyes, he saw the confusion and panic of the first awakening of love when their gazes met and he smiled at her. It was very amusing.

For Lu Rui, “him from that family” was now a thing of the past.

Instead, he comforted Wen Hui, “I heard that the family was also innocently implicated. Many were wronged in the Prince Lu case. I feel sorry for those who suffered. But even though they are gone, little sister shouldn’t be stuck in the past. You should move forward and live well in the future.”

Wen Hui was stunned.

Wen Baihu was vague when he told Lord Lu about the Huo family, leading Lord Lu to believe that the Huo family was entirely gone. This was how he conveyed it to Lu Rui.

Wen Hui wanted to say he was still alive, but …

Although Wen Hui did not fully understand what it meant to be ‘castrated’, and why a man who was castrated was no longer a man, she knew that most people would find it shameful and even disgusting. To tell Lu Rui that “Huo Silang is still alive, but he became a eunuch”, seemed … not worth it.

So, Wen Hui didn’t correct Lu Rui and nodded along with his words.

Lu Rui smiled gently and said, “It’s cold outside. Go back to your room.”

With an unconscious smile, Wen Hui returned to her courtyard.

Who knew that as soon as she lifted the curtain and entered the room, she would smell a different fragrance than usual. Yin Xian immediately made a sound of surprise, “Huh?” and sniffed hard, shouting, “Jin Zhen, Jin Zhen, what fragrance is this? Why does it smell like …”

Jin Zhen laughed from inside and said, “What do you think it smells like?”

Yin Xian sniffed hard again and said, “It smells like …”

Before she could finish, Wen Hui had already lifted the curtain of the inner room and said, “Is it plum blossom?”

Jin Zhen smiled, “Miss, your nose is sharp as always.”

Jin Zhen sat on the kang bed and was fiddling with a large open vase with slim plum blossoms stuck in the vase. The plum blossoms were well-chosen with a sparse and lazy beauty. Similar to the one that Lu Rui had picked for his mother.

Jin Zhen said proudly, “Look, isn’t it nicely arranged?”

“Wow!” Yin Xian exclaimed in surprise, “Where did you find this big vase? Where was it before? I never saw it”

“Stupid girl.” Jin Zhen glared at her, “You don’t even know what we have in our courtyard. Since Miss broke the last famille-rose vase, Madam said no more fragile items for her. I borrowed this from the eldest young miss’ room. The plum branch is so big that a small vase can’t fit it. I remembered seeing a big bottle among her dowry. I mentioned it to Xia Mama, and she found it for me. But we must return it, so be careful not to break it. Xia Mama said that if it breaks, Mist will continue to make shoes for Hu Ge’er for a long time to pay it back.”

Madam Yang and Wen Hui had known each other since they were young and were as close as biological sisters. So close that her wet nurse was not afraid of joking with Wen Hui’s maids.

Wen Hui was nursed and raised by Madam Wen when she was young and did not have a wet nurse. When she grew older and the family’s conditions were better, they provided her with maids. For major matters, they would directly inform Madam Wen or Huang Mama, who was always by Madam Wen’s side.

This was something Madam Lu did not know. If she did, she would definitely sigh and say, “A small household.”

The two maids chattered non-stop. Wen Hui, holding the plum branch, suddenly interrupted them and asked, “Where did this come from? I mean the flower.”

Jin Zhen said, “Third Young Master had someone send it over. He said it was from the old plum grove. It’s strange. We’ve been there so many times. Why did he suddenly become so elegant today?”

Yin Xian covered her mouth and made an “Oh~” sound.

Jin Zhen asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

Yin Xian giggled, “Don’t you know our Third Young Master? When has he ever been elegant? I say, this elegance must be from someone else~~~”

Jin Zhen hit her, “Stop being so mysterious. Speak clearly!”

Yin Xian glanced at Wen Hui and said, “I’m afraid Miss will hit me.”

Wen Hui’s ears turned red and she said, “Just say it. No one did anything wrong! Be open and honest!”

Yin Xian pulled Jin Zhen over and whispered in her ear. Jin Zhen quickly came to a realization and giggled.

Wen Hui picked up the large face, “This fragrance, put it inside!” She opened the curtain and escaped into the bedroom.

Even through the curtain, she could hear the two maids giggling in the next room.