Chapter 7: Little Buddha

Su Yanwei had the thought of running away from home, but how to do it, that was the question.
In the dream, the Su Yanwei who finally fled the Su family and escaped far away had already come of age and reached the Foundation Establishment stage. But right now, Su Yanwei was only ten years old, with absolutely no cultivation.

Young children, being naive, can easily misunderstand the profound truths of the Dao. So in the cultivation world, formal cultivation only began after the age of twelve, when one awakened their spiritual root. Su Yanwei still had two years before she could begin that process. For now, she only practiced the Su family’s basic sword forms, just the movements themselves, without channeling spiritual power or refining the spirit.

Given that, for Su Yanwei to run away from home and succeed would be asking far too much of her.

She’d probably be caught and dragged back after running just a few.

“Sigh…”

Thinking of all this, Su Yanwei couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Life really is too hard.

“What, do I really have to endure another ten years before I can run away?” she muttered.
“And that’s if I can even stand it for that long.”

And as it turned out, she really couldn’t.

Only a few days after she had rejected the marriage with the Xie family, Elder Mingfeng once again tried to arrange a match for Su Yanwei this time with a boy from the Zhao family of Anzhou. But this time, he got clever: instead of directly going to Ye Qingmeng to propose the marriage, he arranged for the Zhao family to bring the boy over as guests, and Ye Qingmeng hosted them. Then she sent someone to invite Su Yanwei to come join them.

As soon as Su Yanwei stepped into the pear garden, she saw Ye Qingmeng seated in the tearoom, along with Elder Mingfeng, a woman she didn’t recognize sitting beside Elder Mingfeng, and next to the woman, a quiet, handsome young boy. Seeing this scene, Su Yanwei paused, briefly confused.

“The young miss has arrived,” Elder Mingfeng said, turning to her with a smile. His wrinkled old face smiled like a blooming flower.

Su Yanwei was so startled that her expression froze in shock, as if she’d just seen a ghost.

Elder Mingfeng had never liked her, had never shown her a kind expression; every time they met, his face was cold and his words were dripping with sarcasm. But now???

When something’s so unusual, it must be suspicious. Su Yanwei instantly became alert.

“Wei’er, come over here,” Ye Qingmeng beckoned gently.

Su Yanwei walked over and sat beside her.

“Mother.”

“This is my only daughter, Su Yanwei,” Ye Qingmeng introduced to the woman sitting across from her. Then she turned to Su Yanwei,
“This is Madam Zhao. And this is her second son, Zhao Lan.”

Su Yanwei obediently greeted her,

“Aunt Zhao.”

Then she turned her gaze to Zhao Lan beside Madam Zhao, hesitated briefly, and called softly,

“Lan-di (Little Brother Lan).”

“It’s ‘older brother,’” Zhao Lan corrected her calmly.
“I’m older than you.”

The boy wore blue robes, his features were refined and handsome, his skin fair and smooth, and beneath his dark eyes was a tiny beauty mark like a tear mole. He was very quiet, his expression serene and detached like a little Buddha.

“Oh,” Su Yanwei answered to show she’d heard him, but stubbornly refused to call him “older brother.”

She had guessed Zhao Lan couldn’t be much older, so she’d tried to take the small advantage and call him “little brother.” But clearly, he wouldn’t let her get away with it.

Unwilling to give up, Su Yanwei asked,

“How old are you?”

“Same age as you,” Zhao Lan replied calmly.

Su Yanwei felt a flash of triumph in her heart.

“I’m two months older,” Zhao Lan added, his calm black eyes meeting hers clearly seeing through her little scheme.

Su Yanwei, who had been pleased for all of three seconds: …

She realized Zhao Lan had eyes that were incredibly clear and penetrating, as if they could see through everything, catching the tiniest details. In front of those eyes, nothing could remain hidden.

“Has anyone ever told you your eyes are very beautiful?” she asked him, meeting his gaze directly.

A trace of surprise flickered in Zhao Lan’s eyes. He shook his head.

“Never.”

“No one has ever dared to look into my eyes for more than a breath,” he added.

Probably because they’re afraid you’d see through them and expose all the ugliness inside, Su Yanwei thought.
They say children’s eyes can see what adults can’t. Zhao Lan’s eyes really were like crystal: clear and bright, reflecting all the complexities of the world.

Elder Mingfeng, seeing them talking comfortably, smiled even more warmly and said gently,

“They’re the same age, looks like they get along quite well.”

“Lan’er really likes the young miss!” Madam Zhao added with a smile.
“He’s never spoken this much before.”

Su Yanwei : ????

How is this “speaking a lot”?
He’d only said a few sentences!

Ye Qingmeng calmly lifted her teacup, took a small sip, set it down, and said lightly,

“They’re still just children. Talking about such things now is too early.”

“It’s not too early,” Elder Mingfeng replied.
“Among noble families, engagements are often made early. There are only so many prestigious families in Central State. If we don’t settle it now, it’ll be harder to find a suitable match later.”

Among noble families, arranged marriages and childhood betrothals were common.

Su Yanwei finally realized:

So this was actually a matchmaking meeting?

Damn! she couldn’t help but curse silently. Then she looked at Zhao Lan again and felt a pang of pity.
The child’s still so young, yet he’s already being pushed into this.

This quiet, pure, out-of-this-world little Buddha-like child.

Who could bear to push him into the mess of worldly politics?

“Wei’er, take Lan’er outside to play,” Ye Qingmeng suggested gently.
“Your Aunt Zhao and I have some things to discuss.”

Su Yanwei understood instantly. She stood up.

“Lan’er, come on, I’ll show you the flowers I planted.”

She still refused to call him “older brother.”

We’re the same age, why should I call you that?

Zhao Lan glanced at her but said nothing, silently getting up to follow her.

Su Yanwei felt certain he could see right through her little stubbornness. But she silently huffed:

So what if you see through me? I’m still never going to call you ‘older brother’, never in this lifetime!

---

In the courtyard:

“Look, these are the roses I planted. They might look like weeds now, but next spring they’ll bloom beautifully,” Su Yanwei explained. Then she turned to Zhao Lan,
“Lan’er, did your mother name you?”

“Does she really love orchids? Is that why your name is Zhao Lan?”

“No. My father named me,” Zhao Lan replied calmly.
“The day I was born, my father’s favorite spirit hound died. The dog’s name was also Lan’er.”

Su Yanwei: …

The air seemed to freeze.

Su Yanwei stared at him in shock, silently cursing:

What kind of scumbag father is this?

Giving his son the same name as a dog?

Doesn’t he value his son at all?

“It’s fine. I think it’s a good name,” Zhao Lan said, looking at her with his calm, fair face.
“My father must have really loved that spirit hound.”

What kind of little angel is this?!
Su Yanwei marveled again.
Clearly, he should have been the one feeling wronged, yet he ended up comforting him instead.

“So your father told you to come here today?” she asked.

“Mm.” Zhao Lan nodded.

Su Yanwei frowned slightly.

“Do you know why you were brought here?”

“Yes,” Zhao Lan met her gaze directly.
“To marry you.”

“And are you willing to marry me?” Su Yanwei raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.

“No,” Zhao Lan replied frankly.

“Then why did you still come?” she asked, even more curious.

“If I hadn’t come, he would have blamed and scolded my mother,” Zhao Lan explained calmly. Then his dark eyes met hers again.
“Besides… I heard the eldest miss of the Su family refused the engagement with the Xie family’s seventh son.”

“If you could reject the Xie family’s seventh son, then you probably wouldn’t agree to marry into the Zhao family either. So I came.”

Su Yanwei couldn’t help but admire him:

So he’s actually a little Buddha with a hidden cunning side!

Even a child understands this truth, so why don’t the adults?

But then she corrected herself:

It’s not that they don’t understand, it’s that they don’t want to understand.

All they care about is profit, and nothing else.